A MAIDEN WARRIOR CH 2 BURNED, a card captor sakura fanfic

CHAPTER 2|| BURNED

Slender fingers slowly ran over the insignia that was embedded in the shirt as if it could tell her anything about it's owner – who he was, where he came from, what he did. A circle divided into two equal teardrop-shaped halves - one white and the other black. Within each half contained a smaller circle of the opposite color. Which country, army, or business did this insignia belong to? Sure she had been around, but this would be the first time she saw something like it. The more she racked her brain for answers, the more her head hurt.

All she had to go on was his profile. It should be a crime for someone like him to be an Adonis. Messy brown locks that seemed untamable with amber colored eyes that reminded her of honey. His tan chiseled body told her he trained regularly. His calloused hands were rough and strong. And his lips.. they were full and surprisingly soft. The way he had kissed her was so intense. She caught herself reliving the moment, instantly turning beet red. Her first kiss was stolen by a complete stranger!

Groaning with frustration, she rolled over onto her stomach and set the shirt down on the bed. Making sense of it all was proving to be difficult with the little knowledge she had. She made a mental note to do some research on her downtime. The sudden opening of the door threw her out of trance and sent her in a state of panic. She quickly shoved the piece of clothing under her pillow in fear someone would see. The possible outcomes would be endless if she was caught with that in hand.

"SAKURAAAAA!" a cheerful voice called out, pulling her into a gentle embrace.

That voice she knew all too well. Smiling, she said, "Good morning, Tomoyo. Are you ready for tonight?"

"About that.." Tomoyo trailed off, "I need you to do one final dressing fitting."

"You can't be serious.. you told me that yesterday was the final fitting. What else could you possibly change now?"

Tomoyo let out a small nervous giggle, "Minor detailing?"

"Tomoyo, you say that about every dress you make for me," Sakura pointed out.

"Tsk tsk. My dear cousin, you do not understand. I don't choose when I can have these sudden inspirations. As an artist, however, I decide whether or not to create. Consider yourself lucky since I was kind enough to let you sleep last night."

"I see.."

"Come come. There is much to do!" And with that, Tomoyo was already out the door.

She shook her head, knowing her cousin would get her way in the end no matter what she did. Taking one last glance at the pillow, where she had hidden the shirt, she sighed. Finding clues about the mystery owner would have to wait.

Mask carelessly discarded to his left, Syaoran rested his arm on his leg while the other leg hung over the edge of the rooftop, surveying the people below. It was extremely crowded and he hated crowded places. How he got suckered into coming to a lame festival that involved masks and fancy get up was beyond him. Apparently, Meiling figured it would be fun to meet after the opening so he was left to his own devices and that didn't bother him one bit. In fact, he welcomed it. He preferred to be alone because it was too much work to be around others. His attention was soon drawn to the center of town when the lights flickered off and crowd grew silent, waiting for the festivities to begin.

The light from the full moon was bright enough to illuminate the area, giving it a rather romantic feel. A delicate young woman with porcelain white skin in a lavender silk short dress walked towards the center of the stage. Her greyish-violet wavy locks that flowed effortlessly past her waist was adorned by a white beaded headdress. She appeared so pure and innocent in the moonlight. Keys of the piano broke the silence as her lids concealed her amethyst pupils. On cue, her soft melodic voiced filled the air as a solo dancer accompanied her with red ribbons fluttering in the sky. The dancer wore a white flowing dress that stopped above her knees with a long train trailing behind her. Her auburn hair was in a low side-bun and her bangs hung loosely around the frame of her face. Translucent emerald eyes -

He did a double take. Auburn hair and emerald eyes... for some reason, they looked so familiar. After a moment, a smirk began to etch on his face. So the raging beauty he encountered earlier that morning participated in the opening of the festival. The day just kept getting more and more interesting. She was an exceptional dancer. Her fluid movements were completely mesmerizing him, making him unable to tear his gaze away. He wouldn't mind paying if she were to keep him company.

For the finale, someone took a torch and set the huge pile of wood that was in the center ablaze, lighting up the whole vicinity.

"On behalf of Tomoeda, thank you to all who have come near and far to celebrate this joyous festival with us. Without a further ado, let the Festival of the Fated begin!" the singer and dancer bowed as the crowd erupted in applause.

Festival of the Fated huh? He shook his head. No wonder Meiling wanted to participate in something silly like this. It was just like her to drag him somewhere without disclosing all the information, knowing all too well he wouldn't agree if she had. Well, there was no point in crying over spilled milk. He would just need to find something to pass the time and he had the perfect idea.

By this time, foreign music broke out lively, luring masked couples to gather around the fire and dance. Syaoran took his cue and placed his mask on, leaping effortlessly off the rooftop.

With so many people in close proximity, maneuvering through the crowd proved to be a challenge for Sakura. She had no idea that she would be expending so much energy as she paused momentarily for a breather. Standing on the tips of her toes, she scanned around to get a better idea of how close - or rather, how far - she was to her desired destination. It was almost hard to miss. Two towering males were cornered by a horde of women off to the north side of the village. Her palm connected with her face. Of course they would be the source of heavy congestion. She should have known.

