Final Heaven
“Tomoyo-chan...”
“But Sakura-chan like’s pink,” Tomoyo chides gently, as if reminding me
of something I had forgotten. I just blush fiercely in response. She’s
always had this affect on me, from when we were young girls. She has a
way of getting me to go along with whatever it is she thinks. Yes, I do
like pink. And I trust Tomoyo-chan’s judgement with things like that. I
mean, she probably knows me better than I do. But the cloth is so
ethereal. It almost sparkles in her hands. And I can see right through
it. After all these years, I know what she must be thinking. Tomoyo-chan
has a dirty mind. These days she makes almost all of my clothes. But I
can only think of one place where I’d wear something made out of that.
And it probably wouldn’t stay on for long at that.
Hoe... I’m blushing even deeper now. And she knows it. Sometimes I think
she can read my mind. I wouldn’t be surprised. She seems to be able to
pick up on everything. It’s her own kind of magic. I have no idea how
she knows so much. But that really doesn’t help me right now because
that just makes it even more embarrassing. And I know she’ll get me to
wear whatever she’ll make from that cloth, too.
“Tomoyo-chan...” I say again, helplessly. I know it won’t change
anything. I’ve known her far too long to think that. I’m just no good at
arguing anything with her. She has this sweet way of always getting me
to go along with what she has in mind. She always seems to know what
she’s doing. And with her soft voice and her pretty blue eyes, she can
be so persuasive. It’s like with her costumes. I can’t help going along
with her when she looks so determined.
Tomoyo pauses for a moment, her stormy blue eyes closed. She looks so
deep in thought. It takes me a moment before I realize that I’m leaning
closer, curiously. I sweatdrop and stand back up, still watching her.
What could she be thinking? Her eyes flutter open, locking with mine.
“Even Bara-chan likes it. She’s kicking for you, Sakura.” She smiles
that sweet, loving smile that she’s been showering on me since I was
young. I smile back excitedly, feeling a thrill shoot through me.
“She is? Really?!” I ask anxiously, my body wanting to go in different
directions all at once. Tomoyo-chan takes my hand gently and places it
on the growing swell of her stomach. She’s right. I can feel our little
daughter kicking inside of her. I can’t contain myself at that. It’s
just so... right. My blush fades quickly, my mind focussing on our
daughter. Our daughter. The symbol of our love. Well, that miracle took
a little push from my magic, but she’s still our daughter. I blush again
at Tomoyo’s loving gaze and return it, smiling happily at my wife. Oh,
my knees are feeling week. This whole thing is just... hanyaa. I almost
lunge forward at the growing warmth in my heart, hugging my very
pregnant best friend as tightly as I can.
“I love you, Sakura-chan,” she says in that gentle, sweet voice of hers.
It sounds like she’s singing to me. I always feel so happy when I hear
her say that. I always have. I just didn’t always understand them. But
now I do.
“I love you, too,” I say, pouring my whole heart into those few words.
I think the baby is finally resting. She has so much energy. Just like
her mother. I can’t wait to see her. I have to wonder if she’ll take
more after me or Sakura-chan. I took a lot after Sakura’s mother and she
took a lot after mine, which is a little strange if you don’t realize
how much the cousins missed each other. So we were there way of
remembering each other. But it doesn’t matter to me who Bara-chan looks
like or which of us she takes after. I’m very happy to know that she’s
our daughter. I’ll be happy as long as Sakura-chan and I can raise her
together. I’m sure she’ll grow up to be a remarkable girl. Just like her
mother.
I continue to sing softly to the unborn child within me. I want her to
feel safe, to feel loved. So I’ll continue singing to her, hoping that
she can hear me somewhere in there. I want her to know how happy I am to
be carrying her, our sweet daughter. To have something that’s ours, the
product of my love for Sakura and hers for me, grow and develop inside
of me. It’s a wonderful feeling. I have to admit that I never really
thought about it much before. I just never thought I would wind up
pregnant. I know mother was lonely when she had me and that I helped
alleviate some of that, but I never thought that I’d wind up having a
child of my own. That she could be Sakura’s. So despite the morning
sickness and the mood swings and all of the doctor’s appointments, I’m
deliriously happy to be having her. My hands rest on my stomach as I
whisper soothingly to my baby girl.
