Agent08 Reporting for Duty!

Now on with chapter ten!

Saving Syaoran

The Lies

Days came and went, all seeming to fly by faster and faster each time. Syaoran and Sakura were beginning to spend more time with each other, both alone and with other people around. Ever since the talk that they'd shared underneath the cherry blossom tree a few days ago, Syaoran began doing what Sakura suggested, thus gaining himself the friends that he never thought he'd make.

Flopping down on her bed with a sigh, Sakura stretched with a yawn. Tomoyo sat on the edge, watching her with an amused smile. Sakura grinned herself, looking to her best friend with her usual brightness. Though she couldn't help but notice that ever since a little more than a week ago, her smile was a lot brighter than before.

"Today was pretty fun," Sakura commented, unzipping her backpack and taking her things out to begin the homework. Tomoyo followed suit, watching and listening carefully. "I never thought that Li-kun would be the type to play soccer, but then again, what isn't he good at?" She added thoughtfully.

"True," she replied.

"By the way, Tomoyo-chan, am I going shopping this year for the Spring Formal, or - ?"

"Do you even have to ask?"Tomoyo cut in sharply, almost looking offended. When did she ever let Sakura shop for a dress or an outfit when there was an upcoming school event? She would never allow her to go shopping! That's what Tomoyo was there for - to make the dresses or outfits for her.

Sakura giggled, "Hoe, just making sure, Tomoyo-chan. No need to get touchy."

Tomoyo shrugged her shoulders and changed the topic. She shifted her eyes around the room uneasily, suddenly trying to look indifferent. Sakura could see right through that pretense as her best friend asked, "Hey, has Eriol-kun asked anyone to go to the Spring Formal? Just thought I'd ask, since we're already, you know, talking about...yeah." She shrugged her shoulders again, blushing slightly.

"No," Sakura replied reassuringly, "he hasn't asked anyone yet."

Tomoyo had to restrain herself from sighing in relief. "Oh. I see." Sakura rolled her eyes lovingly. She didn't need to pretend with her. Besides, Sakura already knew full well about the enormously large crushes the two already had on each other. "Speaking of, are you nervous at all for the date you and Li-kun have?"

Sakura's eyes almost bulged at the question. She'd almost forgot about that. Not that it was something she would easily forget, but she was having so much fun just spending time with him (him being Syaoran) that it just slipped her mind that she had a date with him in a few weeks.

She remembered feeling abnormally happy when he'd asked her. She got the vibe that somehow, he hadn't been planning on doing so, and that he kind of just did it on impulse. You know, ever heard of the phrase, now or never? In any case, she didn't care. She was just very happy that of all the people she got to go with, it was him.

She also remembered how oddly angry she felt when she thought he'd been crushing on a fan girl. Why, she thought, why would he ever ask me to the dance if he was already head over heels for a fan girl? She'd felt very hurt, and yet, she didn't seem to know why. Syaoran was begining to make her feel a lot of things that she just couldn't seem to figure out why.

Well...considering how dense she is, she'd probably figure it out later than some would want.

I should know. I'm the freaking witness!

"Nervous?" She asked, "Why should I be nervous?"

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said scoldingly, "don't even try to lie to me! This will be your first date, you know it, too."

Sakura blushed heavily, turning her head away. "Hoe...we should get started on our homework."

As many times as she'd been asked to attend something with a person of the opposite sex, she'd never said yes - except for when Syaoran asked her. So, yeah, going to the Spring Formal with him would most definitely be her first date.

But she didn't need to let him know that. Besides, there were probably a couple of things or two that he was keeping from her. They didn't have to know all of each other's secrets...

xxxxxx

Entering the apartment, Syaoran hung his coat up on the nearest hanger. Walking into the kitchen, he saw Wei, preparing his after school meal. He nodded at him and Wei nodded back, saying hello in greeting. He continued to say that his meal would be ready soon, and Syaoran replied by assuring him to take his time.

He walked into his bedroom and dumped his things on his bed. He had very few homework, since he finished most of it in class. So that he could have the rest of the night free to do what he wanted, he began to write his assignments while he waited for his food.

