So… my excuse! Finals. They drive you crazy, you know. I've got a pair of very Asian parents on my back… and, well you know how it goes. Study study study.
Anyway, the chapter has finally been written. The ending gets a little bit interesting, I think. Eiji has just made his big debut, and I'd like you all to see what happens. (With Syaoran at least! D
Enjoy!
Hidden SecretsChapter Twenty-Five
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Syaoran's POVLi Syaoran was having problems. Gritting his teeth together, he fought to gain control over his body. Every muscle screamed to go and slam the new student to the floor, but how would he explain his actions? All he was her partner… to everyone else he was just a classmate… he didn't have the right to…
Too late. His feet had already decided to move quite quickly towards the object of his attention. With one firm, swift movement, he took Sakura's hand from Eiji's and pulled her away. "Sorry guys, but we have to hurry… Sakura you promised that you'd help me on my homework before class right?"
It was a lame excuse, but the best his enraged mind could handle at the moment. It was almost funny. He was a top spy who could control his emotions even when faced with death and torture… how was it when he was confronted with this silly… beautiful… amazing… emerald-eyed woman he couldn't even appear calm?
He could feel her eyes boring into the back of his head as they walked. She hadn't yet said a single word, but he could already feel her question threatening to fall. Coughing gruffly, he turned around once they were in a more secluded area. "I wanted to see the data that you have so far… not just on Izumi but the other students. You never got a chance to show me." At least his lie was well lied. Years and years of lying… it switched on automatically.
"Oh… ok."
His amber eyes watched her as she took a small compact from her purse and handed it to him. Whether or not she bought his story her eyes didn't say. "I think you'll find it sufficient… the information I have in there."
Syaoran nodded. It was very detailed for a student body so large. Smiling, he looked up. "You never cease to amaze me."
Sakura laughed… her heavenly… melodious laugh. He was captivated.
"I think…" he drew in a breath. "You should be more careful around that Izumi Eiji guy."
"Why? For all I can tell he's not a dangerous guy at all. You don't need to be so nervous just because Eriol said someone was after me. It's not the first time this has happened," she answered him bluntly, not understanding his question.
Syaoran wanted to bang his head against a wall. For someone as smart as she, why couldn't' she just see through him and understand his feelings already? A smaller, more sane part of his mind asked why he didn't just go and explain how he felt to her himself, but he kicked that voice away. "That's not it!" he yelled.
"No need to yell," her eyebrows were raised. "What was your point then?"
"I'm just saying that guys like him… who are so straightforward with women… especially women they don't know are usually no good. So you should… look out for him…" What was he saying? He should stop feeling what he was feeling already. He had always been able to suppress any emotions he had before… but ever since the dance at the mall he'd been a complete mess of feelings. He had always been trained since he was small… emotions just get in the way of what is important… work.
And his work was truly important. He couldn't afford to lose focus. One inattentive step could be his last.
She looked up at him almost… hopefully for a moment, but he shifted his gaze from her. He had to get himself under control. There was no excuse for his behavior… he'd have to sort things out soon or risk dulling his senses as a spy.
Syaoran could hear her sigh and return the compact to her purse. "Well if that's it, then we might as well get going. We still have another class before school is over," her voice was even and conservative… as if she was blocking him away from her thoughts. It hurt.
He looked up as she turned and walked away from him… she was so close… he could just… he could reach out and hold her, tell her how he felt… kiss her, ask her to be his… Images from the dance flashed back into his mind… they had been so happy…
But… he couldn't… why? The answer was obvious. It was a fact he had grown up with all of his life. Romantic relationships in the end always cause pain. Even his engagement with Mei Ling was much more of a business kind of relationship. Something he would be breaking up very soon, too. That's all he needed anyway. Everything was business. Open yourself up… and you get hurt. Never hold anything precious or it will be used against you.
Even dead, the man still haunted him. That man…
Shutting his thoughts out, he walked quietly next to her.
