Chapter 5 ! does a happy dance
Disclaimer: CLAMP characters are really cool, but they unfortunately belong to CLAMP, not me. So to compensate I made up my own characters, and I do own them. They belong to me. And the plot belongs to me too. And this story belongs to me too, and all the kakkoi, handsome bishounen in the world belong to me too. Ne? - Sigh, I can wish.
For the One You LoveChapter 5: Lost and Found
Kirei Blossom
"Wow, this place is soooooooo cool!" Hina squealed, amber eyes sparkling, as she tried to stop herself from looking around in every possible direction. Ever since her arrival at Narita International Airport about an hour ago, she had taken to randomly walking down one street, awed by all the things around her. Japan! She was really in Tokyo, Japan; a place she'd been longing to see for so long. And truly, it was amazing; with so many people all around rushing to wherever it was they were going. Nobody looked twice at a small little girl roaming around on her own.
Dodging pairs of legs belonging to tall people all around her, she continued her way down the pavement, looking into the windows of the shops that lined the streets, smelling the delicious aroma coming from the restaurants and eateries, listening to the babble of talk and rumble of traffic on the road.
"A Japanese toy shop!" Hina gasped and clapped her hands in excitement, gazing into the decorated glass window. "Awww, it's pretty. Look at all the different things they have here. Wow, they even have Angelic Layer dolls. Kawaii." She amused herself in watching the customers inside the store. It was a few minutes before Hina gave a start and looked down, sighing.
"I don't have time to be doing this." She checked her watch. She really needed to get going.
Rummaging in the pocket of her powder-blue dress, she held out the slip of paper on which the Daidouji Toy Company's address was written. "Let's ask someone!" She enthusiastically looked around and spotted a group of high school girls coming down the pavement.
Running up to them, Hina asked, "Ano ne.. excuse me, onee-san?"
(Onee-san = big sister)
The girls stopped, and all of them looked left or right. When they didn't see anyone, they looked down and noticed little Hina.
"Um.. please, could you tell me—" Hina was cut off.
"Ah, KAWAII!" The girls squealed in delight. "Look what a cute little girl! Awwww."
"Ah, um.. " But before Hina could say anything else, all the girls were either pinching her cheeks, or clasping her hands, or bouncing up and down around her.
"She's just like a little doll, isn't she?"
"Uh-huh! Cute, cute, cute!"
"Have you seen such an eye color before?"
"Her cheeks are so soft."
"I love her hair color! Mahogany-brown. Sigh. And so shiny too."
"Little kids are always so cute, but she's cuter than them all!"
"What a lovely dress."
"Giggle, giggle."
"Makes you want to eat her up."
"Mm-hmm."
Hina tried to move aside, but she was surrounded. "Onee-san, PLEASE!"
All the high-school girls stopped talking and looked questioningly at her, blinking in the bright sunlight.
"And she has the cutest little voice too!" one of them gushed.
Placing her hands on her knees, one of the girls bent over. "What is it, little girl?"
"Could you tell me where this place is, please?" Hina held out the slip of paper. All the girls crowded around and looked at the address.
"Oh, I know. It's that way." One of them pointed her finger down the road.
"Don't be silly, it's that way." Another pointed in the opposite direction.
"You're both wrong, it's on the other side of town over there."
Hina's eyes started spiraling.
"Oh well, who cares where it is!" The fourth girl exclaimed. "I've never seen a cuter girl before in my life!"
Next second, they were at it again, fussing over Hina, and pinching her cheeks.
"Aaaaaaaah" Hina turned tail and ran for dear life. She kept running for a long time, not noticing where she was going, weaving her way between people.
Finally stopping, she leaned against a wall, catching her breath. "Wah, those girls were scary!" She tearfully fingered her red cheeks. "I never get why people keep doing that. Why did they have to press so hard, it hurts!"
Some crude laughter reached her ears. Turning, she realized that she was alone in a side street. Huh? Who were those people?
"Hey, look what stumbled into our alley." One guy with goggles and spiked hair stated.
"All alone too. Hehe, she must be lost and looking for her mommy."
Grinning, the third man looked at his buddies. "Think she has some valuable stuff in that backpack? I say let's kidnap her, and ask for ransom."
"You're right, she's got some expensive clothing on. Bet she's from a rich household. Heh, I could use the extra cash."
