Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Loving a Stranger ❯ 3. Going to the Beach ( Chapter 3 )

Loving a Stranger

Summary: The gang gets transferred to one of the top high schools in the U.S., Lowell High School, in the great San Francisco of California; however, Sakura and Syaoran never met. What happens after several `chats' between `PeTiTe ChErRi' and `playful wolf'? S&S, E&T

Sakura & Tomoyo - 17 years old

Syaoran & Eriol - 18 years old

"…" Speech

`…' Thoughts

~…~ Scene/Time change

Italics Instant messages

Bold Phone conversation

>…< Dream

Italics Songs… (centered)

AIM:

PeTiTe ChErRi Sakura Kinomoto

Playful Wolf Syaoran Li

Sexy Hottie Tomoyo Daidouji

Babe Magnet Eriol Hiirigizawa

Chapter 3: Going to the Beach

After wandering around the mall for three hours, Sakura and Tomoyo finally allowed Eriol to eat. Eriol sighed in relief, quickly finding a table for six at the food court and setting down the many heavy shopping bags filled with clothing, jewelry, and other accessories.

"What's good to eat here?" Sakura asked, curious, looking from stand to stand at the different types of food.

"Hmm…" Tomoyo looked around too, then stopped, spotting a Japanese restaurant. "Hey! Sushi!" she exclaimed.

Sakura turned around to look at the food stand that Tomoyo pointed at.

"Yeah, it's sushi alright, but it's very expensive," Eriol said at the sound of Tomoyo.

"Aww…" Tomoyo sighed. "I guess it was too good to be true…"

"Hey, don't look down." Eriol tried to comfort her. "Think of this as a time to experience new things… Try some food that isn't Japanese… How about that one?" He pointed randomly at a stand.

"`Panda Express'?" Tomoyo asked and received a nod of confirmation from Eriol. "Um… sure… It's Chinese food, right?"

"Yup… Unless you don't want Chinese…" Without waiting for a response, he continued, "How about something American? We can always get something-"

"Uh, it's okay. Chinese is fine by me. Sakura?"

"Huh? Oh, Chinese sounds good."

"Great! Let's go then!"

Eriol took the lead, while Sakura and Tomoyo followed, leaving their shopping bags guard of their table.

After ordering, each returned to his or her rightful seat. The trio sat without talking, each immersed in his or her own thoughts, and soon started eating.

`Hmm… I wonder who that guy was…' Sakura resumed her earlier thoughts, slowing putting food into her mouth. `Mmm… This is good orange chicken! I ought to get the recipe!'

Tomoyo glanced at her food, stabbing her fork into some broccoli. `Hey, this is good! Maybe I should order some for lunch tomorrow.' She finished chewing and swallowed, still thinking about food.

Eriol played around with his food, noticing that the two girls weren't really paying attention to what they were doing. `Hm… I wonder what they're thinking about… They look so out of focus… Goodness, what is Sakura trying to get?' he wondered, watching Sakura stab at the table. "Um… Sakura? What are you doing?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Sakura looked at him. "Huh?" Then she noticed where she was stabbing. "Oh, uh… Hehe… My bad… I didn't notice…" She quickly moved her fork over her chicken then continued to do the mechanical movement of stabbing something, putting it in her mouth, chewing it, and finally swallowing it, going back to her thoughts.

Eriol sighed, then turned over to Tomoyo, who was just staring off into space, without even attempting to get food into herself. "Tomoyo, aren't you hungry?" he asked worriedly. When he didn't get an answer, he lightly tapped her on the arm and repeated his question.

"Eh… Not really, I guess," she said, glancing at her barely-eaten food. "Don't worry about me… I'm okay."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Really, I'm okay, I promise, okay?" she asked. Still seeing his face of disbelief, she started shoving food into her mouth at record speed. In a minute, she had cleaned her plate; then she turned back to Eriol and found him gaping at her. "…What? …I thought you wanted me to eat…"

"Yeah… but not fast enough for you to choke on yourself…"

"I would not…" she said indignantly and turned to Sakura and asked, "Ready to go?"

Sakura smiled cheerfully and finished the rest of her meal quickly. "Yup."

The three friends rose and threw away their used plates. They headed outside to Tomoyo's pale violet car, into which all the shopping bags were thrown.

"Hey, Sakura, do you mind if Tomoyo rode with me?" Eriol asked, gesturing at the blue Hummer he had given them a ride in the day before.

"No problem." Sakura walked towards Tomoyo's car but turned around to the ready-to-leave couple, asking for the car keys.

"Oops… I forgot to give you the keys… Here you go." Tomoyo handed her a pair of keys with a blue, crescent moon keychain on it.

"Hey, I didn't know you had that keychain…" Sakura said, examining the keychain on which were the words `Eriol & Tomoyo' written in a silver lined heart.

"Oh, that? Eriol gave it to me yesterday."
"I see… It's so cute, just like the two of you!" Sakura exclaimed. She watched her friends blush and thought they were the two most luckiest people in the world. "Anyway, where to next?"

"It's a surprise!!" Tomoyo said, eyes twinkling. "Just follow Eriol's car and you'll see."

"Eh…?" Sakura blinked in confusion. `What is she talking about? What's a surprise?' "Um… okay, I guess…" she said, looking from the grinning Eriol to the starry-eyed Tomoyo.

~ Eriol & Tomoyo ~

"What do you think of my plan?" Tomoyo asked Eriol once they settled down in his car.

"Marvelous! Only you could think of a scheme like that, dear matchmaker." He grinned, starting the engine. Looking in his rear view mirror, Eriol spotted Sakura in Tomoyo's car waiting for him to lead at a curb.

"Ohohohohohoho…"

Eriol sweat dropped, but being used to Tomoyo's endless matchmaking schemes for Sakura, he shrugged it off and started driving, starting a conversation with the silent Tomoyo.

