Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Loving a Stranger ❯ 1. Goodbye Japan, Hello USA ( Chapter 1 )

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 1: Goodbye Japan, Hello USA

~ Kinomoto Residence ~

"Hurry up Sakura!! We're gonna be late if you don't get your butt down here right this instant!!" yelled a girl with amethyst eyes, stamping her feet impatiently.

"Hoeeeeeeeeeeeee…" screamed Sakura. "TOMOYO!!! Just wait a little longer!! I'm packing as fast as I can!"

A minute later, Sakura rushed down the stairs, panting after having stuffed all of her clothes into a now bulging trunk that seemed too heavy for a girl so slim. Her waist-length hair looked tousled, as if she just got out of bed while her emerald eyes revealed all the enthusiasm her frown didn't show.

"Goodness Sakura! Did you bring all of your clothes or something?" Tomoyo asked, absently stroking her waist-length hair. "You know I'm gonna make much more clothes for you once we get to San Francisco, right? I know it's a good school and all that junk but a girl's gotta keep in style!"

"Em…" Sakura muttered something that Tomoyo couldn't hear.

"Say what? …Oh never mind! We're gonna be late!! We have to get to the airport right now! Come on! Let's go," said Tomoyo, half dragging and half pushing Sakura out the door to the waiting limo. "Crap! We were supposed to be at the airport fifteen minutes ago!"

"Sorry…" Sakura apologized. "Bye Dad! See ya, Touya!" she yelled as she was shoved into the limo by the frantic Tomoyo while the driver stuffed Sakura's heavy suitcase into the trunk.

"Bye honey! Take care of yourself! You too, Tomoyo!" said Mr. Kinomoto, smiling sadly. "Remember to never leave your door open… and, young lady, you'd better keep your grades up too! You're going to a good high school now, remember-"

"Dad! I know!" Sakura whined. "Don't worry! I'll call you once the plane lands in San Francisco! Oh, and I'll call you once I get everything settled at my new place!"

"See ya kaijuu… If you get trouble from any of the guys there, just let me know and they'll be wishing they never went near you!" growled Touya.

Understanding her older brother's protectiveness, Sakura grinned. "Don't worry Touya. I promise, if any guy even dares to try to talk to me, they'll have to deal with you first!" she teased.

Touya scowled but didn't say anything, retreating inside the house, while Fujitaka took one last look at her daughter before every thing was set and the limo took off at a high speed.

~ At the Airport ~

"Oh Tomoyo, aren't you just so excited?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Of course I am, Sakura! I mean… Come on! This is Lowell, one of the top schools of the U.S.! Who wouldn't be?" Tomoyo said sarcastically.

"No, really, Tomoyo! I mean… All that reputation… It's amazing to me… I wonder why we're transferring though… I mean, we've done great at Tomoeda High… Remind me why we're going all the way to the Western Hemisphere just for senior year."

"Um… I don't know… Maybe cuz Eriol's gonna be there? I just got off the phone with him a week ago, remember? He said that he spent his high school years there and that he'd just love meeting us again," was the happy reply.

"But that didn't mean we had to transfer… We could've just visited him for the summer or something…"

"Yeah… but I wanted to surprise him! And what better way to do that than by transferring? I mean, sure he knows that we're gonna be visiting for the rest of the summer, but I didn't tell him the part about the transfer yet… Oh, isn't it just gonna be so wonderful?" Tomoyo said.

`Aww… she's so lucky…' Sakura thought. `I still can't believe this… We're moving to San Francisco just because of Tomoyo and her boyfriend, Eriol, whom she met online five years ago… Well I guess I should be happy for her… I haven't seen her this happy to do anything for a long time… ever since her mom died, leaving her a large amount of money…'

"Flight 1742 to San Francisco now boarding," a female voice announced. "Flight 1742 now boarding… Please report to Gate 5."

"Well that's our flight," Sakura said. "Let's go."

~ On the Plane ~

"Tomoyo… I'm bored… and we still have… only thirteen hours to go…" Sakura complained, twisting her auburn hair back and forth between her fingers.

"Well now you know how I felt when I was waiting for you to get ready," Tomoyo teased, still working on her drawing.

"Hey! I didn't take this long…"

"Uh-huh… Sure you didn't," was the reply.

Silence resumed while Sakura stared aimlessly out the plane window.

`Hmm… wonder what it'll be like living in another country…' Sakura thought. `Maybe I'll try out for the cheerleading team there… although it has been a while since I last cheered… or maybe I'll try out for a team… Let's see… how about basketball? Yeah… that sounds fun-'

"There! All done! What do you think, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, interrupting Sakura's thoughts.

