= thoughts
" " = speaking
~ ~ = telepathic stuff
Chapter 5- Shaky Homecoming "Hey Syaoran," Meilin shouted to him. "Are you going to go to the homecoming with anyone?"
"Eh?" Syaoran asked her.
"Homecoming," she said as she stood in the doorway to his room.
"Hey, get out!" He yelled at her as her pushed her out forcefully.
"Watch out!" Meilin yelled at him, slapping him on the back.
"Oww!" He groaned.
"It's your own fault," she told him angrily. "Anyway, are ya going to go?"
"Maybe," he replied.
"Maybe? Just maybe?"
"Yeah."
Meilin sighed. "OK." *~*~*~* "Hey, Syaoran!" Leisa shouted to him after soccer practice. Both him and Kent had both made it onto the team. Syaoran looked up from the bottle of water that he was drinking from.
Sakura also looked up. Cheerleading practice had just ended for her. She was hidden behind the bleachers so neither of them saw each other, though Sakura knew that Syaoran was there with Leisa.
"Well, Homecoming's coming up, so I was wondering if you wanted to take me to the games or to the dance." Leisa asked him sweetly.
"Eh? Oh sure," Syaoran replied. Sakura stiffened immensely.
"OK, cool." Leisa said. "Oh, by the way, Sakura's behind the bleachers, looking for you." She sauntered out.
Syaoran spotted Sakura and headed towards her, but she immediately ran off.
"Sakura?"
A furious Meilin whacked him on his head angrily. "Syaoran, how could you? I mean, I gave up on you because I saw how much you loved Sakura, and now you're going to the dance with Leisa?" Meilin demanded to him.
"Eh?" Was that what I just said to her? Syaoran asked himself. Meilin slapped him one more time, and then ran after Sakura. *~*~*~*
"Leisa that was very mean, what you did to innocent little Sakura there." Kent told her.
"What are you talking about?" Leisa asked, guiltless as an angel.
"You know, the Persuasion card." Kent said to her.
"Well, I just have to break them apart. And think of it in this way. Now you can go with Sakura, while I go with Syaoran. We are breaking them apart."
"I don't think it'll be as easy as that." Kent mumbled to himself.
"Oh no dear cousin, it won't. But it's a start, so let's go." *~*~*~* How could he? I though maybe we would be getting closer, but now he's taking Leisa?
"Sakura, wait up!" Sakura heard Meilin's voice behind her. She ran even faster, not wishing to be seen by anyone. Meilin caught up to her though.
"What do you want?" Sakura said bitterly to her.
"Hey, I'm trying to help here. I know that you wanted to go with Syaoran, but I don't think that he's been himself lately. I know Leisa wasn't the best choice, but look at it this way. It's only one dance. You guys have been through way too much for this one dance to break it all apart."
"Thanks Meilin-chan." Sakura said, smiling a bit now.
"No problem. Now, someone's getting a big lecture when I get home. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. So don't you worry."
"Hey, Meilin-chan, you guys were engaged forever! Aren't you mad that at all about how.well, you know, how Syaoran and me are."
"Oh Sakura, of course not. Syaoran and I are close; we've been that way since we were little kids. But that's all that there is for us. We can't be anymore than that. I regret it sometimes, but I know that I can get a lot more out of both of our friendships, than from being with Syaoran. Don't worry."
"Thanks." Sakura said again. "I've gotta go now, see you later."
Meilin waved to Sakura then headed off home too. *~*~*~* "OK, now why did you say yes to her?" Meilin asked Syaoran, dangerously close to exploding in impatience.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Syaoran yelled back. "I don't even remember her asking me. All I said was yes, how bad is that?"
"Someone heard you, and that was bad enough! Plus, now you're going to the dance with a B****!" Meilin screamed.
"Yeah, so what if I'm going with her?" Syaoran asked Meilin with such calmness that she slapped him again. She was the only one ever allowed to do that, since Syaoran knew that she never did it without a good reason. "What was that for?"
"Hey, I didn't give you up so you could go trashing around with some asshole like Leisa!" Meilin screamed at Syaoran.
"Why does everyone always gang up on me? It's only a dance, and I DON'T like her."
"Then why did you say yes?" Meilin asked.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Syaoran yelled.
And so it went like that until both of their voices were gone from screaming so loudly. *~*~*~* "Hoe!" Sakura groaned. Her head was spinning from all of the exercises that they had just done in cheerleading. She collapsed on the grass, tired.
"Great job Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo congratulated. "You are guys are going to be great for the parade."
"Arigato Tomoyo-chan."
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Kent ran up breathlessly.
"Hi Kent-kun," she replied.
"Do you want to come to the Homecoming Dance with me?" He asked quietly.
"Umm.sure," she replied. Why shouldn't she go? Syaoran was going with Leisa, so she could go with whoever she wanted to.
"Great! I'll pick you up at around seven then, ok?"
"Sure," Sakura replied.
"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said warningly once Kent was gone. "Why are you going with him?"
"Why shouldn't I? Syaoran-kun is going with Leisa."