It didn't matter anyway. It didn't matter. Stay focused on what's important. Stay focused. Hold nothing precious.
That was the way of a spy.
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Sakura's POVTucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear, Sakura quietly stared at Syaoran out of the corner of her eye. For a moment she had thought he might have been jealous… but that wasn't… isn't… possible… right? Would it be too much to hope?
Unable to help herself, she felt a sigh roll out from her body. Lately, she was having trouble controlling her emotions when it came to her partner and… friend.
It was so confusing. She'd never felt like this before. Sure, he was a heartthrob, handsome, and cool… but she'd been around men as mysterious as him all her life. It was part of her work as a spy. So why was he of all people so attractive to her.
Her emerald eyes fell to the floor. He was warm and caring… he really was. And she loved that part of him. But there always seemed to be a barrier she couldn't break through – no matter how close the two of them got. Plus, in the end all she was to him is a partner. A very qualified and easy to work with partner.
Sakura smiled. At least she had that on her side. Her abilities. Even if he didn't love her, he would at least be her friend. Telling him how she felt would probably risk all of that. She would confess, he would reject her, the situation would be awkward, they'd no longer function well as a team… and then… he'd leave. Leave and find someone better.
Was it worth it? Could she simply be satisfied being his friend?
She felt a soft sigh escape her lips. It was a thing to ponder on a rainy day… there were just some things she had to take care of first. Her mind flashed to the mysterious fighter in the theatre. Strange… and captivating… kind of like…
"Sakura-san!" A pair of dazzling azure eyes popped up in front of her. "What are you doing? We're going to be late to class! Oh… Li-kun too." Eiji shot him a sly… almost too-sweet smile.
Sakura could feel Syaoran tense next to her, and she felt a smile tug at her lips. "He's right. We should go… come on Syaoran." She wasn't oblivious to Eiji's obvious attempts at flirting with her either. Bringing her face close to his, she giggled and poked him on the cheek, "Thanks for reminding us." The boy was so cute. Too bad she could never fall for someone like him. He would be so sweet to her. But… there would just be a side of her he would never be able to understand.
"No problem… anytime, princess," Sakura's eyes widened as he bowed and took her hand once again, placing a chaste kiss on it. Before either she or Syaoran could say a word, he swiftly fell into step with the two of them, carefully choosing his position to Sakura's left… while Syaoran was on her right.
She sighed, resisting the urge to sigh for what would have been the umpteenth time that day. The air was so thick… it was like a wall. Nice and heavy and… tense.
… It was going to be a long day.
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Muttering curses under his breath, Syaoran folded his arms. He was literally a volcano waiting to blow. So… close.
He knew he must have seemed so obviously jealous… and he cursed himself some more for that as well. Since when was he so unable to control his emotions! Damn… His feelings of want to monopolize her were growing.
Forcefully contorting the muscles of his face to look relaxed and at ease, he spun around just in time to come face to face with the object of his affection. "Sakura…" he was sure that, other than the blush which as (quite noticeably) spread across his cheeks, he was totally normal.
This… wasn't working.
He fell to his default mask to hide behind – cold and unfeeling. It worked miracles. He always knew it would… he just didn't want to be so cold and unfeeling to her… but there wasn't much choice now. Things were getting out of control. The blush disappeared and his usual smile disappeared into a thin line. "Sakura."
"Yes?" Her cherry lips curved into a smile. She had seen the blush… her hopes were rising.
"Is there something you wanted?"
Her smile faltered, and her emerald eyes searched his, not quite understanding his change of behavior. The warmth in his voice had dipped into a low, icy tone… was that cruelty she could hear directed at her?
Sakura took a deep breath and tried to set their conversation off in a more happy direction. "School is over so… Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go for some ice cream. I'm in the mood for something sweet." She laughed. Her voice was the sound of bells tinkling.
"You shouldn't be going out so much. You're being targeted by someone. Do you know what the word precaution means?" He growled. His voice was the sound of harsh ice.
