Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.
Pairings: Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo, Mei Lin x OC
Hello everyone!
It's the later half of 2014 as I write this so don't be misled by the 2010 publish date.
Key to Happiness has been on hiatus for the longest time and after much consideration, I decided to (finally) continue it. More than that, I decided to rewrite it. The plot is still the same... as is the flow of the story (as I have written it thus far). I simply rewrote how I had done it four years ago. My manner of writing had changed considerably since. So if you have read this story before, I suggest rereading it. Though the plot and direction is still similar, there will be quite a bit of changes - like better storytelling (hopefully) first of all.
The plot of this story isn't one of my best and when I reread the four chapters I had already written and uploaded here before I stopped back then (because I was in the middle of writing Lies and Love at the same time), I realized that this story was HORRIBLE. It was badly written. The gazillion passed over typos and poor flow and sentence construction made me want to NOT continue this. But I already promised myself and my readers to never ditch a story... plus, quite a lot of you have messaged me, asking me to continue this after I finished Mending Mistakes which I had already done so recently. So, here I am! I'll try my best to save this story.
Unfortunately (in my opinion), this story started off a bit too far-fetched but I'm hoping I can make it more realistic while still holding on to my initial concept of this story four years ago as I go along. Right now, I'm in the middle of rewriting the other three chapters and once I finish re-uploading those, I'll start writing and uploading the continuation.
That said, I hope you guys enjoy. Here's Key to Happiness - TAKE TWO!
Chapter One
"Unfortunate Events"
"Mmmmm~" Sakura said rather contentedly before swallowing the melted ice inside her mouth. "This is just too good!"
"Sakura, you say that about everything," Chiharu- who was sitting beside her –pointed out.
"No I don't," she protested though still with a satisfied look on her face. "I only say that about things I really like."
Her friends couldn't help but smile at this. They knew better.
"And I really love strawberries," Sakura added reasonably.
"Well, you're really easy to please, Sakura," Naoko told her.
"Or you're just overly optimistic about almost everything," Rika quipped.
"Knock, knock!" Eriol called out as he poked his head through the slightly ajar front door.
"It's open!" someone called back from somewhere inside the large apartment.
He pushed the door further open and entered with a sigh. "Syaoran, you should really make it a habit to latch your doors. What if someone decides to come up here and steal from you or something?"
The man in question walked out from one of the many doors down the corridor and headed towards his best friend who was already casually resting on one of the couches in the living area.
"And who, may I ask, would even dare to come in here? Rather, who can even get up here?" Syaoran asked with a brow raised.
"Fair point."
Syaoran smirked at this before resuming his task of drying his damp hair with a towel.
"What brings you here?" he inquired as he headed over to the glass covered wall that comprised one entire side of his penthouse from floor to ceiling, giving him a fantastic view of the city below.
"It's about that event the marketing department proposed to you a month ago."
"What about it?"
"They said they want to go through with it. They already spoke with the managers of your company's partners and affiliates, and they all agree to it. It's good for publicity after all."
"Of course they do," Syaoran said, exasperated. In his opinion, they didn't have to have such an open celebration just for publicity. It wasn't necessary. But his employees have been making an effort trying to make him agree to it for the past few weeks. Eriol was probably their final attempt at trying to get his consent. Not only was he Li Corp.'s COO, but he was also his best friend. Having him come up to talk to him was rather underhanded…yet smart. "Fine, let them do it."
Eriol grinned at this, pleased at his immediate ascent. Well, it wasn't like this was anything new anyway. Different corporate heads have been taking turns trying to get the man to agree to this after all.
"You have to take part in the festivities though. You know that, right?"
This finally made Syaoran tear his gaze away from the bustling city of Tokyo. He looked at Eriol with furrowed brows.
"It wouldn't look good if the Chief Executive Officer of the corporation wouldn't participate when he supposedly organized it. Don't' you think?"
Syaoran shot him a glare at this before turning his back again.
"Fine."
Sakura skipped along the sidewalk with her friends walking behind her. They were enjoying simply strolling their way down the street under such fine weather.
"It really is a lovely day," Sakura exclaimed as she gazed up at the sky with her arms spread out beside her before she started spinning around.
"Yes it is," Naoko agreed. "But unfortunately, we need to start heading back. Lunch break's almost over."
Rika and Chiharu checked their own watches at this.
"Ugh… we have just enough time to get back to the office," Rika said.
"I'll head on back to the shop then," Sakura said, her mood not faltering by the least. The day was too lovely after all. "I'll see you guys tomorrow as usual!"
The three said their goodbyes to Sakura before leaving in the direction of the company they worked. Despite not working in the same place, Sakura still had a good relationship with Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko. She actually met the three women in her shop a few years ago. They were her customers at the time and since then became friends and regular companions for lunch since their workplaces were close by.
Sakura watched as the girls walked quickly down the street until they disappeared around a corner. Still grinning to herself, she twirled around on the spot yet again before continuing on her way in the direction of her shop.
It didn't take long. Her good mood carried her to the front entrance of the flower shop in record time and without her even realizing it.
Hmm? Why's the shop closed? she wondered as her eyes landed on the "Sorry, we're closed" label on the door. She didn't recall telling her staff to close up.
Sakura pushed it open and door chimes rang across the shop.
"Anyone here?" she called out into the dark. The lights were off and no one was sitting by the registry like they're supposed to either.
"Owner!" two voices called out in unison just before two girls came out, coming from the back room. Both of their hands were full of fresh flowers.
"What's all that for?"
"Come see," Aya, the older of the two sisters, said with a grin.
Sakura followed both girls through the door and was surprised to see that the large work table in the center of the room where they usually prepare flowers for decorating was almost completely covered with fresh carnations.
"Wha-?"
"We have a large order!" Emi exclaimed excitedly before her sister could further explain anything. "Arrangements of white carnations all scheduled to be prepared for an event this Saturday."
"Oh good, you're back!" said another voice from behind her, sounding relieved.