Tomoyo's violet eyes widened. "He is?"
"Yeah." Sakura said.
Meilin joined them. She knew about the secret, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Sakura about it. She pulled Tomoyo aside.
"I don't know why Syaoran is going with Leisa, but it doesn't sound to me like he had a choice. He doesn't even remember saying yes to her. He totally denies having ever even hearing her ask him. So I think maybe a card, though I bet Syaoran should have noticed the force. I don't know, but Syaoran told me that he didn't like Leisa, so Sakura still had a chance."
"Wow, Li-kun told you all of that willingly?"
Meilin blushed. "Well, not all of it."
"Oh ho ho." Tomoyo grinned. "So, who are you going to the Homecoming dance with?"
"Me?" Meilin pointed to herself. I don't know. No one? I really don't think that I'm attracted to anyone in our school."
"OK. So, Chiharu and Yamazaki, Michael and Naoko, Rika is really glad that Terada sensei is chaperoning, so that's why she's coming, Sakura and Syao.I mean Kent, and Syaoran and Leisa are going together."
"And you and Eriol, and that makes everyone happily matched up."
"Except for you Meilin-chan." Tomoyo pointed out.
"Oh, well, I'll just stay at home." Meilin said happily.
"Home? No way! You've gotta come with us. With or without a date." Tomoyo dragged her to her home, eager to make another outfit. *~*~*~* "Homecoming's tonight!" Meilin squealed to Syaoran. The dress that Tomoyo had made her was a plain blood red with spaghetti straps. It enhanced Meilin's eyes, and even Syaoran was convinced that Meilin looked beautiful. She had cut her long black hair to shoulder length, and she was toying with ways to put it up.
"Hey, keep it half up and half down." Syaoran told her.
"Gotcha." Meilin said. "Hey, it does look good like this. Thanks Syaoran."
"Do I really have to dress up?" he asked as he fished through his closet.
"Yeah." Meilin said. "Here, I like this shirt, and these pants go great with it. Here's your outfit."
Syaoran returned a few minutes later, wearing a forest green colored collar shirt with a pair of khakis.
"Hanyaan, you look so kawaii!" Meilin told him.
"I know." Syaoran said, oh so modestly.
Laughing, Meilin grabbed his arm. "OK, I'm ready to go now."
"Wait a minute, who's your date?" Syaoran asked Meilin pensively.
"Huh? Date? Yeah, like I'm ever going to like anyone from this school."
"OK. But Meilin, I wish that you could actually trust me sometimes."
Meilin turned her face away from him suddenly, blocking all signs of her emotions. "I do Syaoran." Turning back, she grinned suddenly. "And why can't you trust me? I know that you like Sakura, so why didn't you ask her? Huh?"
Syaoran didn't answer her, and jumped into his navy blue Jeep to pick up Leisa, face blushing like crazy. *~*~*~* "HOE!" Sakura screamed. "The dance is in 20 minutes, and I'm late!" The doorbell rang.
"AHH! It's Kent-kun. Hoe." Sakura quickly slipped into an elegant spring green dress. She slipped her hair into a simple but elegant bun with a forest green ribbon and ran down the stairs to meet Kent.
"Wow, Sakura-chan, you look lovely tonight!" Kent told her.
She blushed. How did she really feel about Kent? He was a nice and cute too, but.she hesitated. She didn't know if she really liked him.
"Let's go, Sakura-chan." Kent told her. *~*~*~* As Sakura and Kent entered the room together, Syaoran headed over to them. Leisa had been grumbling since Syaoran had picked her up with Meilin. Leisa had wanted time all to herself with her 'cuddly little wolf.'
"Syaoran-kun." Sakura exclaimed in surprise as she saw him approach her.
"Hey, you look really pretty tonight." He complimented her.
"Thanks, you have a cool outfit too." She said.
Syaoran blushed. He didn't mention the fact that Meilin had helped him pick it out, but he didn't have to.
"Yeah, it's only cuz I picked it out for him!" Meilin yelled as she came running in.
"Oh ho ho" Tomoyo laughed as she entered the group. "Nice outfit Sakura- chan, I'm going to have a great time videotaping today." Sakura groaned.
Eriol had come with Tomoyo. Rika, Chiharu, and Yamazaki joined the group too, and they all hung out together. The football game had been a great success, with Tomoeda High defeating the opposing team: 28-7.
"Hey, Syaoran, dance with me!" Leisa said as a slow song came on. Syaoran shrugged to Sakura as Leisa pulled him onto the floor.
"Wanna dance?" Kent asked Sakura. She nodded slowly, and she knew that Tomoyo would have all of her moments on tape.
"Hanyaan, this is sooooo kawaii!" Tomoyo sighed to Eriol. "The protagonist, obviously Sakura in here, is being torn between her affections for her two antagonists. Which one will get her?"
Eriol sweat dropped as Tomoyo was drawn into oblivious bliss while she videotaped Sakura.
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Hiyoshi greeted her.
