Disclaimer: The fic is the only thing that's mine; characters aren't, unfortunately. All rights to these amazing ANIMEs belong to Clamp, Kodansha, Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, yadda yadda yadda, so don't waste your time suing me! Your 'corporate bogeyman' won't get anything valuable from me, anyway, except for a handful of lousy college grades, some leftover cookie crumbs, a Pentel point 5 standard ball pen, and some crumpled research papers.
Author's Notes: Hehehehe...
DESTINY by rei-chan
Chapter Fifteen: Family Day
Quiet sobbing.
A familiar male voice said, "Maa, Sakura-chan, stop crying! He's going to be all right, don't worry!"
The sound of a hard hand meeting a harder head.
"I CAN'T STOP CRYING, you stupid, stupid BAKA(1)!" Sakura wailed, her voice having a hysterical edge on it as Duo Maxwell grumbled in pain, "He almost DIED! DIED! And I haven't even told him how I feel about him!"
"Daijoubo, Sakura-chan. When he wakes up, you can tell him. Duo-san and I will even leave you alone. Promise!"
"You better." A threathening growl. "Or else I'll shoot you both!"
Two indignant squeals.
"I COMPLETELY resent that, Hee-chan!"
Soft laughter.
"There's no need to be homicidal, Raiu." A soft hand on Syaoran's arm. "Besides, he's awake."
Syaoran groaned loudly as he struggled to open his eyes, the pain in his head intensifying as the light filtering from the window almost blinded him. "What the--what the hell happened?" he moaned in pathetic-sounding voice, raising an arm in front of him to shield his eyes from the sun's harsh glare.
He was almost bowled over when a person threw itself on his chest and started sobbing. Loudly. "Thank the gods, Syaoran-kun! You're ok!" Sakura yelled.
The Chinese boy sighed as he wrapped his arms around the Card Mistress. "Ssshh. I'm all right, Sakura-chan. I'm all right." He cringed at Heero's direction. His brother smirked at him in sympathy.
Heero Yuy touched his brother's arm with his eyebrows furrowed with concern. "How are you feeling?" He asked the younger boy in a surprisingly gentle voice as his calculating eyes ran over his brother's body, checking and examining. Beside him, Eriol smilingly slapped Tomoyo's hand as the raven-haired girl made a move to turn on her video camera.
"But they're just so KAWAII!" Tomoyo protested.
Syaoran tilted his head back and smiled. "Like I've been rolled over by a tractor." He tensed as his head started throbbing, and closed his eyes to minimize the pain. "But I'll live." he mumbled.
"Good."
They spent a few moments in silence, broken only by the sound of Sakura's quiet sniffles and Duo's and Tomoyo's soft argument about perfect video angles. Syaoran absently began stroking the emerald-eyed girl's hair while shushing her.
Heero eyed them all sternly. "We should go. ALL OF US." He pointedly glared at Duo and Tomoyo, who were currently playing tug-of-war with Tomoyo's video camera.
Duo pouted at his declaration. "NOW?!" he cried.
Heero sent him a look of death. "Now."
Grumbling, the braided pilot stood up and made a beeline for the door, with Eriol and Tomoyo not far behind him. Heero patted his brother's shoulder gently and gave Sakura an encouraging smirk before following the others out of the room, closing the door soundlessly behind him.
The sounds of Duo's and Tomoyo's indignant protests could be heard outside.
Sakura sniffled before pushing herself up to a sitting position, her eyes narrowed into two angry little slits as she started hitting Syaoran on the chest. "You stupid, stupid, STUPID idiot!" she cried hysterically, tears coursing down her fair cheeks as she grabbed on to the amber-eyed boy's shirt with her fists, "You could have gotten yourself KILLED! What were you thinking? I'm sick and tired of your heroic acts Syaoran! I'm so sick of having to fear for your life ALL the time! How could--"
Her tirade was cut off when one of Syaoran's hands came to rest on one of her balled-up fists while the other slipped under her chin and gently forced her to look up to him.
Emerald eyes locked with amber ones for one full minute before Syaoran spoke softly, "Why?"
That shocked the girl out from her crying. "Hoe?"
"Why does my life matter to you that much?"
Sakura exploded. "Are you that incredibly STUPID, you, you GAKI?! Why does your life matter to me that much? Why? It's because I love you, you dimwit! I-LOVE-YOU! I love you!" she jumped up from the bed and started pacing about the room, her arms flailing wildly over her head in emphasis as she talked, "I've loved you ever since the day I first saw you! I was just too much of a clueless little airhead to realize that at that time! I love you for always being there for me, for always being the first person to express concern for me, I love you for everything that you are! I love you Syaoran! Ga suki da yo(2)! Now do you understand? Huh? Huh?!"
