Guess what? I finally finished my summer homework! I worked on it all summer... and I was looking forward to having time to work on my fics... when my school starts tomorrow, the 22nd of August. Ack!!! It's not fair! Wah!!!! Take to heart that time is very precious, you'll find that you can never have enough of it...

Anyways, here's the third chapter to my fic, as promised. Hehehe. I hope that you like it.

Disclaimer: Saint Tail is not owned by me...

Signed, Anonymous

Chapter Three: I'll Always be There

By: Enchanted Pink Jade

*~*~*~*~*

"Damn that thief," Asuka Jr. muttered as he tried to catch up to her. "Stop right there!" They were out in an open field running along a line of trees. The moment he'd arrived at Cherry Blossom Inn, the turmoil was already in progress. He'd found her, and she tried to elude him a couple of times, but he was just too stubborn to give up.

"No can do, detective. I bid you farewell!" he heard her say. Then there was a big POOF, as a puff of pink clouds appeared. When it dissipated, he found that she had gone also.

"Just watch you thief. I'll get you in the most unexpected way! I'll always find you, wherever you are!" he said to the skies. Asuka sighed and hanged his head. She got away again... At least the criminals were captured. Next time... He walked away, and headed back to the inn, where his dad was supposedly waiting for him.

Saint Tail giggled softly from her perch in the tree. "Honto ne, Asuka Jr.? Then I'll always be there, waiting for you." She jumped down and made a run for the antique shop, to return some of the stolen goods. As small as they were, they were very priceless, so she handled them with care.

*~*~*~*~*

Meimi was walking around idly, having finished with her lunch. Seira was called away, to fill in for someone else in the church. Kami- sama... I'm so glad that today is a Friday... And there's no homework. Hehehe, Meimi thought. I'll go check later sometime for the diary. She sighed, thinking about this morning and her disappointment. She had left home early to check if the journal was there with a new entry, but she didn't find it. And for some reason she treaded off to school with a heavy heart. It was really peculiar. She had only written to this person a couple of times, and yet she felt as if she knew who it was, as if they'd already met...

"Konnichiwa, Takamiya," Meimi said as she saw the girl approaching her. She was taken aback when she saw the contempt on Rina's face.

"You. Stay away from Asuka Jr. I can see what you're trying to do. Leave him alone," she spat.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb. Just mark my words. Don't go near him, and you and I can stay on good terms." With that she turned around and stomped away. She seemed to be doing that a lot more now. Talk to someone and walk away in anger. Earlier, she had tried to get Asuka jealous by flirting with one of his friends. But he hadn't even so much as glanced my way, she thought bitterly. She frowned at what their conversation had turned to next.

Haneoka.

*Flashback*

Another one of Asuka's friends came up and out of the blue asked what they all thought of Haneoka. He claimed that he had just seen Sawatari vying for her attention once more, without any success. Rina had gotten even angrier when one of them suggested that Asuka should go and ask her out.

"Asuka Jr. You know you should. You guys would make a great couple. Who wants to bet that Asuka and Haneoka would end up together?" someone asked.

"Guys, stop this. It's ridiculous. There is no "us" between Haneoka and me," Asuka protested.

"I bet that if they do get together, there would be a lot less "talking" and a lot more lip-locking, ne, Asuka Jr.?" another "friend" said slyly. "Oh! Look he's blushing!" he proclaimed, and then there were hoots of laughter.

Rina's world turned stark red at this.

"Guys..." Asuka Jr. moaned out.

That's when Rina left them in a huff, to go look for Meimi and tell her off.

*End of Flashback*

She just didn't get it. After all these years, she had tried and tried, over and over to get his attentions. But nothing she did seemed to work. For a long time now, she has caught him staring at the redhead. At other times, when he was talking to her, he'd blush. Meimi had never noticed this, but it didn't escape her hawk-like eyes. So Rina tried even harder. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again, right? Well that's exactly what she has been doing.

Nani? What was that all about? Meimi thought, as she watched the other girl go. She was only minding her own business when Rina came and said that. She seemed really angry too.

"Hey M-Haneoka!" she turned around to see Asuka jogging up to her. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed Asuka's slip up with her name, for which he was thankful. "What did Takamiya say to you?" he asked.

When Rina left the group, he watched her and puzzled about her behavior when he saw her talking to Meimi.

"Um..."

