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Chapter Four
Hey Kids! Going Into A Stranger’s House Is Completely Safe! You Know That Lonely Old Man Down The Street…?

With cup of yogurt in hand, Sakura plopped herself onto her bed (nearly stabbing herself with her spoon… speaking of which, she was glad she had put back the fork she had accidentally picked up—because a fork would have seriously hurt! Because “forks” are deadly! And spoons are better anyway…).

She shook her head. This was why she didn’t trust her own mind. Before she knew it, she’d be thinking of all kinds of crazy stuff! … Like clones… and gauging out eyes… and alternate worlds…. She wondered if she would ever make it as a writer with her ideas. Nah, people would be too confused if she put every idea she had on paper. It was better to keep her insanity to herself and save herself the embarrassment.

Speaking (or rather, thinking) of embarrassment….

She hadn’t told anyone about her encounter with that guy she assumed must have been Kuro… Kuro-something. If she had, the girls probably would have gone into another fangirlish rant.

Besides, it was better not to think about that one bad incident on an otherwise good day. She’d made some friends, already been invited someplace by said friends, and went to school! … Okay, the last part wasn’t that great. But a lot of good things had happened!

Deciding it might actually be best to let her mind wander, she absentmindedly spooned up the yogurt as she tried to boot up the monster of a computer that had to be from the late ‘90s. Instead of checking her e-mail and sending her dad a message, though, she ended up falling asleep waiting for the dinosaur to connect through AOL.



That night… she dreamt.

Not that this was abnormal. After all, everyone dreamt. She always hated it when she read that line in a book. It was like, woop-tee-doo, so do the other seven billion people on the planet.

Back on track: it was a pretty weird dream, though, which was why it caught her attention. It started out like most of her dreams/nightmares, in which she was taking a freaking exam in a gray classroom. Because heaven knew she didn’t take enough tests while she was awake! Anyway, yeah: exam, classroom, boring. Tomoyo was at the front of the class, substituting as the teacher. Sakura recognized a few faces around the room; some of the girls from the picnic were sitting at different places, Syaoran was behind her, some of the guys from gym class were joking around. But, for whatever reason, the two people on either side of her seemed to unsettle her most. On her left was Fai, gazing into space with a smile plastered on his face and on her left was, of all people, Kuro-something, frowning at the paper like it was an enemy he had sworn to kill.

Then something happened: She bubbled in the wrong answer.

Then something somewhat worse happened: Fai (and his desk) started to slide away until it finally faded away. Like… poof! Except without the sudden poof. More like a gradual poooooof….

She really hoped that this wasn’t some kind of stupid foreshadowing. ‘Cause that would be sooo cliché.

“Oi, Monster.”

Crap, the nightmare just got worse. Now Touya’s annoying voice was being mean to her.

“Fine,” Annoying-Voice-That-Wouldn’t-Be-Named said. “When the computer doesn’t work, don’t complain to me.”

Her eyes snapped open. “Hoe…?” She was sitting in the computer chair, her head hanging off the back. She lifted her neck enough to see the half-empty yogurt spilling over the keyboard. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom to grab some toilet paper, screaming “Crap!” repeatedly.

Once it was cleaned up, they checked to make sure the dinosaur did in fact work. It did, which meant that she would be spared a lecture from Touya. Unfortunately, he had something else to torment her with.

“’Hoe…?’” He smirked as he quoted her. “You’re still saying that weird thing? What are you, ten?”

She did the only thing she could think of—stomp the heck out of his foot. As she stormed out to flush the pink, gooey tissues down the toilet, he called after her.

“Oh, and you have ten minutes before you’re late for school.”

“Hoeee?!”



Other than being almost late, the day went pretty well. Actually, it went a lot like her first day. She supposed she should have suspected that, since it was school. Repetition was rule. Tomoyo acted as though she had known Sakura for forever-and-a-day, Fai was as fun to be around as the day before, Syaoran sat at her table at lunch (though he seemed pretty shy), and all of the other students were pleasant just like before. Unlike the day before, she didn’t almost die in gym, which was always good.

The next couple of weeks kept the same pattern. Tomoyo threw a Halloween Party that had to be some of the best fun Sakura ever had. But that was about the only bump in an even road of events. Even though it had a weird name, Forks seemed like a pretty ordinary little town, which was perfectly fine by her.

One day in mid-November broke the harmony. First of all, it was sunny. In Forks. Sakura had learned (from her friends and experience) that Forks was one of the most overcast places in the country. She had missed the sun, coming from Arizona and all, but she’d gotten used to the gray tones the clouds cast on everything. But when she woke up that morning and saw that sun had miraculously appeared, she just knew that it was going to be a great day.

