Chapter
Six:
"Sakura-san!"
Sakura turned at hearing her
name called, eyes widening.
Eriol waved, coming up behind
her. "Ohaiyo." He said, smiling at her politely. He fell into step beside her.
"Ohaiyo, Eriol-kun. Isn't it a
nice day?" she asked, smiling right back. They began to walk together, winding
around the main building of the high school. Sakura was on her way towards the
gymnasium where she had to practice with the cheerleaders.
"Very nice, yes." He agreed with
a nod. "Why are you in so early?"
"Cheerleading practice." She
answered as they neared the front steps. "The soccer game is coming up and we
have to perfect this one last routine."
"Oh, I see." He said, dark eyes
shining. He held the door open for her, ushering her in. "Do you mind if I
watch you practice?"
Sakura burned a warm red. "No,
not at all, but it might be a bit boring for you, just watching us."
He smiled once more, seeming
innocent. "I never tire of watching you, Sakura-san."
She slowed at that, looking at
him strangely. But he was still going and after a moment she had to jog to
catch up.
They walked through the entire
ground floor of the gymnasium, exiting out the back into the yard. The rest of
the cheerleaders had gathered and were in the middle of warm up. The soccer
team was also up, practicing for their big game that weekend.
"Sakura-chan!"
Sakura turned again, feeling a
strange moment of Déjà vu. "Tomoyo-chan! You're here early, too?"
The girl came up, camcorder in
hand, a small basket of strawberries in the other hand. "Yeah, I came to watch
you practice. Ohaiyo, Eriol-kun."
"Ohaiyo, Daidouji-san."
"Strawberry?" she held out the
small green basket.
"Syaoran!" Sakura suddenly said
and she floated over towards a corner of the field, watching as several boys
practiced. She spotted him among them, the only one with that color hair and
that familiar body. He was strong and agile, perfect for the game.
Hanyaaaan…
A whistle rang out, signaling
break and she stood on tiptoe, waving her hand. "Syaoran!"
He turned quickly, eyes
searching for the person who had called him. A moment later he caught sight of
her and broke from the group, jogging over.
"Ohaiyo."
"Ohaiyo!" she said as he came
close. "How goes practice?"
He hesitated, contemplating the
question. "Practice is…practice." He said after a moment, shrugging. "You're
here to practice, also?"
She motioned over her shoulder,
turning to walk. He walked with her, falling into step beside her. "We're
supposed to practice for about an hour. Class starts after. I'll probably be
staying afterwards, too."
Tomoyo was still offering
strawberries when they rejoined the group. And Sakura became all too aware of
the sudden discomfort between Eriol and Syaoran.
A hand reached over Tomoyo's
shoulder, snatching a strawberry. "Strawberries used to have pieces of straw
sticking out of them, hence the name 'Strawberry'," began an
educated voice. "However, the Goddess Amaterasu tried to eat one once and,
hurting her tongue on the straws, she instead made the straws into pits and-"
Syaoran was looking at Yamazaki
with wide, believing eyes, and Sakura was his mirror image beside him.
A baton suddenly caught the scholar
off the head, effectively pausing him in mid-sentence. Looking over, the group
encountered Chiharu in cheerleader uniform, hands on hips impatiently.
"I thought you said strawberries
used to have legs, once, too!" she shouted angrily.
Yamazaki stared at her, or they
thought he did because the boy never opened his eyes anyway. "I never
said that." He vowed solemnly.
"Eh??" Sakura gasped,
looking at him in surprise.
Chiharu marched up to him,
grabbing him by the collar. "Hai, hai." She said and she dragged him off, even
as he continued his story.
"The pits were once eyes, too,
but the Goddess didn't like the fact that so many eyes were on her and so-"
"Enough!"
Sakura blinked. "So…was he
serious?" she asked reluctantly. She looked toward Syaoran.
"That was a complete fable."
Eriol answered for him.
Syaoran shrugged, lifting his
hands and meeting them behind his head. "I knew that…"
She looked at him and smiled.
"You're so smart, Syaoran."
Tomoyo sighed almost inaudibly
beside her
"Well, I gotta go." Syaoran motioned. "We're about
to start again."
"I'll cheer for you!" Sakura
called after him and he gave her a funny look, but one that told her he
wouldn't mind it a bit. She watched after him as he jogged off, catching up
with his group and falling back into place as they started up practice once
more.
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo
said, sounding as if she were utterly surprised. When she turned to look at her
she said, "What is going on between you two?"
"H…Hooeee..?"
"I agree." Eriol nodded. "I am…almost jealous." He said smoothly, eyes hooded. His expression was partly smug, partly solemn.
Sakura blinked like an owl.
"N…Nani?"
"Sakura-chan!" came Rika's voice
from the squad. She waved for her as Sakura whirled to look in her direction.
"Hayaku, hayaku!"
Eriol caught her hand as she
began to hurry over, cutting her off in mid-step. "Have a good workout,
Sakura-san." He said and he bent, his lips brushing the back of her hand.
She stared at him, rooted to her spot in utter
disbelief.
A whistle rang out from the
field suddenly, the coach's voice echoing angrily. "Li! What the hell is the
matter with you?!"
Sakura spun around, yanking her
hand out of Eriol's grasp.
Syaoran stood on the field, arms
crossed over his chest darkly. But his eyes weren't on the coach. For a moment
Sakura thought he was focused on her, that his anger was aimed in her
direction. But then she realized that he looked passed her. At Eriol.
"If you're not going to play
with the group then get off the field. Come back when you're ready to be part
of a team." The coach ordered.
Without even so much as an
answer, Syaoran started across the field, ripping off his elbow guards.
Sakura stared at him,
speechless.
"Sakura-chan!" Rika called
again.
"I need to talk to him. I need to-"
Sakura murmured and she went running off after Syaoran as he made it towards
the edge of the field.
Eriol watched her intercept
Syaoran, slowing as she neared. "She isn't aware of it…" he said slowly to
Tomoyo, who glanced at him, "but she's already made her decision."
"Hai." Tomoyo said quietly. And
she bowed her head and turned away, meaning to walk off.
"Daidouji-san?" he called after
her, causing her to stop short. "Nan desu ka?" he asked and she allowed herself
to believe for a moment that he really did want to know what was wrong.
But instead she smiled sadly.
"It's nothing, Eriol-kun. It's absolutely nothing." And she turned away,
floating off.
Eriol blinked in confusion and
swallowed the rest of his questions. He'd find out later what was wrong.
"Syaoran! What happened?" Sakura
asked, coming to a stop behind him.
He stiffened the slightest bit
upon hearing her voice. And glancing over his shoulder he said curtly, "What does
it matter?"
Sakura recoiled at his tone.
He noticed her gesture and
sighed after a moment, lifting a hand to rub at his eyes. "Gomen." He
apologized quietly. "I have no reason to be mad at you. You just don't know."
Sakura frowned, lips parting.
"Know what?" she asked faintly.
He gazed at her wordlessly for a
moment and then he chuckled, no humor to be found in the expression. "Exactly."
He stated. And he turned away, leaving the field.
She had half a mind to call out
to him but then thought better of it. She'd figure out what the problem was
later, when she had more time to talk to him.
Hoping, of course, he decided to
talk to her later.