"Huh? What? Oh… That's a beautiful dress!" Sakura said in a hushed voice, awed by her best friend's artistic skills. "Are you gonna make that for me?"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "Well, duh, Einstein. Who else would I make this for?" she asked, pointing at the light pink dress with cherry blossoms.

"Wow… Thanks, Tomoyo!" Sakura hugged her friend.

~ S.F. Airport ~

"Ugh… Tomoyo… you have so much stuff!" Sakura said, her eyes huge at the sight of the two huge, overstuffed suitcases.

"Well I gotta have my camcorders, clothes, videos…" she rattled on and on about the rest of the stuff she "needed".

Sakura sweat dropped. "Okay, okay, I get the point…"

Tomoyo didn't hear her and continued her long list. "Plus I gotta have all the necessary tools for drawing, outfitting…"

Sakura dragged Tomoyo her still talking friend with her as she moved towards the exit to hail a taxi - or two.

~ In the Taxi ~

"Wow… It's beautiful… Tomoyo, do you see that? The beach is just amazing…" Sakura murmured.

Tomoyo turned her head slightly. "I agree… Hey, we should have a picnic here sometime!"

The taxi driver looked up at his rear view mirror, seeing the girls' heads in front of another taxicab. "You girls aren't from here, are you?"

They shook their heads.

"Well here's a tip: in San Francisco, it's windy. So if you want to have any picnics here, it'd better be in the Golden Gate Park or something… cuz here at the beach, it's pretty windy so you'll end up eating sand-topped food." He grinned.

"Oh…" Tomoyo thanked the driver, who just smiled and said "No problem."

"Alright, here you are!" the driver pulled up beside a huge house. "Man… whoever owns this crib sure has lots of money!"

"Tomoyo! Did you actually buy this place?! I thought we were staying at an apartment!" Sakura exclaimed, awed and confused by this magnificent place.

"Heh… well I couldn't exactly just let my best friend and myself live in a small, cramped place, now could I?" Tomoyo said. "Thanks for the ride. Here's the money… Keep the change."

"Oh, I just can't wait to see the inside! I'm sure it's wonderful!" Sakura giggled.

Tomoyo giggled too. "You'll love it, I'm sure of it!"

Sakura walked up to the house with Tomoyo, who dug in her purse for the key to the luxurious, mansion-like building.

"There it is!" Tomoyo opened the door, revealing a double stairway to the second floor and a full-length mirror right across from the door. The curtains inside were partially opened, allowing plenty of light to show the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

"Wow…" Sakura murmured. "This looks almost exactly like your old place!"

Tomoyo laughed. "Well I did choose the decorations and such for both places, now didn't I?"

"So is everything the same?" Sakura asked, wondering how Tomoyo could have done all of this without being here first.

"Yep. Kitchen on the right, dining room just past that, and ballroom on the left. If you go around the mirror and follow the hall, you'll end up at the door that leads to the gardens. Along the way, there's a bathroom, a laundry room, and the door to the garage, in which are our two new cars - a Lexus and a BMW. Then-"

"There's more?" Sakura interrupted.

"Of course! You haven't forgotten how the upstairs is supposed to look like, have you?"

"Hoe…"

"Oh, and before I forget… Your room is upstairs, right next to mine, and it's decorated just to your taste too! Come on, I'll show you!" Tomoyo dragged Sakura upstairs, leaving their luggage at the doors, which were closed once they were inside. "Okay, this is my room, still the same" -she pointed- "and then there's yours, right next to mine as I said." She grinned. "How do you like it?"

Sakura gasped. "Oh my god… How did you…? When…?" She stopped, utterly speechless, still gaping into the room, which had a light, pale pink wallpaper. Right across from the door, there was a garden-view window, which extended into a small balcony looking straight out to the cherry blossom trees. A writing desk stood near the human-sized window. The bed was to the right of the door and on it were several stuffed animals. Next to the bed stood a sliding door closet, which was left open, waiting to be stuffed with clothes.

"Do you like it?" Tomoyo asked, delighted with her friend's surprised look.

"Are you kidding? It's the most beautiful room I've ever seen! Of course I love it!" Sakura gave her a huge bear hug, making Tomoyo gasp for air.

"Uh… Sa-kura… need… air…" gasped Tomoyo.

"Oh… hehe… sorry…" Sakura let go, and Tomoyo sighed with relief, still gasping for air.

"Wow, look at the time," Tomoyo said, glancing at the grandfather clock, which chimed 7 o'clock, down the hall. "Man… it's so late already! Let's go out for dinner! Maybe we could get Eriol to bring us somewhere too."