“I think you’ll like it here, Bara-chan. Sometimes it can be a little
cold and a little lonely, but there is such beauty out there if you can
only find it. And it will capture your entire soul. It’s breathtaking to
behold. That something so perfect can exist is almost unbelievable.
Please look for the beauty that’s out there, Bara-chan. I think you’ll
be surprised. Especially if it looks back at you.”
I smile at the thought, my eyes falling closed for a second. I’ve been
much too tired lately. But I’m sure it’s easier for Bara to rest if I’m
not busy running around. And why follow Sakura-chan around when she can
come to me? Almost as if on cue, Sakura enters the room carrying a small
bowl of soba. She looks so adorable in the floral design apron she has
on with the big, pink house slippers on her feet. We have a chef for
such things, of course, but Sakura insists on cooking herself from time
to time. Even more so lately. I can't tell which of us is more anxious
about the baby.
“Singing to the baby again, Tomoyo-chan?” Sakura asks with a warm smile
as she kneels next to the bed, blowing on the soba to cool it down.
“She must love when you do that. It’s always so pretty.” She finally
helps me up, handing me the bowl of soba. The sparkle in her emerald
eyes hasn’t decreased in the slightest from when she was a child. In
fact, sometimes it seems even brighter these days.
I smile in return, glad to have her help with anything as I lean back
against the head of the bed.
“Arigato gozimasu, Sakura. I want her to know that we’re waiting for
her. And that she has much to look forward to.”
I reach out and stroke Sakura’s cheek softly. She blushes a bit but
doesn’t avert her gaze. I can see all of the love I’ve always wanted to
pour into her reflected back at me. That feeling warms me more than the
soba possibly could. She takes the chopsticks and brings a bit to my
mouth. It’s still a little hot, but it goes down well.
“It’s delicious, Sakura-chan. I’m sure Bara-chan would like to thank
you, too. She must be getting hungry. And what better than a dish cooked
with Sakura’s special ingredient?”
Sakura giggles at that, nodding as she takes another bit of the soba
with the chopsticks and brings it back to my mouth.
“A healthy dose of love for my sweet best friend and our cute little
daughter. That’s why I sent the chef home for the day. I used to cook
for my family back home a lot, even if it was a chore. So now I want to
cook for my family here.” A happy smile crosses her lips, along with
that spectacularly determined look in her eyes that I’ve always loved
seeing. When Sakura-chan finally gets her mind set on something, she
throws her whole heart into it. I’m so happy to be the focus of that
determination now.
“I’d be delighted to eat Sakura’s cooking for as long as she’ll make it.
Or as long as you keep feeding it to me,” I state with another smile.
She looks a little flustered as she gets another biteful and brings it
up to my mouth. She’s so easy to embarrass. And she’s so kawaii when she
blushes. I wonder if she knows that. I’ve told her enough by now that
she has to. She blushed a whole lot back when we were dating. Whereas it
doesn’t happen quite as much anymore, it’s still easy enough to bring a
flush to her cheeks.
“If you say so, Tomoyo. I still think the chef is better, but I wanted
to make something for you and the baby myself. It may not be as good,
but I feel better that way.” Sakura looks so emotional as her jade eyes
watch me on the bed.
I haven’t seen her this emotional since the morning of our wedding. And
that’s quite a bit for her because she’s always a rather emotional
woman. Which is one of the many, many things I love about her. I try to
pick out all of the emotions I see in her at the moment. Joy,
anticipation, anxiety, fear, happiness, contentment, wonder. All of them
performing their wild dance through Sakura. I stroke her cheek again, my
fingers trailing across the silky smooth skin. I smile up at her
reassuringly, brushing back a lock of her brunette hair behind one cute
ear. I always loved her ears. They’re just so kawaii. My fingers linger
behind her left ear for a moment, her body relaxing slightly.