Hina felt her mouth go dry. Clearly, these people didn't have any good intentions. As the men came closer, laughing at her, she took a step back, shaking with fright.
"Come here now, little one. We won't hurt ya." A rough arm grabbed her, holding her in place. Hina opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs.
CLANGCLATTER
"What?" Surprised, all the gang-members looked behind them, letting her go momentarily. That was all Hina needed. Silently thanking the white cat that had leapt out onto the trashcans in the corner, Hina let her little legs carry her away as fast as possible.
"Whew, that was close." She wiped the sweat off her brow, glad to be back on the main street, with people buzzing around everywhere. Tired from running, she sank down onto a bench. "I can't let this happen. I nearly got myself kidnapped. Papa's always warned me about those kind of people." Panting, slightly, she looked around. She really needed to ask someone how to get to Daidouji Toy Company.
So she asked one lady with a large shopping bag and followed her directions. After about half an hour of walking, she came out onto a street and looked around. This place seemed awfully familiar. "Hey, wait, it's the same place I started – the street with the bench!" She slapped her forehead. "I've been walking around in circles."
She asked two guys walking down the road. "Sorry, we're new here too." Was their reply.
So Hina asked, and she asked, and she asked. But it was no good. Someone told her here, someone told her there. It wasn't working!
"Are you lost, little girl?" one woman asked her, as she stood cluelessly in front of a clothing store.
"En? Uh n-no!" Hina smiled, sweatdropping.
"Where are your parents?"
"Oh, they're inside shopping." She pointed at the shop. She was not going to let anyone know she was alone! Not after what had just happened in that alley.
"Mou, how big IS this city?" Hina screamed in frustration hours later. She had had enough. Her feet ached, her legs hurt. She was panting from walking for so long, and still she had no clue where she was. Her stomach rumbled with hunger. She hadn't had anything since she had bought a doughnut from a shop. All Hina felt like doing was plopping down right there on the sidewalk.
"Hey, I've been watching you for some time. You're all by yourself, aren't you? Have you gotten separated from your parents?"
Hina looked up. A big, burly policeman towered over her, a few shiny badges gleaming on his chest. Hina's heart started racing. If she said she was indeed lost, she'd be sent to a prison cell, wouldn't she? She couldn't afford that! She was here on a mission! "Um.."
At that moment, the walkie-talkie hanging from the man's belt crackled. Taking the opportunity while the police guy unhooked it from his belt, Hina raced down the street.
"Hey, come back!"
"It seems like I've been running all day!" Hina panted minutes later. She was really really tired now. "What do I do? I'm scared of asking anyone else for directions now." Slowing down to a walk, she moodily headed down the street. The sounds of a whistle, and of children laughing and talking reached her ears. Hina looked up.
She was passing a large building with big open fields and grounds in front of it, inside a gate. Wait a moment… this was a school! "Wow, a Japanese school, I've gotta take a look at this." Grasping the wire-link fence with her small hands, she gazed into the grounds. By the looks of it, it was an elementary school, wait, there was some lettering on the building: Keishuku Elementary School. There were some students outside, probably having a PE class. "That's not fair. They get to learn archery here. I want to learn too." She watched a girl her age holding a bow aiming for the target on the other side. The girl let go of the arrow, but it clearly missed the board. A person, who was probably the PE teacher, came over to help, bending down next to the girl, and showed her the proper way to hold the bow. The teacher demonstrated and sent the next arrow whizzing cleanly across the grounds and hit the center of the target – bull's eye.
"Wow!" Hina couldn't help gasping. Now she really really wanted to learn archery and shoot like that. She calmly watched the other students practicing. They were really having fun. "Hey, wait, don't they have summer vacations in Japan?" she mused to herself. Just then the school bell rang out loud and clear, and some time later, all around her, students were milling around, heading out the gates, laughing and joking with their friends.
