Taken For Granted
Chapter 7
"Hey, Kingsby!" Masaki, their goalie, called while he was walking down the hallway that lunch time. Masaki jogged to his direction.
"What's up?" Archer asked when Masaki had already caught up with him.
"Coach wants to see you. He's quite mad." Masaki told him uncertainly, studying Archer's guarded expression but he could sense him tense up.
"What happened?" Masaki inquired in concern when he noticed his reaction.
"Some football guys were beating one of the Tomoeda students, trying to get the players into a fight." Archer narrated in a tight voice.
"The Tomoeda seemed to have mellowed down already." Masaki voiced out his observation.
"That's because they'll be suspended once they'll be in a fight." Archer replied quietly as they walked down the stairs.
"That's tough." Masaki commented dryly.
"They have no choice. I heard that Scott was admitted to the hospital after he was beaten to a pulp by an unknown person and Eriol had just received a warning for getting into a fight…" Archer reported in the dangerous quiet of his voice.
"But none of the guys would do such a dirty thing." Masaki argued.
"I know but I have a feeling that the ones responsible aren't a part of our soccer team." Archer voiced out his suspicion.
"Well, anyway, he's in the field… Good luck." Masaki informed him the whereabouts of their coach and they parted.
"Daisuke, leave my students alone." Came Sensei Terrada's tight voice, eyes on the amused man infront of him. They were standing at the empty lot behind Benson High's school building.
"I'm doing nothing to them." Came Daisuke's amusement.
"Don't act so innocent, Daisuke. I know you ordered your students to provoke our players so that they'll be suspended." Sensei Terrada spat out, face red in contained fury.
"You're accusing me without any proofs, Terrada." Daisuke taunted with a smirk.
"Do you still hold a grudge against us because we broke your record of successive wins in the championships?" Terrada inquired warily. At this, Daisuke's eyes filled with unquenched fury.
"You weren't supposed to win at that time! You cheated! You bribed the referee and the judges!" Daisuke shouted with unmasked anger, pointing an accusing finger at Terrada.
"We did and that pissed you off… 'cause we won fair and square even if you cheated!" Terrada's voice was deceptively calm but it contained a controlled fury. He smirked when Daisuke was unable to make a smart comeback.
"We… did nothing of that sort!" Daisuke stammered out.
"Oh, yeah?" it was Terrada's turn to taunt, "How about Shinji Noka? Remember him? You crippled him! You made sure our captain and best striker will be unable to play! You were scared of him!" he finished with a satisfied smile, confident of his conclusions.
"Yes, we did!" Daisuke's annoyance made him reveal the one thing that should have been kept hidden and secret.
"I'm not surprised. You were always a coward." Terrada said quietly, clenching his hands to control his fury. They had suspected as much but his admission, nonetheless, made him so furious. Shinji Noka was not only a best striker because he was also a good friend.
"We were supposed to win… with Shinji out of the picture but why? Why did we lose?" Daisuke's litany was full of anger and he clutched Terrada's shirtfront.
"Shinji's not the only skillful player in our team 'cause every one of us were decent players and we never depended so much on Shinji's skill." Terrada answered, trying to free himself.
"Damn you all!" and he shoved Terrada away before leaving. Terrada let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.
Archer could feel his heart thumping in anger. His breathing was ragged and he knew why. He unclenched his tight fists.
~He lied to us~ he thought, trying to steady his uneven breathing. He had frozen on the spot he was standing, listening to the argument that had ensued between his coach and a man – a Tomoeda teacher from the looks of his uniform. When he was sure that the two adults had left, he also left, walking towards the soccer field.
From afar, he saw his coach talking to the same burly guys who had attacked the two Tomoeda guys.
~So, it was you.~ he realized.
The moment the school bell rang for dismissal, the dark clouds finally gave way to the large drops of water that had been threatening the land below for hours. It poured down on the Earth relentlessly. Sakura was unaware of this because her mind was so focused on what she was going to do. The moment they were dismissed, she didn't dally. She hastily packed her things and ran out the crowded hallway. Syaoran, who was studying her every move, just stared at her in confusion when she hurried out without any explanations to him.
