Clique
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Chapter Four
Nadeshiko held her son in her arms, her tears wetting his shoulder.
Touya grasped his mother's body tightly, feeling an electric happiness spread through his body. Although they had been separated for more than twelve years and he had been only a five year old at the time of her departure, he still felt a faint, indelible love for his mother.
Sakura stared, her mouth in an O shape.
So…it really is true, then, she thought. This beats any DNA test.
Nadeshiko raised her face from her son's shoulders and smiled up at him, brushing a lock of hair behind his ear.
Touya froze. It was amazing what a simple, tender gesture could do, for Nadeshiko's touch had triggered a stream of memories.
"Okaa-san…" Touya whispered, "I—I remember the last time you did that…it was also the last time I saw you…"
Nadeshiko shook her head fervently, burying her face into his shoulder once again. "Please, don't speak of such things…"
Touya rested his head on his mother's and closed his eyes.
They would have stayed like that for a long time, had Sakura not finally taken charge of the situation. Hesitantly, she approached her brother.
"Hey…um…Touya," she said, tugging gently on his sleeve, "um…it's not good manners to leave a guest at the door, much less a…a family member. Okaa-san, why don't we all go inside?"
Nadeshiko and Touya raised their heads. Nadeshiko chuckled. "Of course, Sakura would remember her manners."
---
Touya had difficulty suppressing his shock.
He had suspected his mother and sister were not well off, financially, but he had had no idea, no mental preparation for this…
"Tea, Touya?" Nadeshiko was holding out a steaming cup.
"Ye-yes, Okaa-san," Touya said, stuttering slightly, his face flaming as he accepted the tea. He was sure his mother had seen him peeking at the stained wallpaper.
Sakura eyed Touya's flaming face but chose to remain silent.
"So…" Nadeshiko said, after an uncomfortable and awkward silence, "now that our family has been reunited, I believe some change is going to take place, am I correct?"
Touya nodded, eyes lowered. "Yes. Okaa-san, you have not changed your mind about Ot—"
"No."
Shocked, Touya stared.
Nadeshiko's eyes were narrowed, the tips of her fingers white as she clutched the teacup.
Touya swallowed. It seemed as though his mother's mind was firmly made up. "Then…you will permit me to do whatever is necessary?"
Nadeshiko nodded. She lowered her eyes to the floor. "Yes. It is because I will not reconcile with him that separation must take place."
Sakura was confused.
Touya smiled bitterly. "You will not listen to his side of the story, still?"
Nadeshiko shook her head.
Touya laughed mirthlessly. "Separation will not take place, Okaa-san. You either come with me, or I will not take Sakura."
Nadeshiko's eyes flew to Touya's face. "No!" she cried, her face wild. "Touya, you must take Sakura. She will have such better facilities…"
It clicked.
Sakura jumped to her feet and screamed, "NO! Okaa-san, I will not allow you to do this! I won't go!"
Nadeshiko snapped, "Calm yourself, Sakura. I am thinking of you, do you understand?"
Touya smiled thinly. "Okaa-san, you are laboring under the delusion that I will take Sakura."
Nadeshiko stared. "Touya, you will. I am begging you. Okaa-san is begging you, Touya…" Tears created a film in her eyes.
Touya looked away.
After what seemed like an eternity, Touya finally nodded. "Fine…Okaa-san…"
Nadeshiko smiled. "Sakura, you will go with him."
---
The taxi driver looked at them from the rearview mirror.
"A broken heart, eh?" He leered at Sakura's splotchy face.
Touya sent him a glare, death implicit in his gaze.
The driver quickly placed his eyes on the road.
They had left Nadeshiko's apartment with nothing more than a suitcase filled with Sakura's sparse belongings. It was beyond words to describe Sakura's parting with their mother, though she maintained that Sakura could still visit her, and that such a separation was temporary…
Sakura's moving into his apartment downtown was a double-edged sword, Touya reflected. On the one hand, he would be united with his sister…but on the other hand, that same sister was now restricting him…
He glanced over at her. Her profile was covered by shadow, and he caught an occasional sniffle from her.
Something arose within Touya then, some instinct greater than the visceral need to reproduce. He had never felt this feeling as strong as he felt it now…he had never felt this, not even for his father. Staring at her profile, Touya felt the overwhelming desire to protect. To protect and jealously guard this…this girl, with her slim and trim figure, from any harm. He felt the desire to place her in an ivory castle, in the highest tower, to protect her from harm.
