Li's return
Sakura
Kinomoto sped down Cherry Tree Lane oh her roller blades. It was near
the end of March, and Term 3 ended in a couple days. She couldn't wait
to finish grade 11. She couldn't believe she was graduating the next
year. She and her best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji, planned to travel for a
little while before going to university. Sakura especially wanted to go
to Hong Kong, for reasons of her own. It had been nearly 6 years since
she last saw Syaoran Li and she missed him more and more every day.
Sakura raced up to her front door, took off her rollerblades, and then went inside.
"SAKURA!"
She jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being tackled by Keroberos.
"Kero-chan!
What if someone saw you? What if my dad had come through the door? How
would I explain a flying, talking stuffed toy to him? Are you crazy?"
Sakura yelled.
"Hey, one question at a time. I saw your dad leave
just a minute ago; he got in the car and took off. He left a note
saying he was going to the school and he'd be back for dinner. And I'm
not a stuffed toy, I'm Keroberos!" Kero said.
"Whatever. Just be more careful, ok?" Sakura said.
"Uh
huh. Jeez, I'm the guardian beast of the seal, and I'm taking orders
from a sixteen year old! Insane..." Kero muttered, flying off around
the corner.
Sakura sighed, and then headed toward the kitchen. On
the counter was a pile of mail, so she picked it up and shuffled
through it.
"Bills... bills... for dad... free sample... oh?"
At
the bottom of the pile was a small envelope addressed to her. Sakura
put the other mail down then turned the letter over to look at the
return address, but it was blank.
"Hmm..."
Sakura ripped open the top and pulled out a small piece of paper. It said,
'Sakura,
Go open your front door.
Li.'
Sakura put the note down and headed toward the door.
'Why would Syaoran-kun sand me a note saying to open my door? Did he send me something?'
She reached for the knob and pulled the door open. What she saw next nearly made her faint.
"Syaoran?"
He was standing on her doorstep holding a bouquet of roses and had a
huge, silly grin on his face. Sakura instantly wrapped her arms around
him.
"But...how?"
Syaoran pulled away and handed her the flowers.
"Never
mind that. It doesn't matter. Look, I only have time to say hello... I
have to go home. But I'll see you sometime tomorrow."
"Home? Tomorrow? What do you mean?"
Syaoran grinned.
"I'll see you later," he said as he turned around and left.
XXXX
"I'M LATE?"Sakura
ran around her room looking for her books. She had slept in, again. She
pulled her school uniform on. Tomoeda High School's uniforms were knee
length navy blue skirts, white blouses and a navy blue jacket for the
girls and navy blue pants, a white shirt, and a navy blue jacket for
the boys. Sakura thought it was boring. Sakura dashed down the stairs
and through the kitchen, grabbing a piece of toast as she went.
"Ohayou Sakura," her father said.
"Ohayou," she replied.
"I think you have a visitor."
"A visitor?"
Sakura put her rollerblades on and said goodbye to her
father. Then she disappeared through the door. Outside on the sidewalk
stood Syaoran in a school uniform.
"Hoee?"
"Ohayou Sakura. Can I walk you to school?"
"What are you doing here? Will you please fill me in?" Sakura asked.
"I will soon. Come on, or we'll be late."
Sakura
joined Syaoran and they headed off toward the high school. They
continued in silence as Sakura tried to figure out what was happening.
She thought she might be dreaming. Sakura looked over at Syaoran, only
to find that he was already gazing at her. When he noticed Sakura was
looking at him, he turned bright red then smiled.
"Nani?" she asked.
Syaoran
shook his head and turned back to the road, still smiling. They finally
arrived at school and were greeted by confused smiles. Tomoyo was
especially shocked.
"Li-kun! I'm so happy to see you! But, how did you get here? Why are you here?" she said in one big gulp of air.
"I really missed my friends here, so I transferred back for grad year," Syaoran replied.
"That's great that we'll all graduate together," Tomoyo said.
Sakura smiled then turned to stick her stuff in her locker.
"Do you have classes for today and tomorrow? That would just be a waste of time, wouldn't it," Tomoyo continued.
"No,
I'm just hanging around for the last two days. Getting used to the
building and all. I have to spend the day with a councilor today, but
tomorrow I'm free to explore on my own," Syaoran said.
