Lost
Syaoran stayed home from school the
following two days, but he returned on Friday, determined not to miss
any more schoolwork. Sakura, Meiling, and Tomoyo insisted that he stay
home and rest, but Syaoran just ignored them. At lunch, Sebastian
approached Sakura and asked to talk to her, and much to Syaoran's
dismay, Sakura agreed. Sakura and Sebastian walked to a quiet place on
the school ground, and then sat on the grass."Thanks for coming with me," Sebastian said.
"Well, you said you wanted to talk to me," Sakura replied.
"Uh… yea. Well, I was wondering… I mean, I was wondering if you could help me with my Japanese…" Sebastian stammered.
"Your Japanese? You seem to be speaking it good enough… what do you need help with?"
"Well, It's…. you know… I'm just struggling with it. Um, I was wondering if maybe… we could study after school or something..."
"Uh… well… I suppose…"
Sebastian grinned and gave Sakura a quick hug.
"Thanks so much! Um, why don't we meet up by the gate?" he asked.
"Er… ok… sure," Sakura agreed.
"I should find my friends… I'll… see you later," she added.
"Ok! See you!"
Sakura got up and uneasily walked away. When she found her friends, she
saw that Syaoran was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed and a
frown on his face. Sakura laughed and sat down beside him.
"What did he want?" Syaoran asked.
"Oh… nothing really…." Sakura lied.
She
didn't want to upset Syaoran further, so she didn't mention that she
was meeting Sebastian after school. Once class was out for the day,
Sakura told her friends that she had to go right home to start dinner.
She said goodbye and rushed out of the building. When she got to the
gate, she saw Sebastian was already waiting for her.
"Hey Sakura!" Sebastian said cheerfully.
"Hi… where are we going?" Sakura asked, looking over her shoulder.
"I… figured we'd go to the library," Sebastian replied.
"Ok, let's go then."
Sakura grabbed Sebastian's wrist, checked over her shoulder again, and
headed off down the road. Once they were far enough away from the
school, Sakura let go of Sebastian and quickly called her dad to let
him know she was heading to the library. She didn't mention Sebastian.
"Hey, why don't we cut through the park?" Sebastian suggested.
"Er… why?" Sakura asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Well… we'll get to the library quicker…"
Sakura sighed.
"I guess that's true… All right… let's go," she agreed.
They headed into the park and started down a trail. After a while, Sebastian turned off onto a hidden trail.
"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.
"Just follow me…" Sebastian replied.
Sakura
sighed and followed. They walked for about fifteen minutes, and finally
the trail ended. Sebastian had led her to the top of a cliff in the
middle of the woods. The cliff was over 20 feet high, and at the bottom
was more dense forest.
"Where are we?" Sakura asked.
"I found this place a couple days ago… it's a great place to watch the stars…" Sebastian replied.
"Um… that's cool…" Sakura said uneasily.
"Yea… If you want, I'll bring you here sometime, and we can watch the stars together. It's really quite…"
"Romantic?" Sakura finished.
Sebastian blushed and said, "Yea…"
"Look Sebastian… um, I don't know what you're thinking… but…I'd
appriciate it if you stopped this," Sakura said, avoiding his eyes.
"Stop what?"
"This! I am dating Syaoran… I love him… and you are really starting to
make him angry… and to be honest, you're making me uncomfortable."
Sebastian crossed his arms and kicked a rock over the cliff.
"Look, I'm sorry Sebastian, but it's the truth."
"Yea… I understand. I'll… I'm just gunna go home. I'll see you
tomorrow," Sebastian said, and without waiting for a reply, he turned
and headed down the trail.
Sakura watched him leave, and then she
sighed. She turned back to the cliff, and kicked some dirt over the
edge. She did feel sorry for Sebastian, but she was glad that she
managed to resolve the issue. As Sakura turned to leave, she saw a
faint glimmer of light through the trees. She moved to investigate, but
before she could take a step, a strong magical force hurtled towards
her and knocked her backwards off the cliff. Sakura screamed and
franticly tried to grab something, but she couldn't get her grip. She
hit the bottom hard, and ended up hitting her head on a nearby rock.