She turned to Syaoran with frazzled, harried eyes, only to find that the boy was laughing softly under his breath. "What are you laughing at, Li-kun? You think I'm joking? Well I'm not!" She jumped back on his bed and grabbed fistfulls his shirt, pulling the boy's face towards her, "Stop that!" she screamed.
Syaoran was having a hard time breathing. "Go-gomen ne, Sakura!" he choked out hoarsely, "Of course I believe you! It's just that I've always tried to imagine how you would answer me back. This just took the cake as far as aggressiveness goes, Sakura-chan!"
The Card Mistress stared dumbly at Syaoran for a couple of minutes, before realization sank in. "Oh Kami-sama," she breathed out in disbelief, her fists falling from Syaoran's shirt, "I said it...oh God..."
The Chinese boy stopped laughing immediately and gently grabbed both of Sakura's hands in his. "It's ok. I wouldn't have minded how you said it. What's important to me is that--" He smiled. "You said it." Taking a deep breath, Syaoran stared directly into her eyes, "Suki da, Sakura-chan. Watashi no kokoro.(3)"
Sakura smiled brightly before moving forward and resting her forehead on the boy's chest while his arms automatically encircled her body. "Me too, Syaoran. Me too.'
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
The pair looked up in alarm as Syaoran's bedroom window suddenly crashed in, two figures along with it. The door flew open a milisecond later and in flew Heero Yuy, his gun out and aimed. He scowled darkly as Duo Maxwell and Daidouji Tomoyo beamed sheepishly at him from the glass-covered floor. They were obviously perched up on one of the tree branches outside Syaoran's window, judging from the leaves stuck in their long hairs. "I told you to stay away from them." he snarled as he moved forward to help Tomoyo back up on her feet. He slapped Duo hard across the head. "Baka. Tomoyo could have gotten hurt."
Duo glared back darkly at his comrade as he stood up, rubbing his head. "We were SAFELY up on the tree, Yuy. I'm sure. The window just seemed to appear--" It took him a moment to realize that Eriol was conspicuously missing from the scene.
Syaoran, Heero, and Sakura all looked up at the same time as blinding white light suddenly flashed in the air.
"ERIOL!!!"
~ 0 ~
Three days later...
Heero stuck his head inside Syaoran's bedroom. "How are you feeling?" He asked the younger boy as Syaoran slowly closed his book.
He smiled. "Better." he replied.
"Good." He then ushered Sakura into the room. "You have a visitor." With that, he closed the door.
"Konnichiwa." Sakura greeted him shyly, walking over to his bed and planting a soft kiss on his blushing cheek. She held a brown paper bag towards him. "Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun and I made this for you during Home Ec." she told him
He opened the bag and took out some brownies. "Eriol, huh?" he chuckled. "Are you sure he didn't put any poison here?" he joked.
The Card Mistress laughed. "Nah. Tomoyo was watching him like a hawk, and I would've felt it if he used any magic."
"Good, then." He held out one and gingerly nibbled its edge. Finding the taste satisfactory, he braved a bigger bite. He WAS a little hingry, after all. "Oishii."
She flushed. "Arigatou." Sakura watched him eat for a few minutes before clearing her throat. "Tomorrow's Family Day at school, did you know?"
Syaoran dug inside the bag for a second brownie. "Actually, no." He replied before popping the entire slice in his mouth. Sakura made a sour face at him. "Whash aboutsh itsh?" He mumbled through a mouthful of brownie, little specks of the dessert flying out of his mouth as Sakura slapped him playfully on his uninjured arm.
"You've been hanging around Duo for too long already, Syaoran. You're beginning to act like him. Disgusting."
Syaoran laughed. "Don't let him hear you say that." he warned the girl, and they both chuckled.
"So," he said after a few seconds, turning back to the topic at hand. "What about Family Day?"
Sakura shrugged. "Well, nothing, really. I just figured you should know, since Wei-san and Raiu-san were talking about letting you come to school tomorrow."
"Oh."
"So are you bringing them along?"
Syaoran stared at her in confusion. "Who?"
"Duo-san and your brother. Raiu-san's your family, after all, and Duo has sort-of adopted himself."
The Chinese boy eyed her for a couple of seconds before shaking his head. "I don't think so. I mean, I can imagine Duo playing games tomorrow, but my brother?"
Sakura seemed surprised. "Really? But I mentioned this a while ago to Raiu-san, and he said they'll both go if you take them." she informed the boy as Syaoran thoughtfully munched on another brownie. She pointed at the deep imprint on the brownie's surface. "Eriol-kun stuck his finger inside that." She told him helpfully. Syaoran almost gagged.