Stirred by this desire, Touya grabbed her hand and clutched it tightly. He felt her look at him.
Sakura squeezed her brother's hand slightly.
And that was that.
They sat holding hands for the rest of the car ride.
---
Syaoran got up and stretched languorously, yawning and rubbing his hair. He stared at the mirror, flexing his muscles. He winced.
Fuckin' Touya…making us do more practice than usual…Syaoran growled slightly at this injustice.
The Boys Varsity Soccer Team had spent more than four hours practicing yesterday in the rain. Syaoran and Eriol had taken charge, Syaoran being the best offensive player and Eriol being the best defensive player. It had felt strange, drilling and giving orders to second and third years, correcting their footing and snickering at their ineptitude. Interestingly enough, the rain had galvanized their practice rather than dampened it. Syaoran had witnessed the slight, gradual improvement of each player under his and Eriol's guidance, and the team had further solidified its bonds with each other. Seasoned veterans had helped the rookies, and everyone had been encouraging. It had been, perhaps, one of their best training sessions. But that still didn't stop Syaoran from grousing at his Captain for making them practice so long.
He stalked into the bathroom, yawning as he picked up a comb.
He had just finished untangling one of his most stubbornly tangled knots when the door burst open.
Syaoran nearly dropped the comb.
Bernadette, one of the Lis' many maids, walked into the bathroom with a towel and pajamas in hand. Seeing him standing there, however, frozen and with a comb in hand, she squealed.
"Oh, Master Li," she said breathily, "I am so so sorry. Eet seems zat all of ze drains in ze other bathrooms are plugged, and as I 'ad no other place to take my shower, I deecided to come in here…" She gestured helplessly in his direction.
Syaoran smiled, his lips wobbling. Bernadette, their new French maid, was, to put it bluntly, a slut. It seemed as if she had taken a fancy to her new young master lately, and was taking every opportunity to walk in on him in dishabille…
Bernadette batted her sooty eyelashes. "You don't mind eef I take one, do you?"
Syaoran coughed, moving to one side and waving at the shower stall with his comb. "Go right ahead, Bernadette," he said, bowing himself out with as much grace as a llama.
"I'll, uh, close the door for you, okay?" Syaoran immediately shut the door in Bernadette's pouting face, her plan having been foiled.
He breathed hard, leaning on the door. God…that girl is a pain in the ass…
-----
Touya knocked softly on the door.
After they had come home last night, Sakura had gone straight to sleep, refusing any offers on Touya's part to acquaint her with the apartment. Touya had placed her suitcase and bag in the second bedroom, which had more of a feminine air than all the other bedrooms. She had immediately flopped down on the bed and buried her face in the pillow, effectively shutting out her brother.
"Sakura," Touya said, knocking gently against the door, "are you going to get up today? Because if you're not, I can call in sick for you—"
The door flew open.
Shocked, Touya backed away from the door.
Sakura stood there, fully dressed. Her bag hung from her shoulder. Purple shadows stained the margins of her eyes. Although she looked tired, there was a steely determination in her green eyes. "Who said I wasn't going to school today? Whoever said that should take his head out of his ass."
Touya's mouth nearly dropped open. "Uh…I just assumed that—"
"Well," Sakura snapped, cutting him off, "you assumed wrong. I'm not going to be a coward and hide in my room all day long."
Touya stood numbly as she shoved past him.
He whistled. Dayum…
-----
Sakura sliced her French toast viciously.
"Here's syrup," Touya said, passing the bottle to her. He had learned to step lightly around her, as Sakura was plainly not in her best mood. Although he knew Sakura's touchy mood was partly due to her determination to conceal her hurt and sadness from him, he couldn't help but wonder whether some of this was due to PMS…
Touya groaned. What would he do if Sakura had PMS? He didn't know how to deal with that! Then he immediately made note to tell the maid to buy some pads, or whatever it was that girls used…
Sakura was stuffing the food into her mouth, chomping down on the toast mercilessly. Touya watched, fascinated as she stuffed an entire slice into her mouth, cheeks bulging as she slashed the food with, what he could have sworn, were razor-sharpteeth.
Then he quickly stopped himself. His sister was not the monster in a horror movie, nor was he the victim. Shaking his head, he picked up his fork and knife.
"What!" Sakura had finished swallowing her toast. She was glaring at him again, her eyes barbs of resentment. "Why the fuck are you looking at me, bitch?"