Sakura struggled to get up, but her vision was blurring and she was
extremely dizzy. She managed to get to her feet, but then she got a
blinding pain in her head, and with a small groan, she blacked out. A
few hours later, Sakura woke with a groan. She managed to push herself
up, and she got to her feet. It was starting to get dark, and Sakura
knew she had to get out of the woods. But she had no idea where in the
woods she was. She staggered into the trees, using the trunks as
support. She had lost one of her shoes, and she stepped in a puddle,
making her sock damp. Sakura kept walking, but the wet sock was making
her uncomfortable, so she peeled it off and dropped it on the trail.
Sakura staggered down the trail for another twenty minutes, and then
she came to a dead end. The path stopped and turned into a wall of
trees and bushes. Sakura groaned, and turned to head back down the
trail, but she accidentally slipped on some wet mud. She fell
backwards, and once again fell unconscious.
XXXX
Syaoran
was sitting at his desk finishing off some math homework when Wei
knocked on his door. It was almost 10:00, and Syaoran wanted to finish
soon. He got up and answered the door, feeling rather annoyed. Wei
handed Syaoran the phone with a disturbed look on his face. It was
Sakura's father."Hello Syaoran… have you seen Sakura since school ended?" he asked.
"No… she said she was going straight home. I haven't heard from her, why?"
"Well, she said she was going to the library, but I haven't heard from
her since, and I checked the library but she's not there. I tried her
phone too, but I got no answer."
Syaoran nearly fainted.
"Well… we… we have to look for her!" Syaoran said franticly.
"Syaoran, calm down. Come over here and we'll organize a search, ok?"
Syaoran agreed, and then grabbed Meiling. Together they ran to Sakura's
house. When they arrived, they found Tomoyo, Kyra, Touya and Yukito
already there, as well as Tomoyo's mom. Syaoran and Tomoyo entered the
living room, and as soon as Touya saw them, he jumped to his feet and
started towards Syaoran.
"What the hell are you doing here!" Touya yelled.
"Touya! I am NOT
going to deal with you right now! Sakura is missing, and she's the only
thing that matters! So just shut up!" Syaoran spat.
Touya was dumbfounded. Instead of replying, he crossed his arms and glared at Syaoran.
"Ok, we need to get out there and look for Sakura. Does anyone have any ideas?" Sakura's dad asked.
"Well,
I called Chiharu, Naoko, Rikka and Takashi, and they all said they
would look around for her, and I tried calling Darrien and Sebastian,
but I couldn't get a hold of either of them… I think someone should
stay here in case Sakura comes home, or if anyone calls, and the rest
of us should spread out an d look for her," Tomoyo said.
"Sounds good to me… I'll take the car and search downtown," Tomoyo's mom said.
"Tomoyo and I can go search the school," Meiling suggested.
"Touya and I will drive around also… and I'll call the hospital, just in case," Yukito said.
"I'll stay here then," Sakura's dad said.
"I think Syaoran should stay here with you," Meiling suggested.
"What? Why?" Syaoran asked angrily.
"Because you're hurt, remember?" Meiling replied.
"I'm fine… besides, it doesn't matter. I'm gunna go look for her," Syaoran said, walking towards the door.
"Let's all go… make sure to check back every once in a while," Yukito said.
They
all agreed, and filed out the door. Tomoyo and Meiling wished Syaoran
luck, and then grabbed their flashlights and headed towards the school.
Tomoyo's mother hopped in their limo, and took off.
"Where are you going to look?" Yukito asked Syaoran.
"I don't know yet… I'm going to head to the library and work my way back from there I suppose," Syaoran replied.
"Why couldn't YOU get lost?" Touya muttered.
Syaoran and Yukito both ignored him.
"Be careful Syaoran… you're injured, so take it easy," Yukito said.
"Yea, I'll be fine."
Yukito wished him luck, then hopped in the car with Touya. After they
took off, Syaoran headed towards the library. When he got there, the
library was closed. He searched the area around the building, and
finding nothing, he headed back towards Sakura's house. He decided to
shortcut through the park, and look for Sakura there. After about half
an hour of searching the woods around the park, Syaoran was starting to
get frantic and frustrated. He headed down a trail that lead to the
library and walked along the trail. It was pitch black in the woods,
but Syaoran wasn't going to give up. He did regret forgetting a
flashlight though. After a few minutes, he noticed something strange.