~ Sakura ~

`Hmm… Wonder where we're going…' Sakura mused over possible places. `A movie? …Or maybe, we're going to another shopping mall? - Wait a minute… Naw, scratch that last thought… We just bought enough clothes for over a week, and by that time, Tomoyo would've finished making quite a few sets of clothing… Hmm… Unless we're going to get the materials and such to make clothes…? Oh forget it… I'll just wait and see… This is giving me a headache.'

She reached over to her CD case and brought out a random disk, sticking it into the CD-drive. Japanese pop music blasted out from the stereo.

"Oh I just LOVE this song!" she said as the popular Korean singer BoA sang `Every Heart' in Japanese. Sakura turned the stereo louder and put the song on `repeat.' Then she started singing along with the CD, lightly tapping her fingers on the wheel to the beat of the music. Her voice blended with the singer's as if the two girls shared the same voice.

Ikutsu namida o nagashitara

EVERY HEART sunao ni nareru darou

dareni omoi o tsutaetara

EVERY HEART kokoro mita sareruno darou

Nagai nagai yoru ni obieteita

tooi hoshi ni inotteta

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

bokutachi wa ai o sagashiteiru

tsuyoku tsuyoku naritai kara

kyou mo takai sora miageteiru

During the short break in the song, Sakura looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Rows of houses were lined up together, each with its small green lawn in the front. Several people were walking along the streets, chatting with each other, and all were headed in one direction. Sakura ignored the catcalls she received from some of the guys that hung in groups around at the curbs. A couple of them stared at her, practically drooling, while a few guys just grinned at her, beckoning her to stop the car and go over to them. Inside she was scared that one of them might run up to the car and harass her, so she speeded up to drive at 35 mph in a 25-mph zone. She tried to calm down by continuing with the song, which had repeated once already and played again the music interlude she was listening to when she decided to look outside the car. She continued singing, a little shakily at first, but soon getting a control of her voice, singing with her soul.

Donna egao ni deaetara

EVERY HEART yume ni fumidaseru no

hito wa hanashimi no mukou ni

EVERY HEART shiawase ukabete nemuru

Itsuka itsuka subete no tamashii ga

yasuraka ni nareru youni

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

bokutachi wa ikite nanika o shiru

toki ni warai sukoshi naite

kyou mo mada aruki tsuzukete yuku

Osanai kioku no katasumi ni

atataka na bashou ga aro SO SWEET

hoshitachi ga hanasu mirai wa

itsumo kagayaiteita SO SHINE

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

bokutachi wa ai o sagashiteiru

tsuyoku tsuyoku naritai kara

kyou mo takai sora miageteiru

Meguru meguru toki no naka de

bokutachi wa ikite nanika o shiru

toki ni warai sukoshi naite

kyou mo mada aruki tsuzukete yuku

As the song repeated, Sakura started singing again, her melodious voice flowing out the car, whose windows she rolled down once she was past those creepy guys she saw earlier.

Unknown to her, a pair of amber eyes were looking in her direction, listening to her sing, mesmerized. However, he didn't have the same lusty stare the earlier guys had; instead, he had a soft, warm gaze, gently looking at the girl, who had no idea she was being stared at. His face was slightly tinted pink as he followed the girl that drove on, not noticing that a figure followed her car.

When Sakura rounded the next corner, she got a glimpse of the beauty that awaited her. She gasped, not knowing what to say. Then she noticed that Eriol had pulled into a parking space and that he and Tomoyo got out, waving at her. She quickly parked her car and got out too.

A messy, chestnut-haired boy with warm chocolate eyes peeked out from behind a building, watching the three greet each other. `So she's friends with Hiirigizawa…' He wrinkled his eyebrows at the thought of that name in disgust. He wore a dark green shirt and a long pair of black shorts, allowing him almost to blend entirely with the darkness.

Quickly the boy turned away, seeking refuge from the shade of the building, as a pair of blue eyes swept their way at the buildings, sensing someone was there. `Hmm… I'm sure I saw something there at first…' he thought, confused.

"Eriol! Let's go! I wanna actually go to the waters!" Tomoyo cried out, breaking the boy's thoughts.

"Okay, okay…" he said, slightly adjusting his glasses to make sure nothing was wrong with them. When he looked for the girls again, they were already ten feet away from him, going even further towards the roaring waves. With the wind blowing at his face, he ran through the sand to catch up with the girls.

Tomoyo turned around to see Eriol running towards her and Sakura at a sprint, then whispered something to Sakura, giggling. The other girl nodded, eyes filled with mischief. "On the count of three… THREE!" Tomoyo yelled, running faster towards the water with Sakura, who was alongside her, also giggling.

Upon reaching the waters, the girls sat facing the open ocean, watching the receding waves and waiting for Eriol to come so they could finish their clever plan.

Eriol finally got to where the girls sat, panting a little. "Phew… I thought - that… I - thought… that you - were gonna - wait -"

Eriol didn't get a chance to finish his broken-up sentence. Tomoyo turned around suddenly, splashing two hands full of water onto his face and clothes. Sakura threw a fist full of water onto his hair, laughing. Sakura tried to stand straight but couldn't and ended up on the sand, rolling from laughter, but still trying to get the boy more wet.

Eriol stood, dripping from head to toe, covered with water that the girls just kept splashing at him and his poor clothes, in less than a minute since he had reached the girls. He was stiff cold from the wetness of his shirt, which clung to his skin. His glasses had spots of water all over it.

Afterwards, Tomoyo looked at her `masterpiece' and burst into a fit of giggles. "I'm sorry…" -She laughed- "I didn't… HAHAHAHA… I just can't…. hahaha… can't help it!!" She gave up trying to talk and just let herself laugh until her stomach hurt, causing her to hold her stomach area.

Sakura joined her best friend in a burst of laughter, not being able to contain herself either. "Man… Eriol… you look… haha… you look so WET!!! AHAHAHAHA…."

Eriol stared at the two girls through his still wet glasses, wondering what set them off while he was still standing there, soaking wet. Then he burst out laughing.

At the sound of his laughter, the girls stopped, surprised. "What's so funny?" Tomoyo asked, narrowing her eyes, suspicious.

