Deeper

Author's Note: I have to apologize. This chapter (and about 60 percent of the next) was done over two weeks ago, but I wasn't able to post it because I... uh... literally filled my calendar (for the month of January up until the first week of Feb) with events/party/trip/etc. So yeah, I was barely at home. LOL. I just remembered it now, so here! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS!

Chapter 25

When Syaoran left the room he confronted Lena at, he was surprised to see no one. He took the moment as a chance to close his eyes and take deep breaths. When he was calmed a little, he proceeded with the task of finding anyone. Luckily, his first turn led him to Wei. He asked the butler to have someone escort Lena out.

"Yes, Master Li," Wei nodded. Before Syaoran could ask, he added, "The Mistress is on the room at the end of that hallway." He pointed to the right.

Syaoran gave a brief thanks before following his direction. He arrived just in time to see Yelan and Kiya talk quietly. When they noticed him, however, they stopped. The guilt instantly rushed in to him. He bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry..." He never intended to disrespect them in any way. They didn't deserve to witness such a scandal.

"It's quite alright," Yelan assured.

With a start, Syaoran realized that they heard bits and pieces of his argument with Lena. From the looks of it, they left to give them privacy, but apparently, Kiya generously filled Yelan in with information soon after.

"Do not worry, my child," Yelan continued upon sensing Syaoran's restlessness. "You don't have to explain."

Syaoran really felt that he had been discourteous to them. It was the first time he met his mother, and he wasn't proud of where it led to. "I... I apologize for the scene we have caused. It –"

Yelan cut him off this time, "I understand." With a smile, she added, "Now, I think you need to go after your friend... Sakura was it?"

Syaoran was still a little hesitant. He wanted to go, but he didn't want to be rude as it was. To push him further, Kiya just gave him an encouraging nod.

"Oh, thanks. Thanks a lot..." He breathed, feeling utterly grateful for being allowed to go. "I'll see you soon. Thank you... mother." After one last hug, Syaoran went to search for Sakura.

As it turned out, Sakura was already on the coastline. She was waiting to ride the boat, which would bring her back to the city, with Meiling standing right next to her.

"Oh, wow... that is some complicated love story," Meiling commented in her usual blunt way after Sakura told her what was going on. Someone finally corrected her assumption. "But are you sure you're okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sakura nodded. "I'm –"

"Saku – ow! wait!"

Both girls turned and saw Syaoran threw himself out of the moving car. Apparently, he was such in a hurry to go to her that he didn't bother waiting for the car to properly stop.

"Wait!" He ran to them.

Meiling raised an eyebrow when Syaoran was finally in front of them, "What?"

He turned to Sakura, "Don't go! We need to talk!" Syaoran held her arm to stop her from going even though she wasn't making an attempt to in the first place. "What Lena said – it isn't true. You have to believe me!" He rattled on, not wasting any time. "I just – I didn't know she would come. I never meant for this to happen. I didn't – I don't – I never proposed to her!"

Meiling snorted, "Easy there, lover boy."

"Will you shut up?" Syaoran glared at her. It was hard enough without her unsolicited remarks.

Meiling simply raised her hand in mock-defense before walking towards the direction of the boat.

"I believe you," Sakura's soft voice interrupted him from getting more frustrated at his own cousin. "We kind of saw Lena being ushered out..." Explanations weren't needed to know the outcome. Lena's broken form gave it all away.

"Oh..." Syaoran breathed a sigh of relief. She believed him. Thank goodness. "I'm sorry for what –"

"No, I'm sorry for walking out like that," Sakura stated. "I overreacted. It's just that, I mean... I... " She struggled for words that could simplify her previous action. But really, was she just simplifying? "You know... I just thought that we were telling everything to each other, and then Lena came... and well, when she said that, I assumed – I thought that you hid it from me even after all –"

"Sshh..." He placed a finger over his lips. "If there's one person in this world who knows me inside out, we both know it's you. I wouldn't keep anything from you." He stared hard at her. "So... you won't go anymore?"

"Um... we're actually waiting for you so the ferry can leave."

"Oh, err... Let's go then."

Meiling, already aboard, watched with interest as Syaoran guided Sakura. She noted that he still hadn't let go of her, and she saw how he refused to have someone else help her. He even glared when one of them tried. Lucky for him, Sakura didn't see it.

"All good?" Meiling asked.

"Yeah." Sakura smiled before proceeding further inside.

Syaoran, however, stopped beside his cousin. "What are you even doing here?"

