Dislaimer: I do not own Card Captors, it is owned by the four women who actually own Card Captors, CLAMP, Nelvana, Kodansha, and any others I forgot I apologize.
A/N: This is one of my longest fics ever, and I've tried to incorporate a bit of humor into this story. Enjoy, and please review!
* * *
Visit to the Beach
By: Pyromancer
Syaoran walked steadily towards his school, his feet thudding quietly against the sidewalk. His searching amber eyes surveyed the scenery around him, and in his wandering, he spotted a beautiful cherry blossom tree, each articulate petal lightly waving in the breeze. Smiling a bit, he was instantly reminded of Kinomoto Sakura, his beautiful and kind ally in card captoring.
Wishing that he could see her soon, Syaoran quickened his pace, knowing that Sakura would arrive at school at around the same time as himself.
A lone cherry blossom fell to the ground before him, still radiating a certain brightness. Syaoran gently picked it up, and set it back onto the tree it originated from.
"Delicate, beautiful Sakura..." he whispered quietly. A little more cheerful than he had been before, he continued to walk to school.
"SYAORAN!"
A shrill voice pierced the tranquil scene like a whistle through the calm air. Several birds taking a rest on the cherry blossom tree fled, squawking indignantly. Syaoran grumbled as Meiling hurried to catch up to him.
"Yes, Meiling?" he said in exasperation.
"We have to go to school! When we get there, will you please sit near me? Don't sit next to that Kinomoto girl!" she said.
Syaoran sighed. "Meiling...those seats are assigned by Terada-sensei. I can't just sit anywhere else you know."
'Not that I would want to anyway,' he thought.
"Aww..." she whined.
Syaoran quickened his pace to a fast jog. "All right then...see you at school Meiling!"
He broke into a swift sprint, leaving Meiling by herself.
"Wait! Wait for me Syaoran!!"
* * *
Tomoyo smiled happily as she observed her kawaii friend, Sakura. Emerald pure green eyes glistened in the sun, and light, auburn hair blew slightly in the wind. Sakura looked up in wonder as she caught a glimpse of the sun through the cherry blossom trees. Light, pink petals floated weightlessly in the air as she walked past, creating a beautiful spring scene.
Sighing in happiness, she ventured on, quickening her pace. She had managed to get up early this morning, but she didn't want to be late again because of her ponderous walk.
Tomoyo's face shone as she began to inform Sakura of the new battle costumes she had made for her. Sakura nodded, sweatdropping every so often. It seemed that Tomoyo had an endless supply of costumes for her, creating costumes ahead of time to make sure that she always had a new one to present.
Sighing, she thought of her handsome partner in card captoring, Li Syaoran. She thought that he was very cute and kind, despite his deceptive cold manner. Sakura wished that maybe Syaoran and herself could be together, but that could only happen if she admitted her true feelings for him.
'Right. If you are too shy to even talk to him, how will you ever admit your feelings to him?' she chided herself, continuing her walk in a disheartened manner.
Finally arriving at the school, Sakura walked straight to the eighth grade classroom, where surprisingly, Terada-sensei taught. Sakura smiled slightly as she thought of Rika's approval.
Sitting down, she glanced at all of her friends and smiled. This day was going to be an exciting one, because the whole class was going on a trip to the shore, to study the sea life there.
All of a sudden, Syaoran rushed into the room, and quickly sat into his seat, sighing.
"Meiling...always chasing me around..." he grumbled under his breath, a scowl settling upon his face.
Sakura turned around to face him and beamed. "Good morning Syaoran-kun!"
Syaoran blushed, and also said good morning. His smile faltered when he looked at the doorway, and saw Meiling glaring at Sakura. Rushing over between them at once, she looked very angry.
"Don't try to take MY Syaoran away from me Kinomoto," she said coolly, give Syaoran a protective hug.
Sakura stared blankly at Meiling, blushing a little.
Syaoran sighed again, and scowled. "Please get off of me Meiling," he said through gritted teeth.
Finally releasing him, she shot Sakura a death glare, and sat into her seat, pretending to pay rapt attention to Terada-sensei.
Terada-sensei quickly shuffled his papers on his desk, getting the immediate attention of all the students.