"Hi." Some girls passing by her smiled and waved to Hina. Hina waved back shyly. She watched them heading out of sight. "All the kids here are so friendly." She sighed, gazing at the kids walking down both sides of the street, some of them playing in the park that was next to the school. "Papa was really lucky, ne? To grow up in a place like this." Too tired to continue walking, she sat down on the curb. "I really need to find Daidouji-san fast. But.. nobody's telling me where it is. And truthfully, I'm scared to ask anyone now. I'm tired too." She rested her chin on her hands. "And hungry. And my feet are hurting. I think my shoes must have holes in them by now. I must be a real mess. This isn't working out, after all." She opened her backpack, and took out her handphone. "I could call Wei for help, but.. how could he help me? He wouldn't be able to give me directions. But.. I don't know where to go anymore." She smoothed out the piece of paper in her hand, gazing down at the address. At that moment, she was seized by an urge to start crying right then and there.
Suddenly, the wind picked up. Shielding her eyes from a cloud of dust, the piece of paper slipped out of her hands and fluttered back across the sidewalk, flipping over and over. Quickly getting to her feet, Hina rushed after it, trying to catch it. It came to a stop when it hit someone's feet. Bending down, the person picked it up.
"Is this yours?" the woman asked Hina, holding out the paper slip to her.
"Yes, thank you." Hina took it back. Phew, if it got lost, there would've been trouble. She briefly looked up into the woman's face. It wouldn't hurt to ask about the address would it? This person wouldn't start asking why Hina was alone and then send her to the police station right? Well it was worth a try.
"It's not too far from here." Was the reply. "You see that cluster of big buildings in the distance? It's that building there, see? The white one."
Hina blinked. "A-are you sure it really is that one? I, I mean, um.. people keep telling me different directions."
The woman laughed. "Yes, I'm sure it really is that one."
Hina's face suddenly lit up. "Really?! Really??? REALLY??!! Wai!" She threw her arms up in the air. Then clasping the woman's hands, her eyes filled with stars. "Thank you sooooo much, you don't know how grateful I am!" Then, she scampered off towards the tall buildings she could see towering over the rest.
The woman was taken aback at the sudden cheerfulness. "Ho-hoe?"
"Made it!" Hina exclaimed. Smiling, she gazed up at the tall white building with the emblem of Daidouji Toys near the top. Yep, this was the one she was looking for, after all.
Running up to the open gate, she made to head inside when..
"Hey you, kid! Where d'you think you're going? This place is off limits." A guard standing beside the gate stopped her.
"Oh, but! I have some important business here."
Chuckling, the guard looked her up and down. "What sort of 'business'?"
Looking straight into the eye of the guard, Hina replied, "I need to see Daidouji Tomoyo-san."
"Eh?!?!" The guard's mouth dropped open. "What're you playing at, girlie? You can't just walk up to an official building and demand to see the CEO!!! Man, kids, they're turning weirder and weirder each day. Well, clear off now. You can't see her."
"What?" Hina tried not to sound desperate. "But you don't understand. I really really need to see her. It's urgent!"
"Urgent, huh? Sorry. Children aren't allowed in here."
"But this company makes toys! And children play with toys! Please, please, Mr Guard. Let me in, see, I'm a customer."
Yawning, the guard leaned back. "Nope, can't let you in. Go play somewhere else."
"Awwww.." hanging her head, Hina looked up at the building. Thoughtfully, she commented, "But she's inside isn't she? Daidouji-san?"
"Yeah." The guard muttered sleepily.
"Okay." Moving away to the side, Hina removed her backpack from her shoulders and placed it against the front pillar. Then carefully, she sat down on the ground, gracefully smoothing out her dress in front.
The guard was beside himself. "What the heck are you doing?! Go away. I'll get fired from my job if you stay sitting around here. Go, shoo."
"No." Hina shook her head. "I'll keep waiting till Daidouji-san leaves."
"Argh! Fine, fine! You can wait, but not here in front of the main gate, for heaven's sake. Go away. Look, there's a park close by here. Why don't you run along over there and play around on the swings and slides like a good little girl? Just scram, won't you!"
Hina fixed the guard with a stern stare and furrowed her thin eyebrows down over her amber eyes, scowling. Seeing such a fierce death glare from such a cute little girl unnerved the guard, making him shut up. Sighing heavily, he scuttled off somewhere.
Good, thought Hina. The weird guard person was gone. She leaned back and gazed at the sinking ruby red sun. She'd wait here all night if she had to, now that she had found the place she was looking for. Quietly, she hummed a little song to herself, resting her chin on her hand, poking a finger around on the ground.
Then an orange road cone, rather like the one used during construction work, was placed in front of her.