"He-he--" he sputtered, his entire face turning green, like he was about to puke.
She shrugged. "We needed to see if the inside was cooked." she said nonchalantly. "Tomoyo was using the fork, and the fudge was too hot for me to handle so Eriol stuck his finger in to check."
Syaoran swallowed before pushing the bag away.
Suddenly he was full.
~ 0 ~
"Picnic blanket."
"Check."
"Forks? Knives? Spoons?"
"Check check check!"
"First-aid kit?"
Duo looked at the boy in front of him a little strangely before uttering a somewhat strangled "Check."
"Food?"
Duo ticked another item on his chart. "Check." he announced cheerfully. He ran over all the items again. " Yosh'! I guess that's it." He paused for a second, thinking. He snapped his fingers together, causing Heero, who was busy packing everything into the picnic basket, to glance at him thoughtfully. He held up a finger. "I'll be right back."
He sped into the kitchen and returned beaming, carrying a stack of paper napkins triumphantly in his hands. "See, Hee-chan? I knew we forgot to pack something." He flashed a huge grin at the handsome Wing pilot, feeling a little stupid for being so absolutely giddy about nothing.
Heero merely glanced at him before holding out a hand for the napkins in Duo's hands and placing them among the other items they would be bringing to Syaoran's school's Family Day. "Go and get Syaoran so we can be on our way." he muttered at Duo without looking up from his work.
"Okay!" Duo singsonged before bounding out of the room. 'Man, what the hell is wrong with me today? Why am I feeling so goofy whenever I'm around Heero?' He shook his head, striding purposefully through the living room on his way to Syaoran's bedroom. 'Tch. You're just excited about today. It's nothing, Duo! You'll get over it in no time!' he encouraged himself. He arrived at Syaoran's door and knocked loudly, shouting, "Oi, squirt! Better get your ass out here! Your trigger-happy bro's getting antsy!"
A slightly muffled "Coming!" was heard through the door. A few seconds later Syaoran walked out, looking crisp and outdoorsy in his school PE uniform.
"Aww, don't you look nice! You're cute enough to eat!" Duo gushed, grabbing the irate boy and enveloping him into a bear hug. He viciuosly began ruffling Syaoran's hair.
"Cut it out, Duo!" Syaoran yelled helplessly, struggling within the American's grasp. He wiggled his way out and peered at Duo strangely. "Let me guess. You've had a cup of coffee--no, scratch that--a big mug of coffee, haven't you?"
Duo laughed, placing a hand nonchalantly behind his head. "Naahh. I'm just...man, I'm just excited, Syaoran! I mean, I haven't really done anything like this before in my life!" He grinned at the amber-eyed boy. "It makes me feel like I've been given a chance to be a real kid, y'know?"
Syaoran rolled his eyes at the Shinigami pilot before pivoting on his heel and heading towards the kitchen. "Whatever."
"Oh, and did I tell you that Heero and I packed enough food to feed an army for two weeks? So you better find a place for all that food in your stomach later, else I'm gonna ram all of it down your throat. You hear me?" Duo yelled at him, trying to catch up with the younger boy.
"....Yeah..." Syaoran murmured absentmindedly, eyes wideing at the size of the picnic basked sitting on the countertop. He looked strangely at Heero. "What did you do, 'niisan, empty out the cupboards? We're just going to a Family Day, not a month-long camping trip." he said, somewhat amused.
Heero was unfazed. "We've got Duo with us. Anything we can't eat anymore, he'd be happy to imbibe."
Duo appeared suddenly out of nowhere, slinging an arm around Heero's shoulders. "Yup, that's me! Duo the human garbage compactor!" he rubbed his trim stomach for effect.
"And proud of it, I see." Syaoran remarked dryly. He shared a grin with the other boy.
"Iku zo." Heero called out tersely. With one deft movement, he scooped up the picnic basket and marched stiffly to the door. "Hayaku."
"Yay! We're going! All right!" Duo cried enthusiastically, pumping a fist in the air. He playfully put the unresisting Syoaran in a chokehold, laughing as he dragged him to the door.
"Hey 'niisan," Syaoran called to his brother, who was already out in the hallyway. "I think you should bring a tranquilizer or something. Duo's acting weird."
Heero looked at him calmly before replying. "Why do you think I packed the first-aid kit for?"
~ 0 ~
"Okay, everyone! Students line up on my left, parents or guardians on my right." Terada-sensei called out, struggling to be heard over the din the huge crowd was making. The people complied immediately, chattering all the way. "The picnic area is there near the playing field, so for those who still haven't put down their things yet, now's the time to do it."
