Valentine's Day: Part 1

Summary: Be m i n e.

Prologue

Kinomoto Residence/Kitchen:

February 14, the day Sakura Kinomoto had been looking forward to all throughout the school year. Valentine's Day, oh, I just can't wait to give out all these goodies!

The auburn haired girl smiled as she took in the scent of the sweet, homemade chocolate that wafted throughout the kitchen. Her father, Fujitaka, had taught her how to make these sweet delicacies when she was 5 years old and ever since then she had made them every year for her class. It had become a tradition for her. Every Valentine's Day she would make a goodie bag with a card, each pertaining a special message written by Sakura's hands alone, and a heart shaped chocolate that was homemade.

"Daddy, is the latest batch done yet?" Sakura stared at the batch of goodies that were ready to be sent for her class during the party, her light emerald eyes lighting up in delight.

"They're just about ready, honey." Fujitaka smiled as he opened the oven, carefully removing the batch as he set the hot pan on the counter. "Let it cool for a bit then it's all ready for you to wrap up." He kissed her forehead gently as he gave her a look of pure adoration. You are so much like your mother.

"Hey, what's with all the racket?" A grumpy voice was heard coming down the stairs as a young 16 year old boy step foot inside the kitchen. Still dressed in his plain white shirt and boxers, the boy let out a bored yawn. "Ah, no wonder. The Monster is awake."

"Shut it Touya!" Sakura stamped her foot as she glared at her older brother. He ran a hand through his dark hair, not bothering to even think of a comeback for his little sister. "Oh, chocolate, don't mind if I do." He made his way towards the pan, but before he could take out one of the chocolate hearts, Sakura slapped his hand away.

"Wha- hey! What gives?"

"These chocolates aren't for you!" Her face was stamped with a defiant expression as she protectively stood in front of the chocolates and glared at her annoying brother.

"Pfft, well I see you made one for Yuki," Touya bent down and gave Sakura a gentle poke on her forehead. "What about your brother?"

She gave him a frown. "I did make you one too."

Fujitaka let out a chuckle. "Ah even after all these years, things never change now do they?" He wiped his hands and looked at Touya. "Come on, son. Get ready for school or else you'll be late."

Touya let out a tiny groan and ruffled Sakura's hair a bit, earning a small whimper from the young girl. "Later dork." Without looking back, he went upstairs to get dressed and ready to start his own day in Tomoeda High.

"Oh, Sakura, you better hurry! It's 7:30!" Fujitaka took out a couple of sheets of light pink packaging paper as he helped his daughter finish preparing the last batch of goodie bags.

"Wahh! I better hurry!" she immediately went into the living room and placed her school shoes within her book bag and proceeded to put on her roller blades. Tomoeda Elementary wasn't too far from her house, so she could easily skate her way there in 10 minutes tops. Carefully, Sakura stood and balanced herself on her four wheel skates. From the kitchen, Fujitaka came out with two big paper bags. Sakura eagerly took the load and carried the bag by the handles, uttering a 'Thank you' to her dad.

"Be careful not to drop them, and I already left Yukito's and Touya's gifts on the counter. I'm sure that Touya will give it to him, so don't you worry okay?"

She nodded and smiled, but before she left she picked up a picture of her smiling mother from the table and placed a kiss on the cold glass. "Happy Valentine's Day Mom, I hope you're happy." She gently placed the photo back on the smooth table as she opened the door. "I'm off Dad! See you in a bit!"

…Meanwhile…

Tomoeda Elementary/ Third Floor:

After Sakura had placed her roller blades inside her locker and put on her school shoes, she ran up two flights of stairs and down the hall until she came to her classroom.

The whole room was filled with pink hearts, much to Sakura's delight. On each of the desks was a red box where students could place their gifts to one another. The girls and boys in her class chattered happily as they decorated the windows with hand drawn pink and red hearts. Eager to help, she went to her desk and set her stuff down next to her seat.

"Sakura-chan!" Upon hearing her name, she turned and saw her best friend Tomoyo coming towards her. "You made it just in time to help out with the decorations!" The ebony haired girl took a hold of Sakura's hands, beaming with happiness.

"Of course Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura giggled as Tomoyo led her towards the window. "What do you all need me to do?"

"Ah, Sakura, this is great! You can help put up the last of the paper hearts!" A girl came towards them carrying a small box filled with paper hearts. Her short, dark brown hair seemed to bounce with every step that the petite girl took further proving that she had been born with a sunny disposition.

