Chapter 12: Dream Come True

oh, I think this is my favorite chapter!
well, mebbe i like all of them
and PLEASE, after you read this, reply or something!
I only want to keep writing stories if people read them.
I don't like wasting my time, even if its for pleasure only for me
So please reply, even if you totally hated it
............
WHY DOES IT ALWAYS SEEM LIKE ALL MY STORIES END ON CHAPTER 12?!!

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two years after college graduation...

Syaoran moved back to Hong Kong when college ended.
All the doves have gone to their places in life.
Sakura bought a nice apartment in Tomoeda.

'My second year outside school and away from home is finally complete,'
Sakura thought, brushing her bouncy hair away from her face. "Sakura!
Sakura! Hi, I've missed you so much!" little Terry practically shouted,
running into Sakura, making her fall down on the grass next to the
apartment pool. She'd asked if anybody needed to use it, then reserved it
for all her friends. It was their first time all of the old doves and
company would be back together again. Sakura laughed, rolling onto her
back. "Terry! I've missed you so much," Sakura said, giggling. Her job as
an accountant left her a lot of time to do whatever she wanted, because
she worked at home on her laptop. Her sword hung in the back of her
closet, the one Syaoran had made her. Syaoran taught her the art of
swords, and when she had mastered everything, once even beating him,
Syaoran made her a sword for her birthday present.
"Terry! How many times have I told you on the way here, not to JUMP on
Sakura!" Bryan huffed, pulling Terry off Sakura. "But, she's laughing,
see, which means she can't be hurt that much..." Terry protested. "It's
all right, Bryan. I'm not hurt, just laughing," Sakura told him, hugging
him. "Look at you! You've grown so tall!" she marveled, looking at Bryan,
who was once only as tall as Sakura, was now tall and lanky, half a head
taller than her. Bryan grinned. "Ever since that early astronomy
approval, I've made my schedule include basketball. I like shooting hoops
with Syaoran, when he visits," he explained. Terry jumped up and down.
"I'm a model! Did you see me in the newspapers?" she asked Sakura
eagerly. Sakura giggled again, nodding.
"Surf's up, man!!" a tan, handsome guy shouted, and he tossed his bag
over near the lawn chairs and dived easily into the pool, still creating
a splash that made Sakura, Bryan, and Terry soaked. "Bryan, Corey, he
made me all wet!" Terry cried indignantly, then she took off her wet
clothes and dived in after Corey. Corey easily swam away. "Come back! You
deserve a tidal wave!" Terry protested, her slim body slipping through
the water like a dolphin. "I ride on top of them too much already!" Corey
shouted, and laughed as Terry came up behind him and climbed onto his
back. Corey, who was a champion surfer located in California, USA, swam
everyday and in competitions. "Even in the winter, even if it's like,
totally freezing!" Corey often told Sakura on the phone. Sakura took off
her wet clothes too, and sat down on the grass, crossing her legs. Bryan
took of his dripping shirt and also sat down, and the two started talking
about the going ons around the world while occasionally being soaked by
Corey and Terry, who were splashing around. Eventually, the two hung onto
the edge of the pool and talked with Sakura and Bryan.
"Hi Sakura!" Tomoyo ran into the pool area in a hip sundress, fashioned
by the one and only Tomoyo Daidoji. "How are things in California?"
Sakura asked her as Tomoyo untied her sundress and put it in her
waterproof gym bag. Her swimsuit accented her gentle curves and long
arms. Tomoyo smiled and sighed, her wedding ring sparkling in the
sunlight. "Things are doing great! I design all these different seasonal
outfits, and everything is always going out of stock. Sales are booming
in my store! And Corey is wonderful," Tomoyo said enthusiastically. "And
I have that formal evening gown you asked me to make," Tomoyo added, eyes
sparkling. "It looks absolutely gorgeous, but I'm not going to take it
out and have it ruined by the water," she said, after Corey had splashed
them again with a tidal wave of water. "Corey! Stop dumping all that
water in the grass, soon there isn't going to be any water to HAVE a pool
party!" Sakura said, running up to the edge of the pool in her one-piece
pale pink swimsuit. "Well, why don't you come on in?" Corey said
mischeviously, and Terry came up on Sakura's left. They pulled her arms
and she plunged in. "Hey!" she said, coming up and smoothing back her
hair. "You guys will totally regret that!" she said, and swam after them.
"Ah, back to the crazy world of crazy friends," Josh yawned, stretching.
Rei jogged in a few moments later, both with incredible tans from the hot
African sun. "Being archaeologists in Africa is hard work," he said, and
sat down in his swimming trunks next to Bryan. Josh took off his shirt
and jumped easily into the water. "You know, after no pools for about two
months, this feels GREAT!!" he said, and swam under. Sakura, meanwhile,
was trying to battle off Corey and Terry in a water fight. Of course, she