"Okay class, today we will be traveling to the shore, to inspect the sea life there. We will be traveling by bus, so I have already assigned the seats." he said. "Meiling, you will be sitting with Tomoyo. Rika, you'll be sitting next to Naoko, Chiharu, you'll be sitting with Takashi, and Syaoran, you'll be sitting with Sakura. The rest of the students will be sitting on another bus, so here are the seating arrangements..."
Syaoran and Sakura blushed simultaneously when they found out that they would be sitting together on the bus. Meiling was glaring at Sakura so much, a bystander could have reasonably thought that Sakura was Meiling's destined enemy and rival (Which was true).
Tomoyo giggled childishly. "Kawaii! It's really too bad that I forgot my videocamera at home..."
Sakura and Syaoran both sweatdropped, inwardly grateful that the genki videotaper had forgotten her camera equipment at home.
Seeing Meiling glaring at Sakura with so much malice, Takashi decided to intervene with one of his "true" and "amazing" stories.
Takashi smiled and pointed his index finger skywards. "You know, glaring was a way of communication between ancient African cattle men. Most of the time you couldn't tell if a man was really angry or not."
Chiharu leered dangerously at a grinning Takashi, and she slowly pulled out her mallet. Sure, she was completely in love with him, but that didn't stop her from knocking some common sense into him once in a while.
WHAM!!
Takashi keeled over to the ground, a new large bump forming on the top of his head. The impact of the mallet seemed to make him even more deranged, as he foolishly persisted in telling more fibs.
"You know," he said, shakily getting up and rubbing his head, "many Italians around the early 1600s used a mallet-type tool in their gardening, softening the soil before planting..."
WHAM!!
Chiharu's mallet hit with deadly precision, as Takashi fell to the ground once more, now the owner of two painful bruises on his head.
"Ow..." he said, a migraine headache slowly forming.
Chiharu calmly twirled her mallet and concealed it again, helping Takashi to his feet.
Terada-sensei sweatdropped, and then led the class out of the classroom, towards the buses.
* * *
Sakura looked out of the bus window in amazement, as she saw many scenic places in Japan that she had never seen before. They had recently passed a great wildlife preserve, where many land animals were roaming freely.
"Isn't the scenery beautiful Syaoran?" she asked, smiling.
Syaoran's cheeks were tinted red. "Uh...yeah."
Sakura looked out the window again, and spotted the ocean.
"Wow! We're almost there Syaoran! This is going to be great!" she cheered, squeezing Syaoran's arm in excitement.
Sakura's depthless emerald eyes sparkled as she saw a wave clash onto the shore, washing away some of the residual sand.
Syaoran blushed even more, while Meiling kept on scowling.
When the bus finally reached its destination, the shore, all of the students filed out excitedly. Terada-sensei instructed them to change into their bathing suits first, and then they could go onto the beach.
Quickly changing, Syaoran and Sakura rushed out eager to step onto the sand.
The scene that met them was very appealing. The almost white sand sparkled in the sun, and the ocean was a light blue, waves splashing against the shore. The sound of seagulls could be heard above, as they floated lazily in the air.
Sakura turned to Syaoran with a smile. "Come one Syaoran-kun, let's go swimming!" she said, taking his hand.
Syaoran blushed furiously as he noticed the swimsuit that Sakura was wearing. It was decorated with cherry blossoms, and the background was a light pink, showing her curves nicely. He tried to avoid eye contact with her, but failed.
'She's so beautiful...' he thought to himself, continuing to blush.
They both ran into the ocean, enjoying the feel of the waves washing over them. Soon, many other students ran out to join them, splashing in the water playfully.
"Wow, you look great in that bathing suit Sakura!" exclaimed Tomoyo, as she joined Sakura and Syaoran in the ocean.
Syaoran continued to look at Sakura, deep in thought.
'Oh Kami...she looks so beautiful...I wish I could tell her...' he thought, observing Sakura playfully splash water onto Tomoyo.
Suddenly, a big wave came out of nowhere and caught Sakura by surprise, causing her to fall back into Syaoran. His eyes widened momentarily, and he and Sakura were submerged underwater for a few seconds. He pulled her and himelf back up to the surface, blinking his eyes to get the water out of them.
