House of Li

Chapter Six

Sakura Kinomoto…is my flaw?

She is the single reason why I, one of the most elite and prestigious young bachelors in Japan, must cringe and grovel at the mere thought of her?

I am Eriol Hiiragizawa, the son and heir to a large business empire and a revered author— am endlessly searching for the notoriously tomboyish damsel of my dreams. My only wish is to make her mine…forever.

She haunts my every conscious thought with her beautiful emeralds for eyes, angelic skin, and rosy lips. I became a slave to her when I first laid eyes on her in my father's building, unsuccessfully trying to make the coffee machine to work by bashing it with her foot. Though unromantic the scene was, it was innocent and charming… traits that I hadn't seen in quite some time.

Innocence is deprived, no, more like stripped away, from the childhoods of those who have high expectations…

When I first heard of her sudden disappearance at work, I became worried— for although she was forgetful, she was also incredibly stubborn, and would come to work even when she was sickly and pale. I guess that's one of the reasons why I admire her so…

But these words have never left my lips, and have been locked up inside my heart with a steel lock— unable to burst open.

Two weeks have passed since I have been searching for Kinomoto Sakura, and my resources tell me that she took on a second job because of money issues.

Fool…you could have given her the money and helped her out… Those thoughts gripped my heart when I heard of this.

I met with the president of the organization that specializes in "exorcism" or getting rid of ghosts or spirits. Supposedly, Sakura had signed a contract with the company and became a newly fledged exorcist. She went through months of training and took a special test that 1 out of 1, 000 people could pass— which sounds like a load of baloney to me.

I wasn't at all surprised to find the president to be a raven-haired, square-jawed female by the name of Miss Boss. With firm set lips, broad shoulders and hips, decked out in large jewels and gems, and a casual cigarette placed between her fingers, she seemed to come straight out of a gypsy camp.

What a freaky boss…

"Mr." she began.

"Mr. Hiiragizawa." I filled in the space out of respect.

"Mr. Hiira—Whatever. We keep our agents' information under total secrecy. I don't see why you're any different—just because of your special background." She said curtly, cutting each syllable sharply short.

Ok…time for some acting, Eriol.

I softly coughed and began sincerely, "Sakura is my fiancée and I am terribly worried about her. I'm studying abroad in England in just four days…and I want to at least see her face before I leave."

I slightly leaned forward, making my eyes look desperate, as I said louder, "Miss Boss, please, I won't whisper a word of this organization to anyone—please tell me where my love is!"

With a slow exhale of smoke, she breathed out the foul fumes through her narrow nostrils, while giving me an evil, scrutinizing glare with her piercing, tawny eyes.

Seconds, then minutes slid by painfully slow—making it seem like eternity before she spoke.

"No."

I leaned back in my chair in slight astonishment at how carelessly she pronounced the word "no"— but I was even further surprised at how she declined my request.

My father could demolish this organization with the swish of his pen…

Now, wait Eriol~ This old hag is your only key to Sakura…

Be patient…

"May I ask, why you cannot give me her whereabouts?" I took the initiative to take on the more serious approach.

She strongly blew on her cigarette, the muscles in her jaw were as tight as a taunt violin string— she was once an incredibly powerful woman, that was for sure. She shuffled in one of her drawers and offered me a cigarette with quiet consideration.

I politely declined. She replaced the box in her drawer and heaved a bone-racking sigh before giving her reply.

"Sakura Kinomoto is a rare case… she has powers beyond mortal conception—she can see, no, more like sense new doors to different universes. One day, she will save someone's world with her gift."

I tried not to scoff at her worthless prattle, as I replied, "I understand Sakura's abilities... but I must see her one more time. Can't you see—"

"Son, I can see perfectly well, thank you. You are the one that doesn't understand. Her first case deals with something that is very personally to me. If you were to ruin her investigation…you would ruin her career, her life— as well as mine."

"I don't understand…"

"Of course you don't! If you did, you'd have belonged to this organization a long time ago. What I run here is not some lunatic program for the slow-minded and silly ghost busters— my agents truly believe in their field of work."

She paused, and I took note that it pained the old woman to talk too long. Miss Boss took several deep breaths and finally snuffed the cigarette out in a tray.

"I should quit smoking…bad for someone of my age." She glanced up at me, and I refrained myself from cowering from her intense, amber orbs. They delved deeply into mine…as if trying to unlock my deepest, darkest secrets.

I gulped and tried once more, and I knew I couldn't blow this. "I think you can see right through my façade. But I truly..."

My breath grew painfully short and I lowered my head, my eyes burning with frustrated tears. It was foolish of me, but I really wanted this woman, more than anyone else in the world, to know how I felt about Sakura.