"Oh… haha… Nothing." Eriol laughed uncontrollably, like a maniac. He moved down to scoop some water, pretending that he was laughing so hard that he had to drop to the floor. "It's just-" He quickly lunged the hand full of water at the two girls. "AHAHAHAHA…"

The two girls screamed, trying to flee, as the now raging blue-haired psychotic boy continued flinging water at them until they were just as soaked as he was.

"Now who's laughing, huh?" Eriol asked in a superior tone, smirking.

The girls glared at him, then turned to look at each other when each burst into laughter again. They both started talking at once.

"Tomoyo-"

"Sakura!"

"You're so-"

"WET!"

Eriol looked at the two surprised girls and laughed along with them. His sapphire eyes sparkled with amusement in the sunlight. Then he continued the water fight, which was now every person for him- or herself.

~ Somewhere else on the beach ~

Hidden with only his head sticking out on top of the wall that separated the parking lot from Ocean Beach, a boy stared at the three friends, wondering how they could be so childish, blushing whenever his eyes wandered over an auburn-haired girl in the distance. `She's so beautiful…' When the same searching pair of blue eyes narrowed towards his direction, the boy turned around and started walking away until he was sure he wasn't being stared at by anyone anymore.

~ Back to the water's edge ~

"Okay guys, I'm tired," Sakura said, still gasping for breath, trying to replenish the lack of air from laughing so hard. "I think I'm going to walk along the beach."

Two heads turned instantly towards her.

"You want company?" Tomoyo asked, even though she didn't really want to leave Eriol.

Sakura shook her head knowingly. "Naw, it's okay… Don't worry I'm just going to walk around on this beach. Nothing's gonna happen… I'll meet you here later okay? Any problems, you got my cell number." She walked off, looking at the various shapes the clouds formed.

~ Somewhere else ~

`Hey! She's going somewhere! Now's my chance!'

~ Sakura ~

Sakura hummed the melody of the song `Every Heart.' She gaped at the nearby scenery, admiring the beauty of mother nature.

"Wow… It's so beautiful…" She gasped in awe as she saw that the sun was ready to set and the sky started changing colors.

"Yeah, it is beautiful, isn't it?" a voice asked from behind her.

Not having noticed footsteps earlier, Sakura turned around, startled. "Um… do I know you?" she asked, unsure of what to be doing since technically speaking he was a stranger, but something about him seems to say that he's not a bad guy.

"Um… no…" He blushed slightly. "Not exactly…"

"Huh? What do you mean `not exactly'?" Sakura thought out loud, a very confused expression on her face. She had already forgotten about the incident she had witnessed earlier at the mall. She tried hard to understand what he meant but gave up, looking at him to find a pair of intense amber eyes seemingly piercing into her.

"What'd you say?"

"Did I say something?" Sakura flushed slightly, embarrassed that she said what she did earlier. `Darn it! Now I look stupid!'

He stared at her, marveling at her beauty. `Wow, she looks cute even when she's embarrassed… Whoa! Where did that thought come from??' He whacked himself on the head mentally. `Good thing it didn't come out of my mouth…. Whew… Good save… Note to self: Keep mouth shut when thinking.'

"Hey, you look familiar!" Sakura said all of a sudden.

"What?" Syaoran said, all concentration on his thoughts lost when the sweet voice besides him repeated what she had said. "Um…" `…She doesn't remember me!' he thought excitedly. `That means I might have a chance with her! …Oh my god… WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?!?! Why do I have all these THOUGHTS?' He kept his facial expression as normal-looking as possible, while deep inside he was frantic. His heart beat faster than usual and his breaths were short and shallow. He quickly tried a breathing exercise he learned in PE class a long time ago. `Breathe, Syaoran… Breathe in… Breathe out… In… Out…' Slowly, his breath grew longer and less ragged.

"Um… are you okay?" Sakura asked, a bit worried as the silence lengthened. The boy standing in front of her seemed as frantic as a rabbit caught in the headlight of a car, although he kept his face neutral. Trying to loosen up the awkward mood, she asked another question. "Hey, how do you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked, confused.

"Keep such a tight control of your facial expression… I've never seen anyone with so much self-control. What are you so nervous about?" She looked into his eyes, her emerald eyes bold and challenging, as if daring him to lie.

"Uh… umm… I - uh…" he stuttered at first, still trying to get a hold of himself.

Suddenly Sakura gasped, looking over the waters at the setting sun whose rays tinted the sky with a multitude of colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and even a little bit purple. "It's so beautiful… It seems like every color of the rainbow is there…" she said in a hushed voice.

Syaoran, glad for this diversion, turned his head towards the setting sun that was almost halfway down the sky, as if descending straight into the ocean. "You're so observant…"

"It's kirei… I wish I could see this every night… Maybe I could even watch the sun rise…" she said quietly, watching as the sun went further down, bringing the different colors with it towards the waters.

`She's so beautiful… especially now… such beauty could only belong to an angel… Okay, that's it! Another slap!' Syaoran gave himself another mental slap and a mental kick just to give himself a warning in case he thought of something else this absurd. He stared at Sakura rather than the sunset, knowing very well what she was talking about but when he agreed with her, unknown to the naïve girl, he was referring to her.

The sun finally was covered by the edge of the surface of the water, which rippled as if the sun sank into its watery depths.

Sakura still looked far and beyond, knowing she wouldn't see the sun anymore that day. She fixed her gaze on the slowly fading colors that the sun created with its departure for the night. A while later a light-colored velvety blue enveloped the area where the sun was a few minutes ago. The sunset was complete and tiny stars started appearing on the east, unknown to the two who were still staring at the waters.

A silence resumed, only to be interrupted by the occasional roar of the waves. As the water edged closer, Syaoran backed away, while Sakura edged closer, daring herself to go as close as she could to the water before getting wet.

"Hey I have an idea! Why don't you come back here to watch the sunset tomorrow again?" Syaoran said out of the blue, hoping that she'd say yes.

"I don't know…" Sakura mumbled. "I'd have to ask Tomoyo first… Then I gotta make sure I'm not here alone when it's all dark."

The sky around them slowly changed colors, turning from a sky-blue to a darker, more mysterious blue.