Sakura turned around and saw- well, she saw a pair of legs and a pair of arms carrying a large bundle of even more carnations. The flowers completely covered the person holding them from head to waist.
"Yukari?!"
"H-Hai!" she said, sounding a bit troubled.
Sakura immediately went over to help her with her load.
Both women slowly maneuvered around the room until they finally managed to settle the flowers onto another work table in the corner.
Yukari sighed before turning to Sakura with a grin similar to Emi's.
"Isn't this great? This is probably the largest order we've ever gotten! We're going to need all the help we can get if we want to get this job done on time."
"That we do. But who ordered all this? And what for?"
"What's gotten you in such a good mood?" Naoko inquired, seeing Rika's grinning face as she made her way back to her desk.
Rika wiggled her cell phone in front of her. "Got a call from Sakura just now."
"About what?" Chiharu asked.
"You know our company's in charge of decorations for the event this weekend? Apparently, her shop is one of the florists our company hired for the decorations."
"That's great!" Chiharu clapped her hands together ecstatically. "We should invite Sakura, Yukari, and the other girls. I'm sure they'll have fun."
"I know," Rika agreed, still grinning. "And this could be a chance for Sakura to finally get a boyfriend. I mean, I know this isn't a dating event but there will be loads of people and there'll be games and such too. This will be her chance to actually branch out for once. Dating prospects can't be good with her always being cooped up inside that shop."
"Tell me again why I'm here?" Syaoran grumbled rather childishly from his seat.
The park across Li Corp.'s main building was being rented out especially for the weekend event. Booths were set up everywhere, ranging from children's toys to household products, tourism packages, advanced technological devices and more.
Li Corporation was a finance company which had one primary function and that was to buy out large stocks from several companies- regardless of what sort of product they sold. If a certain company started to fall out due to different reasons like low sales or poor advertising or even due to the bad economy which leads them to eventual bankruptcy, Li Corp. immediately moves in and takes over, bringing up the company back to its feet as well as a large profit for both parties.
The company has long been founded by the Li family with its main base of operations in Hong Kong. Their Japan base was an extension of the company and is currently run by the company president's only son who is serving as its current CEO, Li Xiao Lang.
At present, that Li Xiao Lang was on the stage, located right smack in the middle of the park where the event was taking place right at that very moment.
On the elevated stage, there were dozens of chairs with him seated at the very top and very center. His immediate colleagues sat along his left and right while the different company presidents who run the companies he partially owns sat in chairs below him in front.
He let out a bored sigh.
"Syaoran, try to put a smile on your face will you," Mei Lin hissed, giving him an inconspicuous nudge on his left side. The program scheduled for that morning was still going on. The MC was currently saying something or another from his spot on the podium in the corner of the stage and Syaoran wasn't paying attention at all.
He glared at his cousin. "I didn't even want to be here," Syaoran retorted.
"Well, you're here now. So at least try to pretend like you're enjoying it. People are watching."
"This celebration is a big scam which is why I never wanted it in the first place. The reason why I'm allowing this is because you people like you keep telling me to 'lighten up' and 'enjoy life' or whatever. But I still don't get why I have to be here," he grumbled yet again.
"Don't think of it as a big scam Syaoran. Although this event will bring in a lot of profit to all the companies-"
"-which is why those old geezers are so eager to do it," Syaoran cut in. Some of the "old geezers" who owned the companies together with Syaoran who were seated in front of him turned and gave him a look. They weren't much older than him really. Most of them were in their 30s and a few in their 40s and 50s. Syaoran merely glared back at them, as if daring them to say anything.
Syaoran always preserved a more mature and serious demeanor befitting a man of his position, but at present, he was simply downright annoyed to bother. He also figured that the more that people saw his displeasure now, the least likely it would happen again. If it would result to that, he didn't care if people saw him as an immature jerk.
"Right," Eriol agreed from the seat to Syaoran's right. His tone was obviously in hopes of trying to lighten his mood. "Not just that though. I mean, look around you. Everyone who came is enjoying themselves. It might benefit us the most but it's good for the public too," he said and gestured at the large crowd below them. They were paying attention to the program more than the stars on the stage were.
Syaoran glared at him, knowing he made a point and he hated him for it. He was supposed to be a well-known and even feared business tycoon. And here he was, acting like a brat and being told-off by his cousins.
Hiiragizawa Eriol and Li Mei Lin were his cousins and closest friends. And whenever he was around them, it was trouble for him to keep up his attitude as a serious businessman. They always brought out a side of him that he would prefer to be kept within closed doors. They were also the only people whom he ever showed any form of kindness and casualness to and he'd rather keep that a secret or else his employees would start thinking he had lost his touch. Too much exposure of his emotion would be a sign of weakness and it greatly affects his reputation for being a businessman. This was something his father always told him since he was young and by experience, Syaoran firmly believes to be true.
When he was initially appointed as Li Corp.'s CEO for its Japan base, no one voiced their doubt mainly because they didn't have the right to. His family owned the company so it was only natural to inherit it in this manner. But he was only 25 years old then and lacked much needed experience unlike other and more seasoned businessmen who had worked in Li Corp. for years with his father.
This made Syaoran grow up almost instantly and due to this, his personality took a great hit. But along with the hardy attitude he developed at work, he also proved himself and thus shot down all the doubt people had over his qualification as a CEO. Syaoran proved his worth and showed everyone what he was capable of and in no time, people recognized him as a genius for his talents. He was a man with a keen eye and natural knack for spotting just which companies were worth the time, effort, and money. He simply had a knack for it and in turn this garnered a lot of profit for Li Corp.
"The flowers are rather beautiful," another female voiced out coming from Eriol's other side and this snapped Syaoran out of his own thoughts. "What kind are they, I wonder?"
It was only then that Syaoran noticed that the entire stage was covered with white flowers in intricate arrangements.
"Carnations," Syaoran supplied in a bored voice.
Four heads turned to look at him.
"How the hell do you know that?!" the man on Mei Lin's other side asked in a laughing voice.
