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The Cleverness of Syaoran
"So you understand the situation, right?" The hard eyes that stared at him from across the room were unwavering. Refusal was obviously not an option.
"I understand," Syaoran quietly replied as he turned and left the room. After all this time and all his hard work, nothing was coming out of it. He sighed as he leaned his head against the cold wooden door that he had just closed.
xoxoxoxox
"Young Master? Is there something I can do to assist you?" Wei put his hand on the young mans shoulder and Syaoran could feel the concern in his touch. He must look a mess. He had been up all night packing for the plane ride to Japan and for the first time, he really didn't want to go. The dread for what he was about to do was slowing down the packing process. He looked at his butler and long time father figure and smiled softly.
"Not at the moment. I'm stalling for now. But Wei…" Syaoran looked about the room looking for something, anything, that could prevent him from doing what he was about to do. "Wei… I need you to leave the mansion, alright? I want you to take a vacation." Syaoran looked at the butler. It was a round-about way of getting done what needed to be done, but he needed Wei to be safe. And at the moment, that was far away from him.
"I'm not quite sure I understand. We don't have the time for a vacation." Wei looked at the brunette, perplexed by what he was trying to do. Wei had been with him through everything so far. Why would he not need him now? How could he go on a vacation in this situation?
Syaoran rubbed his temples and smiled. How had he known that Wei wouldn't have just gone? Because Wei was one of the most consistent things in Syaoran's life. That's why. "Wei. It's important that you stay away from me for the time being. I know that it seems strange, but I don't want you involved in this."
"I think that I'm already as involved as I could ever possibly be." Wei frowned and glared determinedly over the rim of his glasses. Syaoran sighed and turned back to his luggage.
"You can't come. I won't allow it." He continued putting clothing into his suitcase. One t-shirt, two button-up shirts, three pairs of pants. He looked up at the butler, who still hadn't moved. The look in his eyes made Syaoran feel impossibly small, even though he was a good couple inches taller than Wei. He felt like he was child being scolded for lying or some other heinous mistake. Syaoran slumped as he thought about the possible options. There was no good ending that came with Wei coming with him. He couldn't take the risk that something happening to Wei. Syaoran turned toward the elderly man and pulled his shoulders up, standing at his tallest at 6'5". "That is an order. I will not tolerate an argument, Wei." Syaoran said menacingly. He knew that it was an empty threat and Wei knew it was an empty threat, but it was still a threat.
"What could you possibly do, Young Master? Fire me? I would then just follow you to Japan of my own accord and you could do nothing about it." Wei was standing toe to toe with Syaoran, his glare even more determined now than it had been mere moments ago. Syaoran sucked a breath of air into his lungs quickly. He knew Wei was right. There was nothing he could do, even if Wei did argue with him. Syaoran sighed and relaxed his shoulders. So much for that idea. He had known it wouldn't have worked, but he had had to give it a shot. Why couldn't Wei just make this easy on him?
"What do I have to do to convince you to just… go away for a little while?" Syaoran asked quietly. Anyone but Wei wouldn't have been able to hear the desperation and fear behind his voice. But it was Wei that Syaoran was asking. And he did hear the desperation in his voice. Syaoran could see Wei's determination falter and then wither away completely.
Wei sighed as he raised three fingers on his right hand. "I have three conditions. Conditions that absolutely have to be met or I will immediately fly to your side. Do you understand?"
Syaoran ran a hand through his messy brown hair and sank onto the bed next to him. "I'm willing to do anything." He smiled at the man standing opposite of him. "Just name it."
"I want you to call me every night before you retire." Syaoran resisted the urge to chuckle at such a childish request. He sounded like a mother sending her daughter off for her first overnight camp. The urge was eased to nothing as soon as he looked at Wei. The serious look in his eyes silenced any humor that might have been seen in the situation.
"Alright. I'll do it."
"I want you to find somebody, I don't care who, to be with you. I will not accept you being alone." Syaoran winced. That was a little easier said than done. Who could he possibly put into a situation like this voluntarily? Who could he trust enough in a situation like this? He would probably have to find a way to worm his way out of that one. "And don't presume that you can get out of this condition because I won't know. I will need to talk to this person nightly as well."
Crap.
"Finally…" Wei looked at Syaoran, really looked at Syaoran, and smiled sadly. "This is the most important one. I want you to commit it to memory." Wei walked over to Syaoran and put his hands on his shoulders in a firm and fatherly gesture. "I want you to come back alive." Wei held Syaoran's gaze, almost daring him to disagree.
"That one I will definitely do."
xoxoxoxox
Saying goodbye had always been difficult for Syaoran and with sisters like Feimei and the rest, it was nearly impossible.
"Syaoran! Syaoran! Make sure you call me EVERY day!" He could still hear them calling as he got into the car. He didn't know how many times he had told them that it wasn't going to be possible, but they just kept pushing it. Eventually, it had gotten to the point where whenever one of them would say that, he would just lift his hand to acknowledge that he had heard. He knew that they were saying it because they wanted him to know that he would be missed and he also knew that they didn't really even expect him to call them. They all knew better than that. The situation just wouldn't allow that.
"Syaoran, we need to get to the airport." Syaoran was pulled from his thoughts by the voice of the ruby-eyed beauty sitting next to him.
