Because I Love You. by Shanelle

Chapter One

"Syaoran! Syaoran! SYAORAN!" Sakura called out, running toward him. "Guess what?"
"What?" Syaoran said, he was weeding his garden.
"I won a free trip to Hiede (ha-EE-deh) Land! And it says I can bring three friends! I chose you, Eriol, and Tomoyo."
"Really? That's nice! When do we leave? How long do we stay there?" Syaoran brushed his hands on his pants, straightened up, and then smiled.
"We leave tomorrow! We stay for two weeks." Sakura ran over, and showed Syaoran the tickets. "Here's one for you. I already gave one to Eriol, and one to Tomoyo. See you at the Tomoeda Airport tomorrow." She hugged Syaoran. He blushed like a beet.
"Ah...alright. Ack, so soon? Okay, tomorrow." Sakura started off. "Wait!" Syaoran called out after her. Sakura turned questioningly. "Close your eyes, I have a surprise!" Sakura-chan shut her eyes tightly. Syaoran (*sigh* so sweet!) kissed her on the cheek. Sakura blushed furiously, whispered,
"I love you." And she went off.
At the Tomoeda Airport
"Wow!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "It's so empty today, I thought it'd be full!" Eriol nodded.
"True. But then, it's not holidays or anything today." Tomoyo blushed. "Yeah."
"Sakura," Syaoran asked. "Are you bringing the cards?"
"Yes!" Sakura answered. "Something could happen- I made sure- PHWEE! It's 11:29! Our flight leaves in one minute! HOE, we need to hurry, oii?" They all grabbed their suitcases, and ran to Gate 16.
In the Plane
"Funny," Eriol said. "There's no other passengers on but us."
"Maybe," Sakura replied thoughtfully. "Maybe they reserved the plane for us-I won after all."
"Yes, perhaps." Eriol said, but didn't sound like he believed it.
"This seems too strange, no people at the airport, and none in the airplane." Tomoyo settled down next to Eriol, and grabbed his hand. Syaoran remained silent, looking or listening for anything different.
A low and deep rumbling began. The airplane crashed! The four friends grabbed hands, as pink mist swirled around them, falling slowly, settling onto their hair and clothes.
Suddenly, in front of them, they could see that there was land. The land was dark, and . Tomoyo wished they could have had their suitcases with them.
"Where-where-are we?" Sakura wondered aloud.
"You are in Hiede Land," said a new voice, a beautiful voice, yet sad at the same time. They all looked at the new person. She was beautiful! Her pale face, delicately shaped, had curved red lips. Her hair was long, and jet black. Her eyes were blue, like sapphires. Her lashes were dark and long. Her limbs were graceful and swanlike, as was her neck. Her eyes, lovely as they were, had a sad look to them. "Hiede Land, or as others know it, Hide Land, place where many come to hide." Her kimono, they saw, was black, with light pink cherry blossoms falling. In her hair was an orange lotus. She took out a lantern, and lit it with her finger. A strong flame appeared, and the lotus in her black hair wilted. "Come. My name is Sanako Shidei. I will take you to my home."


Well, that was the first part! It gets more excited! Remember, e-mail me at sweetstar70@hanmail.net with your comments, and thoughts about what will happen in the next Chapter.

