Agent08 Reporting for Duty!
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, the only thing I'm close to owning of CCS is my stupid cut-out version of Sakura's staff. Call me sad if you want, I'd say more like a LOVING FAN :). I also don't have anything to do with the movie 'Mission Impossible,' it just seemed like a fitting chapter title. So basically, is any suing necessary? x)
"..." - talking
italic font - thoughts/exaggerated words
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions
bold font - point of view
Now...on with chapter fourteen!
Mission Impossible
Sakura -
As Syaoran and I walked down the path that lead away from the cherry blossom trees, I thought of the decision I'd made, and what it meant when I'd said yes to his invitation. A date, he had called it, but was it really? The more I thought about it, the more I thought - of course it is! Why else would he ask you if he didn't intend on it being a date?
I kept on repeating it to myself over and over again, just to make myself comfortable with the fact that I had a date with Syaoran Li on Friday night. It was Tuesday. Three more days until my date with Syaoran Li. Only three more days until my date with Syaoran Li. Why didn't that sound believable to me?
Oh yes, because of the fact that Syaoran was not only my roommate, but also one of the most looked at piece of eye candy there was at Seiju College! All the time back at the college, every pair of eyes that belonged to a girl was on him. I remembered the evil glares I'd gotten when we got partnered up for the essay.
Which reminded me - what on earth did he write about me? On the plane, he was so secretive. He wouldn't even let me take the tiniest peek at it! So, I had no other choice but to decide to do it the James Bond way! Sneak into his room later, hack into his laptop and find out what on earth it was that he wrote about me.
Mission: Read Syaoran's Essay is a Go!
xxxxxx
We found his sisters, Tomoyo, and Eriol all by the playgound, taking pictures. We immediately let go of the other's hands, but the way all of his sisters smiled evilly at us made me think that they'd somehow seen us, with the pair of eyes that were, as Syaoran told me, supposedly at the back of their heads.
"Hello," they greeted, walking up to us one by one.
"Having fun?" Eriol asked after both he and Tomoyo reached Syaoran and I.
"Yeah," I answered, "It's really beautiful here,"
"I know!" Tomoyo shrieked, clapping her hands together, "I can't wait to get these pictures developed." she indicated to her camera, "Which reminds me," she continued, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the playground. I took Syaoran along with me, not wanting to be alone to endure whatever Tomoyo was about to put me through, "You two were gone so long I don't have any pictures of you!"
"Oh no," I said, trying to shake my hand loose from hers, "It's alright, we really dont - "
"Nonsense," Tomoyo interrupted, forcing both Syaoran and I to pose infront of the playground, where kids were screaming and laughing a top of the giant jungle gym. Eriol and Syaoran's sisters stood behind her, trying hard to hold back laughter. I sighed and smiled, posing with my arms at my sides. Syaoran smiled also, his hands deep inside his pockets.
"Hmmm..." Tomoyo said, looking through the camera lens. She lowered it and stared at the both of us posing, a disapproving look on her face. I coughed and stubbornly told her to get a move on with the stupid picture, "No," she said, still staring, "Something doesn't seem right with this picture,"
I sighed and brought my hands to my hips, "What is it now?"
"Hang on!" She said, running up to us. She took hold of Syaoran's arm that was closest to me and wrapped it neatly around my shoulders. My cheeks flushed lightly.
"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed, so that only she could hear.
"Making memories," she replied in a mischevious voice.
I gritted my teeth and smiled. Syaoran pulled me closer towards his body and I let him do so. Slowly, so that this time not even his sisters could see, I slid my arm behind his back and once again claimed his hand in my own. He looked at me and smiled.
"Say 'Memories!'" Tomoyo said, the camera once again infront of her face.
"Memories!" We both said in unison, because, afterall, that's what we were making. Memories.
xxxxxx
As we all made our way back to the car, I pulled back so that Tomoyo, all of Syaoran's sisters and I were behind Syaoran and Eriol. I waited until they were a good distance away before I spoke, "Um, hey, guys? I need your help." All five pairs of their eyes began to twinkle with excitement, "I want to read Syaoran's essay on me."