Syaoran glared at him but he wasn't at all fazed.
Daidouji Tomoyo and Akiyama Seiji or "Jay" as they all call him, were Eriol's and Mei Lin's partners respectively. Both were friends of Syaoran's for a long time now and both were equally accomplished in their own fields. The reason as to why both were even on that stage was something Syaoran still didn't have a clue on since neither of them had anything to do with Li Corp.
"Why are you two even here?" he questioned although it was quite obvious that Eriol and Mei Lin had a huge part on that matter.
"We're here as guests of course," Tomoyo said before resting a hand on Eriol's. She said this as if it was only to be expected that she was there. "This isn't an entirely formal thing so it's okay to bring your partners on stage."
"And don't change the subject," Jay added.
Syaoran had to suppress another sigh. His patience was always tested whenever they all came together like this. Normally he wouldn't care less but at the present time, they were in the middle of a welcoming program with people watching them. Yet here they were, talking as if they were all lounging in either one of their apartments.
"Lauren demand I send her a bouquet of those flowers whenever I can't make it to her premieres," Syaoran finally answered.
Mei Lin wrinkled her nose at the mention of one of Syaoran's current girlfriends who was a Broadway performer.
"I hate that woman," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Syaoran raised a brow at her. "You hate all of my girlfriends Mei Lin," he pointed out.
"I wouldn't if you had better tastes in women," she retorted. "All those whores you date are all difficult to get along with. Always whining about this and that and clinging onto your arm wherever you go when you're together. You might as well tie a leash around their necks and drag them along."
Eriol and Jay snickered at Mei Lin's little speech and Tomoyo couldn't help but smile, obviously in agreement as well.
"I'm dead serious," Mei Lin snapped at both men. "Why can't you just date a normal girl, Syaoran? One with self-dignity, brains, and a sweet personality to boot."
"Sakura, stop fussing over the flowers!" Yukari said with a sigh.
They've been walking around the park, stopping by several booths from time to time and Sakura wouldn't stay still. Every time she saw a flower out of place from the arrangements that came from their shop, she'd run off and fix them.
"I can't help it," Sakura said, looking rather apologetic.
"Sakura! Yukari!"
Both women turned at the sound of their names and saw Rika and Naoko waving their arms in the air at them.
"Where's Chiharu?"
"She's on duty for the next half hour. We can go meet up with her afterwards. Where are the other girls?" Rika inquired, noticing the absence of the four younger girls who were part of Sakura's flower shop staff together with Yukari.
"We separated. They were hell bent on checking every booth before the day is out and Sakura was delaying them."
Rika and Naoko turned to Sakura who looked quite distracted as she looked around.
"Don't mind her. She's been like this since we got here. She's a bit paranoid over the flowers if they're holding up well. Every time we walk past one of our arrangements, she checks on them, making sure every stem is perfect in its place."
Naoki giggled at this and Rika shook her head with a sigh.
Yukari turned to look at her boss only to see that she had- yet again –run off. This time to one of the nearby booths though still doing the same thing she had been doing all morning, fixing flowers.
"Sakura seriously needs to learn to let loose," Yukari said with a shake of her head. "She doesn't even need to worry about anything related to the flower shop since we're running it perfectly fine even without her help. She should invest her time on finding a boyfriend or something. Quite a lot of guys have come to hit on her over the years but none of them ever got anywhere with her."
The younger girl said this rather casually but this piqued Rika's interest for it had plenty to do with their main purpose for having Sakura here.
"What's Sakura's reason for turning them down?"
Yukari thought about this for a while. "Well, it's not that she turns them down… they just sort of give up I guess. She never shows any interest in them. As far as I know, she only cares for flowers."
"And strawberries," Rika and Naoko added in unison.
Yukari grinned at them. "Yes, and strawberries. But other than that, I don't even know if she's into anything else. I've worked for her for a while now but I don't even know and that's saying something."
Naoko made a thoughtful sound at this. "We've known Sakura far longer and even we don't know what else she's into. I guess she's just not into many things like people usually are?"
Rika frowned at this. "Isn't that boring? That basically means she just spends her time around flowers and indulges in strawberries. That's it?"
"Sakura doesn't look unhappy though. She seems happy enough with just- oh, she's on the move again!" Yukari made to go after her boss but Rika held her back by the shoulder.
"Don't you guys think Sakura deserves a bit more excitement in her life?"
"What are you on about, Rika?" Naoko asked looking suspicious. Rika had always been the type to meddle. This was something Naoko learned the hard way after working with her for years.
"I have a plan!"
"How about we go down and see the fun for ourselves?" Eriol suggested as he got up from his seat. The welcoming program was finally over.
"I'd rather stay here. I don't want to give anyone the opportunity to get anywhere near me," Syaoran replied flatly.
Eriol snickered at this, knowing full well the last Syaoran went around without a bodyguard he was practically ganged up by women of all ages and sizes. It was a rather comedic scene in his opinion though.
"Very well," he said, grinning. "Tomoyo?" he asked, offering his hand to her.
Tomoyo smiled and took it, standing up gracefully from her seat.
Syaoran watched the two. Average mortals probably thought they were the embodiment of a perfect couple. Eriol's handsome features matched Tomoyo's beauty in every possible way. Even his tailored dark gray suit matched Tomoyo's custom-made white, floral dress which she wore with a matching sunhat. They looked like characters taken out of a romance novel.
He snorted internally at the thought. That's what the pair looked like if it were anybody else watching them now, but if they knew Eriol and Tomoyo the way he did, they couldn't be any more wrong.
Although Syaoran prided himself in managing to keep up with appearances, there was no one else better than him at it than Eriol and Tomoyo. Those two could even fool a lie detector test if they had to.
On the other hand… Syaoran thought, his eyes now looking at his other cousin and her boyfriend.