was losing. "Hey, gimme some slack here!" she protested, ducking
underwater. "It's two against me! It's not fair!" she cried, blocking her
face again. "Nope, now it's three against you!" Josh laughed, and he
splashed Sakura with some water. "Hey!" she protested again, and tried to
swim away. Corey laughed and dived after her, grabbing her leg and
pulling her back. Then he crossed her arms behind her and pushed her head
above water. "You can't escape! I practically live in the water!" Corey
crowed, and Terry and Josh swam up to them. "Yes, he lives so much in it,
he carries the whole ocean into the house when he comes home," Tomoyo
said dryly.
"We're not late, right?" Fil said cheerfully as always, opening the
gate. Fula came right after him. They had respectable tans, counting the
fact that they lived and worked in a forest in Canada together. "Nope,
not at all. You can go in the pool and help the others team up against
Sakura, or you can join us here and try to get a tan," Tomoyo pointed
out, giggling when she saw Sakura's panicked face at the thought of five
people against her. "We'll stay here and talk to you," Fula laughed, when
he saw Sakura's expression. Sakura sighed, but then Corey splashed her.
"Corey! Stop doing that!" she yelled. The two took off their shirts and
lay in the grass with Tomoyo, Bryan, and Rei.
Rosa came strolling through the gate in a fancy, light spring dress. It
was very light in color, but at the same time had a lot of different
blues on it, accenting her now permed brown hair with the red highlights.
"Hi Rosa," Tomoyo said, smiling. "I see why you'd all rather be on the
grass," she said, her English accent clear and mixed with a bit of China
and Japan. "I thought you lived in Paris," Rei said, standing up and
hugging his sister. "Well, I was, but then I got this wonderful job in
England that lasts for two years that began about a year ago. Only a year
to go, but I LOVE my English accent. It sounds wonderful, I think," Rosa
said, untying her sundress and putting it in Tomoyo's bag. Her subtle red
swimsuit accented her brown hair, with the bright orange art things, such
as paint spills, paintbrushes, and canvases outlined on the one-piece
swimsuit. "Thanks for the swimsuit design, Tomoyo. This fits like a
dream," Rosa said gratefully. "It's alright, I like to make clothes and
such, especially for my friends," Tomoyo said.
"Hellooo, everybody!" Chang said happily, striding towards the group in
the grass. His nylon Germany flight windbreaker flapped lightly in the
breeze. His dark purple swimming trunks hung almost below his knees. He
tossed his windbreaker onto a lawn chair and sat down with the others.
"You know, after all that miserable Germany weather, sunshine and a light
breeze are plenty fine," Chang said, with a hint of a German accent. He
was a flight pilot in Germany. "Is everyone here yet?" Tomoyo asked,
looking around and counting. "There are eleven people here. Meilin and
Syaoran still aren't here yet," she confirmed. Suddenly Meilin rushed in,
her black pigtails pinned up in two buns. "Hi, you guys! Oh, I've missed
you so much!" she cried, and hugged everyone on dry land. She unlaced her
sundress and sat down in her bathing with the others. "So who's missing?"
she asked, bright eyes shining. Meilin was planning to be a teacher or
principal, but she hadn't found a job yet. "Syaoran is, otherwise,
everyone is here. Sakura, Corey, Terry, and Josh are in the pool." Bryan
said.
About ten minutes passed, and everyone got in the water. They hung
around the pool edge, and Tomoyo spoke up. "Hey, you guys all brought
nice, formal clothes for the town junior adult tonight, right?" she
asked. Everyone nodded and smiled. "Okay, so I made beautiful evening
gowns for Terry, Rosa, me, Meilin, and Sakura, good suits for Corey and
Rei, and also one for..."
"Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late, the plane was delayed," Syaoran said,
jumping over the gate and tossing his bag with Corey's. He took off his
green nylon windbreaker, and because he didn't wear a shirt, he slid into
the pool and swam over to the others. "Yeah, I also made a suit for
Syaoran," Tomoyo said, rolling her eyes and starting to laugh. They spent
all day at the pool, and then they separated at four into the showers
(which, have different rooms for females and males, and also have blurry
glass doors with curtains in the front. The sides are made of tile walls.
They all showered and dressed in casual clothes, and they went into
Sakura's apartment to dress and get ready. First, the guys changed into
their formal evening wear, suits, ties, and other stuff, and then they
sat primly, talking, in the living room while the girls took about an
hour to dress, do their hair and makeup, and accesories.
Terry's light sun-colored dress had broad shoulder straps and
transparent yellow material sleeves. The dress was rather plain, but
because Terry was a short thing, Tomoyo had made the velvet waistband
higher to make Terry seem taller. From there, the dress hugged Terry's
slim form. Despite Tomoyo's protests, Terry wore her purple platform
shoes because the dress was too long. "It's supposed to trail, Terry!"
