Hope's Pure Light

Chapter 5: Welcome back
(A/N: hey all! sorry it took me so long to update…I’ve been pretty busy up at college. (midterms=death) well, here is chapter 5! thank you for the reviews!! sorry this chapter is short…)

Syaoran had boarded the plane, tired and irritable. His flight had been delayed seven hours, all of which were spent in the airport for Syaoran. He couldn’t tear himself away from the anticipation of returning to Tomoeda. He couldn’t believe how close he would be to Sakura again, perhaps even fighting evil at her side. They could take on this mission together, if she was willing. His body ached with exhaustion, but his eyes were bright as he looked through the small window on his left. Below the plane he saw dark, foreboding water, invading his happy thoughts with darkness. It wasn’t till then that he realized that the most powerful force in Tomoeda, in Japan for that matter, was Sakura. It was entirely possible that she was the cause of disturbance. His body froze as his heart quickened; the plane began its descent.
In a dream-like trance, Syaoran walked slowly from the terminal. The rain fell lightly, making the streets shine and pedestrians run for cover. Without knowing what he was doing, he called a cab. Stupefied, he gave the driver directions and leaned back against the cracked, hard seats. The drive took seconds it seemed, and each moment Syaoran was lost in the confusion of the situation. Each time he tried to reassure himself that Sakura was not the cause of the unrest, the less likely it seemed. He could feel the darkness growing, and part of him didn’t care. If Sakura was truly the problem, she would need to be dealt with, a task he did not wish to undertake.
Stepping into his room was like stepping into the past. His mother had never cancelled the lease on the apartment, and the furniture was exactly as he had left it so many years ago. He wandered to his bedroom, throwing his bags onto his bed. The closet door was open, and a single hanger held up a single outfit. A black leather jacket heavily covered a white tank and shirt. Black pants fell loosely at the bottom. He sighed as he sat on his bed. Within seconds his head was on the pillow and he was fast asleep.
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Sakura had started the day like she had started every day. She was sure it would be simply another task, one more day to live before she could leave it all behind. The day was cloudy and it began to sprinkle as she walked to her Psychology class. She made her way through a mass of umbrellas and rushing students, but heard nothing but the steady drops of water against the pavement.
A sudden jolt went through her, coursing through her body like green lightning. She rapidly spun her head around, looking for what presence was causing the shock. Each face she met was as normal and undistinguishable as the next. People began staring at her as she rushed from student to student, whipping her head around, craning her neck to find the disturbance of her mundane life. Her desperate search ended in failure, and she stood in dumb silence in the rain, wondering what had just come to Tomoeda…What was about to change.
She sat in her class idly, her mind roaming through memories and time trying to place the feeling that had shaken up her dark life. Sakura dared to hope that this would be something…that she wasn’t just imagining or creating some sort of delusion of escape. Perhaps this was the beginning of an end, the beginning of a new beginning. She found the thought of leaving this world behind very tempting, which in a way scared her.
New thoughts and ideas poured through her mind for the first time in years. Though deep darkness still tied her to the gloominess that had consumed her for years, a small, minute glimmer of light and hope had been lit, stifling a part of her against such despair. Such a miniscule flame surely would seem insignificant to the average mind, but to Sakura it was unknowingly treasured. It had been years since she hoped, and even the tiniest candle can fight away the deepest darkness.
The slow walk to her room flew by; Sakura walked in a daze, her eyes searching the ground as her thoughts sifted through her mind. The rain had stopped, thankfully. The ground was still wet, filling the air with the sweet aroma of the past rains. Streams of water ran on the sides of the black path, catching cherry blossoms in the foamy crests. Before long, Sakura reached the door of her room. She slowly turned the key, completely unaware of her actions. Her feet hit the floor of her room, and she slowly turned and closed the door. It took her a moment to notice Marc angrily standing at her bed. Her eyes searched his face for half a minute, then she finally become aware of his actual presence. She shook herself out of her haze, acknowledging she had company.
“Marc…What are you doing here?” she asked surprised.
“What the hell do you think I’m here for?” he replied in a voice that was bordering a shout. “You fucked up last night and now I’m horny as hell. Get on the goddamn bed.”
She lowered her head, afraid to meet his eyes again. It was back to life, in all its horrible and malicious glory. If she had a choice to fight against him, she never realized it. Sakura had been so used to being trampled over and beaten that she couldn’t find the strength within her to fight back.
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Syaoran decided immediately when he woke up that his presence here could not be known. Though it would’ve been easier to simply call Tomoyo and find out where Sakura was, he knew that if Sakura was the problem, that it would be easier if she was not alerted of his presence. Until he was sure, he would have to be invisible, and he would do his damnedest not to be recognized. Sadly, however, he realized that it had been years and years since he had seen any of his old friends, and it was highly improbable that they would identify him anyways.
The stars were just coming out as he got dressed in the outfit left out for him. Dressed entirely in black, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His shoulders were broad and his arms were toned. He surely wasn’t the boy that had left this city behind. Looking past his physical appearance, he focused on the clothes. He smiled, “No…this doesn’t look suspicious at all…”
After leaving the monastery, he had come to realize that it had been ten years since he left. At first he was shocked. He couldn’t decide, however, if the time he spent there felt like more or less. It seemed to have been an instant since he had entered the gates…but the time he was held there also seemed like a lifetime. The year placed Sakura in college, if she had continued her education. Based on her father’s profession, he was almost positive that the university would be where he could find her. After a little searching on the internet and finding the Tomoeda’s University site, he quickly found that she was enrolled. Within seconds, he had grabbed his coat and was out the door.
As he waited for the elevator to take him to ground level, he bit his lip as he realized that he had jumped to conclusions, and perhaps his own agenda had gotten in the way of his mission. After all, wasn’t he supposed to find the source…not necessarily Sakura? He should be finding and feeling his way to his target, not google-ing his old crush thinking she might be it…He walked into the elevator numbly, afraid he was doing the wrong thing. ‘But…” he thought slowly, “she could be a likely cause of this, and even if she’s not, she’s bound to know about it.” Syaoran kept up this reasoning as he headed out of the lobby and towards the university.