I'll Turn to You Now
A CCS Fanfic by Starfire Star
Chapter Two: The Past Is In The Past: Part I
Sakura sat on the couch of her living room the next day at 2:00pm. There was nothing to watch, or anything to do. Meiko was at the library.
She trudged to the kitchen and opened up the fridge. Vegetables and last night's Chinese take-out sat on the shelves.
"Ugh…" Sakura groaned. "I just realized we've been having Chinese all this week."
She slammed the fridge shut and rubbed her temples, hand on the door. She was beginning to have a headache.
"Where's that Tylenol," Sakura muttered to herself. She found the red and white Regular Strength bottle and took two with a glass of water.
As Sakura passed her bedroom on the way to the living room, she looked at the welcoming bed all ready for her to take a nap. Sakura hesitated, and then shook her head.
"Maybe I'll take a tiny nap," Sakura said, yawning. Her eyelids felt very heavy all of a sudden.
She slumped onto the bed, pulled up the covers (even though it was summer), and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
-
"Mom, I'm home!" Meiko hollered as she slammed the front door behind her. It was 5:00pm, and still daylight.
No one answered as Meiko kept hollering for her mom.
"Mom! Mom! Mom?" Meiko whispered as she passed her mother's room and found her fast asleep on her bed.
Meiko rolled her eyes and found this was the time for some mischief and snooping. She had the urge to do this many times since she was old enough to think for herself. With an evil grin on her face, she started poking and prodding around her mom's room. She started poking around underneath Sakura's bed. She mostly found missing pairs of socks, dust bunnies, old books, and shoes that Sakura bought but never wore. And beyond all that old junk was… a red box, tied with a white piece of ribbon.
The box, though a little bit dusty, was fairy un-used looking. It had no scratched or rips or anything.
Meiko was eager to see what was in box. She considered the many possibilies.
"Is it old photos? Is it stuff from Grandma and Grandpa? Is it… letters from a secret boyfriend?" Meiko thought, giggled as she thought of the last one, and clapped a hand over a mouth when she had realized how loud she had been.
She looked over at her sleeping mother, watching her for any effects of the giggling. Sure enough, Sakura rolled over, mumbled, "Damn" in a soft voice, and went back to snoring.
Meiko giggled, this time, not loud. She glanced back hesitantly at the box and felt her heart beat fast.
There were, of course, hidden secrets about Meiko and the other side of her family she never knew. She didn't know that in the box were some precious memories from before she was born.
Slowly Meiko untied, the box, heart pounding. She gulped as she slid off the lid.
In the box were neat, clean cream-coloured envelopes. Meiko took one out of the box and examined it.
In Sakura's neat cursive, the mail address was to China, but no specific address. Meiko frowned. Her mother was not dumb enough to not give a specific address. But even though the envelopes looked unharmed, they were quite old. These might have been from a long time ago. Meiko examined it more and saw a lot of stamps stuck on it. She looked back at the address and found it was mailed to some guy named "Syaoran Li".
Meiko rubbed her temples in confusion. She was beginning to have a headache.
"Ugh… my head hurts… I don't even know why…" Meiko mumbled.
"This Syaoran Li… is he my… father?" Meiko said, in a rather loud voice as she held the envelope loosely in her hand.
Sakura, hearing the noise rolled over, half-asleep.
"Meiko, is that you?" she mumbled.
Meiko realized the large box was in front of her and quickly grabbed it, dashing off to her room. She threw the box onto her bed through the open door, and then quickly shut the door. She hurried to her mother room and replied, "hi mom."
Sakura was awake now, eyes open. "What books did you take out?" she said as she gave Meiko a rather suspicious look.
"I didn't," Meiko said a sheepish grin on her face. "I read the ones I wanted to take out at the library."
Sakura snorted. She yawned, stretched and got out of bed. She looked around the room with a hard expression on her face.
"Meiko… did you poke around in my room while I was asleep?" Sakura said sternly.
"N-no…" Meiko said a tired look on her face. She was getting rather tired. Most of these days she was getting very tired.
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked in a suddenly very concerned voice.
"N-no… I mean, yes!" Meiko quickly corrected herself and forced a weak smile on her face, not looking into the eyes of her mother.
"Uh… okay," Sakura said, unsure of what to think. "What time is it?"