*B-bump*

*Stay away from Asuka Jr.*

*B-bump*

*B-bump*

Meimi knew that she shouldn't say anything of the truth, and chose to tell a white lie instead. "She just wanted to ask about an assignment for the next class. That's all," Meimi said, hoping that he'd believe her. But the weary look the he was giving her told her otherwise.

"Are you sure?" Knowing Takamiya for a long time now, and seeing how she left so angrily...

"Of course I am. I don't have any reason to lie to you, Asuka Jr." I have a very good reason for lying to you, Asuka Jr......

I love you.

Asuka was about to say something when the bell rang, signaling that the lunch hour was over. "Come on, I'll walk you to class. You've got Chemistry next, right? I pass that class on the way to mine." He grabbed her arm, in a gentle sort of way, and tugged her towards the school building.

"Hai," she said, blushing a little and walked faster to keep up with the detective.

*~*~*~*~*

Meimi sighed and read the entry for about the third time since she got to the café. She looked around once more to see if the person might be around. No such luck. She couldn't shake the anxiousness, even when she has only been waiting for about 15 minutes...

I have thought about the things that you mentioned, but I'm sorry to say that I'm not any closer to finding an answer as I was back then... But I think that I'm leaning towards the one that makes me crazy, and not the mysterious one. I don't know... With this mysterious person, I still can somehow think straight. With the other one, my mind goes blank. Is that supposed to mean something? And you never know. Maybe the guy you like has decided to change his attitude? But then again, love makes people do crazy things. He could have a secret crush on you, you know. Falling in love just happens, it isn't... It's just another one of those unexplainable things. I don't know you, so I can't make any clear judgments about you... But from reading what you've written, I could say that you're a very interesting person. The guy probably does like you. Haven't you ever heard the saying that when two people fight all the time, it means that they really like each other? Maybe it's true in your case. I don't know about me...

I want to know who you are. Sorry. You might have some good reason that you're hiding your identity... But aren't you at least a little curious about the person you're writing to? Well I was thinking that maybe we could meet up somewhere.... Do you know about the Renge Café? Meet me there at about an hour after school today, Friday. If you don't come, it's okay.... And you want us to be using false names, huh? Well, if you're the princess, can I be the Knight in Shining Armour? Just kidding...

Meimi sighed again and stopped reading there. She already knew what the next sentences were going to be about, having read it over and over repetitively. This person just talked about their meeting in the Renge Café in the last few sentences, and signed with numbers. This only served to puzzle her more. 419119. That's what the person had put. She was hoping for something that would at least tell her of this person's gender, but instead they chose to do with a number coded-name. Doesn't matter. Either way I'm going to find out today... that's if this person shows up, Meimi thought uneasily.

After waiting for another couple minutes, she glanced up at the clock in the café and found that she had been waiting for a long time now. She sighed heavily and got up from her booth. Maybe the person got cold feet in the end, or maybe that person is here, and I just don't see her... or him. She looked around once more, but all she saw were old people, couples, and groups of friends. No one else was sitting alone.

She turned around and saw someone sitting alone in the booth that was behind her, someone who didn't look too old. She couldn't tell directly who it was, but the person looked awfully familiar...

"Asuka Jr.?" she asked questioningly. His eyes lit up when he turned around and saw her.

"Haneoka? What are you doing here?" he asked her as she approached him. She looked to be floating gracefully over to him instead of walking. It seemed like she was an angel descending down from the heavens, sent to bless his miserable life with her presence.

"I was here waiting for a friend of mine." Although he or she didn't quite show up. "What about you?"

"I was here to, uh... I just came for a small snack. I overheard some people praising their lattés here, and decided to try it. Why don't you sit? And how long have you been here?"

Meimi took the invitation and slid into the seat across from him. "I've been here for awhile. I have a friend that told me to meet them here, but I guess they forgot."

"Wait, someone told you to meet them here?" he asked. She couldn't be the one... could she? He looked around to see if there were any other people that might be the one could be writing to him... but he saw no one else. She could be... "Is this friend a guy or a girl?"

Meimi graced him with a weird look. "Why do you wanna know?"

"I just do," he said haughtily.

"It's a girl," Meimi lied. Telling Asuka Jr. that lie made no difference, right? It wasn't really any of his concern.

When he heard that it was a girl, he inwardly sighed in relief. I knew that it couldn't have been Meimi. I don't know what I would have done if it was Meimi, who was the girl that I was writing to all this time.

