Chapter 21 Confrontation

Four days have passed since Kumiko started school with the rest of them and already it seemed like a living hell for Sakura. Those glances from people. Those murmurs. Those rumors going around. She was the official 'bitch' for having relations with an engaged man. It was almost like junior high all over again, only this time it involved a guy whom she happened to inevitably care about deeply.

Having learned anything from junior high, it was to hold her head up high. She knew she wasn't doing anything wrong. There was nothing she should be ashamed about. She didn't need to listen to what others were gossiping behind her back because she had the truth in her hands. If they wanted to talk, she let them. She held her ground by relishing the truth and not subjecting herself to Kumiko's level. For her, nothing really changed. Her and Shaoran's life were still in jeopardy even if things turned a little more complicated. It was still jeopardy nonetheless. She chose not to bother herself with mere details that would eventually fade.

Although, through it all, she still had to admit to herself…it hurt…it hurt a lot. The only two people who knew of her real pain were Tomoyo and Shaoran. She had stopped them from fighting with Kumiko. She just told them that it wasn't worth it…it wasn't worth the effort. Shaoran shared her pain. He argued about it with her but Sakura would just shrug the entire thing off and would assure him that it was an insignificant matter to her. She eventually shut him up when she told him that her highest priority was keeping him alive and finding a way to break the threat once and for all.

It was lunch time again. Math had just finished and as usual, Sakura felt like that subject would never end. She really would have done without math but managing her Father's business while waiting her brother to finally wake up, it meant that shunning math away was not an option. She needed to make peace with numbers. It had been hard for the last couple of months but with Tomoyo's patience and eventually Shaoran's tutoring, it had been bearable.

While Sakura was fixing her stuff, Kumiko had approached Shaoran. "You ready to head to lunch?" She asked flirtingly.

Sakura said nothing as she continued to stash her notebook back into her bag. Tomoyo sat there, on alert, ready to shield Sakura when Kumiko decided on aiming at her best friend. She had been extra protective over her best friend for the past couple of days. She really despised what Kumiko was doing to her. She sat there saying nothing, watching Sakura's reactions. Sakura, from the corner of her eye, saw that Shaoran was annoyed and he really didn't appreciate the fact that Kumiko was flirting with him.

"Yeah but it's not like it's any of your business." Shaoran answered. Sakura felt a little tense. She wasn't sure if she might be able to pacify Shaoran from bursting out.

Kumiko smiled sweetly at him. Shaoran wanted to gag. He was as stoic as ever, not betraying anything. "Oh come on now, dear. I am your fiancée and it's my job to watch out for you, especially if you have something to eat." She answered.

Shaoran's eyes darkened when he heard the word 'fiancee'. She really relished that status. She really felt it. It made him sick. He was trying his best to be civilized at the very least, for Sakura's sake as well as his Father's name but with how Kumiko was acting, it was proving to be really difficult.

"I believe I already told you that it's none of your business. It's best if you leave." Shaoran replied, trying to hold back his anger.

Kumiko's smile darkened a little. She crossed her arms and looked at Sakura's direction. "Why? Do you plan on sticking around with 'that' piece of trash again? You better be careful. She might stink up your reputation. You are a Li after all."

Shaoran stood and was about to confront Kumiko when Sakura also stood and quickly stood in between, laying a gentle hand on his chest to stop him. "Shaoran," She said softly, making his eyes cast towards her. His gaze softened upon meeting hers. "Don't. It's not worth it…so don't." She added as softly.

Shaoran brought his hand upon hers and gave it a squeeze. He then turned to Kumiko and said harshly, "Leave. I do not want to see you."

Kumiko smirked and turned to leave. But before she left, she glanced at Sakura and eyed her. She then said, "You think you have won, he still comes home to me. You're just a whore, a piece of trash for tension release."