"Cool! Sakura and I are finished our exams today, so we can all hang out tomorrow. We'll show you around."
"All
right. Well, I have to go. I'm supposed to go to the office. I'll see
you at lunch." Syaoran said, as he turned around and took off.
Tomoyo watched him until he was out of sight, and then turned to Sakura with a grin on her face.
"So,
I bet you're exited. Isn't it sweet? Your true love has come back
because he couldn't bear to be parted from you any longer... how
romantic..." Tomoyo said with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Stop that Tomoyo. He said he came back because he missed Tomoeda and everyone, not me," Sakura said.
"But he meant you. It's not in what you say, but how you say it."
Sakura sighed.
"Come on, were gonna be late."
XXXX
At lunch, Sakura and Tomoyo met Syaoran outside to eat. Tomoyo kept asking him questions while Sakura listened.
"So, how's Meiling?" Tomoyo asked.
"She's
fine. She wanted to come with me, but her parents wouldn't let her. I'm
sure she'll find a way to get to here though. She usually gets what she
wants," Syaoran replied.
Tomoyo giggled.
"That's true. I just hope she comes before school starts. What about your Mother and sisters?"
"They're fine. "
Tomoyo looked over at Sakura then back to Syaoran.
"I'm going to go find Rika, Chiharu and Naoko. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you!" she said.
She stood up and ran off before another word could be spoken. Sakura looked at Syaoran who blushed and turned away.
"Well...I guess we're alone..." Sakura said.
"Ya"
"Umm...
I was wondering...do you maybe want to come to my house for dinner or
something? If your not too busy that is," Sakura mumbled.
Syaoran gazed at her and blushed.
"Ya... sure."
Tomoyo
appeared again followed by Rika Sasaki, Chiharu Mihara, Naoko
Yanagisawa and Takashi Yamazaki, some of Sakura's closest friends.
"Wow! It's true!" Chiharu exclaimed.
"Ya, I didn't think Tomoyo was telling the truth," Rika said.
"Of course she was you guys, Tomoyo never lies," Naoko said.
"Ya, but I didn't expect Li-kun to like, actually fly all the way back here," Rika replied.
"I wonder why he's here?" Naoko wondered out loud.
Tomoyo cleared her throat.
"Umm, guys..."
The three girls turned to Tomoyo then looked over toward Sakura and Syaoran and blushed.
"You'll have to excuse them Li-kun. They tend to get carried away in their conversations," Takashi stated.
Everyone sat down and began to ask questions. Suddenly, the bell rang. Syaoran stood up.
"See you after school," he said; then he turned and took off.
XXXX
"Otoo-san! I'm home!" Sakura yelled.Sakura's dad appeared in the doorway.
"Hi Sakura. How was your day?"
"Good. What's for dinner?"
"Don't know yet. Oh, that reminds me. Touya and Yukito are coming for dinner tonight."
"That doesn't surprise me. They always come over for dinner."
Fujitaka laughed.
"True enough."
"Dad? I asked Syaoran-kun to come over for dinner tonight, is that all right?"
"Sure."
"Arigatou gozaimasu!"
Sakura ran up the stairs and into her room. Kero was sitting in the window staring out over the rooftops.
"Hey Kero-chan. What are you looking at?"
Kero floated up and faced her. He shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Really. I don't believe you."
"No, really. I was just thinking about something."
Sakura
raised an eyebrow at him, then walked to her closet and changed into a
red tee shirt and black pants. Just as she finished hanging up her
uniform, the doorbell rang. Sakura ran to her bedroom door. "I'll bring
you dinner later. Jaa!" she said as she ran out into the hall.
When
Sakura got downstairs, she saw her brother Touya and his best friend
Yukito Tsukishiro in the doorway. Touya was living with Yukito while he
took classes at the local collage, and Yukito was a doctor at the
hospital.
"Hey Kaiju," Touya said.
"Don't call me that!" Sakura yelled.
"Touya, leave her alone." Yukito said, poking him in the shoulder.
Touya smiled at Yukito then playfully ruffled Sakura's hair.
"Go sit in the living room and I'll go get some tea," their father said.
"I'll help you," Yukito said.