There was a path leading off the trail that he had never seen before.
It appeared to have been cleared out recently. With his hope restored,
Syaoran jogged down the trail. It was now nearly midnight, and after
about 10 minutes, Syaoran came to the end of the trail. He nearly ran
himself right off a cliff. Syaoran stopped and peered down the side of
the cliff, but it was too dark to see anything. He estimated the cliff
to be about 15 to 20 feet high. Syaoran decided to check it out, so he
leaped off the side and landed clumsily on the ground. A pain shot
through his side as he stumbled, but he quickly regained his composure.
He grasped his side and headed into the dark woods. Near the edge of
the small clearing at the bottom of the cliff, Syaoran stepped on
something. He bent down and picked it up. It was a black shoe. He
recognized it instantly as Sakura's. Syaoran ran down the trail,
calling Sakura's name. A few minutes later, he noticed a sock lying on
the path. He knew it was Sakura's, because it had little cherry
blossoms on it. He picked up his pace, despite the pain in his side,
and headed down the trail. After a few more minutes, Syaoran spotted
Sakura lying on the trail. "Sakura!" Syaoran yelled, rushing to her
side.
He tried to wake her, but she was still unconscious. He grabbed his phone and called Tomoyo.
"I found her! Call the others and meet me at Sakura's place," he said, and hung up without waiting for a reply.
He then picked Sakura up, ignoring the pain shooting through his side, and he headed out of the forest.
XXXX
When
Syaoran arrived at Sakura's place, it was well past one in the morning,
and everyone was waiting for him, including Chiharu, Rikka, Naoko, and
Takashi, who hadn't been there before. Syaoran was very tired and in a
lot of pain, and when Yukito took Sakura from him to place her on the
couch, Syaoran collapsed. Meiling rushed to help him up, and Touya
raised his eyebrow. He hadn't realized how injured Syaoran actually
was. Yukito looked Sakura over, and stated that she had hit her head
and probably had a concussion. Syaoran staggered to the couch and
leaned on the back to keep himself up.
"Is she going to be ok?" he asked.
"Well, I think so, but I'd like to bring her to the hospital anyway," Yukito replied.
Sakura's father agreed. Tomoyo's mother offered to drive everyone home,
and then meet up at the hospital. So Yukito picked up Sakura, and
headed to his car, followed by Touya and Sakura's father, while
Tomoyo's mother ushered everyone else into her limo. Syaoran staggered
towards Yukito. "Please let me come with you," Syaoran asked.
"Syaoran, you need to rest. You've pushed yourself too hard," Yukito replied.
"Please… I can't just leave her… I need to make sure she's ok…"
Yukito sighed, and then agreed to let him come.
Syaoran thanked him, and slid into the car. Touya was surprised that
Syaoran was able to stay conscious. He wanted to insult Syaoran
somehow, but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to do so.
When they got to the hospital, a stretcher and a few nurses were
waiting for them. Yukito got Sakura out of the car and put her on the
stretcher, and then they brought her inside, followed by Sakura's
father. One of the nurses brought Syaoran and Touya to a waiting room,
and Syaoran collapsed into a chair. Touya stood against a wall, staring
down the hallway. Syaoran kept checking his watch and drumming his
fingers, waiting for news. After few moments, Touya glanced over at
Syaoran. He looked very pale and tired, but he was also visibly
worried. Touya was impressed. He didn't realize that Syaoran was
willing to risk himself to help Sakura. He had always thought that he
was just using her for something.
"You know…" Touya started.
Syaoran glanced at Touya and gave him an annoyed look.
"Don't start now," he said.
Touya sighed and continued.
"I was just going to say… that you surprised me," he said.
Syaoran raised an eyebrow at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I didn't realize you were… that injured… and I dunno… it just
shocked me that you pushed yourself so hard to find Sakura…"
"Well, what did you expect?"
"Well… I…"
But before Touya could reply, Tomoyo's mother joined them, followed by Tomoyo and Meiling.
"Hello boys… these two tagged along, they refused to go home. Where is Sakura?" Tomoyo's mother asked, taking a seat.
"Dunno… we haven't heard anything yet," Touya replied.
Meiling and Tomoyo took a seat on either side Syaoran.