"Around six o'clock," Meiko replied, trying to get out of the room as fast as possible. "And, uh, I have to go sleep! I'm tired!"
"Six o'clock, eh? Better go make us dinner. I am not going to order Chinese again," Sakura said in a firm voice as she left the room.
"Ok…"
"Oh, and Meiko?" Sakura paused, retreating back to the room to look at her daughter.
"H-hai?" Meiko still had the forced smile on her face.
"Did you say you were tired? I don't want you fainting like last time. You should get some sleep. I hope it help with your paleness," Sakura added. "You look awfully pale and sickly… are you alright? Fever? Should I bring you to the doctor's?"
"Um, no, it's ok Sakura," Meiko said hurriedly. "I'm sure I'll be ok with some rest."
Sakura nodded, turned around and left the room.
Meiko sighed in relief as she made her way back to her own room.
"If she kept up the interrogation, she might have discovered these, too," Meiko whispered to herself as she rolled up her sleeves showing huge bruises.
-
At dinner, which was chicken adobo (lol some of you Filipinos should know this food), there was an odd silence between Sakura and Meiko, which was unusual. Usually they had a billion things to talk about, whether they were discussing Meiko's schoolwork or talking about Meiko's views on Sakura's new boyfriend.
Tonight, though, Meiko had a million things swirling in her mind: her bruises, the modeling show Tomoyo wanted Meiko to do, the letters from Sakura to this "Syaoran Li"…
Sakura was staring at Meiko very intently. Meiko was picking at her food, smashing up a potato.
"Tell me what's on your mind, Mei," Sakura spoke. "This is unlike you. You seem uneasy about something."
Meiko shook her head fiercely, and then blurted out, "Who is Syaoran Li!"
Sakura froze in shock. "W-what?"
"Syaoran Li!" Meiko repeated. "And the letters? What are they about?"
"Meiko!" Sakura cried shakily. "What are you talking about?"
"The letters! You wrote this guy letters! Who is he?" Meiko asked firmly.
"Meiko!" Sakura shouted. "There is no reason to yell! Just calm down, I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Right…" Meiko said disbelievingly, slumping back into her seat.
"First of all… what are you talking about? What letters?" Sakura asked, taking a deep breath.
"The letters…" Meiko found no other choice except to explain where she found the letters and what state they had been in. "To Syaoran Li. I found them under your bed in a box. There were a stack of them and they were dusty!"
"T-the letters? W-what…" Sakura whispered. She closed her eyes and said, "The letters. Right."
Meiko was in a hurry to continue. "And who is Syaoran Li?"
"Meiko, I wrote those letters a long time ago. To your father Syaoran Li," Sakura's voice shook as she took a deep breath.
"M-my father?" Meiko replied.
"Yes. I wrote those letters when I was eighteen," Sakura continued. "And I never got a reply. I sent those letters, but they were sent back to me. I never knew why. I sent a million of those things, all saying the same thing. But I'm not sure if they ever reached him."
"What did they say?"
"Gosh, Meiko, I don't know," Sakura sighed. "It was a long time ago. But I guess they said that he had a child."
Meiko did not know what to say; sure, her mother had said before that her father had left. But it felt odd for some reason. She felt sorry for her mother; having to endure the pregnancy while her father was somewhere else with a new life.
Sakura focused on her meal, glancing at Meiko often to see what her reaction would be, but Meiko said nothing.
Sakura sighed. "Do you want me to tell you the past? About how Syaoran took off and I found out I was pregnant?"
"Uh, mom, hello, I'm only ten and a half, I don't want all the nasty details!" Meiko said in horror. "What kind of mother are you?"
"No, no, not that," Sakura snapped. "What are you thinking? I'll just tell you."
-Flashback-
"Tom, Syaoran loves me, right?" 18 year-old Sakura Kinomoto asked her best friend as she examined a lime-green prom dress. They were shopping for their prom dresses at the mall.
Tomoyo looked up. "Why are you asking me? Didn't he tell you? If he shows it, he must." She paused. "Did he?"
"Yes," Sakura firmly nodded. "He's so sweet…"
Tomoyo smiled. "See, you don't need to be reassured. And you two are going to be Prom King and Prom Queen for sure!"
"I don't know… it's not like I'm that popular," Sakura shrugged.
"Sure you are," Tomoyo told her. "You're popular. And you're dating Syaoran. So you two are the most powerful couple at Tomoeda High."