"Hey, Hiyoshi-kun, I haven't seen you in awhile. What's been going on? Who're you here with?" Sakura asked him. The slow dance had been over. She had seen Syaoran and Leisa dancing, and it had cut deep into her heart. She had no idea what the image of her and Kent dancing together had done to Syaoran.
"No one actually."
"Oh."
"Yeah, this is a lot of fun, isn't it." Hiyoshi said.
"Hey, do you want to go outside? It's getting really hot in here, and I want to learn more about you." Sakura said to him.
"And you really think that I'm going to tell you everything about me just like that?" Hiyoshi asked her, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes." Sakura said firmly. "Cuz I see all of that pain in your eyes Hiyoshi, and I know that it'll do you a lot of good to get it out."
Hiyoshi stared at her in surprise. Did he really let the pain go to his eyes? How could Sakura see that?
"Alright," he said slowly. Sakura excused herself, and followed Hiyoshi out into the night sky.
Silently, Syaoran followed them out too.
Damn! Why can't she just stay with one guy? Does she seriously not like me? What's up with her trying to make me jealous? Why is she going out with Hiyoshi now?
"BAKA!" he screamed out as the door slammed in his face. He had been watching Hiyoshi's hand on Sakura to notice anything else.
"Cousin, what should we do?" Leisa asked Kent.
He grinned. "Give them some time to themselves, and then let's send a force out."
Luckily for Sakura and Hiyoshi, Tomoyo didn't see them slip out, so she spent the rest of the night looking for them.
Hiyoshi and Sakura headed for the park, and then settled down on a bench. Sakura stared at Hiyoshi, waiting for him to begin.
"Stop." Hiyoshi said.
"Hoe, what am I doing?" Sakura asked him.
"Stop staring at me."
"Why?"
"Cuz I can't concentrate."
"Sheesh, how can he not concentrate?" Sakura said as she averted her gaze.
"OK," Hiyoshi took a deep breath. "Like, how do I start?"
"Where did you come from ,like where did you spend your childhood, your siblings."
"Well, I don't know if you know this yet, but I'm really from Taiwan, like Leisa and Kent, but I don't know where they're from. I was born in Taipei in the district of Jingmei. I had an elder brother and a younger sister, so I was in the middle. I was always better that Hiyaki, my brother, at everything, and it wasn't even my fault. I was more popular than him, better at sports, got better grades. I know that he was always jealous of me, but we were still close friends. One day, when I was in seventh grade, he was killed in a car accident."
Sakura gasped, and was about to say something, but then she stopped.
~It's easier to let it all out without interruptions.~
~Syaoran?~
~Yeah.~
~How the heck are you talking to me in my head?~
~Tell you later, concentrate on Hiyoshi now~
"I was devastated. I couldn't believe that he would leave me alone like this. I had to comfort my younger sister, Hiyamei, who was also really close to my brother too. I was stunned by his death, but I got over it. I learned to live without my aniki, and went on with life. Eight grade rolled around, and then my parents suddenly died too. They were on a vacation for their anniversary and on their way back, their plane was caught in a bad storm, and they all died. Once again, I was left by myself with my little sis, Hiyamei. No one knew anything about how we were living by ourselves, but I knew people would soon find out. Hiyamei and I were fine by ourselves, but then word leaked out that we had been living by ourselves. I knew that childcare people would soon be coming to get us, and I didn't want that to happen. Miraculously, a relative of ours, who we never even knew existed, Kimi Haru came and rescued us. He taught me about my powers and then introduced me to Eriol last year. The only bad thing was that I lost Hiyamei somewhere. I don't even remember, which is really sad." Hiyoshi's eyes filled with tears. "All I know is that I couldn't find her when I went back to my house when day. I looked everywhere for her, and Haru helped too, but we couldn't find her. All of my family is gone now, 'cept for me. All that I have left of them is a picture and this locket."
Hiyoshi took out a picture of him, and a group of four other people crowded around him. The mother and father both had bright smiles and brown hair. The mother had gray eyes, and the father had bright blue eyes. Next to Hiyoshi was a tall kid with twinkling blue eyes and spiked up brown hair.
Sitting on Hiyoshi's lap was a small petite girl with short brown hair and blue eyes. She looked cute and innocent in the picture. The locket was gold in the shape of an oval. It had a rose incarved intricately on the top layer and had a picture of both of his siblings on each side.
"Wow, Hiyoshi-kun, I'm really sorry that I never knew about any of this. I know how hard it is to lose someone close to you, and you lost everyone. I can't believe that you haven't collapsed yet."
"You have no idea how many times I almost have." Hiyoshi said, looking deep into Sakura's eyes. She saw pain and anger reflected in them.
"I even burnt down my old home, I was so mad back then and I had no idea that I had powers, so obviously I had no idea what to do with them."
"Oh, Hiyoshi." Sakura said. "I really hope that you can start a new life here, with us." She said to him softly.
"Me too." Hiyoshi said.
Impulsively, Sakura hugged Hiyoshi. "Hey, I hope that we can become close friends, and if you ever have any troubles, come to me."
"And me."
"Hoe!" Sakura jumped, even though she had already felt Syaoran's presence near them.