"I can come with you… if you want, that is," Syaoran offered.

"Um… I'm not sure… I'd still have to check with Tomoyo…" Sakura doubted Tomoyo would let her watch a sunset every night with a stranger. `Wait a minute… He is a stranger! I mean, sure he may look familiar… but I don't even know where I have seen him before, much less what his name is!'

Syaoran tried not to look too disappointed. "Well, if you ever decide to come down here again to watch the sunset, I'll be here… Just so you know…" He turned and started to walk away.

Sakura's innocence got the best of her. She quickly caught his arm and spun him around. First he looked startled, but then his expression changed to one of disappointment again.

When Sakura saw how disappointed he looked all of a second, she tried to cheer him up. "Oh come on… You won't even miss me with such a beautiful sight right in front of you!"

`Right… a beautiful sight… right in front of me… Oh man… This had better stop by the end of today… I just can't stand it! Dude, cut it out!!' Syaoran scolded himself.

The melody from the song `Yoru no Uta' came out from a purse hanging on Sakura's shoulder. "Hmm… I wonder who it is…" Sakura looked at the screen of her cell phone and quickly answered the phone. "Moshi moshi. Sakura speaking… Tomoyo! I knew that I knew that number… Uh-huh… Yeah… Of course I'm not by myself… Tomoyo! You know I wouldn't do that! …Okay… I'll see you in a few minutes, okay? I just gotta walk back… Ja!" She hung up and put her phone back into her purse, then noticed that the boy was still there. "Oh, sorry, I gotta go… My friend's waiting for me… Um… Would you like to come?"

Syaoran didn't respond. He wanted to but couldn't be seen with her, especially not when Hiirigizawa was going to be there. "No thanks… I'll take a rain check, if you don't mind…" he trailed off. "I gotta get going anyhow… So, I'll see you here sometime? Maybe?"

"Yeah, maybe," Sakura said cheerfully.

With a quick wave of goodbye, Syaoran walked away, soon blending in with the darkness that came with the sparkling stars up in the sky.

After the mysterious, friendly boy left, Sakura mentally kicked herself. `Wait a minute… I still don't know his name! Oh gosh… Why didn't I ask before he left?' Then she checked her watch. `Oh no… I told Tomoyo I'd be there in a few minutes…'

Sakura dashed off at a sprint.

~ Tomoyo & Eriol ~

Tomoyo tapped her feet impatiently. "Where is she? She was supposed to be here a LONG time ago!" she yelled.

Eriol, next to Tomoyo, shrank back unconsciously, but when he noticed his sudden movement, he stepped closer to her, draping his arms around her shoulders. "Now dear, maybe Sakura was detained for a good reason. At least wait until she's here to get all the facts before you get upset."

Tomoyo looked at Eriol. "You really think so?"

He nodded affirmative, with a secretive smile.

"Hm… You could actually be right… She is late a lot…" She considered the possibilities and agreed with him. "Eriol, you're the best!" She grinned.

Footsteps drew closer to the couple.

Tomoyo turned. "Sakura! There you are! Do you know how long we've been waiting?!?" She used the third-degree, throwing a copious amount of questions, on the panting Sakura.

Sakura tried to catch her breath. "Sorry - *gasp* - Tomoyo… I was - I was preoccupied…"

Eriol felt sorry for Sakura, so he interrupted her. "I'm hungry," he said lamely.

Tomoyo, in the midst of her ranting, stopped speaking when she heard him and gave him an odd look that said what-are-you-talking-about. Sakura, in control of her breathing, saw the look Tomoyo gave and cracked up, causing Tomoyo to turn to glare at her.

Sakura chuckled nervously, then said, "Um… I'm kinda hungry too…"

Tomoyo kept her eyes on Sakura in a fixed glare, until her own stomach growled in protest for the lack of food. Then she looked down sheepishly and suggested for the three of them to go eat.

"Okay… Where to?" Eriol asked the girls.

Tomoyo answered his question with one of her own questions. "What do you recommend?"

"Uh… Depends… What kind of food are you hungry for?"

"Okay well we already had Chinese, twice… So how about something American?" Tomoyo tried to think of the specifics but couldn't so she just stopped talking, letting Eriol come up with something.

"Well, we could try Italian, Spanish, French, or Mexican… Whatever suits you." Eriol grinned, thinking how cute Tomoyo looked as she scrunched up her eyebrows in concentration.

"Hmm… How about Mexican? That sounds fun… Sakura?"

Two pairs of eyes turned in the direction of the auburn-haired girl whose face seemed glued to her feet.

When Sakura felt the questioning eyes on her, she looked up. Her confusion was shown not only in her eyes but also in her voice as she said, "Huh?"

Tomoyo laughed at her friend's reaction.

Eriol repeated Tomoyo's question. "Would you like some Mexican food, Sakura?"

Poor Sakura blushed slightly, glad that they were in the dark. She shuffled her feet self-consciously. "Uh, sure…"

Eriol got into his car. "Tomoyo, are you gonna join me?" he asked, slightly pointing at the seat next to the driver's seat.

Tomoyo glanced at Sakura, who nodded in support and started walking to the other car. "Okay." She climbed into Eriol's car and started to talk with him.

~ Sakura ~

With Tomoyo yet again in Eriol's car, Sakura started the engine in Tomoyo's car. `Ah… All alone… again…' She looked up at the velvet-black sky to see millions of tiny lights twinkling above her head. "Wow… They're so beautiful…" she murmured in a hushed voice.

When Sakura heard another engine revving, she assumed it was Eriol's car so she turned her head back to the road and started to pull out of the parking lot. She turned on her headlights only to find that the only car on the road was hers and several parked cars. The smoke of a bonfire in the distance floated high up into the sky, making that part of the beach smell like burned charcoal. Unsure of what to do, she parked her car again.

A little scared, Sakura got out her cell phone to call Tomoyo, grateful that the light of her phone lighted up the keys too. Slowly punching in the numbers, she wondered if Eriol and Tomoyo had already left.