Tomoyo said. "But if I wear platform shoes, which I'm used to, then
nobody will be able to see it anyway, besides, I don't want people
stepping all over this pretty dress," Terry explained, slipping her shoes
on.
Rosa's dress was a pretty, bright red-orange. The strapless dress hugged
her chest, and she wore a light red transparent material coat-type thing
that stopped about three inches above her waist. The dress, like Terry's,
was very simple, except that it had no train, short or not. Rosa's dress
just fanned out a bit after her knees, and the beautiful red-orange sash
that was slightly lighter than her dress had trailing ends that curled
delicately.
Meilin's dress was a black chinese style, with gold embroidery outlining
of a dragon twisting and turning through the dress. The stretchy material
exposed about half her back. Meilin's front part was diamond shaped, and
black silk ribbons started there and stretched around her neck and down
her back an connecting the dress together. The slit in the dress started
where an average pair of shorts a girl would wear ended.
Tomoyo's dress was practically the same as Terry's except a dark
blue-violet and the dress hugged her hips, then flowed straight down.
Sakura stepped into the gorgeous, dark-pink evening gown. The lighter
pink seams outlined a sakura tree and falling cherry blossoms. The
backless dress had a soft ribbon sash that hung on her neck from the
front like a halter top. The beautiful gown flowed around her feet and
fanned out slightly. The soft silk stretched a bit, but otherwise, fit
perfectly, from the halter-top-like top to the tight waist and the
flowing material around her feet. She stepped into her bedroom, where
there was a floor-to-ceiling sliding closet mirror. The others had
already finished doing their hair and makeup: Terry had her wavy black
hair in a long French braid, Rosa had her brown hair in a nice French
twist, Meilin had hers in two buns, Tomoyo with her hair in a fancy tight
French braid that pinned up to her head. The others gasped when Sakura
walked in, carrying her shoes in one hand. "You look so beautiful," Terry
murmured, sitting down on Sakura's bed. "You look absolutely gorgeous,"
Rosa and Meilin chimed in. Tomoyo smiled. "The dress fits nice?" she
asked. Sakura nodded. "Okay, now your hair," Tomoyo murmured, quickly
combing through Sakura's slightly wet hair with a fine hairbrush and
arranging Sakura's hair in several designs.
"Alright, I'm going to sweep it up in a loose, low bun just above your
neck, alright?" Tomoyo asked, already starting to arrange Sakura's hair
and brushing it and spraying it with water. Soon, all of Sakura's hair
was in the bun, except for face-framing bangs. Tomoyo used a hair curler
and curled Sakura's bangs lightly, giving it an in-between curled-wavy
look. Tomoyo then batted the hair to the outside of Sakura's face, then
moved on to accesories.
"Okay, you guys put on these earrings, I already have mine on and I have
to figure out which ones go with Sakura's style, hair, and dress," Tomoyo
murmured, handing around the earrings and then peering at Sakura's hair,
making sure there weren't any stray strands. She secured Sakura's hair
just above her ears with two small cherry-blossom shaped clips. "Alright,
I think these will do," Kero said, popping out of Sakura's drawer. He had
promised not to interfere. "Kero!" Sakura exclaimed. "No, really, I have
these for you, I think they're perfect, but if not, just keep them for
the future," he said, then going back inside his drawer. Tomoyo picked up
the earrings, then put them on Sakura. "Perfect," she marveled, and
Sakura looked at herself in the mirror. The earrings were very pale pink
pearls, with tiny stars dangling from them. "Perfect," Sakura echoed.
Tomoyo quickly brushed on mascara, and a little of eye shadow. "I don't
want to change your look too much, I prefer natural," she explained.
Sakura had a little glittery pink eyeshadow on. So did Terry, Rosa,
Meilin, and Tomoyo herself. Then they all chose their color lipstick.
(I'll let you have your imagination with that). As a final touch, Tomoyo
put Sakura's Clow necklace on, which accented her bare shoulders since
the dress had a very low neckline.
They all looked at each other, then one by one, descended slowly down
the stairs. Sakura, the last one to go, could hear the guys murmur and
exclaim. She shivered. Meilin, who was about two steps down, looked at
Sakura. "Are you okay?" she asked softly. Sakura didn't say anything, her
lip trembling. The moist, pink lipstick she had put on glistened in the
moonlight that shined through the window. It was almost time to go.
Finally she spoke. "What if Syaoran doesn't like it?" Sakura whispered.
Meilin quickly stepped back up with Sakura. "He'll love it," Meilin
murmured comfortingly. "Just because you two haven't communicated in two
years doesn't mean that he doesn't care about you. I know he does, a lot.
Now, if you don't go down and go to the junior adult dance, you'll never
know how he feels," Meilin said. Sakura nodded, then smiled a little.
"You go down first," she said. Meilin started down, then looked at Sakura
over her shoulder. Sakura was starting to come down, and Meilin smiled.