"Rika-chan!" Sakura smiled at her fellow friend and classmate and took the small box from her.

For the remaining time the students had left before the bell rang, they all worked on decorating the classroom. All was well for Sakura. She was having fun with her close friends, spending time with them as they all made their classroom ready for their Valentine's Day party.

But something was a bit off…

While Sakura was putting up the paper hearts, she felt a strange warm sensation behind her neck. It prickled at her skin and made her nervous, that's when she knew that she was being watched.

As discreetly as she could manage, the young Kinomoto girl turned her head slightly as the corner of the emerald eyes caught sight of a pair of amber eyes watching her every movement. Li… Realizing that the boy was looking at her, she became nervous and dropped the small box of paper hearts when her arm accidentally brushed against it. "S-sorry!" Blushing furiously, she bent over and picked up the paper hearts. Tomoyo and Rika let out a giggle as they bent down to help. "It's all right Sakura, don't worry, no need to apologize."

She nodded and tried to smile despite her flaming face. It was strange, but Sakura always felt as though Li hated her. His brown hair would sometimes cover his eyes, but she always knew that behind those light strands that he would be watching her in annoyance whenever she was in his line of sight. She didn't know much about him, only that he had been in her class since September and that he had come from Hong Kong. The girl had tried to be friends with him, but the only response she had ever gotten from him was "Leave me alone, your smile annoys me."

"Ah…" Remembering that day made Sakura even more nervous about giving her Valentine gift to Li, for she knew that he would probably do something mean and place it in the trash. I truly do hope that he won't hate it and will accept it… Maybe we'll be friends? She recalled the note she had written on his card, conveying her wishes to be friends. I hope he truly doesn't hate me. Still feeling his eyes on her, she quickly placed the rest of the hearts on the window with Tomoyo and Rika until the bell rang.

"Good morning students!" Mr. Terada entered the room dressed in his usual suit and navy blue tie with a cup of coffee in his hands as a smile graced his handsome face. "All of you please take your seats and we shall begin the party shortly after I take roll."

With her head slightly bowed, Sakura made her way towards her seat with Tomoyo sitting right next to her. As if sensing the change within her friend, Tomoyo gently touched Sakura's shoulder. "Are you all right Sakura? You seem a little… distracted."

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it." She gave her friend a convincing smile. "I guess I'm just a little tired from waking up early to make the chocolates with my dad."

Tomoyo nodded in response and smiled. The whole class remained silent as Mr. Terada called out each of his student's names. Once the roll was called, the teacher allowed his students to do as they pleased. "Today is going to be a fun filled day, so you all go ahead and pass out all of your Valentine gifts to your friends."

In haste, Sakura grabbed her two bags and proceeded to hand out each bag to her classmate's desks. I can't wait to see their happy smiles when they open their gifts! Never once had anyone not smiled in delight when they tasted her homemade chocolate hearts. After she placed the second to last bag on her teacher's desk, her heart began to race. The last bag was for Li, and she was fearful of his reaction when she placed the gift on his desk.

Summoning all the courage that she had, she made her way towards Li's desk, nearly expecting him to be sitting there and glaring at her in disdain. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and stepped in front of Li's desk, waiting for his annoyed voice to demand what it was that she wanted and why she was in front of his desk. After a few seconds, she realized that Li hadn't said a word to her at all, that the only sounds were those that came from the students around her. She quickly opened her eyes and realized that Li was not even in his desk. Letting out a sigh of relief, she placed the bag within his box through the open slit. Let's hope that he doesn't throw it away!

With the last gift delivered, she quickly made her way towards her desk, excited to see what her classmates had given for her. She sat down and shook the box, but something felt strange. Her box was surprisingly lightweight, as it there were nothing in it. With a puzzled expression, she opened her box and saw that it was empty. It was at that moment that her tiny heart seemed to break into little pieces. No one gave me a Valentine…

~o~o~o~o~

Chapter 1

Eighteen Years Later…

Tomoeda, Japan/ Sakura's Apartment:

"Good morning Tomoeda!" The young woman's emerald eyes shot open as she tried to focus her gaze on her alarm clock, trying to find the snooze button as the radio announcer's too cheerful voice continued on with her announcement. "It is a bright and sunshiny day today and I hope you lovebirds are ready for tomorrow, that's right! The holiday that's filled with romance, chocolate, and sappy movies! VALENTINE'S DAY! And for all you men out there waiting to propose to that special girl-"

