Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ For Life or Death ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

summary:

Sakura's nearing her 19th birthday, and apart from the fact that Syaoran still hasn't returned from his training, life is going great. That is until she meets Todd Bruggeman, an American classmate at Tokyo U. She quickly becomes friends with Todd, and soon she finds herself falling for him. She begins to drift away from her old friends as Todd enters her into a world she never dreamed possible - a world full of chances, fun, and danger. Tomoyo begins to worry for her friend's safety, and tries to convince her friend to leave Todd and come back to them. But Sakura, who's now convinced she was nothing but a coward before and this new change is for the best, will hear nothing of it. There's only one person Tomoyo knows who can help her friend. The only problem? She has no idea if he'll be able to come back before it's too late.

disclaimer:

Card Captor Sakura and all respective properties © CLAMP. I do not, have never, nor will ever own any of it.

note:

The idea behind the secret society of Tokyo U came from the current season of Gilmore Girls's "Life and Death Brigade". I do not know if this society actually exists, but I love the idea (I now want to jump off a seven-story scaffold), and it inspired me.

For Life or Death

Prologue

18-year-old Kinomoto Sakura looked around the dorm with wide eyes and an open mouth. She couldn't believe she would be living here! The central living area was very large, and a kitchen/dining area was set off to the side. Two doors that led to bedrooms were on the opposite side of the wall. There were two couches in the living room around an oak and glass coffee table, a few chairs that looked like Heaven on Earth were strategically placed around the area, and a large table with chairs was by a window on the left adjacent wall to the wall behind her.

She couldn't believe it; she was finally here. She was finally a student of Tokyo University, and she would be living with her best friend Daidouji Tomoyo and their good friends Yanagisawa Naoko and Mihara Chiharu. It all seemed too perfect to her. She heard the door open behind her and saw Chiharu and Yamazaki walk in. She ran over to Chiharu and glomped her.

"Chiharu-chan!!! Can you believe how great this is? We're all gonna be room mates!" Sakura cried.

"Did you know the term `room mate' came from the Latin words.." started Yamazaki. Chiharu reached back and whacked him upside the head.

"Hush you," she warned, "before I give you even more boxes."

"Yes ma'am," he muttered sorrowfully. "Speaking of boxes, which room is yours? This one's kind of heavy."

"Follow me, ya' big whimp," Chiharu said as she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the room she would be sharing with Naoko. Sakura couldn't help but smile at them.

They had been like this since their freshman year of high school. Yamazaki had finally asked Chiharu out, and they'd been an item ever since. Chiharu seemed to be the only one who could control the ever-creative Yamazaki Takashi, and he always proved a challenge. But they were happy together, and that was all that mattered.

"Wait for me, Sakura-chan. I promise I'll come back for you."

She looked down and bit her lower lip; her mood had gone from genki to sad in 0.2 seconds flat. She was still waiting for him to return. He had left seven years ago, after she had sealed The Void card, and he still wasn't back. He never wrote, and he never called. She had written him every few months, asking how he was and the like. He never replied. She shook her head, picked up her bag, and went into the room marked `TOMOYO-CHAN AND SAKURA-CHAN'. She couldn't think about the past now; Syaoran would come back to her. He had to.

o

ooo

o

Sakura yawned as she picked up her towel and bag. It had been a long day of unpacking and organizing, and all she wanted to do was get a bath and go to bed. She looked over to Tomoyo, who was lying on her bed with Eriol, looking through the photos from the trip to London he took over the summer.

"I'm gonna go get a shower," she said. Tomoyo nodded.

"All right," she said.

"Would you like to look at the pictures when you return, Sakura-chan?" asked Eriol before she could leave. She paused and looked up, a thoughtful expression across her face.

"I don't know..." she said. "Maybe tomorrow; I'm really tired."

"Ok," he said. "I'll leave them here, then." She nodded and left the room.

It wasn't too hard to find the washrooms, and she was soon preparing a nice warm shower. She didn't take long, only about ten or fifteen minutes, and she was soon out of the shower. She had her large, pink, fuzzy towel wrapped securely about her and she was shuffling through her bag looking for her clothes. The door opened and she jumped as she turned to see who was coming in. She froze when she saw a tall, lean, muscular boy walk in with nothing but a towel about his waist. She let out a scream and grabbed her robe; she quickly wrapped it around her, hiding whatever the towel could not.

"What's your problem?" the boy asked. She pointed to him.

"What're you doing in here?!" she asked. He pointed to the showers.

"Same as you, apparently," he said with a smirk. Her face turned beet red as she wrapped the robe tighter about her.

"But..you're a guy!" she said. He nodded.