All of them squealed, "We'd love to help you!" Fanren said.
"Yes, we'd love to!" Sheifa echoed, "Except, it's written on our little brother's laptop, correct?" I nodded, "We're going to have to somehow get his password! He keeps that laptop of his on such an incredible lock down, neither of us have had the success of hacking into it."
"Does that mean we can't do it?" Tomoyo asked sadly.
Feimei gave her a weird look, "Of course it doesn't, silly! It just means we're going to have to work extra hard."
I smiled, knowing that I'd without a doubt be able to read Syaoran's essay by the end of day. Hell, I had the matchmakers helping me out! How could I fail? We all huddled together, brainstorming of some sort of plan that would somehow get me into his laptop, or just the laptop itself.
Phase 1 of Mission: Read Syaoran's Essay: Obtaining the weapon.
Cue the Mission Impossible tune.
xxxxxx
Later that day after we'd visited the mall and bought tons of souvenirs, Tomoyo, Syaoran's sisters and I had already formed a solid plan. Now, the only thing that there was left to do, was to basically...do it! So we got into our "positions," and with the wink of an eye, we began.
"Hey Syaoran," I said, coming into step with him as he walked out of one of the malls.
He smiled, "Hey. Think Touya will like that picture frame you bought for him?"
"Oh yeah, definitely." I answered. My eyes darted to the side, where Fuutie was glancing mischeviously at me. With her eyes, she beckoned for me to continue with what I was doing. "So," I said briskly, placing my hands behind my back, "Have you unpacked all of your things yet? I know I haven't."
"Yep," He answered simply.
"Oh. Even that black suitcase where you keep your laptop?"
"Yep," He said once again.
"You know," I continued, "I still don't understand why you won't let me read your essay. The tiniest paragraph will do, you know?" He chuckled and stopped walking. He turned to face me and gave me that stupid smirk of his that I hated and loved at the same time.
"Is that what this is about?"
"Come on. I can read it if I want, I have the right. And it's not like it'll take a genius to figure out how to open that stupid suitcase of yours to get into your laptop." I was glaring at him on the outside, yet on the inside, I was desperately hoping that he'd somehow fall into the trap that I'd set out before him.
"It might not take a genius, but a key." Bingo! He certainly fell right through into my trap!
"A key?" I questioned. I racked my brain for another clever line to ask. I'd rehearsed this so many times in my head, yet I was screwing up like an idiot, "What kind?" I blurted, only realizing the second after I'd said it how stupid it actually sounded. He raised an eyebrow at me as he continued to walk.
"The type where you stick it into a lock and turn?" He replied.
"Very funny." I answered, hitting him on the arm.
"Listen," he began, sighing, "You can read it as soon as I feel like showing you. Okay?"
"That's not fair!" I countered, stomping my foot like a baby, "What if you never feel like showing me? What if you feel like hiding it from me until the end of time? I don't get it! Why won't you just show me? Any paragraph, a single sentence will do, Syaoran!" He ignored all of my comments.
And then I remembered the keychain he always carried around with him inside his jacket or pants pocket. It was this keychain that had around it his car keys, and four other keys that were strung along beside it. One of them just had to be the one that unlocked his suitcase. It was worth a shot, right?
After arguing with myself for quite a while, I finally made the decision of doing something I'd kind of already done, but not in such a flirty manner. I slowly walked up to him and put on the most flirtatious smile I could muster up. I took hold of his hand and pulled my body gently towards him. He gave me a weird look.
"What are you doing, Sakura?" He asked me. He knew I wasn't the type of girl to do this, but I really wanted to read his essay! I just had to keep on acting like, well, a flirt, because then it'll be worth it after I read his stinking essay.
"Come on, Syaoran," I drawled, slowly slipping my hand down his side. I went on my tip toes and raised my head above his shoulder, and saw the eyes of all the girls that were trying to help me out. They all had on such sparkling eyes that I couldn't help but flush. I bet this is what they all wanted to happen.
I snaked my hand down his jacket pocket and felt no keys. So I switched hands and still felt nothing. "Sakura?" I heard him say again. My cheek was so close to his, I could feel the warmth that it was giving. He could probably feel the warmth off of my cheek also, because he wasn't the only one that was blushing.
