Emergence
Chapter 2: Breaking Tradition
The doorbell rang and Touya ran to answer it even though he had an uneasy feeling about it. It's not like he thought there was a violent stranger on the other side. No, Touya knew exactly who it was: it was him. The boy, who, he was sure, had been making his sister miserable for years. Of course, Touya had to be nice to him because Eriol had sworn that the brat was going to help Sakura.
Touya sighed and opened the door, 'At least I was warned.' Foregoing the customary glare, he let the boy in. "You're early, Li; Sakura's still in bed. Why don't you wait in the kitchen while I go wake her up?" He didn't even wait for Syaoran to answer before he turned around and headed for Sakura's room. All thoughts of the despised boy were forgotten as he plotted something very evil: waking up his little sister.
Syaoran put down his books and took off his shoes, all the while looking around curiously. He never really paid attention to anything the few times he had been in the Kinomoto house. It was very homey – he could tell a family lived here. It almost hurt him, but he had spent years growing hard against his family, he wouldn't let them hurt him now. A small smile graced Syaoran's lips as he caught sight of a picture of Sakura and her brother. Anyone could tell they cared about each other even if they were always fighting.
Feeling he had spent too much time invading their privacy, Syaoran decided to enter the kitchen as Touya had ordered. He was greeted by Sakura's father when he sat down. "Ah, Touya, why don't you go wake up Sakura. We don't want her to be late again. By the way, who was at the door?" Fujitaka turned as he finished and was startled to find a boy with chocolate hair instead of his son.
Syaoran smiled shyly before he replied. "I'm sorry, Kinomoto-san, your son let me in. I believe he already went to-"
"HOE! TOUYA, WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?"
"You're right, he did. Would you like something to eat? I made extra since food has a habit of disappearing in this house." Fujitaka offered a bowl of something Syaoran didn't recognize, but it smelled good so Syaoran agreed.
"Yes, thank you," Syaoran accepted the plate as he took in a deep breath, savoring the scent. "I skipped breakfast this morning because I wanted to avoid Mei Lin."
Touya walked in the room looking a bit shaken. He grabbed a bowl and sat down. "Is it just me, or does she get louder every day?"
Fujitaka smiled, "Perhaps, but then again, I have a feeling that you go out of your way to aggravate her." He turned to Syaoran, who had been eating quietly. "So, Li-san, what brings you here? I thought you only came when Mei Lin-san and Tomoyo-san dragged you."
Syaoran looked down, "Usually, yes. Hiiragizawa and I decided to attempt to get your daughter to school on time for once. We also have to have a little talk. I figured getting her up extra early would help since it would give us more time before school. Hiiragizawa figured talking on the way to school was the best bet because we wouldn't run into Tomoyo and Mei Lin."
Touya looked at the boy quizzically, and then mumbled, "I thought you were the silent type." Of course, the kitchen was small enough that both Fujitaka and Syaoran heard him.
Fujitaka gave his son a reprimanding look while Syaoran failed to hold back a snort. "With Mei Lin and Tomoyo around, I am. I can't see how even Sakura can get a word in edgewise when those two get going."
"When who get going?" Sakura had entered the room in time to catch the end of Syaoran's comment.
"You're not part of this conversation, monster."
The foolhardy Touya was awarded for his effort by a sharp kick to his shin and a glare, compliments of his little sister. "And I didn't ask you."
Sakura turned to Syaoran, expecting an answer. He took a moment to study her and noticed that she was completely ready, 'even showered – her hair is still a little damp,' even though her brother ate only half his breakfast. "Your brother thought I was the silent type." He looked away from her, "You got ready quickly."
"Practice. I've actually got time to sit down today." Sakura looked at her brother as she sat, "Everyone's the silent type when Tomoyo-chan and Mei Lin are around. I bet you think Eriol-kun is normally quiet too?" Touya nodded. "Silly brother, Eriol-kun has way too much to say to ever be considered quiet."
Seconds later, the doorbell rang again. Syaoran checked for auras and smirked. "Speak of the devil; I have a feeling this particular demon has blue hair and glasses."
"That's no way to treat my other half," Fujitaka admonished lightly as he rose to answer the door. "Although I must admit he plots far more than I do. Why don't you two finish getting ready for school while I let Hiiragizawa-san in? Touya, you had better hurry or you'll be late for work."
Syaoran laughed as Touya spat out whatever he was drinking and rushed to get ready. It nearly reminded him of a cyclone. He leaned closer to Sakura – which earned him a glare from the still-moving Touya – and murmured, "I take it it runs in the family?"
Sakura responded with a giggle, "It comes from my mother's side." She then slowly picked up her lunch and led Syaoran out the front door. Of course, she paused once to turn to her brother and call out, "See you later, Touya! Don't trip on your laces on the way to work."
The young man instantly looked down to check on his shoe laces, which caused him to trip over his own feet. He sent a glare to Sakura as he got up and shouted back, "I hope you have a math test!"
She quickly replied, "We didn't have any math homework." This reminded her of the incident the day before and she shuddered before turning to Eriol to greet him with a grin.
The shudder didn't escape Syaoran's notice, but it did make him feel guilty. He put a hand on Sakura's arm which caused her to turn around. Her face held a look that clearly asked what he wanted in a way only Sakura's face could ask. Syaoran responded with a look that asked if she was okay.
