SourPop1004: Ok, Here's chapter 3! I hope you guys like it. I have a
feeling you people might flame me for the end but hey! Remember I'm a big
S+S fan. Oh and I wanted to clear something up. When I said 20 reviews for
chapter 3 I meant I need 20 reviews per chapter. But I understand that
could be misunderstood. So, from now on when you read the story, at the
end, I'll tell you the number of reviews that must be reached in order for
the next chapter. Ok? If you have any questions at all, please e-mail me at
XxGoDsLiGhT012xX@aol.com. Enjoy!
PS: From this point on, especially chapter 4, there's gonna be fluff and stuff so all you guys ::cough cough:: Robin ::cough cough:: should either just hold your breath and read it or head for the hills. Got it? ::cough cough:: Robin ::cough cough:: and if you think it's gross then bugger off! (Learned that from HP fanfics.haha.)
The Intern
By: SourPop1004
After Sakura had gotten home that evening, everyone was out busy with something. The only one home was Tomoyo, so Sakura proceeded in telling her of her exciting day. Tomoyo squealed and gasped at the same time. (Is that possible?) Sakura smiled at her friend, seeing how astonished Tomoyo was. Tomoyo had cringed when Sakura told her about her the encounter with Heero. Tomoyo tried to clear her mind of the event. Tomoyo put a reassuring hand on Sakura's shoulder and softly began.
"Sakura-chan, are you ok? I know you had a rough day. But look at it this way. You met a jerk, but you found a great guy." Tomoyo was trying to hint something.
Sakura blushed. Tomoyo was right. Syaoran was a great guy. Tomoyo put on a slow smile and tried to push the conversation a bit further.
"So. about this guy you met. What's his name?"
"Oh, his name is Li Syaoran. It's the guy from the TPD. Remember? The guy who came over last time to ask you some questions."
Tomoyo searched through her thoughts and found what she was looking for.
"Oh yes, him! Well.so." There was a long pause. "Do you think he'll ask you out?" Tomoyo smiled lazily.
"Tomoyo-chan! I mean.wha.I. I wouldn't know." Sakura blushed and looked down at her slippers. Seeing how embarrassed her friend got, Tomoyo quickly closed the subject. But she knew they'd go out sooner or later.
"Sakura-chan, I'm tired, I'm gonna go to bed now, so if you don't mind, I'll be upstairs." Tomoyo got up and started up the stairs.
"Oh! Tomoyo-chan, I forgot to tell you last time. Your father told me t-"
Tomoyo cut in. "Good night Sakura-chan."
Sakura watched her best friend go up the stairs with a pained look on her face. Sakura bit her lip. She knew she shouldn't have said anything.
Sakura was still in her bed when a soft voice washed over her. Sakura opened her eyes and met violet ones. They were staring straight back down at her. Sakura jumped up with surprise.
"Tomoyo-chan? Wha." Sakura glanced at her clock. It was 5 in the morning. "It's 5.I don't go to work until 8." Sakura gave a sleepy gaze.
"Hohoho. Syaoran called couple of minutes ago." Tomoyo watched her sleepy friend bolt up as if water had been splashed on her.
"H-he d-did.?" Sakura stuttered. Thinking back to what happened yesterday, she formed a habit of stuttering whenever Syaoran's name was mentioned. She remembered how close he had held her yesterday. So warm and welcoming.
"Yes. He said that since you were to start training today that you'll need to be meeting him at the police station at 5 every morning." Tomoyo chuckled when she saw a horrified look on her friend's face.
"I thought the next 2 weeks would be relaxing and waking up late. guess not." Sakura smiled and got out of bed. "Is everyone still sleeping?"
"Hai.Oh, don't worry. If they ask where you went, I'll just tell them that you work hours were shifted a bit."
"Thanks Tomoyo-chan, you're the best." Sakura hugged her friend tightly.
"Come on, go wash up. Oh yeah, I set your training clothes on your chair, and the regular clothes you'll be wearing later this afternoon in a bag on your table." Tomoyo pointed towards her chair and table.
"Tomoyo-chan, you are so prepared and thank you so much. I'm glad I told you. Now I have someone to share my day with." Sakura smiled warmly before running off to the bathroom.
Sakura drove as fast as she could without going over the speed limit. She screeched into the TPD parking lot and parked in 3 seconds flat. She hopped out of the car and ran to the entrance. She opened the door and rushed in. No one was inside except Syaoran. He was standing, his arms crossed and his foot tapping the floor.
"You're late. Not a good way to start." Syaoran scolded, while inside he was quite intrigued by her flushed face and fast breathing. He hid a smile.
"I'm sorry, you called on the last minute and I didn't know. Tomoyo-chan had to wake me up and." Sakura didn't know what else to say.
"Anyway, come on. Let's go to the gym." Syaoran turned around and started walking. Sakura quickly grabbed her bag and followed him.
After a while, they were in a large gym. The center of the large room was covered with blue mats. Off to the sides, there were blue benches, and to one corner, there was an assortment of weights, trendmills, and other exercise equipment. She figured this is wear the other officers worked out.
"Ok, put your stuff over there." Syaoran pointed towards one of the benches. "And after we're done, the ladies' locker room is over there, and inside there's a shower. We'll meet here every morning at 5 and practice till 7:30. From then you'll wash up and you'll start work on regular hours. Got it?"
"Yeah."
Sakura looked around once more before putting her bag down on the blue bench. She took off her jacket and set it down. She turned around and looked at Syaoran. He was wearing his usual black Nike pants, a gray T- shirt what was cut at the sleeves, and a pair of Nike sneakers. (I said it before and I'll say it again. Gotta love Nike) When Syaoran looked at her he stared.
"I think next time, you should wearing something that's not so." Syaoran could get the words barely out. He really didn't have a problem with her outfit, it's just that if some else saw, Heero for example, he'd be more encouraged.
Sakura looked down and saw that she was wearing a pair of navy blue tight shorts, and a matching navy blue "tight" sports bra looking thing that showed her perfect midsection. She blushed furiously and tried to cover herself. Sakura hadn't paid at attention to what Tomoyo had picked out for her because she was in a hurry to get here. Realizing something she looked in her bag and found a note:
Dear Sakura-chan,
This is one of my new exercise themed designs. The on in the bag is my fall collection line. Anyway, knock 'em dead. *wink*wink* Hohoho.