While she waited for Tomoyo to pick up, Sakura scanned the road again, only to see darkness. Sakura rolled down the windows to feel a fresh, crisp ocean breeze float into the car.

After three rings, Tomoyo's voicemail popped up: Moshi moshi. I'm not here right now. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you. Arigatou gozaimasu!

*Click*

Sakura sighed and ended the call. `Maybe Eriol's phone is on!'

Hopefully, Sakura dialed his number, only to be greeted by his voicemail: Hey, I am currently unavailable. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you ASAP.

`Oh you guys… Where are you?' Deciding that it wasn't safe for her to drive anywhere in the dark, especially with no knowledge whatsoever of the streets and her whereabouts, Sakura turned off the engine to save energy. `What am I going to do…?' she thought desperately. `Must stay calm… Must stay calm… But how…? Music!! That's it… Yeah… Music…'

Sakura turned on the engine, switched CDs, and kept the power on while turning the engine off again.

Soft Korean music flowed throughout the car and out the open window. Again the singer was the Korean pop star, BoA.

Although Sakura didn't understand the meaning of the words, she had heard this song enough times to have memorized the lyrics. The soft piano music blended with the words in perfect harmony. Sakura closed her eyes, relaxing enough to the music that she soon sang along with the words.

Uri orma maningayo cham oren shigani hulloneyo

We jaku ne mami aphun gonji

We guri apha hanayo hogshirado himdun il issonayo

We amumar haji anhanayo

Jigum inde gude aphinde

Marheya hanunde naui maumur

Oren shigan guderur hyanghan

Girodon gidarimur

Babogathjyo hangsang gurejyo

Gure ya hejyo guder wiheso

Sarangheyo yojonhi gamsaheyo

We nar jabji anhanayo we amugodo mudji anhanayo

Gude obnun nega goenchanhur god gathnayo

Jigum inde gude aphinde

Marheya hanunde naui maumur

Oren shigan guderur hyanghan

Girodon gidarimur

Babogathjyo hangsang gurejyo

Gure ya hejyo guder wiheso

Sarangheyo yojonhi gamsaheyo

Na argo issoyo

Nega gudege

Majimag hanaji hejursu inun goshi

Ibyorpuniranun god

Ijesoya kedarun naui

Mojaran sarangur yongsohe jwoyo

Sarangheyo yojonhi gamsaheyo

Sarangheyo imari hago shiphojyo

Sarangheyo

Sakura finished the song, feeling much more relaxed as the soothing sound calmed her nerves. As the song was about to repeat itself, Sakura wondered if she heard a voice.

"Who's there?" she said nervously, quickly opening her eyes to welcome herself back into the darkness. Her heartbeat increased its pounding with more speed and pressure.

When she heard the waves pounding on the rocks in the distance, she remembered that she was still at the beach, being able to reach neither Tomoyo nor Eriol.

Then she heard something again. She quickly turned on the headlights and the lights inside her car and looked around once more.

Sakura gasped as a burly face grinned sinisterly at her. She tried to roll her windows up, forgetting that her engine was off. When a pair of rough hands reached inside the car, she screamed.

Closing her eyes tightly, Sakura yelled for help as loudly as she could. `Please… Don't let me die…' she prayed, tears glistening underneath her eyelids.

"Now, now, now… What a pretty little thing we have here…" a man's voice said. "Didn't your mom ever tell you not to stay out late at night?"

Sakura didn't dare open her eyes but she kept screaming. "No! Please… Don't!!" She tried to move to the other side of the car but somebody's hands were already grabbing onto her hands, immobilizing her.

"Don't yell!" the same voice boomed into the car.

Sakura cringed, afraid of what was to come, but soon realized that all her screaming did no good, so she stopped. She tried to cover herself as well as she could with the two strong, rough hands on her arms. "Please no… God… Somebody… Anybody… help me…" she murmured.

"HEY! LET GO OF HER!" an authoritative voice came through the shadows.

The burly-faced man turned around to find the owner of the voice. "What? What did you say? How dare you?" He tried to find the person but no matter how much he twisted or turned, he couldn't. "Where are you?" he growled. "Come out into the light and fight like a man!"

"I said… let go of her!" the cold voice repeated, enunciating each word separately, in a stone-like fashion.

The man holding onto Sakura tried to taunt the hidden figure. "Oh, so now you're chicken? And you still insist on me letting go of this cutie?" He laughed nastily. "Uh, no, I don't think so. Keep on dreaming."

Footsteps echoed nearby. A chestnut-haired boy appeared out of the shadows. "Didn't you hear me, you ugly, fat slimeball? LET GO OF HER, NOW!!" His warm amber eyes were now burning with anger that such a creep was touching the girl, with the beautiful voice, whom he had met earlier.

The older man laughed. "And what are you gonna do if I don't? Huh?" he taunted the skinnier, younger boy, who got into a fighting stance. "Haha… Do you really think that YOU, a mere boy, could defeat ME?" His harsh laugh surrounded the car and the two males.

`Ugh… He is so sick…' Syaoran thought. Suddenly he snickered.

"What are you snickering about?" The other man stopped his laughing, looking angry that the boy hadn't cringed or backed off when he saw him.

"Well if you don't think I could beat you… Why don't we have a bet?" Syaoran looked at Sakura. "How about this: winner takes the girl?"

The older man smirked. "And why would I accept that bet? I already have her, don't I?"

Sakura opened her eyes, suddenly aware that someone was defending her, and gasped when she saw a face she recognized. "It's you!" she exclaimed warily but received no response. `Why is he challenging him? The other guy is definitely bigger…' She was about to warn Syaoran when she heard what he had to say.

"Well if you don't accept, then I guess I win. She's mine." The older man stepped backwards and cringed when Syaoran gave him his famous death-glare. "What? Are you scared of little old me?" he said mockingly, anger still showing in his eyes.

The other guy was flushed but tried to stand up taller. "Of you? Course not. Fine, you're on! Winner takes the girl."

Sakura looked worriedly at Syaoran. `Kami-sama, please, don't let him get hurt…' she prayed. She opened her eyes after the quick prayer and tried to watch the fight.