Sakura laughed. "I'm fine," she stated as she looped her arm through Syaoran's. "Come father dearest, or we'll be late." She slipped her other arm around Eriol's and started walking.
Syaoran followed Sakura's lead and started walking as well, but after only a couple steps, they both stopped and turned to face Eriol. He was just standing there – mouth slightly agape – with a stunned look on his face.
"Were you two just communicating mentally? I didn't think wither of you could do that…" Eriol began to worry that they really would leave him behind if they became better friends.
"Of course not, Hiiragizawa! Sakura just has a really expressive face."
"Then why was she the one to answer out loud?"
"Because Syaoran-kun has one too. Now come on Eriol-kun, let's make it a sunny day." Once again, Sakura started walking only to be held back by someone not moving.
The two boys looked at each other over Sakura's head, wondering if that meant she believed she did have control over the weather.
"Um---Sakura?" Syaoran started as they began to walk again. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
She looked up at him, then to her left at Eriol. "It means I want to make this a good day instead of one of my normally horrible days." She looked at the two boys again. "You don't really believe that I have control over the weather, do you?"
Everyone was silent for a few seconds before Syaoran spoke quietly, "It rains when you cry. It's always cloudy and you're always sad. It thunders when you're scared. And right now…" all three teens looked up to the sky, "it's sunny. How do you feel today, Sakura?"
A small wind picked up around the three magicians; a lonely cloud drifted in front of the sun, and Sakura's brow creased as she tried to hold back her anger while she thought. Moments later, she smiled. The cloud disappeared and the wind died as suddenly as it started. In a low whisper – almost as if she was scared to say it – Sakura timidly said, "I'm happy."
They stopped to let her words sink in. 'Right now she's happy and it's su-'
Syaoran's thought were cut off as Sakura let out a shout of joy and began jumping around. She let go of both boys as she bounced around yelling "I'm happy!"
She flew into Eriol's arms with enough force to send them twirling around – Sakura's legs flying out behind her. "I'm happy, Eriol! I'm happy!"
"And I'm happy for you, Sakura-chan," Eriol said as he gave her an extra hug and set her down. "My daughter should always be happy."
She smiled up at him, and then continued with her bouncing and yelling until she reached Syaoran. He, of course, had been expecting her to jump on him in much the same way she had done to Eriol, so he braced himself. Sure enough, she flew into his arms in the middle of an "I'm happy." Her force left Syaoran slightly unbalanced, but he recovered quickly since he had been prepared.
Before Syaoran's mind fully registered that the girl was embracing him, she leapt off him. The two stood a couple feet apart, staring in to each other's eyes. This continued for a full minute before Sakura whispered, "I'm happy."
"That's something to be excited about," Syaoran said as he stepped towards her and took her hand. "Now let's see what we can plan to keep you happy all day." He took a few steps forward, gently pulling Sakura behind him, then turned to look at Eriol, "You coming, Hiiragizawa?"
"Of course," Eriol replied as he draped an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "I wouldn't miss your scheming for the world."
The three teens continued on their route to school,
all the while plotting the day's course of action. Today was the day they
were going to start giving Sakura back her life. There may be a few bruises
along the way, but Sakura didn't mind at all – it would be worth it.
Tomoyo walked into the classroom and scanned the students for her friends. She noted that her corner of the classroom was empty. She had expected Sakura to be late, but her other friends should be there by now. Her eyes swept to the other back corner – she was still looking for her friends. A grin spread across her lips as she noticed who was at the centre of attention bock there. "Hey guys, I'm sorry to ruin your fun, but can I steal away my girl here?"
"Aw, come on, Tomoyo, we were in the middle of somethin'. Can't you wait until Mei Lin's done?"
"Sorry boys, but we've got things to discuss before the teacher gets here. You wouldn't want us to get in trouble for talking during class, would you?"
The guys laughed, "Of course not, Tomoyo. Go ahead and take her, but we want her back at break."
Mei Lin got up while slapping a few hands away, then followed Tomoyo to their seats. "So Tomoyo," she asked as they sat, "what's today's topic?"
Tomoyo's eyes twinkled as she laughed. "Why last night, of course. So how did it go?"
"Great. We went to a movie, and then walked around for a while before he took me home. It was different than my other dates. This one might be the one, Tomoyo. He wasn't as forceful or all over me as the other guys were."
Mei Lin turned to look at the guys in the opposite corner and Tomoyo followed her gaze. Tomoyo noticed as the guy Mei Lin went out with the night before grinned and winked at Mei Lin before he went back to talking to his friends. Mei Lin giggled, and then turned back to Tomoyo.
"It seems as though he likes you." Tomoyo watched Mei Lin closely and was pleased to note that her friend smiled. "So what did Syaoran say when you returned home? I mean, I'm sure he doesn't approve of you sneaking out to date some guy when you're technically still engaged to him."
Mei Lin frowned, "Don't remind me of that. I'm not going to marry him. It's not like we love each other. He's just scared that everyone's going to leave him alone since his family rejected him."
"Yes, but what did he say?"
"That's the thing: nothing. He wasn't home. He didn't get home until just after I went to bed and then he left early this morning before I got up. It's almost like he's trying to avoid me, but that would be crazy. I'm the one who did something wrong; I should be the one avoiding him."