He then heard a soft knocking on the door. "Come in, Wei," he said in that rich, masculine voice of his. The door creaked open and Wei stepped inside, standing before Syaoran who was lying on his stomach on his bed, elbow propped up, his hand cradling his chin. He did not bother looking up from his work as Wei stared intently at him. He was very used to this.

"How are things, Syaoran-sama?" Wei asked, sounding interested. "You never really told me how you've been doing at school, or how you've been fairing with your new enemy."

Syaoran stopped doing his school work and peered up at Wei, who was gazing down at him with affectionate, old eyes. "Enemy?" He asked, not able to categorize Sakura as such after the few days they'd spent together.

"Sakura, I think her name was." He replied. "When you spoke of her that one time, you seemed very fond of her. But then you began making your plan of trying to find out her weaknesses and such. I'm glad you've been concentrating on completing your mission." He seemed proud, proud that Syaoran was accomplishing so much in just a short time.

"Oh. Uh." He searched for the right words to say, "Right. Well, things are coming along."

"Good!" He commented, "That's very good indeed, Syaoran-sama. I'm sure the elders will be very happy to know that you're doing so much at once. Balancing both school and challenging the card mistress. The elders are, actually, very happy. I filled them in a while ago. They called while you were at school."

Syaoran froze. What? They had? "What did you say?" He asked urgently.

"Since you were very eager the last time we spoke about this, I told them that you were creating your future plans, and very confident to execute them. They were also very, very happy that you'd already found the identity of the new mistress. They are very proud. And so am I." Wei patted his back.

"Thanks, Wei..."

Syaoran hated lying to him through his teeth. He couldn't believe he bought it. Couldn't he sense how uncomfortable he was? He guessed he hadn't, since Wei had left him there, now sitting on his bed, lost and confused about the mess he'd gotten himself into.

Surely everybody would understand? Surely they would understand that he was in love, and when in love, people do crazy things.

Truth was, Wei did sense that Syaoran was uncomfortable, which was why he left the room in the first place. He thought that Syaoran didn't feel like talking about his future plans to challenge Sakura, so he just left. And yes, he was actually quite disappointed to learn that Syaoran didn't somehow manage to make peace or friends with his new enemy, but what did he expect?

The Syaoran Li, choosing something he wanted over what he knew he should do? He simply couldn't imagine.

Well, the thing was, he didn't have to imagine. If he only knew the truth. Syaoran had already chosen between the two. He just didn't know how to tell anyone.

xxxxxx

The dismissal bell sounded loudly. Sakura got up from her seat and went straight to her locker. It was the end of a tiresome day and luckily for her, she didn't have all that much homework to do later in the night. So she thought she'd do something fun with her friends. In just a few more days they'd all be leaving to go on their senior class field trip. What a better way to leave Tomoeda for five days than with a bang?

She was met with her normal group of friends. Tomoyo, Chiharu, Yamazaki, Eriol, Rika, and Syaoran. He, aside from Rika, was probably the quietest out of the bunch. Yes, he was making friends and she was extremely happy for him, but he was still only beginning to adjust with "hanging out."

"Do you guys want to do something?" Sakura asked, "We're leaving soon for the field trip and I want so badly to do something really fun before we go!"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," Rika apologized sadly, "I have ballet practice to be getting to. I'll see you guys later. Hope you guys have fun!" She waved to all of them, all of them also saying goodbye. Although one of her friends couldn't make it, at least there was still five of them who could come with her, right?

"We're sorry, too, Sakura-chan," Chiharu chimed, "Yamazaki and I have a date."

Okay, minus two. But, you know, Sakura didn't really mind. She'd hate to keep the two love birds from doing whatever it was that they normally did on dates (she liked to refrain from thinking about it)...

"That's fine," Sakura replied, "you guys go. Eriol-kun, Tomoyo-chan and Li-kun and I can all just go without you. Go on, go on your date." Sakura encouraged. Chiharu and her boyfriend left quickly, before he could get into boring detail about how the very first date in the world was spent.

"I guess that makes it just us four then?" Tomoyo asked.

"I guess so," Eriol replied, "where would we all like to go?"

Sighing, Sakura thought. "Well...it's kind of hot today. Why don't we go to the ice cream parlor?"

"Sounds good." They all agreed, gathering their things and walking out of the school building.