The older man had let go of Sakura and walked around on an invisible circle, opposite Syaoran's side. "Before we begin, I'd just like to say that I'm Jack. And after this, you'll know not to ever mess with ME again."

Sakura picked up her cell phone, which she had dropped earlier, to dial 911, only to find that her batteries had gone dead. "Oh great… Just my luck…" She turned to observe the fight, rolling up her window halfway. `Okay… Just in case anything happens, I'll just start my car and try to get my hero in here… Then I'll drive away! Good… Great plan, Sakura! But how am I gonna do that-"

A punch and a yell interrupted Sakura's thoughts. She looked to see what had happened. The man who called himself "Jack" had some blood running out of his nose.

"That was just a lucky hit…" Jack said, sneering as well as he could.

Syaoran chuckled. "Well they say cowards just can't admit defeat-" He dodged the punch and the kick that Jack sent in his direction, returning a kick at Jack to hit him squarely in the stomach. Jack groaned and tottered backwards. "-Are you sure you can do this? I mean… just LOOK at you… Haha…"

Sakura cheered for Syaoran when he hit Jack. "Way to go!" she said merrily.

Jack growled. "Shut up, slut!"

Sakura cringed a little at his harsh words but kept cheering for Syaoran anyway.

Jack got so angry at being beaten by a mere BOY and at being laughed at by a GIRL that he lunged at the car.

"Nu-uh-uh…" Syaoran grabbed onto Jack's arm, threw him towards the beach breathlessly, and shook his head as if disappointed. "Jack, dear, don't you have any respect for the beautiful lady?" he asked mockingly, watching as his opponent's face grew crimson red. Syaoran winked at Sakura, as if to reassure her.

Sakura blushed slightly at the comment and the wink.

Syaoran smiled warmly at her, not paying attention to the huge man behind him who was getting up slowly.

"Watch out!" Sakura shouted.

Syaoran turned around, quick as a lightning, and spin-kicked Jack first in the face then in the groin.

Jack doubled back, covering himself. He had a bloody face with a black eye and bruised chin. His sticky hair was covered in sweat, clinging onto his head. He swiped at his face with his sleeve, trying to wipe away the blood but failing to do so. He tried get up, but fell back on his butt.

Syaoran and Sakura just watched Jack, not wanting to do anything to help the creep.

Jack tried to get up again and tried to stand up on his wobbly feet. Still shaking, he put his hands behind himself, boosting himself off the floor. Using whatever little strength he still had, he got up slowly and shakily. He took one more glance at Syaoran and gave a high-pitched shriek. He turned and ran away from the car as fast as he could, limping.

Once Jack had completely disappeared into the shadows, Syaoran turned back to Sakura. "You okay?"

"Yeah… I can't believe it's you!! How did you know I was here?" Sakura wondered, looking happy but wary.

"Yup…" a deep voice chuckled. "So what are you doing here, alone? I thought you left with your friends."

"Hehe… Yeah… About that… See, it's a funny story…" Sakura giggled as the boy's eyebrows raised in question. "Well, you see, we kinda left late… And it was late… They got in another car. I kinda lost them… Or vice versa, I guess… When I tried calling, neither of them picked up their cell phones… After a while, he showed up… and I kept trying to get help… Then you came!" she beamed at Syaoran. "You're my hero!"

"Haha… I think `hero' is too strong of a word… I just happened to be wandering around the beach, thinking, when I heard someone screaming… When I got here and saw it was you, I just kinda reacted…" He chuckled.

Sakura grinned. "Well it's a good thing you came, or I don't know what I would've gone through! Arigatou!"

"You're welcome-"

"You understand Japanese?" Sakura asked, realizing what she had said.

"Uh… yeah I guess…" Syaoran scratched his head. "I think I went to Japan for elementary school…"

"Oh… Wow…"

"Um… Well I was gonna ask if you know how to get home… You said your friends left you?"
"Yeah…"
"So why didn't you just drive home?"

"Um… Funny thing…"

"Again?" Syaoran asked, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

"Hehe… Yeah? Well… umm… Here's the thing, I'm new here… So, uh, I don't know my way around San Francisco yet…"

"Oh, I see… Well I could drive if you want… I pretty much know this city like my own home."

"Really? Wow, thanks so much!" Sakura got out of the car and went to the seat next to the driver's seat.

Syaoran got in the car and turned on the engine. "So where do you live?"

Sakura gave him her address and thanked him again.

"No problem! I wouldn't want to leave you here to face something like that again..." he said, referring to the earlier incident. Syaoran pulled the car out of the parking lot. "Daijoubu deska?" he asked when Sakura paled a little.

"I'm okay… I'm okay…" Color returned to Sakura's face slowly. "So, um… why were you still on the beach? I thought you left?"

"Oh… I was gonna leave, but then I decided to walk around a little longer before leaving."

"I see…"

"Yeah…"

An uncomfortable silence followed.

Syaoran tried to start a topic. "So how do you like the beach?"

"Well, it's nice… I love the breeze! The wind blowing in my face… That was wonderful!" Sakura's eyes lightened up.

Syaoran agreed. "Sometimes I go there just to think…"

"What do you think about?" Sakura asked, wanting to keep the conversation going.

"Random stuff…" Syaoran tried to remember what he used to go to the beach for. "Sometimes I just go there to relax, when I'm stressed or just preoccupied…"

"Oh… You know, back home, I used to go to this certain park whenever I had something on my mind… I also loved to go to cherry blossom trees around my house…"

"It must have been beautiful…"

"Yeah… But the beach here is kirei too!" Sakura sighed. "I like it here… I don't know… There's just something about the beach that's just so… I don't really know how to explain it… but I'm sure you feel it too."

"So are you planning to come back anytime soon? Maybe to watch the sunset again sometime?" Syaoran asked, hoping she would say "yes".

"I'd have to ask my friend first… But I want to…" She smiled. "Am I gonna see you here?"

"I said I'd be here, didn't I?" Syaoran smiled. "Well, at least when the sun is about to set, I'll get here. I promise."