Mei Lin had long, jet black hair which she currently wore in a high ponytail and today she wore a long Chinese-themed dress that was the color of blood with oriental designs sewn onto it in gold. The dress hugged her curves and had slits all the way to the middle of both her thighs. Beside her, Jay with his gray eyes and hair as dark as Mei Lin's which he usually wears in a short and messy ponytail, was wearing a suit much like Eriol's sans the tie with the top buttons left open.
Compared to Eriol and Tomoyo's picture perfect image, this pair looked like the head of the Chinese Mafia, a couple not to be messed around with.
Syaoran couldn't help but roll his eyes at this for it was true. You'd be crazy to get into the bad side of either of the two, especially Mei Lin with her fiery temper.
The diversity of his companions only made Syaoran's personal character more unpredictable to everyone who didn't know him and this fact satisfied him greatly.
"How many did you put in so far?" Rika asked, releasing her pen and shaking her hand, trying to keep it from cramping up.
"Around twenty I think," Naoko said, grinning.
"And Chiharu?"
"Forty!" the curly haired girl replied with a satisfied smile before slamming down her pen. "Where did you leave Sakura and Yukari?"
"Sakura's still wandering around and fixing flowers. That habit of hers has gotten out of hand. Yukari's out following her if she hadn't lost her yet."
"We should've brought Syaoran along," Jay voiced out casually as he looked through the different booths selling a variety of things.
"Yeah, and get involved in a stampede of crazy women? No way," Mei Lin replied.
"I feel bad about leaving him by himself though."
"He's used to it. Besides, he'll be having one of his girlfriends over at his place later tonight, I'm sure. He won't be lonely for too long," she pointed out, obviously annoyed by this fact. "I meant what I told him earlier. He really should find a nice girl he can actually be serious with."
"So you sabotage every relationship he starts to get serious with if the girl isn't to your liking," Jay stated rather than asked.
Mei Lin grinned at him. "There's no way I'm letting him get serious with airheaded gold-diggers. I'm fine with if he has those girls as his whores but anything more than that, I'm putting my foot down."
"As you did for the last twenty or so women he's been with for the past few years," he said in a whisper into his girlfriend's ear.
Mei Lin winked at him. No one except Jay, Eriol, and Tomoyo knew what she's done and been doing for the past few years. And if Syaoran did know, he didn't do anything about it either. She, with Jay's occasional help, had been doing whatever she can to make sure girls don't get too close to Syaoran. He's had a lot of women since his teenhood but when he entered his 20s, women have tried more than once to have a serious relationship with him. All those women, of course, Mei Lin took the opportunity to research thoroughly to find out their true personalities and all of them were- in Mei Lin's opinion –not worthy at all of her cousin.
Some people would see her antics as obsessive but she considered it as being thoughtful. Syaoran simply didn't give a damn as to who he dated to the point that he's only been attracting less than savory types these past years.
A few steps behind them, Eriol and Tomoyo followed the first couple leisurely.
"Seriously Eriol, I really love the flowers. It's not just the flowers but the arrangement, accents, everything!" Tomoyo said quite fondly with excitement in her eyes. "It's almost inspiring. I want to use this kind of scene for the next shoot of the spring collection."
Eriol smiled at he and raised her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss. "Let's ask the decorations committee which florists they hired for the arrangements later."
Tomoyo smiled at him and nodded before turning to the flowers yet again, this time picking out a stem from the arrangement closest to her. "They are really speaking to me in a certain way. It makes me happy just looking at it!"
"I'm happy to hear that," a female voice replied from somewhere behind them.
Sakura looked at the arrangement in front of her and sighed in content.
"Good. Now, you guys stay in your place and look pretty for everyone to see," she whispered to the carnations.
It is a fact that plants grow better if you speak to them. Sure these flowers won't grow anymore considering they were already picked and cut, but for Sakura it still meant something to speak to them.
"Let's ask the decorations committee which florists they hired for the arrangements later," a male voice intruded her ears.
Sakura looked down from her spot atop the ladder she had taken from the booth nearby displaying home appliances and saw the loveliest couple she had ever seen. However, her awed expression turned into that of being appalled and she went wide-eyed when the woman took out one of the carnations from her arrangement.
"He-!" she stopped before her reprimand escaped her.
"They are really speaking to me in a certain way. It makes me happy just looking at it!"
Sakura smiled at this, quite happy that she was enjoying the flowers and really seeing the beauty of them rather than treating it as some random and unnecessary aesthetic as most people do.
"I'm happy to hear that," Sakura replied, not realizing she said those words aloud until the couple turned. This surprised Sakura enough to jump and effectively making her lose her balance and sending her falling towards the ground with a shriek.
"Oh my God, are you alright?!"
Breathing heavily and feeling shaky all over, it took Sakura a few seconds to register that she didn't hurt anywhere. In fact, it didn't feel like she was even on the ground. "I… I'm fine?" she said, rather surprised at this. Sure she wasn't high enough up the ladder to break her bones if she fell, but she should've gotten a few scrapes from that height at least.
She slowly peeled her eyes open. "Aaaaahhh!" she shrieked again, this time from the shock to find the face of the woman earlier so close to hers. "I-I'm sorry," Sakura added quickly in embarrassment for her second- and far less necessary -scream. "You startled me."
Sakura looked around her and noticed a few people looking their way and only just noticed that she was still in the arms of the man she had observed with the woman earlier. This realization made Sakura scramble to her feet and take a few steps back from the couple. She eyed the man in front of her and did a quick assessment on his expensive looking suit, hoping she didn't ruin it in any way.
Eriol dusted off his suit and placed a hand inside his pant pocket casually as if nothing that had just happened bothered him in any particular way at all.
"Thank you so much and I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for what just happened. I hope I didn't ruin your suit," Sakura apologized with a bow.
"It was nothing," Eriol said, waving the whole ordeal off. He turned to his girlfriend, hoping to go ahead and catch up with Jay and Mei Lin but…
"Oh my, you're too cute!" Tomoyo exclaimed with more excitement in her eyes than the flowers had ever given her. She took Sakura's hands in hers and began moving in rather closely to her once again.
"H-Huh?"