Touya reeled. His sister, the Virgin incarnate, had just spouted an entire sentence that would have merited an R rating, had this been a film. Something was definitely wrong. He began, "Sakura—"
"Listen, shitface, just because I allowed you to hold my hand in the car does not mean squat! Let's get this clear, bozo, you took me away from my mother without my consent. And now, you're trying to bond with me! You motherfuckin' kidnapper, I won't get a case of Stockholm Syndrome, I won't bond with someone I hate, I won't betray my mom…" Sakura's voice broke. "I don't do anything I don't want to do…I don't like you…I hate this situation…" She buried her head on her arms, her shoulders shaking.
Touya stared, still shocked—first, he had let this girl interrupt him more than once, and second, she was crying…really crying…
Touya got up from his place at the table and walked over to where she sat. He tentatively placed his arm around her shoulders. When she did not resist, he became encouraged and placed his other arm around her, hugging her.
Sakura suddenly sat up and threw her arms around Touya. "I'm sorry for saying that to you…I'm sorry for being so mean to you! I'm sorry for saying I hate you…"
"Shh…" Touya murmured, patting her shoulders. "It's ok, Sakura. I don't blame you."
Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Sakura sat up. She rubbed her now swollen eyes. Touya finally flopped down on the floor, not caring that one shoulder of his shirt was completely wet.
"Ahh…much better," Touya said, resting his legs. "God…squatting like that made my legs really, really tired."
Sakura shot him a look. "Who told you to comfort me?"
Touya gulped, holding out his hands. "Okay, Sakura, now don't get all menstrual on me…"
Sakura's eyes widened. "Wait…you thought I'm menstruating?"
"Uh…yeah?" offered Touya, hoping she wouldn't bite his head off.
Sakura giggled, then began to laugh at the bewildered expression on Touya's face.
"Touya," she said between fits of giggling, "I'm not menstruating. I'm just…kind of bitchy today, I guess. From lack of sleep and emotional trauma." She giggled again. "Stupid, silly Touya, don't just assume that I'm menstruating."
Touya stared. Then he laughed, relieved that he would not have to deal with a bitchy, menstruating female, relieved that his sister was not so angry and depressed anymore. Suddenly, the atmosphere lightened, and so did the Touya's mood.
Still chortling, Touya flicked a casual glance at Sakura's shirt and winced. A purple Barney was embroidered on the edge of Sakura's lavender shirt, which was at least two sizes smaller than the size she should have been wearing.
Sakura noticed his movement. "What?" she asked, her voice having lost its edge.
"Umm…Sakura? I don't know how to tell you this, but fuckin' shit! You have got to get some new clothing. I mean, Barney? That was a freakin' decade ago. And that shirt? You have got to stop flaunting your midriff like that…I mean, it's not exactly attractive…" Touya's voice trailed off as Sakura was beginning to look murderous again.
She sniffed disdainfully. "And I suppose, now that I'm your sister, you'll be forcing me into your polos, flip-flops, etc.? You think, that just because I'm your acknowledged sister, I'm going to start wearing your type of clothing? No. I don't think so, Touya. I'm not going to go all preppy with you."
Touya let it go. He had learned, from experience, that girls were very hard to compromise with, especially when it came to clothing.
"Fine," he said, shrugging. "It's just that I'd thought you'd like to know Barney went out of fashion a long time ago."
Sakura looked down at the dinosaur and blushed. "Whatever," she said, "it's not like I have anyone to impress anyway…"
Touya smirked, noting the blush on her cheeks. "What, you want someone to impress?"
"No!" she said quickly, her cheeks still slightly red.
Touya continued to smirk, but he turned away from her. He didn't want to get slapped…
----
"Maria! Antigua! Guadalupe!" Touya opened the door to the kitchen. Spanish assailed Sakura's ears.
The three women were standing near the stove, gossiping and cleaning the counter.
"I'd like you to meet my sister, Sakura," Touya said. "She just arrived last night."
"Guadalupe, the chef," Touya said, indicating a tall, distinguished woman. Guadalupe nodded at Sakura, smiling. "Maria, the housekeeper." Maria waved cheerily. "And that's Antigua, the maid," Touya said. Antigua blew a kiss to Sakura. "They're absolute goddesses," Touya said, as the two exited the kitchen. "I wouldn't be able to function without them."
Sakura raised a brow. "What's the point of having a maid and a housekeeper? It seems a bit superfluous, and you have to pay an extra person."