And she was about as right as the local weathermen.

As she got to biology, something else broke the rut. Fai was absent. That was sad of course, since she always enjoyed his company during the class, but it wasn’t too unusual for a student to be absent. She found herself worrying over whether or not he was sick, or maybe injured. Maybe she’d make a card for him or something.

He was gone the next day too. She checked the table where he and his brother Yuui usually sat at lunch, only to find it empty.

“Wondering where Fai is, Sakura?” the girl across from her asked. “He’s so mysterious isn’t he, when he just disappears like that…” She sighed.

She decided she’d ignore that last bit. “I’m just hoping they’re both alright. I figure he and Yuui must be sick or something.”

“Aww, Sakura, you are just too cute and thoughtful. The worry’s written all over your face! I bet you spent all yesterday puzzling over why Fai wasn’t here, fearful that he was in some horrible trouble, or worse—with a girl!”

“What? That’s not really what I meant…”

One of her other friends made it to the table after waiting in the horrendously long lunch line (hence why Sakura brought lunch from home). “Fai’s with another woman?” Strangely enough, the other girl’s face lit up. “Sakura, you’ve got to find out! I’m sure you’re completely overwhelmed by the infuriating thought. You won’t be able to concentrate on class work for the rest of the day, so you might as well go now!”

“Huh? Go…?”

“To Fai’s house, silly!” Another girl chimed in, joining in the confusing conversation. “It’s on the farthest edge of town, far back into the woods. Here, I’ve got the directions right here.” She pulled from her pocket a printout from MapQuest with directions to what Sakura assumed must have been Fai and Yuui’s house. The girl pushed it into Sakura’s hands.

“But I really… Hold on. The start point is my house! When did you—?”

“Oh, good, Syaoran!” The first girl who had spoken, the one across from her, beamed at the brunette. He sat down next to Sakura with a questioning look. “You agree with us right? Sakura should go find out what Fai’s up to! It’s a matter of life and death, love or heartbreak, right?”

The poor boy looked like he had no idea what the heck was going on. That made two at the table, which made Sakura feel a little bit better.

“I think… Sakura should do what she wants to at a time that’s convenient for her,” he said, purposefully general, since he had no clue what they were talking about.

The three girls looked crestfallen. Surprisingly, they dropped the subject and instead started acting normally again, as if the prior scene hadn’t just unfolded.

Sakura sighed, relieved. “Thank you, Syaoran, you really saved me there!”

He seemed shocked for a moment. Suddenly, he stood up and turned away from her just as quickly. “I-It wasn’t any trouble. I… have to go to the library. Excuse me.” Apparently flustered, he emptied his tray (dropping the tray as well) in the recycling bin instead of the trash bin before hurrying out of the cafeteria.



“Hello, Sakura!” Tomoyo ran up and started walking by Sakura’s side as she made her way through the parking lot. “I’m sorry I wasn’t at lunch or P.E. today, I had to practice for my choir audition.”

“You’re in the choir?” Sakura couldn’t believe she didn’t know about this yet. She thought she had learned a lot in the weeks she had spend at Forks. If she didn’t know about her best friend’s hobbies, what else did she not know?

“A lot.”

“Huh?”

“What’s that in your hand?”

“Oh…” She scanned over the directions that girl had given her at lunch. “Directions to Fai and Yuui’s house.”

Tomoyo’s expression changed, like a shadow crossed over her face. But that would be too fiction-y, so Sakura dismissed it. “What do you need that for?”

“I was thinking I’d drive over there to make sure they were all right, and maybe leave them a present if they’re sick.” Her idea may have been born from the strange discussion at lunch, but hers had none of the drama that everyone else had added. “Fai’s been very nice since I moved here, so maybe I could start to repay him.” They arrived at her pickup. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow! Good luck with your audition and everything.”

Tomoyo didn’t move. “Sakura… I don’t really think it’s a good idea for you to go there.”

She hopped into the front seat. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. It probably won’t snow tonight anyway. I mean, it’s still sunny! You know how reliable weathermen are.”

“No, Sakura, really. That’s not the best place for you,” she warned. Her voice was becoming increasingly strained.

Tomoyo was really sweet. “Thank you, but I’ll only be there a moment. My sense of direction isn't that horrible.” She smiled and started the ignition. “I’ll call you later to tell you I’m okay, alright?”

Tomoyo watched as the old Chevy clunked its way out of the parking lot. “Not good…” she murmured to herself.



Sakura had lied.