"You ok?" Meiling asked him.
Syaoran
nodded and told her not to worry. After about an hour, Yukito appeared.
Syaoran shot to his feet, and after nearly falling over again, he said,
"How is she? Is she ok? Can I see her?"
Yukito chuckled.
"Yes, She'll be fine. We're going to keep her here overnight, but she
can go home tomorrow. Her dad just left to get her some things. She
hasn't regained consciousness yet, but yes, you can go in and see her
if you like," he said.
Syaoran looked relieved. Yukito led them all
to Sakura's room. She was lying in a hospital bed, and she was sleeping
peacefully. Syaoran immediately walked to her side and took her hand.
After a couple hours, Tomoyo's mother decided that it was time to go
home, but Syaoran refused to leave Sakura. So after much stubbornness,
Tomoyo's mother took Tomoyo and Meiling home, and Syaoran stayed
behind. Sakura's father and Touya stayed as well. Yukito however, had a
shift a few hours later, so he went home and slept, then came back
later when he had to work. Syaoran had pulled up a chair next to
Sakura's bed, while Touya and Sakura's father sat by the window talking
quietly. Syaoran was absolutely exhausted, and it hurt him to even
breathe, but he was determined to stay awake and watch over Sakura. By
the time the sun rose though, Syaoran had fallen asleep, his head
resting on the side of Sakura's bed. Around 8:00 the next morning, the
nurse came in to check on Sakura. She grinned when she saw Syaoran fast
asleep by Sakura's bed, and then left a breakfast tray for when Sakura
woke up. After she left, Sakura's father decided to get he, Touya, and
Syaoran some coffee and breakfast. Touya glanced at Syaoran, and
frowned. He didn't know what he was going to do. He still hated the
fact that Sakura was dating Syaoran, but Touya had finally realized
that Syaoran wasn't all that bad. For the time being, Touya had decided
to just ignore Syaoran and not start any fights. Sakura stirred,
causing Touya to stand and walk over to her bed. She sighed, and slowly
opened her eyes. She saw Touya first, who was standing over her bed.
She smiled at him, and then she noticed Syaoran sleeping, his arms
folded on her bed, and his head resting on them. Sakura's smile
widened, and she reached over and gently took his hand.
"How are you feeling?" Touya asked.
"Oh, I'm fine… my head is a little sore, but it's no big deal. How long has he been asleep?" Sakura asked in reply.
"Um, a few hours I guess. He's been here all night… he refused to leave actually…"
Sakura smiled again, and sat up. She noticed the breakfast tray beside
her bed, made a face, and leaned back against her pillows. She crossed
her arms and looked around the room.
"Well, I'm bored. When can I go home?" she asked.
Touya smirked and shook his head.
"Today… I'll talk to the doctor and see about getting you home as soon as possible," he replied.
"Ok, great!"
"Actually, I'll go find Yukito now… I'm glad you're ok kaiju."
Sakura was tempted to throw a pillow at him, but instead she just
smiled. Touya left the room, leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone. Sakura
placed her hand on Syaoran's arm and gently shook him. It was obvious
that he was exhausted, but Sakura knew he would be upset if Sakura
didn't wake him up. Syaoran looked up sleepily, and when he saw Sakura,
he grinned.
"Sakura! How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I'm fine… I'm just happy you're here," Sakura replied.
Syaoran
took her hand and beamed at her. He started to say something, but
before he could, Touya and Sakura's dad came into the room. Sakura gave
her dad a hug, and assured him that she was ok. After they all ate,
Yukito came in and checked Sakura over. Around lunch, Sakura was able
to go home. Syaoran came with her, despite the fact that he was still
exhausted. When they got to Sakura's house, Touya went home, and
Sakura's dad went to make tea, so Syaoran and Sakura headed up to her
room. As soon as Sakura opened the door, Kero pounced on her.
"Sakura! I was so worried! I wanted to go look for you, but I couldn't, and…"
Sakura laughed and cut him off by saying, "I'm fine, Kero. Don't worry."
He smiled at her, then went and sat on the windowsill. Sakura closed
her door and flopped down on her bed. She spread out, and let out a big
yawn. Syaoran smiled, and sat at the end of Sakura's bed. She giggled
and sat up, and then she crawled over to Syaoran and grabbed his hand.
