Author's Note: Hi, everyone! This is my very first fanfic. It took me a while to actually decide to write one. I've been reading a lot of great fanfiction over the years and I decided it was time to give back. Plus, this plot bunny has been bouncing around my head for days and getting it finally out there might be the way to stop it from distracting me from school and work.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! I posted the first two chapters so as to make the foundation for the real story. Reviews are always welcome. Flames are also welcome, but if ever you do, could you please tell me which part you hated as well as why you hated it? It's so I know what I have to work on. Thanks!

Title: Memories of a Heart

Rating: T

Summary: No, I don't know her. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen her. But despite that, why does my heart race when I look at her?

Full Summary: Sakura lost her first love in a tragic accident three years ago. Syaoran's life was saved by a heart transplant operation three years ago. A chance meeting by a grave marks the beginning of a love that will heal her, and a love that will transform him. They say that there are two types of memories, memories of the mind and memories of the body. Will memories of a man's love remain in his heart even when it beats in another person's chest?

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura or any of its characters. They all belong to Satsuki Igarashi-sensei and all the wonderful members of CLAMP. The only thing I gain from the writing of this fanfic is a smile that lasts an entire day.

-oOo-

Chapter 1: Tragedy

Tomoeda, Japan

The Therford Hotel

Pacific Escapes Restaurant

7:42 PM

February 25, 2006

The man in front of her knelt down on one knee. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what he was doing. Sakura waited for him to speak. He held her hand in both of his, gazed into her emerald orbs and spoke.

"I used to think that I'd be a bachelor forever. Marriage was never in the list of my life's priorities. That is, until I met you. All the times I've spent with you were the happiest of my life. I want to continue living with you at my side. You mean so much to me that I can't find the words to properly describe how I feel about you. I love you. It's an understatement but it would have to do. I love you, Sakura Kinomoto. I will love you to the very end of my days. Will you marry me?"

She was speechless. She never imagined that this date would end up like this. It wasn't until she saw the worried expression creep into his face along with a dampness on her cheeks that she realized she was crying.

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean… I'm sorry. You… you can forget about…"

He finally let his gaze leave hers as he tried desperately to keep the hurt from seeping into his voice. Sakura knew he had misunderstood.

"It's not that," she said with a shake of her head.

Her right hand curved itself on his cheek as she moved his face so their eyes would meet.

"I'm just so happy. I love you, too. Yes. Yes, I'll marry you, Shuichi" She knew the joy she felt was reflected in her eyes.

Shuichi stood up, his smile lighting up his entire face as he took Sakura into his arms.

"Thank you. I love you," he answered as he buried his face into her brown tresses.

Sakura felt his lips touch her forehead, felt it on the tip of her nose, and finally, against her own lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him in earnest, forgetting all else except the feeling of his warm lips moving against hers. She was content to remain that way for all eternity.

"Wait!" Shuichi cried as he broke their kiss.

He removed her arms from his shoulders and held both of them with one hand as he fumbled with his pockets.

Sakura was confused. "What do you mean, 'wait'?"

"The…uh… engagement ring," Shuichi answered as he continued to search his pockets. "I was so nervous I totally forgot about it. I'm sorry. I'll probably get the award for the stupidest proposal ever."

Sakura blinked, letting his statement sink in. Letting out a hearty laugh, she pulled her arms out of his grasp and embraced him once more. She never remembered being this happy in her life.

-oxoxoxoxoxoxox

Tomoeda, Japan

Kinomoto Residence

Living Room

8:12 AM

April 3, 2006

It was a beautiful day and Sakura was excited for the trip she and her fiancé would be taking. Shuichi decided escaping their friends and relatives for a few days would do them a world of good.

A few days after Shuichi proposed, they decided it was a good time to tell everybody about their engagement. Shuichi introduced Sakura to his relatives first. She was a bit nervous of how they would act towards her but she apparently had nothing to worry about as they all welcomed her into the family with the warmest smiles. Mr. and Mrs. Kimura, Shuichi's parents, had the biggest and warmest smiles of the lot. They had even joked that Shuichi was lucky that a girl as beautiful and talented as her agreed to marry him. She was flattered of course, but she told them how wonderful Shuichi was and that she was the lucky one having Shuichi fall in love with her. Shuichi's smile was blinding then. She gave a soft chuckle at the memory of it all.

