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Wild Dreaming
by animefreak
Syaoran quirked an eyebrow at the strange request. Train her? As in actually fight her and kick her butt?
"Why do you want to do this?"
"Oh, I don't, but Kero is making me" she sighed, wearily "He says I need to polish my abilities for whenever this--this thing attacks again"
"Polish your abilities?" he asked again, playfully.
"Oh, shut up. Do you really think I want to get my ass kicked by you?"
Syaoran had to laugh. She could be so funny even when she wasn't trying to. And, truth be told, the idea of fighting her wasn't all that disagreeable. In all the years they had been friends their activities had been very well separated because they had different abilities. He was mainly a warrior, and she was mainly a sorceress. He would now be able to finally share something with her. Quite exciting.
"I won't be so hard on you"
"So, that means you accept?" she whined "I was hoping you would feel sorry for me and decline"
"You might as well beat me"
"Like that was ever gonna happen. I can't understand why does Kero have to be so persistent!!"
"Don't be such a baby. You're the great Card Captor...you should at least know how to defend yourself!"
"And who said I didn't?!" she replied in mock annoyance "I'm just not very good...you know...without my Sakura Cards"
"We'll fix that. And then, maybe someday, you can beat me!"
"Shut up!" she said, playfully punching his arm.
*****
Sakura felt suddenly shy as she entered Syaoran's apartment. She looked around, searching for any signs of anyone else, and got really embarrassed when Syaoran guessed what she was thinking.
"You're looking for Wei? You've got an amazing memory. He went back with me to Hong Kong, but I returned alone. You must be surprised that everything's neat, right? Since I'm a guy and everything..."
"No, I wasn't...I mean..."
"Relax. I'm not going to bite you. What are Tomoyo and the stuffed beast doing?"
"They'll be right over...Tomoyo ran out of tape, and had to go home to get some...and then she offered Kero some desserts her maid made for her...he obviously went off with her. They should be here any minute".
"Shall we wait for them, or you want to start right away?"
"Where are we going to..."
"Right this way" he beckoned her with his finger to have her follow him.
"Whew!" she whispered "This apartment is a lot bigger than it looks. For a minute there I forgot you were a Li" she quipped.
He snickered as his only answer to that. There was nothing else he could say to her. He was wealthy. His mother would never allow her only son, her beloved baby boy to live in a place that was anything below exquisite.
"You can change in there" he pointed at a room on his right "I'll set things up in here"
"Sure thing" she said, entering the room and closing the door behind her. The room was very dark, thick velvet curtains closed, but she could easily tell this was his room. It smelled like him. She lay down on the bed, her head to his pillows. Oh, had she dreamt of a moment like this. Had she woken up in the middle of the night and reached out her hand to him only to find she was all alone. She couldn't believe she was thinking these things, but it was way worse if she tried to fight back those thoughts. She changed into the outfit Tomoyo had designed for this "very special occasion". Tight pink shirt, white baggy pants, all designed specially to allow her mobility. It was amazingly simple considering Tomoyo's extravagant tastes. She sighed heavily before reluctantly leaving the room. She was on for the whipping of a lifetime. Thanks a lot, Kero!!
Sakura nearly fell over when she stepped into the terrace of sorts that he used to train in and discovered he was taking his shirt off. Damn. She had got him in the middle of changing. She quickly averted her eyes trying to conceal a deep blush. She'd seen him shirtless before, but back then she had a lot more things to worry about than that. Now there was only the two of them, all alone in an apartment, about to engage in physical activities that involved a lot of contact...Gods, she hadn't thought of that!! Please, Kero, Tomoyo, hurry up!! she pleaded in her thoughts.
"Oh, there you are. I thought you'd gotten lost or something" he joked, putting a new shirt on.
"Nice view" she said. She suddenly realized that what she said could have meant a lot of things "I-I mean..."
"I know what you mean" he grinned "Let me close the windows...it's really cold"
The room they were in was awesome. It had a roof, but no walls. Only windows that you could slide open and walk into a nice balcony with some plants and stuff. There was only a small oak table in the room and some cushions on the floor, and the only wall, the one she'd come in through, was covered with swords, staffs and other weapons. She looked around her still shaking the shame she felt for having made that last comment.