"Do you think they're done yet?" Corey asked for the twelth time that
hour. "Yes, they're almost done," Chang grumbled for the thirteenth time.
Terry floated down the stairs, all smiles. "You look awesome, Terry!"
Syaoran exclaimed, and hugged her. Terry smiled, eyes shining and not
saying anything. She pranced over to Bryan and grasped his elbow with a
small hand. Brian laughed, and hugged his little sister tight. Then
Tomoyo swept down the stairs, and Corey kissed her, leading her near the
door. Rosa came down, and Rei bowed slightly and held out his hand.
Meilin didn't come down, and neither did Sakura.
"Where is Sakura?" Josh asked, confused. "Meilin?" Fil called up the
stairs. Then Meilin came down, her black dress setting off the red
ribbons wrapped around her Chinese buns. Finally Sakura descended slowly
down the stairs. Her bright emerald eyes were a little frightened, but
she had a gentle, relaxed smile on her face. Syaoran walked quickly over,
wrapping his arm around her waist. Sakura looked up into his amber eyes,
and Syaoran leaned in and snuck a kiss on her cheek. Sakura then smiled
and the two walked into the limousine that Terry had hired for them.

at the dance...

"This doesn't look like the city hall!" Tomoyo said as she stepped
inside the hardwood-floored building. Corey smiled slightly, and
continued leading her inside as she laid her gaze on the fountain
outside. (okay, so what if I'm making this up? Do I LOOK like i care??)
Sakura climbed out, and shivered. It was a nice sight, but it was pretty
cold that night. Syaoran walked up from behind Sakura and hugged her
shoulders. Sakura smiled, and looked at Syaoran from the corner of her
eye. 'Very handsome,' she thought in spite of herself, 'and tall, he's so
right for me,' Sakura thought, before she realized what she was saying.
'No! I - I promised I wouldn't love anyone after that horrible day,' she
thought, tears starting to come to her eyes. 'Well, I shouldn't ruin
tonight. After all, all the girls want me to do this,' Sakura thought,
held back the tears, and walked in with Syaoran.
As the dancers danced (of course) and twirled to the sweet romantic
music, Sakura sat down at one of the elegant clothed tables with all her
friends' things set down. She watched Tomoyo for a while, looking at her
happy and relaxed face as she gazed lovingly into Corey's eyes. Sakura
looked away and sighed. 'I promised I would never love anyone else,' she
thought, feeling like she was going to cry again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