Shaoran wanted to murder her. Tomoyo couldn't stand it either. She stood and gave Kumiko death glares. Before they could do anything, Kumiko turned and left. Tomoyo and Shaoran both turned to Sakura. She felt this lump in her throat but swallowed it…rather difficultly.

"You shouldn't let her do that to you, Sakura." Tomoyo said.

"I have to agree. She-" Shaoran started.

"What? With how it looks, you two were ready to murder her. I'm not saying that I condone her actions or remarks. And I am not defending her either. God, you guys should know that I am anything like that." Sakura replied as she took her seat again.

"If I learned anything from junior high, that was to keep my integrity intact. I know the truth and no amount of lies is enough to diminish my dignity as a person. She can say whatever the hell she wants but I won't stoop down to her level. My brother taught me better than that. I'll be damned if I turn my back on the only promise my brother made me make."

XxXxXx

That afternoon, Shaoran had walked Sakura to work like he usually did. Yuta had tagged along since he too was going to work. He started that week because of the bet he had made with Sakura. He took his cue and went on ahead and told her that he would meet her there. When Yuta was way beyond hearing range, Sakura stopped walking. She sensed that Shaoran wanted to tell her something…there was something that he needed to get out of his chest.

"This isn't fair to you, Sakura. Kumiko has no right to do this." Shaoran remarked. It was that conversation again. It always started like that. She knew that he was both blaming himself for the sudden attack against her as well as at his boiling point for having Kumiko do the things she was doing.

"This isn't fair for you either, Shaoran." She answered. She then turned to look at him. "How many times do we have to go through this? I told you. She is the least of my problems. To me, she is just this very insecure wench trying to get some attention. People like that…this is just a game to them. I know that you know that. I am not playing into that. Me, I say bring it on. I can take whatever it is. I've been through worse so what she's doing…it's nothing."

"So you can just stand there and pretend that it doesn't hurt?" He replied a little frustrated. The bitterness in his tone said it all.

"Yes. I won't give her the pleasure of seeing my pain. No one needs to see that anyway."

"But I see your pain. I feel it too. You can't ask me to turn a blind eye."

"I don't remember asking you to."

"Why can't you just let me protect you? Why is it so hard for you to allow me to be there for you? You are not alone, Sakura." He said. He was really frustrated. She knew it too.

She was careful with her choice of words. She wanted him to understand. She needed him to understand. "I know that, Shaoran." She replied softly but then her tongue refused to work, suspending her words.

"Then why are you being so difficult?"

He saw her eyes flinch. Immediately, he regretted letting his frustration get the better of him. He should know how hard it was for her to do that with how things were going on, especially having their lives in danger, he knew how much she wanted to protect him and those around her.

"I'm sorry, Sakura."

She shook her head and gave him a sad smile. "I asked you once what I can do other than to rely on you. You never gave me an answer so I'm taking the initiative in doing what I think is right. You might not like it, fine. I am just as stubborn as you. You should know that by now. It hurts, yeah, it can hurt a lot but I know I am better than that. The truth is what I…we have. It's not that I am not allowing you to be there for me. It's just…" She started to say.

He waited patiently for her to continue. In a softer voice, she continued, "You have always been there for me. I want to do this on my own volition so that I won't be a burden to you. She has already started sewing her destruction. I don't need to waste my time or energy to try and figure out how to do just that. Besides, karma is an ass. It doesn't usually hurt you but the person or people you love. I don't want this to escalate where you are put into graver danger."

Looking into her eyes, Shaoran could understand perfectly what she was trying to tell him. Not really knowing what to say, he pulled Sakura to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He wanted to keep her as close as he could to him, hoping to will away all the bad things being said about her because of him. Sakura wasn't anything like that. People are stupid if they believed otherwise. Although, he knew that she was right. He can't do everything and she had to face it. It wasn't that easy. He had to remind himself that Sakura wasn't this porcelain doll that can easily be broken down…a doll that should only be protected.

