Hey guys! It's been a while!
I'm actually supposed to be doing my Math project right now but I've been delegated some funny drawing work that requires some wait so I'm finishing up this chapter in the short pocket of time I can steal! Without further ado, I present to you all - - -
Black World's God
Chapter 10
Like a Sakura
If anything, I wouldn't want anything to be associated with that flower.
I didn't want anything so beautiful to be so transient…
Gone within a few days
Because what I felt for them
Wasn't temporary
I wanted them to be eternal
…
If only they had reciprocated.
Or tried to…
XxxX
"Li-kun is coming back today?" Sakura asked excitedly as she accompanied Meiling to the bookstore. "Is he better already?"
Meiling nodded. She walked around, looking at the books. "He's much better. He woke up last week, actually, but the Elders wanted to keep him under observation. Lady Yelan is sending him back today. He'll be with us by tomorrow."
Sakura smiled and looked over the book section as well. 'Amazing how close we became in three weeks… It's like we never hated each other.'
"Oi, Sakura," Meiling turned to look at the Japanese girl. "Your Tomoeda friends are coming tomorrow too, right?"
"Oh… I nearly forgot…" Sakura's hand hovered over a book. "But the ones that might be coming might not be my friends so…"
"But if they are your friends, would you go meet with them?" She questioned.
Sakura hesitated.
Meiling folded her arms. "Could you… go spend time with them?"
"Eh?" Sakura's eyes widened. "But… I…"
"It'd do you some good," Meiling snatched to complete the sentence. "You haven't met them in ages, have you?"
"But…"
"Then that's settled! You'll go tag along with them after school! Okay?" Meiling's face was bright and excited. Sakura couldn't feel the heart to resist.
She sighed and nodded. "Alright then. Since Meiling wants me to do it, I will."
"Great!" She turned back to the books and picked out a martial arts comic. She flipped it over, checked the summary, and raised it up to show Sakura. "I've decided on this one. You should try it sometime as well."
Sakura glanced at the cover, mildly interested. "Is it manga?"
"Manga? Er… I think so…" She flipped the book over her hands, searching for any opening in the vacuumed plastic wrapping. "Why not you take one and try it out?"
Sakura felt her pocket for her wallet. She gave a weak laugh and said, "Well, I'm a bit short on money right now so… I really can't afford a manga…"
"Oh. I forgot," Meiling walked away. Sakura followed her to the cashier. She paid for the book quickly and they were out of the shop in seconds. Meiling turned to the girl and said, "Sorry about that. Hey, if you want, maybe I can drop a few copies of the series at your table tomorrow. You can read them and pass it back to me once you're done."
"Really? That'd be great, Meiling!" Sakura gave a bright grin.
Meiling grinned back and lead the way back to the main street, saying, "I'd better get back soon. I need to get dinner ready for Xiaolang."
"I see. Then you better get going. See you tomorrow, Meiling," Sakura waved at the girl. Meiling nodded and began dashing her way back to the apartment complex she was staying at. Sakura watched the girl go for a few moments before she slowly strolled back to the dormitory.
Having a friend…
Wasn't so bad.
It just wasn't a Tomoyo.
XxxX
He laid on the bed motionlessly, eyes closed. His sunglasses were discarded on the sheets unceremoniously. His fists clenched as he thought about what he going to do the next day.
Tomorrow… he would get some answers.
XxxX
They arrived at the school at 8 in the morning. The three friends looked up at the large school compound, undaunted by the sheer size and amount of students bustling around the corridors.
Chiharu gripped Naoko's hand tightly.
Yamazaki squeezed Chiharu's shoulder.
Naoko gulped and clenched her fists.
It was time for some answers.
XxxX
Sakura sat on the bed, smoothing the starched sheets of the infirmary beds. She looked up at Yimin, who was diligently looking over the stock for the month.
"You sneaked some pills out, didn't you?" She accused softly, her tone dismayed rather than angry.
Sakura bowed her head. "I'm sorry. But it has helped. I don't get dreams anymore."