The corner of Eriol's mouth twitched at this. Tomoyo was letting her guard down in public, and this rarely happened.
He cleared his throat. "Tomoyo," Eriol called our casually, hoping this was enough to snap her back to reality.
"I… I mean…" Tomoyo instantly feigned a dainty cough and let go of Sakura's hands. "Are you all right? You're trembling."
Sakura gave her a curious look. "I'm fine now," she reassured with another bow. "Ah, and as I said earlier, I'm happy to hear that you admire the flowers so much."
Tomoyo cocked her head to the side at this. "Are you by any chance responsible for the magnificent setting?"
Sakura nodded and smiled. "Not all of it but my shop was in charge of the carnation arrangements."
"My name is Daidouji Tomoyo," the darker haired girl introduced rather abruptly with a rather graceful bow of her head.
This caught Sakura off guard that she bowed back in a far less graceful fashion. If anything, her own seemed more jerky than anything. "K-Kinomoto Sakura. Nice to meet you Ms. Daidouji."
"Please call me Tomoyo, Sakura," Tomoyo smiled at Sakura so sincerely that Sakura- now more than ever –thought she was some sort of elegant princess from a book.
"Hiiragizawa Eriol," Eriol added, stepping beside Tomoyo and holding out his hand towards Sakura.
"Nice to meet you too Hiiragizawa," Sakura said and shook his hand.
"Eriol," he corrected before looking over at his girlfriend who smiled brightly back at him. Eriol smiled back at her before turning back to smile sincerely at Sakura. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Sakura."
"Sorry," Yukari mumbled as she crashed into someone yet again. She bowed in apology before maneuvering around even more people all the while trying to locate her boss. She was supposed to keep Sakura in check while Rika and the others did whatever they were supposed to do.
It was a while until she finally located Sakura and that was only because both women banged against each other.
"Sakura!"
"Yukari!"
"Where have you been?" both women asked in unison.
Sakura grinned at this and Yukari sighed in relief.
"I've been looking for you for ages! Chiharu told me we should go meet them by the stage in…" she looked down at her wristwatch, "well, err… now actually. Where have you been?"
Sakura didn't even begin to tell Yukari about what had happened to her when a blaring noise came from the direction of the large stage not far from where they were.
"Okay everyone, may I have your attention please?"
A woman in her 30s announced into a microphone as she walked towards the middle of the stage and effectively making the people within hearing distance turn to look in her direction.
"The last and most exciting part of today's program will begin shortly once our heads and sponsors retake their seats on the stage."
It didn't take long for the said people to take the stage again. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Sakura and Yukari to locate the other girls either despite them standing amongst the large audience comprised of many other guests and employees of the various involved companies.
"Rika! Chiharu! Naoko!" Sakura called out, waving her hand in the air until the girls noticed.
"Where have you two been?" Naoko asked. She also looked significantly relieved at seeing Sakura somehow.
"Just looking around, why did you want us to meet y-" Sakrua cut off as music started playing loudly from the stage and lights lit up. It wasn't dark yet but it was starting to, the stage lights actually made everything more dramatic for whatever was coming in the final event.
Everyone watched as women in similar dresses went up the stage in a line, all carrying large boxes in their hands.
"Okay, so let's get this started!" the MC announced rather jovially. "As you can see, we have three boxes here on stage. The first box contains names of those members of the audience who volunteered to join in the activities. So I hope everyone who opted to join in on this event is present in the audience! As for the other two boxes, we shall reveal later. Now, before we pick names randomly from the first box, I would like to have five volunteers from any of the heads sitting on stage please?"
The well-dressed men and women who had since retaken their seats on stage for the final event turned to look at her before talking in low voices among themselves.
"Remember, this is to show everyone in the audience that our company and its affiliates are indeed run by some of Japan's elite who aren't only concerned with wealth and keeping up with appearances, but also have the cooperative personalities and sense of community involvement to go along with it," the MC added with a wink as she got the feeling that none of them had enough nerve to join in.
Whispers started from amongst the audience until one of the seated men stood up.
"I'll do it."
Everyone turned to the man who had been seated on one of the few chairs situated at the top most of the elevation.
Sakura gasped.
Eriol grinned at the woman beside him whom Sakura only just realized to be Tomoyo before he walked down the steps and towards the MC.
"W-Well, well!" the woman started, sounding a bit shocked herself. Clearly she wasn't expecting one of the top administrators to take part. "Let me introduce to you all Mr. Hiiragizawa Eriol, let's give him a round of applause for volunteering to join us!"
The well-dressed men and women on the stage all clapped in a sophisticated fashion and sent smiles of approval in Eriol's direction.
In the audience, most of the women shrieked and called out his name as if he was some sort of celebrity.
Sakura giggled at this distinction.
"Ms. Kinomoto Sakura!"
"HOEEEEEEEEEE?!"
The people around Sakura including Yukari turned and looked at her in surprise. Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko, however, just grinned madly to themselves.
"B-But I didn't join anything!" she reasoned in protest as the people around her started clapping and urging her forward.
"Go on Sakura, don't keep everyone waiting," Rika said into her ear before nudging her forward as well.
Tomoyo looked positively ecstatic as she watched the familiar girl slowly making her way towards the stage.
"Do you know her Tomoyo?" Mei Lin asked after seeing her friend's face light up when the name was announced.
The ashen-haired girl nodded, a huge smile on her face.
Mei Lin and Jay looked at each other and shrugged.
Syaoran looked bored.
"I never would have thought you'd join this kind of thing," Eriol told her with a polite smile as he assisted her onto the stage from the stairs.
"Neither did I," Sakura told him awkwardly.
"Now!" the MC started yet again, "Mr. Hiiragizawa, please take a piece of paper from inside the second box."
Eriol did so and gave it to her. "Here you go Mrs. Shizuya," he said with a polite smile.
She took the paper form him with a grateful nod before reading its contents into the microphone. "Ring toss!" Mrs. Shizuya announced excitedly.