Touya shrugged. "The housekeeper does errands, while the maid stays inside and cleans the house."
Sakura shook her head, still unconvinced of the necessity of having both a maid and a housekeeper.
Touya was taking her on a tour of the apartment. Sakura had been correct in her assessment of what Fujitaka Kinomoto deemed "modest"—although there were no fancy authentic knickknacks to be seen, the apartment was still large, lavish, and decorated with furniture. Even though the pieces of furniture were simple, they were still of high quality, something she had been quick to notice. The apartment had a home-like feeling to it, but it was still pricey—what year of tuition was to Sakura was probably ten percent of what a month of the apartment's rent was.
Finally, after the tour culminated in the library, Touya retrieved his sports gear, bag, and car keys, saying it was time to leave for school.
-----
After an uneventful ride to school, Sakura had finally gotten accustomed to the expensive BMW, with its luxurious vinyl upholstery and impressive technology. Rich bastard, Sakura thought, although the thought lacked the usual venom reserved for the super-rich.
The car pulled up in the parking lot, and Touya casually shrugged off the seatbelt. He opened the door and went outside the car, stretching.
It was in this moment that, as strange as it sounded, Sakura fully appreciated how good-looking her brother was. He had a casual elegance that was not the product of appreciating the adulation of fawning inferiors, but was rather the product of his own self-esteem and regard for his body. In others, this high self-regard would have translated into a swaggering, bullying air, effectively rendering them unattractive, but in Touya it only enhanced his appeal. Not, Sakura thought distastefully, that she would ever find her brother appealing. She suddenly realized that he was the type who would never do drugs or indulge in alcohol or cigarettes, simply because he thought himself above such petty vices that would destroy his body, and, in turn, his self-esteem.
"Come on, Sakura. Are you going to take class in my car? Because that's not possible, kaijuu. Now scoot." Touya removed his head from the car to avoid Sakura's slap.
"I am NOT a kaijuu." Sakura glowered, but she climbed out of the car and slammed the door with more force than necessary.
Touya winced. "Oy…don't do that, kaijuu."
"I said I'm NOT A KAIJUU," Sakura said, her teeth gritted.
Touya grinned, and Sakura realized her mistake. "I think kaijuu will be a fantastic nickname for you, kaijuu."
Sakura let out a frustrated growl as Touya laughed, turning the car's alarm system on and flipping the keys in his hand. "Now come on, dear kaijuu, I've got to get to the cafeteria."
As the two were walking out of the parking lot, two girls hailed Touya from the side of a convertible, where they had been standing and gossiping.
"Hey, Touya." One of the girls grinned. She winked her empty, baby blue eyes and tossed her wavy chestnut hair. Sakura almost recoiled but caught herself in time. Kasina's nose looked as if it had suffered through too many a nose job--it resembled nothing more than a melted, twisted blob of wax. Severely lopsided and split down the middle, Kasina's nose made her look like an ugly Pinocchio.
"Hey, Kasina," Touya said, smiling at her. "Hey Jeninya." The other girl waved, flipping her long auburn hair and smiled at Sakura, looking extremely stupid. Her face was a cross between a goldfish and a potato.
"How are you doing?" Kasina said, acting as if Sakura were invisible. Sakura rolled her eyes. Like she cared about what either Kasina or Jeninya thought of her.
"I'm good," said Touya, "and I can see that both you ladies are good as well…" He winked at them.
The two giggled. "We saw you drive up in that car of yours. It's quite spacious, Touya, spacious enough for…another passenger…" Kasina's eyes glossed momentarily over Sakura, taking in her too-small shirt.
Touya put an arm around Sakura. "This is my sister, Kasina. Her name is Sakura, and she's a sophomore. Our parents are estranged, and she used to live with my mother, but now she lives with me." He drew her close.
Kasina seemed to momentarily stop smirking for a moment as she glanced at Touya's arm around Sakura. Then she let loose a brief laugh. Jeninya laughed sycophantically with her. Sakura cringed. Jeninya's laugh sounded like the braying of a hyperventilating donkey.
"Welcome, Sakura," Kasina said. She shot one final smirk at Sakura before turning back to Jeninya, snapping her gum loudly. "See you guys later."
Touya removed his arm from Sakura's shoulders. "Come on, Sakura." He began walking towards the cafeteria.