"Geez, you're so grouchy!" Meiling shot back. "Anyway, if you really have to know, I have to go back to the city too. I stay there." She suddenly turned serious. "If you're so afraid to lose her, why not make her yours?"

"I'm not –"

"Oh, please," Meiling rolled her eyes. "You didn't even care that you'd hurt yourself just so you could stop her when you thought she was leaving. And ugh, don't even get me started on how anxious and frantic you sounded when you tried to explain. Desperate really –"

"Do you always butt yourself into someone else's business?"

Meiling chose to ignore that. "If I were you, I'd make my move." She gestured to a crew, who was busy staring at Sakura.

He scowled. Well... it seemed like this time would be the first time he would use his authority as Li Syaoran – the heir to the Li Empire.

"This is going to be fun..." Meiling watched as Syaoran marched towards the unsuspecting crewman. She smiled amusedly when she heard him growl...

"You're fired."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Hey Eriol," Meiling greeted the moment she stepped out of the ferry. He, along with Tomoyo, decided to welcome them at the port.

"I think I've seen you before," was the first thing Tomoyo said when she saw Meiling.

"Yeah, I think I did too..." Meiling scrunched up her face. "Oh, I remember! In Japan, I bumped into you just near that public library. We talked about uh..." She discreetly pointed to Syaoran, indicating that it had something to do with him.

Tomoyo was quick. "Oh, right, yeah. But hey, I'm sorry... I didn't get your name."

"Li Meiling," she introduced herself. "You're Dai – um, Daidouji was it?"

"Yeah, but you can call me Tomoyo."

Syaoran grunted as he stepped beside them. "You were stalking her, too?"

"I was not!" Meiling cried. "We just bumped into each other."

"Right." He sounded like he didn't believe her at all. Sarcastically, he added, "So what, did you talk to anyone else behind my back?"

Meiling smiled sheepishly, "Er... I met Miss Megumi."

"You dragged Nana?" Syaoran asked incredulously.

"It was for my paper! I –" She stopped when she heard Sakura's distinct laugh. Apparently, someone was trying to act cute in front of Sakura by trying to speak her language. "Oh, come on, you can't fire him," Meiling stated as if reading his thoughts. "He doesn't work for the Li family."

"Really?" He was unfazed. Well... this time wouldn't be the first time he would use his influence as Li Syaoran – the model/actor. "Then I just have to make his employer fire him."

"Someone's jealous," Tomoyo whistled.

Meiling grinned back at her. "Know what? I think we're going to be great friends."

Next Day

Syaoran had just finished filming his guest appearance on a popular sitcom. After thanking everyone on the set, he left the studio. It was only a couple of steps away, however, when he spotted Lena. Her sudden tenseness indicated that she saw him too.

He looked around and noticed that nobody else was there. Syaoran continued on his way and walked pass her. At the last moment, he stopped.

Lena was stiff. She wasn't looking forward to seeing him. She just wanted to avoid him because he reminded her of everything she wanted to forget. In fact, she was only here because she asked the management for an emergency leave. She was in no condition to work after what happened.

But obviously, luck wasn't on her side because Syaoran was almost right next to her.

"In an hour," Syaoran's detached voice broke the rigid silence. "There's going to be a press conference at Studio 6."

Lena suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"Almost everyone from the press would be there." He looked straight ahead. "They are all speculating the reason behind this sudden assembly. They don't even know who's going to hold it."

She clenched her fist. Lena wasn't expecting this to bite her back this soon. She never thought that Syaoran would act this fast.

"So..." He lowered his voice. "Who is it going to be? You... Or me?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Too bad Meiling isn't here," Tomoyo sighed. "She's in university, right?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded, looking around at Syaoran's entertainment room. "This is such a nice place, don't you think?"

Tomoyo agreed. "And you know what? I've heard from Eriol that you're the first one Syaoran ever brought here." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Even before he got this renovated, he never brought anyone to this place!"

"I'm not the first one. We came in together the other day." Sakura stuck her tongue out.

"That's not the point!" Tomoyo shook her head. "Well, you're the first one who slept over here."

"That's because someone decided to not come back and spend the night at a hotel near Eriol's place," she shot back.

"Oh yeah?" Tomoyo suddenly grinned. "How about this... You're the first one Syaoran ever brought home and introduced to his mother!"

"I – I..." Sakura flustered for a moment. "You know why I was there!"

"I know. I just wanted to tease you about it," Tomoyo grinned. "But really... were you jealous?" She asked, shifting the conversation to the incident that Sakura told her yesterday.

"No, not really."

"Sakura..."