Tomoyo
Sakura stared at the note with disbelieving eyes. She would deal with Tomoyo later. For now, she'd have to get through her session ignoring the fact that her waist felt bare and naked. She crumpled the paper in her hands. "I'll get you Tomoyo-chan." mumbled Sakura.
"What's that?" asked Syaoran, not being able to hear her clearly.
"Nothing." She tried her best to smile and brush the feeling of Syaoran staring at her stomach away. "Let's start."
"OK."
Syaoran led her to the mat. They both stood in middle and were silent for couple of seconds. Syaoran was the first to speak.
"Why don't you stretch or something?"
"Ok." Before moving to stretch, Sakura got out a scrunchy and tied up her long wavy hair. Her loose curls were now neatly pulled together into a ponytail. She stretched down and touched the floor with her hands flat on the ground with ease. (Do you know it hard enough to touch your toes?!) Realizing that Syaoran was watching her, she looked up.
"Aren't you going to stretch?"
"Nah, I'm alright. I don't think I'll get worked up enough for me to actually want to stretch."
Sakura tried to process what he had just said. It sounded that he was saying that he was too good so he didn't have to stretch. Sakura fumed inside. 'I'll show you.' she thought. Now she'd work twice as hard. All the while Sakura stretched, Syaoran watched her. Actually, he was staring at her bare waist. (Hehe. ::evil thoughts::) Sakura came up breaking his trance.
"Ok. Now what?"
"For you entrance test, there will be 3 parts. One, they'll test your loyalty. Two, they'll test your reflexes. For example, how you would act under intense conditions. And thirdly, they'll test your strength, ability to endure pain, and your fighting skills. I don't know how exactly the test will be because the board gives different tests to every member that tries to become part of the organization. Ok, the test of loyalty and reflex can't be taught. That depends on the person. But what we will be working on is your area of strength. So, let's start." Syaoran got into a defensive stance.
"Hoe.that sounds hard." Sakura pushed away her thoughts and got ready to fight. She watched him. Sakura threw a punch towards Syaoran's face. He quickly ducked and swiped his foot across the, knocking Sakura's feet off balance. Sakura fell to the blue mat.
"I thought you'd only black." Sakura furrowed her eyebrows.
"Do you think when you are fighting an enemy, they'll always only block? No, they'll block AND attack. So watch your opponent and try to predict what he's going to do next block before something like this happens in real life."
Sakura got up and nodded. She went back to her position. Sakura launched a fierce sidekick with her right foot towards Syaoran's chest. Syaoran quickly blocked and grabbed her foot before she could pull back. Sakura was trapped. Syaoran smirked and thought he had her. He jerked her foot towards him. He thought he'd land a perfect fist in her face (He wouldn't really punch her. He'd just stop right in front of her) , but was surprised when Sakura dropped her upper body down to the ground as if she was about to do a handstand. Sakura quickly swung her left foot around with great force and barely grazed the top of his head. In surprise he let go of her right foot. Sakura was starting to sweat. She gracefully landed on the floor with perfect balance and was back in her defensive stance.
"I would have kicked you but I didn't want to actually kick you."
Syaoran stood there astound. Then a slow smile formed on his face.
"Very impressive. Haven't seen a move like that in a while. This obviously shows you get what I mean."
Sakura lightly blushed.
"Come on, let's go on." Syaoran went back to his position and so did Sakura.
After a few more minutes of sparring, they both parted. Sakura was breathing heavily and Syaoran was calm. He had managed to sweat a little.
"Ok, since you are tired, lets try your reactions. How would you break yourself free if you were trapped in different situations? This won't be as tiring as plain fighting so you can relax. For this exercise, you need to use your brain as much as your body." Syaoran moved closer to her. "What if someone had your hands tied and you couldn't use your hands?" He grabbed both of Sakura's hands and held them together.
"I'd kick you." Sakura smiled slowly showing him how she'd kick. She kicked towards the side of his waist.
"Ok. What if someone had hold or your arms from behind?" Syaoran moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist trapping her arms along.
"I would." There was a pause. "I would do this." She showed him that she'd kick straight up. Her foot went past her shoulders and kicked him in the face. (She didn't really kick him or anything.)
"I see. I guess your tactics would work on the enemy. but I think they're working better on me." Syaoran grinned. His arms were still around her waist. They loosened to set free her arms. Her arms came free but his arms were still wrapped around her waist. Sakura blushed and turned around in his arms, facing him.
"Mr. Li, are you suggesting something?" Sakura cooed.
"I may be Miss Kinomoto." Syaoran replied with a smirk.
Sakura's arms went up and wrapped around his neck. They had cooled off by now but things started heating up. Sakura's heart was pounding. She didn't know what had caused her to say what she did. She was never this confident when it came to guys. She pushed her jumbling thought away and tried to find that confident self again. Syaoran stared into her emerald eyes. His grip around her waist tightened and he pulled her in closer. Sakura sensed she was moving closer. She thought she'd die of nervousness but she liked this warm feeling inside her. Their faces moved in closer.
"So let's find out. What ARE you suggesting?" Sakura tried to push the topic farther.
"Well I don't know, what do you think I'm suggesting?" Syaoran teased.
"I think you're trying to ask me out." Sakura's soft lips curved into a playful smile.
"What if I am?" Syaoran smiled his warm smile.
"Than I would have to say y-" Sakura was cut off when someone walked in.
It was Mr. Daidouji. Sakura and Syaoran quickly parted and tried to stand as far away from each other.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to check if everything was alright. And I must ask, is this part of the lesson?" the chief asked with innocent eyes.
"Er." Syaoran didn't know what to say.
"Never mind. I'll see you later Syaoran, Miss Kinomoto. Good day." Mr. Daidouji replied. He gave a short bow and walked out, closing the gym door behind him.
Once he left, both Sakura and Syaoran gave a small sigh or relief. Sakura looked over at Syaoran who was staring at the floor. He looked up and smiled.
"I couldn't quite hear your answer. What were you trying to say?"