Sakura followed suit, without looking back at either of the girls. After she had walked a few feet away, she heard their giggles. Rolling her eyes, Sakura gritted her teeth and joined her brother, who was waiting.
"Ignore them," Touya intoned. "Between the two of them, they only have one brain cell, and that one they share."
Sakura shrugged. Then, keeping her voice nonchalant, she said, "Well, you seem to like stupid bimbos, from the way you act around them."
Surprised, Touya looked down at her. "I only flirt with them to get a reaction, Sakura. It's funny—they actually act like they have a chance with me. I'd never hook up with or date either girl. Jeninya is stoned all the time, as you can probably tell, and Kasina spends all her time primping in front of the mirror and worrying over her nose. Besides, there's only one girl I like, and she's—" He stopped talking abruptly.
Amused, Sakura glanced at him. "Go on," she said, as the two walked through the Herb Garden.
Touya shook his head.
"Oh, come on," Sakura said, poking him in the ribs. "Who is she?"
Touya shook his head again, sighing. "Fine, I might as well tell you, since you're probably going to hear it from someone else anyway. The only girl here worth chasing after is Tomoyo Daidouji."
Sakura stopped walking. "Oh…I think I know whom you're talking about," she said, calling to mind the ethereally beautiful girl with violet eyes. "Umm…she's on volleyball, isn't she?"
"Yeah," said Touya. "She thinks I don't like her that much, but I do. I just kind of…botched my chances."
"How?" asked Sakura, although she thought she knew how her brother had ruined his chances.
"Well…let's just say that, instead of properly asking her out, I hooked up with her at a party and didn't bother to have a relationship with her," Touya said grimly.
"Ohh…Touya…" Sakura said, mentally groaning. "From what I've seen of her, Daidouji is probably the type of girl who would hate to be used as a source of satisfaction for your rampaging lust."
Touya sighed, and then shrugged. "Yeah, from what I heard she got pretty upset at that…I don't think she likes me much anymore. I tried asking her out after the party, but she rejected me. Things are pretty frigid between us."
Sakura clicked her tongue. "Good job, Casanova. Really, really good job."
Touya scowled at her. "Hey, I already got harangued by all of her friends, okay? I don't need your lip at this moment."
"Whatever, Touya. You screwed up, now you have to face the consequences. Later, I'm going up to the Lobby." Sakura parted with her brother at the staircases, heading towards the main building.
Touya sighed, continuing towards the cafeteria.
"Yo! Touya!"
Touya turned around.
Several members of the Boys Soccer team approached him from the parking lot.
"Hey guys, what's up? Did you enjoy your free yesterday?" Touya asked them, smiling.
"Like hell I did," growled Yoshi, one of the players on defense. "Hiragizawa relayed your message to us. Why the fuck did we have to do two more hours of practice than usual? And why did you tell Coach to bench anyone who refused to practice? Besides, why weren't you at practice? You lazy bum, are you a chicken or something? We played for four hours in the rain yesterday!"
"Yeah, Touya! Why, man? We want an answer!" Two other guys standing next to Yoshi were looking murderous as well.
Touya was completely taken aback. "Wait…Yoshi, what? I told Hiragizawa to tell you practice was canceled yesterday."
Yoshi scrutinized Touya. Then he laughed. "Yeah, sure Touya. I knew you would try to dodge responsibility. Blame the messenger, that's what you want us to do, huh? Well, you know what? Your plan is backfiring in your face. I'm not going to blame Eriol; I'm going to blame you, because Eriol actually showed up to practice yesterday. God, Touya, actually take responsibility for once."
Touya held up his hands. "Look, Yoshi, guys, please listen. As your captain, I'm really not trying to bullshit you by blaming the messenger. But the fact is, I told Eriol to tell you guys practice was cancelled. I don't know what happened yesterday, but all I want you to know is that I didn't impose a four-hour practice on you, okay?" Then, when the other guys were still looking unconvinced, Touya sighed. "Okay, you know what? Since I was so irresponsible and neglected to tell you guys directly, you guys can impose a punishment on me."
Yoshi raised his eyebrows. Looking around at his friends, he smirked at Touya. "Really, Touya? You'll take whatever punishment we impose?"
Touya nodded, feeling not a small amount of trepidation at the smirk on Yoshi's face. "I'm doing this because I was irresponsible, not because I made you guys do four hours of practice—"
"Yeah, yeah, sure Touya, whatever you say," Yoshi said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's go, boys," he said to his friends, "we need to tell everyone else, don't we? Then we need to think of an appropriate punishment…ooh, this is going to be fun…you're going to regret this, Touya…" Now all of them were smirking. "Bye Bye, dear Captain. We'll see you later…" They walked away.