"Dreams are important for a sorcerer. A strong sorcerer is able to foretell the future through his dreams," Yimin rebutted.s
"Dreams that are truly important wouldn't be hindered by sleeping pills," She refuted.
"Touche."
"Is there anything else you'd like me to do?" Sakura asked, reaching over for her bag.
"No… why don't you go see the Young Master?" Yimin caught Sakura's confused look. "Xiaolang, I mean."
"Ah…" She glanced at her watch. "I guess… but the exchange students are letting out in 10 minutes and I wanted to meet up with them…"
Yimin sighed and crossed her arms. "You have met Xiaolang already, haven't you?"
"Of course! We sit beside each other in class," Sakura gave an indignant huff.
"… So, have you talked?"
Sakura stared at the white sheets silently, letting a glum expression flicker across her face.
"…Yeah…"
0 -0- 0 - 0-
She found him on the roof. Sakura leapt up to the roof of the little stairway on the roof, hesitantly making her way over and sitting down a slight distance away from him.
He sat up, brown tousled hair gleaming in the sunlight.
"It's… been a while, Li-kun," Sakura said softly, bring her knees to her chest and hugging them. "How have you been…?"
"Better," He grunted in response. He ran a hand through his hair.
Sakura bit her lip and looked down.
"Why didn't you say a thing? About knowing who I was… as a sorcerer… About knowing who that crazy sorceress in the well was… About you being the freaking Card Mistress," he hissed the last part out harshly. Sakura flinched.
"For that… I have no excuse…"
Shaoran snarled.
"Except for the fact that I didn't want… "She looked at him, eyes filled with only the reflection of her honesty – eyes he would never see. "I didn't want that to get in between in friendship we had in between us."
"And you expected keeping such a secret from me to not break off ourfriendship?"
She flinched.
"No… but look now – this is how you're reacting to the knowledge of who I am and-"
"That's because -" He growled and tugged his hair in frustration. "I'm betrayed that you wouldn't consider me close enough a friend to tell me these kinds of things. You were the exception to the silly troop of girls in this school. I became friends with you because you were different. You understood. You made an attempt you understand. And you broke it all by choosing to keep this important secret away from me!"
"…" Sakura slowly stood up.
"Where're you going? This is not over," He hissed.
"If… you had met a person for just a few days… and then suddenly you're confronted with the fact that he's a sorcerer – like you. And, if your identity was meant to be kept a secret… No matter how specially you thought about that person, would you still divulge your identity to this person whom you've met for just a while? Whom you knew was a part of the society that hadn't completely accepted her for who she was yet?"
He stiffened.
"And if you knew that your identity was going to cause him pain – that you had stolen what had been preempted for him to fight for – you would still have the heart to tell him that?"
His fists clenched.
"And if…" She shook her head and sighed. "Forget it. This… would probably just be me complaining about the unfairness of it all to you." She walked over to the edge of the roof and prepared to jump down. "By the way, Li-kun…"
She gave him a glance.
"…You too… have your own secrets. So what made me keeping mine any different?"
0 – - 0- 0 0
Sakura let out a groan and dropped onto the perfectly made sheets, messing them up.
"Hey! You have to remake the bed if you keep that up!" Yimin scolded, giving her a little slap on the thigh.
Sakura rolled onto her stomach and moaned, "I really shouldn't have said such things to him… Now he's going to hate me for sure!"
Yimin crossed her arms and leant back in her chair. "What did you say?"
"…" Sakura grimaced and looked away.
"Well, I suppose that doesn't make much of a difference now anyways," Yimin turned to the papers on the desk. "Once the words have been said, they can't be taken back. The question now is that – did you mean what you said?"
Sakura closed her eyes and thought.
And, she had her answer.
"The words I said were… what I really thought. I meant every word." Sakura said, sitting up. "And… I don't regret them at all."
Yimin murmured and picked up her pen. "Then you have nothing to worry about, hm?"
"But… even so, they were still mean…"
"What doesn't kill him will make him stronger," Yimin quoted. "By the way, shouldn't the program for those exchange students be over by now?"