"Oh," he said lamely, and sighed. The girl didn't show up though, I wonder why? Well, it doesn't really matter. Meimi is here, so I really couldn't care less.

Another silence engulfed them, but there wasn't any of that awkwardness like there was before, when Asuka was trying to apologize. It was more of a comfortable silence that both of them could tolerate, and wasn't bothered by.

Meimi then suddenly remembered the warning that Rina had told her, about staying away from him, and started to worry. What's if she came sauntering in through the door and saw them? Meimi didn't want to know. It was weird, though. The way Rina had come over. Nothing like this has ever happened. And Meimi and Asuka were always seen together.... fighting. But that's besides from the point. Why did she start getting angry about it now? If it bothered her so much to see them interacting, why hadn't she said something about it before?

"Asuka Jr.?"

"Hm?"

"What is Takamiya to you? Be honest."

Asuka Jr. was dumbfounded. The question took him completely off guard. "What is Takamiya to me? Like how do I feel about her?" Meimi nodded slowly. Asuka felt his throat constricting. "Why do you wanna know?"

"I just do," Meimi said, imitating the way that he had said it earlier. Asuka just smirked.

"Well if you really want to know..." Meimi nodded her head again, telling him to go on. "I don't know. She's a friend and all, pesky at times. But other than that, I think that she's a good person."

"Is that all you think of her?"

"Yeah... why?" A slow grin spread across his face. "Are you jealous, Haneoka?"

She frowned at him telling him clearly that she was not. "Don't get cocky you conceited bag of dirt," she said threateningly. "It's just that...."

Asuka saw her expression change from one of annoyance to apprehensiveness in a blink of an eye. He decided that there was something on her mind that was bothering her at this moment.

"It's just that what? This doesn't have anything to do with Takamiya coming up to you today, does it?"

"Well... not entirely..."

"What did she say?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you." She blushed furiously, and Asuka eyed her wearily.

"Of course you should. If she's bothering you, just tell me and I'll go have a talk with her."

Meimi slammed her palms down onto the table. "No!" Her violent reaction startled them both. "I mean, no because, she- That's just one of the last things that I want happening right now."

"Why?"

"Because she told me to stay away from you, in a not so polite way," Meimi said, almost inaudibly. She then went on telling him word for word what Rina had said. By the time she was finished his frown had deepened.

"So that's what she said... Don't worry about her. I'll handle her." He put up a hand to silence her when he saw that she was going to protest. "I won't mention anything about you. So relax."

Some of the tension flowed out of her, but not so much that she could relax and sit without worrying. "Are you sure that you can handle her?"

"Of course. You should have a little more faith in me, you know."

"Right. Your word is supposed to be as good as gold, when you still haven't captured Saint Tail?" she threw the statement at him almost tauntingly.

"Hey-" He looked up and was about to object, when he saw Meimi grinning at him from a across the table, with a small twinkle of laughter dancing in her eyes. He broke out into a grin too, when he realized she was only teasing.

Meimi studied his facial features for a moment. Noting the way his eyebrows arched up, the way his mouth moved sensually as he talked, the way his teeth were set in a jaw too strong to be anything but stubborn. And his eyes....

"You have such beautiful eyes..."

Seeing Asuka Jr. blink, Meimi knew that she had vocalized the last of her thoughts, and that he had heard them.

"I don't have any problem with you speaking your mind," he replied, those eyes now bright with amusement. Meimi turned away from him, hoping that he hadn't caught her blush. Gods, why is it that all of a sudden, I keep blushing every 30 seconds that goes by when I'm near him? It's a wonder that he hasn't noticed yet.

*B-bump*

*B-bump*

*B-bump*

For the second time that day, Meimi's heart went into over drive, and she felt as if it was doing summersaults in her chest. Her only hope was that he couldn't see it beating so hard. Meimi was sure that it was visible to the eye.

Asuka was lost in his own thoughts as well. Maybe she doesn't loathe me all that much. And maybe.... just maybe.... Maybe that's hoping for too much. Asuka sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had been expecting someone else, and instead, he got her. Not that he didn't like the idea of sitting near Meimi... In fact, he liked it a lot and wished that there wasn't such a big gap between the two. I'm glad that that other girl hadn't showed up. I'm going to have to thank her for this.