Sakura let him hold her. It was as much as it was to calm his heart down as it was meant to tell her that he was there. After a moment, she felt that the vibe between them had settled a bit, she pushed back a little, enough to look at his eyes. She wanted to tell him so many things but decided to give him a smile instead. He lowered his lips to meet hers as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

When they broke the kiss, Shaoran leaned his forehead on hers. Her eyes were still gently closed. She could feel his breath on her skin. She slowly opened her eyes to meet his.

"I better get going, Shaoran. I'll be late for my shift." She spoke gently.

He nodded as he stepped back and took her hand to lead her the rest of the way. "I'll be with Takashi. He's bringing his gift over to Chiharu at work. Ryota and I will be there at the shadows making sure that he doesn't back out." Sakura started laughing a little as she nodded.

Shaoran felt himself grin before continuing, "I'll be here after your shift to pick you up."

Sakura nodded and turned to him. She smiled at him as she said, "Well good luck to you guys then. Tell Yamazaki to chill out. He's not going to die if he'll give the gift. He'll die otherwise."

He smirked as he laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you later." He said before he left and Sakura entered the flower shop to start her shift.

XxXxXx

After Sakura changed, she manned the counter with Rika while Naoko oriented the newcomers, namely Yuta and Yukito. It was supposed to be Sakura orienting them since she was the one responsible for them getting the job but she had urged Naoko to do it instead. She convinced her by saying that she had worked at the shop longer and she was the owner's niece. But the real reason was it served as a push for Yuta. Sakura smiled inwardly as she glanced at their direction at the other side of the shop. There weren't much customers but they did have a lot of flower arrangement decorations that they needed to get finished.

While Rika and Sakura started with the flower arranging, Sakura couldn't help but smile a little more with that fact that now 'Yuta' and 'flower arranging' were being used in the same sentence. What made it funnier was that instead of him being the usual Yuta, he was actually having fun and enjoying the experience, being close to Naoko and everything.

"Hey, Sakura," Rika started while they worked. Sakura glanced at her slightly and smiled. "So, what did you do to make Yuta agree to work here? I mean, isn't he one of your boy friend's friends? Yukito-san, well I can understand. With his nature, I can see him working here, not that I think he's gay or anything but he's so gentle and sweet and Yuta seems the total opposite. I never expected him to actually work here." Rika commented.

Sakura started laughing. She could totally relate. When Yukito asked Sakura for some help with job opportunities, she immediately brought him along to the flower shop and was hired on the spot. As for Yuta, honestly, if she hadn't won, she really didn't know what to do to push him to actually talk to Naoko once and for all.

"I didn't do anything. I swear. Just look at him and you'll understand." Sakura replied, still laughing. With this, Rika started laughing too.

As they continued, they heard the bell at the door sound, signaling that there were customers. Both girls glanced at the doorway. Sakura felt her insides turn when she saw Kaoru and Kumiko there. She hid it and tried to be professional about it. Rika and Sakura greeted them as they walked over to the counter. Sakura felt like being sick, especially seeing those grins of theirs.

"How can we help you?" Sakura said, trying to be polite and not choke up with her words.

Kumiko's eyes narrowed while Kaoru's grin grew bigger. "Well, we are here to see flowers for the wedding as well as the bridal bouquet. I want you to help us." Kaoru said as she looked at Sakura with glares. Sakura froze a little but quickly snapped out of it. Why me? Sakura asked inwardly, couldn't quite make herself believe the wonderful luck she had.

Sakura forced a smile as she left Rika's side and went to get the wedding catalogue that they had. She then went to the other side of the counter, near Kaoru and Kumiko to show them the catalogue. Kaoru took it and flipped a few pages but then almost threw it back at Sakura. She then said, "I don't want to look at catalogues. I want this wedding to be unique, worthy of a Li. Kumiko, pick the flowers you like and this girl here will figure out how to fix it to make it grand."