Sakura glanced at the clock on the wall and jumped up. "Hoe! I'm late!" She grabbed her bag and dashed to the door. "Ja, Yimin-san!"
"Be careful on your way!" Yimin called, not looking up. It was only when the door shut closed that she let her head lift up. Yimin put her pen down and sighed, cupping her chin with her hands.
"That girl… really… is too kind for her own good."
XxxX
"And with that, the program for today is finished! Please remember that bed check is at 10pm so please return to your dorm room by then! Classes will start at 8am sharp tomorrow!" The teacher said to the small group of students. He looked down at the small huddle of students, and was met with a range of curious and confused looks. "Do you understand?"
There were a few murmurs in reply.
"Zhu-laoshi, I don't think they're that fluent in Mandarin yet."
"Eh – Muzhiben," the teacher raised his eyebrows. "What're you doing here?"
"I wanted to see if I knew anyone here…" Sakura looked at the group of 15 students and made out 3 right away. She smiled brightly at the three, who smiled back. And then, her face fell.
So she really didn't come after all.
"Then if you say so… translate everything to them! I need to go off for a meeting now," The teacher passed the file over to her. "Put it back in my locker once you're done. Thanks, Muzhiben!"
"Yes," Sakura bowed to him and turned back to the students. She flipped opened the file and began translating the Chinese text into fluent Japanese. "Ano… The schedule for tomorrow is…"
XxxX
Shaoran threw his bag onto the floor with a thud and dropped onto his bed angrily. He growled and slammed a fist onto the wall angrily.
"Xiaolang, my son, you have been met with a difficult emotional choice. How you deal with it is your choice, but this choice will define you. I hope you will choose the most appropriate course of action regarding this matter. And if you chose the wrong option… well, maybe the Li Clan will be seeing Xiefa and her fiancée as the next Clan Heads, hm?"
This wasn't his fault! It was hers, for keeping thing from him. He had treated her differently from all the other girls – and she had trampled on the trust he gave to her. Was it too much, to ask for her to be truthful to him?
"…You too… have your own secrets. So what made me keeping mine any different?"
But she knew! She knew that he was a sorcerer – that he was the Li Clan heir. She knew and yet she still chose to kept it from him. It was different in his case. He had no idea she was the – freaking – Card Mistress that owned the very cards he was meant to own! She was the one obligated to tell him. She was the one at fault for keeping secrets in their relationship.
…
Who was he kidding?
How could he feel the pride and arrogance and ignorance to pass off the blame to her because she knew and he didn't? If anything, he should have been ashamed of the fact that she had managed to wheedle his identity out from mere aura sensing. He was one of the most skilled in hiding his aura, and the fact that she had managed to sense him out was a direct slap to his abilities – and the Clan's abilities – as well as her own skill. He had twice the amount of experience, damn it! He should have been the one to find her out!
…
But… inside, he knew he was glad that it had been her.
How would he have reacted to knowing she was the Card Mistress?
And how would he have handled it?
He knew – that if presented with the same scenario –
He probably… would have done the same.
…
But it still couldn't mask the overwhelming sense of betrayal. He thought he meant much more than that. Even though it was just a few weeks, the relationship that had developed in between them was closer than even what he and Meiling had.
Great, now he was feeling guilty towards his fiancée.
Meiling was undeniably one of the most important people in his life. She had helped him tide over his grief when he had lost his sight and father at the same time. She was always there, looking out for him. She was always bound to be behind him no matter what happened. He had begun to take her presence and feelings for him for granted.
How he had been taking her presence for granted pained him. But even so, he knew that he would never be close enough to the girl for him to take her as a wife.
…
This was really turning into something complicated.
He sighed. Tomorrow, he would…
Make amends.
XxxX
Sakura approached the three, smiling and giving a small wave.
Naoko gave a sniff and lunged forward, enveloping the girl in a tight hug.
"Sakura-chan!" Naoko cried in happiness, squeezing the life out of the girl.
"Na-naoko-chan… air…" Sakura gasped out. Naoko let go immediately, but held the girl by the shoulders and gave her a once-over.
