The Assignment
Disclaimer: I do not own CCS. Characters mentioned below were used without permission. I am not earning anything from this. Do not sue.
Author's Notes: I went on practically a month of hiatus. Why am I reviving this dying fic then? Because I am being pestered by my muse to continue writing, aside from a couple of incessant demands. Tell me/did you fall for a shooting star/one without a permanent scar/and did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there… doesn't have anything to do with the succeeding fic. I just felt like singing.
III: Crush
Dropping on the seat across Tomoyo's, Sakura turned a compressed face to her best friend, "I saw him."
Tomoyo sipped on her iced tea, looking at the girl opposite her through the brim of her glass, "The Emperor of Japan?"
"No," the auburn-haired girl responded impatiently, "The guy who saved me."
"Oh…him," Tomoyo drawled out every word as if saying she should have known then added, "Where?"
"We have the same Chemistry class."
"Chemistry…"
"Yes," Sakura said exasperation evident in her voice, "Don't even remind me that I'm bad at Chemistry."
Tomoyo shrugged as she attempted to cheer up her friend, "Well, you never know who among the two of you would need more tutoring or the same remedial class."
Sakura let out a snort, "He's not bad at Chemistry, alright. Motoki-sensei gave us an assessment test and he seemed to have so much liking to his paper, because he separated it from the rest. And I found out later that he got a ninety-three percent average. How's that for smart?"
Tomoyo whistled, "Drop-dead gorgeous, charm, wit, stamina, nice reflexes, a natural-born hero, and now a genius. Is there anything this guy can't do?"
Sakura shook her head forlornly. The amber-eyed boy continued to plague her mind. She couldn't understand why she had such an unexplainable magnetism to him. He had never shown her any amount of concern, yet she still craved to be by his presence. What was it that he had? She gazed back at Tomoyo, who was looking at her expectantly, "What?"
"So, did you get to talk to him?"
She shook her head again. He didn't even give her a glimmer of recognition.
"No improvement?" Tomoyo asked, a bit incredulous.
She bit her lower lip, "I did get his name."
"How?"
Sakura smiled sheepishly, "The paper."
"So, who's the knight in shinning ego?" Tomoyo asked.
Sakura laughed at her friend's rather cryptic remark, "Li Syaoran."
Tomoyo appeared to be thinking for a moment before she took another sip from her glass and shrugged, "At least he's not a perfect stranger anymore."
+++
"Components of Biochemistry," Sakura muttered to herself as she walked down the science section of the campus library. She held the small piece of paper that enlisted a number of books Tomoyo gave her to research from for her Chemistry class. She never made her way through this section before, she doesn't even like libraries, but she wanted to make a good impression.
She turned to an aisle marked 'Biochemistry' and ran her fingers through the books lined up in their cases. Two thoughts intruded her cause.
'This is stupid.' Why should she even bother impressing a guy who never gave her anything more than a haughty look? She deserves better, doesn't she?
The second thought was more disturbing. 'The color amber.' Why does his vision plague her so much? The simple notion of envisioning his eyes staring at her with abandon can drive her to the point of near madness. What was it about him that compels her to be so drawn to him?
She finally saw the hardcover book she was looking for. It was on the topmost shelf, but if she would try and reach, she might get it. She extended her arms, but it was still too short. She finally decided to step on the lower shelf. The book was about two inches thick, and hardbound. She groped for the edge of the cover before she lost her balance and tumbled from the bookcase. But instead of feeling the sharp pain of hitting her head, her head fell back on something strong, but gentle at the same time. And somehow, she had the unsettling feeling that she had felt this before. Two hands steadied her arms, and ever slowly, turned her around to face her savior.
"It's you," she breathed out quietly.
"Again."
She stared again at the eyes she has long wanted to see. These were the eyes she had imagined for days and dreamed for nights. She was beginning to feel herself drowning, and just before the last fibers of control deserted her, she edged away.
"You…uhm…you saved me again."
He didn't answer her. Just as before, he simply continued staring at her. His penetrating gaze never leaving her form despite the shadows that the place displayed. She could feel his stare probing through her, as if looking for her soul. No conversation had ever satiated her before as this short, and nearly empty, exchange did now.
She swallowed a lump that she hadn't known to have formed in her throat, "Can I offer you coffee, or anything, to thank you…"
He continued staring at her. Doubting he had heard she opened her mouth to repeat her offer.
"I can't."