The taller of the pair was none other than her elder brother, Touya. His short ebony hair was parted to the right and nothing ever escaped his observant onyx gaze. Military training made him tan in complexion and gave him a built figure. Sakura could see his lengthy arms and legs crossed with a scowl plastered on his face. If she had to guess, it would be that his patience ran extremely thin due to the unwarranted attention from the ladies. Some poor girl would be at the receiving end of his wrath if this did not end soon enough.

Her eyes became fixated on the man standing to the right of her brother, who wore a gentle expression as he made an attempt to ward away the love struck women. His skin fair compared to that of his best friend's thus appearing fragile. He wore his light grey locks slightly longer with bangs parted to the left. Kind, ashen colored pupils viewed the world through round spectacles that sat on the bridge of his nose. To her, Yukito was the definition of perfection; he was like an angel.

Sighing, Sakura gathered the long train into her arms once again and pushed further into the mob.

On the other side of town, Syaoran wandered aimlessly through the crowd with his arms crossed behind his head. It did not occur to him that she would be so difficult to find. How much time did he spend searching for that woman? Half an hour? An hour? He no longer knew; only that he was wasting precious time going around blindly. The possibilities of her whereabouts were endless. A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts.

"Thank goodness I found you! This festival is bigger than I imagined."

"Meiling..."

It was not until Syaoran saw her that he realized that he had forgotten all about her. If she were to have knowledge of that, he would be in a world of hurt. The thought caused him to cringe inwardly. Her hair was not in its usual twin buns, but in a braided updo. White lace trimmings ran along the round neckline of her long sleeved, pastel yellow dress that swept right above her knees. Given, he could be a jerk at times, but he was raised to be a proper gentleman around women.

He cleared his throat, "You looked lovely tonight."

"Really?" a blush made its way to her cheeks as she played with the hims of the dress.

He then extended his elbow towards her to which she gladly accepted, "Shall we go enjoy ourselves?"

"Mhm!"

They leisurely walked around the stalls, munching on finger food while looking at merchandise. Purchases were made for Meiling as reminder of their time during the festival. He played a few games per her request for certain prizes. When the massive bonfire came into view, couples were seen dancing in synchronization. Syaoran felt a tug on his arm and he knew she wanted nothing more than to join in right this moment. Taking her hand, he led them to the dance floor and began to move in rhythm.

"Are you having fun yet?" he asked her.

"Yes, of course! I hope you are having fun as well, Syaoran."

A polite smile was his only reply. He let the music direct his footwork as his orbs drifted about the vicinity, staring at nothing in particular. That is until a blur of white crossed his line of vision. There several hundred feet in front of him was the one he was looking for since the start of the festival. Syaoran finally found her, however, she was not alone. Meiling was conversing with him, but he was not listening to a single word she said. His focus was on the woman he couldn't reach. She was absolutely beaming with happiness.

"Syaoran... SYAORAN!" Meiling looked a bit peeved.

"I'm sorry I spaced out for a bit, Mei. What is it?"

"I was asking what you would like to do tomorrow, seeing how we'll be here until the end of the festival. It lasts for three days."

"Anything you want," he was still distracted.

"Really?" She said, excitedly.

He told her what she wanted to hear, "Yes, really."

Just then, her silver haired partner told her something that made her laugh. A twinge of annoyance rippled through his body as his lips pressed together in a firm line. Why was he letting something like this affect him? There was no way he felt some connection towards a stranger he just met today. Really, what a bothersome feeling.

Twirling his cousin around a couple times then releasing her for the switch up.

Sakura gracefully spun into arms of another. Her new partner was dressed entirely in black from head to toe. She took note of his good posture and how well he danced, which was rare to see in these parts of her neighborhood. Up until now, no words were exchanged. Then came the dip and he executed it perfectly. He looked right at her and she found herself unable to tear away from his intense gaze. Something about those eyes were drawing her in, leaving her to drown in them. Pulling her up from the dip, he held her awfully close, but she made no effort to put some distance between them.

"Falling for me already?" he whispered in her ear, bringing her back into reality.

She was thankful for the mask for it concealed the blush that crept up on her cheeks. Sakura played it off with a laugh, "Please you give yourself too much credit. Keep dreaming."

"So it was my imagination when I caught you staring at me?" He played along.

"I wasn't."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure. I'm also sure that you were doing the same to me."

He chuckled, "You have no proof."

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" a grin slowly made its way on her face. She didn't know what to make of this man.

There was a hint of playfulness in his eyes, "Trying? No. But it wouldn't be the first time."

[AUTHOR'S NOTE] First things first, I would like to apologize for the unannounced and extremely long hiatus my dear readers D: Life has somewhat calmed down a bit and I'm ready to write again. Even with this disappearance, I've had a few people follow and favorite this story. Words could not express how was deeply touched I was. So I thought this would be a nice early Christmas gift to you guys!

Secondly, more introduction of characters! Yayyyyy \o/

Finally, please take the time to let me know what you think about this chapter by leaving constructive criticism and/or praises the comment box below. Also feel free to leave any ideas you guys may have and would like to see in the future chapters to come. I read through them all and actually reply back (as long as you are not anonymous). Thank you(:

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