Sakura sputtered as she tried to rid her mouth of the salt water. "Arigatou Syaoran," she said, blushing.
Syaoran smiled warmly at her, nodding.
"KAWAII!" exclaimed Tomoyo happily, holding up a videocamera to tape the moment.
Sakura looked at her curiously. "Didn't you forget your camera at home, Tomoyo?"
"I did, but then I bought one with my money from one of the boardwalk stores. This one isn't as good as the one at home, but it's good enough!" she replied, smiling.
Sakura nodded, sweatdropping. "That's nice."
Terada-sensei came out at that time, holding a clipboard.
"All right. Everyone line up here to get your scuba diving gear, we're going to dive into the ocean soon, to observe the ocean wildlife."
Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo lined up along with the rest of the class. After all the gear had been donned, everyone waited for the next instruction. Terada-sensei taught everyone how the air tanks worked, and how to adjust the breathing masks.
"We'll be diving off a boat just 10 kilometers off the shore, so we can get a better look at the wildlife. Okay? Ready? Let's go then," he said.
Everyone boarded the boat and waited in excitement as the boat began to pull away from the shoreline. This was supposed to be the highlight of the whole trip, so naturally everyone was eager to dive underwater and take a look at the animals and plant growth.
Takashi, like always, told another one of his stories, this one relating to the ocean.
"Did you know that around this area, thirty foot long octopuses can be found? Although they can be hostile when angry, they are usually docile, loving creatures," Takashi said.
Chiharu would have taken out her mallet and whacked him on the head with it, but she decided that the mallet could seriously damage the scuba diving equipment, so she restrained herself.
"Takashi, please don't make me hurt you," she said gently, pulling out her mallet to back up her statement.
He immediately grinned and nodded vigorously, sitting back into his seat.
"We're almost at the diving point, class," said Terada-sensei. "Get ready to take a plunge into the cold water."
Syaoran and Sakura stood up, ready to dive.
"Okay, on the count of three, everyone dive into the ocean. One...Two...THREE!"
Sakura and Syaoran skillfully dived off of the boat, landing in the ocean at the same time. They both swam downwards together, in awe of all the life around them.
Coral growth could be seen on many rocks, and there were some fishes swimming peacefully along with each other. Sakura giggled as she saw a dolphin playfully bump Syaoran aside, causing him to wave his arms frantically.
Sakura swam over to Syaoran to help him out, when suddenly, she was swept away by a very powerful water current.
"SYAORAN!" she screamed, even though she knew that he couldn't hear her.
Syaoran's eyes widened in surprise as Sakura was pulled away by the current. A look of pure terror was on her face.
"SAKURA!!" he shouted, swimming as fast as he could towards her.
He managed to catch up with her, but saw that she was unconscious. With horror, he saw that the current had ripped off her breathing tube from her oxygen tank! he held her in his arms and gritted his teeth as the current continued to sweep them both away. Swimming as fast as he could, he broke the surface and saw a small island with a cave. Even though his arms felt tired and heavy, he continued to swim on.
Suddenly, a wave came out of nowhere, knocking him back. He gritted his teeth and pulled out his sword.
"Element! Wind! Carry us to the shore!" he shouted.
His sword glowed a light green as wind carried him and Sakura to the shore. Syaoran sheathed his sword immediately and and carried Sakura inside the cave.
Seeing her bruised and battered form, he worriedly set her down on the floor, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"Sakura...." he whispered hoarsely, taking his robes out of his backpack.
He wrapped them around her delicate body, and began to look around for some dry wood.
Finding some small twigs and logs, he congregated them together into a little pile.
"Element...Fire," he whispered. Fire erupted from his Chinese scroll, lighting the twigs and logs.
Immediately, the room was filled with light and warmth. Sakura sighed, and moved slightly, the fire warming her up.
"Syaoran..." she mumbled, and Syaoran blushed.
But then, Sakura began to shiver still, regardless of the fire. Syaoran's eyes looked worried.
'What can I do? I have already given her my robe for a blanket...and have lit a fire...' he thought, distressed.
His last thought caused him to blush fiercely, but it was his only choice. Quietly, as to not wake her, he got down onto the floor, gently wrapping his arms around her delicate and lithe form. He blushed even more when Sakura subconsciously wrapped her slender arms around his neck, snuggling up to him. He lightly ran his hand through her auburn hair, and smiled slightly.