"Oh." Sakura was a bit surprised by his sudden jump on the topic. Sakura smiled.
"Well, I would tell you but I'd rather have to guessing all day." Sakura gave an evil grin.
"Aww.are you willing to be that mean?" Syaoran teased.
"Yup!" Sakura giggled childishly.
Sakura walked over to the bench and picked up her things and headed towards the ladies' locker room.
"Hey! I still didn't get my answer." Syaoran called after her.
Sakura only giggled before going inside. Syaoran just smiled to himself and walked out of the gym.
When Sakura entered, she saw a large white room with lockers to the left and the bathroom area to the right. She put down her things on the sink counter. She undressed and stepped into the shower. (Will not go any farther) after 15 minutes, she stepped out. Wrapped in a white fluffy towel she brought from home, she glanced at the clock on the wall. Noticing she had only 10 minutes, she quickly dried her hair and got dressed. She took her outfit from the bag and examined to make sure no more surprises from Tomoyo. She looked herself over in the mirror and was pleased with the clothes Tomoyo had given her. She was wearing a pair of tight black capris, a tight black shirt with rime stones forming a large star across the chest, and a pair of white Adidas with black strips. To get her hair out of the way, she put it up with two black chopsticks. Couple of ringlets of hair hung elegantly in various places. Satisfied, she packed her things neatly away and went outside. When she pushed through the locker room door, she was greeted with stares. The officers were already working out and were staring at her, wondering why their intern had just come out of the locker room. Sakura weakly waved and quickly walked out the door.
Sakura took a big breath when she was outside the gym. She thought she'd die of embarrassment. Sakura walked over to the main building. She dropped off her things in her locker and was on her way to Martha's desk when she heard a ring of laughter in the other side of the room. She quickly glanced over and saw a slender woman. The woman had long silky black hair that was clipped up and she was wearing a navy blue suit. Her skirt was way too short and the collar of her blouse was WAY too low. (Not THAT low you dimwits.hahaha.JP) She had her arm slipped into the man's arm. (This is NOT Meilin. I repeat, this is NOT Meilin) She was laughing and smiling as if they were a couple. Sakura then realized that the tall man was Syaoran. She couldn't see his face for the woman's face was blocking. They both strolled and disappeared into the hallway towards Syaoran's office. Sakura's mind raced. She wondered who the woman was. Was Syoaran playing with her when they were in the gym? Sakura decided not to conclude anything. She'd get her mail done fast and visit his office and try understand who the woman was.
It was about half an hour later. Sakura was down to her last mail. It was addressed to Syaoran. Today was definitely a record setter day. She had finished the whole cart in just 30 minutes. When Sakura had parked the cart next to Martha's desk, Martha had gasped. Sakura had quickly told her she was going to deliver her last letter and that she'd be back soon. Sakura walked faster and faster towards Syaoran's office. When she got there, she gently knocked.
Inside, Syaoran was standing to get the door when Mira stepped in front of him.
"Do you have to get that?" She brought up her hands and traced a line down his chest.
"Yes I do." Syaoran tried to pull away but Mira managed to grab his hands and put it around her waist. Syaoran tried to protest when the door opened. He saw Sakura with round eyes.
Sakura dropped the letter she was holding. She just stared at him mindlessly. She watched him pull away from her as if he were guilty. How he had pulled away form her that morning. Snapping back to reality, she bent down and picked up the letter again. Syaoran tried to approach her but Sakura stuck out the letter in front of him.
"Here. This is for you. Sorry if I was interrupting anything."
Syaoran tried to explain but Sakura quickly turned around left the room. Syaoran stared at the door for a few seconds and turned back around to face Mira's back. She had her arms crossed. Syaoran was enraged but didn't want to lose his temper.
"What was that for?" Syaoran questioned in irritation.
"What?" She replied innocently and slunk over to him.
"What? What do you mean what? Can't you get I'm NOT going out with you or anything?"
"Syaoran, that hurts." She replied as if he had hurt her feelings. Then she smiled wickedly. "So, is SHE supposed to be your girlfriend?"
"No, but neither are you." Syaoran tried to keep cool. He knew if she didn't leave he blow up any minute.
"Fine. I'm going." She replied in a cold flat tone. "But you know you'll come to me." With that she walked out the door.
Syaoran plopped down on his couch. That woman had just ruined everything. Mira Mitsu was a daughter of one of the board members. Today he had tried to be nice to her since he wanted a better chance of Sakura getting in. Now if Mira found out Sakura was going to be tested, he knew she'd use every underhanded trick of hers for her father to vote off Sakura. He buried his face in his hands. That annoying woman had been after Syaoran since day one. How many times he had refused her. Syaoran figured she was either really stupid or was irritatingly persistent. And the way she dressed, he didn't even want to go there. If she actually thought that the way she dressed would have any sort of effect on him she was wrong. The only effect it ever had was that she dressed like a slut. Syaoran glanced at his watch. It was near the end of lunch break. He quickly got up and went looking for Sakura, hoping he'd get a chance to talk to her. He wandered around aimlessly and found her in the lounge sitting next to Takashi and a bunch of guys. She was smiling and laughing. Syaoran came up to her and tapped her shoulder. Sakura looked up and so did everyone else.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked, acting serious.
"Go ahead. I'm listening." She gave a sarcastic smile.
"I mean in private."
She glanced around the table and excused herself. She got up and followed him outside. Soon as they went out the lounge, the whole room started talking about them.
Sakura turned and crossed her arms. "Yes? What do you want?"
"I want to explain to you about what happened in my office." Syaoran tried to start the story when Sakura cut in.
"What do you mean explain to me? What I saw pretty much explains everything, don't you think?" she asked with a bit of anger I her tone.
"It's not what it looked like!"
"Yes it was! You were hugging her. She seemed very comfortable in your arms. What else is there to point out?!" Sakura voice was rising.
"Will you just shut up and listen to me?!" Now Syaoran was starting to get annoyed. Here he was, trying to apologize and explain, which he didn't do much, especially to women, and she was totally blowing him off.
"Don't you dare yell at me! You don't have the right to. Let me ask you something? What was all that about in the morning? Was that you just.just playing with me? Was it fun? Because God knows it wasn't fun for me!" Sakura was practically yelling now.
