Castles in the Sky

Castles in the Sky

By Amer

Thank you Ana-chan for your help with feeding the plot bunnies. This fic is a lot of fun to write, I enjoy it a lot…well except for the moments I want to hit my head against something and scream what can I writeee!! I also have a substantial plot, so yay! Also I goofed a chapter ago, I wrote for Syaoran's mothers name as Ie Ren (something like that) and my one beta reader Aileen pointed it out to me ^^.

Please R&R, please do not archive this story without my permission

Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP and Kodansha.

Chapter 5: Revelation

"Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for. I can't help it there's nothin' I want more"– Bryan Adams/(Everything I do) I do it for you.

"Daughter, where is your brother? There's an important meeting today and he's no where in the town house." Ye-Lan demanded as she walked into the sitting room.

"Xiao Lang? Well, now let's see…" Shiefa answered. "Oh that's right! He said he'd have to miss today's meeting, there was something more important for him to do."

"What!? Xiao Lang knew that this meeting was important and he's playing hooky?"

Shiefa hid a smile behind her hand and said in a low tone, "Well I hear there are some beautiful cherry blossom trees in Central Park. Maybe he went to find them."

~*~*~

Ryen turned around. Again, the second time that morning she felt as if something was hiding in the bushes. She shivered and walked on. She was on her way to meet Sakura at the Asian Lit. Building for lunch. Ryen was anxious to talk to her about last night. There were some unanswered questions floating around her head that were left unsatisfied from Sakura's explanation.

"Um, excuse me?" Ryen turned towards the uncertain voice and was surprised to see Xiao Lang Li, or Syaoran as Sakura had called him.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want?" She didn't even bother to hide the contempt in her voice. He had made Sakura cry, and that was enough to get on her shit list.

"It's Ryen, right?" She nodded. Syaoran ran his hand through his hair and continued. "I need to find Sakura, please tell me where she is?"

She looked at him, well more like stared him down. He was wearing a sweater over a pair of plain jeans, during the day and minus a tuxedo he didn't look like some all-powerful business leader, just a normal college student. "Before I answer, what should I call you? Mr. Li? No? Alright, Xiao Lang? No again, so then I'll call you what Sakura called you, Syaoran. Why should I tell you where she is?" He opened his mouth to speak but Ryen cut him off. "Listen to me, Buddy, do you even realize how much you hurt her?"

"I didn't mean to…"

"To what? Leave her hanging by a thread for the past eight years? Well you did, and you're lucky she didn't kill you on sight." She paused, and looked at him for a moment. Was it her imagination or was there a pain almost as great as Sakura's lurking in his eyes? "She cares about you a lot, she even turned down my cousin J.P! And let me tell you, J.P is adorable and he's a nice guy…most girls would simply die to have him say their names. But not Sakura, according to him, she told him flat out that all she could offer him was friendship. And you're the reason why. So tell me, why should I tell you where she is if you're just going to leave her again?"

"I didn't mean to. It's complicated, I planned on coming back for her when I was able to…look, it was complicated let's leave it at that. But I never meant to hurt her."

"No? So then when you got married it was to make her happy?" Ryen glared at the offensive ring on his finger.

"That was part of the complications." He sighed.

Complications, Ryen thought, both he and Sakura used that word without further elaboration. What the hell is so complicated?

"Why should I tell you?"

Syaoran paused and simply looked into Ryen's eyes. "Because I love her."

"Oh." She had been expecting some flimsy excuse. Ryen looked up at the sky then back at Syaoran. "If I tell you and you hurt her, let me tell you this. I will personally beat the shit out of you? Understood?" Syaoran nodded. "She's at the Foreign Language building, she should be finishing Asian Lit. soon, so go wait for her. Don't mess up."

"Thank you." Syaoran smiled slightly. "You seem like a good friend for her." Ryen smiled back. She hoped that he wouldn't hurt Sakura in the end though.

~*~*~

Looking at her watch, Sakura noticed she was running late. She uttered a curse word she had learned from J.P and scooped up her books. Sighing she marked the page in the book she had been reading and ran outside.

"Hoe?" she mumbled and looked at her watch again. She wasn't that late, just a minute or so but Ryen wasn't there. She walked down the steps and looked around, her eyes and sixth sense pinpointed on a person at the same time. She frowned and quickly turned around.

"Sakura!" She ignored Syaoran as he called her. "Sakura please, just five minutes."

"Fine. Five minutes." Sakura said tapping her foot impatiently.

Syaoran stepped closer. Damn, he thought, now that I got her to listen to me what do I say? Oh, Sakura I'm so sorry for screwing up your life? I don't think she'd take that too well. "Sakura, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to marry Meiling. Mother wouldn't even listen to me when I told her that I loved you, but I was only thirteen and she said I didn't know what I wanted. On my fourteenth birthday the Elder's married me and Meiling. I didn't want to marry her though, I tried to run away back to Japan but the Elder's set wards, I was a prisoner of the Clan. Please, Sakura, I'm sorry. I...I never stopped caring for you."

