AN: Once again, I'm so so sorry for the late update. I've had a really hectic week which I find extremely funny for God-knows-what reason. I'm also getting stuck with this fic, since I don't know how to proceed, even though I know where the plot is supposed to go. -dies- Oh, well to make up for the lateness of it all, here's an unexpected chapter. :) Hope you like!
ETA:I'm sorry for the re-upload. I found stupid formatting errors and I conveniently forgot about the "Replace content" option. DX
Disclaimer: It feels like a million years since I said that I don't own CCS.
The next week passed by in a flurry of exhausting training sessions, during which the inhabitants of the castle had to constantly be prepared for the possibility of earthquakes and after which, the people most closely associated with the two who caused the daily commotion had to drag the limp bodies back into their respective beds.
Syaoran was decidedly impressed with the speed at which Sakura was picking up attack, as well as defence techniques that had taken him months to master. But he was also more than a little troubled at the toll it was taking on her health. Since starting the training, she had been sleeping erratically, waking up in the middle of the night only to go back to sleep until late in the morning, and she hadn't been eating as well either. Syaoran understood her desire to get stronger. 'But at the rate at which she's pushing herself, she's going to wear herself out before she can throw her firepower at the enemy.'
Leaning against the doorframe that connected their rooms, Syaoran gazed at the Princess in concern, silently watching as she searched for something in her closet. Sakura grunted in frustration as she turned around to face him, exclaiming in annoyance, "I can't find it anywhere!"
"I can help if you tell me what you're looking for," Syaoran offered patiently, for what must have been the fiftieth time.
Sakura shook her head stubbornly. "No," she said determinedly. "It has to be around here somewhere." A sudden thought seemed to strike her as she added brightly, "Do you think you could find Tomoyo? She might know where it is!"
Suspicion laced his tone as he asked, "Hasn't Tomoyo been disappearing randomly for a while now? How would she know -"
"Doesn't matter, please find her Syaoran!" Sakura piped, more cheerily than was normal, pushing Syaoran out of the door. His surprised condition was the only thing that kept him moving. By the time he had gathered his wits and stopped Sakura's shoving, he was out in the hallway.
'What the hell is going on with her?' Syaoran dashed to his door, but it only rattled in its frame – Sakura had already locked it shut. Sighing in defeat, he made his way to find Tomoyo. 'Maybe she really did want her to help.' Not believing his thoughts for a second, he proceeded downstairs, trying to detect Tomoyo by her aura and failing miserably.
His mind began to wander as his feet carried him absently around the castle. A small smile graced his features as he stopped in front of a small tree. 'When did I get out here?' Casting a fond glance at the plant, he summoned tiny droplets of water and cast them on the leaves, smiling broader as the leaves broadened right before his eyes. 'It's still here,' he thought, amazed. Only three days had passed.
Sakura and Syaoran had decided to take their training outside, since their constant struggles against magical power was beginning to affect people they didn't want involved. They found a small stump of what must have been a glorious tree at one point of time, which had probably died because of the long spell of cold in the country. Syaoran had thought that the stump would make a good marker for them to come back later to practice in the same spot and Sakura had agreed, having noticed Tomoyo's unease at dinner the previous day, after being exposed to more magical energy than was normal.
Neither of them had taken into consideration the sheer extent of Sakura's powers, much less the strength of both their powers together.
Syaoran was showing Sakura how to put up a shield of sorts, to prevent people from manipulating the contents of her dreams. However, before she could protect herself when she was asleep, according to Syaoran, she had to be able to protect herself when she was wide awake.
Which is how Syaoran and Sakura found themselves with translucent shields around them, Syaoran's steady and sized adequately, while Sakura's was wavering indecisively between being humongous and average. She had just brought her shield to a steady halt at slightly bigger than average, when the stump sprouted to life, growing tiny branches and leaves, where there had been nothing but withered bark merely seconds ago.