"I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but Hiyoshi, like you, I have experienced many deaths in my family. My father died when I was young, and my cousin Chensen, who I looked up to after my father died, also passed away a few years ago. I have lost many people in my life too, and Sakura's mother died when she was young also. We know what you're going through, so if you ever need anyone, we'll be here for you." Syaoran said solemnly.
"Thanks." Hiyoshi said softly. "I never had anyone to lean on before, Haru was always out, busy with work and business trips. His servants were uncaring for me, so all I did was roam around. I hope.Thanks," he said again.
"Don't mention it," Sakura said.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook. "Uh oh." Sakura said. "Now what?"
"A force!" Syaoran shouted.
"Oops, I made all of ya guys too occupied, and none of us noticed the force coming up." Hiyoshi said.
"It's not your fault." Sakura replied, as she concentrated on the force. "But what type of force is it?"
"No idea." Syaoran replied.
"The ground's shaking, earthquake? Or something like that." Hiyoshi guessed.
"Maybe."
Suddenly, the floor underneath them started cracking.
"Earthquake!" Sakura yelled. She lost her balance, and as the crack split open, started to fall in. She screamed out loud.
"SYAORAN!!!!!!!!!"
"SAKURA!" he screamed back to her. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand tightly, right before she fell in.
"God! Sakura, you scared the crap out of me! Don't ever do that again!" Syaoran screamed at her.
Shrugging, she released her staff.
"Spirit of the dark forces, come out! I, Hiyoshi command you!" he yelled out, raising the blue wand in his hand.
"No fair, why don't I get a staff?" Syaoran grumbled to himself. Sakura grinned at Hiyoshi, then stumbled as the ground shook again.
Hiyoshi caught her arm, and the three of them, Sakura, Syaoran, and Hiyoshi stood up to face the force together.
"Ice, freeze the earth!" Sakura commanded, hoping that it would work.
As the ice spread out along the grass and into the earth, the ground stopped shaking. A petite pixie flew out of a crevice, looking around, confused.
"Alright, let's get it!" Hiyoshi yelled. Then suddenly, the earthquake broke through the ice, and the ground shook with even more force than usual. Screams pierced the night.
Sakura shook her long golden brown hair out of her eyes. "Darn, I've gotta think of something else. Hiyoshi!"
Hiyoshi had been hit with something that the pixie had thrown out, and he was on the ground shaking uncontrollably.
"It's up to you Sakura!" Syaoran told her grimly. "I know that you can do it!"
"I need to get the pixie out here again. "Windy, blow into the crevices, and get that pixie out here." Sakura yelled. She hope desperately that the pixie hadn't disappeared yet.
Suddenly, over the top of the deep canyon came a ball of spinning colors. It stopped over Sakura's head, and she could see the light pixie.
"Spirit of the dark forces, return to the form by contract, I Sakura, command you!"
Sighing, Sakura collapsed on the ground. The Earthquake card had been the most destructive one yet. Now she still had to go out to erase memories.
"Hanyaan, too bad Sakura-chan wasn't in a costume!" Sakura sweat dropped as she saw Tomoyo appear with Eriol behind her.
"Oh, Hiyoshi-kun, are you ok?" Sakura asked him concerned.
"Yeah. I think that she sent a wave of power into me, that my body couldn't handle, so it just started to give up."
"Well, I'm glad you're good."
"C'mon, we need to celebrate!"
"FOOD, FOOD. FOOD!" Kero exclaimed.
"Hoe, where does everyone appear from?" Sakura asked herself.
"I'm here too!" Suppi yelled.
"What about Yue?"
"He's outta town for a bit, and Touya's joining him too, in England, remember?" Eriol informed her.
"Oh." Sakura replied.
"Oh, look, the dance's over, and we both ditched our partners." Syaoran told Sakura as the walked home. He was escorting her to her house.
Eriol, Suppi, and Hiyoshi were all staying at Tomoyo's house. Kero had already gone home, leaving the two of them by themselves.
"Why did you go with Leisa-chan?" Sakura asked Syaoran suddenly.
"Eh? Why did you go with Kent-kun?" he retorted.
"Cuz you were going with her."
"Eh...I don't even remember saying yes or her asking me." Syaoran said quietly. "Why does everyone bother me about that. No one ever believes in me."
"I do." Sakura said softly. Syaoran turned to face her. Her emerald eyes faced away from him, though he could still see the reflections in them.
"If I didn't, then where would I be now?"
"Thanks Sakura." Syaoran said. "I hope that I can come to you as a friend, and talk to you about my troubles too."
"Of course you can." Sakura told him pleasantly as they continued on their way home.
But is that all you ever want me to be, a friend?
No Sakura, I want you as something much more, something that I can have forever, and it's right in my grasp, yet I don't want to reach out to take it, because it might break and fade away, forever. OK, I hope it isn't too long. I like this chapter myself, personally. Reviews comments, what I did bad in here (and maybe good?) S+S in the end, and I feel so bad for Hiyoshi now, don't you? R+R please. ~Ruby
" " = speaking
~ ~ = telepathic stuff
Chapter 5- Shaky Homecoming "Hey Syaoran," Meilin shouted to him. "Are you going to go to the homecoming with anyone?"