Shuichi wasn't all that confident when it was his turn to be formally introduced. Her father, Fujitaka Kinomoto, already knew him as he used to be his student in one of his archaeology classes in the university. Sakura had also told him when she and Shuichi started dating. She only learned then that Shuichi even went to the trouble of formally asking her father for her hand before he proposed to her. This, of course, placed him in her father's good graces. Touya was a whole different issue of course. Touya only knew from their father that they were dating so he was so surprised when they announced their engagement. It seemed he was still under the delusion that Sakura would not move past this dating stage. She still remembered him almost choking on the cake he was eating when they told them the news. Seeing as he was unable to do anything about the situation that did not involve killing Sakura's groom-to-be, he gave them his blessings - albeit a little grudgingly. He never did get over that overprotective brother complex of his.

All of their friends were happy at the news, especially Tomoyo. Tomoyo kept nagging her everyday to let her plan the wedding. Tomoyo finally shut up when she agreed. Rika, Naoko and Chiharu, her best friends growing up, insisted that they be part of the wedding. Shuichi's friends were no different. They may not have planned an official engagement party yet but they felt as if they've been to hundreds. Their friends and families already threw them several parties for their engagement. Needless to say, she immediately accepted Shuichi's invitation to escape their over zealous friends and families for a while.

The sound of the phone ringing broke her out of her reverie. She trotted to the sofa, grabbed the phone and landed with a thump. She clicked the "Talk' button and immediately put the receiver against her ear.

"Hello, Kinomoto residence."

"Sakura!"

She smiled as she recognized the voice on the other line

"Hello, Tomoyo."

"I wanted to go over a few things about your wedding. I've got such big plans. You had better be prepared to be amazed. This is going to be the wedding of the century! Anyway, I need you to come over to my house today and help me out. There's so much to do and so little time! Right now I'm super stumped on whether to chose roses or calla lilies for the arch of flowers I intend to put up front and center. Also, the color scheme. I was thinking pink like sakura but then your green eyes would be brought out by even more green. The details are killing me. I've called in Rika and the rest to help out. I need to allocate duties or I'm going to explode!"

"Tomoyo, we haven't even decided on a date for the wedding yet." She laughed knowing that her friend would be rolling her eyes right about now.

"Who cares? It takes time to make a masterpiece! Artists don't just rush their work. A large amount of planning and envisioning goes into it."

"I'd be willing to help you any day, well, except for the next few says, that is."

"Oh?" Sakura recognized how a sly edge seeped into Tomoyo's voice.

"Shuichi said he wanted to relax for a few days away from the city. He's taking me to their family townhouse in Gifu."

"Wait, just you and him?"

"What are you thinking, Tomoyo?"

"Haha, I'm keeping it real Sakura. But to answer your question, I was considering making two versions of your wedding dress. One for a slim Sakura and another for a Sakura with a little baby bump." She heard her laugh on the other line.

She felt her cheeks warm. "Tomoyo!"

"You never know, I'd best be prepared for any scenario. Don't worry though, your wedding dress will be absolutely beautiful whether you're pregnant or not. I won't say much about your groom though. If your brother learns he's taken liberties only because you have his rock on your finger, I'm the sure the wedding will be after all the plastic surgery operations he has to undergo to reconstruct his face."

"I'm serious, Tomoyo."

"So am I, Sakura."

Sakura was about to scold her friend more but the sound of the doorbell stopped her.

"That was the doorbell. I think Shuichi's here. I've got to go, Tomoyo."

"Oookay. Just call me when you get back and give me a detailed report on how everything went. We can even start thinking about baby names. I was thinking Umi, you know?" Tomoyo started giggling.

"Tomoyo!"

She could already imagine her friend's nonchalant shrug. "Just saying."

"I can never win against you, do you know that?" Sakura answered with a smile.

"I love you, too. See you when you get back."

"Yes, bye!"

Sakura clicked the 'Talk' button again and placed the receiver back on the phone. She already brought down all of her bags early in the morning so she just had to pick them up and head for the door. She opened it smiled at her fiancé. His answering smile was just as dazzling.

"Good morning. Did you wait for me long?"

He reached out and took all of the things Sakura was holding and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Not really. I was on the phone with Tomoyo a bit before you came."

"Again? I think she's been calling you everyday since she found out we were engaged," he answered, a wry smile pasted on his face.

"I've learned when I was in elementary that Tomoyo doesn't hold anything back when it comes to designing clothes or holding big parties."

"I see. Let me get these things to the car while you lock up."

"All right, thank you." Sakura watched him open his trunk and put all of her things inside. She felt a smile creep up her face. She then went in front of their so-called "family locator board". It had been a habit since she was a child. Since her father and Touya were always busy, they wrote down where they'd be on certain days of the week on a whiteboard that was placed on the kitchen wall. Any reminders they had for each other were written down there as well. Even now that she was almost 20, she never could get the habit out of her system.