"If only you knew Sakura...if only..." he said softly, and then fell asleep, still locked in an embrace with her.
* * *
"Sakura-chan! Syaoran-kun!" shouted Tomoyo, looking frantically around the waters.
'Where could they have gone?' she thought, swimming as fast as she could.
Rika, Naoko, and Chiharu joined Tomoyo in their search for their lost friends. Looking around as quickly as they could, they soon gave up their futile search.
"There are a million and one places that they could be in," sighed Tomoyo, climbing onto the boat's deck. "Especially since this is the ocean, not a city."
Everyone else nodded in silent agreement, tired from their search.
"Hey! Look over there! I see an island!" shouted Takashi suddenly, startling everyone.
Chiharu was really annoyed now. "Takashi, do you have a limit of some kind? Don't you think you've told enough tales for today?"
Takashi looked hurt. "No really, there's an island over there! Maybe Sakura and Syaoran have taken refuge there!"
"You're right..." said Chiharu, as everyone looked in the direction of which Takashi pointed. "Sorry Takashi."
Meiling growled. The thought of her Syaoran and Kinomoto together on a remote island did not appeal to her at all.
'That Kinomoto better not try to seduce my Syaoran,' she thought angrily, grinding her teeth.
Tomoyo and Meiling volunteered to scout the island, to see if Syaoran and Sakura were there. Climbing in a smaller boat, they sailed off towards the island.
* * *
Sakura's eyes fluttered open, feeling a bit tired, but otherwise comfortable. She suddenly noticed that her arms were around Syaoran, and his were around her waist. She blushed furiously, and then smiled. Tightening her arms around him, she gave hima gentle kiss on his cheek.
Syaoran's eyes fluttered open too, and saw Sakura kiss him on the cheek. Sakura's eyes widened in shock when she realized that Syaoran was awake.
Both of them blushed, releasing their hold on each other, and sitting up on the cool rock floor.
"Gomen..." Syaoran and Sakura said together, both of them still blushing.
Syaoran looked away, staring silently at the entrance of the cave.
"So...how did we get on this island?" asked Sakura tentatively.
"Well, after we got caught in the current, I took you and swam to this island. I hope those robes are enough to keep you warm," he replied.
Sakura blushed again. "A-Arigatou Syaoran-kun."
She wrapped her slender arms around Syaoran's neck, and kissed him on the lips. Syaoran blushed, as they continued to kiss gently, hoping that they could remember this moment forever.
Sakura broke the kiss, and blushed, hugging Syaoran.
"I love you Syaoran-kun," she whispered softly.
Syaoran smiled, for his dream had just come true.
"I love you too Sakura-chan," he responded.
They kept the embrace for a while, silently looking at the ocean.
"I've kept that from you for so long..." Syaoran whispered to Sakura.
She nodded, and kissed him again, the world melting away.
"KINOMOTO!! GET OFF OF MY SYAORAN!!"
Meiling and Tomoyo rushed into the room, Tomoyo bearing an expression of relief, and Meiling looking angrier than ever.
Sakura and Syaoran quickly broke apart, blushing.
"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO SEDUCE MY SYAORAN LIKE THAT!!" yelled Meiling, her face livid, and her form shaking.
Syaoran stepped protectively in front of Sakura. "Meiling, stop it! I love Sakura, and nothing is going to change that. I love you too Meiling, but only as a cousin!"
Sakura blushed, and Meiling remained silent, pondering over what Syaoran had just said.
Syaoran continued to glare at Meiling, who was still silent, trembling under Syaoran's harsh gaze.
"I'm...I'm sorry Syaoran," she whispered quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I understand."
Syaoran's gaze softened, and he gave Meiling a hug, causing her to become happy once more.
"Thanks Syaoran...you're very lucky Sakura," Meiling said, smiling slightly.
"I know," responded Sakura, hugging Syaoran and kissing him lightly on the cheek.
Tomoyo and Meiling giggled simultaneously as Syaoran and Sakura kissed again, and then they headed towards to the boat, to go back to the shore.
"Aishiteru Sakura," Syaoran whispered, his amber eyes concentrated on her face.