I held my breath, making the red on my cheeks spread even more. I closed my eyes tightly before giving Tomoyo a scared kind of look behind Syaoran's back. She snickered, and as she did so, I began to slide my hand down his pants pocket, where I prayed I'd find the stinking keys to his laptop.
I felt the denim and the lint that was in his pocket. My hand grew warmer with every moment, but before it could go down any further, he caught my wrist tightly, and I tried to pull away. He pulled me back towards him roughly, and I could do nothing but stare. The flush in his cheeks were gone, the only thing left was the hard stare in his eyes.
"Leave it alone," he said quietly, yet firmly. I was thankful that everyone was too busy with their shopping to notice what Syaoran and I were doing right in the middle of the mall. His sisters and Tomoyo, however, were watching intently behind his back. "And don't do that again."
I ripped my wrist from his grasp and began to rub it, "Believe me, I didn't want to." You could feel the cold that was dripping from my sentence.
He rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his unruly chocolate brown hair. He growled slightly and continued to stare at me, "Why do you care so much about what I wrote on that stupid essay anyway? You obviously know what I've written! Everything on that stupid essay is about you for heaven's sake!"
"Still!" I replied, half as angry as him, "Why won't you let me if I already know what's going to be on it?"
He did not reply to my question, but only countered back with another of his own, "Maybe I'll show you when you've shown me yours!" His voice was cold and slightly angry. I stared back at him in confusion.
"Fine! I'll show you mine, but it's not like you'll be surprised about anything I wrote,"
"What about the things you added, hm?" He questioned further.
I drew my eyebrows together, "What are you talking about? What did I add?"
"Don't even try lying to me. You added something, they told me so,"
"Who are 'they' Syaoran?" I asked frustrated.
He kept silent and walked away. His sisters and Tomoyo came out from their hiding places and walked towards me in awe. They hadn't seen Syaoran act like that, but I certainly had. Like on the plane, when he was talking about how nervous he was. He had given me that same, hard stare.
Now I was more determined than ever to read it. There was obviously something on it that he added, but I had no idea what he was talking about when he said that I had added something. I wrote so little on his, I had barely even reached my conclusion. Little did I know that later on, I would be adding something, thanks to the mischevious help of his sisters.
"Girls," I said, still staring at his disappearing figure, "It backfired."
"Obviously," Tomoyo stated, also staring in awe.
"There's only one thing left to do," Sheifa stated. And I knew what it was.
Phase 2 of Mission: Read Syaoran's Essay: Initiate Plan B: The Stalker Method.
xxxxxx
Syaoran -
We took our seats inside the limosine and spent the ride back to the mansion in silence. Neither Sakura or I were speaking to each other, and even though I'd yet to find out that Tomoyo and my sisters were apart of what had happened, they weren't speaking either. Eriol seemed to sense the tension, and also kept silent.
Once we arrived at the mansion, we climbed out and walked straight onto the cobble path and inside. All of us went to climb up the stairs, but my sisters had parted when we had reached the living room floor. Eriol, Tomoyo, Sakura and I all kept on walking until we reached the floor of our bedrooms.
Girls infront, we once again walked in complete silence to our rooms. The only thing we could hear was the slight sound of our footsteps, but they'd all died down once we arrived in our bedrooms. I watched as Sakura entered her own, and Tomoyo follow her. Eriol continued to walk into his and I too went inside my own room.
I sighed and flopped onto my bed. For the second time that day I ran my fingers through my tangly brown hair. I hoped Sakura wasn't too angry with me, I still wanted to take her to the party my mother was hosting on Friday. I still didn't understand why she wanted to read it so much. How could she have possibly known that I'd written something...mushy about her?
Getting up from my bed, I knelt down before my bed and pulled out the black suitcase that contained my laptop. It was still locked, exactly how I'd left it. I was thinking of re-typing the last paragraph of what I'd written about Sakura so that I could just show her, and she wouldn't be so angry with me.
