Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The day Sakura and Syaoron belongs to me, I will be insanely rich, I will support Ranma and Shampoo pairing (which is never in a million years!), my brother would stop annoying me (which is also undoubtly never) and I will be married to Gerrard Butler (sigh….)
In the home of the Kinomoto family, the matriarch of the household was pacing the living room nervously. The said matriarch had every right to be nervous. She was finally going to break the news to her daughter, Sakura. She smiled softly. Her daughter is a stubborn one. She was a hellion when she was little too.
Once, she nearly took ten years of her life when she decided to test the theory that humans can indeed fly despite the lack of wings. By jumping of the roof when she was five. How she got on the roof was beyond her comprehension and remains a mystery until now. Luckily she landed on some bushes and was completely unhurt except for a few scratches. But then, her brother, Touya, who was nine at the time, scolded her so thoroughly that she was bawling her eyes out when he was finished. That was the first time Touya yelled at his sister. There were no petty jealousy among the siblings and they were even best friends when they were grown ups.
Right on cue, Sakura stepped down the stairs from her bedroom, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Sakura had always been an early riser. Touya even called her barbaric once. Sakura gave Isabelle a sleepy smile. Her mother rarely slept in. Like her, Isabelle is also an early riser. Isabelle cleared her throat. Oh, how she wished her late husband was still here to help her through the task. It would still be difficult but at least she would have a supporter.
"Sakura, I need to have a word with you." Isabelle said determinedly.
Sakura's eyes immediately went as wide as saucers. All traces of sleep gone from her eyes.
"Mom, if this is about the broken window in the kitchen, I had nothing to do with it. You see, Touya was passing the ball to me and the silly thing hit my head. I was not holding a grudge or anything. I just threw the ball back a little too hard and Touya was the one who didn't catch it properly and it…"Sakura immediately stopped her babbling when she saw her mother's expression.
"What are you talking about?" Isabelle screeched.
Sakura winced inwardly and decided to bluff her way out.
"Nothing." she replied with a cheeky grin.
Isabelle sighed. The kitchen window? Again? That's the second time this month. Touya and Sakura could be a little…competitive when it comes to sports. Sakura's tomboyish side would come out in full force and all sorts of things would be broken. Isabelle shuddered from the memories of the things the siblings break. Her children were adults now. Sakura has reached 24. But Isabelle herself insisted that her children stayed with her. She simply liked her children to be around. Touya had even started working in the FBI a few years ago and Sakura had surprisingly pursued her passion in literature. She was now teaching in a private college and loving every second of it.
"You have to change your ways Sakura. You are about to get married after all."Isabelle croaked. She was very aware that she was threading on dangerous water but she had to tell her sooner or later.
". I know. "she replied absently until the meaning of her mother's word registered completely in her mind. She blinked a few times and then finally
"WHAAAAT?"
Isabelle winced. She didn't even try to hide it this time. When Sakura unleashed the full power of her voice, she swore she could feel the air vibrate from the force.
"Calm down honey…" her mother pleaded soothingly.
Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration. Her mother only calls her 'honey' when she's done something that she knows Sakura will hate.
Oh make no mistakes. She would die for the sake of her mother but sometimes the woman could be so…so… a low growl escaped from Sakura's throat. Her mother's eyes widened slightly from the sound.
"Sakura! Stop behaving like that. You are a grown woman. And I assure you proper grown women do not growl."
Sakura was getting frantic by now. She knew that by her mother's tone that this is one of those things that are non-negotiable. She started to argue.
" But Mom, I'm only , whatever happens to the magic of falling in love. You know... your attention only on him in a crowded room, that dark magic pulling you in helplessly. I don't want to be married to someone I don't know. Who ever heard of arranged marriage these days anyway?"