Sakura snuggled up to him, smiling. "Aishiteru Syaoran, always and forever.
* * *
A/N: This is one of my longest fics ever, and I've tried to incorporate a bit of humor into this story. Enjoy, and please review!
* * *
Visit to the Beach
By: Pyromancer
Syaoran walked steadily towards his school, his feet thudding quietly against the sidewalk. His searching amber eyes surveyed the scenery around him, and in his wandering, he spotted a beautiful cherry blossom tree, each articulate petal lightly waving in the breeze. Smiling a bit, he was instantly reminded of Kinomoto Sakura, his beautiful and kind ally in card captoring.
Wishing that he could see her soon, Syaoran quickened his pace, knowing that Sakura would arrive at school at around the same time as himself.
A lone cherry blossom fell to the ground before him, still radiating a certain brightness. Syaoran gently picked it up, and set it back onto the tree it originated from.
"Delicate, beautiful Sakura..." he whispered quietly. A little more cheerful than he had been before, he continued to walk to school.
"SYAORAN!"
A shrill voice pierced the tranquil scene like a whistle through the calm air. Several birds taking a rest on the cherry blossom tree fled, squawking indignantly. Syaoran grumbled as Meiling hurried to catch up to him.
"Yes, Meiling?" he said in exasperation.
"We have to go to school! When we get there, will you please sit near me? Don't sit next to that Kinomoto girl!" she said.
Syaoran sighed. "Meiling...those seats are assigned by Terada-sensei. I can't just sit anywhere else you know."
'Not that I would want to anyway,' he thought.
"Aww..." she whined.
Syaoran quickened his pace to a fast jog. "All right then...see you at school Meiling!"
He broke into a swift sprint, leaving Meiling by herself.
"Wait! Wait for me Syaoran!!"
* * *
Tomoyo smiled happily as she observed her kawaii friend, Sakura. Emerald pure green eyes glistened in the sun, and light, auburn hair blew slightly in the wind. Sakura looked up in wonder as she caught a glimpse of the sun through the cherry blossom trees. Light, pink petals floated weightlessly in the air as she walked past, creating a beautiful spring scene.
Sighing in happiness, she ventured on, quickening her pace. She had managed to get up early this morning, but she didn't want to be late again because of her ponderous walk.
Tomoyo's face shone as she began to inform Sakura of the new battle costumes she had made for her. Sakura nodded, sweatdropping every so often. It seemed that Tomoyo had an endless supply of costumes for her, creating costumes ahead of time to make sure that she always had a new one to present.
Sighing, she thought of her handsome partner in card captoring, Li Syaoran. She thought that he was very cute and kind, despite his deceptive cold manner. Sakura wished that maybe Syaoran and herself could be together, but that could only happen if she admitted her true feelings for him.
'Right. If you are too shy to even talk to him, how will you ever admit your feelings to him?' she chided herself, continuing her walk in a disheartened manner.
Finally arriving at the school, Sakura walked straight to the eighth grade classroom, where surprisingly, Terada-sensei taught. Sakura smiled slightly as she thought of Rika's approval.
Sitting down, she glanced at all of her friends and smiled. This day was going to be an exciting one, because the whole class was going on a trip to the shore, to study the sea life there.
All of a sudden, Syaoran rushed into the room, and quickly sat into his seat, sighing.
"Meiling...always chasing me around..." he grumbled under his breath, a scowl settling upon his face.
Sakura turned around to face him and beamed. "Good morning Syaoran-kun!"
Syaoran blushed, and also said good morning. His smile faltered when he looked at the doorway, and saw Meiling glaring at Sakura. Rushing over between them at once, she looked very angry.
"Don't try to take MY Syaoran away from me Kinomoto," she said coolly, give Syaoran a protective hug.
Sakura stared blankly at Meiling, blushing a little.
Syaoran sighed again, and scowled. "Please get off of me Meiling," he said through gritted teeth.
Finally releasing him, she shot Sakura a death glare, and sat into her seat, pretending to pay rapt attention to Terada-sensei.
Terada-sensei quickly shuffled his papers on his desk, getting the immediate attention of all the students.