“I love you, Sakura. I’m glad that you’d cook for the baby and me.
That’s so sweet of you.” I watch her for a long time, her hands taking
one of mine, giving it a squeeze. She leans down after a moment’s
hesitation and kisses me. It’s a short but entirely sweet kiss and like
always, it leaves me a little breathless with its implications. Her love
is much more potent to me than anything I’ve ever felt. It laps at my
soul like gentle waves. It’s just the way she is, a kind and gentle soul
that tries so hard even when she has no idea what to do. That
determined, genki spirit of hers has always quenched my thirsty soul.
How could I not love her. My fingers slip from her cheek, but my eyes
never leave her own.
“Aishiteru, Tomoyo. I’m really happy that you like it. I’ll try to make
some dessert in a bit.” Sakura scoots down across the bed as I start to
take a few bites myself. Her hands run down my pale legs before stopping
at my feet, making little swirls with her fingers before gently
massaging them. It feels so perfect, having the Card Mistress right here
with me, throughout all of this. We were trying to decide who should
have the baby for a while when we first decided we wanted one. At first,
we’d thought that it should be Sakura-chan. After all, she’s not as busy
at Daidouji Toys as I usually am and it would be a wonderful experience.
But the more we thought about it, the more I thought that I should carry
our baby. It’s Sakura-chan’s magic at work, so I’d rather she use it on
me anyway. And it gives her a chance to learn more about the company,
even though mother still wants me to take it over when she retires.
Besides all that, I’m overjoyed to be able to have this experience. To
feel our baby inside of me fills me with a wonderfully indescribable
feeling. It’s similar to the warmth that I feel from Sakura.
I yawn tiredly, Sakura’s nimble fingers starting to relax me more than
I’d realized. I move my foot in her hand, marveling at the feel of her
soft fingers against my skin.
“I’m sure Bara-chan will love dessert. But I’d rather have you here with
me for now.”
My eyes meet hers again. She crawls up along the bed as I set the soba
bowl down, her arms wrapping around me. Her head rests on the pillow
next to mine, dark gray hair right next to sweet brunette. My heart
skips a beat at having my one, True Love so close to me. It yearns for
her, as always, and so she complies, her warm heart beating next to my
own.
“Okay, Tomoyo-chan. I’ll wait until after you fall asleep before I go
start on dessert. Just promise me you won’t come downstairs to try and
videotape me this time. You need your rest. And I’ll go pick up some
more videos to record more of the pregnancy when I go out tomorrow.”
Sakura looks thoughtful for a moment, trying to go over anything she
might be missing in her head. I disturb her thoughts with a quick kiss.
“I promise, Sakura.” Her bright smile is all of the reward I need to
convince me to stay in bed. Gazing into those beautiful emerald eyes, I
slowly slip off to sleep, dreaming of our beautiful baby girl and my
gorgeous wife.
“But I don’t wanna be in the play. I’ll forget my lines and everyone
will laugh.”
I sigh, brushing some dark brown hair from my eyes. This is just awful.
Awful. I don’t wanna be part of some stupid play at school. Why can’t I
just help backstage where I don’t have to be out in front of everybody?
I get stage fright too easily.
“Bara-chan, you shouldn’t worry about that. I can help you learn your
lines if you want. And I’m certain that you’ll do perfectly well in the
play. Your mother made a spectacular prince in a play back when she was
your age.” Tomoyo-mama smiles sweetly, that same smile she always has
when talking about Sakura-mama.
“It doesn’t matter if anyone laughs. I won’t. And I’ll be videotaping
the whole thing.”
She kneels down next to me, forgetting whatever it was she was sewing
for the time being. Her pale hands brush my messy hair from my eyes
where it had fallen again.
“And Sakura will be there, too. We’ll be cheering for you.”
I smile a bit at that. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be all bad. They would be
there for the whole thing and at least I’d have help learning the lines.
I sigh in defeat.
“Hai, I know. I’m just so scared about being in front of everyone.”