"Syaoran," Inwardly Syaoran cheered, she was calling him by his first name at least. "Why didn't you tell me that you were marrying Meiling?"

"At the time I was preoccupied with being initiated as both the Head of the Li Clan and becoming a husband." Syaoran shuffled his feet sheepishly.

"Oh. I'm sorry about Meiling. You must have grown to love her." She didn't look him in the eye.

"Meiling was a friend, even in marriage. She knew I could never love her. I'm sorry too. I killed her, you know." Syaoran confessed.

"Hoe? How?"

"Childbirth." Both Sakura and Syaoran blushed. "I had a responsibility to produce a male heir, and she died because of that. And in the end I was a failure at that too, my child was a girl."

For a moment Sakura forgot everything and just looked at the sad man in front of her. He had aged so much in such a short time, he was like Atlas, holding the world on his shoulders. "Syaoran, how can you blame yourself for that?" She moved closer and put her hand on his shoulder. "Some girls can't handle it, but you mustn't blame yourself. Meiling died with love, the love she had for you and her child. It's a shame, but you didn't kill her."

"Sakura…" He looked down into her eyes. And she saw in their depths, the grief he had hidden. She saw how much pain and guilt he had gone through thinking that he had killed Meiling. And something else. Something that frightened Sakura.

"I'm sorry Syaoran." She whispered, and gently laid her hand on his forehead. She didn't want to do this, but she had to know. Kero-chan had shown her a simple spell a long time ago using the Mirror Card. It would allow her to focus the power from that card and see the reflection of a memory. She had only used it once, on Touya, and he had let her willingly. Concentrating, she felt her finger tips warm and felt Syaoran stiffen. And then with a flash of light behind her eyelids she saw the memory she wanted.

Almost as if she had been there, Sakura saw a young Syaoran, maybe thirteen or so. He was with his mother.

"Mother," younger Syaoran complained. "I don't want to marry Meiling! I've already told you that I would willingly give up my place as Clan leader, just don't make me marry her. I-"

The memory was cut off as Syaoran pulled away. "That's private," he growled. Hurt flashed in his eyes for a moment, but Sakura had seen enough.

"I'm sorry, Syaoran. But I needed to know. I've learned not to trust the past few years." Sakura placed her hand again on his shoulder. "How hard it must have been for you."

"If you only knew." Mumbling, he looked down. "Sakura, look…" he stopped and Sakura turned her face up toward his. He seemed to stop as his eyes focused on something on her face, and blushing Sakura realized he was looking at her lips. Before she could react he leaned his head down and gently kissed her.

Sakura stepped back, her hand flying to her lips, where his presence was still felt. She looked at him with wide eyes. "Syao-"

"Sakura look out!" Syaoran shouted. It had been a glimmer in the air that had alerted him, but he knew something was there. He threw his body on top of her's knocking her to the ground. As they fell, a whizzing sound echoed in his ears. As Syaoran rolled over and jumped into a fighting crouch, he saw the shimmer again. But this time a person stepped from it.

"Well, the little wolf, thinks he can protect the Mistress of the Cards." Conrad sneered. "Let me introduce myself. Conrad at your service." He looked at Syaoran and Sakura.

Sakura stood slowly, her side hurting from where she had fallen. "Conrad? Who are you?"

"That's of no importance, Mistress, everything will be revealed in short time. My Master sends his regards, and I wouldn't get too close to the little wolf if I was you…the consequences might not be pleasant." He bowed mockingly and he disappeared with a glimmer.

Syaoran looked at Sakura. What was that, he thought. Sakura seemed to be thinking the same thing. "What the hell? Who was that?" Syaoran shook his head, he had no clue. "Maybe Eriol-kun would no…when I call home tonight I'll ask."

"Alright, about before, Sakura…I'm sorry."

"It's OK." She gulped, and smiled bravely. "Would you like to go to lunch with me and my friends?"

"Sure. Oh, wait what time is it?"

"A little after noon. Why?"

"Dammit! I have to go back to the office; I have to go to a meeting later. I'm sorry Sakura, I want to go with you, but I can't miss this meeting, I already missed this morning's while I looked for you. What about dinner?"

"Alright. Meet me at my dorm tonight around six." She hid her disappointment with a smile.

"Thanks, I'm sorry. I'll ask my Mother and call the Elders. Maybe they know about this Conrad and who he's working for."

"Ok." She waved as he sprinted away. Slowly her hand came back to her lips. He had kissed her. Biting her lip, she grinned. He had kissed her! Happily she ran to find Ryen and J.P.

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Wow this chapter was short…See all is well in the world again…for now ^^;

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