Not giving the announcer a chance to continue, Sakura slammed her hand on the snooze button and groaned. Valentine's Day my ass… Feeling grouchier than usual and completely unlike herself, she pushed herself off of bed and ran a hand through her tangled hair. She knew that her face was a mess. Her hair was like a tumble weed and her face and eyes were swollen and blotchy with splashes of red covering her pale skin. She had cried herself to sleep last night when her boyfriend of one year had broken it off with her. Remembering it made her heart ache. He had ended it so suddenly too, so close to Valentine's Day…

She glared at her touch screen cell phone that lay completely silent next to her on her nightstand. Angry tears sprung into her eyes as she opened her text messaging icon and scrolled through the messages. When she found the one she was looking for, she gently touched the 'view' option and read what was written:

From: Eriol
To: Sakura

I'm sorry, but I can't be with you anymore. I just don't feel like I love you anymore. I know that it's cruel of me to say, but I don't want to hurt you. I still think of you as a dear friend.

When you get this message, do not be sad. You are a beautiful, wonderful, and amazing woman who any man would die to have. I'm just saying that I'm not the right man for you.

I hope that you can find happiness and that someday you will forgive me.

~Eriol

After she finished reading the message, she felt the tears run freely now as she threw the phone on her bed. "Stupid JERK, why'd you have to ruin everything?" She was tired of this, tired of being alone, tired of not finding the one.

All her life, she had small relationships that never lasted. She figured it was only because she was young, too young to think so seriously and that someday, when she was older, she would be able to find true love.

And that was when she met Eriol…

They had met in CLAMP, the place where Sakura worked that was the largest cell phone corporation in all of Japan. Eriol had arrived from another corporation that dealt with making laptops and came in hopes of merging the corporations together. Sakura had attended the meetings with the corporation Eriol had worked with. She remembered thinking about how handsome Eriol was as he talked about the many technological advances that could be made if they were to ever merge with each other and whenever he caught Sakura's emerald eyes on him his dark sapphire eyes would shine and he would smile just for her. Right after the meeting, Eriol had sought out Sakura and he asked her out to lunch.

At the thought of that memory, she felt those traitorous tears return, stinging her eyes as she lay back down and buried her face within her pillow. What had gone wrong? Eriol was perfect. He was kind, handsome, and intelligent. Those were all of the qualities that Sakura believed made the perfect man, and she swore if she ever met a man that had those qualities that she would try to find happiness with him. Things were going so well that even Tomoyo had steadfastly believed that he would pop the question after their one year anniversary.

"I guess he didn't feel the same way then…" She allowed her tears to run freely for another minute when she felt a sudden vibration coming from beneath her. "Ah! My phone!" Sitting up, she quickly grabbed her phone and saw that she had a text from Tomoyo:

From: Tomoyo
To: Sakura

Heard what happened, we need to go out. NOW.

Go make yourself beautiful and meet me at Miso's, I'll treat you to your fave sushi set and some sweet sake for lunch.

Upon reading her friend's text, she couldn't help but smile as she replied "Will be there soon, give me 30 minutes to put my face together."

Wiping the tears from her eyes one last time, she got up out of bed and made her way towards her bathroom, ready to start the day.

Thirty Minutes Later…

Tomoeda/ Miso's Sushi and Teriyaki Grill:

Dressed in a white blouse, cream colored skirt, and white heels, Sakura stepped into the restaurant as the sunlight hit her eyes, making them appear like a light shade of jade as she tried to scope out Tomoyo. After a few seconds, Tomoyo waved at her from one of the side tables. "Over here Sakura-chan!"

Smiling, Sakura made her way over to her friend as she took a seat across from her. Her friend gave her a sad smile and placed a comforting hand over her own hands. "Are you all right?"

Sakura could only laugh bitterly at her question. "Not really. It still hurts, so much that I cried myself to sleep last night." She shook her head and looked away. "I haven't done that since my mom had died." She laughed again and gently removed her hand away from Tomoyo's gentle grasp, placing her cheek on it as she continued. "Look at me, I'm a mess. I had to put on some makeup to cover up the redness of my cheeks and to at least try to conceal how swollen my eyes were."

"Oh honey," Tomoyo shook her head and sighed, "You will find happiness, but you just have to wait a bit." Sakura only nodded in response, it wasn't like this was the first time her friend had given her this piece of advice.