Silence spread through the park before a chorus of "Eh?" sounded from the audience as well as from some people on the stage.
"This part of the program is actually to prove that there could be a friendly relationship between producers and consumers and of course for the sake of simple and clean, fun entertainment for everyone," she said with a laugh in her voice.
With that said, Syaoran snorted. It was another tactic if he ever did see one. This was to get more buyers for the different companies' products. Now they're actually trying to sell their so called "personalities" to the public.
Whoever came up with this idea deserves a promotion, he couldn't help but think to himself albeit bitterly. He hated the event because in his opinion, it was all a pretense for the public who were there to supposedly enjoy themselves but they were actually discreetly lured in to be swayed to the products being sold. This sort of tactic was something Syaoran wasn't really fond of and not only because he was forced to take part of it against his will.
As a human being, he didn't like it because the whole thing was a big lie. As a businessman with money in mind, the event wasn't that bad of an idea.
The audience applauded as the assistants finished setting a large circular platform in the middle of the stage with the props in the middle.
"Eriol~! Do your best!" most of the women closest to the stage called out altogether.
Eriol grinned at them before taking off his blazer and folding up the sleeves of his button-down shirt.
More women shrieked at this.
Sakura looked at him, not at all fazes even though she thoughtfully admitted when they met earlier that he did look more handsome than most men she knew or had ever met. Then she looked down at herself, in her white flats, mint green knee-length skirt and white shirt that had a little cartoon strawberry print in the middle.
She could feel a sweat drop.
You really can tell who the insanely rich are from the average, she thought to herself.
"Okay, are you ready?" Mrs. Shizuya called out into her microphone.
Eriol and Sakura leaned over slightly towards the lined empty bottles in front of them while keeping their feet on the taped marker where they were supposed to stand.
"Go!"
"I have to admit, I actually had fun," Eriol announced with a smile on his face as he retook his seat at the top of the stage, this time with a cone of strawberry ice cream in his hand. "Hey!" he protested as Mei Lin snatched the cone from him.
"I like strawberry flavored ice cream," she said as if this explained everything and she ran her tongue around it.
"So did I," Eriol said with a glare aimed at her although it lacked any severity to it.
Apparently, the third box was full with more papers and the losers had to pick one from it. Each paper had a consequence written on it that the loser had to perform for the winner. In this case, Sakura lost and had to buy Eriol a cone of ice cream.
"I admit the idea of this event was good, but whoever came up with these childish games and so-called consequences are all idiots," Syaoran muttered rudely form his seat.
"Ms. Kinomoto Sakura!"
"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!"
The five turned and saw the girl with the honey brown hair almost fall off the stage she was intending to leave.
"W-Why is it me again?!" Sakura asked the MC exasperatedly. Her voice got caught in the microphone and a number of people from the audience laughed.
Mrs. Shizuya raised the paper in her hands for her to see her name scribbled on it. It looked like whoever wrote it was in a hurry.
Sakura immediately whipped around to the spot where she left her friends in the audience. All of them had big smile don their faces and were rooting for her quite loudly.
"Of course it was them," she mumbled with a sigh before turning back to the elderly gentleman in his 50s who was standing next to her. He was the volunteer form the stage after Eriol.
She bowed kindly at him, making him do the same. He seems nice, she thought.
"Jump rope!" Mrs. Shizuya announced with the second paper in hand and looking quite ready to laugh.
Tomoyo giggled from her seat as she watched Sakura make her way down the middle platform all the while clutching at her aching sides. It was apparent that jumping rope isn't her forte.
"It's rather unfortunate that her opponent is old Mr. Tadashi," she said, still giggling as she watched the old man- who now had a triumphant grin on his face –punch his fists in the air.
The "elderly gentleman" Sakura competed at jump rope wasn't as old as she thought at all. She stood there, slightly bent forward as she tried to press on the stitch she got on her side from all the jumping she did.
"Sorry to surprise you my dear," he said in a fatherly voice and lending a hand to Sakura. "My company sells all sorts of training gear. I have the privilege of owning the most up-to-date equipment our company has to offer… and I do take time to test them myself."
"H-Hoeeeee…" Sakura's sweat dropped at this. No wonder he can do all those jumps easily. He even managed to do a few 360 turns while doing them!
"Hai," the lady with the third box said, holding it up to Sakura for the second time now.
Sakura took a piece of paper and gave it to the MC with a sigh.
"Kiss!" she announced loudly, raising the paper in the air.
"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!?" Sakura exclaimed, bringing her palms to the sides of her face in embarrassment.
In that moment, Mr. Tadashi gently pulled Sakura beside him and without hesitation, gave her a fatherly kiss on the forehead.
The audience clapped at this and let out a chorus of "Awwwwww" at the scene.
He smiled and patted Sakura on the head. "I had a wonderful time my dear. I hope to see you again someday," he said as a final note before he started making his way up the stage again.
Sakura blushed before (finally) making her way down the stage steps as they started to call out the contestant for the next game, which thankful wasn't her. She was supposed to be the one doing the consequence but she wasn't complaining at how things turned out just now.
"Sakura!" her group of friends which included Yukari squealed as she made her way towards them through the audience.
"Which one of you did it?" she interrupted them, cutting right to the chase.
As expected, Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko were grinning madly and not looking the last bit guilty.
"You can yell at us later. Tell me, how hot was he?" Rika asked in a rush.
Sakura doubted she was talking about Mr. Tadashi, so she figured she was talking about Eriol.
"He's alright. He's really nice."
"Really nice?" Chiharu repeated a little baffled. "You were up on that stage so close to him and all you can say is he's 'really nice'?!"
"What else am I supposed to say? He really is nice and yes he's handsome too I guess."
"Naoko," Chiharu said with a nod which prompted the other girl to whip out her iPhone and readjust her glasses.
Naoko took on a more serious expression on her face now as she looked at Sakura.
"Hiiragizawa Eriol," she started in a no-nonsense tone before pushing her phone screen right in front of Sakura's nose where it had a picture of Eriol displayed and a bio printed right below it.
