Chapter Two-Two Strangers It was after school already when Sakura yet again took out the Clow Card with the heart on it. "Love," she whispered, and a pink fluffy heart emerged out of the card, only to burst open to reveal a crystal ball. For a few moments she just stared blankly into the globe, but then she saw something that caught her interest. In the image, Syaoran was running-running away from something.or could it be, running to something? Somehow he seemed to have a destination.so Sakura supposed that he was running to something. But suddenly a large cat-like figure darted in front of him, pinning him to the ground. His arms were helpless against his side, let alone to face the claws of the beast. "NO!" yelled Sakura, outraged. "NO!" The key suddenly became its full size, without the rune; and the card with no picture or label floated into her hand. Not knowing what to say because it was nameless, she just hit it with her staff, and instantly she was swept into the airport. Amazingly, she wasn't in her uniform anymore, but in a casual top and dress. She also had packed bags by her side. 'I even have a ticket,' she mused. "The flight for Hong Kong will now be boarding," an announcer said over the intercom. As if by instinct, she picked up her bags and headed for gate 13. "Ticket, please?" the lady at the door inquired politely. Reaching down in her pocket, she rummaged around and finally came up with the ticket. "Thank you." On the plane, she was seated near the window. As if it suddenly struck her as weird, she thought, 'What am I doing on plane? Right now? To HONG KONG?' It had to be some horrible mistake. But then she thought about the crystal ball. the image inside.how it had swept her here. But how? She didn't give it any more thought as the plane took off. "Excuse me," Sakura asked the lady sitting next to her. "Are we supposed to be going directly to Hong Kong, or are we stopping somewhere in between?" The kindly lady replied, "I think we're stopping some where in between. what was that called again? Oh yes, we're stopping at Macao, I think." Sakura smiled to show her appreciation, and leaned back into her seat. What was she doing here on the plane? She even didn't know herself. Time slowly went by. "Our flight will now be landing in Macao." the pilot blared over the speaker. Sakura awoke with a start, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She felt the plane wheels hit solid ground as she sighed with relief. Planes really didn't agree with her insides. As the passengers slowly trickled off the plane, she felt herself taking up her bags again and heading towards the exit. 'I wonder where the next gate is?' she thought dazedly. 'No matter, I'll go grab something to eat first.' So she headed towards one of those snack vending machines, put in a few coins ('Hoe? I never even seen these kind of coins before.must be foreign money,'), and got some crackers. Munching happily on the snack, she set off to find her next gate. She wasn't in much of a hurry though; she wanted to sightsee this airport.so she was often seen looking at one shop or another. Then she saw this interesting little store that was selling stuffed animals, so she decided to take a look. After gazing at several piggies, kitties, puppies, and other cute critters, her eyes landed abruptly on a shadow cat. a cat that was huge, black, and had large claws. 'Omy. that looks just like the cat I saw in the globe,' Sakura thought nervously. But as she went a little bit closer to take a better look, she saw another boy looking at it curiously. A boy that looked like he decided to come to the airport on his own (Well, he was a little bedraggled). A boy who looked just like-'No, it can't be,' she thought angrily to herself. But he looked familiar all the same, so Sakura decided to ask him for directions to the right boarding gate. "Excuse me, but can you tell me where the boarding gate headed to Hong Kong is?" she asked politely. The boy whirled around, and she caught the strange expression on his face for half a second. An expression that read: I-think-I-saw-this-person-before and Even-if-it-isn't-I-wish-I-did. But instead of answering, he countered, "Why are you going to Hong Kong?" Even if she was a little taken back by this question, she was still the innocent and truthful Sakura Kinomoto. "Un.I don't really get it myself," she answered, as the boy's expression turned hard, "Well even if I tell you, you wouldn't believe me," she added hastily. "I would, trust me. I think I have met people stranger than you," he replied, his face suddenly softening. Syaoran looked at the girl in front of him warily. She somewhat resembled-no it couldn't be.what would she be doing in Macao? "Well, there was this crystal ball.and then there was an image of a boy I used to know, a friend. Then suddenly this huge cat figure loomed up before him and pinned him to the ground." she trailed off as his eyes grew wider. "Um, as you were saying?" Syaoran quickly said. "Well, um, something happened, and I appeared in the airport in Japan, ready for a flight to Hong Kong." Syaoran stared. She fidgeted with the hem of her vest. "Well, I can't understand it very well myself." the girl sighed. 'Could it be?' he thought to himself, his heart racing faster, filled with hope. 'Could it be her?' His voice barely above a whisper, Syaoran lowered his head and asked, "What did the boy look like?" Stunned by the sudden question, the girl snapped out of her dreamy expression. "Un. brown hair," she counted off one finger; his head lifted up abruptly, "He.had.brown eyes, too," she counted off the second; Syaoran's eyes grew even wider, "He really never smiled," she counted three fingers; his mouth dropped open slightly, "He was really nice.well at least I think so." she lowered her voice at the last part of the sentence, turning a little pink; he shook his head in disbelief, "And to think of it, I think you remind me of him.only you look a little older," she finished with five fingers all waving in the air. "But of course you couldn't be him, he's in Hong Kong with all his family.finally happy," she concluded. Heaving a heavy sigh, he replied, "Do you really think that he's happy right now in Hong Kong?" "More than likely," she stopped twisting a strand of hair. "Why would you ask me such a question?" suddenly she was suspicious.well, a little bit then. "Nevermind," he waved off the comment. "Anyhow, why were you looking at that stuffed animal?" he indicated to the large black cat. "That was the beast that pinned my friend to the ground," she whispered. "And I think I'm supposed to go to Hong Kong and save him or something like that." Syaoran didn't even dare to breathe; "Can you foretell the future?" "Well sometimes I have these weird dreams.and then they really happen," she murmured. She fingered the cat figure, her slender fingers running over the smooth fabric of the wings. "I think I'll buy this for my friend.it would be best if I could keep an eye on it." "You're friend isn't in Hong Kong," Syaoran said dully. "Hoe?" she exclaimed. "How do you know?" she raised a questioning eyebrow. Realizing what he had just said, he almost kicked himself. "Um.I'm his brother," he lied hesitatingly. "I didn't know he had a brother," the girl sounded almost hurt. 'No, now that I know who she is, I'm going to refer her as Sakura, not the girl,' Syaoran thought. "Um, he just didn't want to tell you about me.he thought maybe you would like me better than him, I guess." then he blushed. "Maybe," Sakura said wistfully, and she went to go pay for the stuffed cat. to be continued.~ Back to Fanfiction