"But for now what you need is a girl's night out!" Upon hearing that phrase Sakura's eyes widened as she groaned. Already familiar with what that sound meant, Tomoyo's expression turned into dismay. "Oh, you have to work now, don't you?"

"Yes, oh what perfect timing." Life didn't seem to be taking Sakura's side at the moment as she felt the stress build up. "We have to be there to welcome this new guy that will be taking over as the CEO of CLAMP Corporations." After Sakura had said that she rolled her eyes. "I bet you anything that now everyone will be typing out reports and new agreements like crazy in order to forge more and more connections."

"Well, that's what you get for working for a prestigious corporation like CLAMP." Tomoyo laughed. "Having a great paycheck for your job does come with pros and cons, and cons being that you have to do boring work in order to get the pay."

"Oh please don't remind me." Sakura covered her mouth as she let out a laugh. "Now enough of this talk about business, let's eat I'm starving."

As if on cue, the waiter came to their table with a smile and took out his pen and pad. "Sorry for the long wait ladies, now what can I get for you gals this fine evening?"

…About an Hour Later…

Tomoeda/ Streets:

Tomoyo and Sakura left the restaurant together and hugged. "I hope you feel better soon, and try to get through work. Call me if you want to hang out okay?"

"I will, thank you Tomoyo, you're the best." And with that goodbye, they went their separate ways. Sakura looked at the time and saw that she still had about 45 minutes to spare before she went into work. Shrugging to herself, she decided to walk to work instead of taking a cab like she usually did. That way, she could give herself time to think.

Feeling the sun shine on her back, she felt comforted by its warmth and began to make her way to work. Although she had fun with Tomoyo and felt a little bit better with the help of her friend, the sadness still lingered. She still wondered what had happened that made Eriol realize that he didn't love her anymore. As painful as it sounded, that statement alone was true. He just didn't love her anymore. But why?

As the sadness transformed from a mere lingering within her heart to an icy cold feeling that seeped throughout her body, she shook her head and raised her head. No time to feel sorry for myself now, I must move on! COME ON SAKURA! You can do this, YOU CAN DO THIS!

Twenty minutes had passed until she saw the familiar tall, glass skyscraper that housed the CLAMP Corporation. With a few turns and crosses across the street, she made it to the front entrance and pushed at the glass, letting herself in.

CLAMP Corporation/ Meeting Room:

The whole staff was in the room, anxiously awaiting the new CEO as Sakura held herself together, rubbing her arms nervously as she tried to prevent the tears from falling as she looked down at the grand table. Eriol… This was where we met.

Her gaze was still downcast when the door suddenly opened. She could tell that it was the new CEO himself because several murmurs were heard when he began to speak.

"I thank you all for coming here to welcome me." Huh? Sakura's ears perked a bit as she sensed something familiar about his voice. Closing her eyes, she shut out her thoughts of Eriol and tried to concentrate on the CEO's voice. Why is it so familiar?

"As you know, I have been with CLAMP for quite a while now and I wanted to say that I love the job that I do." He continued on with his speech about how hard work had gotten him this position when Sakura opened her eyes in frustration. If I can't remember him by voice, then I have to remember him by his looks! Gazing ahead, she saw the man and gasped. Her heart began to race and her palms began to feel sweaty.

The man ran a nervous hand through his light brown hair and smiled. "All that said, I hope that you all will give me a chance." Without even knowing, his amber eyes landed once again on Sakura's emerald gaze and she knew where she had heard his voice before.

"Leave me alone, your smile annoys me."

Syaoran Li was the new CEO…

~To be Continued…

AN: Hello, here I am once again with a new story. I'm sorry that I keep on making new stories for new categories, but I want to be different. If you readers like this story, then please review :) A favorite author of mines once said that reviews were part of a happy cycle. Happy Reviews leads to Happy Authors which leads to Happy Authors writing new chapters and leads to a NEW CHAPTER BEING POSTED (which means a FAST UPDATE :D)!

With this story, I plan to do something different. For this multi-chaptered story will not be connected all the way through, rather, they will be a series of one shots for Cardcaptor Sakura alone.

All that said, please be kind and do not flame. If you do not like this story, then that is perfectly fine :). No one is forcing you to read this. I apologize for any mistakes and I shall see you in Part 2 ;D.

-TheresaRayne

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura. All credit goes to CLAMP ;)