"Will you just LISTEN to me!?" Syaoran was yelling too.
"NO! I will not listen your lies anymore. Just leave me alone!" Her face was red with fury. She ran to the locker room and slammed the door shut. He ran after her into the "LADY"s locker room. He knew it was a rule that no male could enter but no one was around to see him.
He pushed opened the door and went inside. It was the first time he was in there. He stood still. He heard soft sobs coming from one of the stalls. He looked at the floor, scanning which stalls were empty and spotted a pair of white Adidas. He slowly walked over and pulled open the door. Sakura was sitting on the lid. She looked up with her tear stained face. She was quiet and only stared. Syaoran looked at her with pitiful eyes. Before he could say anything, she got up and walked past him towards the large mirror on the wall. She looked into the mirror and tried to wipe her face dry with the back of her hands. She weakly smiled and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
"I'm sorry for yelling. It was silly of me to assume that something could happen between us. You're not my boyfriend, so it really doesn't matter what you were doing with her. She seems like a great person. I'm sorry for acting so stubborn." Sakura wiped away her last tear and walked out of the bathroom. Syaoran heard the locker room door gently shut. He just stared into the mirror. He couldn't believe what she had just said. He thought she'd hate him until the end of eternity, but she was indeed a strange girl. And for one thing, Mira was NOT a great person.
Sakura took a deep breath and walked into the lounge. Everyone stared. Takashi came up to her with a worried face.
"What's wrong Sakura? We heard shouting in the lobby. Was Syaoran being mean to you?" asked Takashi with concern.
"No. I'm fine. Nothing happened. We just had a little argument. Nothing to worry about." Sakura plastered a fake smile.
"Ok, that's a relief. I thought for a moment that something was seriously wrong. I know you well enough that you don't shout that often." Takashi smiled at her. He took her arm and led her back to the table where they were eating. Soon as she sat down and smiled, everyone started talking. Sakura managed to laugh and joke even though inside she was crying.
Syaoran came out of the locker room and headed towards his office. He shoved his hands in his pocket and tried to recall what had happened. One thing he learned was that Sakura was a very different person. Different can be bad but in this case it was good.
After work, Sakura stopped by her house for a rest before heading out to her night shift at the local café. Sakura gave a small sigh and opened the door. Sakura slipped into her slippers and walked over to the couch. Plopping down into its cushions, Sakura closed her eyes and tried to stay calm. Tomoyo walked over to Sakura and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong Sakura-chan?"
"Oh. today started great but ended all wrong." Sakura looked up at Tomoyo with glassy eyes. Tomoyo sat down next to Sakura and hugged her. Sakura started telling her what had happened that day. Tomoyo was smiling when she told her about what happened in the gym, but the smile vanished when Sakura told her about the woman.
"Well, it sounds like you didn't give Syaoran much chance to explain."
"What was there to explain? He had her arms around her. She was giggling like crazy, and.and.I don't know." Sakura gave up. Sakura turned to Tomoyo. "I guess you're right. I didn't give him a chance. I'll talk to him tomorrow morning." Sakura looked down at her slippers in guilt.
"Good. You shouldn't lose him over something like that. He's a great guy."
"Thanks Tomoyo-chan, you're the best." Sakua hugged her friend. "Sorry Tomoyo-chan, but I have a night shift today. I'll see you in a couple of hours."
Sakura got up, got her keys and bag and was out the door. She drove over to Twix's Café. She parked her car and went in. Everyone greeted her. She went to the back of the store and got out her apron. It was a dark green cloth with a large coffee cup in the front. She wrapped it around her and washed her hands. She stood there for couple of minutes, waiting for an order. She turned when the bell on the clear glass door rang. A tall man in a sports jacket walked in. She sat down and a waitress came up to him and took his order. Mindy came up to Sakura and told her the order, an expresso. (Dude! That's really strong coffee!) Sakura poured a cup and walked over to Syaoran. Mindy was too busy with other customers. Sakura set down the hot foam cup on the table. Syaoran looked up to thank whoever had served him but before he knew it, Sakura had pulled up a chair and sat across from him.
"I just wanted to say I'm really sorry. I thought about it and I didn't even give you a chance to explain or anything. So I apologize a million times. I want to hear what you were going to say. I promise I won't interrupt." Sakura looked at him hopefully.
Syaoran took a sip of his coffee. "The last time I tried to apologize to you blew up at me. What makes you think I would want to explain anything, again?" Syaoran replied in that cold voice. Sakura felt like her heart was falling apart. "I'll see you tomorrow at the gym at 5. Don't be late or else I'm leaving." Syaoran got up, took his coffee and was out the door. Sakura sat there staring at the empty seat in front of her. She heard the bell jingle as Syaoran went out. She sat there with a blank hurt expression for 10 minutes until her manager yelled at her for being off task. Sakura couldn't hear anything. Her head was completely blocked off from all sound except Syaoran cold words echoing in her mind.
Rest of the week Sakura's training grew harder and harder. Also something else had changed. She didn't talk to Syaoran as much except when she had to talk to him. It hurt her inside not talking to him but she didn't know what to do. She was sad but moreover, she was mad. She had admitted her wrong and apologized sincerely but he just walked past. Whenever they passed in the hallways, she ignored him completely. Whenever he came by the coffee shop, she refused to serve him. Even the other officers started to notice. Whenever Sakura and Syaoran were in the same room, they moved far away as possible from each other. Takashi had tried to talk to them but they only ignored him or changed the subject. Ignoring and being sarcastic was Sakura's game. Syaoran was just being more harsh and rough. He was completely closing up from her. Their sad song went on for the rest of the week. They kept up with their game but they both secretly hoped it'd end soon.
SourPop1004: Chapter 3 is done! Hehe.ok, I know you people want chapter four. Actually, I'm almost done with chapter 4. Lately I've been on a roll or something. Anywayz, in order for chapter 4 to be up, The number that tells me how many reviews I have has to go up to 45. I know it seems mean and harsh but I haven't been getting 20 reviews per chapter and I'm like dying to get the next chapter up. If I really did get 20 per chapter so far, I would already have 40 reviews. (Not including chapter 3) But anywaz, I want to thank everyone who did review. ::glares at the other peeps who just read the story and slipped away:: So, review and be happy when chapter 4 comes! Again, if you have any questions, e-mail me at XxGoDsLiGhT012xX@aol.com.