"Well, can I get you anything to drink while Tomoyo and that toy arrive?"
"Oh, no, I'm fine" she shook her head.
Sakura didn't know what to say. What the hell was the matter with her? She'd been to his apartment before, and it was never like this. Of course, you ass, you were eleven years old! she thought self beratedly. And you didn't know you loved the guy. That's right. She just stood there awkwardly, watching him move things around.
He knew that if he started paying too much attention to her he was going to start getting really nervous, so he tried to keep himself busy. It wasn't working too well, but at least he got to conceal his shaking. Sakura on the other hand was having those familiar restlessness again. The pre-confession jitters!! she thought, frowning with a mortified look on her face. This wasn't exactly the best time to tell him, was it? She so wanted to, despite what she knew was going to happen. She had never been one to be comfortable with secrets, and least from him. She had started fidgeting and he'd noticed it.
"What's the matter? You afraid of me?" he openly joked, and was surprised when she didn't laugh.
"Remember there was something I wanted to tell you the other day when Touya interrupted us?"
"Oh, yeah" he said, pretending to have forgotten.
"What it was, was that...that...I wanted to tell you that...that I--"
"We're here!!" Kero stormed through the door, making Sakura jump a mile high in the air "The door was open, so we thought we'd come right in!"
Syaoran gave the newcomers a dirty look. This was the second time something stupid had kept Sakura from telling him whatever this was, that seemed to be important because it took her so much effort to blurt out.
"I'm all set" Tomoyo said, ignoring the look and smiling as always "You can start whenever you want. Don't mind me, I'll be sitting over here"
Syaoran walked hastily to the center of the room, where a white circle was drawn on the floor. He beckoned Sakura with his finger once again, and she reluctantly followed with a suffering look on her face.
"Okay Sakura. Before you think of using any weapon, you have to learn how to fight with your own bare hands. They should be as deadly as any weapon" he began, staring at her. He became a totally different person in combat mode, or so Sakura thought "You need to learn how to defend yourself before you learn how to attack...for defense will always be your best attack" he continued "Now, I'll be the attacker. You'll just block my blows. Are we clear?"
"Yes"
Before she could finish saying that he started throwing her all sorts of punches and kicks, so fast she could hardly see what was happening. He forced her to step back until they reached one of the glass walls, and he stopped the last punch only millimeters away from her nose.
"The enemy won't give you any notice that he'll start attacking you" he said, disapprovingly "You need to be ready at all times. One more time"
She nodded. He was truly intimidating when doing this. But she wasn't about to let him have his way. Even if she had to stay there until three in the morning, she would at least give him a good fight. She could now manage to block a few blows, but some still got to her. And she was sure he was being gentle. She wouldn't really want to be his enemy.
"If you fight your enemy like this, he'll kill you in less than a second" he teased. She was starting to get annoyed, which was exactly what he had planned. Once he irritated her enough, she would start losing her respect for him as a fighter and would become a tough opponent.
Tomoyo also noted what Syaoran's strategy was. He's a smart guy, she thought. She taped everything silently, focusing every once in a while in Sakura's in growing furious frown. He was beating the crap out of her, and making fun all the way. She was beginning to want to kill him.
"Now I'll block and you'll attack. See if you do better with that"
Sakura fumed, ready to break his face. She was angry. Very angry. So angry she easily broke through his tight defense and hit him hard on the face, making him roll a few feet on the ground. It took him a while to sit up. Anyhow, her anger turned to deep guilt when she found out she'd made him bleed. He looked up to her, holding the back of his hand to his bleeding nose.
"Way to go" he said proudly, making her eyes go wide in disbelief. She had just punched him on the face, made him bleed, and he was proud of her?
"I'm so sorry" she said, kneeling beside him and reaching out to help him "I never meant to..."