"No way!" Sakura murmured in disbelief after reading a news clipping dated 15 years ago. She had been inside the library for an hour already, scanning different websites as well as old newspapers in the there for information. What she had discovered, struck her numb. The picture of a handsome guy with raven hair and smiling hazel-brown eyes stared back at her. His name was Shinji Noka, a senior guy who was beaten by an unknown person until he was crippled. He was a Tomoeda soccer player and the incident happened a week before the championship of that season, the same season that Tomoeda became the champion. Her thoughts turned to Syaoran. In some way, she was worried about what she found out. If that happened to Shinji then what was the assurance that it wasn't going to happen to Syaoran?
"No way!" she murmured for the second time. She repeated the words over and over again in her mind even when she was already outside the library.
"History can't repeat itself… I won't let it!" she vowed to herself before running down the hallway then the stairs, clutching the newspaper clipping she had borrowed from the library.
Sakura was about to turn a corner when she bumped on someone. She steadied herself, flinching.
"Careful, Kinomoto." A familiar voice cautioned. She looked up and saw Archer, grinning wryly and rubbing his sore chest where her forehead hit.
"Kingsby! There's something I have to tell you." She announced in a rush. The heavy rain a while ago had dwindled. At Sakura's statement, Archer raised a brow in surprise.
"Are you really this reckless?" he was amused, "Didn't anyone tell you to be careful, that it's dangerous to be alone especially at night?" he delivered this speech with a touch of indifference though a slight trace of concern was evident.
Sakura didn't notice the concern in his tone because she just shrugged whatever he said away. She opened her mouth to talk but Archer interrupted her in the same indifferent tone, "You're lucky it was me you bumped into otherwise…" he let that statement hang, allowing Sakura to finish that in her mind.
"Look here, pal! I already have proof that our team didn't cheat." Sakura announced in triumph, ignoring Archer's words and showing him the news clipping. Archer raised a brow and as he snatched it from her. He scanned the contents with his eyes then returned it to her nonchalantly, disinterest in his expression.
"No comment?" she asked, looking at Archer's passive face. They started walking.
"What do you want me to say? 'Oh, how terrible.'" He said, saying the last sentence with a high-pitched voice. His sarcasm was audible.
"Well, for starters, I want you to apologize for accusing our team of cheating." Came Sakura's a matter-of-fact voice.
" 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey… It's just coincidence and besides, you have no proof that the persons responsible for that were from our school. I mean, anyone could have done it. His enemies, for example…" Archer told her in a reasonable tone although deep inside, he didn't believe his reasons.
"Coincidence?" Sakura made a face at that word although she was looking at the road.
"Impossible and besides, I did some researches on his conduct and it was clean – exemplary even and his only enemies are only those from your school who envied his skills." Sakura defended the guy as if the two of them were the best of pals.
"It's not nice to draw out conclusions without knowing all the facts…" Archer tried to warn her in a light tone. They had stopped walking because they were already infront of Sakura's house. At his light warning and stubbornness, Sakura's annoyance exploded.
She faced Archer, hands on her hips. She glared up at him, oblivious that her emerald eyes were blazing with life and that he was enjoying the sight.
"Listen here, Mister! Why are you being so stubborn? It's all here in this piece of paper!" she snapped, voice hard and strong. Archer ignored Sakura's words, not because he didn't believe the contents of the article but because he couldn't accept the fact that all he had believed were just lies, fashioned to manipulate them.
"I don't believe that trash and you. For all I know, you just created that to trick me and turn me against my school…" he put a lot of conviction in his words, a conviction that he didn't feel.
"If that is so, why did you stood by Kazuma?" she challenged, eyes flashing, not in fury but in desperation, because she knew it was a losing battle. She didn't really understand why she was even wasting her time trying to convince an enemy to see the truth.
"Because he might be my opponent but he did nothing wrong. I may be from the opposing team but that doesn't mean that I'll turn a blind eye once my schoolmates does something wrong." Came his calm and reasonable explanation.
"Fine, then!" she stormed, walking away in fury. Archer stopped her by grabbing her wrist and making her face him. He saw the fire of emotion in her eyes then confusion.