Duo clapped his hands together in delight. "Ooh, Hee-chan, c'mon! Let's unpack over there! Or better yet that spot beside the goalpost looks good...no, no, I don't think so--wait! There! Let's put our spread over there! Hmm, no...oh hey, how about..."
Yamazaki, who was standing behind Syaoran in line, laughed at Duo's antics. He was amused by the look of resigned suffering on Syaoran's brother's face. He nudged the boy in front of him gently. "Looks like you brother's about to kill Duo-san in a minute."
Syaoran groaned. "He's not the only one. Duo's been like that all morning! Excited about the event or something, I don't know." His brows furrowed. "I just hope 'niisan doesn't kill him just yet."
"Why not, Li-kun?"
Syaoran grinned wolfishly at his friend. "I wanna be the one to get to hurt him first."
"Really, Syoaran! Such talk about Duo-san in the morning!" Sakura admonished, appearing suddenly over Syaoran's elbow. He whipped around and stared at her, face flaming. When she saw him blushing, her face sympathized with his and began turning fire-engine red. Trying desperately to cover up her embarassment, she frantically searched for anyone to get her out of the situation. Her eyes fell on Yamazaki, who was smirking knowingly at the two of them. "Konnichi wa, Yamazaki-kun!" she said breathlessly to the other boy, flashing him a weak smile. She then turned her attention back to Syaoran. She scuffed one sneaker toe on the ground, and looked shyly up at Syaoran. "Konnichi wa, Syaoran-kun." she greeted softly, a faint blush still on her cheeks.
"Uh h-hi, Sakura-chan." Syaoran mumbled, face still suffused with heat as his heart started beating wildly. 'What am I supposed to do? Hug her? Kiss her? Hold her hand? Do all three? What??' he cried out in his mind, feeling frazzled. Just as he was seriously considering heeding the chorus of voices inside his mind urging him to do all three, a shadow fell over the three students, causing them to look up.
The towering form of Kinomoto Touya stood ever them. Sakura's brother glared malovelently at Syaoran before turning impassively to his sister. "Oi, kaijuu. Dad wants you." he intoned before sauntering away.
"Sakura kaijuu ja nai mon!" Sakura screamed at her brother's back. "Sorry, you guys. I'll be right back. Ja ne!" she flasheda smile before running after her brother.
Syaoran blew out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Damn.
"Great timing, huh?" Yamazaki observed sympathetically. "Boy, her brother really hates your guts!"
Syaoran stared after Sakura's retreating back and sighed. "Tell me about it." he mumbled.
~ 0 ~
"Heero! HEERO!!!"
Heero looked up from the paper napkins he was stacking to find his comrade running towards him at an alarming speed, a familiar manic glint in his violet eyes that Heero knew all too well.
"What do you want, Maxwell?" The Wing pilot grumbled irritatingly, turning back to his task as Duo plopped down on the blanket next to him, panting. His partner gave him a silly smile, saying, "The games are about to start, man, c'mon!"
"I'm not playing."
"NANI?! But aren't the GAMES the whole point in Family Days or something? If you won't play then we might as well not have come!"
The Wing pilot shook his head firmly. "You go and play. I'll watch our spread." He declared.
Duo eyed him a little strangely before stiffly getting back up on his feet. "Ch. 'Tever you say, man." With that, the braided boy left.
Heero stared after his comrade's retreating back for a long, long time, his mind a jumble of a million thoughts as he tried to cope with the strange emotions overwhelming him ever since he and Duo got up that morning to prepare for the day's event. He was having a hard time adjusting to the fact that, for the very first time in his entire life, he had a family aside from the other Gundam pilots. He had a family to spend fun, quality time with, a family who would look up to him and need him. Most of all, a family that loves him. Syaoran was his family, and, technically, Heero would do anything for the boy. The only thing stopping him was the fact that he was having a lot of trouble accepting that reality.(4)
He looked up again when he heard cheers coming from Syaoran's class. He noticed Duo lined up along with a few other boys, Syaoran's classmates' brothers or cousins, no doubt. They were about to start a basketball game.
The Perfect Soldier watched them set up the game for a while before sighing and standing up, heading over to where class 6-2's families were.
TBC
---Aack! Sorry about that! I ran out of disc space! Anyways the next chapter is already up. Enjoy.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Yep, repetitive. I knew that. Let's just note that Sakura-chan's hysterical while babbling.
2. "I love you very much."--or something like that. Ga suki is sort of like a less meaningful way to say 'I love you', I think, while the da yo part just puts more stress on it.