Yukito
and Fukitaka disappeared into the kitchen. Just as Touya and Sakura
turned to go into the living room, the doorbell rang again. Touya
turned and opened the door. When he saw who it was, he jumped back and
glared out the door.
"YOU!" he screamed.
Syaoran, overcoming his
surprise, glared back at Touya. Sakura ran over and grabbed Syaoran by
the wrist, which seemed to make Touya angrier. Sakura pulled Syaoran in
the house and kicked the door closed then casually dragged Syaoran into
the living room. Touya stalked after them. Just as Touya opened his
mouth to yell at Syaoran, Yukito appeared with a tray holding five cups
and a teapot.
"Hello Sayoran-kun! Long time no see, huh?" He said.
"Not long enough..." Touya grumbled under his breath.
Sakura
laughed nervously then sat on the couch pulling Syaoran down beside
her. Touya flopped into an armchair and Yukito put the tray on the
table then sat in another armchair. Later at dinner, Sakura stared
blankly across the table at her brother while he told his dad about his
current job. Fujitaka sat at the head of the table with Sakura on his
right and Touya on his left. Yukito sat beside Touya and Syaoran sat
beside Sakura.
"So Syaoran, What brings you back to Tomoeda?" Yukito asked.
"Uh, no reason really," Syaoran replied.
Sakura glanced at him. That upset her a little.
"When are you leaving?" Touya demanded.
Sakura kicked him under the table.
"OW!"
"Sakura, why don't you and Syaoran go up to your room or something while Touya and I talk." Fujitaka said.
"Dad, I don't think that's a good idea..." Touya said, glaring at Syaoran.
Sakura stood up and left the room with Syaoran following close behind.
XXXX
Sakura opened her bedroom door then shut it tightly after Syaoran entered her room. Kero was sitting on the windowsill again.
"Sorry about Touya. He's a little over protective sometimes," Sakura said as she walked toward Kero.
Syaoran just nodded. Kero turned around and when he saw Syaoran, Sakura shot her hand over his mouth because he started to yell.
"Shh!" Sakura warned, removing her hand.
"Hey kid! I thought you were in Hong Kong," Kero said.
"I was."
"When did you come back?"
"Yesterday."
"Well, what are doing here?"
"I transferred back."
"Why?"
"Enough Kero," Sakura interrupted, not wanting to hear what Syaoran's response would be.
Syaoran looked at Sakura and saw that she was upset about something.
"Sakura..." he started.
"Mmhm?"
"Uhum...Why don't we go for a walk or something?"
"Good idea. I'll see you later Kero-chan."
"But what about my dinner?" Kero whined.
"If you wait, I'll give you extra dessert," Sakura promised.
"Oh... all right."
XXXX
"So, what's wrong?" Syaoran asked as soon as he and Sakura were down the road.
She looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Your really quiet. It seems like something is wrong, that's all. Never mind."
Sakura
looked at Syaoran then back to the pavement. They walked all the way to
Penguin Park then they sat on the swings. Sakura pushed dirt around
with her foot.
"Syaoran, why did you come back to Tomoeda?" she asked.
He looked up at her with a confused look on his face.
"I told you already."
"No you didn't. You said you transferred back and that's it. You never specified why."
Syaoran looked around looking for a way to avoid Sakura's questioning gaze.
"Well?" she pressed.
"Uhh...well
I..." Syaoran sighed then looked at the ground. Sakura stood up and
walked toward the penguin slide. She climbed the ladder and sat with
her legs over the slide. Syaoran walked over and stood at the bottom.
He used the toe of his shoe and drew circles in the dirt then got bored
and leaned against the slide. Sakura watched him for a moment then slid
down and headed away.
"I'm going home. Maybe you should too." She said.
Syaoran
felt as if someone had kicked him in the stomach, but he didn't want to
upset her more so he headed in the opposite direction toward home.
XXXX
A dark figure stood on a nearby rooftop and watched Sakura as she walked toward home.
'Hmm, maybe it's time I took some action, I've waited long enough,' the person thought.
The person jumped behind a house and disappeared into the setting darkness.
XXXX
The
next morning when Sakura left for school, Syaoran was nowhere to be
seen. She hoped he would be there this morning. She was really mean to
him the night before and she wanted to apologize. After Sakura stopped
at her locker and dumped her books off at her first class, she set out
to find him. She ran into Tomoyo outside.