Age: 30 years old
Status: Engaged
Company: Li Corporation
Position: Chief Operating Officer
Personality: Silent, Wise, Polite
Special: His ability to look hot with glasses
Sakura had squint her eyes and do a double take at the last two lines printed on the photo. "Who made this?!" she questioned, trying not to laugh now.
"That's not the point Sakura," Naoko said, still very serious. "How can you not know him? He's always on the news whenever it's about the business world and such. There was quite the stir when he was promoted to COO at such a young age and people even questioned his credibility. Rumors began that he only got the position because his cousin and best friend is CEO. Of course, that's all nonsense since Eriol himself is quite accomplished and very much entitled for the position. He's proven himself time and again over the years."
"I don't really like watching the news," Sakura replied, grinning guiltily.
"Sakura! You're not a kid anymore. Get with the program. At least you should start watching the news," Rika told her, disappointed at hearing this. "How else are you gonna find out that there are such unbelievably hot guys just within reach in Japan?"
This last sentence made the rest of the girls give her a look. Which clearly says "Really, Rika?"
Chiharu shook her head. "That's not the point," she scolded the boy-obsessed girl before turning to Sakura. "Now you know, he's considered one of the most esteemed and brilliant businessmen around, which is saying something considering he only just turned thirty."
"What about the woman beside him?" Sakura asked, stealing a look at Tomoyo on the stage.
Before she knew it, the cell phone screen was shoved right in front of her nose again.
"Daidouji Tomoyo," Naoko announced.
Age: 28 years old
Status: Engaged
Occupation: Fashion Designer
Company: DD
Personality: Classy, Gentle, Well-mannered
Special: her unbelievable amount of sophistication
Sakura tried to ignore the last two lines again and opted to point something else out. "DD?"
"Don't tell me you haven't heard of her too?" Rika asked, jaw dropping now. "Haven't you ever seen her work? The company's name was only recently revamped. She used to have an entirely separate line but she and her mother- whose also a designer, I'll have you know -decided on a joint name. So it's DD now. You should see what they make Sakura, especially the daughter's! Although the mother has a classic and more timeless style, Daidouji Tomoyo's designs are more risqué and in. It wouldn't matter if the ugliest woman on Earth wears it, she'd still look stunning in one of her creations!"
Sakura thought that last statement might have been exaggeration. The look on Yukari's face said the same thing as well.
"Look, what-"
Whatever Chiharu wanted to say, she was interrupted by endless and very loud screaming. Louder than those that Eriol got from the girls in the audience earlier and that was saying something.
As their group turned to look at the stage, Chiharu and the rest started screaming as well.
Sakura covered her ears from all the noise and tried to crane her neck to see what all the commotion was about on stage.
"Ms. Kinomoto Sakura!" an inaudible but still clear voice rang into the air.
The three women next to her who were still screaming now screamed in Sakura's direction as they started pushing her towards the stage.
Sakura, with ears still covered and now a lost expression on her face, staggered to the front of the audience until she reached the steps that led up the stage. All the girls' mad screams around her never faltered.
What the heck is wrong with these girls? She asked herself, still covering her ears tightly.
"Okay, okay, calm down everyone… ladies," Mrs. Shizuya said with a loud voice into her microphone while grinning widely herself.
Exasperated, Syaoran held his hand up at the audience with a serious look on his face. He would've wanted to look as annoyed as he felt but that would hardly be of any help for his reputation which he had been told time and again to keep clean as much as he could.
The audience was instantly sent into a wave of silence in which case he nodded at the MC before turning to the girl who just stumbled up the stage next to him.
Kinomoto Sakura. This girl must really be into this whole event, Syaoran thought, eyeing her curiously. This was the third time her name got picked out of the box. Expectedly, she had an exasperated air to her that Syaoran could hardly miss despite her efforts at trying to hide them. Unexpectedly, she wasn't freaking out like how normal women usually would at the sight of him.
Sakura finally lowered her hands from her ears when she noticed the audience's silence.
"You must really like playing these kinds of games," Syaoran stated, ginally getting Sakura's attention.
"Hoe? Who are you?"
Syaoran looked at her, a brow slightly raised at the surprise. It had been a long while since he had met a person who didn't know who he was. Then again, this girl looked fairly young, probably just turned 20 or so. Maybe she's just not all that interested in things like the economy or reading business newspapers.
Interesting, he thought as he picked a second piece of paper without sparing a glance at the girl who held out the box towards him before he handed it to the MC.
"Arm wrestling!" Mrs. Shizuya announced.
"HOEEEEEEEE?!" Sakura exclaimed as got pushed towards the slightly elevated platform in the middle just as a few assistants finished setting up a table and two chairs on top of it. "I-I can't believe I'm back here again," she told herself, her exasperation even clearer now.
"Funny. You of all people should know why you're here."
Sakura's head snapped up to the man who had just seated himself across form her.
"I didn't put my name in that box, let alone three times, if that's what you mean," she informed him with a small frown and slightly furrowed brows.
"Sure you didn't," he replied nonchalantly. "So, would you rather give up and admit defeat? Or do you really insist in playing this game?"
Screaming erupted again before Sakura could reply as Syaoran took off the coat of his suit, revealing a forest green button-down shirt whose cuffs he proceeded to unbutton. The girls directly below the stage closest to them all had their arms outstretched in Syaoran's direction and all screamed out his name repeatedly, even louder and more eager than they did when Eriol was on the platform with her.
"I wouldn't want to disappoint all your fans," Sakura said, pointing her thumb at the girls below them who were still trying desperately to get his attention.
Very interesting, Syaoran thought as he too rolled up his sleeves much like how Eriol had earlier. He eyed Sakura's slender arm as she position her elbow on the marker taped on the table. "I'll use half of my strength for your sake," he said before they cupped each other's hands.
Sakura eyes his muscled arm with a gulp as he adjusted his hold on her hand so as not to crush it when he tried to cup it firmly.