"So, um. Did you have any plans for this afternoon? We don't have anything else to do. At least I don't. No homework for this weekend," Meimi said in one breath, changing the subject.

"Well, I hadn't really thought about that." Other than coming here to meet the mysterious girl, I had nothing else planned.

"Then how's about spending the rest of the day together? That is, if you don't mind..." Meimi said hesitantly.

Did he mind? Of course not! Meimi was asking him. Him! Him of all people to spend the day with, just because they had nothing better to do, but that's aside from the point. And she asked him. Does that mean something?

Asuka Jr. felt like he had won the lottery. He felt like jumping up for joy, all the while Meimi was dreading his answer and his rejection, for he hadn't said anything and his face remained impassive.

Finally, Asuka snapped out of it and came back to his senses. "Sure. It could be fun." He watched as her eyes lit up like candle lights, and graced him with a smile. This was an accomplishment for him. Most of the time he only managed to get her angry. But now...

"Honto ne, Asuka Jr.?"

"Hai."

"Then come on!" she exclaimed. She got up and tugged on his sleeve, half dragging him out of the coffee shop.

"They make a cute pair, don't you think? And the girl seems pretty sweet," a young woman asked her male companion.

"Hai. But not as sweet as you, Sakura, my Cherry Blossom," the male replied.

The girl blushed and swatted playfully at his chest. "Flattery will get you no where with me, Syaoran."

"Hm... but here's hoping," the one known as Syaoran said. He smiled seductively as he pulled her closer for his embrace.

*~*~*~*~*

Meimi sighed happily as she bounced up the stairs and into her room, after greeting her parents. It was almost dark outside now. She flopped to her bed and sighed once again.

"Ruby! Oh Ruby! Today was one of the most happiest days in my life! You would never believe what had happened!" she squealed out delightedly when her pet and confidant came to her.

Ruby looked up quizzically at her master and friend as if to say "What happened?"

Meimi giggled. "I spent the whole of after school with Asuka Jr.! Jeez, you know what? I never thought that I would become one of those girls who giggled and sighed so much just because of this one guy. But look at me now!"

She settled down a little more and stared at the ceiling above her. I was really supposed to meet this "419101" person, but I got a better deal instead. Meimi thought about the day's events, how she and Asuka had gone around the small shops in town and just had fun. She took him to some stores where the items interested her. And he even bought her something as well.

Meimi lifted her left hand in front of her. She fingered the bracelet lovingly with her right hand and smiled. I'm never taking this off.

Despite all that has happened that day, events of which made her ecstatic above and beyond, she still wondered what happened to the other person.... Unknown to Asuka, Meimi had written a small response in the diary, and putting it in its place as they were passing the bench. Doesn't really matter though.. I just hope that they person whoever he or she is wasn't waiting for me when I left.

She then decided to call Seira to tell her all about it, and ask if there were any lost lambs at the time.

*~*~*~*~*

Asuka looked at the journal in front of him, but he wasn't really seeing the words that were on the page anymore, and he had already read it.

Where were you? I was there, but I don't think I saw you... I saw someone I knew there, but no one else...

With a lopsided grin, Asuka took out a pen and started to write something back, making sure to thank this person. Thanks for her absence, he got to spend the day with Meimi. He wasn't even expecting that something like this would've happened. Let alone, with Meimi.

Satisfied with his answer, he checked the clock and decided that it was still early enough for him to go put it back under the bench. He got up and left his room, the same grin still present on his face.

*~*~*~*~*

Author's Note: Okay, for some insane reason, I think that this chapter in lame. I don't know why. I just do. But then again, I'm the one who's writing it, so my opinion of my story doesn't count. =P. It's your opinion that does. Hehehe. Do any of you like Card Captor Sakura? I sorta added them in there, even if it was just a brief moment. ::Trying to be sly::

Hehehe. So instead of meeting the people that they were writing to, they get each other. At least, that's what they think. But they were happy because they got to spend the day with each other. And Rina is starting to become a nuisance, huh?

For the next chapter... oh wait. I can't tell you that. Hehehe. I guess you'll have to wait, ne? Don't worry. I'll try not to wait for two months before getting the next chapter out... But I'm not promising a speedy 4th chapter either. Sorry, I'm just slow.

Until next time, Ja!

~Enchanted Pink Jade

E-mail: lyricalaznangel@aol.com