"Eh?" Syaoran asked her.
"Homecoming," she said as she stood in the doorway to his room.
"Hey, get out!" He yelled at her as her pushed her out forcefully.
"Watch out!" Meilin yelled at him, slapping him on the back.
"Oww!" He groaned.
"It's your own fault," she told him angrily. "Anyway, are ya going to go?"
"Maybe," he replied.
"Maybe? Just maybe?"
"Yeah."
Meilin sighed. "OK." *~*~*~* "Hey, Syaoran!" Leisa shouted to him after soccer practice. Both him and Kent had both made it onto the team. Syaoran looked up from the bottle of water that he was drinking from.
Sakura also looked up. Cheerleading practice had just ended for her. She was hidden behind the bleachers so neither of them saw each other, though Sakura knew that Syaoran was there with Leisa.
"Well, Homecoming's coming up, so I was wondering if you wanted to take me to the games or to the dance." Leisa asked him sweetly.
"Eh? Oh sure," Syaoran replied. Sakura stiffened immensely.
"OK, cool." Leisa said. "Oh, by the way, Sakura's behind the bleachers, looking for you." She sauntered out.
Syaoran spotted Sakura and headed towards her, but she immediately ran off.
"Sakura?"
A furious Meilin whacked him on his head angrily. "Syaoran, how could you? I mean, I gave up on you because I saw how much you loved Sakura, and now you're going to the dance with Leisa?" Meilin demanded to him.
"Eh?" Was that what I just said to her? Syaoran asked himself. Meilin slapped him one more time, and then ran after Sakura. *~*~*~*
"Leisa that was very mean, what you did to innocent little Sakura there." Kent told her.
"What are you talking about?" Leisa asked, guiltless as an angel.
"You know, the Persuasion card." Kent said to her.
"Well, I just have to break them apart. And think of it in this way. Now you can go with Sakura, while I go with Syaoran. We are breaking them apart."
"I don't think it'll be as easy as that." Kent mumbled to himself.
"Oh no dear cousin, it won't. But it's a start, so let's go." *~*~*~* How could he? I though maybe we would be getting closer, but now he's taking Leisa?
"Sakura, wait up!" Sakura heard Meilin's voice behind her. She ran even faster, not wishing to be seen by anyone. Meilin caught up to her though.
"What do you want?" Sakura said bitterly to her.
"Hey, I'm trying to help here. I know that you wanted to go with Syaoran, but I don't think that he's been himself lately. I know Leisa wasn't the best choice, but look at it this way. It's only one dance. You guys have been through way too much for this one dance to break it all apart."
"Thanks Meilin-chan." Sakura said, smiling a bit now.
"No problem. Now, someone's getting a big lecture when I get home. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. So don't you worry."
"Hey, Meilin-chan, you guys were engaged forever! Aren't you mad that at all about how.well, you know, how Syaoran and me are."
"Oh Sakura, of course not. Syaoran and I are close; we've been that way since we were little kids. But that's all that there is for us. We can't be anymore than that. I regret it sometimes, but I know that I can get a lot more out of both of our friendships, than from being with Syaoran. Don't worry."
"Thanks." Sakura said again. "I've gotta go now, see you later."
Meilin waved to Sakura then headed off home too. *~*~*~* "OK, now why did you say yes to her?" Meilin asked Syaoran, dangerously close to exploding in impatience.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Syaoran yelled back. "I don't even remember her asking me. All I said was yes, how bad is that?"
"Someone heard you, and that was bad enough! Plus, now you're going to the dance with a B****!" Meilin screamed.
"Yeah, so what if I'm going with her?" Syaoran asked Meilin with such calmness that she slapped him again. She was the only one ever allowed to do that, since Syaoran knew that she never did it without a good reason. "What was that for?"
"Hey, I didn't give you up so you could go trashing around with some asshole like Leisa!" Meilin screamed at Syaoran.
"Why does everyone always gang up on me? It's only a dance, and I DON'T like her."
"Then why did you say yes?" Meilin asked.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Syaoran yelled.
And so it went like that until both of their voices were gone from screaming so loudly. *~*~*~* "Hoe!" Sakura groaned. Her head was spinning from all of the exercises that they had just done in cheerleading. She collapsed on the grass, tired.
"Great job Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo congratulated. "You are guys are going to be great for the parade."
"Arigato Tomoyo-chan."
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Kent ran up breathlessly.
"Hi Kent-kun," she replied.
"Do you want to come to the Homecoming Dance with me?" He asked quietly.
"Umm.sure," she replied. Why shouldn't she go? Syaoran was going with Leisa, so she could go with whoever she wanted to.
"Great! I'll pick you up at around seven then, ok?"
"Sure," Sakura replied.
"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said warningly once Kent was gone. "Why are you going with him?"
"Why shouldn't I? Syaoran-kun is going with Leisa."
