Second chapter! Will ask nothing more but that you enjoy it!
Imaginator: Hey, cool name! Have you been reading my other fics? Cuz I've never heard of you and I usually remember my readers well! (*coughs* ehem, usually) Hope you like this chap!
Kikakai: Thanks! I'm updating!
Crazy-cherry: I'm fast becoming a CCS freak too! Thanks for reviewing!
Ryngrl5: Whoa, your name was so hard to type out. The continuation is here! Don't worry! ^_^
Cerichan: Thank you! You struck out at AngelYingFa? *stunned* Ha ha! How did you find it out I wrote it? Maybe I should thank her for the free advertisements? Thanks for reading, cerichan!
Sakura couldn't figure out why she was suddenly rendered speechless. She was almost certain she'd had a lot to say to her newly appointed 'protector'. She'd conjured up an entire five-minutes speech too.
Dear Mr. Bodyguard, I am very happy to meet you. As happy as I am, however, I believe we have certain things to discuss and decide on. For example, I really don't appreciate having you follow me around like a shadow, so maybe we can find a ground of compromise on that? … blah blah blah.
But that was before she'd seen him.
He was surprisingly young – she'd imagined a man in his fifties. He was also lean and small, without an ounce of fat on his body – she'd expected a man with muscles bulging out of his ears. He had no weapon with him at the moment – she'd predicted at least ten axes and five swords hanging around the waist. And most importantly, she'd anticipated a scarred man, withered and beaten from endless battles, not a fresh, clean and upright adolescent with a stunning face that could be likened to a dissatisfied angel who wasn't afraid to show it.
Not that she was complaining, but still…
He was staring rudely and far longer than what was polite, but then again, so was she. Clearing her throat with some effort, she flashed a smile. "Hello, I'm Princess Sakura Kinomoto."
He did not say anything and continued to look at her. But then, his lips curled upwards in a half-smile and half-sneer. "Obviously," he muttered, and then as if he just remembered, reluctantly added: "Your Highness."
Sakura barely resisted raising an eyebrow. Grumpy, all right. What's crawled up his nerves? "Well," she decided to get on with her speech. "Dear Mr. Bodyguard, I am very-"
"I'm not your bodyguard," he interrupted snippily.
"Sorry?"
"I'm not your bodyguard, so get that in your head." he repeated, hand on one hip. "I was forced here and have no intention of lifting even my little finger for you."
Sakura blinked. Her brain had trouble understanding a rude speech that she rarely received. "Well, excuse me," she murmured, too shocked to be annoyed. "I'm glad we're getting off to a good start."
"We're not starting anything," he pointed out. "We're ending it."
"Well," Sakura released a breath. "Well then." Insulted that she was being treated so harshly when she didn't deserve it, she frowned at him. "That's just fine, because I was about to tell you that I don't need you anyway. And since you feel the same, then it's relieved I am to know I won't have you hogging my footsteps. Surely you've noticed that I have no need for petty protection and that I alone can sufficiently defend myself. But thank you for coming. It's been a pleasure to meet you."
He was glaring at her furiously. "Petty protection? I'm not some petty protection," he muttered. "And you can't even hit a mosquito sucking your blood."
Sakura opened her mouth to retort right back, but then remembered her manners. No way was she going to let this idiot provoke her. "I believe you were anxious to be off. The door is over at your left. Feel free to leave anytime at all."
With one seething glower, he turned to go when inborn instinct had him lifting a hand out to catch something hurtling for his chest. It was a white arrow, finely made. Sakura watched as he broke the arrow into two with only three fingers in anger.
"Great," he was muttering under his breath, but loud enough for her benefit. "Now they're after me too."
"They must've heard by now that you're my –"
"I'm not yours," he cut her off, eyeing the entire courtyard keenly. "And by Heaven, I'll get whoever it was stupid enough to think he can kill me with a mere arrow." He caught sight of something. "You get back to your fancy little room. Some people have better things to do than watch over you."
And then he was off, sprinting on light feet over the grass and chasing after something. He was gone even before Sakura had taken the next breath.
"What a –" Sakura tried to describe him. "What an impertinent jerk! Go back to my fancy little room? Better things to do than watch over me?" She started to follow after him. "I've got eyes too, don't I? I can watch over myself just fine!"
Syaoran's eyes were intent on the pursued. The offender was clothed in all black – pretty stupid actually since it was daytime – and he was moving fast.
Too bad I'm faster.
With one mighty leap, Syaoran shot into the air and landed right on the offender's back, bringing him crashing down to the ground. Gruffly, Syaoran turned him around and looked into terrified blue eyes. "Hey there," he said casually. "Sorry about this, but you did send an arrow to my heart."
"Get off! Gerroff!"
"What's your name?"
"I won't tell you! Get off me! Let me go!"
"I like getting to know people who try to kill me," Syaoran informed him. "Now, if you're smart, you'll stop struggling and answer my questions like civilized people. What's your name? Why are you here?"
"I'm –" the offender gritted his teeth. "I'm here to kill the princess."
"I'm not the princess, am I? But you tried to kill me. You have trouble telling between sexes?"
"I – I was told to kill you first! You're her – you're her protector –"
"Not if I can help it," Syaoran murmured. "Who sent you?"
The offender was dead. Surprised, Syaoran looked down and saw the dagger sticking out from his side. Clearly, somebody saw the need to shut the offender up. Looking up again, Syaoran looked for the culprit but realized he'd been too slow.
"Darn." He stood up. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the princess running over, skirt bellowing behind her. "Wonderful. Next thing I know she'll trip all over her clothes."
Sakura rushed to the dead man on the ground (without tripping over anything), ignoring Syaoran's look of utter annoyance. "We've got to get him back to the castle," she said urgently.
Syaoran frowned ever more. "Whatever for?"
"Well, we've got to give him a decent burial! We can't just leave him like this."
Syaoran shook his head helplessly. "Tell me, princess, do you always treat your enemies kindly? Offer them tea and all that?"
Sakura set her lips defiantly. "He's still a fellow human being. He deserves to be buried peacefully," she explained earnestly, and then narrowed her eyes. "When you die, I might even take the trouble to bury you too, though for entirely different reasons."
He listened calmly to the insult. "That won't happen for a long time."
"Unfortunately."
He glared at her.
Sakura tried to lift the man – who was twice her size – up. "If you don't want to help," she muttered to Syaoran, "you can just go back to where you came from. I can very well drag the man back myself."
Syaoran watched as she struggled, merely raising an eyebrow when blood smeared all over the princess' clothes. Then he sighed and rolled his eyes to the sky. "Step aside. I'll carry him."
Sakura smiled gratefully at him, though it was not returned. "I'll help you with his legs." She offered.
"Don't bother. You'll just make me drop him."
^_^ They're getting along very well, aren't they?