3. "I love you, Sakura. My heart." *starts cooing*
4. God, I have no idea where all these came from! It doesn't make any sense to me! Gomen about that! I'll edit this one as soon as I have organized my scattered thoughts.
Like it? Hate it? Let me know!
Author's Notes: Hehehehe...
DESTINY by rei-chan
Chapter Fifteen: Family Day
Quiet sobbing.
A familiar male voice said, "Maa, Sakura-chan, stop crying! He's going to be all right, don't worry!"
The sound of a hard hand meeting a harder head.
"I CAN'T STOP CRYING, you stupid, stupid BAKA(1)!" Sakura wailed, her voice having a hysterical edge on it as Duo Maxwell grumbled in pain, "He almost DIED! DIED! And I haven't even told him how I feel about him!"
"Daijoubo, Sakura-chan. When he wakes up, you can tell him. Duo-san and I will even leave you alone. Promise!"
"You better." A threathening growl. "Or else I'll shoot you both!"
Two indignant squeals.
"I COMPLETELY resent that, Hee-chan!"
Soft laughter.
"There's no need to be homicidal, Raiu." A soft hand on Syaoran's arm. "Besides, he's awake."
Syaoran groaned loudly as he struggled to open his eyes, the pain in his head intensifying as the light filtering from the window almost blinded him. "What the--what the hell happened?" he moaned in pathetic-sounding voice, raising an arm in front of him to shield his eyes from the sun's harsh glare.
He was almost bowled over when a person threw itself on his chest and started sobbing. Loudly. "Thank the gods, Syaoran-kun! You're ok!" Sakura yelled.
The Chinese boy sighed as he wrapped his arms around the Card Mistress. "Ssshh. I'm all right, Sakura-chan. I'm all right." He cringed at Heero's direction. His brother smirked at him in sympathy.
Heero Yuy touched his brother's arm with his eyebrows furrowed with concern. "How are you feeling?" He asked the younger boy in a surprisingly gentle voice as his calculating eyes ran over his brother's body, checking and examining. Beside him, Eriol smilingly slapped Tomoyo's hand as the raven-haired girl made a move to turn on her video camera.
"But they're just so KAWAII!" Tomoyo protested.
Syaoran tilted his head back and smiled. "Like I've been rolled over by a tractor." He tensed as his head started throbbing, and closed his eyes to minimize the pain. "But I'll live." he mumbled.
"Good."
They spent a few moments in silence, broken only by the sound of Sakura's quiet sniffles and Duo's and Tomoyo's soft argument about perfect video angles. Syaoran absently began stroking the emerald-eyed girl's hair while shushing her.
Heero eyed them all sternly. "We should go. ALL OF US." He pointedly glared at Duo and Tomoyo, who were currently playing tug-of-war with Tomoyo's video camera.
Duo pouted at his declaration. "NOW?!" he cried.
Heero sent him a look of death. "Now."
Grumbling, the braided pilot stood up and made a beeline for the door, with Eriol and Tomoyo not far behind him. Heero patted his brother's shoulder gently and gave Sakura an encouraging smirk before following the others out of the room, closing the door soundlessly behind him.
The sounds of Duo's and Tomoyo's indignant protests could be heard outside.
Sakura sniffled before pushing herself up to a sitting position, her eyes narrowed into two angry little slits as she started hitting Syaoran on the chest. "You stupid, stupid, STUPID idiot!" she cried hysterically, tears coursing down her fair cheeks as she grabbed on to the amber-eyed boy's shirt with her fists, "You could have gotten yourself KILLED! What were you thinking? I'm sick and tired of your heroic acts Syaoran! I'm so sick of having to fear for your life ALL the time! How could--"
Her tirade was cut off when one of Syaoran's hands came to rest on one of her balled-up fists while the other slipped under her chin and gently forced her to look up to him.
Emerald eyes locked with amber ones for one full minute before Syaoran spoke softly, "Why?"
That shocked the girl out from her crying. "Hoe?"
"Why does my life matter to you that much?"
Sakura exploded. "Are you that incredibly STUPID, you, you GAKI?! Why does your life matter to me that much? Why? It's because I love you, you dimwit! I-LOVE-YOU! I love you!" she jumped up from the bed and started pacing about the room, her arms flailing wildly over her head in emphasis as she talked, "I've loved you ever since the day I first saw you! I was just too much of a clueless little airhead to realize that at that time! I love you for always being there for me, for always being the first person to express concern for me, I love you for everything that you are! I love you Syaoran! Ga suki da yo(2)! Now do you understand? Huh? Huh?!"