Tomoyo's violet eyes widened. "He is?"
"Yeah." Sakura said.
Meilin joined them. She knew about the secret, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Sakura about it. She pulled Tomoyo aside.
"I don't know why Syaoran is going with Leisa, but it doesn't sound to me like he had a choice. He doesn't even remember saying yes to her. He totally denies having ever even hearing her ask him. So I think maybe a card, though I bet Syaoran should have noticed the force. I don't know, but Syaoran told me that he didn't like Leisa, so Sakura still had a chance."
"Wow, Li-kun told you all of that willingly?"
Meilin blushed. "Well, not all of it."
"Oh ho ho." Tomoyo grinned. "So, who are you going to the Homecoming dance with?"
"Me?" Meilin pointed to herself. I don't know. No one? I really don't think that I'm attracted to anyone in our school."
"OK. So, Chiharu and Yamazaki, Michael and Naoko, Rika is really glad that Terada sensei is chaperoning, so that's why she's coming, Sakura and Syao.I mean Kent, and Syaoran and Leisa are going together."
"And you and Eriol, and that makes everyone happily matched up."
"Except for you Meilin-chan." Tomoyo pointed out.
"Oh, well, I'll just stay at home." Meilin said happily.
"Home? No way! You've gotta come with us. With or without a date." Tomoyo dragged her to her home, eager to make another outfit. *~*~*~* "Homecoming's tonight!" Meilin squealed to Syaoran. The dress that Tomoyo had made her was a plain blood red with spaghetti straps. It enhanced Meilin's eyes, and even Syaoran was convinced that Meilin looked beautiful. She had cut her long black hair to shoulder length, and she was toying with ways to put it up.
"Hey, keep it half up and half down." Syaoran told her.
"Gotcha." Meilin said. "Hey, it does look good like this. Thanks Syaoran."
"Do I really have to dress up?" he asked as he fished through his closet.
"Yeah." Meilin said. "Here, I like this shirt, and these pants go great with it. Here's your outfit."
Syaoran returned a few minutes later, wearing a forest green colored collar shirt with a pair of khakis.
"Hanyaan, you look so kawaii!" Meilin told him.
"I know." Syaoran said, oh so modestly.
Laughing, Meilin grabbed his arm. "OK, I'm ready to go now."
"Wait a minute, who's your date?" Syaoran asked Meilin pensively.
"Huh? Date? Yeah, like I'm ever going to like anyone from this school."
"OK. But Meilin, I wish that you could actually trust me sometimes."
Meilin turned her face away from him suddenly, blocking all signs of her emotions. "I do Syaoran." Turning back, she grinned suddenly. "And why can't you trust me? I know that you like Sakura, so why didn't you ask her? Huh?"
Syaoran didn't answer her, and jumped into his navy blue Jeep to pick up Leisa, face blushing like crazy. *~*~*~* "HOE!" Sakura screamed. "The dance is in 20 minutes, and I'm late!" The doorbell rang.
"AHH! It's Kent-kun. Hoe." Sakura quickly slipped into an elegant spring green dress. She slipped her hair into a simple but elegant bun with a forest green ribbon and ran down the stairs to meet Kent.
"Wow, Sakura-chan, you look lovely tonight!" Kent told her.
She blushed. How did she really feel about Kent? He was a nice and cute too, but.she hesitated. She didn't know if she really liked him.
"Let's go, Sakura-chan." Kent told her. *~*~*~* As Sakura and Kent entered the room together, Syaoran headed over to them. Leisa had been grumbling since Syaoran had picked her up with Meilin. Leisa had wanted time all to herself with her 'cuddly little wolf.'
"Syaoran-kun." Sakura exclaimed in surprise as she saw him approach her.
"Hey, you look really pretty tonight." He complimented her.
"Thanks, you have a cool outfit too." She said.
Syaoran blushed. He didn't mention the fact that Meilin had helped him pick it out, but he didn't have to.
"Yeah, it's only cuz I picked it out for him!" Meilin yelled as she came running in.
"Oh ho ho" Tomoyo laughed as she entered the group. "Nice outfit Sakura- chan, I'm going to have a great time videotaping today." Sakura groaned.
Eriol had come with Tomoyo. Rika, Chiharu, and Yamazaki joined the group too, and they all hung out together. The football game had been a great success, with Tomoeda High defeating the opposing team: 28-7.
"Hey, Syaoran, dance with me!" Leisa said as a slow song came on. Syaoran shrugged to Sakura as Leisa pulled him onto the floor.
"Wanna dance?" Kent asked Sakura. She nodded slowly, and she knew that Tomoyo would have all of her moments on tape.
"Hanyaan, this is sooooo kawaii!" Tomoyo sighed to Eriol. "The protagonist, obviously Sakura in here, is being torn between her affections for her two antagonists. Which one will get her?"
Eriol sweat dropped as Tomoyo was drawn into oblivious bliss while she videotaped Sakura.
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Hiyoshi greeted her.