She could feel her hands ball into fists. Kinomoto Sakura was not to be defeated!
"Well, I can take care of myself. Besides, if you go with me, I'm sure I'll have nothing to worry about. Big. Strong. Syaoran-kun." The last three words were said slowly for emphasis. She crossed her arms in front of her, a smirk forming on her lips. There it was. A challenge dished out by none other than herself. Syaoran never backed away from challenges like…
"I have better things to do with my time." He turned around and began walking away.
Sakura stood there, dumbstruck. Syaoran… wasn't acting like Syaoran today. Not her pride, but her heart felt more than just a little wounded. Better things to do with his time? Was she that worthless? Since when was he this… detached towards her?
"Ah… wait! Syaoran!" She ran after him. There was something bothering him. She caught up to him at the school entrance, taking his hand in hers and pulling him back.
Looking into his eyes, Sakura scanned for any signs of discomfort. "Hey Syaoran…" her voice was soft. "Is there anything wrong?"
Her emerald eyes flickered in surprise has he pulled away from her roughly. "I should be the one asking you that. You're the one who's being unnaturally annoying today."
"I…"
"Syao-chan!"
The two of them turned towards the sound of a high-pitched voice. Sakura frowned. It was Ayumi.
The girl full on slammed into Syaoran, her arms circling his waste. "Syao-chan…"
"H-Hey… Ayumi… what's wrong?" the concern in his voice was evident and Sakura could not help but feel a little… hurt. His voice had lacked any worry for her at all just a few seconds ago… and yet for Ayumi…
"The truth is, I'm going back to Hong Kong tomorrow morning. And I just wanted to come say goodbye," She smiled as she looked up at him. "I'm going to miss you."
A frown instantly materialized onto Syaoran's face, "Already? This is kind of sudden… and I finally got to see you after such a long time… you can't change the date?"
She shook her head.
"Well… then let's hang out together today then. We've got less than half a day… what do you want to do?" He smiled at her… and then frowned when she shook her head.
Stepping up onto her tip-toes, Ayumi placed a kiss on his cheek. "Sorry, Syao-chan, but I was kind of wanting to… spend the day with Sakura-chan."
"What… me?" Sakura was confused. What exactly was going on?
"Sakura?" His amber eyes glanced at his partner for a fraction of a second before returning to Ayumi. "Why?"
"Don't be mad, Syao-chan. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. But I have some things I want to talk to Sakura-chan about."
"Me?"
"Yes you!" Ayumi untangled herself from Syaoran's grip and grabbed Sakura's hand, pulling her towards the gate and out of the school. "Bye bye Syao-chan!"
A smirk made its way onto Ayumi's face as she felt pair of amber eyes narrow suspiciously at their retreating backs. "So, Sakura-chan..." the girl winked. "Let's go somewhere quiet to have some 'girl talk', okay?"
"Girl talk… you say…" Sakura raised a delicate eyebrow at her companion.
"Yep. Girl talk."
No matter how many times his mind screamed for him to just leave her be. Let her be happy… it didn't work. After hours and hours of contemplation, he had decided on one thing to try his best to convince himself of. He was most likely very much against her and that good-for-nothing Eiji becoming an item… not so much because he loved her, but because he was merely concerned for her well being as a partner.
Love didn't help anybody. The only happily ever after's that really work are the ones in fairytales.
His amber eyes shut tightly as painful memories wiggled their way into his mind for the second time that day.
He could still see her, his mother sobbing in front of his father's gravestone. Only she was crying. Everyone else looked… frighteningly relieved. There were some murmurs of "Finally he's gone…" and "The nightmare has finally ended…" in the background, but the usually proud Chinese woman could not hear them. Her deep, black eyes were eerily blank as tears coursed down her stained cheeks.
Mentally blocking the rest of his past out, Syaoran stretched and yawned. He could hear the distinct sound of crickets. Shrugging his shirt off, he moved his body to the center of his apartment. It was rather spacious, and had four rooms… he had dedicated one of them… the largest one, to be his training room.