Touya felt homicidal. I'm going to rip Hiragizawa limb from limb…
-----
That day, Kinomoto Touya and his little sister Amamiya Sakura became quite a subject at school. Everywhere Sakura went, she felt the whispers, stares, and giggles of her classmates surrounding her.
"Hey, Sakura!"
She turned around.
Kaori and Daine were gasping, running up to her.
"Hey guys," Sakura said, and continued walking to her locker. "Missed you this morning. Where were you?"
"Oh, we were finishing up our Computer Science project," Kaori said airily. "Thank God we had a Chemistry free today. But listen, we've just heard the most sensational news. It's been all over the school, Sakura; people are saying that you and Kinomoto Touya are the kids of your estranged parents! Sakura, is this true?"
Sakura opened her locker, not looking at either Kaori or Daine. "Of course it's true," she said, stowing her Geometry book inside her locker. She grabbed her History textbook. "People wouldn't be as stupid as to make that up."
"But…why is your last name Amamiya?" Daine asked cautiously.
Sakura sighed. "Listen, I don't have time to go through the entire story, since I have History next period, but I'll give you the basics. Our parents divorced when I was three and Touya five. Since then, we've lived apart for more than twelve years. My mom cut off all contact with my father and my brother, so that's why I didn't even know, until two days ago, that I had a brother and father."
"But wait…Sakura, you're living with him now, aren't you?" Kaori asked.
Sakura nodded, slamming her locker and attaching the lock. "Yeah, we live together now. Touya contacted his father's lawyers and told them my mother has relinquished custody of me. Dr. Kinomoto Fujitaka now has legal custody of me. Touya told me I could keep my mother's maiden name or change it. It all depends on me, he said."
Kaori and Daine were wide-eyed. "Wow…Sakura, that's amazing. Your mom still has visitation rights, doesn't she?"
Sakura felt a lump in her throat again. "Yes…I mean, yeah…she still does. We can still see each other all the time…" The feelings she had been holding at bay since this morning were now rising to the surface again. It had been fun, getting acquainted with her brother, but she still didn't know whether she would be able to see her mother again…would her father be a complete beast and refuse to let mother and daughter have any contact with each other?
Daine touched her shoulder. "Sakura…just know that we'll always be here for you," he murmured.
Sakura nodded, head resting against the locker. She swallowed, willing the tears not to fall.
Kaori nodded as well. "Sakura, you can count on us."
Sakura sniffed, then stood straight, moving so that Daine's hand fell to his side. "Thanks, guys," she said, and then she walked away from them.
-----
Johnston-sensei cleared his throat.
"Well, we've finished discussing the Meiji Restoration. Now," he said, pacing the room, his hands in his pockets, "I've decided that we're going to do something different this time. The department head told me that assigning a ten-page paper the first week of school was a bit…uh…" Here Johnston paused to cough loudly, clearing his throat of mucus and taking a moment to suppress his embarrassment. "It was…uh…excessive, so instead of making you write a paper, I'm going to have you do a creative project."
Syaoran groaned internally. On either side of him, Momo and Kenneth were expressing dissatisfaction as well.
"A creative project," said Johnston, continuing his lecture. "Your project will be a juxtaposition of life before and after the Industrial Revolution in Japan. You may do this in any way you wish. You may write a play, use a poster board, perform a skit, do a boring lecture—" Here he gave Syaoran the briefest of looks before plunging on—"or write a letter. This is a very open-ended project. Creativity and content will be given equal weight when grading this assignment. Now, are there any questions?" He looked around the room. "Yes, Kizuki-san?"
Satoshi, Seijou's official voyeur, smirked. "May we do a study on the contraceptives available before and after the Japanese Industrial Revolution?"
To his credit, Johnston did not blush as he answered steadily, "You may, Kizuki-san, but I wonder whether your partner will be as open to the idea as you are."
Satoshi's smirk fell off his face. "We're going to have a partner?"
Johnston turned around and went to his desk, picking up a sheet of paper. "Partners have been assigned alphabetically,Kizuki-san. You have been partnered with Kinoshi-san," he said, indicating Kenneth.