She turned to Syaoran with frazzled, harried eyes, only to find that the boy was laughing softly under his breath. "What are you laughing at, Li-kun? You think I'm joking? Well I'm not!" She jumped back on his bed and grabbed fistfulls his shirt, pulling the boy's face towards her, "Stop that!" she screamed.
Syaoran was having a hard time breathing. "Go-gomen ne, Sakura!" he choked out hoarsely, "Of course I believe you! It's just that I've always tried to imagine how you would answer me back. This just took the cake as far as aggressiveness goes, Sakura-chan!"
The Card Mistress stared dumbly at Syaoran for a couple of minutes, before realization sank in. "Oh Kami-sama," she breathed out in disbelief, her fists falling from Syaoran's shirt, "I said it...oh God..."
The Chinese boy stopped laughing immediately and gently grabbed both of Sakura's hands in his. "It's ok. I wouldn't have minded how you said it. What's important to me is that--" He smiled. "You said it." Taking a deep breath, Syaoran stared directly into her eyes, "Suki da, Sakura-chan. Watashi no kokoro.(3)"
Sakura smiled brightly before moving forward and resting her forehead on the boy's chest while his arms automatically encircled her body. "Me too, Syaoran. Me too.'
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
The pair looked up in alarm as Syaoran's bedroom window suddenly crashed in, two figures along with it. The door flew open a milisecond later and in flew Heero Yuy, his gun out and aimed. He scowled darkly as Duo Maxwell and Daidouji Tomoyo beamed sheepishly at him from the glass-covered floor. They were obviously perched up on one of the tree branches outside Syaoran's window, judging from the leaves stuck in their long hairs. "I told you to stay away from them." he snarled as he moved forward to help Tomoyo back up on her feet. He slapped Duo hard across the head. "Baka. Tomoyo could have gotten hurt."
Duo glared back darkly at his comrade as he stood up, rubbing his head. "We were SAFELY up on the tree, Yuy. I'm sure. The window just seemed to appear--" It took him a moment to realize that Eriol was conspicuously missing from the scene.
Syaoran, Heero, and Sakura all looked up at the same time as blinding white light suddenly flashed in the air.
"ERIOL!!!"
~ 0 ~
Three days later...
Heero stuck his head inside Syaoran's bedroom. "How are you feeling?" He asked the younger boy as Syaoran slowly closed his book.
He smiled. "Better." he replied.
"Good." He then ushered Sakura into the room. "You have a visitor." With that, he closed the door.
"Konnichiwa." Sakura greeted him shyly, walking over to his bed and planting a soft kiss on his blushing cheek. She held a brown paper bag towards him. "Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun and I made this for you during Home Ec." she told him
He opened the bag and took out some brownies. "Eriol, huh?" he chuckled. "Are you sure he didn't put any poison here?" he joked.
The Card Mistress laughed. "Nah. Tomoyo was watching him like a hawk, and I would've felt it if he used any magic."
"Good, then." He held out one and gingerly nibbled its edge. Finding the taste satisfactory, he braved a bigger bite. He WAS a little hingry, after all. "Oishii."
She flushed. "Arigatou." Sakura watched him eat for a few minutes before clearing her throat. "Tomorrow's Family Day at school, did you know?"
Syaoran dug inside the bag for a second brownie. "Actually, no." He replied before popping the entire slice in his mouth. Sakura made a sour face at him. "Whash aboutsh itsh?" He mumbled through a mouthful of brownie, little specks of the dessert flying out of his mouth as Sakura slapped him playfully on his uninjured arm.
"You've been hanging around Duo for too long already, Syaoran. You're beginning to act like him. Disgusting."
Syaoran laughed. "Don't let him hear you say that." he warned the girl, and they both chuckled.
"So," he said after a few seconds, turning back to the topic at hand. "What about Family Day?"
Sakura shrugged. "Well, nothing, really. I just figured you should know, since Wei-san and Raiu-san were talking about letting you come to school tomorrow."
"Oh."
"So are you bringing them along?"
Syaoran stared at her in confusion. "Who?"
"Duo-san and your brother. Raiu-san's your family, after all, and Duo has sort-of adopted himself."
The Chinese boy eyed her for a couple of seconds before shaking his head. "I don't think so. I mean, I can imagine Duo playing games tomorrow, but my brother?"
Sakura seemed surprised. "Really? But I mentioned this a while ago to Raiu-san, and he said they'll both go if you take them." she informed the boy as Syaoran thoughtfully munched on another brownie. She pointed at the deep imprint on the brownie's surface. "Eriol-kun stuck his finger inside that." She told him helpfully. Syaoran almost gagged.
"He-he--" he sputtered, his entire face turning green, like he was about to puke.