'Visiting Shuichi's house in Gifu. Be Back by the 7th' There, that should be enough.

She placed the cap back on the marker and left it on the island.

Let's hope Touya won't misconstrue that little note I left for something weird. He might not let Shuichi get away with it.

Sakura laughed softly to herself as she passed the door's threshold. Checking if the spare key was in its usual spot, she clicked the lock and closed the door.

She saw Shuichi looking at her from the driver's seat with a smile on his face. She smiled back and headed for his car.

This is definitely going to be good day.

-oxoxoxoxoxoxoxox-

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo Metropolitan Highway

Right Outside Lane

11:04 AM

April 3, 2006

Sakura kept moving the dials on the radio looking for a station she wanted to listen to.

"You'll break that thing before you find what you're looking for the way you're handling it," Shuichi teased.

Sakura puffed her cheeks.

"You scold like Touya, he hates it when I fiddle with his radio," she answered.

"You seem to be used to his 'angry face'. It doesn't even appear to faze you."

She laughed at his words. "Because I've seen it over a million times. People say Touya's intimidating because he always has this scowl plastered on his face. But I know better, he's a really big softie, so long as you know how to make him show his soft side."

"And I'm assuming you're an expert at that?" he asked accompanied by a lift of his eyebrow.

"Of course!" she answered happily.

"I still remember his face when we told him we were getting married. I swear he turned seven shades of purple before you looked at him. He was glaring daggers at me. He looked like he wanted to wring my neck. I saw my life flashing before me," Shuichi told her while putting on an expression of mock horror.

Sakura laughed out loud. "That's Touya all right. He's always been overprotective ever since we were kids. I think he scared off all the guys that liked me until I was in junior high."

"Well, it's a good thing we met in college then," he remarked.

"He became a little lax when I went to university. He said something about me being mature enough to know what's best for me. Well, that and that he couldn't well be skulking around campus giving death glares to guys who show an interest in me."

Shuichi stared at her for a moment. He shook his head, a gentle smile forming on his lips. "And I see you aren't at all angry at him."

It was Sakura's turn to look him in the eye. "Angry? Why should I be?" she giggled and went on, "I love Touya, he's great."

"Heh, I see." He didn't break their gaze for a second.

"Besides… Shuichi! Look out!"

The last thing Sakura saw before everything went black was a large truck skidding on the road headed right for them.

-oxoxoxoxoxoxoxox-

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo General Hospital

Room 726-B

3:45 PM

April 4, 2006

Sakura tried to open her eyes. Everything was a bit unfocused at first but after a few moments, she found herself staring at a white ceiling. She couldn't remember where she was.

The highway. Talking with Shuichi. The truck!

She gasped as she remembered everything. She scrambled out of bed and got into a sitting position. Tried would be the more appropriate term. She found herself strapped to a big machine by the side of her bed with numerous tubes connecting her to said machine. She started to struggle.

"Sakura?"

She looked up with fearful eyes and saw her Father. She looked past him and saw Touya sleeping on the couch. She felt tears sting her eyes. Fujitaka sat on the edge of her bed and placed his hand on her cheek.

"I'm so glad you're all right, sweetheart. Touya and I were so worried when we got the call. We got here as fast as we could." His deep voice always managed to soothe Sakura no matter how scared she felt. This time was no exception.

She couldn't find her voice. She saw the dark shadows under her father's eyes and she knew he hadn't slept yet. She couldn't stop the tears from falling. She tried her best to get into a sitting position. Her father supported her and when she was finally seated, took her into his arms.

"I was so afraid that I'd lose you."

Sakura buried her face into her father's chest, hands curling on her father's creased suit. "I was so scared, Otousan." She reverted back to a little girl in her father's arms. Her voice was muffled but Fujitaka understood.

She raised her head and faced her father just as she remembered Shuichi. "And Shuichi? He's fine, too, right? I mean, I'm okay so he must be, too." The sound of Shuichi's name brought a gaunt look to her father's face, making her father look years older. It was obvious her father was finding the right words to answer her.

Sakura couldn't bear to watch her father anymore. She lowered her gaze and spoke, her voice trembling. "He's fine, right?" She could feel a new gush of tears. "Please, please tell me, Otousan."

Fujitaka pulled her to him once again and rested his chain on her head. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

-oOo-

Author's note (again): And it's done. I hate pairing Sakura with anyone other than Syaoran, it just feels so wrong. But it was needed. It took me forever to get this chapter done. Next chapter, anyone? :p