"Last time I checked," he said. Realization dawned on him and he started laughing. She sent him a venomous glare that was a result of being around Syaoran for one too many years. "You didn't know it was a co-ed bathroom, did you?"

She furiously shook her head and looked at the ground; he could tell she was very embarrassed. Before the poor guy could speak, the door opened again and Tomoyo entered.

"Sakura-chan, daijoubu desu?" she asked. Sakura glared at her.

"No one told me the bathrooms were co-ed!" she snapped. Tomoyo blinked before she too started laughing.

"Is that all?" she asked. Sakura glared.

"What do you mean `is that all'?!" she asked. Tomoyo shook her head sadly and ushered Sakura back into the shower stall.

"Nothing, nothing..." she said. "Now get dressed!" She turned to look at the guy and smiled apologetically. "I'm really sorry about this. Sakura-chan's a little too naïve for her own good sometimes."

"I can tell," the guy said as he headed towards an empty shower. "Sorry for embarrassing you, miss."

Tomoyo sighed and slumped against the wall. She had a frustrated look on her face as she said, "Oh, this is just great. I missed a great chance to film Sakura-chan! And the shot would've been funny, too! Oh well...just one more kawaii Sakura-chan moment Syaoran-kun will miss when he returns and I give him my `Sakura-chan Through the Years' movie."

"DAIDOUJI!!!!!!"

o

ooo

o

She didn't want to get up, but she knew she had to. She pressed her face against the pillow and mumbled something indecipherable. She pulled her blankets closer in an attempt to seal in the quickly escaping warmth; Tomoyo must've turned the fan on overnight. She groaned and pulled the pillow over her head. Tomoyo was already up, and she was currently moving about the room singing along with her favorite pop station. Sakura loved her to death, but that girl just didn't know the values of sleeping in. She sometimes wondered if she knew the values of sleep at all.

"Sakura-chan, wake up!" called Tomoyo. Sakura let out a louder grumble, which caused Tomoyo to turn the radio down. "I'm serious, Sakura-chan! We have to get going!" Sakura sat up and glared at her.

"Get going where?" she asked. Tomoyo rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Don't you remember? We have to get our books from the office and then pick up the last of our school supplies," she said in a tone that matched her expression.

"And ya' gotta get me something to eat! Preferably pancakes or pudding," said a voice from Sakura's dresser. The two girls looked over to see Kero-chan sitting on the top of the dresser. The tiny guardian did not look pleased at Sakura. He pointed to the clock. "I'm hungry! And I can't go out of this room because of Yanagisawa-san and Mihara-san, and I want food!"

Sakura noticed the bright lights read 10:00AM. She sighed and rolled over. As with Tomoyo, she loved her smaller guardian with all her heart, but he just didn't respect her sleeping time. She could've slept another hour at least. With a sigh and another groan, she sat up and glared at the two of them.

"I'm up," she said. Tomoyo smiled and giggled at her.

"That's a start," she said. "Now get dressed so we can go!"

"And I'm comin' too!" Kero said. "You ain't gettin' off the hook that easily, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura sent a murderous glare to her two friends, but the bulk of that glare was focused on Kero. She couldn't help but think, `I wonder if anyone's ever been arrested for accidentally murdering their guardian beast...' She shook the thought from her head and walked towards the door.

"I need caffeine," was all she'd say before leaving the room. Tomoyo laughed and continued getting ready for the day.

o

ooo

o

The day had been uneventful, for the most part. They had picked up their books (big, cumbersome textbooks that Sakura knew all too well they'd never use), and then had gone into town in order to get the rest of their notebooks, pens, folders, etc. They had then returned to the dorm to get their things ready before going out with their friends.

Now the small group was at a local nightclub not too far from the university. At the moment, Sakura was alone at the table. Eriol, Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Yamazaki were dancing, and Naoko had found a cute Goth boy she was now flirting with over at the bar. She had left Kero at home; she really didn't want to deal with the scene that would follow someone spotting a living stuffed animal. She was just too tired.

She didn't even really want to be at the club, but her friends had talked her into it. She just wanted to go home and sleep. Worst of all, she had left her cards at the dorm, and she had no way of leaving until her friends wanted to go home. She sighed and rubbed her temples; the music was really loud.

Her attention was momentarily caught by a group of rowdy young men, all of which were obviously drunk. They were singing in very loud octives and were throwing their hands about, causing alcohol to slosh over the edges of the mugs they held. They all wore similar colors, indicating to her they were part of some fraternity or club or something. One of the boys looked over at her and noticed her staring. She quickly looked back to the dancefloor and scanned for her friends.

"Hey, gorgeous," said a slurred voice. She looked up to see the guy that had seen her. "Saw you lookin' at my friends an' me. Like what ya' see?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "I really didn't."