Tomoyo sat there looking stunned for several seconds before she glanced around the room again. "I thought you said he left before you this morning."
"I did," Mei Lin nodded as she spoke.
"Then why isn't he here? For that matter, where is Hiiragizawa-san? Those boys are always early."
"What would you want those boys for when you've got a man like me, Tomoyo-chan? You're not thinking of trading me in for four-eyes, are you?" An arm draped around her shoulders as the voice spoke close to her ear.
Tomoyo turned around to find her current boyfriend looking at her in mock pain. She laughed and playfully slapped his cheek. "Of course not. He might be a gentleman, but I'm sure he can't cook."
Tomoyo's quest to find the perfect guy was well known around the school. She was pretty and popular – not to mention rich – enough that most guys had made an attempt to be 'the guy' in her life. Many of them got dumped rather quickly when they tried to get a little too personal. Of those who knew better, every one had been dumped because he couldn't cook.
"Well, I assure you I can cook. My mother forced me to learn because she needed a break every now and then. Now the real question, Tomoyo, is 'how good is your memory?'"
Her eyes grew rather large as she looked up at him. "What do you mean by that?" She was worried she had forgotten a birthday or something.
"Well, it's just that you went through an awful lot of guys recently – five guys in two weeks. I've lasted three days, but I have to ask: do you even remember my name?" He didn't really care if she didn't remember his name. He was just happy he could call her 'his' until something happened.
Tomoyo astounded him by looking at him with sheer confidence. She puffed up her chest, put her hands on her hips and boldly stated, "Of course I – " '…don't.'
For once, Sakura's timing was perfect. "Tomoyo-chan! Mei Lin!" She cut Tomoyo off as she entered the room smiling. "I'm so sorry about yesterday! I remembered something I had to talk to Eriol-kun about right away. I hope you managed to leave before it got too wet outside. That was quite a storm." Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she sank into her seat. 'It's a good thing Eriol told me his cover story. I'm sure Tomoyo-chan would ask questions."
Mei Lin leaned over and whispered, "Great timing Sakura. You just saved Tomoyo's butt." Sakura gave her a questioning glance and was rewarded with an answer for once. "She doesn't remember his name." Mei Lin pointed at the boy draped over Tomoyo.
Sakura looked at them and shuddered, wondering how Tomoyo could put up with it. Mei Lin noticed the shudder and commented, "I know. It's awful, isn't it?" If Sakura had looked at Mei Lin, she would have seen the small smile on her friend's lips as the girl remembered something that happened to her earlier that day.
She snapped out of it quickly enough, though and began to ask questions. "You know Sakura, you're here earlier than usual." Sakura just shrugged. "You didn't happen to see Syaoran on the way, did you? He's practically been missing since yesterday. He came home last night – but late – and then he left early this morning, but he's not here yet. I haven't seen him since he went looking for you."
"You didn't have to send out a search party, I was at Eriol-kun's." Sakura said casually as she watched Tomoyo flirt with her boyfriend. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were worried about him. But I'm sure you sent him to look for me so you could go on a date." Syaoran had told her about Mei Lin's little trick. "So I know you're not too worried." Sakura turned her head to look at Mei Lin, "How was it?"
Mei Lin's mouth hung open for a second. "Fine. But how did you…?"
"I know things, Mei Lin. I'm not as dense as you and Tomoyo-chan think I am."
Mei Lin noted that Sakura didn't mention Syaoran, but figured that she just refused to acknowledge his existence since they didn't get along. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned from her thoughts to find Tomoyo asking a question.
Sakura looked back to Tomoyo, only to notice Syaoran entering through the door behind her friend. She caught his eyes and nodded with a smile. He wanted to know if Mei Lin talked about him while he was absent. He returned her nod with a smile and a wink which didn't go unnoticed by Tomoyo's boyfriend.
It was well known that Li Syaoran had a standing threat against any and all of Tomoyo's boyfriends. Several guys had come out worse for the wear after Syaoran caught wind that they had tried to take advantage of her. This particular boyfriend, although he had done nothing wrong yet, saw that wink and thought it was meant for him. With visions of himself in a body cast, he immediately left Tomoyo's side and fled to the protection of his friends – all of whom have been on the receiving end of Syaoran's wrath.
Syaoran noticed Sakura working hard to stifle her giggles. He raised an eyebrow in question of her actions and she merely made a face at him. 'I'll have to ask her what she found so funny later.'
After Syaoran sat, Mei Lin turned around to talk to him. "Where have you been? You left way before I did this morning and I've been here for ages." It wasn't like Syaoran to leave without Mei Lin in the morning. It's not that he's clingy; he just doesn't like being reminded that he's almost completely alone. "And where is Hiiragizawa? He's always here before Sakura."
The young man merely shrugged. "I had something to take care of. You asking because you actually wanted to walk to school with me?" He accompanied his question with a glance towards the guys Mei Lin had been talking to earlier. "I'm not stupid Mei Lin; I do know what you're doing. Then again, it's not like you work hard to hide it." Syaoran flashed his cousin an evil grin, "And I'm not Hiiragizawa's keeper. Ask him where he's been."
The shock on Mei Lin's face was priceless. Syaoran was pleased with the reaction. He'd known about Mei Lin's flirting and dating for a long time. He put up with it because she was the only family he had left. Normally, he would expect more from his fiancée, but he knows she's just reaching out for someone else to care for. After all, she lost her family – her life – too. Still, he had decided that she wasn't going to be the one controlling everything from now on. If Sakura could make changes, he could too.