"Okay class, today we will be traveling to the shore, to inspect the sea life there. We will be traveling by bus, so I have already assigned the seats." he said. "Meiling, you will be sitting with Tomoyo. Rika, you'll be sitting next to Naoko, Chiharu, you'll be sitting with Takashi, and Syaoran, you'll be sitting with Sakura. The rest of the students will be sitting on another bus, so here are the seating arrangements..."
Syaoran and Sakura blushed simultaneously when they found out that they would be sitting together on the bus. Meiling was glaring at Sakura so much, a bystander could have reasonably thought that Sakura was Meiling's destined enemy and rival (Which was true).
Tomoyo giggled childishly. "Kawaii! It's really too bad that I forgot my videocamera at home..."
Sakura and Syaoran both sweatdropped, inwardly grateful that the genki videotaper had forgotten her camera equipment at home.
Seeing Meiling glaring at Sakura with so much malice, Takashi decided to intervene with one of his "true" and "amazing" stories.
Takashi smiled and pointed his index finger skywards. "You know, glaring was a way of communication between ancient African cattle men. Most of the time you couldn't tell if a man was really angry or not."
Chiharu leered dangerously at a grinning Takashi, and she slowly pulled out her mallet. Sure, she was completely in love with him, but that didn't stop her from knocking some common sense into him once in a while.
WHAM!!
Takashi keeled over to the ground, a new large bump forming on the top of his head. The impact of the mallet seemed to make him even more deranged, as he foolishly persisted in telling more fibs.
"You know," he said, shakily getting up and rubbing his head, "many Italians around the early 1600s used a mallet-type tool in their gardening, softening the soil before planting..."
WHAM!!
Chiharu's mallet hit with deadly precision, as Takashi fell to the ground once more, now the owner of two painful bruises on his head.
"Ow..." he said, a migraine headache slowly forming.
Chiharu calmly twirled her mallet and concealed it again, helping Takashi to his feet.
Terada-sensei sweatdropped, and then led the class out of the classroom, towards the buses.
* * *
Sakura looked out of the bus window in amazement, as she saw many scenic places in Japan that she had never seen before. They had recently passed a great wildlife preserve, where many land animals were roaming freely.
"Isn't the scenery beautiful Syaoran?" she asked, smiling.
Syaoran's cheeks were tinted red. "Uh...yeah."
Sakura looked out the window again, and spotted the ocean.
"Wow! We're almost there Syaoran! This is going to be great!" she cheered, squeezing Syaoran's arm in excitement.
Sakura's depthless emerald eyes sparkled as she saw a wave clash onto the shore, washing away some of the residual sand.
Syaoran blushed even more, while Meiling kept on scowling.
When the bus finally reached its destination, the shore, all of the students filed out excitedly. Terada-sensei instructed them to change into their bathing suits first, and then they could go onto the beach.
Quickly changing, Syaoran and Sakura rushed out eager to step onto the sand.
The scene that met them was very appealing. The almost white sand sparkled in the sun, and the ocean was a light blue, waves splashing against the shore. The sound of seagulls could be heard above, as they floated lazily in the air.
Sakura turned to Syaoran with a smile. "Come one Syaoran-kun, let's go swimming!" she said, taking his hand.
Syaoran blushed furiously as he noticed the swimsuit that Sakura was wearing. It was decorated with cherry blossoms, and the background was a light pink, showing her curves nicely. He tried to avoid eye contact with her, but failed.
'She's so beautiful...' he thought to himself, continuing to blush.
They both ran into the ocean, enjoying the feel of the waves washing over them. Soon, many other students ran out to join them, splashing in the water playfully.
"Wow, you look great in that bathing suit Sakura!" exclaimed Tomoyo, as she joined Sakura and Syaoran in the ocean.
Syaoran continued to look at Sakura, deep in thought.
'Oh Kami...she looks so beautiful...I wish I could tell her...' he thought, observing Sakura playfully splash water onto Tomoyo.
Suddenly, a big wave came out of nowhere and caught Sakura by surprise, causing her to fall back into Syaoran. His eyes widened momentarily, and he and Sakura were submerged underwater for a few seconds. He pulled her and himelf back up to the surface, blinking his eyes to get the water out of them.
Sakura sputtered as she tried to rid her mouth of the salt water. "Arigatou Syaoran," she said, blushing.