Her sense of direction really was that horrible. She had to double back more times than she could count, and that was with the directions right in front of her. She could have sworn that the driveway should have been RIGHT THERE, but it never was. When it started to flurry (the one time they were right…), she considered giving up.

She passed by the spot that should have had the driveway for the third time, this time on the way home, only this time it actually was there! It was a Christmas—er, near Thanksgiving miracle! The snow was starting to get heavier, but she knew she wouldn’t be there long, so she turned down the driveway.

… And it was the longest freaking driveway in the world. Sakura could have sworn that she went up and back down a mountain before finally spotting the house.

She drove on, grateful that there was an end in sight. Oh, did she say house? Well, she mean mansion. The thing looked like it was a couple hundred years old by the architecture (not that she was really into that type of thing), but by the actual condition of the house you’d think it was brand new! She was now starting to understand why so many of the girls in her class swooned at the sight of Fai or Yuui—they were beautiful and loaded.

After gathering up her courage, she grabbed the nicely wrapped cake she had quickly picked up at the convenience store, along with the wrapping paper and tape. Sure, it probably would have been better if she had made it herself, but that would have taken too long! She would have been snowed in if she had waited all that time.

Exhaling to slow her heart beat, she swung the giant silver knocker (no doorbell…?).

And… nothing. For a while. She started to loose feeling in her fingers and toes. Well, this was a huge waste of time. If it weren’t snowing, she would have just left the cake there with a note, but it was snowing, and she knew if she went back into the truck to write the note, she would never get back out into the stupid cold again. Sighing, she turned away from the door and started back down the front steps… only to slip on the ice.

The door chose that particular moment to open. Because the world hated her. And the first impression of her to Fai and Yuui’s father would be a klutz who can’t walk when it’s cold out.

Perfect.

“Are you alright?” The voice of the person who answered the door was smooth and silky. He sounded very regal, she decided.

Sakura blushed and thanked God that she was turned away from him. “Y-Yes, I’m fine.” She quickly got to her feet and brushed herself off before turning toward him and (carefully) going back up the front steps. “I hope you’ll excuse me. I’m Sakura, and I know Fai and Yuui from school. Well, I don’t know Yuui much, except that he’s Fai’s brother, but I’m sure he’s very nice as well… A-Anyway, they haven’t been at school and I thought that they might be sick, so I brought them a cake.” She finished it in one breath and found herself gasping for air by the end. She looked up at him tentatively (why the heck was everyone so tall?).

He smiled, which she guessed was a good sign. He had long black hair and a very narrow face. Honestly, he didn’t look anything like Fai and Yuui, excluding the fact that they were all pretty pale. Perhaps they’d gotten their features from their mother.

“That was very thoughtful of you Sakura,” he said, and she felt herself relax. He seemed perfectly fine, after all. “Fai and Yuui are out at the moment, but they should be back any minute now. Come in, I’ll make you some hot tea while we wait.”

She looked back at her truck and the snow accumulating around the wheels. It wasn’t very high yet… what could a couple of minutes hurt? “Thank you!”

Amazingly enough, the inside was even more beautiful than the outside. The decorations were very ornate and seemed to be from all different time periods. There was a grand staircase that separated into two to reach the west and east wings. A huge crystal chandelier that looked more like ice hung from the high ceiling. Tapestries and paintings and rugs—oriental freaking rugs!—decorated the walls.

He led her just a little ways into the house toward a sitting room right beside the kitchen. The furniture was extremely lavish, but didn’t look too comfortable. Excluding the plush chair that he pointed out to her.

“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable while I make the tea.” He retreated into the other room, leaving her twiddling her thumbs.

“T-This really is an amazing place,” she said conversationally and rather loudly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many beautiful things, except maybe in museums.”

She heard him chuckle. “Yes, well I received a rather large inheritance from my family line. There wasn’t much to spend it on once I got older except to make this place as grand as possible. And I’ve had a long time to do that.”

“Ah…” She couldn’t really believe that he’d been there that long. He hardly looked old enough to be the father of Fai and Yuui.

“Are you new here, Sakura? I’ve never seen you around Forks before,” he called from the kitchen. She heard the teakettle whistle.

“Yeah, I just moved here in early October.”

“Where from?” He sounded genuinely interested.

“Arizona, actually. It’s a bit of a, um, change being here.” Speaking of which, she still needed to go on a trip to Seattle to get some warm clothes. She hardly had any long-sleeved shirts, let alone sweaters and jackets.

“I would imagine so.” He stepped out of the kitchen with a cup of steaming hot tea in his hand. He handed it to Sakura before sitting down.