Tomoyo turned to face her friends when Syaoran finished speaking and caught Mei Lin's shocked face. She gave Syaoran a 'you shouldn't have said that' look before she even bothered to open her mouth. It didn't affect him at all. She sighed, then spoke, " You haven't seen Hiiragizawa-kun today either? That's strange. I thought he always harassed you on your way to school, or at least that's what Mei Lin said." That comment resulted in a glare sent to Mei Lin.
"If you're so interested in him, Tomoyo, why don't you go look for him? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to find out you actually care about him."
Tomoyo frowned at the sarcasm in Syaoran's voice. She didn't like that he was insinuating that she was interested in Eriol. Sure they got along well enough, but she couldn't see anything that set him apart from all the other guys. He never showed interest in her, so why should she show him any?
Sakura tried to hide her smile as she sent Syaoran a reprimanding look. "I think, Tomoyo-chan, that what Li-kun was trying to say is that there is no reason why he should know any more about Eriol-kun than the rest of you. Though now that I think about it, I do remember him mentioning something about having to talk to a teacher this morning. He's probably been at the office all this time and we just didn't know."
As Sakura finished speaking, just a minute before class was to begin, Eriol entered the room while talking to their teacher. Tomoyo noticed her video camera in his hands as he thanked the teacher and headed to his seat.
"Well if it isn't the blue-haired demon with glasses." Syaoran muttered as Eriol walked by.
This prompted a giggle from Sakura as she defended Eriol. "I don't think my father appreciates you referring to his other half as a demon. Besides, if you were his keeper, that would make you head demon."
Eriol smirked. 'That girl is far smarter than the others give her credit for.' "That reminds me," he held out the camera to Sakura, "this is for you to use during our project." He, Sakura and Syaoran had decided that he should give the video camera to Sakura when class started so the girls wouldn't suspect anything…yet.
"Thanks, Eriol-kun!" Sakura beamed up at him as she took the camera and removed the lens cap. Inside was a note reminding her to talk to Chiharu. "I could have used this earlier this morning, I noticed a few interesting things." She aimed the camera at Tomoyo and Mei Lin to record their reactions to her comment. Had they been looking closely, they might have noticed the small smirk that passed her lips.
Mei Lin's usually controlled demeanor slipped for a few seconds as she registered what Sakura said. 'Does she really see and know more that we think?' The bell rang to signal the beginning of the school day, but Mei Lin barely noticed as she wondered of the rest of the day would be this messed up. Everything was weird: Sakura was behind the camera while Tomoyo was in front of it for once; Syaoran and Hiiragizawa both arrived after Sakura – who was early. 'Something's different about Sakura, I hope this isn't the beginning of something awful.'
As Mei Lin continued to drift through her thoughts, their sensei started taking attendance. Tomoyo, Eriol, and Sakura all had no problems responding to their names, but "Li Mei Lin" was followed by a long pause. Starting with Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Sakura, heads turned towards Mei Lin. Each face held a similar astonished look – Li Mei Lin never missed her name during attendance.
Finally, as if Mei Lin just noticed the silence, she lifted her head up and flashed a grin. "Hai, Sensei."
The sensei merely shot Mei Lin one of those 'you know you did something wrong' looks before ticking off Mei Lin's name and calling out "Li Syaoran."
Syaoran looked up from his textbook to answer, then smirked at his cousin as he went back to reading after letting out his own "Hai, Sensei."
Mei Lin's attention drifted again as the rest of the class continued its discussion on behavioral traits. It seemed to her that something was going on and her friends were keeping her out of the loop. About halfway through the class, a mention of an assignment – more like project – pulled the Chinese girl from her thoughts.
Suddenly, something clicked, 'Hiiragizawa, camera, Sakura, assignment.' Mei Lin's head snapped up for the second time that morning. "So Hiiragizawa had been in the office this morning. I guess he knew what he and Sakura were doing for their project already."
Just after their sensei gave the order to start working on the term project, Sakura left her desk to talk to Chiharu. Tomoyo watched her friend walk right by her and felt a bit disappointed. "That's odd," she whispered, "she usually talks to me when we have projects." Just as Tomoyo was about to rise and follow Sakura, she felt a tug on her sleeve.
Tomoyo turned around to find Mei Lin with her hand still on her sleeve. She met her friend's questioning look and nodded to let her know that she was okay. At the same time, Tomoyo noticed that Mei Lin wasn't quite herself. She filed that thought at the back of her head – something to bring up during lunch – and tilted her head to question what her friend wanted. To her surprise, Mei Lin pointed to Syaoran, who twirled his finger in the air to symbolize the three of them and said, "Role reversal."
To the two girls, there was too much confidence behind those two words. They both stared at him, trying to figure out when and why he came up with role reversal as a topic. Mei Lin was just about abut to comment on how much chaos that could potentially cause when Tomoyo spoke up.
"Oh! That could be fun!" She turned to face Mei Lin again as she continued, "One of us could switch with Sakura-chan and maybe she's understand how she's behaving." The two girls didn't worry about Sakura overhearing their plans because she was too busy talking with Chiharu, Takashi and Eriol.