Sakura grinned as she picked up a baby blue gown. "Is this dress okay?" she asked Tomoyo.
Tomoyo shook her head. "Not you."
"Oh, right!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed. "I forgot to ask you. Who are you going with to the prom?"
Tomoyo grinned. "Yakotashi Maeda."
"HIM?" Sakura shrieked. "Didn't he play Romeo opposite you as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet?"
Tomoyo nodded. "Besides, we're just going as friends. We're not serious or anything. Besides, he's a nice guy."
Sakura laughed as she picked up a fire-red dress.
"Me?"
"Nope."
A beautiful, very light pink dress caught Tomoyo's eye. It was a strapless silk gown, with a nice intricate flower pattern on the side in light pink thread. The top part of the dress was lined with diamonds. The gown had a flowing skirt that reached to the ground. The gown was perfect for Sakura.
Tomoyo's eyes grew wide as she quickly grabbed it off the rack.
"Sakura, this is perfect for you!" Tomoyo whispered as she held it up for Sakura. Sakura came forward and took the dress from Tomoyo's hands.
"Wow," she breathed. "It is perfect."
Sakura decided to take the dress and she tried it on. It was a nice fit.
They decided to look for Tomoyo's dress at another store after 45 more minutes of browsing. They didn't find what she wanted.
At another store though, that changed. Tomoyo found a beautiful lilac purple dress. It was as low-cut as Sakura's strapless dress and it had small tiny bunched-up kind of sleeves that just rested on her shoulders. Unlike Sakura's dress, however, hers did not reach the floor. It stopped to just halfway below her knees. They bought shoes and shawls to match. Then Sakura called Syaoran to pick them up.
Syaoran picked them up in his newly washed car from the car wash. He smiled at Tomoyo and gave Sakura a kiss and a hug.
Sakura got into the passenger seat and Tomoyo got in the back. She watched Syaoran sweatdrop as Sakura told him about their shopping trip and what they bought, ecstatically. Syaoran stopped her from talking with a kiss, and Sakura blushed. They dropped off Tomoyo at her house. She noticed what a cute couple Sakura and Syaoran made.
-
It was the day of the prom. Sakura and Tomoyo putting on their makeup and perfume after their showers. Tomoyo put her hair into a half ponytail and curled it. The result was beautiful. Sakura curled her shoulder-length hair. Finally they slipped into their gowns and glanced in the mirror. They were pretty darn happy about how they looked.
Finally they waited for their "escorts" (in Tomoyo's case) to arrive. Yakotashi came first, ready to take Tomoyo to the prom. He had a limo and everything for Tomoyo, since his family was rich. He was nice though. He smiled at Tomoyo and took her hand. He grinned at Sakura as they walked over to the limo.
"See you there, Sakura!" called Tomoyo over her shoulder as she got into the car. She gave Sakura a little wave over her shoulder.
A couple of minutes later Syaoran arrived.
"Hey," Syaoran whispered to her as he took her arm, leading her to his car. "You look beautiful."
Sakura blushed. "Thanks."
"Shall we go now?" Syaoran asked, giving her a light kiss. "Or is Tomoyo coming with us?"
"No, no, she went with Yakotashi, remember?" Sakura replied.
"Oh, right… let's go then," Syaoran backed out of the driveway and they drove off into the cool spring evening.
They arrived at the prom, and Tomoyo and Yakotashi were waiting for them. So were Chiharu Mihara and Takashi Yamazaki.
"Sakura!" Chiharu squealed. "You look sooo pretty!"
"Thanks, Chiharu," Sakura smiled. "You look very nice, too."
Chiharu was dressed in a lime-green, simple dress, with spaghetti straps.
"Oh, oh, wait!" Tomoyo said. She reached into a tote bag she had brought and got out her camcorder.
"Tomoyo… wouldn't pictures be quicker? We wouldn't want to keep you from having a good time yourself tonight," Chiharu and Sakura sweatdropped.
"No, no, this is a good time to me!" Tomoyo laughed.
Tomoyo started taping Sakura and Syaoran, who were arguing about whether to dance or not.
"Come on Syaoran, let's go dance!" Sakura said, tugging at Syaoran's arm.
"Aw, man, I can't dance," Syaoran whispered to Sakura. "Remember?"