The shock was enough to send Sakura spiralling backwards, shattering her concentration, and her shield. The resulting blast of residual energy gave the plant an additional growth spurt and sent the Princess shrieking into Syaoran's arms.
"What's going on?" Sakura asked nervously.
Instead of answering, Syaoran cautiously sprinkled the plant with some water from the container that they had brought with them from the castle, and chuckled softly under his breath as the plant grew just a little more.
"What are you so afraid of?" Syaoran asked gently. "This is what your magic can do," he said, gesturing towards the delicate plant, swaying in tune to the breeze.
Sakura still looked a little apprehensive, so Syaoran took them away somewhere else to train. But he had caught her looking at the sapling in slight awe and he still felt traces of sadness from the confession of her fears later that same night.
"What if," Sakura whispered brokenly, as they lay together in their usual spot on her bed. "I start to kill life forms instead of giving them life?" Syaoran looked at her in confusion. 'We weren't talking about magic,' he thought, frowning.
"You saw my dreams," she went on, distressed now. "What if I'm the one who does that to you? What if I can't control my magic and I kill everything around me? What if I -"
Not for the first time, Sakura stopped as she felt his finger press against her lips. Gently brushing her hair with his other hand, Syaoran said, "You can 'What if' your way into the next century, Sakura and it isn't going to change a thing." She frowned and started to say something, when the pressure on her lips became more forceful. He continued, a tender look coming into his eyes, "Nothing will change the fact that you aren't the kind of person who would ever think about using their powers for destruction. Even after everything you've seen in your dreams, I don't think you want to kill the person who might end up causing all that bloodshed."
Her frown relaxed as she shook her head, a little sad. 'I only want to cause him lots and lots of pain,' Sakura thought dejectedly. 'I don't want to kill that ghastly man.' Her eyes grew sadder at the thought.
As though reading her mind, Syaoran knocked her head lightly and chided, "It isn't a bad thing, baka." She shot him an incredulous look, which only brought a smile to his face. "It only makes you stronger." 'Much, much stronger than me,' he thought humourlessly.
Sakura still looked sceptical. "How's that?"
"You have the power to give life to things, and your heart is too pure to use that power to destroy things created by somebody else." Syaoran returned Sakura's blank stare with one of his own. "Killing is being weak, Sakura. It takes immense strength to find it in you to forgive a person, despite whatever he might have done."
"I'm not forgiving him!" Sakura exclaimed furiously. "I want to protect you from getting hurt and I want to see him suffer, if he tries to lay a hand on you. I don't want to be strong, Syaoran." Tears pooled in her eyes as her voice died to a whisper. "Let me be weak."
"You won't let yourself be weak," Syaoran replied simply. "Take pride in that, Sakura."
Syaoran absently wondered if Sakura had been seeking clarification about what he had said, when he had kissed her that night to shut her up for some time. 'I thought I was imagining that muffled noise,' he thought blandly. Making a mental note to ask her about it later, he tore his gaze away from the small plant and headed back inside the castle, only then beginning to feel the heat from standing in the sun for so long.
Syaoran hastily made his way indoors and was momentarily distracted by the sight of the main hall. 'It was full of blood... and pieces of her.' Shuddering at the image of the dream, he took the stairs two at a time, deciding to tell Sakura that he couldn't find Tomoyo, even though he hadn't really looked much. 'I just want to be around her... especially today.'
Not bothering to understand the implications underlying his thoughts, Syaoran walked towards Sakura's room at a steady pace but stopped short when he saw an eerie blue glow emanating from the slips under the adjacent doors. Cold fear gripped him as he ran towards the door to the left and barged in. The fact that the door was unlocked went unnoticed by him, until he found himself sprawled face down on the floor.
A short giggle drew his attention upwards and he jumped to his feet as Syaoran caught sight of Sakura engulfed in the same glow that he had seen earlier. "Sakura, what -"
Gliding her way to him, Sakura placed an affectionate kiss on Syaoran's lips and whispered, "Happy birthday, love."