Class was just about over when a voice cried out, "I can? Oh my gosh, Chiharu, you're the greatest!" Then, as though Sakura just realized that she was still in class, she lowered her voice, "I was sure you had replaced me by now. I figured you wouldn't want me back."
Chiharu grinned, "Of course we want you back Sakura. We were trying to get along without replacing you because we all wanted you back instead of someone else." The girls giggled at the admission while Eriol and Takashi just sat there, happy because the girls were happy.
"I can't wait to tell Syaoran! It was his suggestion. And I can't wait to see the looks on Tomoyo-chan and Mei Lin's faces. That'll be great!"
"Um, Sakura," Sakura interrupted her friend's rambling, "if you don't mind my asking, what's going on with you and Syaoran-kun? You've both been acting weird today."
"Oh. Well, ah…" Sakura paused to look around and make sure that Tomoyo and Mei Lin weren't listening. "We've decided to put everything behind us and become friends. As for acting a little differently, it's part of our 'Liberation from Bad Things.' We're both trying to make changes that will make us happier. I think Eriol-kun should too," she shot a look at Eriol that clearly said, 'you know what I mean,' "but he says he's perfectly content to help the two of us. Anyway, class is over; can we go get my uniform now?" Sakura concluded as they packed up their notes and books.
"Of course," Chiharu replied as she grabbed Takashi's arm. "Come on Takashi, let's go get Sakura's uniform so she can wear it to practice after school today." The three teens left the room after waving to Eriol as he walked to the window.
Syaoran took a tiny glance out the window before watching Mei Lin join the group of guys in the opposite corner. He frowned in distaste as Mei Lin playfully slapped hands away before sitting on one guy's lap. Syaoran made a mental note to find out who that was as he left the classroom in search of Sakura and company. Sakura's outburst gave him an idea of Chiharu's answer, but he wanted to make sure.
Eriol and Syaoran exchanged small, barely noticeable nods as Syaoran left the room. They didn't really hate each other like everyone thought, it was just an act for appearances sake.
After Syaoran left, Eriol went back to examining the
sky. It was a bright, sunny day with only one white, fluffy cloud to mar
the endless, beautiful blue expanse. He smiled to himself, knowing that
Sakura was happy, as he shifted his gaze to the reflection in the window.
He watched Tomoyo as she read through her notes and made corrections here
and there. Pain filled his eyes as he saw her 'boyfriend of the week' wrap
his arms around her and kiss her neck. It was then he chose to leave the
room.
Sakura bounced down the hall as she prattled on in her happiness. Chiharu and Takashi laughed at her giddiness as she bounced around with her uniform held close to her chest. "This'll be so great. It'll be just like old times. I'm sorry I ever quit. And I promise I'll be on- Syaoran!" She took off down the hall, leaving Chiharu and Takashi in her wake.
Takashi turned to Chiharu and asked, "She promises she'll be on Syaoran?" Chiharu shrugged in response, but they both understood when they saw Sakura launch herself at the boy in question. "Oh. Syaoran. As in, he's here. She probably meant to promise that she'll be on time."
When the two teens caught up to Sakura, she had already released Syaoran and was running his ears off as she had done to them. "And they hadn't replaced me yet, I can't believe it! We just went to get my uniform, see?" she flashed the uniform at Syaoran quickly before hugging it again. "And it's my old one so it'll fit perf-"
Syaoran clamped his hand over Sakura's mouth to stop her from talking. She contemplated licking his hand in an effort to get him to remove it, but settled for glaring at him. He grinned and leaned in close to one of her ears, "If you don't stop talking now, you'll make us all late for our next class." Then he removed his hand.
Sakura grinned sheepishly as she responded, "Oh, right."
Her friends laughed at her reaction as they slowly made their way to the opposite end of the school to prepare for their next class before the bell rang.
Syaoran pulled Sakura back to allow Chiharu and Takashi to walk ahead of them. He glanced down at Sakura before he spoke, "Congratulations, I know this means a lot to you."
They both stopped walking and Sakura looked up at Syaoran as she replied, "Um, thanks." She smiled rather shyly as she realized that she didn't really know Syaoran that well. The two of them stared at each other for several seconds before Syaoran broke the connection by turning his head.
He looked back at the vivacious girl and grinned. "You know, that's twice you've jumped on me this morning. You should be more careful or I might start liking it."
Sakura looked up at him with a fake surprised look plastered on her face. "You mean you don't like it now?" Her voice dripped with both fake innocence and fake hurt. "I'm shocked, I thought you enjoyed holding me."
Syaoran stood there, stunned, for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. "Do Mei Lin and Tomoyo know how evil you really are, Sakura? They've been trying so hard to protect your innocence and here you are doing a perfect imitation of Hiiragizawa. Well, except that you're female." He took a few seconds to look over Sakura fully, making sure that she knew what he was doing.
It was Sakura's turn to laugh as she slapped his arm and started walking to class again. "Careful Syaoran, if Mei Lin finds out you act like that, she might actually want to date you instead of those losers."
"Heaven forbid," Syaoran chuckled as he followed Sakura
to class.
The girls didn't find out that Sakura had rejoined the cheerleading squad until just before lunch break. They were all in a class together again – including Chiharu and Takashi – when Mei Lin started making plans for the afternoon. "So at lunch, we can discuss what we want to do this afternoon. How's that sound, Sakura?"