45 reviews!!!
PS: From this point on, especially chapter 4, there's gonna be fluff and stuff so all you guys ::cough cough:: Robin ::cough cough:: should either just hold your breath and read it or head for the hills. Got it? ::cough cough:: Robin ::cough cough:: and if you think it's gross then bugger off! (Learned that from HP fanfics.haha.)
The Intern
By: SourPop1004
After Sakura had gotten home that evening, everyone was out busy with something. The only one home was Tomoyo, so Sakura proceeded in telling her of her exciting day. Tomoyo squealed and gasped at the same time. (Is that possible?) Sakura smiled at her friend, seeing how astonished Tomoyo was. Tomoyo had cringed when Sakura told her about her the encounter with Heero. Tomoyo tried to clear her mind of the event. Tomoyo put a reassuring hand on Sakura's shoulder and softly began.
"Sakura-chan, are you ok? I know you had a rough day. But look at it this way. You met a jerk, but you found a great guy." Tomoyo was trying to hint something.
Sakura blushed. Tomoyo was right. Syaoran was a great guy. Tomoyo put on a slow smile and tried to push the conversation a bit further.
"So. about this guy you met. What's his name?"
"Oh, his name is Li Syaoran. It's the guy from the TPD. Remember? The guy who came over last time to ask you some questions."
Tomoyo searched through her thoughts and found what she was looking for.
"Oh yes, him! Well.so." There was a long pause. "Do you think he'll ask you out?" Tomoyo smiled lazily.
"Tomoyo-chan! I mean.wha.I. I wouldn't know." Sakura blushed and looked down at her slippers. Seeing how embarrassed her friend got, Tomoyo quickly closed the subject. But she knew they'd go out sooner or later.
"Sakura-chan, I'm tired, I'm gonna go to bed now, so if you don't mind, I'll be upstairs." Tomoyo got up and started up the stairs.
"Oh! Tomoyo-chan, I forgot to tell you last time. Your father told me t-"
Tomoyo cut in. "Good night Sakura-chan."
Sakura watched her best friend go up the stairs with a pained look on her face. Sakura bit her lip. She knew she shouldn't have said anything.
Sakura was still in her bed when a soft voice washed over her. Sakura opened her eyes and met violet ones. They were staring straight back down at her. Sakura jumped up with surprise.
"Tomoyo-chan? Wha." Sakura glanced at her clock. It was 5 in the morning. "It's 5.I don't go to work until 8." Sakura gave a sleepy gaze.
"Hohoho. Syaoran called couple of minutes ago." Tomoyo watched her sleepy friend bolt up as if water had been splashed on her.
"H-he d-did.?" Sakura stuttered. Thinking back to what happened yesterday, she formed a habit of stuttering whenever Syaoran's name was mentioned. She remembered how close he had held her yesterday. So warm and welcoming.
"Yes. He said that since you were to start training today that you'll need to be meeting him at the police station at 5 every morning." Tomoyo chuckled when she saw a horrified look on her friend's face.
"I thought the next 2 weeks would be relaxing and waking up late. guess not." Sakura smiled and got out of bed. "Is everyone still sleeping?"
"Hai.Oh, don't worry. If they ask where you went, I'll just tell them that you work hours were shifted a bit."
"Thanks Tomoyo-chan, you're the best." Sakura hugged her friend tightly.
"Come on, go wash up. Oh yeah, I set your training clothes on your chair, and the regular clothes you'll be wearing later this afternoon in a bag on your table." Tomoyo pointed towards her chair and table.
"Tomoyo-chan, you are so prepared and thank you so much. I'm glad I told you. Now I have someone to share my day with." Sakura smiled warmly before running off to the bathroom.
Sakura drove as fast as she could without going over the speed limit. She screeched into the TPD parking lot and parked in 3 seconds flat. She hopped out of the car and ran to the entrance. She opened the door and rushed in. No one was inside except Syaoran. He was standing, his arms crossed and his foot tapping the floor.
"You're late. Not a good way to start." Syaoran scolded, while inside he was quite intrigued by her flushed face and fast breathing. He hid a smile.
"I'm sorry, you called on the last minute and I didn't know. Tomoyo-chan had to wake me up and." Sakura didn't know what else to say.
"Anyway, come on. Let's go to the gym." Syaoran turned around and started walking. Sakura quickly grabbed her bag and followed him.
After a while, they were in a large gym. The center of the large room was covered with blue mats. Off to the sides, there were blue benches, and to one corner, there was an assortment of weights, trendmills, and other exercise equipment. She figured this is wear the other officers worked out.
"Ok, put your stuff over there." Syaoran pointed towards one of the benches. "And after we're done, the ladies' locker room is over there, and inside there's a shower. We'll meet here every morning at 5 and practice till 7:30. From then you'll wash up and you'll start work on regular hours. Got it?"
"Yeah."
Sakura looked around once more before putting her bag down on the blue bench. She took off her jacket and set it down. She turned around and looked at Syaoran. He was wearing his usual black Nike pants, a gray T- shirt what was cut at the sleeves, and a pair of Nike sneakers. (I said it before and I'll say it again. Gotta love Nike) When Syaoran looked at her he stared.
"I think next time, you should wearing something that's not so." Syaoran could get the words barely out. He really didn't have a problem with her outfit, it's just that if some else saw, Heero for example, he'd be more encouraged.
Sakura looked down and saw that she was wearing a pair of navy blue tight shorts, and a matching navy blue "tight" sports bra looking thing that showed her perfect midsection. She blushed furiously and tried to cover herself. Sakura hadn't paid at attention to what Tomoyo had picked out for her because she was in a hurry to get here. Realizing something she looked in her bag and found a note:
Dear Sakura-chan,
This is one of my new exercise themed designs. The on in the bag is my fall collection line. Anyway, knock 'em dead. *wink*wink* Hohoho.