To say the least, Syaoran was shocked beyond belief. He barely managed to take his eyes off Sakura, which was only after he caught sight of a large piece of cloth, fluttering behind his princess. A green banner was spread across the breadth of the room, with 'Happy birthday!' embossed on it in glittering letters. The sound of footsteps to his right stopped his words of appreciation, as he saw Tomoyo standing in the doorway, arms laden with three relatively large presents. She smiled brightly at him and chirped, "Happy birthday, Syaoran-kun." She motioned to the boxes in her arms and continued, "From Sakura and me and the last one from the King and the Minister."
"How did you know?" Syaoran choked out, stunned.
Sakura stepped away from him and pouted in mock hurt. "You don't remember telling me sometime after you first came here?" She grinned at the dazed look on her guardian's face. "You thought I forgot, didn't you?"
Syaoran could only nod. Staring at the two girls, he mumbled, "I didn't think you cared enough at that time to remember my birthday." The feeling finally sunk in. 'I'm celebrating my birthday for the first time since I became responsible for the Li clan's future.' Smiling gratefully, Syaoran said warmly, "Thank you for this."
Sakura started to beam back at him in response, when Tomoyo plodded her way across the room and placed the three wrapped boxes on the bed. "You can't thank us until you open your presents and tell us that you like them." The smile never left his face as he silently complied.
Deciding to pick the largest one up first, he unwrapped the steel box from its silver wrapping paper. His eyebrow quirked as he took in the small globe that started to sparkle when he touched it. 'Use this when the time comes. – Yue' Briefly wondering why they felt the need to put such a small thing inside a large container, Syaoran picked up the other note and tried in vain to check his laughter. 'Keep your hands off my sister, brat. Don't think I don't know where they've been.'
He glanced up at Tomoyo and asked, curiosity lacing his voice, "Did they happen to say what this was for?" A shake of her head sent a disappointed pang through him. "I'll have to thank them later," he muttered, picking up a flatter box, wrapped in purple. Inside, he found a bottle-green suit that was extremely smooth to the touch. Astounded, Syaoran said, "You made this, Tomoyo?"
"I like designing clothes," she replied, smiling sweetly. "Have you seen Sakura's red dress?" Unbidden, a flush spread across Syaoran's face and Tomoyo's eyes sparkled mischievously. "I made that, too."
Sakura giggled at Syaoran's expression. "Tomoyo's being modest. All my clothes are by her." She looked thoughtful for a minute and added, reminiscently, "There was a phase when we were eleven, when all she used to design were short, funky clothes and I used to freeze nearly every day since the dresses were so tiny and I didn't have anything else to wear."
Syaoran took stock of all this and shot Tomoyo an extremely grateful look. "Thanks, Tomoyo."
Tomoyo smirked delightfully as she turned to leave the room. "Thank me by wearing it to dinner tonight." Pausing at the door, she added lightly, "Sakura put a lot of effort into her present. For your own safety, I hope you thank her appropriately."
Syaoran barely registered the click of the door as it closed, instead opting to bask in Sakura's warm gaze as she slowly traipsed towards him, a devious look crossing her features for a split second. That was his only warning before she leaped into his arms and fastened her mouth over his. Syaoran tightened his grip around her waist as he leaned in to intensify the kiss, sighing happily at the only birthday celebration that he could remember. So caught up in the searing emotions he had missed while he was away from her, Syaoran nearly pouted in regret as Sakura pulled away from him, green eyes sparkling gleefully.
Firmly placing her feet back on the ground, Sakura wordlessly dragged Syaoran to her bed and unceremoniously handed him the last box. Small and flat, the black box didn't feel remarkably heavy. 'I have to... thank her appropriately,' Syaoran recalled, smirking slightly. Seeing a photo frame lying face down as he opened the box, he made a move to pick it up before a small hand covered his and stilled his motions.
"Before you see what it is," Sakura began hesitantly. "I just thought... You do know that I really appreciate all the training you're giving me, right?" she blurted out.