Sakura turned away from the class assignment she was working on and bluntly said, "I can't."
Mei Lin sucked in a breath, 'Sakura doesn't say no it us,' and let it out slowly before saying anything else. When she thought she was calm, she asked, "Can't what? You weren't very specific, Sakura."
"I can't discuss anything during lunch, I promised Eriol that I'd play basketball with him. Besides, you know that my opinion doesn't count when you and Tomoyo-chan make plans." Sakura smiled a little as she started playing with the video camera that Eriol had given her earlier that day. "Why don't you ask Li-kun to sit with you?"
Syaoran hid his surprise as Sakura suggested they sit with him. 'She knows I'm playing basketball too. And she called me Li-kun again. Oh well, let's see what she's got planned.' When Mei Lin asked him, he merely smirked and replied, "Can't. I promised Hiiragizawa that I'd play basketball with him and Takashi during lunch. Doesn't matter anyway. I've got soccer after school."
Tomoyo sighed and turned to Chiharu before Mei Lin could cause a scene, "You want to sit with us for lunch? We can watch them play basketball."
'I bet that basketball game is another part of their 'Liberation From Bad Things' plan,' Chiharu thought as she smiled. 'That should be worth seeing.' "Of course , I'll even tape it for you," she grabbed the camera from Sakura and started filming Tomoyo and Mei Lin. "I was going to watch Takashi play anyway. But I can't go this afternoon, I've got cheerleading practice."
"That's okay, you can help us plan and Sakura will do whatever we decide, right Sakura?" Mei Lin asked as she turned her focus back to Sakura.
This time, Sakura didn't even bother to look up as she said, "Can't."
Mei Lin started to look annoyed as she slammed her pen down on her desk and asked, "What do you mean by 'can't' this time?"
Sakura still didn't look up as s he responded, "I've got cheerleading practice." She knew Chiharu was taping their reactions for her. She, Syaoran and Eriol would watch it later. She was saved from Mei Lin's inevitable outburst by the sensei's announcement that class was over. She grabbed her things and called, "Gotta go, " over her shoulder as she rushed out the door.
Both Tomoyo and Mei Lin sat there. Stunned by Sakura's admission. Finally, Tomoyo managed to stumble over the words she was trying to ask, "Di-did sh-did she just say she had cheerleading after school?"
Syaoran replied as he, Eriol and Takashi packed up their things, "Yes. Yes she did."
"How would you know?"
Syaoran shrugged his shoulders at his cousin as though to say 'simple,' "She already told me." Then he and the other two boys left to follow Sakura. Chiharu was close behind them after giving the girls an apologetic smile.
When they were alone, Tomoyo leaned closer to Mei Lin and whispered, "They're not even friends. Why would she tell him anything before she told us?" It was almost as though she was scared to ask.
"I don't know Tomoyo," Mei Lin replied as she packed up the notes she took that period. "But I do know one thing: something's going on and they're not telling us about it. They're hiding something and I'm worried about what will happen to Sakura. All this secrecy could corrupt her and then Xiao Lang and Hiiragizawa will have to clean up her mess. They might even have to fight her and I don't want that." She picked her books up off her desk and stood up, ready to leave, as she finished rambling.
"Relax, Mei Lin," Tomoyo placed a hand on Mei Lin's arm in an attempt to sooth her. "She's not corrupted yet, we've got plenty of time to stop it before it happens. Besides, Syaoran's very powerful too, how do we know he won't be corrupted by his power and try to take over the world or something?"
Mei Lin glared at Tomoyo, thinking, 'Are you trying to make be feel better or worse?' "Xiao Lang's a Li. He won't get corrupted because he's stronger – more sure of himself – than Sakura is. She's too timid. She might let her power lead her. She may be like family, but I can admit that she's not good at making decisions. Eventually, she'll make a wrong one." 'If she hasn't already.'
"Eventually. Not today. We really should get going, Chiharu will get mad at us if we make her watch the game by herself."
Tomoyo swept out of the room, leaving Mei Lin to follow her to the outdoors basketball courts where their friends would be playing. When the girls arrived, they found Takashi, ball in hand, discussing with Eriol and Syaoran who would be on which team.
"I want Syaoran on my team," Takashi voiced as Mei Lin and Tomoyo sat beside Chiharu.
"Good," Eriol replied, "I was going to call dibs on Sakura anyway." He ignored the look that Takashi sent him as he reviewed the plan for the game. He just hoped that Sakura and Syaoran remembered their parts.
"Are you sure it's wise to call Sakura?" Chiharu called out as Sakura stumbled over her feet while on her way to the court. Mei Lin sent her a scathing look for insulting her friend, but Chiharu merely shrugged and said, "She can handle it."
Eriol laughed as he shouted back to Chiharu, "You'd be surprised; Sakura's actually an excellent basketball player! Besides, I play to win." His bravado was cut short when Takashi threw the basketball at his head.
"Since you've got the handicap, you can start – not that it'll matter, Syaoran and I are still going to win."
Sakura slapped Takashi on the shoulder, "It's very kind of you to take Eriol's lack of skill into consideration, but you might have knocked some ability into him." Eriol glared at Sakura as she told Takashi to go guard his man.