"You did great. It's the first time this happens to me. I don't think I want to do this with you anymore, though" he quipped, a pained look suddenly crossing his features "You could really break me something next time"
"Oh, no, really, I'm so sorry!" she replied on the verge of tears "Here, let me help you--Tomoyo, what do you think you're doing?"
The friend in question was already there, taping all the action up close. "Act as if I wasn't here. What am I going to call this episode?"
Sakura sighed, jumping to her feet to help the injured warrior up. She led him into the living room, and went into the kitchen for some ice. Kero flew after her, cheering her all the way for making the brat bleed. She shushed him and yanked him by the tail, making him complain loudly. Syaoran held his head up, for he couldn't stop the bleeding.
"That was a hell of a hook" he observed to Tomoyo "Straight to my nose with her left hand. I didn't expect her to do that"
"You made her mad" Tomoyo giggled knowingly.
"I did. It was the only way to make her release her whole potential. She's going to become a great fighter. That monster doesn't know who he's up against"
"You sound really proud of her"
"I am" he stated, simply.
The conversation was quickly cut off when Sakura approached the couch with a neatly wrapped handkerchief, filled with crushed ice. She can even whip up an improvised ice pack and make it look perfect, he thought with a smile. She's amazing.
She carefully removed his hand from his nose and applied the ice pack. It didn't even hurt. She was being especially gentle for that purpose.
"Does it hurt?" Sakura sounded like a pampering girlfriend, his head on her lap, her hand squeezing his for comfort. And she was blissfully unaware of how it looked. Kero fumed, Tomoyo giggled, Syaoran melted. She kept straightening his messy hair, and gently pressing the ice pack against his hurt nose...until somewhere along the line she realized what she was doing. Fun's over, Syaoran thought when he noticed the horrifiedly embarrassed expression on her face.
"Are you feeling any better?" she asked, obviously trying to conceal the shame.
"Much, thanks. I think I can hold this" he replied taking the ice pack from her delicate hands and sitting up. Least he could do was try to save her the embarrassment.
*****
She rollerbladed home without saying a word. She had said good bye to Tomoyo two blocks ago, and had been quiet ever since. She felt terrible for not being able to tell him. Why did something have to happen every time she thought she had enough courage to say the words? Kero, Tomoyo, Touya, they all seemed to be conspiring to keep her from telling him. Maybe she wasn't supposed to tell him and that was that. But she so wanted to!
"Hello, kaijou"
"Hello, brother" she responded wearily. Touya was taken aback. She hadn't even gotten mad at him for calling her a monster!
"Hey, Sakura, what's the matter with you? I called you kaijou..."
"I know what you called me. I'm just not in the mood to argue with you. I'm tired" she stated, clicking her tongue in exasperation at her shoes that refused to come off. Once that was done, she headed straight for the stairs, but he ran after her and blocked the way.
"Did that Chinese brat do something to you?"
"Why does everything has to necessarily have something to do with him? He didn't do anything. Never does" she defended him patiently.
"I know what I saw, and I know that guy's bad news"
"That was like six years ago, Touya. We've become friends since. Let me go upstairs, please"
"If he does anything to you he's dead meat"
"I'll tell you if he does"
He shook his head and scratched her head, making her squirm. He was always very rough, even when trying to show her affection, like right then. But he obviously loved her. And she knew. He just wouldn't admit his little sister wasn't so little anymore, and that she was strong enough to defend herself from most things. It was nice to know, though, that she would always have her brother around to protect her.
Once she shut her door Kero popped out of her backpack.
"I was suffocating in there!"
"Well, now you're out" she replied simply, opening her window to let some air in. She noticed it was starting to snow again, so she had to close it right away.
"Is something wrong?"
"I was thinking about my Christmas shopping" she lied "What would you like for Christmas, Kero?"
"You're buying me a present?" he beamed.
"Of course I am! Were you thinking I wouldn't?"
He darted towards her and encircled as much as he could of her neck with his little arms. She was sad, but couldn't stop herself from laughing at the affectionate display from the diminutive Guard Beast of the Seal, and gently scratch his back.
"Of course I'm getting you a present. You are my best friend!!"
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