"What are you doing?" Hina pushed it away, watching it roll across the road.
"Be quiet and hide behind here so no one sees you." The guard was back. What did he think he was doing, placing road cones in front of her to hide her.
Standing up, Hina placed her hands on her hips. "No!" Calming down slightly, Hina looked at the guard with pleading eyes. "Please Mr Guard, it wouldn't hurt to let me go in, would it? I really really need to see Daidouji-san."
"Hah, no way!" The guard eyed her malevolently.
Hina nearly screamed with frustration. "Why won't you listen? Let me in, ne?"
"Not a chance."
"But—"
"What's going on here?" a third voice asked.
The guard looked over, and straightened up, saluting. "Kiritani-san! Sir, this girl just showed up, demanding to go inside and see Daidouji-san."
"Is that true?" the man's gaze moved over to Hina, who at the moment, wasn't looking her best. Her hair was mussed, her pretty dress was wrinkled and dirty, and there was dust on her hands and face. "Why do you want to see Daidouji-san?"
Slowly, Hina looked up into this person's face. Blinking, she gazed at the tall profile of the man, whose short reddish-gold hair tumbled dashingly into light violet eyes. Opening her mouth slightly, Hina stammered, "Uh… I…" she began in a small voice.
The man kneeled down to her height in front of her. Hina gave a start, surprised. Not many grown ups did that, bending down to her level. Overwhelmed, she found her eyes brimming with tears. "Please, I really need to see her." She sniffed. "I've come from a long way, and I've spent almost all day around Tokyo searching for this place. But now, they're saying that I can't go in, and.. I don't know what to do anymore." As she finished, a tear ran down her face. Raising her hand she brushed the tear away, simply standing there and sniffing.
"It's all right. Don't cry now, it doesn't suit little girls to be so sad." The man said kindly. "Cheer up. Since I work here and know Daidouji-san, I'll take you in to meet her, okay?"
"En? You will?" Hina brightened slightly.
"You will?!?!" The guard exclaimed in disbelief.
"Aa. I'm Kiritani Kisou, by the way." He held out a hand for Hina to shake.
"Li Hinata." She answered smiling, shaking his large hand politely with her small one.
"Waaaah?! You're really taking this unknown, strange girl inside, sir?" the guard gawked as they entered the gate. "What if she's a spy from a rival company?"
"Oh, grow up." Kiritani Kisou called back, entering the main door.
Hina tagged after him, looking everywhere in curiosity, as this new person, Kisou, led her through a lobby and pressed the button for an elevator. "Is it okay if I ask why you want to meet Daidouji-san, Hinata?"
"Um.. " Hina stammered for an answer, not sure what to say.
The elevator door opened, and they got in. Kisou pressed the number for floor 18.
"I see, it's something you can't tell me, huh?"
"Un. Sorry."
"No, it's okay, Hinata."
"You can call me Hina." Hina said brightly. "All my friends call me that."
"I'm your friend already?" Kisou asked in mild surprise, his eyes twinkling.
"Yes, Kiritani-san." Hina giggled.
Chuckling, Kisou shook his head as the elevator door opened. "Just 'Kisou' is fine, then."
He led her down a roomy hallway, and then through a softly lit, cozy room, and stopped at a handsome oak door. Knocking, he waited for an answer and then turning the knob, pushed the door halfway open. "Someone to see you, Daidouji-san."
Hina gulped, and quickly smoothed her hair in place, as she heard a slightly surprised voice. "Who is it?"
"A child. Says she needs to see you."
"A child? Well, all right, Kisou-san. Send her in."
Nodding at Hina, Kisou held the door open for her. Taking small steps, Hina nervously went forward and entered the large, beautiful room. Behind her, she heard the door close again. Well, here she was.
Gazing forward at the person sitting in front in a plush leather chair behind an oak table, looking at her in mild curiosity, Hina felt a leap in her heart. It was the person in the photograph! The same one! In spite of herself, a happy smile spread over her face. "I can't believe it, I really found you! It really is the person in the photograph," she blurted out childishly. Clasping her hands in delight, she stared at the person in pure rapture.
Slightly taken aback, Tomoyo got up and offered Hina to sit down. Hina did so, watching Tomoyo's every movement with interest. So this was who was going to help her. She really was a pretty person.