"Maybe a little hurt," She tried to act nonchalant as she sat down on one of his comfy chairs. "But it's like what I told him. I just thought we were telling each other –"

"Syaoran may be dense, but I'm not." Tomoyo stared directly at her. "I'm not buying that crap."

"But it's – I mean..." Sakura finally dropped her shoulders. "Yeah, maybe a little jealous..." She started in a small voice.

Tomoyo sat beside her. Getting jealous meant one thing.

"...But it's not like before," Sakura continued genuinely. This wasn't the same one where she went overboard and got ahead of herself. She was sure of that.

This time... it was different.

Sakura already acknowledged the facts. She didn't try to escape the horrible things that came to her, and instead, she faced it unreservedly. The things she experienced made her stronger. It made her better.

That was why now she knew that she wasn't just getting carried away by the overwhelming feelings. It wasn't blinding her anymore. She knew exactly what those feelings were, but the question was... what would she do with it?

She could reject it. She could accept it.

"Sakura?" Tomoyo's soft voice broke her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"If you don't mind me asking... what was the ring for?" Tomoyo looked at her gently. "The one around Mr. Bear... the one you showed me when you confessed about Syaoran."

"Oh, that," Sakura's face held a faraway look. "It's... it's a promise ring."

"A promise?"

"We promised that..." She gave out a small smile. "That we would be together forever."

Tomoyo found it incredibly sweet.

"I know I told you before that I didn't throw it away because I didn't have the heart to, but now I know..." Sakura suddenly gave a little laugh. "Now I know why." She now fully understood why she didn't get rid of that ring before. It was all clear to her – the exact true reason. "It was because I still had this hope in me that the promise would come true."

"... You're not the only one..."

"What was that?"

"Never mind," Tomoyo dismissed. She decided that it wasn't her place to tell Sakura that Syaoran kept it too... that Syaoran unconsciously hoped for it too.

"– and an unexpected press conference was called when –"

The frenzied reporter on T.V. drew the interest of the two girls.

"What's happening?" They couldn't understand the language, but it seemed like something big was going on. The press people looked so eager about something. They seemed like a pack of hungry lions waiting for a prey.

Sakura shook her head. "I have no idea."

They were about to ignore the T.V. when someone suddenly appeared on screen. They stopped short when the camera zoomed in to the person's face.

Lena Dowell.

"Huh?" The two girls looked at each other. Something was definitely off about Lena's character today.

After a couple of minutes of foreign language, they heard Lena speak in Japanese. "Kinomoto Sakura –"

Both Sakura and Tomoyo's attention was effectively caught.

"– I sincerely express my regret over the turn of events –"

Though Lena looked and sounded sincere enough, the girls, and those who were close to Lena, knew better. Bitterness was still present in her being.

"– She's not a stalker or a crazy fan of Li Syaoran. All issues revolving against her are... are not true –"

Sakura was lost. "She's cleaning my name?"

"– I failed to become prudent... and I inadvertently neglected to check the facts before disclosing it to the public –"

"No..." Tomoyo gradually grasped it in. "She's confessing."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Oh, god..." Now it all made perfect sense. Lena was the mastermind.

"– It wasn't my intention to bring deliberate harm to her –"

Lie. It was Lena's direct intention. And now, the girls could clearly see her motivation behind the act.

"– I... apologize... for any damage that this issue might have caused to Ms. Kinomoto –"

What people didn't know, however, was that Lena received the biggest damage.

"– I regret what took place... and I never wish for it to happen again –"

Sakura felt exactly the same.

"– With that said, I ask people to stop the issue. That's all. Thank you."

Immediately, the press was thrown in chaos. The screen showed Lena being escorted, albeit with difficulty, into another room until she disappeared.

Tomoyo turned it off. "She still lied..."

Lena's speech was short and precise. She was straight to the point like she always was.

"... She owned up," Sakura replied quietly. "And well, somehow apologized..."

Tomoyo just sighed. Even after all that, her best friend was still open-minded and ready to forgive.

Lena, on the other hand, felt so damn exposed. She didn't want to do this, but she didn't have any other choice. If Syaoran went out there, he could create a mess for her that might possibly hinder her from coming back together in one piece. She realized that she couldn't risk losing everything. If she lost this, she would be thrown back to her family – the same people who she thrived so hard to get away from.

So at the last decisive moment, she came and went for it. At least she was able to manipulate the truth this way. She was able to lessen the damage on her name. However... it wasn't enough consolation for all her losses. It wasn't even close.