I reached inside my pocket to get hold of the keys that I always carried around with me. I remembered how Sakura's hand felt when she'd slid it down ever so carefully. My cheeks flamed with embarrassment. I too was slightly angry with her. Angry with her for going to such lengths just to read my stinking essay.
Before I could do anything else, I heard a knock on my door. I threw the keys on top of the suitcase and went to answer it.
xxxxxx
Sakura -
Tomoyo, unfortunately, followed me inside my bedroom. I let myself fall freely into my bed with the biggest sigh ever to be heard, as she too sighed and took a seat beside me. As if I was a kitten, she began stroking my back. As my best friend, she could obviously tell when I was not feeling my best.
"That was an interesting sight to see," she said after a while of my moaning.
"Shutup," I said simply. I could just see her smiling, though my face was buried inside my pillow.
"You didn't have to do what you did," she continued, the rubbing of my back halting to a stop. Something about the tone of her voice made me think that what she was about to say wasn't a good thing, "In fact, I think you did it just because you wanted to," I sat bolt up straight, and stared accusingly at her.
"You think I what?" I asked.
"Why on earth would you go to such stupid lengths just to read his essay, Sakura?"
"I...I don't know!" I stuttered, "But I certainly didn't just do that for the sake of - "
"Alright, alright." She said, stopping me in mid-sentence with the raising of her hand, "Don't say anything else. As your best friend since the beginning of time, I have no other choice but to believe you." She was smirking, and yet I was glaring daggers at her, which only made her laugh.
"So now what are you going to do?" She asked.
"There's only one thing left for me to do," I answered back.
"Stalker Method," we both said in unison.
I sighed and got up from my bed, Tomoyo's pale hand pulling me upward. We walked to the door, but before opening it, we began the pep talk,"Alright," she began, "I'll create the distraction. You do whatever it takes to get inside his room. But remember, this is the Stalker Method, not the method where you sneak into his stuff and make sure it looks like nothing's happened!"
I nodded impatiently and pushed her out the door, "I know, I know, Tomoyo! After the first distraction, come back in about five minutes, okay? That should probably be long enough for me to see where he keeps his keys, and then when you come back I'll be out A.S.A.P!
"Alright!" she hissed, slowly walking up to Syaoran's door.
I closed my own door just a bit, making sure that there was enough space for me to see what was going on. Tomoyo rapped patiently on the door, and it only took a few seconds before Syaoran answered it.
"Hey," she said, "what's up?"
"Oh, nothing," he replied, a somewhat disappointed look on his face.
"What?" Tomoyo asked, a smirk on her face, "Weren't expecting to see Sakura, were you?"
He gave her a look which indicated that he was thoroughly annoyed, "Something you needed, Tomoyo?" She giggled and nodded her head. She took his hand and brought him towards the stairs. He looked reluctant in leaving, but Tomoyo didn't seem to care, she only continued dragging him.
"Where are you taking me?" He asked impatiently.
"Oh, you never really gave me a complete tour of your mansion! Your sisters tell me that you have two other ball rooms - I mean, living rooms, and I'd sure like to see them."
"Right now, Tomoyo?" I heard him ask.
I waited until they were no longer in sight, and until their voices could only be heard from far, far down the corridor. I poked my head out the door, and saw the shadows of their bodies disappearing behind a corner. I took my chance and tip toed as quietly and as quickly as I could across the corridor to his bedroom.
Entering Syaoran's bedroom, I searched for the best hiding place I could find. I came to realize that the only thing that was even remotely close to hiding my body from his view was underneath his bed, so under it I slid. I waited another minute under his bed until I heard their voices once more.
"Fine, fine, give me the tour later." I heard Tomoyo say. I saw their feet from where I was lying, "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute, though, okay?" She strode out of the room, and closed the door behind her. Syaoran sighed and began making his way around the bed once more.
I turned my eyes every which way but with no avail of seeing anything of worth. The only thing that I was able to see was his feet. But then he climbed onto the bed, which I hoped he wouldn't do. The bed springs groaned and the mattress sinked down lower onto me. Sweat formed on my forehead. I waited anxiously for him to get off for the next three minutes, until he finally did.