Tomoyo
Sakura stared at the note with disbelieving eyes. She would deal with Tomoyo later. For now, she'd have to get through her session ignoring the fact that her waist felt bare and naked. She crumpled the paper in her hands. "I'll get you Tomoyo-chan." mumbled Sakura.
"What's that?" asked Syaoran, not being able to hear her clearly.
"Nothing." She tried her best to smile and brush the feeling of Syaoran staring at her stomach away. "Let's start."
"OK."
Syaoran led her to the mat. They both stood in middle and were silent for couple of seconds. Syaoran was the first to speak.
"Why don't you stretch or something?"
"Ok." Before moving to stretch, Sakura got out a scrunchy and tied up her long wavy hair. Her loose curls were now neatly pulled together into a ponytail. She stretched down and touched the floor with her hands flat on the ground with ease. (Do you know it hard enough to touch your toes?!) Realizing that Syaoran was watching her, she looked up.
"Aren't you going to stretch?"
"Nah, I'm alright. I don't think I'll get worked up enough for me to actually want to stretch."
Sakura tried to process what he had just said. It sounded that he was saying that he was too good so he didn't have to stretch. Sakura fumed inside. 'I'll show you.' she thought. Now she'd work twice as hard. All the while Sakura stretched, Syaoran watched her. Actually, he was staring at her bare waist. (Hehe. ::evil thoughts::) Sakura came up breaking his trance.
"Ok. Now what?"
"For you entrance test, there will be 3 parts. One, they'll test your loyalty. Two, they'll test your reflexes. For example, how you would act under intense conditions. And thirdly, they'll test your strength, ability to endure pain, and your fighting skills. I don't know how exactly the test will be because the board gives different tests to every member that tries to become part of the organization. Ok, the test of loyalty and reflex can't be taught. That depends on the person. But what we will be working on is your area of strength. So, let's start." Syaoran got into a defensive stance.
"Hoe.that sounds hard." Sakura pushed away her thoughts and got ready to fight. She watched him. Sakura threw a punch towards Syaoran's face. He quickly ducked and swiped his foot across the, knocking Sakura's feet off balance. Sakura fell to the blue mat.
"I thought you'd only black." Sakura furrowed her eyebrows.
"Do you think when you are fighting an enemy, they'll always only block? No, they'll block AND attack. So watch your opponent and try to predict what he's going to do next block before something like this happens in real life."
Sakura got up and nodded. She went back to her position. Sakura launched a fierce sidekick with her right foot towards Syaoran's chest. Syaoran quickly blocked and grabbed her foot before she could pull back. Sakura was trapped. Syaoran smirked and thought he had her. He jerked her foot towards him. He thought he'd land a perfect fist in her face (He wouldn't really punch her. He'd just stop right in front of her) , but was surprised when Sakura dropped her upper body down to the ground as if she was about to do a handstand. Sakura quickly swung her left foot around with great force and barely grazed the top of his head. In surprise he let go of her right foot. Sakura was starting to sweat. She gracefully landed on the floor with perfect balance and was back in her defensive stance.
"I would have kicked you but I didn't want to actually kick you."
Syaoran stood there astound. Then a slow smile formed on his face.
"Very impressive. Haven't seen a move like that in a while. This obviously shows you get what I mean."
Sakura lightly blushed.
"Come on, let's go on." Syaoran went back to his position and so did Sakura.
After a few more minutes of sparring, they both parted. Sakura was breathing heavily and Syaoran was calm. He had managed to sweat a little.
"Ok, since you are tired, lets try your reactions. How would you break yourself free if you were trapped in different situations? This won't be as tiring as plain fighting so you can relax. For this exercise, you need to use your brain as much as your body." Syaoran moved closer to her. "What if someone had your hands tied and you couldn't use your hands?" He grabbed both of Sakura's hands and held them together.
"I'd kick you." Sakura smiled slowly showing him how she'd kick. She kicked towards the side of his waist.
"Ok. What if someone had hold or your arms from behind?" Syaoran moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist trapping her arms along.
"I would." There was a pause. "I would do this." She showed him that she'd kick straight up. Her foot went past her shoulders and kicked him in the face. (She didn't really kick him or anything.)
"I see. I guess your tactics would work on the enemy. but I think they're working better on me." Syaoran grinned. His arms were still around her waist. They loosened to set free her arms. Her arms came free but his arms were still wrapped around her waist. Sakura blushed and turned around in his arms, facing him.
"Mr. Li, are you suggesting something?" Sakura cooed.
"I may be Miss Kinomoto." Syaoran replied with a smirk.
Sakura's arms went up and wrapped around his neck. They had cooled off by now but things started heating up. Sakura's heart was pounding. She didn't know what had caused her to say what she did. She was never this confident when it came to guys. She pushed her jumbling thought away and tried to find that confident self again. Syaoran stared into her emerald eyes. His grip around her waist tightened and he pulled her in closer. Sakura sensed she was moving closer. She thought she'd die of nervousness but she liked this warm feeling inside her. Their faces moved in closer.
"So let's find out. What ARE you suggesting?" Sakura tried to push the topic farther.
"Well I don't know, what do you think I'm suggesting?" Syaoran teased.
"I think you're trying to ask me out." Sakura's soft lips curved into a playful smile.
"What if I am?" Syaoran smiled his warm smile.
"Than I would have to say y-" Sakura was cut off when someone walked in.
It was Mr. Daidouji. Sakura and Syaoran quickly parted and tried to stand as far away from each other.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to check if everything was alright. And I must ask, is this part of the lesson?" the chief asked with innocent eyes.
"Er." Syaoran didn't know what to say.
"Never mind. I'll see you later Syaoran, Miss Kinomoto. Good day." Mr. Daidouji replied. He gave a short bow and walked out, closing the gym door behind him.
Once he left, both Sakura and Syaoran gave a small sigh or relief. Sakura looked over at Syaoran who was staring at the floor. He looked up and smiled.
"I couldn't quite hear your answer. What were you trying to say?"
"Oh." Sakura was a bit surprised by his sudden jump on the topic. Sakura smiled.
"Well, I would tell you but I'd rather have to guessing all day." Sakura gave an evil grin.
"Aww.are you willing to be that mean?" Syaoran teased.
"Yup!" Sakura giggled childishly.