Even though she wasn't emotionally, physically and mentally prepared, Lena came off as a professional while delivering her speech. People wouldn't even begin to guess how she was dying on the inside. She couldn't pour any solid emotions into it because she just knew that if she did... she would shatter and crash in front of them all.

Considering where it led her, Lena truly felt sorry for what happened. It was true when she said that she never wanted for it to happen again. She was selfish, and she learned her lessons... but still, it wasn't enough to take the pain away.

"Did you see her speech?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah." She didn't need to be informed of who Syaoran was talking about.

"Is it acceptable for you? Or do you want her to issue another one? Or do you want her to do something –"

"Oh, no, no," Sakura immediately interrupted. "It's okay. It's fine." That one time was enough for her. She wasn't the type to derive pleasure at the expense of others. It was just so wrong. Besides, according to Meiling, feedbacks about the issue were generally negative. Lena was already suffering and facing the consequences as it was.

Syaoran relented. "If you say so..." He was just backstage when Lena made that speech. He saw how many times Lena almost faltered. It wasn't noticeable, but he saw it. He saw how badly she struggled just to keep her façade up. And honestly... he felt bad for her.

"Guys!" Tomoyo's cheery face popped up in front of them. "Why so gloomy? Oh, wait, there's Eriol!" She exclaimed as she waved him over. "Eriol!"

"Hey!" Eriol greeted as he jogged towards them. "Were you guys waiting long?"

"No, we just got here," Tomoyo replied. "Come on, come on!" She dragged them inside the amusement park. Through connections, Eriol managed to close the park down for the day. "It's our last day here in Hong Kong. Sakura and I are leaving tomorrow so let's make this memorable!"

"Whoa... Where did her energy come from?" Syaoran watched a bouncy Tomoyo drag an exhausted Eriol. Well... Eriol seemed willing anyway.

"I don't know," Sakura shrugged. "But she's right, come on!"

Together, the four of them enjoyed the different rides and games the park had to offer. Only selected employees were there to assist them, and to those employees, this wasn't an unusual occurrence. This, after all, wasn't the first time a powerful person had the park closed.

"Aha!" Sakura exclaimed merrily after she successfully shot the last plastic duck down. As a prize, she received a medium-sized white bear.

Syaoran looked at the toy oddly when Sakura handed it to him. "What's this?"

"A bear."

Syaoran ignored her sarcastic reply. "What do you expect me to do with this?"

"I don't know," Sakura pretended to think. "Say thanks and keep it?"

He blinked. "Okay..." Syaoran finally turned to her. "Isn't this supposed to be the other way around? I mean, the guy would win the girl a prize?"

"Yeah... but you were loosing so badly I had to take matters into my own hands." She stuck her tongue out. Before Syaoran could protest, she waved another bear. "And see? I already won myself another one."

"Don't you want to have both?"

"Fine. I'll keep –"

Syaoran stopped her by bringing the bear out of her reach. "I'll keep this one. Thanks." He smiled at the toy. "I think I'll name you... hmm..."

"Mrs. Bear?" Sakura proposed dryly. To her surprise, Syaoran just grinned.

"Exactly the name I was looking for."

"You are so unoriginal!"

"You suggested it!"

"Only because I know you were thinking it!"

"How do you know what I was thinking?" He grinned wider. "For all you know, I maybe thinking of how pretty you look today."

A light blush tinted her cheeks. To get back at him, Sakura faked a gasp. "What? Your thoughts are actually pure today?"

Syaoran merely smirked. "You haven't heard all of my thoughts yet."

"Ugh!" Sakura hit him on the chest. "There you go again!"

"You started it."

"You changed the subject first! We were just talking about bear names."

"But seriously..." Syaoran stepped closer. "You look pretty." He lifted his right hand and took some loose hair strands. Gently, he tucked it behind her ear. His hand lingered for a while before dropping. "There..." He smiled. "Now you look less like a madwoman."

Sakura's mouth dropped open. He just had to ruin the moment, hadn't he? "I can't believe you." She hit him again, though this time, with reduced force.

"If you want to touch me, just say so." Syaoran's cocky grin was back. "Your excuse of always hitting me just so you could touch me is kind of getting old."

"What?!" On instincts, Sakura raised her hand again, but she stopped short when she saw the look on Syaoran's face. "Oh, you..." Her eyes narrowed. "You –"

"Guys! What are you still doing here?" Tomoyo suddenly appeared, breaking the building tension. "Oh look, let's go there!" She didn't leave them any choice as she led them inside a big tent where the circus performance took place. "Oh... it's empty." They scanned the oval arena and the tiered seating around its edge.