"You wanted to see me?" Tomoyo asked, after taking her seat.
"Oh, yes!" Hina slapped her forehead. "Ah, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. She bowed in her chair. I'm Li Hinata. Nice to meet you, Daidouji-san."
"Nice to meet you too." Tomoyo replied. "Hmmm." She was looking at Hina closely. "Have we.. met before?"
"En? No." Hina blinked.
"You seem familiar, somehow." Tomoyo tilted her head, as though trying to remember something. "Anyway, what did you mean by 'the person in the photograph'?"
"Well, Tomoyo-san… it's a long story." Hina looked down. "Um.. where to start?" Wondering, she knit her eyebrows down together in thought.
"Ah!" Tomoyo suddenly clapped her hands. "Now I know who you are. No wonder you look so familiar -- you're almost exactly like him."
"En?" Hina looked back up, questioningly.
Gently, Tomoyo leaned forward and asked, "You're his daughter right? Syaoran's?"
"..Yes." Hina replied. "And I've come all the way from Hong Kong by myself to find you, and…" Just then, her stomach grumbled loudly.
"Ah, you poor thing." Tomoyo commented as Hina blushed red. "You must be tired. Ne, Hina-chan.. I can call you Hina-chan, right? I'll take you home with me right now. You look exhausted. You can freshen up, and have a decent meal and then tell me your story, okay?" Tomoyo grabbed her handbag.
"Thank you." Hina gladly accepted.
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Meanwhile in Hong Kong…
"Tadaima. I'm home" Syaoran announced. He looked around the quiet living room. Strange, where was everyone? "Hina?" he called.
"Oh, you're home, Syaoran-sama." Wei came into the room. "Okaeri-nasai (Welcome home.)"
"Wei, where is everyone?"
"Your mother went to visit Shiefa-sama."
"And Hina?"
"She's playing outside in the garden, as usual," Wei lied glibly. Syaoran looked mildly surprised. "She is? I didn't see her." Turning, he walked out the door and scanned the large garden. Hmm.
"Hina?" he called out. There wasn't any answer. Walking around to the back of the house, he looked around. "Hina, if you're hiding, come out now." Syaoran waited, expected to hear a shriek of laughter, a giggle. But the garden lay stiff and silent. Walking back around to the front he peered behind the trees and bushes.
"Hina, come out. It's not funny anymore."
Silence.
Panic started to swell inside him. "Hina!"
"What is it?" Wei came out.
"Where is she, Wei?" Syaoran rounded on him.
"She's not here? But… but she was definitely playing here with her ball fifteen minutes ago. I saw her through the window. Hina-sama!" Wei called out. "Stop worrying your father now."
"She's not here." Syaoran shook his head, his face turning pale as he looked out to the deserted garden, its shadows fading in the darkening twilight.
"Hinaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
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"Here?" Hina rushed down the road, gazing up at the building. "Hey, it's the same one as yesterday."
"What do you mean?" Tomoyo asked, coming up to her. It was a bright new morning.
Grasping the chain fence with her fingers, Hina explained, "Yesterday, you know, when I was looking for you, I stopped to see this school. They were learning archery!" She clapped her hands together in delight. "So Sakura-san's really here?"
"Yup." Tomoyo nodded happily. She was really excited. This was so cool, almost like the movies. A little girl plays matchmaker and everyone lives happily ever after. How thrilling! "So Hina-chan, you're mission's about to start. From hearing everything you told me yesterday, I really want to help. Let's work hard till the very end, okay?"
"Okay! It's a promise." Hina curled her pinky finger around Tomoyo's and they shook on it.
Entering the Keishuku Elementary School gates, Hina turned her head this way and that. The environment and atmosphere of the school today was completely different from yesterday. It was full of people – children and adults. Banners, posters, streamers and balloons hung in every direction. "En? What's going on?"
"It's a bazaar," Tomoyo exclaimed. "See, look at all these school children in fancy uniform." She pointed out at the stalls. All the girls were wearing pretty, lacy pink dresses with white aprons and the boys were dressed in crisp, white shirts and dark gray trousers.
"Wow, I wish I had a dress like that." Hina couldn't keep herself from looking at all the stalls and booths.