She shrugged. "We needed to see if the inside was cooked." she said nonchalantly. "Tomoyo was using the fork, and the fudge was too hot for me to handle so Eriol stuck his finger in to check."
Syaoran swallowed before pushing the bag away.
Suddenly he was full.
~ 0 ~
"Picnic blanket."
"Check."
"Forks? Knives? Spoons?"
"Check check check!"
"First-aid kit?"
Duo looked at the boy in front of him a little strangely before uttering a somewhat strangled "Check."
"Food?"
Duo ticked another item on his chart. "Check." he announced cheerfully. He ran over all the items again. " Yosh'! I guess that's it." He paused for a second, thinking. He snapped his fingers together, causing Heero, who was busy packing everything into the picnic basket, to glance at him thoughtfully. He held up a finger. "I'll be right back."
He sped into the kitchen and returned beaming, carrying a stack of paper napkins triumphantly in his hands. "See, Hee-chan? I knew we forgot to pack something." He flashed a huge grin at the handsome Wing pilot, feeling a little stupid for being so absolutely giddy about nothing.
Heero merely glanced at him before holding out a hand for the napkins in Duo's hands and placing them among the other items they would be bringing to Syaoran's school's Family Day. "Go and get Syaoran so we can be on our way." he muttered at Duo without looking up from his work.
"Okay!" Duo singsonged before bounding out of the room. 'Man, what the hell is wrong with me today? Why am I feeling so goofy whenever I'm around Heero?' He shook his head, striding purposefully through the living room on his way to Syaoran's bedroom. 'Tch. You're just excited about today. It's nothing, Duo! You'll get over it in no time!' he encouraged himself. He arrived at Syaoran's door and knocked loudly, shouting, "Oi, squirt! Better get your ass out here! Your trigger-happy bro's getting antsy!"
A slightly muffled "Coming!" was heard through the door. A few seconds later Syaoran walked out, looking crisp and outdoorsy in his school PE uniform.
"Aww, don't you look nice! You're cute enough to eat!" Duo gushed, grabbing the irate boy and enveloping him into a bear hug. He viciuosly began ruffling Syaoran's hair.
"Cut it out, Duo!" Syaoran yelled helplessly, struggling within the American's grasp. He wiggled his way out and peered at Duo strangely. "Let me guess. You've had a cup of coffee--no, scratch that--a big mug of coffee, haven't you?"
Duo laughed, placing a hand nonchalantly behind his head. "Naahh. I'm just...man, I'm just excited, Syaoran! I mean, I haven't really done anything like this before in my life!" He grinned at the amber-eyed boy. "It makes me feel like I've been given a chance to be a real kid, y'know?"
Syaoran rolled his eyes at the Shinigami pilot before pivoting on his heel and heading towards the kitchen. "Whatever."
"Oh, and did I tell you that Heero and I packed enough food to feed an army for two weeks? So you better find a place for all that food in your stomach later, else I'm gonna ram all of it down your throat. You hear me?" Duo yelled at him, trying to catch up with the younger boy.
"....Yeah..." Syaoran murmured absentmindedly, eyes wideing at the size of the picnic basked sitting on the countertop. He looked strangely at Heero. "What did you do, 'niisan, empty out the cupboards? We're just going to a Family Day, not a month-long camping trip." he said, somewhat amused.
Heero was unfazed. "We've got Duo with us. Anything we can't eat anymore, he'd be happy to imbibe."
Duo appeared suddenly out of nowhere, slinging an arm around Heero's shoulders. "Yup, that's me! Duo the human garbage compactor!" he rubbed his trim stomach for effect.
"And proud of it, I see." Syaoran remarked dryly. He shared a grin with the other boy.
"Iku zo." Heero called out tersely. With one deft movement, he scooped up the picnic basket and marched stiffly to the door. "Hayaku."
"Yay! We're going! All right!" Duo cried enthusiastically, pumping a fist in the air. He playfully put the unresisting Syoaran in a chokehold, laughing as he dragged him to the door.
"Hey 'niisan," Syaoran called to his brother, who was already out in the hallyway. "I think you should bring a tranquilizer or something. Duo's acting weird."
Heero looked at him calmly before replying. "Why do you think I packed the first-aid kit for?"
~ 0 ~
"Okay, everyone! Students line up on my left, parents or guardians on my right." Terada-sensei called out, struggling to be heard over the din the huge crowd was making. The people complied immediately, chattering all the way. "The picnic area is there near the playing field, so for those who still haven't put down their things yet, now's the time to do it."
Duo clapped his hands together in delight. "Ooh, Hee-chan, c'mon! Let's unpack over there! Or better yet that spot beside the goalpost looks good...no, no, I don't think so--wait! There! Let's put our spread over there! Hmm, no...oh hey, how about..."