"Sakura-chan… it's really been a while," Chiharu said, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye. She moved forward and hugged her friend tightly. "I'm so glad to see you again…"
"Chiharu-chan…" Sakura returned the embrace. They parted and Sakura turned to the last member of the little reunion. "Yamazaki-kun…"
"It's been a while, Kinomoto-chan," Yamazaki gave a nod, eyes curved into an arch. "Shanghai really is a beautiful place. I hope you're doing well."
Sakura frowned slightly from the lack of made-up trivia, but nevertheless wiped the frown off her face in seconds and gave him a grin. "Thank you, Yamazaki-kun."
"You've become really proficient in Mandarin, Sakura-chan," Naoko commended. "I couldn't understand a thing that man said – I don't think any of us actually do. We were just smiling and nodding our heads throughout the day. I doubt even the ones who have been really diligent is learning it understood half of what they man said.
Sakura chuckled at the thought. "I see. I guess the little crash course wasn't much of use, ne?"
"Talk about it," Chiharu gave a little roll of her eyes. "But it was worth it – we got to see you, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura winced.
And they didn't miss it.
"Sakura-chan…"
"I'm sorry…" Sakura stepped back and looked down at her feet. "I didn't mean to ruin the moment. Just… I wasn't entirely prepared to see you all again."
"Aren't you said about not seeing Daidouji-san?" Yamazaki asked.
"I am… I was disappointed that she didn't come, like you all did. Just that…" Sakura looked at them with half lidded eyes. "I don't think… I could have met her eyes, even if she had. That would have just made things worse in between us. And… even though I miss her, I really don't want things to be anymore strained between us. I know that… she also doesn't wish to see me…"
"Sakura-chan…" Chiharu gripped her friend's hands.
"Actually, Sakura-chan, we came here for a reason. It's not just to see you," Naoko said seriously, taking both of Sakura' hands and squeezing them.
"What is it?" Sakura looked at the three of them curiously.
"We want the truth. What happened to you all?" Chiharu asked, looking at Sakura in the eyes.
Sakura dodged those eyes immediately.
"Sakura-chan!"
"Sakura."
Sakura looked up in shock. Her eyes widened in recognition as she met the bright amber eyes of the long haired woman.
"Mizuki-sensei…" Sakura breathed out. "Why…"
"It's been a while, Sakura-chan," Mizuki bent down and gave the girl a pat on the shoulder. "You've grown skinnier, ne?"
"Eh?" Chiharu looked at the loose black blazer of Sakura' uniform. "That's true!" Her hands shot forward to touch her ribs.
"Chiharu-chan!" Sakura blushed, dodging the girl's hands. "I'm ticklish!"
"Sakura-chan, you have eye bags," Naoko noted seriously.
"Kinomoto-san always took good care of herself, even when times were bad. Something is up," Yamazaki chipped in helpfully.
"Really…" Sakura blushed and looked down.
"…Is it something you can't tell us?" Chiharu asked softly.
Sakura looked away.
Mizuki sighed and decided to step in. "Alright, alright… you all better go get some food to eat. It's already 6.30 and I bet you all are hungry."
"Ah, it really is that late!" Naoko looked at her watch and gasped. "I wanted to visit the library too…"
"Why not we go get a quick bite and you all can follow Sakura around? I bet she's more familiar with this place than you are," Mizuki suggested, patting Sakura's head. Sakura blushed again.
"Great idea! Let's get going then," Yamazaki took Chiharu's hand and the group walked towards that canteen together, catching up on lost time.
XxxX
"Illusion… illusion… Make… Sakura petals?" Eriol waved his hands around uncertainly. There was brief flicker of pink around the room but the spell still failed. He sighed and ran a hand through his blue locks. "Really… Kaho made them seem so easy…"
"Is it because you don't have the Cards to guide you anymore?" Suppi asked lazily as he lounged around on the couch.
"No, not really. What kind of sorcerer would I be if I relied solely on the Cards?" Eriol smiled at his Guardian.