After hearing Kaoru's statement, Rika froze as she looked at Sakura. '…worthy of a Li' She was shocked that this was happening. She knew that Shaoran was a Li. Who were these people, Rika couldn't help but wonder. From the other side of the shop, Yuta finally noticed Kumiko and the older woman with her. He knew that this meant trouble. He wasn't even listening to what Naoko was saying anymore. Naoko snapped him back to reality long enough for him to tell her about the situation. Naoko visibly paled as she looked out for her friend, not knowing what to do. Yukito stayed silent as well.

They watched as Sakura did what she was instructed to do with the flowers of Kumiko's choosing for her bridal bouquet. They were on edge, watching Sakura continue working. Sakura tried to brainwash herself into believing that they were just like any other customer, no need for emotional baggage to hinder her work. But she failed miserably. They were making it extra hard for her, rubbing it even deeper and deeper. It took every last bit of her to keep a straight face, to keep herself from breaking down. She had uttered such big words to Shaoran. At that moment, she felt like such a fool for uttering them.

Her insides wanted to scream but her mother's words kept her from doing do, '…a lady doesn't lose it…no matter what people keep on telling you or doing, they can't hurt you…they are only hurting themselves…keep your head up high, Sakura because you are beautiful inside and out…you can do anything…you are my daughter…I know that you are strong…don't let those girls destroy your character…you don't have to look for their approval to know your worth…my daughter, just be yourself and stand tall…be proud of who you are…don't let them see your doubt or that you have allowed their words in your heart…they are not worth it…'

Yes. It's just like junior high. She was able to get through that. She will be able to get through this one too. Her mother's words were able to calm her down a bit, keeping her focused at what she was doing. Certainly, she wouldn't give Kaoru or Kumiko the upper hand.

She finished the sample bouquet and gave it to Kumiko. Kumiko took it and studied it a little before throwing it literally at Sakura. "It's ugly. I don't want it." She said. Sakura hardened her heart as she bent to retrieve the bouquet. As she did so, Kaoru pulled her hair hard, pulling her close to her.

"You stay away from my son, bitch. You are not worthy of him." Kaoru said, not really minding if there were other people who could hear or see what she was doing. She then pulled a little harder as Sakura tried to not betray her fear or anxiety. "If you want him to stay alive, you will get the hell away from him. If he dies, his blood will be in your hands. That is to say if you are still alive to see that." Kaoru said evilly.

Kumiko then slapped Sakura hard across the face. "That's for looking at my man, whore." Kumiko said.

Sakura could feel tears ready to spill over. She fought desperately to contain them. She didn't want to give them the pleasure to see them. Satisfied, Kaoru roughly pushed her to the counter as Sakura lost her balance and fell to the floor on her knees. She and Kumiko then left. Sakura was stunned but took off her ponytail to let her hair obscure her injured face as well as to hide some of her grief.

Her friends immediately went to her side. She said nothing, not making a sound as she took the bouquet and stood up. Naoko gently pushed her hair aside to reveal Sakura's reddened cheek. "Are you alright, Sakura?" She asked softly. All of them could tell that Sakura was desperately trying to keep things under control.

Sakura met Naoko's eyes and nodded slowly. "Listen…" She started, her voice breaking. "Um, can you guys cover for me? I think I'll head home and get things together. I'm sorry that you guys had to see and hear that. I'm sorry." She then turned to Yuta and said, "Shaoran mustn't know what happened."

"But-" Yuta said.

"But nothing. I will deal with him. He doesn't need to know this. He's already on edge as it is." Sakura said. She then went to get her stuff before heading to the door.

Before she could leave, Yukito offered, "I don't think any of us feels comfortable if you leave on your own. I'll walk you home, Sakura." She could only offer him a small smile and a nod.

(to be continued…)

Don't hate me, guys. I know, I know. It was evil. I did tell you guys that you will hate Kumiko, probably as much as Kaoru. Well anyway, thanks for those who sent in their reviews. I really, really am grateful. Please do send in what you think about this chapter. I'll be waiting. Thanks.

Michiko