"Ready?" the MC asked with a glance at both participants.
Syaoran and Sakura nodded simultaneously.
"Go!"
With all her might, Sakura tried to push down his arm but he didn't budge in the slightest. She looked up at him and was met with the same serious face he had on the first time her emerald orbs landed on him earlier but she swore he was laughing at her. She could see it in his eyes.
"My turn," Syaoran said curtly before easily pushing Sakura's dainty hand down until it hit the end of the table rather lightly. He was trying to keep from hurting her at least.
Sakura bowed her head in defeat. She knew something like this would happen. They should've given her a handicap at least seeing as she was a girl and obviously levels behind in terms of muscle and strength.
"Ms. Kinomoto," the lady with the third box said, holding the box towards Sakura yet again.
"Hai, hai," she replied in a hopeless voice, taking a piece out and handing it to Mrs. Shizuya.
"Oh my."
Sakura looked at the woman who had a laughing look on her face as she read the piece of paper to herself. Her look, however, was immediately replaced with that of complete seriousness when Sakura's opponent- whom she still didn't know –turned to Mrs. Shizuya with an inquisitive glare.
Mrs. Shizuya held the paper towards Sakura and Syaoran after the program ended and the audience dispersed back towards the booths that were still open. There was a few hours left until they were to close for the day.
"NANI?!" Sakura shouted as they both read the written print.
Syaoran knew it wasn't going to be good from the moment he saw the older woman's amused look earlier on stage which is why he ordered to avoid saying it aloud to the audience.
"What kind of consequence is this?" Sakura asked incredulously before giving the offending piece of paper back to the MC. "I don't have time for this kind of game, and I'm sure Mr…" she trialed off gesturing to Syaoran at this point.
Syaoran didn't say anything.
"…I'm sure he doesn't either," she finished exasperatedly as the man beside her was apparently, for the moment, mute.
Not a moment later, Yukari, Rika, Chiharu, Naoko, as well as Eriol, Tomoyo, and two more people whom Sakura hadn't seen or met before came up to them. All had amused looks on their faces after they read the contents of the consequence paper which Mrs. Shizuya had passed along for them to see. Clearly they were having fun at the current situation. They all knew such a thing didn't have to be taken seriously, after all it was just a game. They were mostly amused at watching Sakura who seemed to react so seriously at the whole thing.
Tomoyo lightly and inconspicuously squeezed her hand which had been holding onto Eriol's arm, a smile and pleading look on her face.
Eriol raised a brow at her, making her pout a little in return.
Sighing, he tapped Syaoran by the shoulder.
"Your personal assistant gave me a call earlier, she says her daughter has the chicken pox. She has to stay home indefinitely to take care of her," Eriol informed him with a straight face.
Syaoran couldn't believe the coincidence. He couldn't believe the coincidence. But before he could day another word, a girl's voice cut him off.
"Then Sakura will be glad to fill the spot!" Rika piped in, a huge grin on her face.
"Yeah, it'll be easy for Sakura since she's had experience being an assistant before," Yukari added, with a nod.
"You know I can't do such a thing," Sakura interrupted, giving a hard look at Yukari and the other girls which didn't really look all that intimidating to anyone.
"Yes, you can," Chiharu insisted. "And you should keep your promises Sakura."
"Yes, you should," Yukari jumped in again. "Mr. Kinomoto always says to keep your promises, doesn't he? I've heard him say it time and again when he visits or even when he calls!"
Naoko nodded in agreement. "And doesn't this count as a promise? Technically playing the game means you accept everything else that comes with it. Including this."
"But I didn't even put my name i-"
"And even if you may or may not have put your name in," Rika interrupted smartly, "you played the game regardless… so… this is all you."
Sakura frowned at this but looked serious and thoughtful now.
Syaoran and his group on the other hand, watched in amused silence. This was supposed to be a game, how come they turned all serious and insistent that Sakura do this?
"You don't have to. I can easily find a replacement assistant" Syaoran said, finally interrupting the guilt-fest they started for reasons beyond him. "I'll just ask one of my other employees to take the position for the mean time."
"You can't do that Syaoran," Eriol told him. "They all have their own jobs to do, and you need you assistant's full attention this week especially. Li Corp.'s annual charity ball is already coming up this Saturday."
Syaoran fell silent, a frown on his face. He forgot about that. He could always have another assistant screened but he hardly had enough time until the charity ball. He also had the option of not having an assistant at all. It wasn't like he couldn't function well without one, just that it was more convenient to have one.
Inwardly, he shook his head. That aside, what's to say that Eriol was even telling the truth? If his assistant really can't come to work, how come he didn't hear about it but Eriol had?
Syaoran threw a glance at Eriol and gave him a look that clearly said "You better not be screwing with me."
Eriol didn't so much as flinch. His face kept its usual look… not like Syaoran expected his threat to affect him at all at any rate.
He cursed under his breath before turning to Sakura with furrowed brows. Regardless If Eriol was telling the truth or not, it wouldn't hurt to have a back-up plan in case it was real.
"Can you do it then?" he asked Sakura somewhat bitterly and unsurely. His personal assistant was a very hardworking 38 year old woman whom his family knows well and most of all, he personally trusted her. This lady- who seemed more like a child in comparison -he knew nothing about and she was about to take on a role that required his trust.
"Hai!" Yukari, Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko chorused in response and all looking positively delighted with how everything turned out.
Tomoyo tried to hold down the same joyous look from escaping her own presently serene face as she looked down at the piece of paper in her hands and rereading it again in her head rather gleefully.
In a very clear and neatly written script, it read: Slave Duty for 1 Week.
Author's Note:
As I rewrote this chapter, I ended up making it longer. Gah! Oh well. It was already long to begin with though. Future chapters won't be this long, it's just that this chapter was a bit hard to cut off so that explains the length.
I hope it was an enjoyable read regardless.
I'll be re-uploading the next chapter as soon as I finish rewriting it!
'Til next time! Ja ne!
Raeny