"Maybe if you focused a lot more on mastering the Cards, you would be a terrifying sorcerer like Sakura is right now," Suppi replied. "And maybe perhaps I can indulge in sweetened coffee without going into a sugar high."
"Oh, but where's the fun in that?" Eriol chuckled and sat back down. "You and Keroberos got along so well."
Suppi gave an irritated growl at the mention of his counterpart. "I still haven't settled the score. We're tied at 56-57 for Street Fighters and I want that win!"
Eriol smirked and leant on his left arm. "I promise you that we will go and meet them very soon, Suppi."
Suppi sniffed and burrowed deeper into the cushions. "Take it easy, Eriol. Rushing it will be detrimental."
"I understand," Eriol sighed stood up again. "But the illusion Kaho set up won't last for long. I need to get a hang of this."
"Did Sakura give any advice? I mean, before everything…" Suppi murmured. "She was quite good at them, if I recall…"
"Hm… let me recall…" Eriol assumed a thoughtful pose. "Illusions… illusions… What you want them to see… Or rather, let them see what they want to see…" He snapped his fingers. "Let's try it then!"
"Eriol?"
"Yes?"
Suppi gave a squeak of fright when he met the eyes of Clow Reed, in full ceremonial garb and staff out. In his hands was a tray of sinfully sweetened sweets and cakes, slathered mercilessly with chocolate and icing.
"Stop that!" Suppi yelped in annoyance, scooting away from Clow. "Not the sweets!"
"It worked then?" Eriol asked, dispelling the illusion. "What did you see?"
"…Clow… with sweets," Suppi shuddered, floating to the door. "You've got the hang of it. Now go test it out on Ruby Moon."
Eriol laughed and sat back down on the coach. "Sakura really is talented… never thought of illusions that way before…"
His eyes darkened.
"If I had been more skilled in this area, then maybe I wouldn't have fallen into that trap."
His hands clenched the armrests until his knuckles were white.
XxxX
"How have you been, Sakura-chan? How's work? Any friends?" Naoko interrogated as they sat down with a bowl of dumpling noodles.
Sakura smiled, poking her food with the chopsticks. "The Chinese characters took a while to get used to, but thankfully Kanji is quite similar to it so I managed to get used to it quickly. Other than that, I learnt through experience. I think you too will learn through the environment."
"But the teachers talk way too fast," Chiharu complained, slurping up the noodles. "Hey, this is quite good!"
"Is it?" Sakura raised her eyebrows.
"…Don't you know?" Naoko furrowed her eyebrows. "After all, you are the one who stayed her for a few months…"
Sakura blushed. "Sorry… I just didn't eat this yet."
Chiharu raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"So what about friends?" Yamazaki asked, effectively directing the conversation elsewhere.
Sakura nodded, "I made a few friends here."
"Like who? Who?" Naoko asked. "Is it a guy or a girl? Smart? Attractive?"
"Um, Meiling is a rather athletic person and she's into martial arts…" Sakura bit her lip and deliberated. "There's also Yimin-san, the school nurse. She's really nice to me…"
"The nurse? Were you sick?" Yamazaki asked in concern.
"I had a bit of trouble adjusting to the environment," Sakura laughed. "It was nothing. Just a bit of insomnia and exhaustion. I got over it quickly."
"I see…"
"Haven't you made any guy friends?" Chiharu probed.
"Eto…"
"You have, haven't you?" Chiharu teased.
"He's not really a friend… just a deskmate…" Sakura mumbled. "We're… not on really good terms anymore so…" She gave them a pleading look.
They dropped the subject immediately.
"So how's everything in Tomoeda?" It was her turn to ask the questions.
"Ah, just plain old Tomoeda…" Naoko mumbled.
"Tomoyo was kicked out of choir," Chiharu supplied.
The chopsticks in Sakura's hand clattered to the table.
"What?" She breathed out.
Yamazaki nodded solemnly. "She didn't want to spend time in choir… instead, she went to Hiiragizawa-kun's house everyday to take care of him. The seniors decided that she wasn't going to commit to choir anymore so they kicked her out. She didn't argue."