Kenneth and Syaoran exchanged looks, Kenneth raising his eyebrows. It wasn't a bad choice for a partner, Syaoran reflected. Satoshi might have been perverted and dirty, but so was Kenneth. Besides, what Kenneth lacked in gray matter Satoshi more than made up for.
Johnston then began at the top of the list, reading out partners. "Amamiya-san and Ashina-san," he said, nodding at Momo and Amamiya.
Syaoran almost laughed aloud, for the identical look on Momo's and Amamiya's faces was one of complete and unabashed disgust.
"Li-san?" Johnston was looking at him.
"Yes, sensei?"
"You're with Mansho-san."
-----
"Shit!"
It was lunchtime, during F period. Wednesday was the only day during which all Twelve of them had the same lunch free. The Twelve were lounging out on the field, under the dogwood tree. Momo was holding court today, with a slew of unflattering comments about her newly assigned History partner.
"WHY did I have to be paired with Amamiya? Just why?" Momo wailed, smashing her fist on her sandwich.
Eriol shook his head. He was not his usual airy-fairy self today, and Syaoran knew why. Several members of the Boys Soccer team, including Syaoran himself, had cornered him today, demanding to know why there was a discrepancy between his story and Touya's. In the end, Eriol had confessed all, admitting that Touya had indeed cancelled practice, but he had ordered two extra hours of practice because the team had, quote, "really, really needed the extra hours." Eriol's cheeky comment had not gone well with everyone, and, forgetting the success of their practice, they had imposed a punishment on both Eriol and Touya: on Friday, two days from today, Touya was to dress up as a dominatrix for team spirit, while Eriol was to dress up as a (slutty) fairy.
"Sucks to be you, Momo," Liz said. She recommenced feeding Kenneth her grapes.
Yuni and Chika, however, were more sympathetic. "Hmm…you know, maybe you could wiggle your way out of this one, Momo. Swap partners with someone…"
"Who'd you get, Syaoran?" Yoji asked, spearing a tomato.
"Umm…Mansho," Syaoran muttered, crushing a grape with the flat of his knife.
Meiling, Yoji, Takashi, and Chiharu all burst into laughter. "Mansho?" Takashi choked out.
"Yeah, Mansho…come on, stop that! At least I'll get full marks on this assignment," Syaoran snapped.
"Mansho!" The four began discussing this latest development.
Syaoran rolled his eyes and looked towards Tomoyo to redeem Mansho's name. "You don't think being with Mansho is that bad, do you?"
Tomoyo shrugged, taking a sip from her water. "I wouldn't mind, but it's evident that you do."
Syaoran shook his head. "No, I don't mind at all."
Tomoyo shrugged but did not further pursue the subject. "What's up with Hiragizawa?"
Syaoran smirked. "Well…I'm not supposed to let this get out, you know…"
Tomoyo punched him playfully. "Aw…Syaoran! Tell me, you know you want to!"
Syaoran sighed, saying in a mockingly exasperated voice, "The things I do for you…" He bent his head and whispered into her ear the details of Eriol's punishment.
Tomoyo burst into laughter. "E-E-Eriol," she gasped, "Is this true?"
Eriol glowered at Syaoran. "Yeah, it is true."
Tomoyo began laughing again. "You know what, Eriol? In case you need equipment, I have makeup, a tutu, and flowery leggings for you to borrow." Then she laughed again, Syaoran joining her.
Suddenly, Yuni hit her. "Hey…Tomoyo, Eriol, Syaoran…look over there…"
Tomoyo and Syaoran stopped laughing, aware that the rest of their friends had become silent.
"Look…it's Amamiya and Touya," Yuni hissed.
Syaoran and Tomoyo looked.
Amamiya Sakura and Touya were standing outside the entrance to the gym. As they watched, they saw Touya make what was evidently a jesting comment, for Amamiya reached out and punched him. Touya, in turn, pretended to reel from the impact of her punch. Then he laughed at her, reaching down and tousling her hair from his height.
Tomoyo's cheeks flamed red. Even now, her heart still jumped at the sight of him. She tried not to think of the dream she had last night…
"Touya! Come join us!"
Gods, no, Tomoyo thought, groaning as Meiling called Touya over.
She watched, her stomach turning over as Touya and Amamiya Sakura approached.
"Touya," said Meiling coyly, "you still haven't introduced us to that girl…"
Tomoyo watched Amamiya Sakura bristle slightly. She was apparently averse to being called "that girl."