Tomoyo-mama smiles again, standing up. “You’ll do just fine, Bara- chan.
How about after dinner we’ll start practicing your lines and I can try
to give you some tips on stage fright? I was in choir for years and
Sakura was in cheerleading, so maybe we can help.” She tilts my chin up
so I meet her gaze, still smiling.
I nod, more hair getting in my eyes. “That sounds good, Tomoyo- mama.
Thanks! I’ll go get my script for the play.” With an approving nod from
my mom, I dart off to my room at a slight limp. I’m still a little
nervous about the whole thing, but maybe she’s right. It can’t be all
bad, especially if I have people to do it for. And now that I’m not in
dance class until my ankle heals, it would be nice to have something to
show them. It’s just so much easier when I’m dancing. You don’t have to
think about anything. You just dance. It doesn’t matter who’s watching.
Too bad I hadn’t noticed Chisa dancing so close. Oh well. The doctor
said it should just be a few weeks until my ankle’s back to normal.
Grabbing my bookbag from my bed, I start sifting through it. It has to
be in here somewhere. Plenty of notebooks, some pictures I drew in
class, a few notes...
“What are you looking for?” a voice asks from behind me. I turn quickly,
startled. Why does she always have to surprise me like that? I face my
mirror image for a moment and smile brightly before going back to
searching. It’s nice to see her at least. I was wondering where she’d
gone off to. I’m a little awkward at school and I’m shy so it’s hard for
me to make friends. At least with normal girls my age. Then again, I
guess I’m not really normal with my parents. The head of the Daidouji
Corporation and the world’s strongest magician. It’s so much easier to
make friends with mom’s Sakura Cards.
“Just the script for the play. Tomoyo-mama said we could go through it
after dinner and she could help me with it,” I explain as I finally find
the stapled together script.
“Found it!”
My ‘twin’ looks thoughtful for a moment as she sits down next to me. She
has the same dark brown hair and lavender eyes that I do. She’s even
wearing my school uniform, though I changed out of that a few minutes
ago.
“Oh yeah, that was today, wasn’t it? I could always go for you if you
want. I wouldn’t want you to get too nervous about it.”
“That’s okay, Mirror. I’d hate to disappoint Sakura-mama and Tomoyo-mama
if they’re going to come to it. I could use the help going over my lines
for the next few days, though,” I explain, sitting on my bed.
She sits next to me after a moment. The only real difference in her
appearance is that she doesn’t have the cast on her ankle. I sigh,
flipping through the pages.
“I’d love to help,” Mirror says with a smile, reading bits and pieces
over my shoulder.
“I hope I can go and watch you, too. I’m sure you’ll be great.”
A knock on the door grabs my attention before I can reply. Sakura- mama
sticks her head in, her brunette hair near her shoulders. “It’s dinner
time, Bara-chan.” She waits for me as I tuck the script under my arm and
hurry over.
“And Tomoyo said that you got a part in the play. I can’t wait to see
it.”
I nod quickly, holding out the script. “I get to be Juliet. But they
must have picked the wrong person. Misato or Ming Pha would both make
much better Juliets.”
Sakura-mama shakes her head, helping me down the stairs. “I don’t think
so. Sometimes we get surprised by things like that, but it doesn’t mean
we’re wrong for the part.”
“Hai. Like Sakura as the prince. She made an absolutely darling prince
at that,” Tomoyo-mama adds, sparkles in her eyes. Something tells me
I’ll be watching a tape of the whole play tonight. I smile and nod,
taking my seat. Yeah, if Sakura-mama made a good prince, maybe I can
make a good Juliet.
“Thanks, Tomoyo-mama, Sakura-mama. I’d really appreciate the help.” I
take a bite of the meal that Tomoyo-mama made for dinner, feeling more
at ease. I spot Mirror watching me from the stairs and wave at her. She
blushes a bit when she realizes I spotted her and waves back. I still
don’t really know how it will all turn out, but maybe that doesn’t
matter. There’s still so much waiting for me. I just know it.
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