And then, what I'd been hoping to hear, the jingling of keys, and the snapping open of the lock, that had to be of his suitcase. I smiled viciously.
As the sight of his feet grew further away from me, I was able to stick my head out a little bit from the foot of the bed where I could get a much better look at what he was doing. Syaoran's back was to me, so he could not see me staring. He was sitting infront of a study table where he placed the laptop.
After hooking a mouse up to it, he opened a document called "Essay." Three guesses on what it must've been about. I watched him scroll down to the very last bit and highlight the very last paragraph. He poised his fingers above the delete button. He never brought it down. And then suddenly, he spoke.
"Should I do this?" He asked. My mouth was open the minute I'd heard it. Syaoran Li, talking to himself? "Maybe I shouldn't..." His fingers were still poised above the delete button. What was it about the last paragraph that made him want to delete it so much?
And exactly on time, Tomoyo's wrapping was heard on the door. He sighed in frustration and exited out of the document. He opened the door and grumbled out a greeting. "Hey, Syaoran. Just got back from the bathroom. Would you mind giving me that tour now?" With bored eyes, he agreed, and followed her out of the room.
Once the sound of their footsteps were no more, I got up from underneath the bed and scrambled over towards the study table. I sat down and quickly opened the document - I only had a limited time left. I opened up the document and tried to speed read as fast as I could. Every paragraph I read was something that was of no importance to me.
So I scrolled right to the very bottom, where I began to read Syaoran's very last paragraph. My eyes softened with every word I read, and my shoulders began to relax.
All in all, Sakura's not only just my roommate, but also a really great friend. So far over the time I've been living with her, it's been really great. Although sometimes strange things happen for only God knows why, everything seems to be worth it. At first sight, she may seem quite cold, as though she were a person with a hard exterior. But believe me, Professor, when I say that once you get to know her, her interior is just as soft and loving. She's a wonderful person, a beautiful girl, and a caring sister. Anyone who fails to notice that is just as blind as the next person.
I read and re-read the last paragraph over and over again. I almost failed to notice the sound of their foosteps coming back to his room. Quickly, I exited out of the document and made a run for the door. But then, it swung open. I came face to face with Syaoran, Tomoyo with a warning look on her face right beside him.
"Oh...um..." she began, "Thanks for the tour, Syaoran. I better go," And with that, she left the room.
She left Syaoran and I to stare blankly at each other for a good solid minute. He walked straight passed me and closed the door behind him. I turned towards him so that we were once again looking at each other. He was first to break the silence, "What were you doing in here?"
"I..." I tried my hardest to look for an excuse, "I wanted to talk to you."
He stared from me to the computer, "You didn't read it, did you?"
My heart stopped, "What? The essay? No. I...I've come to respect your decision."
"You...what?" He asked.
I sighed and took a seat beside him on his bed, "I'm sorry for what I did today. I didn't mean to act like such a flirt. If you don't want me to read your essay, I mean, that's fine. I get it. I shouldn't have been so eager to see it in the first place, cause, like you said, I already know what's going to be on it."
At least I thought I did.
He too sighed, "Listen, Sakura, I didn't mean to get so angry with you today. It's just that you were starting to remind me of Mai," I smiled, "I guess you're right, though. You have the right to read it. So...go ahead. My laptop is all yours."
I smiled and shook my head, "No, really. It's fine." I got up and began to make my way to the door.
"You know," Syaoran continued, "I'm glad we sorted all this essay stuff out. I was hoping you weren't too mad at me, because I still really want to take you to the party this Friday."
"I was hoping you'd say that," I replied.
"So then...you're still my date?" He asked.
"Most definitely," I answered in turn, and closed the door behind me. I walked to my bedroom where I was glad I did not find Tomoyo. Once again, I flopped down onto the mattress so that my face was completely buried into my silver sheets. Had I really just read what I thought I just read? I must have!
Wow, I guess Syaoran really does like me.
Phase 3 of Mission: Read Syaoran's Essay: Try to forget everything you've just read.
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And so the plot thickens! Read and review please!
Signing Off,
Agent08 - My life as a secret agent xD