Title: Facade
Summery: Sakura has always wanted to attend the Magic Academy but there's one problem. It's an all-boys school. After facing the dilemma of hiding her un-manly attributes, she now must deal with the challenge of Syaoran her roommate and the guy she's falling for
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I am not the creator, but merely the storyteller. This piece of fiction is made purely for the enjoyment of writing it and for the readers who choose to read it. No money is to be made from it.
Warnings: Not much of a warning for this story, only a little fluffier then my other story and more true to what Clamp had intended their characters to be. Or at least I like to think so! Also, the magic will be different then what it is in the series and manga. All will be revealed in the story. Any problems, just ask in reviews and I will be happy to answer them for you!
Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, with a twist of Errol/Tomoyo.
Genre: Romance/Humour/Drama/Fantasy/Action…
Author's Rant: Greetings, Fellow Authors and dearest Readers!
I honestly just couldn't get this story out of my head, the muse was being a rather persistent little critter so I decided to go ahead and get a start on it. This is my lovely little AU magic school story, which I am quite proud of. Well, the first chapter anyway. The rest is just vague outlines and random notes.
Don't worry though, I'm still going to update Wishing For You, but I feel I need a brake from just pouring my soul into one story. I will get bored that way and will never get to finish it!
Anyway, enough of the rambling! I hope you enjoy the story.
Chapter One
Not so simple
Sakura had always thought that when faced with a rather difficult situation, she would tackle and overcome it with a calm attitude and a level-headedness that would make Ghandi whistle in appreciation. But, of course, that only applied to certain situations that had a light shining brightly at the end of a very short tunnel.
Sakura would have bet that not even Ghandi would have got out of this one without at least stomping on someone's foot in frustration. Or maybe bite their kneecaps off. Either way, it was all good.
"You're not going Sakura, and that is final."
"But Oto-san-"
"I won't hear another word of it. There will be no buts Sakura, I will not have my only daughter parade around in front of all those boys-"
"I think you're missing the point of all of this, Otou-san" Sakura Kinomoto said in exasperation, her hands flung up in the air dramatically. Her bright emerald eyes sparkled with so much vitality that Fujitaka was struck with the image of her mother, Nadeshiko. Those eyes were Nadeshikos as well as her flawless skin and innocent smile. Her long auburn hair was more the colour of his then his dead wife, as well as her tanned colour. His thoughts made his heart tighten with longing but he wouldn't cry. He had promised a long time ago he would never cry for her.
He sat at his desk in his study with a folded newspaper on his lap, forgotten since his daughter had whirled in like a tornado, not bothering to knock. He ran a hand through his light brown hair, closing his chocolate eyes and sighing tiredly.
"Oh come on Otou-san!" she pleaded, her eyes going impossibly wide. Oh God. Not the puppy dog eyes. Anything but that. "The Magic Academy is THE leading magic school in the country with an international reputation for excellence in all its field of studies-"
"I have read the prospectus for the academy, Sakura. I know what the recommendations are."
"-And it's a castle! A beautiful gothic castle among rolling green hills, the most beautiful countryside and fresh water lakes!"
"May I remind you Sakura, that this is also an all-boy boarding school."
Sakura blinked. "Yes. Well, a minor complication, I admit. But something that can easily be overcome with forward planning."
Fujitaka's eyebrow was beginning to twitch. "A minor problem?" he almost chocked.
"Don't worry, Otou-san. For any other girl, it would be a huge obstacle. But for monster here, it will be no trouble at all. She burps and eats like a guy." Her brother, Touya, was leaning casually against the doorframe, a smirk spreading across his face.
Sakura whirled around and fixed her smirking brother with a death glare. "Stay out of this, Touya!" she growled.
"I'm only being concerned for my little sister. There's no harm in that, is there?" he said innocently. "After all, you will be sleeping in the same dorm with boys, changing in the locker rooms with them, showering…"
"You're not helping, Toya."
Fujitaka's eye was now twitching. "I made up my mind. You're not going."
Sakura groaned. "I will not be changing with them, there are stalls you know. And I already checked out the showering problem and they have separate cubicles. There are ways getting around it." Fujitaka still didn't look too convinced, but he was wavering. Sakura decided it was now or never. "Please, Otou-san. You know this is the best magic school. The boarding school for girls have the worst facilities, only train for defence and they squander the student's talent. If I can go to this school, I will be able to make something of myself. Be somebody. Please?"
Fujitaka took minutes to think, and they felt like an eternity to Sakura. This was it. What she had been hoping and dreaming for. A real education in the fine art of magic, something with which she had been born with. Magic was a thing you inherited. It was not something, which you can pick up. You either have it or you don't. The academy takes on magic users and cultivates and trains students in controlling the power and using it for good uses.
"Okay, Sakura. You can go. But on one condition."
Sakura stopped her victory dance and turned to her father. "What is that?"
"You won't kiss any of the boys."
"Phweeee!" Sakura face faulted.
The Clow Academy for high magic learning was a school for the high achievers. It was a school that only the privileged boys were admitted to. One might call it a form of discrimination, but once you got onto the school grounds, then you might finally understand the need for such action.
Spanning an impressive thousand-acre land space, the Gothic castle with its tall towers graced the lavish surroundings. It was not too far from the rest of civilisation but it still gave the teachers and its pupils the sense of a world disconnected from reality, a world that was specifically shaped or them and their needs.
A beautiful lake graced the surrounding area and the vast forest completed the rolling countryside. There was a grand stable that housed over 200 horses, as well as a huge Olympic sized swimming pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, football/rugby pitches, shooting ranges and most important of all (which made the Clow Academy so prestigious and unique from the rest of its kind), the training field where magic is to be used and neutered.
The headmaster of Clow Academy, Clow Reed, stood and stared out of his ornate windows of his office at his school grounds and smiled. He had been the headmaster of this school since it was founded and never before in all his life has he ever come across an applicant such as…this one.
He looked at the applicant in his mind, skimming over the details for what would be the hundredth time:
Name: Kinomoto Saku
(A/N: Sorry about an author's note in the middle, but it needs to be said. Saku is both female/male name which I picked because it is obviously close to Sakura's name.)
Age: 16
Ability: mage
Weapon of choice: Mage Staff
Kinomoto…
Clow Reed looked up again with a thoughtful expression. He knew the Kinomoto family, at least vaguely. Nadeshiko was a brilliant healer in her time. Now that he thought about it, he knew she had married Fujitaka and had given him two children. A boy and a girl.
The boy was too old to apply, so that left the girl…
Clow Reed smiled again.
"I have to hand it to you, you have some guts." He murmured. "And for that, I will accept you…Sakura…"
To Be Continued…
So, what do you think? This is certainly something different, which may or may not be a success but i just had to try it!
Please review, you know you want to! The little purple button in the bottom left of the screen is crying out for you to click on it!