"Don't take it personally, Kinomoto… You're out of this… Only soccer players are included." He informed her, a smile starting to form on the corner of his lips. He meant the smile to ease her fury away and make her smile again but it just made all her expressions drop, a mask of indifference in place.
"Many innocent students had fallen victim to your schoolmates' schemes and you want me to stay out of it? I'll stay out of it if they'll stay out of it!" her tone was cold and icy.
"Li won't let you…" came his statement, growing amused at their banter.
"No one can stop me if I want to… Not you… not even Syao… I can be obstinate if I want to…" she yanked her wrist free and walked inside their house. Archer didn't dare stop her again because he realized that she was serious.
"Can I ever understand you, Sakura?" he sighed, thrusting his hands in his pockets and starting to trudge home – the exact opposite direction of Sakura's house.
"Damn!" Sakura cursed as she threw her exhausted body on her bed after removing her shoes.
"What had happened to me? Why was I so angry when he didn't believe me? He didn't even take me seriously." came her litany of words. She closed her eyes tight and let the minutes pass by without moving an inch. Suddenly she remembered something and abruptly opened her eyes. She reached for the phone on her bedside table and pressed the redial button.
"'Ello…?" came an annoyed voice.
"What did I disturb?" her cloudy attitude lifted as she heard his voice.
"Damn it, Sakura! You just made me miss the greatest part of the game!" she could sense him trying to reign in his temper.
"That's great! Now, do you still doubt my perfect timing?" she teased, smiling widely at his groan.
"Sakura?! I'll just call you later. Promise…" Syaoran bargained hurriedly.
"Uh-uh… I want to talk now." She answered in her childish voice.
"Please, Sakura. It's a matter of life and death." He almost pleaded which made her laugh out loud.
"Okay, Syao… Bye…" she finally agreed when her fits chuckles had already subsided.
"Great! Thanks! Bye, my Cherry Blossom." He said sweetly before the dial tone replaced his line.
"Finally! You called, Syao! I thought you've forgotten again. How was the game?" came her enthusiastic tone.
"Kinomoto Sakura?" the unfamiliar voice stopped her short.
"Who are you?" she completely forgot that what she did was rude.
"Archer…" came the simple reply.
"Oh."
Silence followed her surprise.
"So, what's up?" Sakura finally broke the eerie silence.
"Just wanted to check if you're still mad at me." Archer's careful and quiet voice was clear.
"I wasn't really mad at you. I was just pissed in general." She tried to explain her behavior that afternoon.
"Okay. I guess that's it… See you!"
"Hey, wait!" she tried to catch him before he cut his line.
"Uh… Yeah?"
"How'd you know my number?"
"That's my secret…" she could hear the smile in Archer's tone.
"What?"
"Anyway, got to go, Kinomoto. Mom's gonna use the phone. Bye."
"Okay…" she finally decided to stop insisting.
"Why didn't you call me back?" came Sakura's annoyance when they met in the school grounds early that morning.
"Was I supposed to call you last night?" came Syaoran's innocent inquiry, scratching his head thoughtfully.
"I have no idea. Were you?" Sakura snapped sarcastically, walking with a purposeful stride towards the stairs that lead to their Homeroom, leaving the guy behind.
"'Ey, wait up!" Syaoran called, running to catch up with her.
"I was too exhausted last night after watching the game and I fell asleep." He explained to her, turning on his charm.
"Typical." Sakura muttered with annoyance, masking the disappointment she was feeling, not because Syaoran forgot to call her but because he didn't apologize and never admitted his mistake, which was his usual. He only explained… that's all.
"You aren't mad, right?" he asked hopefully.
"No, I'm not." She answered softly. ~ Not really… I'm just a bit disappointed…~ came her thoughts.
"Thanks! You're the best!" he praised, smiling widely and sighing in relief inwardly.
"I'll see you later! I still have to drop by the field!" then he was gone.
"Just pray that I won't get fed up with this situation, Syao… I'm close to the edge already and I can't make this relationship work by myself. I really need your help and cooperation." This statement was full of sadness and regret.