Isabelle rolled her eyes. Sakura was never the romantic type. Even Sakura knew that the excuses she gave were lame indeed. Now, there is only one person who even have the remote possibility to help her. Then, as if on cue, she heard heavy familiar footsteps from upstairs coming down. Both Sakura and her mother crane their necks to greet the man. His hair was disheveled, a sign that he had just woken up from bed but his blue eyes were alert.
Sakura quickly glanced at her mother to see her reaction and was slightly pleased. Her mother's back was straighter and she had put on her I-would-not–be-swayed expression. So Touya didn't know. There is still hope after all.
This is definitely time to play the last card. Sakura quickly ran to Touya, who had reached the bottom stairs and buried her face in his chest. Touya was nearly toppled over from the force but he quickly regained his balance. The man was tall and lean. His hair was as dark as the midnight sky and he has features that were ruggedly handsome.
He wrapped his arms protectively around Sakura and looked down questioningly at her. Sakura quickly caught what he was asking and stared straight at the older woman accusingly. The man sighed. "Mother, it was my fault that the window broke. Sakura is absolutely innocent in this matter. "he recited as though he had memorized the dialogue from the heart.
Sakura poked Touya hard on his side.
"Not that, Touya. You would not believe what she was planning to make me do."
Touya tried to listen to the chaotic explanations of both his mother and sister but they kept interrupting each other. It's like a whirlwind of high pitch voices in his head. The fact that he had just woken up and hadn't had his morning coffee didn't help either. He ruffled his hair in frustration. He loved his mother and his little sister dearly but he was slightly irritated that he had to get up so early on his day off. It's not often he gets a holiday. As they say, crime never sleeps. Touya grimaced. Now he sounds like some bad movie.
Sakura threw up her hands in defeat and said resignedly "Fine. You explain first." She quickly walked away so that the urge to interrupt her mother would go away. She couldn't interrupt if she didn't hear what they're saying, couldn't she? She was sorely tempted though. She was pouring a cup of coffee for Touya when she heard the second explosion.
"WHAAAAT?"
She smiled triumphantly. She knew she could count on Touya to take her side. Her brother was always being overprotective of her when it comes to men anyway. She approached Touya and offered him the coffee. Oh no. That's the black fire again. Sakura thought silently when she caught her brother's eyes. It always lit up like that when he was extremely upset about something.
Sakura's eyes on the other hand, were green framed by dark long lashes. Her hair was a darker brown though and reached her shoulders in wavy length while Touya's was short and fashionably messy. Touya smiled gratefully at Sakura, who had taken a seat next to him on the sofa. Their mother was seated to their opposite trying to stare them into defeat. The siblings matched her stare and Touya didn't even broke his stare when he was sipping at his coffee.
Isabelle gulped nervously. Her son is handsome as her daughter is beautiful. When they were together they were a force to reckon with. Isabelle suddenly felt the undeniable prick of pride though she knows this is neither the time nor place for it. After all, the Kinomoto family was one of the oldest and influential aristocrat families. In short, they were extremely and obscenely wealthy. Touya and Sakura could live the perfect life. They could stay at home and buy anything their heart's desire and the wealth would not even be disturbed. But instead they wished to work. They wanted to contribute back to society. Touya, with his crime fighting method and Sakura with her teaching method.
However, this particular matter has to be solved immediately. The wedding is next month for heavens sake.
"Quit being such a drama queen both of you. Sakura, you had been betrothed to him since you were 3. You had even met him. You played together, don't you remember?" Isabelle reasoned.
Sakura rolled her eyes heavenward. "How am I supposed to remember someone when I was that young? I want to know why mother. You were always so sensible. What made you make this decision? I need to understand why. "
Her mother sighed." Your father and I were best friends with the groom's parents and when we were in high school we promised to marry our children so that we could be a family. Please…Even though you father had passed away, I'm sure he would want this too." The siblings groaned in despair. Their mother had pulled out her trump card.