College-graduate Sakura waited at the corner on her rollerblades with
Tori, who, for once, was walking. It was the happiest day of her life.
She had just graduated from the Tomoeda college with all her friends in
Japan. She was one of the best cheerleaders and gymnastics leaders the
teams had ever had, and had led them to international victory in a
world-wide competition. Her awards and trophies were packed away, though,
in a box, ready to be moved to her new apartment. Right then, Tori and
Sakura were going to visit her new apartment, you know, check it out,
make the final checks and adjustments and stuff.
The light turned green. Sakura started off happily, and stepped off the
curb. The rollerblades, with their hot pink stripes on a dark blue
background with threads of wavy skyblue weaving through it, was a
graduation present from Tori. Suddenly, Sakura heard a squel of tires to
her right. She turned her head, and saw a speeding car careening around
the corner. "Sakura!" Tori shouted, and jumped off the curb, shoving
Sakura rolling away.
The next few minutes were horrible. Sakura turned around, and saw her
brother. He lay on the ground, motionless. "Tori... TORI!!" she cried,
stricken. Sakura quickly rollerbladed to him, and watched as the car sped
away. Sakura knelt on the ground and felt for his pulse. It was beating
slowly, too slowly... Sakura stepped back as the ambulance came and
paramedics rushed out. A police car sped onto the scene, and two officers
got out. They started questioning Sakura, who couldn't do anything but
stare at Tori's pale face and nod or shake her head. When the paramedics
pushed the stretcher, with Tori laying on it, into the ambulance, Sakura
followed and sat down on a bench, shivering. She held his hand all the
way to the hospital.

"Honey, is Tori all right?" Mr. Kinomoto ran up to Sakura in the
emergency room of the hospital. Sakura's lip trembled, but she didn't
cry. They waited for ours, waiting for the doctor to come out and tell
them it was all right, Tori was going to be okay. But it never happened.
Around three in the morning, a harried and worried doctor stepped out.
Sakura rushed up to him. "Is he alright?" she asked the tall doctor. He
hesitated to answer. "His condition has stabilized, but it's very
critical. You can visit him right now, he woke up a few minutes ago," he
said. He showed them the way, into a dim room with a few blooming plants.
One in particular, a single pink rose that was only halfway bloomed sat
on the windowsill. Sakura glanced at it, then moved on to Tori. He looked
pale and weak.
"Tori," Sakura sniffled, and sat down in an offered chair. She grabbed
his hand and squeezed it. Tori smiled faintly. "I'll- I'll be okay," he
murmured softly, staring into Sakura's emerald eyes. The beeping sound of
the heart monitor started to get slower. Sakura could feel his strength
leaving his arm. "No, Tori. Don't leave me," she whispered as his eyes
started to close. Tori struggled to keep them open and weakly squeezed
Sakura's hand. "I love you, Sakura. Always have. Always will," he
whispered, barely audible. His eyes closed as Tori smiled weakly at
Sakura. "No. Tori, Tori, come back. Wait, don't leave me alone here,"
Sakura started to sob, getting hysterical. The beeping slowed... it got
slower... and slower... and it finally stopped. "Tori! TORI!! Wake up!
NO, TORI!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A lone tear slipped down her cheek. Sakura had told everyone, and they
had all gone to Tori's funeral. Sakura quickly wiped it away, then stood
up and trotted quickly over to the balcony at the end of the hall. She
slipped out between the light curtains. "Kero..." Sakura whispered. Kero
popped up from the floor. "What's up, Sakura?" he said cheerfully. Sakura
sighed and sat on the clean marble balcony wall (or something like that).
"I - I don't feel it anymore," she said to the guardian beast. Kero
nodded and smiled. "Good, Sakura."