"No way…" Sakura looked down at her untouched bowl of noodles.
"Sakura-chan…" Naoko reached forward to grip her hand. "Tomoyo-chan… what happened between you two? Why is Hiiragizawa-kun in coma? What happened to your father? Sakura-chan, we really came here to ask you these questions."
"Please…"
"Sakura-chan?"
"Please… don't ask these questions anymore," Sakura whispered out. Her head was dipped forward, bangs over her eyes. "I… I can't tell you anymore than you already know so…" She stood up. "I need to finish my work. I'll be leaving now."
"Sakura-chan!" Chiharu stood up to stop her but Sakura had already dashed to the door and was out of sight before she had even taken a step out of her seat.
Naoko looked down remorsefully. "Sorry… I should have kept my mouth shut. I'm such an idiot."
"Don't say such things!" Chiharu scolded, sitting back down.
Yamazaki sighed, setting his chopsticks down. "Yes… we just took things a bit too fast. It's alright."
"Do you think she'll forgive me?" Naoko asked softly.
Chiharu and Yamazaki shared a glance. Chiharu gave a huff and said, "It's Sakura. Of course she'll forgive you."
XxxX
Sakura dropped onto the bed. She didn't feel like working. She didn't feel like exercising. She didn't want to talk. She just wanted to rest. She didn't want to dream. She just wanted to feel like a normal girl, free of all these burdens and duties.
All of a sudden, sorcery seemed so uninviting to her.
Unable to tell even her own childhood friends the truth. Unable to tell one of the closest friends she ever made the truth, resulting in a gap in their relationship. Sending one of her closest and most important mentor-figures into a deep coma, uncertain whether he'd ever wake up.
Causing a rift in between her and her best friend, making each other so distant that she couldn't even bear to look at her in the eyes. Losing her only love's affection in order to fulfill her duties.
Raising the attention of a malevolent sorcerer, resulting in her own father's death in order to save her mentor.
Sakura choked back a sob.
She couldn't cry.
She couldn't hate sorcery.
Because if she did, she would truly be alone.
Sakura reached into her pocket and pulled out a small ziplock. She popped a few of the pills into her mouth, ignoring the recommended dosage.
She just wanted to sleep and wake up with everything okay.
She wanted to be able to smile and say: "Everything will be alright!" once again.
She wiped a stray tear away from her eyes.
Why couldn't everything be alright?
Was the strength of her wish, no, yearning, not strong enough?
"Mistress…"
Without her consent, the Moon Guardian unsealed himself and knelt down beside Sakura. He swept her auburn locks from her face, caressing her cool pale cheeks.
Her unseeing eyes looked past him.
Yue closed his eyes in silent agony, pulling the girl into a hug and letting her rest on his lap leaning against his chest as she fell into a drugged sleep.
XxxX
The man stood, still staring down at the circle at his feet where he watched the event unfold. He let a smirk slide over his mouth.
"So now you know… the curse that the Clow Cards are… the life of darkness that power brings to you…"
His yukata rustled.
"Shall I deliver more, then?"
XxxX
She woke with cold sweat trickling down her face and back. Sakura laid frozen in her bed for a few seconds before she noticed the presence of her Moon Guardian by her side, stroking her sweaty bangs out of her face. Sakura moaned and leant into the touch, burrowing up against the male and breathing into the cool white fabric of his robes.
"Mistress?"
"Yue…" She breathed out. Her hands gripped his silky robes and bunched them in her fists. "What… are you doing?"
"You were having difficulties. I wanted to be here for you," Yue murmured, wrapping his arms around her. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Sakura cracked open her eyes.
"Yue, are people inherently evil?"
Yue sat in silence for a while.
"Why… are people so cruel to others? Why do they not care about others and barge on in their tirade, not caring about the hurt or destruction that they leave behind?" Sakura whispered, leaning close to him. "Are they apathetic to the suffering they cause? How can they be so cruel?"
Yue ran his fingers through her hair. "I don't think people are evil. They probably just want to… protect the thing they value the most, to an extent that they don't care what they do in order to protect that one precious thing."