"Ohayou!" she said cheerfully.
"Morning Tomoyo..."
"What's the matter? What happened?" Tomoyo asked.
"Nothing. Hey, have you seen Syaoran this morning?"
"No, but I'm sure he's around somewhere..."
"Ya..."
Sakura and Tomoyo walked around the school looking for
Syaoran but they couldn't find him. Finally the bell rang so they gave
up.
"I'll see you at lunch, 'kay?" Tomoyo said.
"Ya."
Tomoyo
walked off and Sakura headed toward her class. Before she got there she
bumped into Syaoran. Before she could say anything, he shoved a note
into her hands and walked off. Sakura stood staring off in the
direction he went until the final bell rang. Then she ran the rest of
the way to class. As her teacher went off about how much fun she had
this year teaching the class, Sakura stared blankly at the note. It was
written on lined paper and looked as if it was folded rather quickly.
She slowly un-folded the paper and read the note.
'Sakura,
I'm
sorry if I did anything to upset you. If you really want to know why I
came back, well, I came back for you. I love you Sakura, I hope you
still love me too. Or is that what's been bugging you? If it is, I'll
understand. I wouldn't expect someone like you to love me forever
anyway. I just thought you should know this. Well guess I'll see you at
lunch.
Li.'
Sakura wiped a tear from her face.
'I can't believe he thinks that I don't love him anymore...' she thought.
She
folded the letter and stuck it in the pocket of her jacket as she let
out a long sigh. Kyra Akai spun around in her seat and stuck her face
close to Sakura's.
"What's up?" she asked.
"What?"
"You sighed. That usually means you're sad about something."
Kyra
had transferred to Tomoeda at the beginning of the year and had quickly
joined Sakura's group of friends. Even though she was really nice,
everyone thought she was too nosy.
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just bored," Sakura lied.
Kyra raised an eyebrow.
"Uh huh. Sure there Kinomoto."
"Miss Akai, would you and Miss Kinomoto like to share something?" their teacher asked, tapping a finger on her desk.
Kyra stood up.
"Yes Ma'am. We were just discussing how much were going to miss having you for our Maths teacher." she said.
Sakura blushed and sunk into her chair.
"That will be all, Miss Akai. Please sit down," the teacher said.
Kyra sat down with a confidant grin on her face.
XXXX
"Syaoran,
can I talk to you for a minute?" Sakura had found Syaoran outside
talking to Tomoyo at lunch. Syaoran nodded and followed Sakura until
they found a quiet spot to talk.
"Umm...about your note..." Sakura started.
Syaoran blushed and turned away.
"Maybe I shouldn't have come back to Tomoeda," he said.
"Do
you always expect the worst Syaoran? I was going to say that I'm sorry
for getting mad at you for no reason. I was just...I thought
maybe...that you didn't care about me anymore..."
Syaoran turned back to Sakura and gazed at her.
"Of course I do. I care about you more than anything," he said.
Sakura smiled.
"Hey, what did you mean when you said 'someone like me?'" she asked.
"I... uh, I meant someone as wonderful and beautiful as you..." Syaoran said, blushing.
Sakura smiled again and fought to hold back tears.
"Syaoran, umm...you don't have to worry... I still love you too."
Syaoran opened his mouth to say something, but as he did Kyra jumped out from behind a wall.
"BOO!" she screamed.
Both Sakura and Syaoran jumped.
"Kyra! How long have you been standing there?" Sakura asked, blushing furiously.
"I saw you from over there and ran up to say hi. Hi!" she replied laughing.
Sakura sighed.
"I don't believe we've met. I'm Kyra Akai," she said, holding out her hand to shake Syaoran's.
He stared at her hand then looked at her face.
"This is Syaoran Li," Sakura said, "And we were just on our way back."
"Well, ok then. I've gotta go anyway. I'll see you later!" Kyra said as she spun around and took off.
"She's strange..." Syaoran said.
"Oh, she's always like that. She has too much energy."
"Hmm. Well, I don't trust her."
"Li, you don't trust anybody," Sakura giggled, grabbing his arm and walking back toward where they left Tomoyo.
author's note well, thats the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. please R&R!