"Why's that?" he asked as he leaned on the table. Her nose involuntarily crept back as the pungent odor of alcohol wafted her way. She looked back to the dancefloor.

"I'm taken," she said.

"Well where's the lucky man?" the boy asked. She cast him a fleeting glance before going back to look for her friends.

"In Hong Kong," she said.

"Far ways," he said. "And you was checkin' us out. I think I deserve a little kiss for havin' the balls to come over here." He leaned forward and she grit her teeth; she shoved him back and glared at him.

"Stay away from me," she said. Her head was crying at her, `Baka, baka, baka, baka!!! Why did you leave the cards at home?!' She tried to ignore he boy, but he came back towards her.

"That wasn' ver' nice," he said. His speech became more slurred the more he talked. Sakura did not find this state of obvious debauchery very appealing.

"It was the nicest I could do, sir," she said, "after doing what you did. I told you I was taken."

"An' I tol' you I des'ver'd kiss!" he said angrily. He came back towards her and tried to kiss her again. In a quick, fluid movement that showed years of study and obvious skill, she twisted around in her seat and brought her leg up; she quickly kicked out, connecting a solid hit with his abdomen. He stumbled back a few paces, but he was quickly back into a somewhat standing position, and he looked ready to kill.

"I told to stay away from me," she said. The boy growled and went to attack her. Before he could even take a step, though, a firm hand grabbed his wrist. He looked back to see a pair of cool midnight blue eyes glaring at him from over wire-rimmed glasses.

"I believe she told you to leave," said Eriol as he tightened his grip. The boy winced. He could feel his bones giving way under the taller boy's grip. He let out a small yelp and nodded.

"O-ok, wha'ever, man!" he said. Eriol let him go and shoved him away. He walked over to Sakura and took the seat next to her. He looked at her with a bright, cheery smile.

"And they say magic is a bad thing," he said with a wink. She laughed and nodded. A few minutes later, the others returned to their little group. Chiharu, Tomoyo, and Naoko were all carrying drinks, which were soon passed out.

"Here's to us!" Chiharu said as she lifted her mug high above her head. A chorus of `to us!' answered her toast. When they had calmed down, Tomoyo spoke.

"Y'know," she said, "this is our last night as free teenagers. After today we're going to be expected to be responsible college students."

"Did you know the first college was built in -" Yamazaki started. Chiharu slapped the back of his head and glared at him.

"Stop, Takashi-kun," she said. "Don't make me ruin the night." He nodded and took a large gulp of the beverage in his mug. Sakura finished her drink and placed the empty cup on the table.

"I think I'm gonna go out to the car," she said. Her friends looked at her.

"Doushite, Sakura-chan?" asked Naoko.

"Daijoubu desu?" asked Chiharu. She laughed nervously and nodded.

"I'm fine! I'm just tired, that's all," she said. Tomoyo handed her the keys and nodded.

"All right, Sakura-chan," she said. Eriol bit his lower lip as he watched her go. Her mood had taken a definite downward slide since that guy had come on to her, but what the young reincarnation didn't know was if she was upset because of the man or because the man made her think of Syaoran. He sighed and took another sip of his tea. He'd have to ask her later.

o

ooo

o

When they finally made it back to the dorm, it was nearing 11:30 PM. Sakura went straight to her room and proceeded to collapse on her bed; she was exhausted, to say the least. The room was dark (Tomoyo was still in the living room), and the sounds of Kero's loud snoring could be heard from the drawer. Sakura wondered how Tomoyo could sleep through his constant noise-making, but she knew her friend would get used to it after a while; she had a long time ago.

She knew she needed to get to sleep. Her first class was at 10:45AM, and it was 11:56PM. She set her alarm clock for 7:45AM; that would give her enough time to get up, get a quick shower, change, and make it to class. She then buried her head in her pillow and tried to get to sleep. She turned her head and saw Syaoran Bear sitting next to her pillow; she smiled and rubbed its head.

"I promise I'll come back for you."

`I know you will, Syao-kun,' she thought. She bit her lower lip and sighed.
"I just don't know when..."

tsuzuku...

a.n.: Sorry this wasn't up last Sunday; I'd been very busy with school and couldn't really write. Hopefully ch1 will be written, edited, and uploaded by Sunday. If not then next Sunday. Anyway, hope y'all like the prologue. I have the whole fic outlined, and there's going to be about 19 chapters (prologue y epilogue included). Sorry if this seems kinda slow so far, but things will speed up soon. Promise!

And for my standard closing: comments and constructive criticism always welcomed. Flames will be used to fuel the bonfire Az's got going for s'mores. And yes, for those who didn't know, there is a difference between flaming and constructive criticizing.

Again, hope y'all like it, and ch1 will hopefully be up Sunday!

~tN!!