"Am I precious to you, Yue?" Sakura asked.
Yue's grip tightened. "Of course. You are the most precious person in my whole life."
"Would you… hurt others to protect me, then?"
Yue faltered.
"Yue?"
"Ye… Yes, I would. I would do anything to protect you, Sakura," He said softly.
Sakura's fingers clenched his robes.
"I see…"
XxxX
Shaoran stepped into the classroom. He made his way to the back seat, second one from the window.
"Xiaolang!"
He barely suppressed the groan coming out.
"Yes, Meiling?" He muttered, sitting down.
Meiling sat in Sakura's seat, dragging the chair towards him with a horrible screech. Shaoran winced at the sharp sound. She took his hands and held them tightly, making it hard for him to slip them out of her grip without wrenching her hands off first.
"I was thinking… that since we're fifteen and going sixteen… well…" He could practically feel the heat of her blush from where he was sitting. She squeezed his hands so hard that he couldn't feel the tips of his fingers. "Could we go on a date after school?"
"Huh?" He sat up straight.
"Well – we're engaged and all… It's not weird for fiancées to go out before their marriage, right?" Meiling was clenching his hands too tightly. "So… today? After school? I know a great place that sells amazing dumplings and I know how much you love Dim Sum and –"
"Meiling…" Shaoran's voice was strained.
Her excited tone dropped.
He wiggled his now numb hand. "Let go… Please?"
She let out a gasp and released his hands immediately. He sighed as he felt the blood gush back into his cold and numb hands. She had an unbelievable strong grip. As expected.
"So… After school?"
"Huh? Yeah… sure… what?"
"Yatta!" She cried out happily. "I'll tell Wei that we'll be out for the afternoon, okay? I'm so excited! Our first date!" She pushed the chair back with another screech and jumped up.
"A… date…?"
"Thank you, Xiaolang!" He felt a hot breath near his cheek and then suddenly something soft and wet pressed themselves against his cheek.
Was that her mouth?
"See you after school!" She sang, dancing off to her own seat.
Shaoran rubbed the back of his hand against the wet spot on his cheek in muted disgust.
What… was that about?
XxxX
And so he found himself accompanying Meiling after school to the bustling streets of Shanghai.
By accompany, he meant forcefully and violently dragged out of class when the end of school bell struck.
"Where-"
"There's an eatery around the corner! It served these amazing dumplings that I'm sure you'd like! Come on – it's right over here!" She pulled him sideways. He narrowly dodged the door frame, walking into the humid restaurant that was saturated with the tantalizing smell of freshly fried dumplings. He loosened this tie and unbuttoned his shirt. This place really was too hot for his liking.
Meiling found them a seat quickly. She sat him down on the wooden stool and sat opposite him. "What do you want? They have pork dumplings… vegetable-filled… shrimps… Oh, even sweet and sour soup! I'm sure you'd like that, ne, Xiaolang?"
"Hn… Anything will do," Shaoran shrugged.
"Alright! Then we'll order 15 of each kind and a bowl of soup. Tea?"
He shrugged.
"Chinese tea then… Waitress!" Meiling quickly rattled off the order to the waitress who hurried off immediately once she was done.
Meiling took his hands again, though this time she didn't surround them in a death grip. "Thank you for coming today, Xiaolang."
"Hm…" 'You didn't exactly give me that much of a choice… did you?'
"I've been waiting for a date for so long! I'm so glad we finally managed to do something like this…"
"Meiling?"
"Yes? Yes?"
"What happened to Kinomoto? I wanted to talk to her but she wasn't in class the whole day…"
He could feel her grip tighten exponentially.
"Didn't you hear? She's not going to attend class for the next few days or so. They needed a translator who could understand and translate both Japanese and Chinese for the transfer students. Sakura was the only one who could do it."
"I see…" Shaoran frowned. He was going to have to seek her out, then?
"But from what I heard, she's really excited about meeting her ex-classmates from Japan. Three of them were her childhood friends and they were really close," Meiling informed.
"Friends?"