"Yay!!! Food! I'm so hungry…" Sakura's stomach growled a little. Tomoyo laughed while Sakura's face grew red with embarrassment. "Heheh… I said I was hungry…"

"Alright, alright," Tomoyo said between giggles. "I'll call Eriol and see what we can do about that stomach of yours."

Hello? a deep voice said.

"Hey! It's me, Tomoyo! Sakura and I just arrived and we're just starving! You wanna join us for dinner?"

Hmm… Lemme think… Should I ditch dinner at home alone for eating out with two beautiful girls? Aww… Man, this is such a toughie!

Tomoyo giggled. "Eriol! Seriously! Yes or no? And if you don't answer, we'll just get something by ourselves!" she threatened.

Haha… Dear Tomoyo, are you threatening me? Eriol laughed on the other line.

"Of course not! But we're leaving in… three… two… o-"

Alright, alright. So where are you guys? I'll come pick you two up.

"YAY!!! Eriol, you're the best!" Tomoyo screamed, jumping up and down, almost causing her phone to drop, and gave him their address.

Okay, I'll see you two in about 15 minutes?

"Sure!"

See you then!

"Bye!"

*CLICK*

"So…? What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"We're eating at home cuz Eriol doesn't want to come," Tomoyo said.

"Oh come on! You've got to be kidding!" Sakura whined, her stomach still grumbling.

"Just kidding! Hehe… Okay, so, he said he's gonna see us in 15 minutes. How's that for just about enough time to prepare?"

"Crap! All my other clothes are still in my trunk!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Oh yeah! Mine too! Shoot, we'd better get our stuff up here and change… Actually, first we'll get our stuff up, then we'll shower, and lastly we'll change. How's that sound?" Tomoyo asked, but Sakura was way ahead of her, zooming down the stairs and grabbing her stuff quickly and going into her room. "Hey! Wait for me!" Tomoyo shouted, before quickly following suit.

~ Half an hour later ~

*RING, RING*

"Tomoyo, cell phone!" Sakura shouted from her room while quickly changing into a light pink T-shirt and a knee-length white skirt.

"Moshi moshi?"

Ahh… Daidouji-san! You and your friend are over 15 minutes late!! a voice yelled into the phone.

"Heheh… sorry… Eriol! You know that girls take a long time… Here's an idea, why don't you park your car and we'll let you in so you can wait inside while we finish up?"

So this is what I get for offering to pick up girls… he muttered.

"What, honey?"

Nothing, nothing… I'll be at your door in a few minutes…

"Buh-bye now."

*CLICK*

"Sakura, hurry up!"

"I'm almost done… Just gotta get my shoes on…" Sakura picked up a pair of flip-flops and ran down the stairs, dashing to put on her make-up on the couch in the living room. "Tomoyo, where are you?"

"In the kitchen! I'll be out in a sec. I just gotta make sure I've got my keys and everything."

"Okay."
Tomoyo rushed out of the kitchen, shoving a pair of keys with a small cherry blossom-shaped keychain on it into Sakura's hands. "Here's your pair of keys, just in case I'm not with you whenever."

"Thanks. I've been meaning to ask for a set…"

"Of course…"

*DING DONG*

"I'll get it," Sakura said. "Hurry, finish up your makeup in the bathroom." She rushed to open the door. "Hi, Eriol! Long time no see! How have you been?"

Eriol was wearing a pair of khakis and a long, navy blue T-shirt. His eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses but he wore a goofy grin on his mouth. "Wonderful!" Eriol replied. "Let's see now… Where's Tomoyo?"

"Oh she'll be out in a minute. Why don't you have a seat?"

They walked to the nearest couch and started to have a small discussion about school and the teachers at Lowell when suddenly a door opens and Tomoyo comes running towards Eriol. Her purple tank top had crisscrossed spaghetti straps in the back. She wore a pair of dark blue shorts and a pair of flip-flops as well. She hopped onto him and gave him a huge hug followed by a kiss on the lips.

"Miss me?" Tomoyo asked impishly.

"You know I do," replied Eriol.

"Oh, you guys, get a room," said Sakura playfully.

Eriol and Tomoyo blushed instantly. Tomoyo broke the awkward silence, changing the subject, "Um… I think we should go before Sakura's stomach complains again…"

Now it was Sakura's turn to blush. She agreed sheepishly and hurried out the door before any one could make any more comments about her growling.

Once in the car, Tomoyo sat in the front with Eriol while Sakura stayed in the back of the Hummer. The two lovebirds chatted about their recent days since they've always kept in touch somehow or other to keep up with each other's lives. Sakura, bored, started to fall asleep even though the radio was playing a hip-hop song called "Overnight Celebrity" and was tuned up high.