"No, you'll be fine! Look at Chiharu and Yamazaki!" Sakura pointed to the couple, who were having a good time fooling around by dancing stupidly.
"I… I can't," Syaoran sweatdropped. "Ah… fine," Syaoran said hastily, watching Sakura's face drop.
"Great!" Sakura said, grabbing Syaoran's arm and dragging him onto the dance floor.
"Don't tape this," Sakura added to Tomoyo as they passed her, Tomoyo giggling.
Yakotashi was staring uncertainly at Tomoyo. "Uh, Tomoyo," Yakotashi began, his voice full of doubt. "There's this girl I like over there… do you mind if I talk to her?"
"Hmm?" Tomoyo replied, looking over her shoulder. "Ok. Mind if I come?"
"You'll scare her off!" Yakotashi said. "She might think we're together."
Tomoyo sighed. "Fine. I'll just stand over there. But if anything goes wrong, I'm coming in."
"Ok," Yakotashi agreed as he lopped off toward the girl and one of her friends. Tomoyo casually sauntered a few meters behind him, occasionally glancing at Sakura and Syaoran, who were laughing at Syaoran stepping on Sakura's feet.
"Uh… uh, Kanako?" Yakotashi asked a short pretty dark-haired girl.
"Yeah?" Kanako asked. "What do you want?"
This seemed to put Yakotashi off a little since his face dropped. He walked away, only to be pulled by Tomoyo around the corner.
"What are you doing?" Tomoyo hissed. "That girl isn't good enough for you! She seems awfully rude."
"What? No!" Yakotashi argued. "I want to be with her!"
"Are you sure?" Tomoyo asked as she looked around the corner and saw the girl whispering and giggling with her friend.
"Hai!" Yakotashi replied. "Can you help me? I can't believe I'm actually asking you for help."
"Are you sure? Are you sure there isn't anyone else you like?"
Yakotashi shook his head. "Positive."
Tomoyo sighed. "Fine. Just get back out there and ask her out like you nervously did before."
"What?" Yakotashi replied, horrified.
"Relax. Trust me."
Yakotashi once again lopped off to the girl and her friend, Tomoyo walking a few meters behind him.
"Kanako?" Yakotashi asked the girl again.
"What is it now, Yakotashi?" the girl sighed exasperatedly.
"Uh, well," Yakotashi said. "You wanna go out?"
"What?" Kanako said. "I don't go out with guys who are in Drama Club." She laughed rudely.
Yakotashi turned red as Tomoyo walked behind him, a furious expression on her face.
"Yakotashi?" Tomoyo screeched. "What are you doing? We had incredible dates together, you and me! You gave me everything I wanted, and you treated me like I was the most important person in the world! And then you STOP calling me?" Tomoyo exclaimed, eyes full with tears. Yakotashi looked extremely horrified.
Kanako and her friend were watching with amusement and interest.
"Well, I've spent too long crying over you!" Tomoyo cried. "You were the best thing that's ever happened to me, but I have to say goodbye!" Tomoyo turned on her heel and stomped away.
Kanako turned back to Yakotashi. "So," Kanako began. "I just might change my mind about Drama Club guys." She grinned. "So when did you want to go out?"
Tomoyo sighed happily for Yakotashi. Her job there was done.
Meanwhile, Sakura and Syaoran were dancing to a slow song outside, on this little kind of patio place except there were no chairs, where some other couples danced. It was a full moon and the twilight sparkled. There was a large fountain that had water flowing from it. The scene was a beautiful one.
Sakura's head rested on Syaoran's shoulder.
"Syaoran?" Sakura whispered.
"Yeah?"
"What if something happens? What if you got sent off to become a samurai like you told me your mother wanted you to become?" Sakura mumbled.
"I'm never going to leave, Sakura," Syaoran whispered.
"Are you sure?" Sakura said softly.
"I'm never going to leave you," Syaoran repeated. "Never."
But he wasn't sure if that was a promise he could keep.
"I love you, Syaoran," Sakura said. "Always."
"I love you too," Syaoran said back to her. "Don't worry, nothing's going to happen."
Sakura leaned in for a kiss, and Syaoran returned it. After that, they just hugged each other long into the night. They both didn't want it to end.
And they had good reason to, since this would be the last time that they would be together.
The day after the dance, Syaoran went on vacation with his parents in South Korea. They stayed there for a week.
