Smooth Silver
Chapter 1 – Back to Our Innocence
Summary: A year ago, Sakura Kinomoto was every man's dream girl. Syaoran Li was the social rival she always hated. When they meet again under different circumstances, will their mutual hate fuel something deeper? Just about as cliché as it sounds. SxS.
x – x – x
7:30 AM
If there was one thing Sakura Kinomoto hated more than anything else, it would be waking up in the morning. She didn't have anything against mornings in general; just the freezing-your-toes-off part right after getting out of the cozy heated blankets. Sleeping in was much more optimal. Her constant lateness reflected that philosophy
Sakura was on vacation. Summer. When a girl could stay up all night and sleep in all day. That was how she planned to spend her entire break. Life, however, wasn't perfect.
The past few nights had only given Sakura more reasons to dread daybreak.
"SAKURAAA-CHAN!!"
She groaned, rubbing her temple. There it was. Running a palm through tangled auburn hair, the girl sat up, slouching lazily on her pillow. "I've been back for a week now, Meilin-chan. I'm glad you're excited, but –"
"But today is really a day to be excited for!" Meilin chirped. Her grin was so big that Sakura felt as if it would split her face in two.
She knew Meilin's intentions were good, but nonetheless, "You say that every day." Sakura forced on a smile to let her know she was joking. "So spill. What's the occasion?"
"It's a secret," the black-haired girl replied with a sly grin. Sakura held back a snort. Meilin Li had blabbing out secrets down to a science. She had once experienced the power of the girl's big mouth.
Meilin frowned at Sakura's silence. "You're not going to guess?" she pouted.
"I give up, tell me," Sakura replied with a yawn.
"You're so convincing, Sakura-chan," Meilin said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh well. You're no fun. Syaoran is coming back today!"
Sakura nearly choked on air. "WHAT?!"
Syaoran Li. Everyone in town knew that the two were the worst of enemies. At Tomoeda High, they had the same friends and sat at the same table, but somehow, their constant remarks to each other became nastier and nastier, until it had become a daily competition. The hate was mutual, as by graduation, the two wouldn't even want to be the one to break eye contact first.
"I know I said he wouldn't be here, but…there were complications…" Meilin trailed off guiltily.
"You find torturing me very amusing, don't you?" Sakura moaned, dumping her face into her hands. "What complications? Rehab kicked him out?" She snorted.
"No…he is to start his training. He is 19, after all. One more year and he'll be able to become leader of the Li Clan."
"That'll be a nightmare," Sakura muttered miserably, still refusing to believe that she was to spend an entire summer in Tomoeda with Syaoran Li only a few miles away. A few hundred miles was already pushing it. "I thought this was supposed to be a vacation."
"Oh, Sakura. Tomoyo will be here in five days. Besides, you don't even have to see Syaoran if we plan it out right," Meilin reassured her, familiar with Sakura's Syaoran-phobia. It had been present throughout their entire high school career.
"But ewww, Meilin. The thought of a baka like him near me…" She shuddered to make a point. Ruby eyes rolled themselves, then landed pointedly on Sakura's sea-green ones. They stared back innocently.
"He doesn't have cooties, Sakura-chan." A pair of pink panties hit Meilin square in the face with a dull thud.
x – x – x
9:50 AM
Sakura had decided to take a walk around the small town. Every familiar location brought on enough nostalgia to drown her in memories. Yet…
'It's a great day,' Sakura thought for the four hundredth time that day. 'I will not see him today. Not on my first day back.' Her feet, however, had different ideas. She found herself in Penguin Park, where the new grade school students were enjoying their ephemeral childhood. 'Crap. Perfect place to be avoiding Syaoran, baka.'
And she was right. It was the perfect place to avoid a certain Syaoran Li, who happened to be thinking along the same lines.
The tall, brown-haired boy had decided to avoid Penguin Park that morning as he took his jog. His cousin had told him that Sakura Kinomoto was in Tomoeda for the summer. Knowing the girl as the most spacey idiot ever, Syaoran had decided against going to Penguin Park, no matter how much his feet itched to take him to the memorable spot.
Before he saw her again, he'd have to come up with some new comebacks. There was no way he was going to lose to the girl after only one year of brain-rusting.
Syaoran frowned, wondering why he was such a smart-ass to the girl in the first place. He decided against spending too much time on the topic. 'I'm not just a smart-ass. Sometimes I'm just an ass.'
Running a hand through his wind-tangled hair, Syaoran ran on, not noticing Meilin trailing shyly behind him in her training clothes. She suddenly sprang out, wrapping her arms around his neck. "SYAORANN!!"
"Kami-sama!" he managed to choke out. "M-Meilin!"
"I've missed you, cousin!" she gushed, loosening her grip slightly. Ruby eyes met amber, and they softened.
"Uh, Meilin?"
"Yeah?"
"What is it?"
Syaoran paused awkwardly, looking highly uncomfortable. "My…pants are falling off, Meilin." It was true. Meilin's knees were edging down the elastic of his running shorts.
"Aieee, gomen." She turned her face downward, letting neat black bangs create a dark shadow over her eyes. "I'll just be going now." Syaoran stared at her, confused. She started running back to the house.
"Meilin, wait!"
But his words only managed to reach the swallows flying overhead – this was his intent. As perverse as it may have seemed, Syaoran did not want Meilin to wait; he did not want Meilin to come back. He had the art of avoiding her down to a science. After all, he had been forced to bear with her throughout their entire high school career.
x – x – x
12:45 PM
"Hello, pretty."
Sakura jumped up from the bench, coming back to Earth. She had been reminiscing about…what was it again? Looking around, she noticed that all of the children were gone for the usual afternoon summer remedial sessions; she was in the park alone.
Well, not quite.
She spun around, coming face-to-face with an extremely vile man. His entire being reeked of alleyways and rotted excrement. His hair was matted to his forehead with milky sweat – even though the weather was not at all warm.
Sakura had learned at a very young age not to trust men who sweat profusely for no apparent reason. They tended to be happy with their hands.
The man's clothes hung off him like loose rags on a scarecrow; indeed, he looked like one. He was the perfect predator. And Sakura was the day's prey.
Her rapid heartbeat made her throat close up with fear. Her voice was failing her slowly.
"SOMEBODY HELP!!" she screamed, voice fading at the last word. "…somebody help…"
(A/N: Lol, three guesses as to who comes.)
No one came. The last of Sakura's voice was slowly drowned out by the large man's laughs.
Without thinking, she fled, auburn hair bouncing off of her neck. "Where are you going, little girl?" A chuckle.
Her sandals were thrown off as Sakura tore down the sidewalk, her feet burning and they scraped pebbles, twigs, and garbage. She ran into completely random streets, not even paying attention to the direction – all that mattered was throwing off the man. That she did.
She also threw herself off.
Sakura found herself limping painfully through an unfamiliar alley, tears making wet streaks down her dry and chalky cheeks. She walked slowly to a crevice between two walls, and sat down, burying her head in her arms.
Complete silence hung heavily over the alley.
Then, footfalls.
Sakura immediately stiffened. 'Oh please no.' Without looking up, she reached for a large metal rod sitting conveniently beside her. Gripping it tightly, she waited for the footsteps to stop.
They did stop, directly in front of her. Sakura never had a chance to swing however, as she heard a very familiar voice.
"Kinomoto?"
x – x – x
A/N: There is a perfectly logical reason for the plot idea. People like cliché, fluffy, overused ideas.
I'll at least attempt to make it a bit interesting.
It'll be a challenge – it took all of my will power not to foreshadow anything or make anything cryptic. Yet, I believe I did anyways. My will is not strong.