He couldn't see the Sakura he knew as one with plenty of friends. Someone as shy and silent as her? No way…
"Yeah! She was really glad to see them… I think she's going to spend a lot of time with them for the next few weeks that they're here!"
"I see…"
Was she angry with him? Was that why she was avoiding him?
"But enough about that, Xiaolang. I want to know more about you," Meiling squeezed his hands. "How have you been? Did the Elders give you any problem?"
"The Elders? They're still in the mountains. It was Mother that insisted I rest before coming back to Shanghai," Shaoran inclined his head slightly. "What did you hear?"
"Eh? I thought… the Elders…"
"Mother wanted me to be fully rested before I came back. She was being over paranoid though… I could stand on my two feet even without half of my magical reserves…" He muttered irritably.
"I see… but you're fully recovered, right?"
He gave a silent nod.
"Oh, our food is here!" He could smell the freshly cooked dumplings on the table. It smelt… unexpectedly good.
"Meiling, this is…"
"It's the best dumplings I've ever eaten! Here – your chopsticks. I'll put a few in your bowl, ne?" She pressed a pair of wooden chopsticks into his hand and took his bowl, putting a few of the pot stickers into the porcelain bowl. "Careful, they're hot!"
He took the bowl and lifted it up, smelling the food. "It… smells good…"
"Try it!"
He obliged, using his chopsticks to pick up a piece and biting into the crispy tender skin.
"It's… good…" He would never admit it to her face but it really is the best dumplings he had ever eaten… in his life.
"I'm right, ne?" She laughed happily.
Strange, how she could be so happy from seeing him eat.
But there was a gnawing feeling in his heart when he knew that he could never bring himself to love her like a lover.
XxxX
Sakura looked out of the window. She was leaning against the walls of the auditorium, stationed so that she could provide quick translations to the Japanese students and teachers alike.
"Sakura-chan, what does this mean?" Chiharu hissed. Sakura walked over and read over the girl's shoulder.
"That's an expression… an idiom, you can say," Sakura replied. "It means that there are a lot of books. The first two characters – they mean that the ox used to transport the books sweated buckets while moving the books. The second two mean that they fill up the house."
Chiharu blinked as she reread the idiom. "Chinese… is weird…"
Sakura chuckled.
!
Her gaze snapped to the window. She slowly backed away from Chiharu's table and to the window. Dark clouds were swirling in the skies – they were not natural. The windows rattled from the strong winds.
"No…"
Her senses picked up the ominous aura instantly. How could she have not? It was ancient, just like Madoushi's was, and malevolent. The very aura of the sorcerer saturated the air they breathed in even though she knew that that person was bound to be far away.
Too far away, actually.
And not headed towards her.
In fact, he had never headed towards her at all…
Things snapped into place as she realized what was going on.
"No…"
"Shall I deliver more, then?"
Her green eyes glinted in fury as she shot out of the auditorium.
"I won't let you hurt him!" She hissed as she jumped out of the window and onto the streets.
XxxX
"Xiaolang?" Meiling asked, pausing in the midst of picking up another piping hot dumpling with her chopsticks. "Xiaolang? What's wrong?"
His chopsticks clattered to the table. The brown-haired teen slowly stood, facing unseeingly at the window to the restaurant.
"Xiaolang?" Meiling stood up as well. She touched his hand.
He flinched back immediately.
She flinched, "Xiaolang, what's wrong?"
He pulled his sunglasses off and clenched them in his hands.
"That Man… he's here."
XxxX
To be Continued…
That took longer than expected…
Well, considering that I had exams and projects lined up one after another (my school really doesn't know how to plan schedules!), I'd say that 2 weeks is quite… short… I think… I apologise for the wait! (Bows 90 degrees)
This chapter is mostly fillers but I would say that it's a transitional chapter from the last arc to the current one… yeah… So I guess it's semi important too! And the cliff hanger at the end? I didn't really mean to leave it like that but I thought the suspense would be more thrilling.
If you have any tips on how to improve the suspense building, please do leave them in your reviews! Thank you for reading~
Wingless Dreams:)