Get a hold of yourself, Eriol! Tell her how much you care about Sakura! Tell her how important she is! Damnit, tell her how powerful you are and how you can ruin her business if she doesn't listen to you! God, you want to see her so badly…

"Tears shall not waver my decisions." Miss Boss said slowly and I hopefully glanced up, "Well, usually they don't… Hm…I must be getting old, I'm becoming awfully soft..."

In a hoarse whisper I cried, "You're going to tell me where Sakura—"

"Let's make a deal…Mr. Whoever-You-Are." She whispered, "I'll give you that girl's information, but on these strict conditions: You don't know me and I don't know you. Crystal?"

"Yes."

"Good." She replied bluntly before throwing a large, plain manila envelope at me. I caught it easily and opened it with a pounding heart.

My search is finally over…

My hungry eyes scanned over the papers inside and something was terribly, terribly wrong…

"CHINA?! SHE'S IN CHINA?!" I roared, standing up, knocking the chair from behind me.

The old woman responded with a sly smile and said, "You've stayed long enough, you should be leaving now. But if I were you—" She stopped in mid-sentence, stood up and opened her office door with the courteousness of a headmistress.

I clutched the envelope tightly in my fist, grabbed my coat and hat, and ambled out of her cluttered room.

Before closing the door, she finished her sentence, her words ringing loud and clear, 

"—If I were you, I'd give up and forget everything about Sakura."

There was a loud creak and a soft click…

That day, I promised myself two things:

One: I am going to find Sakura.

Two: I am going to make that old hag eat her words.

~~*~~*~~

AN//: ^ ^ I can't stop saying how much I appreciate all the suggestions and reviews I've received for the House of Li! SO! I'm going to thank y'all in five different languages!

THANK YOU SO MUCH! ARIGATO! MUCHAS GRACIAS! GO MA RO! MERCI!  

^____^; I spelled some of those wrong, I'm sure of it~

NOW! Before I forget… answering reviews! Yay, finally, something fun to do~

Cygna-hime: *grins happily* Thanks for the ever-encouraging words! And yes, this isn't an Eriol x Tomoyo thing…but I'm not entirely sure if I like an Eriol x Sakura either. I don't know… so many questions to unfold in one fic! *cracks knuckles* better get cracking on future chapters!

Mizutenshiai: Once again, and forevermore, thank you for continuing to leave me a nice review~

Kawaiitenshisakura: whoo-boy! That is one long name! Thanks for reading my fan fic! (what does onegai mean? I'd love to expand my Japanese!)

dZnsNofLAkeZ:  hm…I think I will check that story out in the future! And yes, brilliant question! That I forgot to answer! At the end of chp. four when I wrote something along the lines of "What happened to cheerful, lucky-go-happy Sakura…" it means that she's regretting her choice of being an exorcist. (Also that she misses being a normal teenager) If that didn't quite answer your question, just drop me another question! I'm more than happy to answer!

Mewling: Stay tuned for the next ghostly update! Arigato for reading!

Kawaii Punkstar: Happy belated V-Day to you too! *sigh* Did you get to eat lots of sugar?? I know I did… ^ ^ Yep, Eriol is in the house now!

Mistress Mei: That review was worth a hundred reviews all by itself! *tear* such motivation! Thank you so much! You have no idea how pleased I was!

Annelee: Has some of your confusion lifted? Yes? No? Maybe so? He he he, well, I'm planning to write some more stunning twists to this fan fic!

Anzyllie: Aw…you are so kind! I'm glad that the length isn't too long or short… As a reader, that makes me mad too! Thanks for the compliments!

Luckyducky7too: Sorry, Eriol is another twisted addition to this ghostly fan fic! ___ (He's very OOC—he has a secret crush on Sakura)

h@d0wGrl: Do you like the new installment? I really like that word 'installment.' I'm gonna start using that now!

kAo kAo: OMG! How long did it take you to write that review! I lurve you so much! *hugs* I wish I had your patience and kindness!

Rainingstars: YES! Interesting is the adj. that I'm going for with this fan fic! I want people to understand that this is a one-of-a-kind story!

Lil-ChiBi-person: Thanx for reviewing my story! Happy to have a new reader! (Did ya read my review??)

I lurve taskinul: Did I spell the last word wrong? I hate misspelling things…one of my pet peeves. *hugs spell checker* Well, hope you continue enjoying this fan fic!

MimiGhost: Luv the name! *ahem* Pleez leave me a review and tell me your thoughts!

Kinday: WOW! WOW! You really want to draw for me??? I'd be HONORED! I love your gallery—I checked it out the other day! I totally give you my whole permission to draw from this fan fic! Thank you for the compliments~

My author notes seem to get longer… *scratch head* Oh well~

Leave me a review if you have any concerns, questions, want to yell at me for making this so confusing, flame/compliment me, did I mention concerns?

Well the, until the next chapter~