Lily229

OK! SO HERE IT IS FINALLY!!! After all this time waiting >.<. I'll keep the intro short and just give ya the story. Hope ya like it ^^.

Chapter 11
Out on the streets of NL, the echoing of Lily's soft tennis shoes beating against the ground was the only sound around her. The clock tower above her read only 10:06 P.M. but the once busy streets were as deserted as the Spam Zone had been. "Creepy," said Lily as she slowed her run to a slow jog. The wind beat hard against her back, beckoning her to continue forward. Lily smirked and walked slower down the street. "I'll take my sweet time," she said. "Just to show you who's in control around here." She turned around to face the wind head on. "You got that? I will no longer jump whenever you snap your fingers." The wind ceased, but a soft hiss was heard around her.
She started to walk forward when she began to hear soft footsteps behind her. She stopped as did the footsteps. She narrowed her eyes and took a few more steps forward, listening for the sound. When she got far enough ahead, she heard the pitter-patter of the footsteps once again. She clenched her fists as she continued to walk. She spun around and screamed. "Come on out!"
A creature covered in shadows looked around frantically before ducking behind a nearby mailbox. Lily ran up to it and peered her head around it. The creature stuck its head out and their noses touched. "Sa....SAKURA?!"
Sakura's face was reddened as she fell back onto her butt. She looked up at Lily and gave her a nervous smile. "Um...H...Hi Lily."
Lily stuck out her hand and helped Sakura up. "What are you doing out here? Aren't you suppose to be in bed?"
Sakura shushed her. "I couldn't sleep, so I stared at the moon for a while, it reminded me of you. Then, like magic, I see you run past my window so I snuck out and decided to follow you. You looked really upset, I wanted to make sure you were ok." She fiddled with the hem of her pink pajama shirt.
Lily let out a breath she had been holding and smiled at Sakura. "You shouldn't have snuck out, Sakura. If you get caught, you'll get into serious trouble."
"I don't care about that! I wanted to make sure you were alright. Even now, you look pale..." Lily interrupted Sakura by patting her head. "Hey! I'm not some dog."
"Sorry but you are just so cute." Lily's smiled softened. "You really should go home though. I don't want you getting mixed up into anything dangerous."
"I knew it! Something is wrong." Sakura parted her feet and raised her fists. "If someone’s hassling you, you let me know."
"No one's hassling me," Lily chewed softly on her bottom lip, trying to figure out a plan. "You're not going to leave so easily huh?" Sakura shook her head which had Lily sighing. "Ok then, lets go."
Sakura smiled as she followed Lily down the street. "Where are we going anyway?"
Lily thought about how to word it, she decided with the truth. "There's a Sakura tree on the outskirts of NL." Sakura's mouth dropped open and she stopped walking. Lily stopped as well and turned to look at her. "What?"
"Why would you want to go there, Lily? The forest of Cherry Blossoms is a dangerous place. There's high class Virus's there."
"Are you serious?"
Sakura nodded, her eyes wide in shock. "We can't go there. Not even Tom goes there! It's an unexplored part of NC Territory."
"I have to go, Sakura. But I'll understand if you don't want to."
Sakura's stern face flattered. She shook her head violently and bared her teeth at Lily. "If you're going, then I'm going too."
"You don't..."
"I said I'm going and that's that!" Sakura put her hands on her hips and stomped past Lily. "Are you coming or not? I know the way."
Lily had to run to catch up to her. Even when she caught up, she had to do a steady jog to keep pace. "How do you know?"
Sakura turned her head and blushed. "I read a map and saw the location of Cherry Blossom. It's kind of a hobby of mine to read maps and explore places. In fact," Sakura reached into her pocket and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper. "On my way here, I had a map of the road connecting NC and NL and it had a few places mapped off of it. I traced it." She handed it to Lily.
"Wow, Sakura. You traced this?!"
"More like gazed at it and drew. Then I added details of rock formations and such that I saw along the way." Sakura fiddled with the hem of her shirt again. "You must think I'm dumb for having such a stupid hobby."
Lily stopped and hugged her. "Are you kidding?! I love you! Sakura you have an amazing gift of capturing landmarks and you've created a perfect map."
"I'm not that good..."
Lily stuck up her hand to stop Sakura. "This is perfect. We can explore the forest of Cherry Blossoms and you can be known for mapping an unexplored territory. We both win. Sakura, I don't know what I'd do without you!" She gave her another quick hug and skipped down the street.
Sakura turned and blinked at her, confused. "You're welcome?"
After signing out of NL at the tollbooth, Lily looked down at Sakura's map. "According to this we should head west from her...."
"Li....Lily..." Sakura stammered, slowly backing behind Lily.
Lily looked up at a boy standing in front of them. He looked about to be six feet and had long red hair covered by a red beanie with a black stripe on it. He had on tan cargo pants and a black hoodie. "You're late." his voice was raspy as if he hadn't spoken in years.
Lily narrowed her eyes. "Are you the one who sent the PM to me?"
The boy shook his head and turned his back on them. "Follow me." He walked into the forest. Lily started to follow him when Sakura grabbed her arm.
"Lily, I don't think we should go in there. We should go back."
"You can go back if you want to, Sakura. But there's a chapter in my story that I have to close. I have to...." Lily took Sakura's hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "Listen, you should go back. I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt because of this. Don't worry, I can handle this." Lily handed Sakura back her map.
Sakura's hand went limp as Lily slid her hand away. She trotted after the boy and out of Sakura's sight behind the trees. Sakura took a step toward the outline of the forest. The trees were thick, she couldn't see two feet ahead of her. Sakura fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "What if Lily's in trouble? Can she really handle it?" She clenched her fists. "I came out here to protect Lily, I won't run away now." She glared at the trees and gripped onto the map. "I'm going to the forest of Cherry Blossoms, and no fear is going to stop me." With shaking, unsteady legs, Sakura took a deep breath and plunged into the thick forest.

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