Syaoran smiled warmly at her, nodding.
"KAWAII!" exclaimed Tomoyo happily, holding up a videocamera to tape the moment.
Sakura looked at her curiously. "Didn't you forget your camera at home, Tomoyo?"
"I did, but then I bought one with my money from one of the boardwalk stores. This one isn't as good as the one at home, but it's good enough!" she replied, smiling.
Sakura nodded, sweatdropping. "That's nice."
Terada-sensei came out at that time, holding a clipboard.
"All right. Everyone line up here to get your scuba diving gear, we're going to dive into the ocean soon, to observe the ocean wildlife."
Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo lined up along with the rest of the class. After all the gear had been donned, everyone waited for the next instruction. Terada-sensei taught everyone how the air tanks worked, and how to adjust the breathing masks.
"We'll be diving off a boat just 10 kilometers off the shore, so we can get a better look at the wildlife. Okay? Ready? Let's go then," he said.
Everyone boarded the boat and waited in excitement as the boat began to pull away from the shoreline. This was supposed to be the highlight of the whole trip, so naturally everyone was eager to dive underwater and take a look at the animals and plant growth.
Takashi, like always, told another one of his stories, this one relating to the ocean.
"Did you know that around this area, thirty foot long octopuses can be found? Although they can be hostile when angry, they are usually docile, loving creatures," Takashi said.
Chiharu would have taken out her mallet and whacked him on the head with it, but she decided that the mallet could seriously damage the scuba diving equipment, so she restrained herself.
"Takashi, please don't make me hurt you," she said gently, pulling out her mallet to back up her statement.
He immediately grinned and nodded vigorously, sitting back into his seat.
"We're almost at the diving point, class," said Terada-sensei. "Get ready to take a plunge into the cold water."
Syaoran and Sakura stood up, ready to dive.
"Okay, on the count of three, everyone dive into the ocean. One...Two...THREE!"
Sakura and Syaoran skillfully dived off of the boat, landing in the ocean at the same time. They both swam downwards together, in awe of all the life around them.
Coral growth could be seen on many rocks, and there were some fishes swimming peacefully along with each other. Sakura giggled as she saw a dolphin playfully bump Syaoran aside, causing him to wave his arms frantically.
Sakura swam over to Syaoran to help him out, when suddenly, she was swept away by a very powerful water current.
"SYAORAN!" she screamed, even though she knew that he couldn't hear her.
Syaoran's eyes widened in surprise as Sakura was pulled away by the current. A look of pure terror was on her face.
"SAKURA!!" he shouted, swimming as fast as he could towards her.
He managed to catch up with her, but saw that she was unconscious. With horror, he saw that the current had ripped off her breathing tube from her oxygen tank! he held her in his arms and gritted his teeth as the current continued to sweep them both away. Swimming as fast as he could, he broke the surface and saw a small island with a cave. Even though his arms felt tired and heavy, he continued to swim on.
Suddenly, a wave came out of nowhere, knocking him back. He gritted his teeth and pulled out his sword.
"Element! Wind! Carry us to the shore!" he shouted.
His sword glowed a light green as wind carried him and Sakura to the shore. Syaoran sheathed his sword immediately and and carried Sakura inside the cave.
Seeing her bruised and battered form, he worriedly set her down on the floor, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"Sakura...." he whispered hoarsely, taking his robes out of his backpack.
He wrapped them around her delicate body, and began to look around for some dry wood.
Finding some small twigs and logs, he congregated them together into a little pile.
"Element...Fire," he whispered. Fire erupted from his Chinese scroll, lighting the twigs and logs.
Immediately, the room was filled with light and warmth. Sakura sighed, and moved slightly, the fire warming her up.
"Syaoran..." she mumbled, and Syaoran blushed.
But then, Sakura began to shiver still, regardless of the fire. Syaoran's eyes looked worried.
'What can I do? I have already given her my robe for a blanket...and have lit a fire...' he thought, distressed.
His last thought caused him to blush fiercely, but it was his only choice. Quietly, as to not wake her, he got down onto the floor, gently wrapping his arms around her delicate and lithe form. He blushed even more when Sakura subconsciously wrapped her slender arms around his neck, snuggling up to him. He lightly ran his hand through her auburn hair, and smiled slightly.