"Hey, Hiyoshi-kun, I haven't seen you in awhile. What's been going on? Who're you here with?" Sakura asked him. The slow dance had been over. She had seen Syaoran and Leisa dancing, and it had cut deep into her heart. She had no idea what the image of her and Kent dancing together had done to Syaoran.
"No one actually."
"Oh."
"Yeah, this is a lot of fun, isn't it." Hiyoshi said.
"Hey, do you want to go outside? It's getting really hot in here, and I want to learn more about you." Sakura said to him.
"And you really think that I'm going to tell you everything about me just like that?" Hiyoshi asked her, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes." Sakura said firmly. "Cuz I see all of that pain in your eyes Hiyoshi, and I know that it'll do you a lot of good to get it out."
Hiyoshi stared at her in surprise. Did he really let the pain go to his eyes? How could Sakura see that?
"Alright," he said slowly. Sakura excused herself, and followed Hiyoshi out into the night sky.
Silently, Syaoran followed them out too.
Damn! Why can't she just stay with one guy? Does she seriously not like me? What's up with her trying to make me jealous? Why is she going out with Hiyoshi now?
"BAKA!" he screamed out as the door slammed in his face. He had been watching Hiyoshi's hand on Sakura to notice anything else.
"Cousin, what should we do?" Leisa asked Kent.
He grinned. "Give them some time to themselves, and then let's send a force out."
Luckily for Sakura and Hiyoshi, Tomoyo didn't see them slip out, so she spent the rest of the night looking for them.
Hiyoshi and Sakura headed for the park, and then settled down on a bench. Sakura stared at Hiyoshi, waiting for him to begin.
"Stop." Hiyoshi said.
"Hoe, what am I doing?" Sakura asked him.
"Stop staring at me."
"Why?"
"Cuz I can't concentrate."
"Sheesh, how can he not concentrate?" Sakura said as she averted her gaze.
"OK," Hiyoshi took a deep breath. "Like, how do I start?"
"Where did you come from ,like where did you spend your childhood, your siblings."
"Well, I don't know if you know this yet, but I'm really from Taiwan, like Leisa and Kent, but I don't know where they're from. I was born in Taipei in the district of Jingmei. I had an elder brother and a younger sister, so I was in the middle. I was always better that Hiyaki, my brother, at everything, and it wasn't even my fault. I was more popular than him, better at sports, got better grades. I know that he was always jealous of me, but we were still close friends. One day, when I was in seventh grade, he was killed in a car accident."
Sakura gasped, and was about to say something, but then she stopped.
~It's easier to let it all out without interruptions.~
~Syaoran?~
~Yeah.~
~How the heck are you talking to me in my head?~
~Tell you later, concentrate on Hiyoshi now~
"I was devastated. I couldn't believe that he would leave me alone like this. I had to comfort my younger sister, Hiyamei, who was also really close to my brother too. I was stunned by his death, but I got over it. I learned to live without my aniki, and went on with life. Eight grade rolled around, and then my parents suddenly died too. They were on a vacation for their anniversary and on their way back, their plane was caught in a bad storm, and they all died. Once again, I was left by myself with my little sis, Hiyamei. No one knew anything about how we were living by ourselves, but I knew people would soon find out. Hiyamei and I were fine by ourselves, but then word leaked out that we had been living by ourselves. I knew that childcare people would soon be coming to get us, and I didn't want that to happen. Miraculously, a relative of ours, who we never even knew existed, Kimi Haru came and rescued us. He taught me about my powers and then introduced me to Eriol last year. The only bad thing was that I lost Hiyamei somewhere. I don't even remember, which is really sad." Hiyoshi's eyes filled with tears. "All I know is that I couldn't find her when I went back to my house when day. I looked everywhere for her, and Haru helped too, but we couldn't find her. All of my family is gone now, 'cept for me. All that I have left of them is a picture and this locket."
Hiyoshi took out a picture of him, and a group of four other people crowded around him. The mother and father both had bright smiles and brown hair. The mother had gray eyes, and the father had bright blue eyes. Next to Hiyoshi was a tall kid with twinkling blue eyes and spiked up brown hair.
Sitting on Hiyoshi's lap was a small petite girl with short brown hair and blue eyes. She looked cute and innocent in the picture. The locket was gold in the shape of an oval. It had a rose incarved intricately on the top layer and had a picture of both of his siblings on each side.
"Wow, Hiyoshi-kun, I'm really sorry that I never knew about any of this. I know how hard it is to lose someone close to you, and you lost everyone. I can't believe that you haven't collapsed yet."
"You have no idea how many times I almost have." Hiyoshi said, looking deep into Sakura's eyes. She saw pain and anger reflected in them.
"I even burnt down my old home, I was so mad back then and I had no idea that I had powers, so obviously I had no idea what to do with them."
"Oh, Hiyoshi." Sakura said. "I really hope that you can start a new life here, with us." She said to him softly.
"Me too." Hiyoshi said.
Impulsively, Sakura hugged Hiyoshi. "Hey, I hope that we can become close friends, and if you ever have any troubles, come to me."
"And me."
"Hoe!" Sakura jumped, even though she had already felt Syaoran's presence near them.