She didn’t take a sip immediately, though. “Aren't you going to have any?” she asked, motioning to his empty hands. She wasn’t suspicious or anything; she just didn’t think it was polite for her to drink when her host didn’t have anything.

He simply smiled. She noted that his smile was a lot like Fai’s. Maybe her initial impression had been wrong. “I drank mine out in the kitchen.”

“Oh.” Well, that wasn’t in the least bit strange. She felt weird drinking when someone was watching her, but she couldn’t be rude. So she took a couple of small sips. “This is really good. Thank you!”

“Glad to hear it. So, you’re friends with Fai? That’s good to hear, he usually doesn’t make friends too easily.”

She took another sip, but nearly spit it out in surprise (because that would have been smooth). “What? But he’s so nice! I’m can’t imagine anyone not liking him.”

He crossed his arms and sighed. “I don’t really think it’s their fault. Fai usually tends to keep his distance. That’s why I’m disappointed, but not surprised, that he failed to inform me about you.”

“Me?”

He reached over and lifted her chin. She didn’t really notice it though. I fact, the light must have been off or something because everything looked like it had light halos around it. Darn contacts.

“Yes. Sakura, you have a very kind and gentle smile.”

She didn’t really know how to respond to that. Luckily she didn’t have to. The front door swung open and Fai started to back into the house.

“Do what you want, I’m going in,” he laughed to someone outside. He turned, the genuine smile still on his face. As soon as he caught sight of Sakura and his father, though, his expression changed drastically.

Sakura of course, didn’t really pay attention. Either that, or the weird halos made it impossible for her to see. “Fai! I thought you might be sick, so I came over.” She smiled brightly.

Fai glared as the man dropped Sakura’s chin and leaned back on the sofa.

“Ashura.”



Ashura smiled warmly at Fai. “Sakura was worried about you and your brother, so she brought a cake over. Wasn’t that nice?”

In what seemed faster than humanly possible, Fai was right beside Sakura in an instant. Darn fuzzy eyesight. Maybe she should excuse herself to check her contacts… if she could make it to the bathroom.

“What did you do?” Sakura couldn’t help but notice that Fai’s voice seemed different than usual… maybe her brain was just messed up though. Maybe this was some side effect of falling asleep in a computer chair after eating pudding.

Fai’s eyes went from Sakura’s tea cup, to Sakura, and then to Ashura. Finally he sighed. “Sakura, come on, I’ll drive you home.”

She (slowly) stood up. “Huh? It’s fine, I can—”

“No, no, Sakura,” Ashura said as he, too, stood up. “You should let Fai take you home.”

“Okay then…” She giggled. Whoa. That was definitely weird.

Fai led her out of the mansion and into the passenger seat of her own truck. She was sure she would have been embarrassed out of her skull… if she had any idea what the heck was going on. All she could do was wave and smile at… Mr. Ashura? … as Fai drove her away.

For a little while, the ride was completely quiet. Figuring Fai was embarrassed about something (maybe being seen in her crappy Chevy), she decided to break the ice. “Your dad’s really nice.” Because that always started up an intelligent conversation.

She thought she saw Fai frown, but he shook his head and smiled slightly instead. When he spoke, his voice had its usual airiness. “Actually, he’s not my real father. He adopted Yuui and me.”

“Oh?” Crap, how could she not have known something so basic as that? … Maybe because he always asked about her in their conversations. First Tomoyo’s choir membership and now this… she was sure to win #1 Friend of the Year Award. “Fai, tell me more about yourself! And Yuui, and Mr. Ashura.”

He blinked at her, then laughed. “Now, now, Sakura, it’s not nice to tease. I know that you know.”

…

“Know what?”

He stared straight ahead. His carefree expression seemed a little forced. “Either Ashura told you or… no, I’m sure you figured it out. He must have made it painfully obvious.”

Was he messing with her? Because, that would not be very nice, since she already felt out of sorts. “Made what painfully obvious? You mean that you’re filthy rich?”

He seemed not to hear her. “I suppose it was only a matter of a time before you found out, anyway.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t treat you any differently! You’re still Fai, no matter what your background!” She smiled at him encouragingly. She never realized being wealthy could be a burden. Tomoyo never really seemed phased by it.

He parked the Chevy in her driveway. With all of this confusing talk, she hadn’t even realized they’d been so close. He smiled at her (man, people like to smile a lot, hm?), and she decided it had all been worth it to find out that Fai was alright.

“Well, here we are! You’d better get inside. After all, today must have been pretty stressful, finding out I’m a vampire and all.”

… Because nobody was expecting that.

“Yeah, I guess you’re…”

.
..
…

“HOEE?!”

… Okay, so Sakura actually wasn’t expecting that…