Chapter 2

Sanako led Eriol, Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Sakura through a dark and empty woods. Sakura held tight to Syaoran, while Eriol held Tomoyo.
"Who are you? Where do you come from?" Sanako said, her voice soothing the pounding hearts of the four friends.
"Ah... um, that is....." Tomoyo said, licking her lips. "I'm Tomoyo. We come from Japan, and Sakura *points to Sakura* won a "trip" to Hiede Land. She chose me, Syaoran and Eriol *points to the boys* to come along."
"You say you won a trip? But it's impossible to get here except through strong magic. Only people like I, with special powers, and a touch of loneliness, come here." Sanako said.
"What?! But they said-" Sakura put in.
"I'm sorry, but "they" must be mistaken, or someone has summoned you here."
"Who would do that?" Syaoran asked.
Sanako got a far-away look in her eyes. "I don't know." She paused.
"Where are we going?" Sakura queried.
"Oh!" Sanako seemed to wake up. "We're here- at my house, that is."
She took out a deep, pink blossom. She touched it slightly with her fingertip, then took a deep breath. She took her finger, and pointed it at the door, which had no way of getting in. The door didn't budge. "Sheesh, it's not working again...." Sanako mumbled. She pointed her finger again, but instead, this time, she closed her eyes and whispered a spell, and the door opened.
"Hoe!! That was incredible!" Sakura exclaimed. Sanako ushered them into her house. It looked very small, almost like a cottage, on the outside, but inside, it was huge! It was slightly dark, but lots and lots of flowers were around. Sanako smiled her half-smile, and held out the pink blossom. It had faded and withered.
"My power," she told them. "Comes from blossoms. Come, you must tell me your story." So Sanako, Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Eriol walked into a kitchen, and Sanako gave them some onigiri. "I hope you like them," Sanako said. "They're.... my mom's recipe." Again, she got a far-away look in her eyes, but this time, they were filled with sorrrow.
"Oh yes! They are delicious!" Eriol spoke for the first time.
"I agree!" Tomoyo smiled.
"Now," Sanako smiled another half-smile. "Tell me about you. I can sense that you have magic."
So each of the friends took turns telling about how Sakura captured the cards with the help of one guardian, a friend, and a rival (Syaoran blushed), and later was given a test by another who also became her guardian, and then was to change the cards with the help of a magic being (Eriol smiled).
"But Sanako-san," Sakura said. "We've told you your story, but may we hear yours?"
Sanako got "that look" in her eyes. "All right, I shall tell you." And it began like this:
I was born to my parents, and they say that my parents were overjoyed. A week after I was born, my mother and father took me outside to be blessed by heaven and earth. But as I was carried out, my eyes suddenly opened, and lots of beautiful blossoms fell from the sky. Cherry blossoms, peonies, tulips, and others. I don't remember, but I know it must have been very beautiful. I caught a hundred or so blossoms, and smiled the way a baby would. But when the last blossom, a beautiful one, pink with layers of white, fell, a voice came whispering from the sky. I remember the voice, so lovely, so beautiful, not wavering at all. It said, "Call her Sanako, for this is a special one." My parents were very happy I was "special" and found out later that I recieved power from blossoms. But after I had grown to become twenty-three, my parents died mysteriously. After they had died, a young man came to my house. His! name was Jai, and I liked him not. He wanted to force me to wed him, so he can find a way to grasp my power. I refused, and he screamed at me "Your powers are what killed your mother and father!" I believed that at the time, and I promised myself I would never, ever use my powers. I went to live with my Aunt Mai, and Uncle Sei, and to this day I thank them for teaching me many things. They especially taught me that it wasn't I who had murdered my poor mother and father, but that their death was a mystery. At that time, I met a man named Tanashi Hadai. I loved him, and was drawn to him, for he was lonely also. His power came from the celestial bodies above in the heavens. I knew that if I made him angry, he could kill me, but I had no fear. So instead, I just loved him. One day, he stopped coming to see me. I waited and waited for him, even after my aunt and uncle died, and I grew older. I am 1006 years old. ! I don't know where Tanashi is, and I have lost hope.
Sakura started sniffling after this story, so Syaoran handed her a lacy handkerchief. Sanako sat there, her eyes brimming with tears, and dabbing at them with a black cloth. "I loved Tanashi so much..." she whispered, almost as if it was a pain to say that to him.
"Tomoyo-chan, isn't that sad?" Sakura turned to where Tomoyo was sitting, but she was not there!!! Sakura's face turned white. "Where's Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun?!"


YAY!! It's done! The second chapter! I'm happy it's done! Anyway, remember, e-mail me at sweetstar70@hanmail.net, with your questions and comments! Oh yeah, and visit my site: http://www.xanga.com/shanelle_kim for my blog! Ok?