She shrank back as her mouth formed an oval. He probably really wasn't interested.
"I have class."
She bit her lower lip to keep herself from smiling. But before she could offer him a rain check, he started to walk away, leaving her with another scolding.
"I'll see you in Chemistry."
She didn't have the chance to answer back, because he was already gone. Again.
+++
Tomoyo watched as her friend stared forlornly at her reflection against the mirror. She dropped the magazine she was reading after sighing, "What's wrong?"
"Am I unlikable?"
A dark eyebrow arched above a purple eye. Sakura was normally a decently confident person. When she starts mentioning doplines of insecurities, it can only mean one thing. She has seen the remarkably peculiar Li Syaoran, "You saw him again?"
Sakura rolled her eyes, "He saved me again."
She stood up with this news, "Whoa, hold up, sweetheart. What do you mean by 'again'?"
Sakura related to her the unforeseen incident in the library. And she was left wondering. The guy striked her as a little odd. He seemed to be detatching himself from everything else. Although he wasn't the strangest person she has encountered, he was definitely mysterious. And the fact that he always seemed to be there when her friend needed help, was even stranger than he himself.
Who was this guy? And what was it about him that his mysteriousness seems to be pulling her friend to him even more?
Sakura still wore a dejected look on her face. She went towards her friend and embraced her, "Maybe you're trying too much. You know, you don't really need to try hard to get someone to care about you. If he does, it will show. It will all fall into place."
Sakura smiled at her. That was the most caring words she could extend right now. And she hated watching her friend crumbling. But she will find a way to make Li Syaoran fall for her friend.
+++
Thoughts were the demons of his mind. Continous, shameless thoughts that have been plaguing him since the start if his assignment. He refused to be a victim of his own thoughts, but he couldn't stop himself from being a slave for it. No amount of control can hinder a working mind on its course. Like water, it will flow continously, seeping through gaps and spaces. He was absolutely certain his thoughts were his demons.
He unlocked his door as he quietly groped for a way to stop his mind from plaguing him with visions of a pair of expressive emerald eyes. Emeralds he wouldn't like to steal but dive into. Where he would gladly succumb to being lost. But like a hard-headed bitch, his mind refused to be ruled when it was desperately being ordered to. It was a mistake to stare too long into her eyes. When he started to stare, he couldn't quite get himself to stop.
He kicked the door close while he took off his jacket unnerved. Not a crease of confusion marked his face. But his eyes hinted a frenzied mind and a dazed reverie. Damn it to all seven hells!
"Deep in thought?"
He turned abruptly towards the speaker, one hand poised, ready to aim his gun.
Eriol sat on a stool by the corner, facing the window. He wasn't wearing his usual knowing smile. Instead, he actually look apprehensive and, surprisingly, worried.
"Sort-of," He replied as he eased his hold on the pistol, "What are you doing here?"
Eriol nodded his head towards the table where a short black envelope was resting. Syaoran knew what it was, "Short message."
A black envelope contained an order to assasinate. But unlike a wired message, it was an impromptu assignment. It usually requires an assasin to eliminate subject within 48 hours.
He walked towards the desk and peeled open the envelope. His eyes scanned the contents. It was normal message. A person, a picture, a place, a time, a setting, and a request to make it look like an accident or an assasination. This one wanted an accident in broad daylight. He nodded slightly and placed the paper back in the envelope, before he went to turn on the paper shredder.
Just as he was filling the information into the machine, he realized, Eriol was still there, "What are you still doing here?"
"You used your real name in the Kinomoto assignment." He replied blankly.
He didn't say anything. The last thing he needed was Eriol confusing him even more.
"Maybe, you have forgotten the last time you used your real name on an assignment."
He didn't say anything. He really wouldn't want to talk about it. And Eriol didn't have a right of any sort to meddle into his affairs.
"You know what happened then, don't you? She was-"
"I can still remember." Syaoran replied shortly, abruptly stopping his apprentice.
Eriol stared at him for a while before he stood up and stretched his legs, "You're an assasin, Li. Don't let your emotions get in the way." With that he left Syaoran contemplating, and broken.
+++to be continued+++
Rai: What happened when Syaoran last used his real name on an assignment? Pester me to update faster so you'll know. The next chapter will be a flashback in Syaoran's point of view. Hmm…curios, curios. History of an assasin, eh? It will be bloody though. Before you leave, hold your mouse and move the pointer to the one that says 'go'. Do it. Now.^-^