"Baka," he muttered, his mouth twitching slightly. Taking her gentle look to be a sign of approval, he picked up the frame and blinked rapidly to dispel the sudden prickling sensation that he felt. 'Sakura...'
Syaoran was staring at a beautifully drawn charcoal sketch of the two of them, casually embracing while standing in unfamiliar surroundings, looking blissful to be in each other's arms. The emotion that they felt, being together, was reflected in the sketched eyes. The picture grew blurry as Syaoran's battle against his tears was lost. His throat began to burn when a pair of soft, warm arms enveloped him and, leaning against the body attached to the arms, he asked brokenly, "How did you do this?"
Rubbing his back slowly, soothingly, Sakura replied, "I think the fact that you were training me had a lot to do with it." She caught a glimpse of his curious look from his place on her shoulder. "I'm not very good at drawing, Syaoran," she explained. "But, in my mind... This is what we look like." She smiled as she felt a feather-light brush against the crook of her neck. 'He isn't crying anymore, either,' Sakura thought, relieved.
Lifting his head off her shoulder, Syaoran shot her an intense look before raising a finger, asking her to wait for him. At her nod, he dashed off into his room and caringly placed the photo frame on his dresser. 'I don't have words to tell her...'
Sakura had barely counted to five before Syaoran reappeared in front of her and kissed her again, eliciting a deep sigh from the Princess. Before she knew it, she felt herself being carried in Syaoran's arms and was bewildered when she realised that he was taking her to the balcony. It took her all the effort she possessed to think about anything apart from the reactions that his lips and his tongue and just the presence of his arms on her body were causing her. Her stomach churned and promptly fell out when she felt his teeth capture her lower lip gently.
Gasping in shock when she felt herself being placed on something remarkably cool, Sakura pulled herself mere centimetres away from Syaoran. "What are you doing?" Sakura breathed against his lips, only absently realising the feelings she was stirring in him.
"Thanking you appropriately," Syaoran retorted, smiling sweetly at Sakura, who was completely enchanted before a delicate breeze distracted her. It wasn't so much the breeze as it was the petals that were billowing in the wind. 'Cherry blossoms,' she thought happily.
"Are you conjuring this?" Sakura stared at him, demanding an honest answer.
"Of course I am." Syaoran rubbed his nose affectionately against hers. "Do you see any cherry blossom trees behind you?"
"But it's your birthday, you shouldn't be exerting yourself so -" Syaoran cut off her protests with a quick, burning kiss before glaring at her in pseudo-resentment.
"If it weren't for you," he growled playfully, "I wouldn't have had such a nice birthday." He nibbled on her earlobe and Sakura vaguely wondered why she thought of him as completely irresistible. 'He knows he's doing this to me, and I know he knows. Why do I let it happen?' All her rational thoughts went flying out of the window when a lick to her neck and a hand that she didn't know was wandering, found its way to her breast. 'Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he makes me feel like I'm walking on air.'
Deciding she had had enough of her thoughts for one day, she gave herself up completely to Syaoran's ministrations, while responding with equal vigour. Neither teen budged from their position on the parapet of the balcony. Sakura momentarily gathered her wits to mumble, in a passion-induced haze, "Happy birthday, Syaoran," before scattering her thoughts all over again.
The mind of the boy in question was in a worse condition than Sakura's. Her greeting found meaning very belatedly, by which time Syaoran's mouth was otherwise occupied in a different part of Sakura's body, far away from her lips.
The Princess barely comprehended the "Love my Sakura" that escaped Syaoran. She was altogether too caught up in the multitude of stars she saw behind her closed eyelids and the rush of heat that suddenly coursed through her body. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew that Syaoran's words had, in no small part, caused the extremely new reaction that she wouldn't mind getting used to.
AN: Mindless S&S, but drama is so much easier to write somehow. XD
Love to all the reviewers who aren't flaming me to hell with all the crap I put the characters through. I want to have the next chapter out in the next two days, but we'll see how well that goes. :)