And that's where they were going to drop the bomb on him.
One night, for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Li brought Syaoran to a very fancy restaurant.
After their meal was over, Syaoran glanced at his parents. "Are we going to leave? How come you haven't got the bill?"
"Syaoran," Yelan began, "We have to tell you something that you probably aren't going to like, but please don't be mad at us. We're only doing this because we love you."
Syaoran's heart beat fast. "What? What is it? Did something happen?"
"Well, Xiao Lang, since you're turning eighteen next month, you'll have to begin you Li clan studies," Jun Li explained. He was nervous and kept glancing at Yelan.
"What?" Syaoran asked, surprised. "What does that mean?"
"You'll have to prepare for your role as Li Clan leader," Yelan replied.
Syaoran's chest tightened in panic.
There was a long pause before Yelan whispered, "You're to begin your preparation in… China."
Syaoran put his head in his hands. Yelan and Jun exchanged tense Looks. Yelan bit her lip as if she were about to cry.
There was an uncomfortable silence before Syaoran lifted his head.
"How long is this preparation?" Syaoran asked slowly.
"Three years," Jun spoke in a hearty voice. "When you turn twenty-one, you're officially titled 'Li Clan Leader'."
"Do I have a choice whether to do it or not?" Syaoran spoke.
Yelan bit her lip again. "Well… it would disappoint the whole Li family if you were decline… we would prefer if you went on with the preparation, Xiao Lang. Do it for your parents. For your family. For Li Clan honor. And think of this as an opportunity to visit Meiling."
The name brought a smile to Syaoran's face. "Meiling," he repeated. "How is she?"
"She's doing fine," Yelan nodded. "She's dying to see you again."
Syaoran face turned serious again as he thought about his life in Japan.
"Mother… what about… Sakura?" Syaoran whispered, horrified at the thought of leaving her.
Yelan shook her head, a sad expression on her face. "I'm so sorry, Syaoran. As much as we want you to be happy… you can't be with her."
"What's wrong with her?" Syaoran asked. "She makes me happy!"
"She's not a proper candidate for Li Clan wife," Yelan said. "She's not up to standards. She doesn't have a proper family history…"
"No! Sakura was the best thing that ever happened to me!" Syaoran said. "What's wrong with her family?"
"The fact that her father married his student is unacceptable," Jun shook his head.
"We will find you a much better suited candidate for your wife," Jun added.
"Please Syaoran… please think about this. It's either your family, Li Clan, honor, respect… or choose the life you've grown to love," Yelan whispered. "We need you to give us an answer when we get home. Your father and I," Yelan paused. "And possibly you will be leaving tomorrow morning for Hong Kong."
Syaoran's eyes grew wide. "You're leaving me? So soon…"
"Well, yes, if you choose not to go with us," Jun said firmly. "The butler will take care of you until next month."
"We will send you money for your apartment or dorm, and for university," Yelan added.
"I…" Syaoran didn't know what to say. So he just shook his head, grabbed his coat and headed off to the car without another word.
Yelan and Jun rushed to give the money to the waitress. They plucked out a couple of 50s (A/N: We're talking about a fancy restaurant here, people) and rushed after Syaoran.
The drive home was long and silent. The tension in the car was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Syaoran didn't know what to choose— Sakura, or Li Clan Leader. Sakura or Li Clan Leader. Sakura or Li Clan Leader.
Syaoran's visions of a sad Sakura if he would be telling her he was leaving put pain in his heart. He loved Sakura so much… he didn't want to leave her. But still…
Syaoran knew family honor and respect was important to his family. He didn't want to hurt his parents, the people who raised him, who loved him for his entire life. It would pain him to see his parents fly off.
That's it. Syaoran knew his decision. It was what he was thinking of all along.
A couple of minutes later Jun stopped the car in their rented mansion driveway. Yelan, Jun, and Syaoran got out of the car, Yelan and Jun still anticipating the answer to the question.
As soon as Yelan and Jun peeled off their coats inside the house and took off their shoes, Syaoran announced, "I've made my decision."
Yelan smiled shakily. Jun nodded.
"I've decided to go on with the Li Clan Preparation. I'll come with you to China," Syaoran said quietly, his voice cracking and shaking.
-
To Be Continued... Part II
Chapter Cleaned As of June 11th, 2006
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