tampered | The cheer-up-Sakura-hime get-together(-and-eat-cake)

The cheer-up-Sakura-hime get-together(-and-eat-cake)

When; Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009 (That's right, this is backdated to last Sunday. I am so sorry.)
Rating; G/PG territory
Characters; Sakura-hime and friends (Konata as hostess, Doumeki as co-conspirator / friends of Sakura-hime's can generally consider themselves invited)
Summary; An impromptu get-together to cheer Sakura up after Syaoran's departure
Log;

It wasn't really supposed to be a surprise party, as Konata had said to Doumeki. It was an "it sucks that your boyfriend is gone now but we're here for you kinda thing." But there would be people, and there would supposedly be cake, and Konata had gotten drinks (mostly soda) and plates and snacks and really it ended up looking quite a bit like a party after all. And Sakura-hime didn't know about it until Konata called her out into the living room, so maybe it was something of a surprise as well.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Syaoran wasn't sure how to cheer someone up. He was pretty sure he would be terrible at it. But Sakura-hime had a lot of friends, and they were here for her, so he would be too.

He was standing in a corner, all the same, and mostly watching people as opposed to actually talking to them. He stared down at his drink and tried to think of what he could say.

Well Syaoran had to think fast because no sooner had Sakura arrived when she spotted him in the corner. She approached him after talking to Konata a bit, smiling sweetly.

"Li-kun, you're all by yourself over here."

It had been pretty unexpected, definitely. Syaoran's departure from the City had hit her harder than she thought it would. She had known it was a possibility. She had always known, especially after several other friends had vanished. Shiki-kun and his sister... now Syaoran-kun too. It made her very sad. But not today. Today she felt more cheerful than she had in awhile. This all really had made her day.

"Konata-chan, thank you very much. This makes me so happy."

"Ah, um," he answered, glancing up, probably looking a bit like he thought he was in trouble. And he still didn't know what to say, and he still wasn't the Syaoran she knew (and, er, cared for very deeply, if that curse day was anything to judge by).

"I was just watching everyone," he said finally, face flushed. "...You have good friends, Princess."

Nanako saw Syaoran there and... well, thought he looked a lot like she probably looked right now. Except, you know, shorter and a boy - but the same general theme was there: wallflowering, watching the crowd, and maybe nibbling on a slice of cake every now and then. She gave him "I-completely-identify-with-you-right-now" looks from across the room, which probably went unnoticed, before finally approaching him. She was somewhat ashamed to say that she knew him better than Sakura-hime.

"Hi."

"Hi," Syaoran answered, looking up at the teacher. She looked almost as awkward as he felt. He was used to her cheerful denseness and found this a bit odd. He supposed she didn't do well at parties either.

He gestured vaguely in Sakura-hime's direction. "I hope this cheers her up."

Sakura giggled a bit and turned to stand next to him, leaning back against the wall with her hands clasp behind her back. He really looked so much like a mini-Syaoran-kun. They acted very much the same and yet they were still so different. It made her smile.

"Ah... Yes," She replied thoughtfully and turned her gaze to the gathered group with a gentle smile. "I'm very lucky."

But she worried now. Someday would they disappear too?

She had giggled; his flush deepened. He stole another glance up at her, and then stared fiercely into his cup.

"We're all trying," he said finally. "I know it's not the same, but Izumi and Doumeki and everyone. And... you'll see him again when you go home."

It's not much comfort, he thought. At least, if his-- if the Sakura he knew went home, he'd still be upset to think of her there where he couldn't help her.

"Me, too." You know what would really help, probably? If they went up and actually talked to her. That's all Nanako can think of when she entertains that thought and, yes, she's somewhat embarrassed at her fail. "At least a little. It really sucks when someone you care for leaves like that."

So suddenly, too. ... She can relate to that feeling, as well. Maybe. A little.

It had in fact occurred to Syaoran that he should probably approach the princess, but he was looking for the right time to do so. When there weren't so many people hovering around, probably.

He looks up at Kuroi. "Have you--?"

Oh, but that's a rude question. He shakes his head. "Never mind."

"... Well, Konata left once," she replies with a grin and a handwave. "And there were some other people, too, but it was a while ago."

He nods solemnly. "A lot of people have been leaving lately." Even people who seemed to be fixtures of this place, like that irritating guy who'd called Sakura a monster, and Clow. It reminded him that they'd all go back sometime-- a reassuring thought, and yet a worrying one. He didn't want to leave the Sakura he knew alone here. But people left, whether they wanted to or not.

"Well, good. I wasn't really sure this was the right thing to do, but I guess Doumeki knows you well."

"Hey, wallflower," Konata said, casually sneaking up on Shaoran. "... bored?"

Hey, he wasn't used to being sneaked up on! That was probably why he jumped in surprise. He was obviously deep in thought.

