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Sakura no Tenshi

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Prologue

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"Wait for me…"

Even if it's for eternity, I will…

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In the sweet May light, a lone sakura tree was in full bloom. The soft wind gently caressed its petals and whispered endearments, coaxing them off their life-giving branches into the embrace of an inevitable death. It was long past the season of sakura. Yet, time seemed to freeze, stubbornly trapping nature, like reluctant memories still clinging on and refusing to let go.

A lone figure slept under the tree, fully shaded by its ample crown. The wind tugged at the brown hair insistently, pulling wispy strands across her face. Sleep had erased the many lines of worry that would reassert themselves once the startling emerald eyes were opened, once the illusion of serenity was shattered. For now, she would rest.

The crushing of leaves was the only sound heard as another figure swiftly approached the sakura tree. Abruptly, she came to a halt, pausing at the beautiful picture in front of her. She did not want to intrude into this moment. She turned to go. She stopped again. The glister of tears caught her eyes. Her heart ached. She approached the other figure slowly.

"Sakura…"

She did not even stir. Tomoyo bent down and gently wiped away the tears. The skin felt cold and clammy to her deft fingers. A line of worry worked its way into her fine features. She frowned. Shaking the figure more insistently, she tried again.

"Sakura!"

No response.

Tomoyo showed the first signs of panic. "Sakura," she cried, "wake up!" She cupped the Sakura's face in her hands. Finally, she felt the faint tremors of the intake of breath. She let out her own, waiting for the other girl to wake up. Sakura took her time doing this.

Gradually, the eyelids pulled back to reveal two huge orbs of emerald. In them resided naivety, sweetness and sadness. A most curious combinations of emotions. Tomoyo knelt beside her and let out a dramatic sign. The sleepy green eyes focused on her for an instant and turned away, unable to face her brilliant smile.

"So ka. I woke up again."

It came out as a bare whisper. Sakura looked down at her bed of sakura petals. Tomoyo was startled. She did not know how to answer to this.

"I was hoping it wouldn't happen this time," Sakura broke off her examination of the ground and brought her knees close to her body, "that I wouldn't wake up to another day."

"You… want to die?" Tomoyo asked gently, with no note of accusation.

"Every single moment of my life," Sakura answered softly, with a firmness and conviction mismatching the gentle tone. "But for him, I will cherish myself." She attempted a smile.

"It's all because of me, isn't it?" Tomoyo looked down guiltily. "If I hadn't done all the things I had done…"

For a moment, Sakura felt the old flare of anger. Swiftly, it died down to a dull throb that had never quite managed to go away. "No, it isn't because of you anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok… now," Sakura closed her eyes tiredly. She did not want to go into this again. "You were never to blame."

Tomoyo looked unconvinced. The silence was becoming unbearable. "You still have a family, who loves you. You know you can go back to them anytime. Your father… wants me to tell you, they miss you."

Sakura opened her eyes in surprise, the odd pangs of guilt rising up again. She got up and walked away from Tomoyo. A fresh blast of wind brought a shower of sakura petals down. She caught one in her hand.

"Tomoyo, do you know why the sakura petals are so willing to leave the branches which gave them life, even though what awaits is death?"

Tomoyo looked a little disorientated at this sudden change of subject. Mutely, she shook her head.

Sakura sighed, letting the petal float slowly down to earth. "It's because… they can no longer pretend to love."

Tomoyo's eyes widened in surprise, she opened her mouth as if to say something. Then she closed it.

Sakura went on, unaffected. "I cannot go back to Fujitaka and Touya. I cannot pretend that nothing has happened, that my love for them still remained. If I go back, sooner or later, they will realize this. When that time comes, the guilt would have been too much for me."

Tomoyo felt tears stinging her eyes. She bit her lips furiously. "That's not the only reason, is it?"

Sakura looked at her in shock. Quickly, she looked away again, refusing to meet her questioning gaze.

"I understand, that you don't want to hurt them. But, there's something more, isn't there?"

Sakura lowered her head, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. She leaned against the tree and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyelashes were wet.

"Is it, is it because of him?" Tomoyo pressed on gently.

Sakura felt a tremor running through her body. She ran a hand through her hair, intentionally smudging the unwelcome tear that had managed to break free of her tight control.

"Do you love him?"

Sakura stiffened, then slowly turned around to face Tomoyo. "I don't believe, that it's possible for me to love anyone more."

"Are you still, waiting for him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he asked me to."

"What?" Tomoyo's eyes registered genuine surprise and incomprehension.

Sakura sighed tiredly.

"Tomoyo, I love him. I really do. After what had happened, what we've been through together, I can't… I really can't live without him." She clenched her fists in resentment. "Syaoran, you're a bastard for leaving me like you did." She took a shuddering breath to calm herself. "Before he, he… he asked me to wait for him. Just because he said that, I will wait, even if it's for an eternity, for him."

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"Wait for me… Sakura. I'll come back to you."

Syaoran, even if it's for eternity, I will.

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"Even though he'll never come back?" Tomoyo asked gently.

"Even though he'll never come back," Sakura repeated firmly. Suddenly, she looked extremely weary, as if the short conversation had taken almost all of her reserve. She sat down by the tree and closed her eyes.

Tomoyo studied her friend sadly, a small sigh escaping her lips. She turned to go, leaving the scene exactly like the way she had found it.

In her heart, she knew. He would never come back. While she would continue to hope.

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A/N: exactly a month. my apologies if u found the wait to be too long. Im extremely busy. sorry. well, juz to clarify, diz chapt is by no means the ending. Its juz the ending at a particular point. a lot of tings happened before it got here. I'll go abt writing the nxt chapt asap. I hope datz soon too. again, much apologies. pls remember to review.

Disclaimer: Neither CCS nor her characters belong to me.