AN: A new chapter! Actually, I've been trying to finish this for almost a month now...i just kept getting stuck! But thankfully, I was re-reading TRC this weekend, and managed to get inspiration for the part I was stuck at! So, here it is. ^_^
"What do you want, kid?"
"Uh…" I immediately took a step back, trying to regain my bearings before I said something stupid that would surely get me throttled by this imposing figure. Just as I had mustered up the courage to speak again, though, a blonde head peered over the giant's shoulder.
"Aww, Kuro-neko, I think you scared the poor boy!"
I started to back away again, feeling kind of hurt. I mean, really. I understood wanting to play some kind of trick on the new kid (having pulled a few of those myself back at my old school), but Sakura hadn't seemed like the type to do that at all. But if she didn't want to help me out, couldn't she have just said so, instead of giving me the wrong address? And really, did it have to be one with such….weirdos?
Then I realized maybe I had just gotten the address wrong. I've never really been skilled at reading other people's handwriting, so that could have been the reason for this mistake as well. I shifted the books under my arm, trying to recall which notebook I'd written her address into, when the giant spoke again. "Oi, kid, you need something?"
The blonde, stepping up next to him, swatted his arm in a playful manner. "Now, now. There's no need to be rude." Turning to me with a smile (which frightened me almost as much as the giant had), he asked, "What my brother meant to say was, 'How can we help you?'"
Thankfully, by this point my brain and mouth had both figured out how to work again, and so I was able to say with only a slight wobble in my voice, "I'm here to meet up with Sakura."
My announcement was met with a few seconds' worth of blank staring, before the blonde smiled again and asked, "I'm sorry, who?" only to be received with an eye-roll from the other man in front of me.
"Ignore this idiot, since most of what he says isn't true. She's here." Pushing the blonde man in front of him as he turned back into the entry, he muttered something inaudible before speaking aloud, "And since you've decided to make a fool of yourself, Fai, you can be the one to go up and inform Sakura that her…guest is here."
I followed him inside as we made our way down the hall, crashing into him when he came to stop next to an open set of double doors. He turned his head, giving me an odd, frightening glance from over his shoulder, then motioned to the doors. "You can wait for her in here. She should be down in a little while."
"Okay." I made my way hesitantly into the room, which, as I soon discovered, was some kind of library, or perhaps a study? There were a lot of books, that's for certain. And also, sitting there in a large armchair, reading one of those books, was a man-what was it with all these guys in Sakura's house?- who had silvery-gray hair and glasses perched on his nose. He looked up with a pleasant smile, one that actually made me want to smile back, instead of flinching like the blonde's had.
He stood up, and I noticed that something about his weight placement was off, making me wonder if he'd been injured at some point. He started walking towards me, and my suspicions grew when I saw the slight limp that punctuated his steps.
"Yukito." He said simply upon reaching me, holding out his hand.
"Syaoran Li," I replied, grasping it with my own.
"So," he limped steadily but quickly back to his chair, "what brings you here today, Syaoran?"
"I'm here for Sakura."
He looked over me with an appraising eye then, but before he could say anything, yet another new voice spoke out from behind me. "Oh, really? What makes you think that a brat like you is good enough for her?" The voice was nearly as gruff as that of the giant who had answered the door, but was filled with far more contempt. Turning around, I saw it came from a young man with black (or perhaps very dark brown) hair, brown eyes, and a scowl as off-putting as his tone. Something about him immediately ticked me off, and I set my gaze in the hardest glare I could muster. He matched mine with his own instantly.
"Touya, be nice." Yukito said, with a slight emphasis on the last word. Neither of us really paid attention, though, continuing to eye each other, waiting for the other to back down. That was, of course, until:
"Syaoran?" Sakura's soft voice cut through our battle, and I jerked my head away, not wanting to concede, but knowing that ignoring her would be a bad move.
She smiled at me from her spot next to the guy in the doorway, and I wondered if she had some idea of what I was thinking. Then she reached forward, and, grabbing my hand, proceeded to pretty much drag me out of the room. "Come on, let's go upstairs and get started on the homework."
Touya moved to block her. "Hold on. You are not taking a guy up to your bedroom."
And just when I thought she couldn't get any cuter, she puffed up her cheeks and pouted. "Why not? We're just studying."
"Uh-huh. All the same, you're going to stay down here, for the sake of our peace of mind."
"Fine. But I want you out." She stomped on his foot, muttering something about "overprotective brothers", before shoving him out the door. Turning around, she bowed apologetically to the older man in the room. "I'm sorry, Yukito. Would you mind leaving us alone?"
He acquiesced easily, and the two of us got to work after Sakura ran upstairs once more to grab her books. We spent a good couple of hours together, and my desire to be with her as much as possible the next week grew. We had just about decided to call it a day, and I was determining how to go about the business of asking her on a date, when the blond from earlier poked his head into the room. It wasn't the first time he had done so, in fact, all of the men (who Sakura had explained to me were her older brothers) had poked their heads around the doorway multiple times. "Sakura, Tomoyo called the house phone looking for you-she said she's been trying your cell but you haven't answered."
A look of bewilderment crossed her face. "I left it upstairs so we wouldn't be interrupted…I'm sorry, Fai, can you show Syaoran to the door?"
"No problem."
"Thanks." She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek before dashing into the hall. "Bye, Syaoran. Maybe we can hang out some time this week!" She called back as she ran off.
"Yeah, that'd be great….." My voice trailed off weakly, the words not even leaving my lips until a good five seconds after she left.
"Syaoran?" I turned to look at the blond, who was smiling once more, though it didn't creep me out as much as it had when I'd arrived. "Do you have everything?"
And with that, we proceeded to make our way back to the front door, all without any pretense at conversation. Once we reached it, however, Fai suddenly handed me a piece of paper, and said, "If you could come to this address at ten a.m. tomorrow morning, we'll get started. And if you don't show up, well…." The creepy smile returned. "We know where to find you, and I'm sure Kuro-boy won't be too happy about having to drag you there, so please just show up, alright?"
In the next instant, I found myself outside, staring at the sidewalk. I spun around just as the door slammed shut.
"Eh?"
*snickers* Poor Syaoran...he really has no idea what he's just gotten himself into, does he?