As expected, Tomoyo had a spare camera trained on the teens on the court. What Tomoyo and Mei Lin didn't expect – or notice – was that Chiharu had the 'project' camera aimed at them in order to record their every reaction to the happenings on the court. Sakura had led her to believe that something unusual was going to happen and that Tomoyo and Mei Lin would be very shocked.
The game went rather well until it appeared that Syaoran got tired of losing to Eriol and Sakura. Sakura had just passed the ball to Eriol when Syaoran grabbed her from behind. She let out a little shriek for show, but inside, she was smirking.
Mei Lin let out a cry of protest which stopped Eriol and Takashi from their face off in front of the hoop. "Let her go Syaoran, that's against the rules!"
"Who said we were playing by the rules?"
Mei Lin let out her own shriek at this point, and then continued to yell at Syaoran. "Let her go! You're probably hurting her!" Her yells were beginning to attract attention, but most students passed it off as another of Mei Lin's fits. Those who did clue in to what Mei Lin was yelling about stopped what they were doing to watch the scene.
"I'm not hurting her!" Syaoran had turned his head away from Sakura so he wouldn't be yelling in her ears. "I'm just holding her captive!" Of course, after defending himself to Mei Lin, he turned back to Sakura and quietly asked, "Am I hurting you?"
Sakura laughed softly as she relaxed in Syaoran's hold a little. "Of course you're not hurting me, Syaoran. Actually, I'm almost comfortable, somehow. You do know that I could break away if I wanted to, don't you?"
"I figured as much, but it's not in the script."
"Speaking of scripts, shouldn't you be making your demands?" Sakura leaned back into Syaoran, thankful that his back was turned to Tomoyo and Mei Lin – she knew what they'd be thinking. "Li-kun, why don't you just let me go, we've got a game to play!"
"Not until Hiiragizawa gives up the ball and lets Takashi score a little. We're too far behind to let you play for a while." Syaoran made sure he was loud enough for the girls to hear him.
"Don't listen to him Eriol! You can hold Takashi-kun off until lunch is over, then we've still won."
Eriol stood beside Takashi, holding the ball. "Considering we're on time out until he lets you go, I think I can hold him off until the next game."
"Syaoran! That's blackmail. Just let her go and continue with the game. It's boring either way." Mei Lin was beginning to get a little impatient.
Syaoran smirked and quietly whispered to Sakura, "Good to know, Mei Lin hates basketball."
"I'll keep that in mind," Sakura giggled. "This is the third time you've had your arms around me today. Are you sure you don't enjoy holding me?"
There was a small pause before Syaoran answered, "I'll have to think about that a little longer. In the meantime, Hiiragizawa's glaring at us." He turned his head to look at Eriol who was indeed glaring and continued speaking only louder so everyone could hear him. "Fine, keep the ball. I'm getting hungry so I'll let the captive go – if she kisses me."
The cheers for the end of the stand-off turned immediately to exclamations and shouts of protest as everyone realized what Syaoran had said.
Sakura held up her free hand and yelled, "Stop!" It had the desired effect on everyone as they all ceased talking. "If that's what it's going to take to end this game so I can eat before class, then that's exactly what I'm going to do."
She turned around to face Syaoran and he moved their bodies so no one could tell if they were faking. Neither heard Tomoyo's comment about this being Sakura's first kiss and a very unfair thing to do. Both heard and ignored Mei Lin's shout of, "If you make her go through with this, I'll never talk to you again."
"Ready?" Sakura nodded and placed one hand in Syaoran's hair to pull his head closer. In return, Syaoran placed one hand on her right cheek to hide the fact that their lips didn't touch.
After a few seconds of the staged non-kiss, Sakura pulled away and shouted, "I'm free! Eriol, shoot!" Eriol had been waiting for that and took a shot. "Two points! We win, now let's eat."
Syaoran wanted to laugh, but didn't dare, "Cheater."
Sakura stuck her tongue out at him before replying, "No more than you are."
The four of them joined their friends beside the court. They all sat beside Chiharu instead of Tomoyo or Mei Lin and Sakura placed herself between Eriol and Syaoran. As they quickly ate, Syaoran frequently stole food from Sakura's lunch.
Mei Lin sighed in frustration before reprimanding her cousin, "Syaoran, stop picking on Sakura, I think you've done enough for today."
"Ha! I knew you'd talk to me again." No one mentioned that Sakura had packed extra food for Syaoran.
Just as they finished eating, the warning bell for the end of lunch break rang. After packing up, the seven teens went their separate ways to their last classes of the day.
Class was rather uneventful plan-wise since Tomoyo and Mei Lin didn't share their class with any of the others. With nothing else to entertain them, the two girls spent the entire period trying to sort out what triggered their friends' odd behavior. In the end, both girls decided that everything would be back to normal the next day and maybe they should just ignore everything that happened today. Their decision didn't stop them from trying to talk to Sakura one last time.
Their attempt to talk sense into Sakura before they went home was foiled by the group of girls surrounding her at her locker. The endless chatter concerning Sakura's return to cheerleading was too much for Tomoyo and Mei Lin to bear, so they left the school feeling mystified at Sakura's sudden swing in behavior.
The crowd around Sakura parted to allow Eriol through just after Tomoyo and Mei Lin left. He draped as arm over Sakura's shoulders and started walking. "I've got a few things to do so I can't stay and watch you practice, but you are welcome to drop by when you're done so we can work on homework. I may not be back so you can just let yourself in. Syaoran will be coming too."