"Right, sorry." Syaoran turned on the car and pulled out of the long driveway that led toward the mansion. The silence that filled the car was unbearable at best, but Syaoran couldn't think of anything to say. That had never happened before with Meilin. Usually the conversation was constantly flowing between them. But maybe that was just because usually Meilin always had something to talk about. She always just said whatever she was thinking, so the fact that she was just quietly sitting next to him was a bit terrifying. "Meilin-" Syaoran's attempt at attempting conversation was cut off.
"I want to come with you." Meilin looked over at him. Her ruby eyes, probably for the first time in years, weren't smiling. The statement had caught Syaoran off guard and he found himself feeling a bit uncomfortable under her intense gaze. "Syaoran, I want to protect you."
"Meilin… You can't." Syaoran shook his head slightly. He had thought he had finally had her convinced. He should have known better. Meilin would do anything for him; that had never changed.
"I can! Syaoran, I mean, I know I'm not as strong or as good at martial arts as you are but, I can shoot a gun and pretty skillfully use a knife! I won't be a burden. I know I won't. I need to go with you. I can help you! I can protect you." Meilin pleaded, turning in her seat to face him. Syaoran glanced over at her and saw that her eyes were laced with unshed tears. He winced as he looked back at the road. That was something he had never wanted to see again.
"That's not what I meant. I know that you're perfectly capable of protecting me. In fact, there is no one that I would rather entrust my life to, but what if you got hurt while protecting me? What if you died trying to save me? I wouldn't be able to handle that." Syaoran never looked away from the road while saying that. Truth be told, he would give anything to be able to take her with him. But as with Wei, he couldn't take that chance.
"I don't care! As long as you were safe, everything would be fine." That had been what Syaoran had been afraid of. And that was exactly the reason he couldn't take her with him. She didn't value her own life over his. He needed her to choose herself over him if it ever came to that kind of decision. He had seen way too many people that he cared about hurt in the past couple of months because of him. Syaoran glanced over at the reminder that Meilin always carried with her. The reminder of the pain he had caused. Running diagonally from the base of her collarbone down to the beginning of the swell of her breast was a thick, pale scar. It was only visible when Meilin was wearing v-necks and the like and she tended to avoid styles like that, knowing that the scar pained Syaoran. But he knew it was there. And he knew that it was probably never going to fade.
"Meilin…" Maybe he should try a different approach. He started again, "Meilin, I need you to stay here and protect my sisters." He looked at her meaningfully. "You're the only one that I can trust."
"Your sisters are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves! They have as much training as I do!" Meilin looked out the front window and huffed. She turned back to Syaoran suddenly. "I'm going. There's nothing that you could say that could convince me otherwise."
"I need you here to make sure nothing happens to them. I know that they have as much training and I know that their instincts are just as good as yours-"
"Then why are you making me stay?"
"Meilin, I've never asked you for much. And I certainly have never begged. To anyone. But right now, I'm begging you. Please stay here where they can hire bodyguards to protect you. Please." Syaoran had finally pulled over to the side of the road and he was holding both of Meilin's hands in his, looking straight into her eyes. Her ruby eyes caught and he knew that he had won. She would stay.
There was a moment of silence between the two of them. They were having a conversation with there eyes, something they had perfected over years of pointless parties and monotonous meetings. This was the first time that they had ever used it for something so dire, though. It was a battle of wills that Syaoran had already won. Meilin was the one who finally ended the silence.
"Okay. I'll stay." She sighed as she looked out the side window. "But you have to promise that you'll come back alive. I'll never forgive you if you don't." Meilin never looked away from the window while saying it, but Syaoran couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She looked so pale and defeated. Is that what the past couple of months had done to her? He had never seen her looking so vulnerable. After a few moments of studying her, she still hadn't made eye contact with the amber eyed man. Syaoran turned back to the wheel and got back on the road.
"I've got quite a few people keep that promise to, apparently." Syaoran smiled as they continued on the road.
xoxoxoxox
They had made their way through the rest of the car ride and their way through airport security in silence. Meilin was taking the decision to leave her behind hard and Syaoran couldn't think of anything that would make the situation easier on her. They eventually reached the porting gate and Meilin couldn't go any further with him.
Syaoran turned to face her, "Thank you for staying. I know it's not what you want, but it's for the best. Really, it is. You have to believe that." He didn't look at her, even while talking to her. He looked past her. Knowing that if he looked at her, he might be tempted to ask her to come. Whether she had luggage and a ticket or not.
"I get it." Meilin stared at the ground, her shoulders sagging. 'Probably holding back tears', Syaoran thought. He understood that she didn't cry often. She had a diamond will; it was the strongest thing he could think of and it made her shine. But at this point, he thought that the situation called for tears.
"I'm going to be fine, you know?" He smiled as he caught her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. A little white lie never hurt anybody, right?
"You better be." He could feel her snuggle her face into his chest for a brief second before pulling away. She smiled up at him a soft, sad smile. "Be safe." She reminded him as she put her hand on his cheek and forced him to look at her. She abruptly pulled her hand away and smacked his shoulder. "Now go! You're going to miss the boarding period." Her smile lightened as she pushed him into the boarding tunnel. Syaoran walked a few steps forward and decided it was fine to take one last look. She was still there; her smile just as bright. It took her a moment to realize that he had turned back, but when she did she quickly waved him off. "Go, go!"
Syaoran turned and walked onto the plane.
Author's Note: Alright! :D We made it! Thanks for reading! I know it ended before we could meet Sakura, but she'll come in the next chapter! I just didn't want to make this terribly long and that seemed like a marvelous place to stop. Anywho, please rate and review. I hope we can meet again in the next chapter! Which hopefully I'll have up soon…*shifty eyes*