Just as they had set foot on the cement of the sidewalk, Sakura took Syaoran's arm and forced him to stay put, as Tomoyo and Eriol walked passed the two obliviously, both of them completely absorbed into their own universe. Syaoran looked at her, confused, but her eyes were stuck on her best friend, who was walking further and further away.

"What are we doing?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura let go of his arm slowly, her eyes still glued onto the pair a few paces ahead of them. Amazingly, Syaoran managed not to blush when she made contact with his arm. Somehow, over the past few days, he mastered the art of not blushing when the girl of his dreams was near. It took a lot of practice, trust me.

"Just walk behind them with me, okay?" Sakura told him, "Eriol-kun hasn't asked Tomoyo-chan to the Spring Formal yet, so I'm just trying to give them some alone time so that he can."

"I see."

They walked silently, watching as Tomoyo and Eriol laughed and spoke together. It was so utterly obvious that these two had feelings for each other. It bothered Sakura so much that sometimes she fell into a state of wanting to rip her hair out. They needed to gather a little bit more guts and confess.

How could they keep lying to each other? She hated it when people lied, especially when she did it herself. But she couldn't help it. In order to keep things, such as the cards, a secret, she had to lie. She just didn't understand how someone could lie about something as important as how they felt about someone.

"I wish they would just admit it," Sakura muttered absent-mindedly. She'd been thinking that in her head, she did not realize she'd said it aloud.

"What?" Syaoran asked, cocking his head to the side.

They had just entered the ice cream parlor. The decor of the entire place looked as if it were something straight out of the 50's. The floor was tiled with black and white marble, and there were white leather cushions everywhere. Even the outfits of the waiters looked like they were from the fifties. Pink uniforms and white aprons. With lots of frills. Ew.

"What?" Sakura echoed, for she still did not realize what she said aloud.

She and Syaoran fell in behind Tomoyo and Eriol, who were in line to take their orders. The person behind the register greeted them warmly. So, with the other two distracted, Syaoran said, "You said, 'I wish they would just admit it' a while ago." He explained, figuring out for himself that Sakura did not know she even said this.

Sakura's eyebrows raised. "Oh, I said that?" She asked herself, as Tomoyo and Eriol stepped out of line with their ice cream cones. She and Syaoran stepped forward and said hello to the person taking their orders. "One double scoop strawberry ice cream cone, please?" Sakura ordered sweetly.

"And one single scoop chocolate cone." Syaoran added.

They payed and instead of joining their friends, sat away from them. Sakura still wanted to give them their alone time.

"Care to explain?" Syaoran later said, once they were settled with their ice cream. He licked his cone robotically, too busy paying attention to the person sitting in front of him.

"I was just thinking about how Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun haven't admitted their feelings for each other yet. It bothers me, that's all." She explained, licking her ice cream as if there was no tomorrow. Syaoran, however, found it adorable - like she was some cute kitten or whatever. It was hard for him to see Sakura in a negative light.

Hesitantly, he asked, "Do you...not...like it when people don't admit their feelings for someone they care for?"

"Yes." She answered flatly. Syaoran's face froze but Sakura didn't seem to notice. "If someone likes another person, they should tell them. I mean, they have a right to know, don't they? And wouldn't it be better to be rejected or accepted than having to wonder whether or not they feel the same way?"

"I don't think it's that simple," Syaoran disagreed. He was in an uncomfortable position at the moment. "Someone could just be, you know, not ready to say how they feel."

Sakura shrugged. "The worst that could happen is that they reject you, and one could easily get over that."

Syaoran raised his eyebrow, unsure. "Have you ever been rejected?"

"Well, no..." Sakura replied.

"Then, I don't see how you could know that."

Deep in thought, Sakura remained silent. Both she and Syaoran kept to themselves for the next few minutes or so, both licking their cones every now and then. Maybe Syaoran was right, and maybe she really was wrong. In just those brief moments, Syaoran managed to restore Sakura's patience for her two friends. She liked that he was able to do that. Only Tomoyo was ever able to do something like that.

"I've been thinking," Sakura said, breaking the silence, "why are you here?"

Syaoran almost felt hurt. "I thought you wanted me to be here..." he replied quietly.

Sakura's eyebrows went straight up. "Oh, no! No! I didn't mean it like that. I mean, why did you come to Tomoeda? Do you remember, we were talking on the day of the blackout, and you said that if you told me you why you were here, you'd have to kill me. I thought it was a pretty funny joke, but really, why are you here?"