Sakura nodded her acknowledgement before pulling away to enter the girls change room. Just before the door shut, Sakura looked back at Eriol and asked, "Today went rather well, didn't it?" then disappeared from sight before Eriol could respond.
Considering that Sakura was out of practice and consequently slightly out of shape, she faired rather well at practice that day. They had spent most of the previous practices reworking their routines without Sakura so there wasn't anything new for her to learn – they just went back to the old routines. She held up for the first hour, but the last half hour was a little too much for her.
The girls all decided to stop a few minutes early to watch the soccer team finish up their practice. It was all Sakura could do to pack up her things and walk to the field. By the time she joined the other girls, the practice was essentially finished. The coach shouted out some end of practice orders, then dismissed the boys to do as they pleased. A number of the team headed for the change room. The rest, Syaoran included, jogged towards the girls and their bags.
It turned out that Sakura and sat down beside Syaoran's book bag. When he arrived, he reached down and grabbed his bag with one hand, then offered the other to Sakura to pull her up. He grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself steady after she was standing.
"See, now who likes holding who?" He asked jokingly as he ignored the looks they were getting. After making sure that Sakura had her own bag, Syaoran directed them both towards the school gates.
"No one, I just can't stand straight on my own."
"So what you're saying is you need my help? I can't help pointing out that walking like this is a little awkward. You should at least turn around so you can see where you're going."
"Just stop at that bench over there and I'll put my blades on." Sakura pointed behind her with one hand while still holding on to Syaoran with the other. Walking backwards was a little awkward for her, but she was in no condition to walk on her own.
Syaoran obliged and even sat her down before sitting beside her to wait while she exchanged her sneakers for roller blades. Half way through fastening her left blade, she started laughing. "You know, this time yesterday, I would have been walking away quickly if you had sat down beside me."
"True. You might even today, but you're too exhausted to." He hauled her off the bench after she finished, and then handed her backpack to her.
She looked at him and asked, "And yours?"
"Actually, you're going to carry it."
"I am?" Sakura quirked an eyebrow as though to say 'maybe you should rethink that.'
"Yes, you are." Without saying anything more, Syaoran grabbed his bag and slipped it on Sakura's left shoulder. While still holding on to her left arm, he turned around and placed her left hand on his left shoulder. He then grabbed her right hand and placed it on his right shoulder. "Now hold on and you won't have to worry about being tired."
Syaoran practically dragged Sakura to Eriol's home even though he was nearly as worn out as she was. The two talked and joked on their way, almost making up for the years of friendship they missed out on.
When they arrived, Sakura unlocked the door and they let themselves in. They made quick work of removing their footwear, and then Sakura jumped on Syaoran's back. He carried her to the sitting room where they both collapsed on the nearest sofa.
After a few seconds, Syaoran rolled over so he was facing Sakura who still had her arms around his neck. "It is kind of funny to think that this time yesterday we were quite sure we hated each other." He noticed that Sakura wasn't very stable since he turned over, so he wrapped his right arm around her to keep her from falling.
Sakura shifted a little and turned her head so she was facing the windows. "No, no, Syaoran. Too tired to think." She closed her eyes as she let out a small yawn and shifted again. "You know, you're almost as comfortable as a bed." She stifled another yawn. "I'm taking a nap now."
Syaoran adjusted the cushion behind his head as he
responded, "You do that then. In fact, I think I might join you since it
looks like I'm not moving." His left arm slipped off the edge of the sofa
as he adjusted his position a little and closed his own eyes. "If we're
lucky Hiiragizawa won't be home anytime soon."
When Eriol did arrive – just over half an hour later – Sakura and Syaoran were still asleep in the sitting room. "And here I was hoping they'd be working on meditation. At least they look comfortable." Eriol was muttering to himself as he crossed the room. He looked at them one last time before attempting to wake them up and wondered once again if maybe Tomoyo was very wrong in thinking they would be bad for each other.
He shook off his thoughts, and then reached down to wake Sakura up first. Eriol paused moments before shaking her awake and switched tactics. An evil grin spread on his face as he moved to wake Syaoran up instead. "Come on cute little descendent. Wake up and go shower."
True to Eriol's expectations, Syaoran jumped as he woke up. The movement beneath her woke Sakura up as well. Unfortunately, her jump of surprise landed her on the floor.
Sakura groaned as she sat up, "I'm up, I'm up. You could have been nice and woken me up first, you know."
Eriol worked hard to hide his laughter as he replied, "I thought about it, but then I decided that in terms of overall pain, this was the safer route."
Syaoran, who was helping Sakura off the floor, looked at Eriol as he voiced his opinion, "Thanks for your concern for my potential pain, but Sakura looks ready to kill. I would run if I were you."
"Mmm, I would like to kill, you know. But, I'm a little tired still so it'll have to wait until later."
"Good. Now, you two both need a shower so get going while I figure out how to clean off my sofa. I don't see why you didn't shower before you left the school." He wrinkled his nose as he looked at his squashed cushions and thought about how much sweat they left behind, "When you're done, we'll eat something and then work on meditation."
Sakura and Syaoran climbed the stairs, both complaining about the lack of bathrooms on the main floor. As they parted ways at the top of the staircase, Sakura muttered, "At least I don't have to cook today."