"And I'll try to get here… Uh… I have a question…" Sakura hesitated.

"Huh? What is it?" Syaoran turned his head slightly, careful to keep an eye on the road while looking at Sakura at the same time.

"Well… you'd consider us friends, right?"

"Yeah… Wouldn't you?" Syaoran asked, still confused.

"Of course! But… Okay, here goes… My question is: What's your name?"

"Um… I didn't tell you?"

Sakura shook her head, turning a little pink.

"Well I don't know what your name is either," Syaoran countered.

"Oh, right… Of course… Interesting that we've been chatting so long and still don't know each other's name, huh?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran blushed a little. "Yeah, I guess it is weird…" He cleared his throat and scratched his head. "Um, hi there… I'm Syaoran." He stretched out a hand, careful to keep the other one on the steering wheel.

Sakura giggled. "And I'm Sakura." She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Syaoran."

"Nice to meet you too, Sakura. Okay, now that that's over with…"

Sakura waited for Syaoran to continue.

"Wait a minute… Doesn't your name mean `cherry blossom' in Japanese?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura nodded. "How did you know?"

Syaoran shrugged. "I learned a lot when I was kid I guess… It's kinda like how I know that a translation of your name into Chinese is `Ying Fa.'"

"`Ying Fa'?" Sakura repeated. She played with different ways to pronounce the name. "I like it… It's very… kirei…"

Syaoran grinned and returned to his own thoughts for a few seconds. Then he noticed that he was at Sakura's house, so he pulled up next to the curb. "Well, here we are."

Sakura looked up. "Wow, I didn't know it was that close to the beach…" she murmured.

"Well now you know." Syaoran smiled a heart-melting smile at Sakura, who blushed, her face as read as a tomato. "Um… well… I gotta get going then…"

Sakura thanked him again and watched him leave. Then she drove Tomoyo's car into the garage.

After parking the car, Sakura took her keys out of her purse, opening the door. "Ahh… Home sweet home…"

"SAKURA!!" a voice popped out of nowhere, making Sakura jump. "WHERE WERE YOU???? Do you know how WORRIED we were????"

Four eyes came into focus when Sakura was able to stand without being frightened again.

"Oh, it's only you, Tomoyo… You scared me!" Sakura sighed.

"Will you explain to us why you disappeared earlier this evening?" Tomoyo asked impatiently, seeking for an answer. Although her impatience showed through her behavior, Tomoyo's eyes held only concern for her friend.

Eriol laid a hand on Tomoyo's shoulders. "Dear, calm down. Let Sakura eat something first. She probably didn't even have dinner yet."
Tomoyo quieted down.

Eriol asked Sakura if she wanted anything to eat, however she refused, saying that she was tired and would like to go rest. He agreed and sent her upstairs to her bedroom.

~ Sakura ~

Sighing, Sakura lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. `I wonder… is that guy online right now? Hmm… I guess I could check before sleeping…'

She walked over to her computer, turned it on, and signed onto AIM. Looking at her buddy list, she found that Eriol and Tomoyo were on. Three chat boxes popped up, one after another.

Babe Magnet: Hey, Sakura, are you okay?

PeTiTe ChErRi: Oh, hey Eriol… Yeah… I'm fine…

Babe Magnet: Are you sure?

PeTiTe ChErRi: Yup. Why wouldn't I be?

Babe Magnet: *raises eyebrow* Are you sure?

PeTiTe ChErRi: Yeah. I'm sure… Why?

Babe Magnet: Just a little worried… You seemed easily scared earlier… What happened?

PeTiTe ChErRi: Look Eriol, I'm kinda tired now… sorry, I wanna go sleep now… but I promise I'll tell you about what happened and stuff later tomorrow, okay?

Babe Magnet: Oh… well, get some rest…

Sexy Hottie: Sakura, sorry about my outburst earlier… But I was worried…

PeTiTe ChErRi: Oh, don't worry about it… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you all worried and stuff… Lots of stuff happened and my phone ran out of batteries… Tell you what, I'll tell you everything tomorrow, over breakfast, okay?

Sexy Hottie: Okay. Deal!

Playful Wolf: Hey there! I thought you'd never show up! What took you so long?

PeTiTe ChErRi: Sorry… I had some roommate trouble earlier…

PeTiTe ChErRi signed off.

Sakura sighed. `There we go! Oh, how grateful I am for the invisible mode! Let's you talk to anyone you wish without everyone else butting in… Unless the other people think that you're actually online… Eh… What am I gonna tell him? Should I tell him what happened today?'

PeTiTe ChErRi: Hehe, hey… I had to go on invisible mode… Don't really feel like talking to a couple of people right now…

Playful Wolf: Aww… would wun of dem b me? *puppy dog eyes*

PeTiTe ChErRi: Course not!

Playful Wolf: wun question: y u typing wit correct grammar n stuff now?

PeTiTe ChErRi: Well my friend caught me typing like this and she was kinda mad… Hehe…

Playful Wolf: hey, dere aint nuthin wrong wit typin lyke dis…

PeTiTe ChErRi: Well she's also my roommate so I kinda gotta keep the peace between the two of us…

Playful Wolf: hows bout this - u kan type wit all da correct grammar n stuff weneva ur frendz around or weneva u chattin 2 ne1 bsides me, aite?

PeTiTe ChErRi: Um… sure I guess…

Playful Wolf: derez my grl! *grins* aite now… tell me, howz ur day? dint stay home all day, didya?

PeTiTe ChErRi: it was… interesting…

Playful Wolf: how so?

PeTiTe ChErRi: well… went to da beach 2day wit sum frendz…

Playful Wolf: uh-huh… n…?

PeTiTe ChErRi: first dere was sum creepy guys lookin at me, but i sped up n left dat place

Playful Wolf: so u drivin alredi?