"Just watching!" he answered defensively.

A little taken aback, Konata blinked. "Well, okay." Konata didn't say anything more... But she didn't leave, either.

He didn't look at her, but after a moment, he said, "Do you think this is working?"

Konata leaned against the wall and sipped her drink. "I was skeptical, but apparently it is. I guess Sakura really likes being with people. Doumeki was right."

He nodded. She did seem a little brighter, he thought. He leaned there against the wall with Konata and was silent. She had given him a lecture about his lack of social skills, but that hadn't actually improved them any.

As much as she liked to tease him, it wasn't like Konata had room to talk about being antisocial or a shut-in. She had preferred most of her social interaction to be digital for a long time.

That didn't make the silence any less awkward, though.

Syaoran's mind had wandered back around to one of their recent conversations. He'd been brooding over it for some time. How had she known about his run-in with Sakura's brother? She knew more than she should. It niggled at him. Even though Izumi was pretty nice to him most of the time, he couldn't let it slip entirely from his mind.

He scowled a little unconsciously as he considered.

She saw that scowl. Not that there was anything unusual about it, on his face. Konata refilled her drink and took two cookies from the nearest snack table. One she thrust in front of Shaoran's scowl. "Cookie?"

"Um, sure," he answered, taking it from her. He was pretty fond of chocolate, actually. He took a bite. "Thanks."

Quickest way to a boy's heart... Well, any kid's heart. And maybe her heart too. "You're okay, right? You're pensive today."

"Fine," he answers quickly, but she isn't Tomoyo and she isn't trying to tease him for once. He pauses.

"Just thinking about home," he says finally. In a very abstract way, he was; he was thinking about leaving and about others who had left and what it would be like to go home after being in a place like this.

"Home?" That wasn't what she had expected. "... Someone you miss?" But Sakura-chan is here, she thought, but left it unsaid.

He flushes at that but tries to ignore his own reaction in hopes that she will too. "Not really." Sakura was here, after all, he thought before he could prevent himself. Of course, she was there too, but maybe he was beginning to have some peace with that. He would wait until he could go back, and then he would do what he had to do. He'd work toward that, but he wouldn't just sit around here until then.

"It's just something to think about. What happens when he leave."

That reminded me of something... She wasn't sure what it meant, or whether it would help Shaoran, but somehow she liked to talk about it. "... Did I ever mention that there was a 'me' in the City before I was here?"

Syaoran blinked. "I think you did once."

He though that must be a hard thing to know. Who knew what your other self had been up to? If it was 'you,' you would think you could trust 'yourself,' but still...

Definitely worse than having an older double.

"Oh, okay. That's right, I guess we were talking about timelines before..." Konata remembered. Shaoran and Sakura were from different continuums... And Clow was unexpectedly from Sakura's and not Shaoran's. She wasn't sure what she could do with that information, or if she could ever explain it to Shaoran in a way that would make sense to him, but there it was. Konata fell silent again, not wanting to press on that issue for fear of Shaoran starting to pry.

... Not that it would be a terrible thing in itself, but it wasn't a conversation she wanted to have in the middle of a party.

"Do you know anything about them? Or what they did?" He paused. "Why are you so sure that it wasn't you, and you just don't remember?"

Izumi was the first person who he'd spoken to who had that strange theory. He wondered where it had came from.

"Huh? Didn't I tell you before? I met her. During a curse where people who were in the City before came back. I was the only person I heard of who had herself come back, though.

"I think she was a bit crazier than me. I'm not sure what that means."

Syaoran blinked. He hadn't encountered a curse like that before. People came back for only a day? Sometimes yourself?

And because he can be polite, Konata, he does not say, It means that you're biased, probably. Instead he says, "That must have been odd."

"It was like meeting concentrated awesome." Konata nodded sagely.

"I mean, it must have been for her. For me it was pretty weird."

"Concentrated awesome," Syaoran repeats in a dry tone. "I suppose. Does that sort of thing happen often? Where people visit for only a little while?"

"I think it's about once every three months."

"So it should happen again soon." Syaoran filed away this information for future use. At least, he'd be a little less surprised when it did happen.

Sakura turned to him, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him. Then she smiled warmly and reached down, ruffling the hair on his head lightly.

"You and everyone else are more than enough. You're the greatest friends anyone could ever want. Thank you, Li-kun. I really appreciate it."

"Oh! Was this Doumeki-kun's idea?"

"Umm, sort of half and half. He seemed sure it would be something you'd like, though."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

The cheer-up-Sakura-hime get-together(-and-eat-cake)

open;

Re: open;

for konata specifically but still open for anyone else!

open;

open;

open;

open;

open;

open;

open;

open;

open;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

open;

no subject

no subject