"I know you're tired and all… if you wanna sprawl out, go for it!" Sakura said with a smirk.
Syaoran
blushed. Sakura giggled again, then gently pushed him so he was lying
down on her bed. She then lay down beside him and smiled.
"Touya told me that you stayed with me all night…" Sakura said.
"Er… yea… I did," Syaoran said, blushing even deeper.
"And you found me too, didn't you? In the woods I mean," Sakura added.
"Yea… er, what happened anyway?"
"Well, I decided to go to the library before I went home, and I took a
shortcut through the park… and then I found that trail and decided to
check it out, and I found the cliff and I slipped… that's pretty much
it."
Syaoran raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't question her story. But Kero decided to pipe up.
"You just… fell? Are you sure you weren't attacked?" he asked.
"Well, I dunno…"
Before they could question her further, Sakura's father walked in the
room carrying a tray with teacups and a pot of tea. When he saw Sakura
and Syaoran lying on her bed together, he raised an eyebrow, but said
nothing. Behind him, Tomoyo and Meiling walked into the room. They,
however, giggled silently when they saw Sakura and Syaoran, which
caused both of them to blush and sit up. Sakura's father asked her if
she needed anything, then left the four of them alone to talk.
"So Sakura, what happened out there?" Tomoyo asked once they were alone.
"I just… I fell… and then I got lost. It was an accident," she replied.
"That's it? I figured you were attacked or something," Meiling said.
"Nope…"
"And you were alone?" Kero asked.
"Well… yea…"
"Sakura, what aren't you telling us?" Syaoran questioned.
"Nothing! Don't worry about it, ok?" Sakura replied.
They all gave each other suspicious looks, but decided to drop the
issue for the time being. Sakura spent the rest of the weekend in bed,
and Syaoran spent nearly the whole weekend at her side. The only time
he left her was to go home and sleep. On Monday, news about Sakura's
accident had gotten around the school, and she found herself being
bombarded by questions. When she entered the classroom, Darren was
already in his seat. Syaoran glared at him at him as he took his seat
behind Sakura. Darren left his desk and approached Sakura as she sat
down.
"Hey! I heard what happened to you… how are you feeling?" he asked.
"Better," Sakura replied.
Just then, Tomoyo and Meiling entered the classroom and took their seats on either side of Sakura. Darren greeted the girls.
"Hey Darren…" Tomoyo started.
"Yes?"
"Where were you on Friday night?" she asked.
"Friday night? I had a piano lesson," Darren replied.
"A Piano lesson? That late?" Tomoyo asked suspiciously.
"Yea…
my aunt teaches me piano three times a week for free… but she teaches
piano during the day so I have to get my lessons after dinner at her
place… why?"
"Oh, I was just wondering… I tried calling you to let you know Sakura
was missing, but I got no reply at your house," Tomoyo explained.
"Oh, I see. Well, If I had known, I would have been out there looking for you as well," Darren assured.
Sakura smiled at him, but Syaoran eyed him suspiciously. He didn't trust his story in the least.
When Cyre took her seat behind Meiling, Tomoyo asked her the same question.
"Cyre, where were you Friday night?"
"Me? Why do you want to know?" Cyre asked.
"Just curious…" Tomoyo replied.
"Well,
not that it's really any of your business, but I was home all night
writing letters to my friends back home. Why do you care anyway? I
never gave you my number, so it's not like you were trying to call me
or anything," Cyre questioned.
"I was just wondering if maybe you had seen anything… you know what happened to Sakura that night, right?" Tomoyo asked.
"Yea, I heard. But I…"
Before Cyre could finish, the teacher entered the room, causing the
class to settle down. Syaoran noticed that Sebastian wasn't in class,
and started to grow suspicious. At lunch, he mentioned it to the girls,
but Sakura just told him there was nothing to worry about. But Tomoyo
began having her suspicions as well. She had seen Sakura and Sebastian
meet up after school on Friday, but she didn't mention it because she
knew it would enrage Syaoran. She was sure the meeting was completely
innocent, but she was beginning to not trust Sebastian, after all, he
was the last person seen with Sakura, and nobody had been able to get a
hold of him that night. So instead, she decided to leave it alone for
now, but keep a closer eye on him in the future.