Sakura walked over to the bench and picked up her things and headed towards the ladies' locker room.
"Hey! I still didn't get my answer." Syaoran called after her.
Sakura only giggled before going inside. Syaoran just smiled to himself and walked out of the gym.
When Sakura entered, she saw a large white room with lockers to the left and the bathroom area to the right. She put down her things on the sink counter. She undressed and stepped into the shower. (Will not go any farther) after 15 minutes, she stepped out. Wrapped in a white fluffy towel she brought from home, she glanced at the clock on the wall. Noticing she had only 10 minutes, she quickly dried her hair and got dressed. She took her outfit from the bag and examined to make sure no more surprises from Tomoyo. She looked herself over in the mirror and was pleased with the clothes Tomoyo had given her. She was wearing a pair of tight black capris, a tight black shirt with rime stones forming a large star across the chest, and a pair of white Adidas with black strips. To get her hair out of the way, she put it up with two black chopsticks. Couple of ringlets of hair hung elegantly in various places. Satisfied, she packed her things neatly away and went outside. When she pushed through the locker room door, she was greeted with stares. The officers were already working out and were staring at her, wondering why their intern had just come out of the locker room. Sakura weakly waved and quickly walked out the door.
Sakura took a big breath when she was outside the gym. She thought she'd die of embarrassment. Sakura walked over to the main building. She dropped off her things in her locker and was on her way to Martha's desk when she heard a ring of laughter in the other side of the room. She quickly glanced over and saw a slender woman. The woman had long silky black hair that was clipped up and she was wearing a navy blue suit. Her skirt was way too short and the collar of her blouse was WAY too low. (Not THAT low you dimwits.hahaha.JP) She had her arm slipped into the man's arm. (This is NOT Meilin. I repeat, this is NOT Meilin) She was laughing and smiling as if they were a couple. Sakura then realized that the tall man was Syaoran. She couldn't see his face for the woman's face was blocking. They both strolled and disappeared into the hallway towards Syaoran's office. Sakura's mind raced. She wondered who the woman was. Was Syoaran playing with her when they were in the gym? Sakura decided not to conclude anything. She'd get her mail done fast and visit his office and try understand who the woman was.
It was about half an hour later. Sakura was down to her last mail. It was addressed to Syaoran. Today was definitely a record setter day. She had finished the whole cart in just 30 minutes. When Sakura had parked the cart next to Martha's desk, Martha had gasped. Sakura had quickly told her she was going to deliver her last letter and that she'd be back soon. Sakura walked faster and faster towards Syaoran's office. When she got there, she gently knocked.
Inside, Syaoran was standing to get the door when Mira stepped in front of him.
"Do you have to get that?" She brought up her hands and traced a line down his chest.
"Yes I do." Syaoran tried to pull away but Mira managed to grab his hands and put it around her waist. Syaoran tried to protest when the door opened. He saw Sakura with round eyes.
Sakura dropped the letter she was holding. She just stared at him mindlessly. She watched him pull away from her as if he were guilty. How he had pulled away form her that morning. Snapping back to reality, she bent down and picked up the letter again. Syaoran tried to approach her but Sakura stuck out the letter in front of him.
"Here. This is for you. Sorry if I was interrupting anything."
Syaoran tried to explain but Sakura quickly turned around left the room. Syaoran stared at the door for a few seconds and turned back around to face Mira's back. She had her arms crossed. Syaoran was enraged but didn't want to lose his temper.
"What was that for?" Syaoran questioned in irritation.
"What?" She replied innocently and slunk over to him.
"What? What do you mean what? Can't you get I'm NOT going out with you or anything?"
"Syaoran, that hurts." She replied as if he had hurt her feelings. Then she smiled wickedly. "So, is SHE supposed to be your girlfriend?"
"No, but neither are you." Syaoran tried to keep cool. He knew if she didn't leave he blow up any minute.
"Fine. I'm going." She replied in a cold flat tone. "But you know you'll come to me." With that she walked out the door.
Syaoran plopped down on his couch. That woman had just ruined everything. Mira Mitsu was a daughter of one of the board members. Today he had tried to be nice to her since he wanted a better chance of Sakura getting in. Now if Mira found out Sakura was going to be tested, he knew she'd use every underhanded trick of hers for her father to vote off Sakura. He buried his face in his hands. That annoying woman had been after Syaoran since day one. How many times he had refused her. Syaoran figured she was either really stupid or was irritatingly persistent. And the way she dressed, he didn't even want to go there. If she actually thought that the way she dressed would have any sort of effect on him she was wrong. The only effect it ever had was that she dressed like a slut. Syaoran glanced at his watch. It was near the end of lunch break. He quickly got up and went looking for Sakura, hoping he'd get a chance to talk to her. He wandered around aimlessly and found her in the lounge sitting next to Takashi and a bunch of guys. She was smiling and laughing. Syaoran came up to her and tapped her shoulder. Sakura looked up and so did everyone else.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked, acting serious.
"Go ahead. I'm listening." She gave a sarcastic smile.
"I mean in private."
She glanced around the table and excused herself. She got up and followed him outside. Soon as they went out the lounge, the whole room started talking about them.
Sakura turned and crossed her arms. "Yes? What do you want?"
"I want to explain to you about what happened in my office." Syaoran tried to start the story when Sakura cut in.
"What do you mean explain to me? What I saw pretty much explains everything, don't you think?" she asked with a bit of anger I her tone.
"It's not what it looked like!"
"Yes it was! You were hugging her. She seemed very comfortable in your arms. What else is there to point out?!" Sakura voice was rising.
"Will you just shut up and listen to me?!" Now Syaoran was starting to get annoyed. Here he was, trying to apologize and explain, which he didn't do much, especially to women, and she was totally blowing him off.
"Don't you dare yell at me! You don't have the right to. Let me ask you something? What was all that about in the morning? Was that you just.just playing with me? Was it fun? Because God knows it wasn't fun for me!" Sakura was practically yelling now.
"Will you just LISTEN to me!?" Syaoran was yelling too.
"NO! I will not listen your lies anymore. Just leave me alone!" Her face was red with fury. She ran to the locker room and slammed the door shut. He ran after her into the "LADY"s locker room. He knew it was a rule that no male could enter but no one was around to see him.