"If only you knew Sakura...if only..." he said softly, and then fell asleep, still locked in an embrace with her.
* * *
"Sakura-chan! Syaoran-kun!" shouted Tomoyo, looking frantically around the waters.
'Where could they have gone?' she thought, swimming as fast as she could.
Rika, Naoko, and Chiharu joined Tomoyo in their search for their lost friends. Looking around as quickly as they could, they soon gave up their futile search.
"There are a million and one places that they could be in," sighed Tomoyo, climbing onto the boat's deck. "Especially since this is the ocean, not a city."
Everyone else nodded in silent agreement, tired from their search.
"Hey! Look over there! I see an island!" shouted Takashi suddenly, startling everyone.
Chiharu was really annoyed now. "Takashi, do you have a limit of some kind? Don't you think you've told enough tales for today?"
Takashi looked hurt. "No really, there's an island over there! Maybe Sakura and Syaoran have taken refuge there!"
"You're right..." said Chiharu, as everyone looked in the direction of which Takashi pointed. "Sorry Takashi."
Meiling growled. The thought of her Syaoran and Kinomoto together on a remote island did not appeal to her at all.
'That Kinomoto better not try to seduce my Syaoran,' she thought angrily, grinding her teeth.
Tomoyo and Meiling volunteered to scout the island, to see if Syaoran and Sakura were there. Climbing in a smaller boat, they sailed off towards the island.
* * *
Sakura's eyes fluttered open, feeling a bit tired, but otherwise comfortable. She suddenly noticed that her arms were around Syaoran, and his were around her waist. She blushed furiously, and then smiled. Tightening her arms around him, she gave hima gentle kiss on his cheek.
Syaoran's eyes fluttered open too, and saw Sakura kiss him on the cheek. Sakura's eyes widened in shock when she realized that Syaoran was awake.
Both of them blushed, releasing their hold on each other, and sitting up on the cool rock floor.
"Gomen..." Syaoran and Sakura said together, both of them still blushing.
Syaoran looked away, staring silently at the entrance of the cave.
"So...how did we get on this island?" asked Sakura tentatively.
"Well, after we got caught in the current, I took you and swam to this island. I hope those robes are enough to keep you warm," he replied.
Sakura blushed again. "A-Arigatou Syaoran-kun."
She wrapped her slender arms around Syaoran's neck, and kissed him on the lips. Syaoran blushed, as they continued to kiss gently, hoping that they could remember this moment forever.
Sakura broke the kiss, and blushed, hugging Syaoran.
"I love you Syaoran-kun," she whispered softly.
Syaoran smiled, for his dream had just come true.
"I love you too Sakura-chan," he responded.
They kept the embrace for a while, silently looking at the ocean.
"I've kept that from you for so long..." Syaoran whispered to Sakura.
She nodded, and kissed him again, the world melting away.
"KINOMOTO!! GET OFF OF MY SYAORAN!!"
Meiling and Tomoyo rushed into the room, Tomoyo bearing an expression of relief, and Meiling looking angrier than ever.
Sakura and Syaoran quickly broke apart, blushing.
"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO SEDUCE MY SYAORAN LIKE THAT!!" yelled Meiling, her face livid, and her form shaking.
Syaoran stepped protectively in front of Sakura. "Meiling, stop it! I love Sakura, and nothing is going to change that. I love you too Meiling, but only as a cousin!"
Sakura blushed, and Meiling remained silent, pondering over what Syaoran had just said.
Syaoran continued to glare at Meiling, who was still silent, trembling under Syaoran's harsh gaze.
"I'm...I'm sorry Syaoran," she whispered quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I understand."
Syaoran's gaze softened, and he gave Meiling a hug, causing her to become happy once more.
"Thanks Syaoran...you're very lucky Sakura," Meiling said, smiling slightly.
"I know," responded Sakura, hugging Syaoran and kissing him lightly on the cheek.
Tomoyo and Meiling giggled simultaneously as Syaoran and Sakura kissed again, and then they headed towards to the boat, to go back to the shore.
"Aishiteru Sakura," Syaoran whispered, his amber eyes concentrated on her face.
Sakura snuggled up to him, smiling. "Aishiteru Syaoran, always and forever.
* * *