PeTiTe ChErRi: uh, yeh… newai… afta i got to da beach, i left my frendz to walk a bit… den i met dis guy who talked wit me till da sun set… hez koo

Playful Wolf: icic…

PeTiTe ChErRi: lata we separated… den my frendz accidentally ditched me… makin me lost since im new here…

Playful Wolf: oOo… dat sounds bad… o.O

PeTiTe ChErRi: yeh… n it gets worse! den dis creepy guy started harassin me… till da guy i saw earlier helped me get rid of him… dat guy was relli nyce ^_^

Playful Wolf: oOohh… *chants* somebodys got a crush! *repeats* somebodys got a crush!

PeTiTe ChErRi: o come on!! seriously!!

Playful Wolf: jus look at how ur face is!! ^_^?? u hav a crush on dat guy!!

PeTiTe ChErRi: -_-;; no I dun!! We're jus frenz…

Playful Wolf: suuure u r… *wink, wink*

PeTiTe ChErRi: grr… idiot!!

Playful Wolf: *gasp* did u jus… call ME an IDIOT?!?!

PeTiTe ChErRi: LOL… lovely reaction!!

Playful Wolf: >O hey!!! not funnie…

PeTiTe ChErRi: LMAO… ur reactions r jus… HAHAHAHA…

Playful Wolf: *sniffle, sniffle* u'd jus lemme… *sniffle* cry…?

PeTiTe ChErRi: yup. MWAHAHAHAHAHA

Playful Wolf: WAAAAAAH… *tears falling everywhere*

PeTiTe ChErRi: ROFL… sorri kant help it… too funni!!

Playful Wolf: *growl* ROAR… b SCARED!!!

PeTiTe ChErRi: i try… yet… i find u too amusin to b scared of u!! LOL

Playful Wolf: n ur punishment is… TYPE WIT GRAMMAR, lil missy!

PeTiTe ChErRi: psh… wuteva… wutcha gonna do i dun? *smirk*

Playful Wolf: imma tell ur ROOMMATE!!! *music plays* DUN DUN DUN!!!

PeTiTe ChErRi: LMAO… fyne im scared, aite? *snickers*

Playful Wolf: normally!!

PeTiTe ChErRi: ok, ok… there… better? *cough* loser *cough*

Playful Wolf: *ahem* i HERD dat!!

PeTiTe ChErRi: HAHAHA… u spelled it wrong!!

Playful Wolf: hey U gotta type correctly, not me… -_-;;

PeTiTe ChErRi: yeah, sure… anyway… i told you about MY day… your turn… how was your day?

Playful Wolf: type informally!!

PeTiTe ChErRi: um. No!

Playful Wolf: plz?

PeTiTe ChErRi: hmm… NO. this is YOUR punishment!!! MWAHAHAHA…

Playful Wolf: humph… FYNE… B DAT WAI…

PeTiTe ChErRi: okie dokes. Now. YOUR day??

Playful Wolf: …

PeTiTe ChErRi: …

Playful Wolf: …

PeTiTe ChErRi: …

Playful Wolf: …

PeTiTe ChErRi: …

Playful Wolf: …

PeTiTe ChErRi: …

Playful Wolf: STOP COPYIN ME!!!

PeTiTe ChErRi: haha… no. …Unless… you tell ME about YOUR day

Playful Wolf: …

PeTiTe ChErRi: …

Playful Wolf: FYNE, FYNE…

PeTiTe ChErRi: so…?

Playful Wolf: woke up. showered. dressed. brushed teeth.

PeTiTe ChErRi: no!! less specific… more about your DAY not morning… >_<

Playful Wolf: well u dint say so

PeTiTe ChErRi: yes i did!

Playful Wolf: went to beach.

PeTiTe ChErRi: really?? which one?

Playful Wolf: ocean beach

PeTiTe ChErRi: hey, i went there too!!

Playful Wolf: hmm… cud u send me a pic of u? i wanna c if i saw u dere…

PeTiTe ChErRi: umm… no… why don't YOU send ME a pic of YOU?

Playful Wolf: if u dun send me, i aint gonna send u…

PeTiTe ChErRi: ok then. continue

Playful Wolf: -_-;; gr8… now i gotta listen 2 a grl…?

PeTiTe ChErRi: yupyup.

Playful Wolf: on da way dere, i herd an angelic voice singing a jap song… i dink… yeah, pretti sure it was jap… newai… so I stopped walking n saw her drive past…

PeTiTe ChErRi: uh-huh… and…?

Playful Wolf: wen i got to da beach, i saw her dere wit her frenz…

PeTiTe ChErRi: did you go up to her?

Playful Wolf: no… sumwun dere dun lyke me… so if i went up, den dere wud've been a bad impression…

PeTiTe ChErRi: ic… so then what?

Playful Wolf: well i waited till she left her frenz… dats wen i met up wit her somewhere along da beach… we talked a bit… watched the sunset… den she had to go so i left too.

PeTiTe ChErRi: uh-huh…

Playful Wolf: l8r at nite, i helped her

PeTiTe ChErRi: how?

Playful Wolf: dere was sum guy dere grabbin at her so I kinda fought him off

PeTiTe ChErRi: wow we've got ourselves a hero here!

Playful Wolf: funni, dats wut she sed too…

PeTiTe ChErRi: haha… you must've been her "knight-in-shining-armor"!! LOL

Playful Wolf: hey… bak off!!

PeTiTe ChErRi: okay… fine… continue

Playful Wolf: i drove her home… YUP.

PeTiTe ChErRi: that's it?

Playful Wolf: YUP

PeTiTe ChErRi: great…

Playful Wolf: >_< HAHA

PeTiTe ChErRi: hey… gtg… tired… but it was great talking to you again!

Playful Wolf: kay…

PeTiTe ChErRi: bye

Playful Wolf: bye

Sakura signed off of AIM, feeling relieved and peaceful. She showered, changed into her sleepwear, and yawned. Still tired, she finally drowned into the world of sleep.

AIM -> English:

Plz - please

Gr8 - great

Gtg - got to go

Glossary:

Kirei - pretty

Ja - bye

Moshi moshi - hello? (used in answering phone calls)

Arigatou gozaimasu - thank you (formal)

Kami-sama - God

Arigatou - thanks (informal)

Daijoubu deska? - are you okay?