Sakura wished she wouldn't have to marry in order to bring two families together. It's a silly promise by the way. There are lots of families who were not joined by blood but were in good terms anyway. Why HER family was the one insisting that they marry their children was beyond her comprehension. She had never liked to be forced in doing anything ever since she was a child. Her mother would have known better. In the moment of desperation, Sakura could think of only one desperate attempt to stop this ridiculous notion.
. "Why don't you marry off Touya instead?". Touya spurts out his coffee and started stuttering incoherently.
"Because Adam and Sara only had a son. Touya and Syaoron would have to be gay if they wanted to get married" Sakura's mother reasoned.
Touya immediately choked on his coffee again. So her betrothed name is Syaoron is it? Sakura bit her lower lip. She watched Touya intently.
"Are you sure you are not even slightly gay Touya?"
"Do you have a death wish or something, baby sister?" Touya grounded out.
Sakura glanced at Touya, her eyes pleading for help. Touya shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea how to help Sakura. She knew that she had to use her ultimate weapon then. Silence enveloped them for a couple of minutes.
Isabelle let out a breath of relief. Looks like her children had run out of arguments. Bringing her late husband up is without a doubt a low blow but nothing is more important then joining the two families together. Sakura would understand someday. She transferred her gaze towards her daughter. Someday, she would understand the importance of this matter to her. Sakura's head was bowed and Isabelle took it as a sign of defeat when suddenly Sakura slowly lifted her head up.
Isabelle gasped when she saw that Sakura's eyes were wet with tears. Sakura never cries. The last tears she shed were the day her father died when she was twelve. But now, tears ran freely down her cheeks and she was clearly pleading her mother with her eyes. In a broken voice, she whispered "Please don't make me do this." There was a stunned silence from both her mother and brother. Then all hell broke loose.
Touya was hugging her while trying to comfort her at the same time with incoherent phrases and her mother's eyes were also starting to tear up. And even the maids that she knew were eavesdropping had come out in order to comfort her while biting their lips in obvious distress. She smiled briefly in the safety of Touya's shirt. She knew that she was being a bitch by using her tears on her unsuspecting brother and mother like that but she believed she had perfected the art of crying. Those drama classes that she had to handle at the college certainly helped.
"You're still going to marry him anyway." Her mother said, sobbing all the while. Sakura groaned. That's her mother alright. Stubborn as a mule.
Syaoron meanwhile, was having the exact same trouble convincing his family that an arranged marriage is a bad idea. "Mom, I'm an adult. I'm 28 years old for crying out loud. I can bloody make my own choice for a bride."
"Language, honey." Sara drawled slowly. She hated to see her son so upset. Syaoron's eyes were spitting amber fire and his firm jaw was set. Lee Syaoron was the most successful businessman of his age and the fact that he was devastatingly good looking helped him to be the top candidate of the Most Sought Bachelor of the Year five times in a row.
Syaoron ruffled his dark hair in frustration. He had started pacing the living room for a while now. He even vaguely remembers his supposed fiancée. She had tiny fingers and long brown hair with startling green eyes.
But she was just a kid that he was playing with. It was an honor he did play with her too because no seven year old wishes to play with a baby. But that particularly baby had reached out to him and greeted him with the most charming smile a baby could give. And so, he sat facing her, letting her play with his fingers.
And from the funny sounds that only a baby could make, Syaoron knew that the baby was content. And then he was supposed to marry her? No freaking way! He didn't even met her since then. But then his mother had never requested anything from him. Not even when he offered to buy her anything her heart's desire on her birthday a couple of month's ago.
"Consider this as my dying wish." Sarah whispered. By the looks on her son's face, he was clearly startled and then he broke into a grin.
"You fight dirty." Syaoron grumbled.
"I could do whatever I want. I'm old and I do wish to have grandchildren soon." Sarah replied.
"I should remember to stay away from cunning beautiful ladies like you." He chuckled, planting a kiss on his mother's cheek.
"We're meeting them at 8 at their house for dinner and discussion. Please be there." Sarah called out to the retreating form of her son.
"I will."