"I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but Hiyoshi, like you, I have experienced many deaths in my family. My father died when I was young, and my cousin Chensen, who I looked up to after my father died, also passed away a few years ago. I have lost many people in my life too, and Sakura's mother died when she was young also. We know what you're going through, so if you ever need anyone, we'll be here for you." Syaoran said solemnly.
"Thanks." Hiyoshi said softly. "I never had anyone to lean on before, Haru was always out, busy with work and business trips. His servants were uncaring for me, so all I did was roam around. I hope.Thanks," he said again.
"Don't mention it," Sakura said.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook. "Uh oh." Sakura said. "Now what?"
"A force!" Syaoran shouted.
"Oops, I made all of ya guys too occupied, and none of us noticed the force coming up." Hiyoshi said.
"It's not your fault." Sakura replied, as she concentrated on the force. "But what type of force is it?"
"No idea." Syaoran replied.
"The ground's shaking, earthquake? Or something like that." Hiyoshi guessed.
"Maybe."
Suddenly, the floor underneath them started cracking.
"Earthquake!" Sakura yelled. She lost her balance, and as the crack split open, started to fall in. She screamed out loud.
"SYAORAN!!!!!!!!!"
"SAKURA!" he screamed back to her. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand tightly, right before she fell in.
"God! Sakura, you scared the crap out of me! Don't ever do that again!" Syaoran screamed at her.
Shrugging, she released her staff.
"Spirit of the dark forces, come out! I, Hiyoshi command you!" he yelled out, raising the blue wand in his hand.
"No fair, why don't I get a staff?" Syaoran grumbled to himself. Sakura grinned at Hiyoshi, then stumbled as the ground shook again.
Hiyoshi caught her arm, and the three of them, Sakura, Syaoran, and Hiyoshi stood up to face the force together.
"Ice, freeze the earth!" Sakura commanded, hoping that it would work.
As the ice spread out along the grass and into the earth, the ground stopped shaking. A petite pixie flew out of a crevice, looking around, confused.
"Alright, let's get it!" Hiyoshi yelled. Then suddenly, the earthquake broke through the ice, and the ground shook with even more force than usual. Screams pierced the night.
Sakura shook her long golden brown hair out of her eyes. "Darn, I've gotta think of something else. Hiyoshi!"
Hiyoshi had been hit with something that the pixie had thrown out, and he was on the ground shaking uncontrollably.
"It's up to you Sakura!" Syaoran told her grimly. "I know that you can do it!"
"I need to get the pixie out here again. "Windy, blow into the crevices, and get that pixie out here." Sakura yelled. She hope desperately that the pixie hadn't disappeared yet.
Suddenly, over the top of the deep canyon came a ball of spinning colors. It stopped over Sakura's head, and she could see the light pixie.
"Spirit of the dark forces, return to the form by contract, I Sakura, command you!"
Sighing, Sakura collapsed on the ground. The Earthquake card had been the most destructive one yet. Now she still had to go out to erase memories.
"Hanyaan, too bad Sakura-chan wasn't in a costume!" Sakura sweat dropped as she saw Tomoyo appear with Eriol behind her.
"Oh, Hiyoshi-kun, are you ok?" Sakura asked him concerned.
"Yeah. I think that she sent a wave of power into me, that my body couldn't handle, so it just started to give up."
"Well, I'm glad you're good."
"C'mon, we need to celebrate!"
"FOOD, FOOD. FOOD!" Kero exclaimed.
"Hoe, where does everyone appear from?" Sakura asked herself.
"I'm here too!" Suppi yelled.
"What about Yue?"
"He's outta town for a bit, and Touya's joining him too, in England, remember?" Eriol informed her.
"Oh." Sakura replied.
"Oh, look, the dance's over, and we both ditched our partners." Syaoran told Sakura as the walked home. He was escorting her to her house.
Eriol, Suppi, and Hiyoshi were all staying at Tomoyo's house. Kero had already gone home, leaving the two of them by themselves.
"Why did you go with Leisa-chan?" Sakura asked Syaoran suddenly.
"Eh? Why did you go with Kent-kun?" he retorted.
"Cuz you were going with her."
"Eh...I don't even remember saying yes or her asking me." Syaoran said quietly. "Why does everyone bother me about that. No one ever believes in me."
"I do." Sakura said softly. Syaoran turned to face her. Her emerald eyes faced away from him, though he could still see the reflections in them.
"If I didn't, then where would I be now?"
"Thanks Sakura." Syaoran said. "I hope that I can come to you as a friend, and talk to you about my troubles too."
"Of course you can." Sakura told him pleasantly as they continued on their way home.
But is that all you ever want me to be, a friend?
No Sakura, I want you as something much more, something that I can have forever, and it's right in my grasp, yet I don't want to reach out to take it, because it might break and fade away, forever. OK, I hope it isn't too long. I like this chapter myself, personally. Reviews comments, what I did bad in here (and maybe good?) S+S in the end, and I feel so bad for Hiyoshi now, don't you? R+R please. ~Ruby