Yamazaki, who was standing behind Syaoran in line, laughed at Duo's antics. He was amused by the look of resigned suffering on Syaoran's brother's face. He nudged the boy in front of him gently. "Looks like you brother's about to kill Duo-san in a minute."
Syaoran groaned. "He's not the only one. Duo's been like that all morning! Excited about the event or something, I don't know." His brows furrowed. "I just hope 'niisan doesn't kill him just yet."
"Why not, Li-kun?"
Syaoran grinned wolfishly at his friend. "I wanna be the one to get to hurt him first."
"Really, Syoaran! Such talk about Duo-san in the morning!" Sakura admonished, appearing suddenly over Syaoran's elbow. He whipped around and stared at her, face flaming. When she saw him blushing, her face sympathized with his and began turning fire-engine red. Trying desperately to cover up her embarassment, she frantically searched for anyone to get her out of the situation. Her eyes fell on Yamazaki, who was smirking knowingly at the two of them. "Konnichi wa, Yamazaki-kun!" she said breathlessly to the other boy, flashing him a weak smile. She then turned her attention back to Syaoran. She scuffed one sneaker toe on the ground, and looked shyly up at Syaoran. "Konnichi wa, Syaoran-kun." she greeted softly, a faint blush still on her cheeks.
"Uh h-hi, Sakura-chan." Syaoran mumbled, face still suffused with heat as his heart started beating wildly. 'What am I supposed to do? Hug her? Kiss her? Hold her hand? Do all three? What??' he cried out in his mind, feeling frazzled. Just as he was seriously considering heeding the chorus of voices inside his mind urging him to do all three, a shadow fell over the three students, causing them to look up.
The towering form of Kinomoto Touya stood ever them. Sakura's brother glared malovelently at Syaoran before turning impassively to his sister. "Oi, kaijuu. Dad wants you." he intoned before sauntering away.
"Sakura kaijuu ja nai mon!" Sakura screamed at her brother's back. "Sorry, you guys. I'll be right back. Ja ne!" she flasheda smile before running after her brother.
Syaoran blew out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Damn.
"Great timing, huh?" Yamazaki observed sympathetically. "Boy, her brother really hates your guts!"
Syaoran stared after Sakura's retreating back and sighed. "Tell me about it." he mumbled.
~ 0 ~
"Heero! HEERO!!!"
Heero looked up from the paper napkins he was stacking to find his comrade running towards him at an alarming speed, a familiar manic glint in his violet eyes that Heero knew all too well.
"What do you want, Maxwell?" The Wing pilot grumbled irritatingly, turning back to his task as Duo plopped down on the blanket next to him, panting. His partner gave him a silly smile, saying, "The games are about to start, man, c'mon!"
"I'm not playing."
"NANI?! But aren't the GAMES the whole point in Family Days or something? If you won't play then we might as well not have come!"
The Wing pilot shook his head firmly. "You go and play. I'll watch our spread." He declared.
Duo eyed him a little strangely before stiffly getting back up on his feet. "Ch. 'Tever you say, man." With that, the braided boy left.
Heero stared after his comrade's retreating back for a long, long time, his mind a jumble of a million thoughts as he tried to cope with the strange emotions overwhelming him ever since he and Duo got up that morning to prepare for the day's event. He was having a hard time adjusting to the fact that, for the very first time in his entire life, he had a family aside from the other Gundam pilots. He had a family to spend fun, quality time with, a family who would look up to him and need him. Most of all, a family that loves him. Syaoran was his family, and, technically, Heero would do anything for the boy. The only thing stopping him was the fact that he was having a lot of trouble accepting that reality.(4)
He looked up again when he heard cheers coming from Syaoran's class. He noticed Duo lined up along with a few other boys, Syaoran's classmates' brothers or cousins, no doubt. They were about to start a basketball game.
The Perfect Soldier watched them set up the game for a while before sighing and standing up, heading over to where class 6-2's families were.
TBC
---Aack! Sorry about that! I ran out of disc space! Anyways the next chapter is already up. Enjoy.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Yep, repetitive. I knew that. Let's just note that Sakura-chan's hysterical while babbling.
2. "I love you very much."--or something like that. Ga suki is sort of like a less meaningful way to say 'I love you', I think, while the da yo part just puts more stress on it.
3. "I love you, Sakura. My heart." *starts cooing*
4. God, I have no idea where all these came from! It doesn't make any sense to me! Gomen about that! I'll edit this one as soon as I have organized my scattered thoughts.
Like it? Hate it? Let me know!