Taking a deep breath, he began a series of well-calculated punches and kicks into the air. It was rhythmic almost like a dance, not only beautiful, but powerful.
His mind roamed to his behavior that day. It had seemed like everything was crashing down on him all at once.
First. Sakura was being targeted by someone. He was worried, but he wasn't exactly falling over himself panicking… he knew she could take care of herself. But nudging fear of her getting hurt was bothering him.
Second. Eiji Izumi… What the hell was he!
With a furious growl, Syaoran flipped his body into the air and executed a sharp, hard attack.
He… he… that mere slip of a boy dared to try and come on to his… no, not his but… but… He liked how that sounded… his Sakura.
That brought him to problem number three.
Syaoran pushed his palms out in front of him, releasing a deep breath.
He was acting like a lovesick puppy. There was no excuse for it. His blushing… when was the last time he had blushed? His emotions… somehow meeting Sakura had set them all free, and Eiji's presence was just adding fuel to the fire. He, the Li Syaoran, was acting like a total idiot. Unacceptable.
Problem number four. He had tried to get over his idiot… love-sick actions by hiding behind the cold façade he had known all his life. It hadn't failed him, to say the least. Even under her worried, hurt, and sad gaze, he had not faltered. But that was to be expected.
After all. That was the mask he had worn ever since he was a boy. Under the harshest of conditions. Whether his father had screamed, yelled, or beaten him… it had never given way before. And it had not failed him today. But… that was another problem in itself. His actions… his cold attitude… they made her sad.
Sweat trickled down his neck, and his bare chest heaved with heavy breaths as he began fighting the air with his sword. If he could only beat his emotions down just like his sword beat the air into nothingness.
It had almost been too much. The concerned look on her face when she asked if he was okay. It would have been so much easier if she had been angry at him for acting the way he had. He had no excuse. She should have been angry. He had been mean… unreasonable and aloof. Why did she have to have that expression of all expressions etched onto her face?
He felt… guilty.
He had made her feel… sad.
Sighing, her ran a hand through his sweaty, brown hair. What was he going to do?
He wasn't sure he could deny his feelings any longer. He knew he could probably push her away… she would heal in due time… but… he was going to have problems letting go.
Damn… now he was talking like he did love her…
Which he did… didn't…. did… ugh. He needed a break.
His wish, however, was not granted.
There was a knock at the door.
Moaning, Syaoran set his Chinese sword on the mantle of the fireplace and went to answer it. It was 11:00 at night for crying out loud. Who could possibly be…
"Sakura…?"
What met his eyes was something he had definitely not bargained for.
"What…"
"Don't. Ask." The auburn hair-ed angel… albeit very soaking wet from head to toe angel, shivered. "It's really cold out here. If you've gotten over your cold, self-centered self from this afternoon, do you think you could spare me some clothes before I freeze to death."
"Ah…" He moved, giving her passageway into his home. His amber eyes observed her drenched figure. They noted how her clothes stuck to every contour of her body and the tiny droplet of water dripping down the end of her hair to her shoulder… he shook his head furiously, trying to rid himself of weird thoughts.
Weird thoughts that ignited a strange… foreign feeling in him.
He went to his closet and retrieved a large t-shirt and a pair of shorts. He handed them to her. The shower is down the hall to your left.
"Thanks," she whispered, before vanishing behind a creamy, white door.
Tearing his eyes away from the bathroom, Syaoran once again returned to his spot in his training room.
He took a deep breath…damn… he couldn't concentrate. His mind was in an uproar over her sudden, very enticing appearance.
Syaoran doubted very seriously he would be getting much sleep that night.
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To Be Continued…So… be sure to REVIEW, and tell me what you think. No, not so much about my horrible updating habits , but about my writing.
Oh, and on another note. I foresee the ending to this story… it will be… fairly soon.
Please review.