Touya laughed, not taking offense from Meiling's comment.
"This is my sister, guys," Touya said. Tomoyo heard a gasp of outrage from Yuni and Chiharu. Ignoring them, Touya continued, "My dad just got custody of her. She's living with me now, so be nice to her!"
Meiling laughed. "Of course we will, Touya! Your sister is absolutely gorgeous…I really like that shirt."
It was obviously an attack, oblique as it was. Touya merely raised his eyebrow. "I'm glad you do," he said. His voice lacked the joking tone it had before.
For a moment, there was a silence. All eyes were on the Barney embroidered on the corner of Amamiya's shirt. Tomoyo looked away from her, embarrassed for her friends. To her credit, however, Amamiya glared back defiantly.
Finally, it was Eriol who broke the silence. He stood up and walked over to Touya, taking him aside. "Yo, Touya, bro, I'm really sorry about that soccer thing…" Touya's sister, with one last defiant glance at the eleven of them, walked away to the side with her brother.
Tomoyo and Syaoran exchanged quick looks with each other. Meiling, Liz, and Chiharu began conversing in low voices, while Yuni, Chika, and Momo did the same. Kenneth shot a look at Amamiya and whispered something to Yoji and Takashi. The three of them laughed loudly.
"Meiling shouldn't have been so rash in attacking Amamiya," Tomoyo said, shaking her head. "Touya obviously feels sibling loyalty for her, even though they've been separated for so long."
Syaoran nodded, his eyes on Amamiya's back. He opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it.
Tomoyo was on him in a second. "What is it, Syaoran? I know when you've got something to say."
Syaoran looked down at the grass. He shook his head. "It's nothing, Tomoyo."
Tomoyo eyed him but did not say anything more. From what she could tell, the looks he gave Amamiya were not lascivious, but rather something else. It was a shock when Tomoyo discovered that there was pity in Syaoran's gaze.
"You feel bad for her, don't you?" Tomoyo whispered.
Syaoran shrugged. "Yeah…sort of. It's just…well, I wonder what it'd be like to be an outsider. You know, Tomoyo, we've all had it so good—our parents are wealthy, they love us, we get our every whim granted, we've brushed shoulders with those in the uppermost echelons of society—I just wonder what it'd be like to be someone like Amamiya, you know. I wonder what it'd have been like, raised in near-poverty, and to have all the odds against you. Doesn't it sort of, well, build character? I mean, instead of getting everything handed to you on a silver platter, you have to fight to even see that platter…"
Tomoyo stared out into the sky, stiffening suddenly in the warmth of the weak rays September sunshine offered. She would not allow the conversation to continue in this vein…"You know, Syaoran, I used to wonder about that too…and for a while, I even fought against everything that I had…remember that stage I went through in seventh grade?"
Syaoran smiled, reminiscing. "Yeah, I remember. You went through this Goth stage, wearing black lipstick and ghosting your face. You didn't talk to any of us for three weeks and disappeared from school. It was like that for a month, but you came back and acted as if nothing had happened. We were all so worried about you…I remember Yuni herself made you a different kind of cake every day and sent it to your apartment to cheer you up…" he laughed. "And we all know how much Yuni hates baking."
Tomoyo laughed too. "Yeah. Remember that time in middle school, during ninth grade, when we had to bake bread and bring it to class? Remember Yuni's baking disaster? She insisted on doing it herself…"
Syaoran snickered. "Yeah. I think it took Chiharu a month to get the dough out of her hair…"
"Two months, actually!" Chiharu called. Syaoran and Tomoyo looked up, surprised. The rest of the Twelve had finally finished gossiping about Amamiya and had now formed a circle around Syaoran and Tomoyo. Eriol came over too, having finished talking with Touya and his sister. He seemed much happier now, and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Let's catalogue Yuni's baking disasters, shall we?" He flopped down next to her and pulled on her hair. Yuni pouted. "Let's see…there was that time when…"
They whiled the rest of the period away, chatting and laughing.
It wasn't until Syaoran was changing for practice in the locker room that he realized Tomoyo had evaded and neatly changed the topic.
Time for a little AN, I suppose.
Answers to FAQ:
1) NO. This is not based on the Clique series.
2) NO. This is not the latest installment in the series of private school satire. (Although there is some satire in here...)
3) NO. I will not update twice per week, no matter how hard you squeal, you monkey. LOL
4) What is this story based on?
I'll leave that one to you, darling.