"No, someone's here," Eriol pointed to the side, where two people were standing near a huge net. Their eyes trailed upwards and saw horizontal bars hung by two cords each from a support. High platforms were on the side. "A trapeze."

"Want to try?" One of the acrobats suddenly called over.

They walked closer. "This seems interesting," Syaoran commented.

"Nah, I'll pass," Eriol shrugged.

"Me too," Tomoyo added. As an afterthought, she gestured at her skirt, "I don't think I can do that wearing this, anyway."

Syaoran snorted. "Fine, fine." He turned to Sakura. "So you're backing out, too?" He gave her a daring look. They both knew she wouldn't turn it down.

"Well..." Sakura looked up again. She had the grace, strength and flexibility so why not. "You go first."

The three of them watched as Syaoran climbed the pedestal board. He was soon followed by an acrobat, who gave him instructions on what to do. After a few minutes, they saw him took hold of the bar and build up a swing from a still position. At the peak of the swing, he got his legs up at the front end, pushed them between his arms, and hooked them over the bar. With the right momentum and proper timing, he was able to execute the trick.

"Showoff," Sakura grunted after Syaoran dismounted himself. She rolled her eyes when he issued her, yet again, another challenging look.

"Let's do a catch!"

With a huff, Sakura went straight and proceeded to climb the other platform. The other aerialist was there to guide her.

"Okay... I see..." Sakura nodded determinedly after the instructions. "Yeah, okay..." She was going to do the same thing Syaoran did. "I think I get it now." However, when the bar was handed to her, she felt alarmed. Nervousness started to seep in, but she shook it off.

"Ready?" Syaoran asked from the other side. He was already on the catch trap.

For a second, Sakura wanted to back out. He wasn't teasing her anymore, and she knew she could simply withdraw... but no.

She wanted to give this a try. She would give this a try. "Yeah!" Sakura took a deep breath before pushing herself off.

Syaoran, meanwhile, got into position. This time, his front thigh was rested against the bar to prevent pressure that would be caused by Sakura's additional weight.

Sakura, as directed, hooked her legs over the bar and hanged by her knees. 'Oh my – oh my god! I did it!' Her mind screamed happily. Her inner rapture, however, didn't last long.

"Let go!"

That almost struck Sakura cold. "I – No!"

Syaoran was swinging back holding her arms out to her. "On the next swing, reach for me!"

"I – I can't!" She cried. '... Let go?' Sakura couldn't let go. The horizontal metal bar was the only thing keeping her safe. Letting go of it would make her vulnerable to a fall... and she wasn't sure if she was fully prepared for that.

Was she ready to fall?

What if Syaoran failed to catch her? It would hurt. A lot.

"Syaoran, I – I can't!"

"Trust me."

And Sakura let go.

She released her hold and reached for him. Their hands brushed... but he missed.

He missed.

But still, Sakura smiled.

She suddenly felt weightless – like a huge burden was being lifted off her. She could feel happiness building deep within her. She was happy because she chose to face the moment, and that, she did whole-heartedly.

'Trust me.'

Only two words from Syaoran, and she let go of the bar. She took the crucial step... and she simply let herself go. She felt light because she wasn't holding back anymore. She finally chose to stop struggling against something... so strong – it was just simply too strong.

Yes, she was falling... but she did it for herself. She was regretting none of it because at long last, she freed herself.

Sakura smiled once more and closed her eyes. The wind was brushing against her skin. She could feel the light breeze on her face. That moment... it was pure innocent bliss. She took the risk and let herself fall. Yeah, it would hurt – but she was strong now. She knew that there was nothing she couldn't stand back up from. She would fall... only to rise again.

This was it.

She accepted it. She finally fully accepted it.

She was ready.

Sakura extended her hands, prepared to welcome the safety net that was below her...

"Oof."

Sakura froze, and her eyes snapped open. She landed... on a body. 'What the...' She instantly twisted her head.

He was grinning back at her, "... Hey."

Syaoran – he let go, too.

They weren't able to hold on... so he willingly let himself fall... with her.

... And he made sure to be there first... to catch her fall.

AN: I think we all know what that was about. :) SxS would continue next chapter. Two more and it's done! But I'm feeling kind of sad. I have nothing to write about anymore. LOL.

Oh yeah, the reason I remembered posting this was because... Happy Anniversary Deeper! Wow... I can't believe it. The story is officially a year old! Thanks, thanks, thanks to all those who stuck with me. I really appreciate it! :) You know what would be a great anniversary gift? A review! (Err... that wasn't subtle, was it? Haha.)