>Dream<

Sakura looked around only to see petals from cherry blossoms falling everywhere. But it didn't make sense to see these petals since she was on a beach where there weren't any trees.

`Hmm… the beach?' she wondered. `Hey! Who's that over there in the shade?' Cautiously she made her way toward the figure in the shade. `Hey… how come I still can't see who it is? Do I know him/her?' Try as she might to see the dark figure, she didn't succeed.

"Hi Sakura," a deep male voice said.

`Huh? Who's voice is that?' Sakura thought, bewildered but comforted at the same time. `He sounds so familiar… but I'm sure I don't know him… I don't remember his voice at all…' Her fears receded and her heart beat faster as the sun rose and spread light slowly from his feet upwards. He was wearing a pair of black jeans, white Nike sneakers, and a black T-shirt with a black jacket.

"Who are you?" she asked.

He didn't respond.

By the time the sun was up to the bottom of his face, she could see that he was smiling. "Who are you?" she asked again. "I can't see your face…" Inside her heart was beating faster than ever. `Why am I feeling this way? I don't even know this guy… and yet… I feel like I've known him my whole life… This doesn't make sense… Who cares? His smile is just so heartwarming…'

"Sakura," the man said again. "I-"

>End of Dream<

"AHHHHH!!!!!" Sakura screamed.

Eriol and Tomoyo covered their ears. "Sorry," Tomoyo apologized. "I was only trying to wake you up… Eriol said we're here."

"Oh… sorry about that," Sakura said, still trying to gather her wits. `Aww… shucks… Now I'll never know who he was, or what he was trying to tell me… Oh, Tomoyo, why couldn't you have woken me up a bit later?' she thought, without realizing that she had thought the last part aloud.

Tomoyo looked confused. "Why? What were you dreaming about that was so great that you would miss dinner for it?" she wondered.

"Oh it's nothing, really…" Sakura said, smiling. `That smile…'

"Okay then. Well I hope you girls like Chinese food… cuz we're gonna eat at this restaurant!" Eriol said.

"Hmm? Fountain Court? What an interesting name…" Sakura mused.

"Let's go! I'm starved!" Tomoyo said, pushing Sakura into the restaurant.

~ After dinner ~

"Wow, that was fantastic! All that food! Yummy!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yeah, Eriol, how did you find this restaurant?" Tomoyo asked.

"I have my ways," Eriol said mysteriously.

"Suuuure…" Tomoyo teased.

"Aww… my sweet, you don't believe me?" Eriol gave the puppy dog eyes look a try.

"Of course I do…" Tomoyo burst out laughing. "Sorry," she said between gasps for air, "I couldn't help it… you just looked so adorable and funny at the same time!"

In the back, Sakura giggled at her two friends' expressions as they got into a friendly argument. "Thanks for dinner, Eriol."

"No problem, Sakura."

Tomoyo finally stopped laughing. "Eriol, how would you like to come home with us and help us set up some things while we finish unpacking?"

"It'd be my pleasure." Eriol did a long dip, imitating a bow.

"Okay, first let's get some groceries… Then, let's go!" Tomoyo squealed.

~ Tomoyo and Sakura's NEW home ~

"Sakura, why don't you go start with the unpacking? I'll be along in a bit… Just gotta give Eriol the directions on what needs to be done and stuff." Tomoyo grinned evilly.

Eriol gulped and looked to Sakura for support but she left them without a clue about what was going to happen. With her departure, Eriol was left completely to Tomoyo's mercy. "Darling… so… What did you need help with?" he asked, not really wanting to know.

"Lots of stuff… Firstly… Set up the computers in the various rooms: Sakura's, mine, the den, and a couple of the guest rooms - pick your favorites… Make sure they all have internet connection; I want Sakura back on the net as soon as possible…"

"So you want DSL? The fastest internet connection so far?" Eriol asked meekly.

"The faster the better. Sure, if you say so…" Tomoyo said, continuing to rattle on about the wiring, lights, furniture, and more.

Eriol sweat dropped. "Um… are you sure I can do all of this tonight? That's like… 10 men's job put together!"

Tomoyo smiled sweetly. "Of course I'm sure you can! Or else I wouldn't have assigned these tasks to you, now would I have?"

"Eh…"

"Plus, if you complete all these tasks in the next 3 hours, you'll be rewarded." She grinned impishly.

"Hmm… I see…" Eriol considered his options. Since he didn't have to be home anytime soon, he agreed to do as Tomoyo had told him.

Tomoyo hurried into her own room, setting up her pictures, clothes, and videos. `Whew… with all this wiring and stuff out of the way, I can concentrate on making more clothes!' She giggled to herself. `And, now, I have more time to think about how to play matchmaker for Sakura… Hehehe…'