Syaoran watched as Sakura walked out onto the balcony, and followed,
more slowly. Sakura seemed more distant these days. As he was about to
open the curtains, he heard someone talking to Sakura. Syaoran slipped
behind a large potted plant and listened.

"I mean, I can think about Tori without breaking out in tears," Sakura
explained to her close friend. Kero listened without saying anything.
"But sometimes, a mention of something, like a bike, or something that
looked like his university coat, reminds me of that horrible day. That
day... it was supposed to be the happiest day of my life," Sakura said,
staring out at the lake behind the city hall. The water sparkled in the
moonlight. Sakura wiped away a stream of tears with her finger. The
liquid glittered in the moonlight, and Sakura flicked the tears away.
Kero flew over to Sakura's lap and sat on her knee, facing her. "You
know, love would ease this pain you're going through. I'm no expert on
romance, but love will probably help you through your tough times,
including Tori's death. Even though it has been two years, I can tell you
blame yourself still," Kero said gently. Sakura looked at his tiny face.
"But it is my fault," she whimpered. "No, it isn't. Tori wouldn't have
died for you if he didn't love you. Didn't you hear his last words? 'I
love you. Always have, always will'. Blaming yourself, that's something
he wouldn't want you to do. He saved you because he wanted you to live
your life to the fullest, experience love and a kid and all that good
stuff," Kero patted her hand. Sakura smiled, comforted by her small
yellow friend. The curtains rustled. Kero flew under the balconyi and
away.
Sakura stared at the curtains as Syaoran came through. Sakura looked
down at the ground, sliding off the balcony wall. "Tori will always love
you, no matter what, but you have to stop blaming yourself for what
happened," he said gently, coming close. He tucked Sakura's bangs behind
her ear. "How much did you hear?" Sakura whispered. "Enough," he said.
Sakura felt tears slipping down her cheeks. "Why did he have to die? Why
him? Why Tori? It couldn't have been someone else, but Tori? Why not
me?!" Sakura sobbed, putting her hands to her face. Syaoran hugged her,
offering a handkerchief. Sakura cried into it, and Syaoran rocked her
lightly. Finally Sakura sopped crying and sniffling. "I know - I know I'm
being selfish right now, but I wish- I wish it was someone else who
died," Sakura said, putting her head lightly on Syaoran's chest. "It's
not selfish. When someone close to you dies, it's natural to think like
that," Syaoran murmured.
"There's something I'd like to tell you, Sakura," Syaoran said, stroking
her hair. Sakura broke away from the hug and looked into his amber eyes.
"What is it?" she asked. "I love you," Syaoran murmured, pulling Sakura
into a hug again and kissing her deeply. At first he could feel her
holding back, but then Syaoran could feel her lean onto him. Syaoran
fingered Sakura's bare back, hugging her waist. When Syaoran broke the
kiss, he looked at Sakura, deep into her green eyes. "Do you love me,
Sakura?" he asked her. "Yes," she whispered, touching her lips. Syaoran
couldn't see it, but he could feel Sakura blush. Syaoran took out a
little box from his pocket. "Then will you marry me, Sakura Kinomoto?" he
asked, opening the small velvet box. Inside was a golden ring with a
diamond set into it. There were small pink crystals to the sides. In the
moonlight, the crystals and diamond glittered and shone.
Sakura hugged Syaoran tightly, arms looped around his neck. "Yes," she
whispered. Syaoran pulled her arms off, and took her left hand
delicately. He slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her in the
moonlight.

so, did you like it? I worked a while on this one!
i left out all the wedding stuff because i kno a lot of you out there
would rather
imagine your version of the perfect wedding for Sakura and Syaoran
so i left that part out. if you guys respond and like this one, I'll
start the next series
I'm thinking, it could be about Sakura and Syaoran's magical child...
but I won't give it away, believe me, I'll leave it as a surprise
Read and Review, remember! ReViEw!!!!

smileypal4eva