Syaoran nearly dropped his cone.

Oh, forget nearly, he really did drop it.

It splattered onto the floor, a liquid, mushy brown mixture of ice cream spreading itself across the black and white tiles. "Hoe!" Sakura said, a little more loudly than she intended to, getting the attention of a busboy. He went over to the two and said that he would be back in a moment to clean it up with a mop.

"I'm so sorry," Syaoran apologized to both Sakura and the busboy. The busboy shrugged it off and said it was no big deal. "I'll clean it, if you like." The boy laughed and assured him that it wasn't a problem. Sakura smiled, also doing the same thing. Besides, she had told him, it wasn't as if she'd paid for him.

"I guess I'm not the only clumsy person here," Sakura giggled.

"What can I say?" Syaoran shrugged uncomfortably, hoping she forgot about what she'd just asked him. "Butterfingers," he told her, wiggling his fingers. She giggled again.

"So, the answer to my question?" she asked.

Aw, shit.

"What question?" He faked.

"Why did you move to Tomeoda?"

He laughed nervously. "Oh. Uh. You see..." he struggled for the words. What to say, what to say! He had no idea! Tell her the truth? Hell no. He honestly couldn't think of anything to say, other than a lie. He wanted to swear very loudly. He was sick of lying, and he especially didn't want to lie to her. But what other choice did he have?

"My mom thought that I should experience life somewhere else, other than Hong Kong. I grew up there my entire life, so, she thought it'd be best to, you know...yeah..." He cringed inwardly. Could he be anymore bad at this?

Luckily for him, Sakura was extremely gullible.

"Really?" She asked, honestly buying it, "Wow, you should get your mom to speak to my dad! If he thought like that, I wouldn't be stuck here in this small town. I'd be out there. Out there in, like, the world, you know? Experiencing the things you've probably done a thousand times before." She sighed dreamily.

"Yeah..." Syaoran agreed reluctantly.

Sensing his discomfort, Sakura cocked her head to the side and stared intently at him. "You okay?" She asked him, "If you're still mad at yourself for dropping that ice cream cone, I'm telling you, it's not a big deal. If I got a quarter for everytime I did that, I'd be rich." She said, trying to make him smile. But he didn't.

"No, it's not that." He told her.

Her eyes filled with concern. "What is it?" She asked softly.

Six words flashed through his head. Come up with a good excuse. No, not those six words. Come up with a good LIE.

"I...uh, I miss home." He fibbed, "You got me thinking about it, and I miss my mom, and...you know, everyone else."

Sakura smiled sadly at him. "Oh, Li-kun...it's okay to miss home. Try calling tonight. Maybe that'll help." She suggested cheerfully.

"Good idea." He lied again. Calling home? The place he's trying his best to avoid? Yeah, right. "Actually, I think...uh, I think I'll go and do that right now." Grabbing his things and saying a rushed goodbye to Sakura, Tomoyo and Eriol, he headed out of the parlor and headed straight for the apartment.

He entered the building, brushing passed Wei who was sitting on a nearby chair. He said hello, but Syaoran did not reply. He was too frustrated with himself to say anything. But it was what Wei had said after that got him to speak. "The elders phoned again while you were at school. They would like me to ask you how things are going."

Syaoran kept still. "Tell them things are alright." With that, he made to leave Wei.

"Wait, Syaoran-sama," Wei said quickly after, "they want to know specifically how things are going."

Sighing, not believing that he was doing this again, he answered, "Tell them I'm getting a lot of information out of her. Things are going just fine, and I'm in the middle of making more plans. Tell them that so that they are pleased."

Never before had Syaoran ever felt so guilty. He could always be honest with Wei. The burden of having to carry out his mission was just starting to grow heavier and heavier. So he decided, then and there, he'd tell them all the truth soon. He didn't know when, but he would, that was for sure. And, like Sakura said, it'd be better if they rejected it or accepted it - either way, he wouldn't have to keep lying to the people he loved.

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Eh. x 1000. Bleh. Dry, I know. So very, very dry. Things will get interesting soon. I hope. Haha.

May We Remember on November 11th,
Agent08 - My life as a secret agent xD