He pushed opened the door and went inside. It was the first time he was in there. He stood still. He heard soft sobs coming from one of the stalls. He looked at the floor, scanning which stalls were empty and spotted a pair of white Adidas. He slowly walked over and pulled open the door. Sakura was sitting on the lid. She looked up with her tear stained face. She was quiet and only stared. Syaoran looked at her with pitiful eyes. Before he could say anything, she got up and walked past him towards the large mirror on the wall. She looked into the mirror and tried to wipe her face dry with the back of her hands. She weakly smiled and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
"I'm sorry for yelling. It was silly of me to assume that something could happen between us. You're not my boyfriend, so it really doesn't matter what you were doing with her. She seems like a great person. I'm sorry for acting so stubborn." Sakura wiped away her last tear and walked out of the bathroom. Syaoran heard the locker room door gently shut. He just stared into the mirror. He couldn't believe what she had just said. He thought she'd hate him until the end of eternity, but she was indeed a strange girl. And for one thing, Mira was NOT a great person.
Sakura took a deep breath and walked into the lounge. Everyone stared. Takashi came up to her with a worried face.
"What's wrong Sakura? We heard shouting in the lobby. Was Syaoran being mean to you?" asked Takashi with concern.
"No. I'm fine. Nothing happened. We just had a little argument. Nothing to worry about." Sakura plastered a fake smile.
"Ok, that's a relief. I thought for a moment that something was seriously wrong. I know you well enough that you don't shout that often." Takashi smiled at her. He took her arm and led her back to the table where they were eating. Soon as she sat down and smiled, everyone started talking. Sakura managed to laugh and joke even though inside she was crying.
Syaoran came out of the locker room and headed towards his office. He shoved his hands in his pocket and tried to recall what had happened. One thing he learned was that Sakura was a very different person. Different can be bad but in this case it was good.
After work, Sakura stopped by her house for a rest before heading out to her night shift at the local café. Sakura gave a small sigh and opened the door. Sakura slipped into her slippers and walked over to the couch. Plopping down into its cushions, Sakura closed her eyes and tried to stay calm. Tomoyo walked over to Sakura and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong Sakura-chan?"
"Oh. today started great but ended all wrong." Sakura looked up at Tomoyo with glassy eyes. Tomoyo sat down next to Sakura and hugged her. Sakura started telling her what had happened that day. Tomoyo was smiling when she told her about what happened in the gym, but the smile vanished when Sakura told her about the woman.
"Well, it sounds like you didn't give Syaoran much chance to explain."
"What was there to explain? He had her arms around her. She was giggling like crazy, and.and.I don't know." Sakura gave up. Sakura turned to Tomoyo. "I guess you're right. I didn't give him a chance. I'll talk to him tomorrow morning." Sakura looked down at her slippers in guilt.
"Good. You shouldn't lose him over something like that. He's a great guy."
"Thanks Tomoyo-chan, you're the best." Sakua hugged her friend. "Sorry Tomoyo-chan, but I have a night shift today. I'll see you in a couple of hours."
Sakura got up, got her keys and bag and was out the door. She drove over to Twix's Café. She parked her car and went in. Everyone greeted her. She went to the back of the store and got out her apron. It was a dark green cloth with a large coffee cup in the front. She wrapped it around her and washed her hands. She stood there for couple of minutes, waiting for an order. She turned when the bell on the clear glass door rang. A tall man in a sports jacket walked in. She sat down and a waitress came up to him and took his order. Mindy came up to Sakura and told her the order, an expresso. (Dude! That's really strong coffee!) Sakura poured a cup and walked over to Syaoran. Mindy was too busy with other customers. Sakura set down the hot foam cup on the table. Syaoran looked up to thank whoever had served him but before he knew it, Sakura had pulled up a chair and sat across from him.
"I just wanted to say I'm really sorry. I thought about it and I didn't even give you a chance to explain or anything. So I apologize a million times. I want to hear what you were going to say. I promise I won't interrupt." Sakura looked at him hopefully.
Syaoran took a sip of his coffee. "The last time I tried to apologize to you blew up at me. What makes you think I would want to explain anything, again?" Syaoran replied in that cold voice. Sakura felt like her heart was falling apart. "I'll see you tomorrow at the gym at 5. Don't be late or else I'm leaving." Syaoran got up, took his coffee and was out the door. Sakura sat there staring at the empty seat in front of her. She heard the bell jingle as Syaoran went out. She sat there with a blank hurt expression for 10 minutes until her manager yelled at her for being off task. Sakura couldn't hear anything. Her head was completely blocked off from all sound except Syaoran cold words echoing in her mind.
Rest of the week Sakura's training grew harder and harder. Also something else had changed. She didn't talk to Syaoran as much except when she had to talk to him. It hurt her inside not talking to him but she didn't know what to do. She was sad but moreover, she was mad. She had admitted her wrong and apologized sincerely but he just walked past. Whenever they passed in the hallways, she ignored him completely. Whenever he came by the coffee shop, she refused to serve him. Even the other officers started to notice. Whenever Sakura and Syaoran were in the same room, they moved far away as possible from each other. Takashi had tried to talk to them but they only ignored him or changed the subject. Ignoring and being sarcastic was Sakura's game. Syaoran was just being more harsh and rough. He was completely closing up from her. Their sad song went on for the rest of the week. They kept up with their game but they both secretly hoped it'd end soon.
SourPop1004: Chapter 3 is done! Hehe.ok, I know you people want chapter four. Actually, I'm almost done with chapter 4. Lately I've been on a roll or something. Anywayz, in order for chapter 4 to be up, The number that tells me how many reviews I have has to go up to 45. I know it seems mean and harsh but I haven't been getting 20 reviews per chapter and I'm like dying to get the next chapter up. If I really did get 20 per chapter so far, I would already have 40 reviews. (Not including chapter 3) But anywaz, I want to thank everyone who did review. ::glares at the other peeps who just read the story and slipped away:: So, review and be happy when chapter 4 comes! Again, if you have any questions, e-mail me at XxGoDsLiGhT012xX@aol.com.
45 reviews!!!