"Don't worry, I'll gladly make you one even better than these." She looked around. "Now, I wonder where—"
"Tomoyo!" A voice called.
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo brightened and rushed up to her.
"Thank goodness, I'm so glad you could make time and come." Sakura stated happily. "You know, things have been so hectic lately, having to plan and coordinate all the activities, but still everything is going on smoothly, I think." She looked around anxiously.
Tomoyo nodded her head. "It all looks really nice."
"Hey, who's this little girl with you?" Sakura's gaze finally landed on Hina, who stood next to Tomoyo, with her eyes sparkling and a wide grin on her face as if she couldn't believe her eyes. Placing hands on knees, Sakura bent down a little, her golden-brown hair falling around her face.
Hina felt a giddiness sweep inside her. Sakura-san! She had finally found her. Staring into her face, she looked at her critically, at the deep spring green emerald eyes, and her golden-brown hair, half of which was pulled back and tied with a ribbon. So this was the person whom she had heard about.. who had loved her papa..
"This is Hina-chan." Tomoyo was saying. "Hina-chan, this is my good friend, Sakura."
Snapping out of her reverie, Hina gave a start. She bowed politely. "Oh, I'm Li Hinata. It's a pleasure to meet you." Since Li was such a common name, it wouldn't hurt to tell her name, would it?
"Kawaii." Sakura's eyes slipped close as she smiled.
"Are you married?" Hina suddenly spoke.
Sakura eyes grew round. "HOE?! N-no!" Off to the side, Sakura muttered frantically to Tomoyo, "Tomoyo-chan, why's a little girl asking me if I'm married or not?"
"Ohohohohoho, you can never tell with kids these days," Tomoyo laughed.
"Sensei, we're running out of candy." Two girls came up to Sakura.
"Okay, I'll bring out another box from the storage room," Sakura replied.
Tomoyo followed, "We'll come too."
"You're a 'sensei'?" Hina asked in awe, as they walked down the hallway.
Nodding, Sakura said, "Yes, I'm homeroom and PE teacher for class 2-2."
"Wow, PE is one of my favorite subjects! And I HATE math. I never get what all the numbers are about, anyway."
Choosing the right box from the store room, Sakura laughed, "So how come Hina-chan is with you, Tomoyo?"
"It's a strange story." Tomoyo started quietly, so Hina wouldn't hear. "I bumped into her yesterday, and she was all alone, by herself. You know, I found out that she's run away from home with no where to go, so I sort of took her in."
"W-what?" Sakura was shocked. "Just like that? But.. but isn't this a police case of some sort?" Glancing behind her, she looked at the little girl. She didn't seem the type to run away from home. "Why would she run away in the first place?"
"She said that she really wanted to see Tokyo, but her father wouldn't bring her with him when he was coming here for some meeting, so she just ran away."
Sakura didn't look convinced. "Hoeee, Tomoyo-chan, her parents must be worried sick over her!"
"I know." Tomoyo tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I've told Hina-chan to call them tonight, and let them know that she is here and safe." Shaking her head, Tomoyo looked worried.
"It was still strange that you took her in, Tomoyo." But then Sakura smiled. "But it's so much like you to do a thing like that."
The next few hours went by pleasantly, with Sakura showing Tomoyo and Hina around all the different booths and stalls.
"I've been thinking," Hina said, "Don't you have summer vacation here?"
Laughing slightly, Sakura replied, "Of course we do. Today is the last day as a matter of fact, that's why we organized this bazaar."
While Hina was busy playing a game at a stall, Tomoyo darted her eyes down to Sakura's right hand.
"What?" Sakura asked absentmindedly, chewing on her bottom lip.
Tomoyo murmured softly, her eyes still on Sakura's hand, "You're not wearing the ring anymore. So it's really true then?" She looked up. "You know, I talked to Kisou-san day before yesterday, and he told me what happened. So is the engagement really called off?"
She nodded.
"Why?"
"You talked to Kisou already didn't you?" Sakura looked sideways at her. "I'm sure he already told you. Still I'm curious, what were his words exactly?"
"He felt that you're 'heart wasn't in' the relationship, so he—"
Matter of factly, Sakura interrupted, "He dumped me. It's okay, though. I've come to accept the fact that love and me just aren't very good friends."
"But—"
"Oh, come on Tomoyo, talking about my love life is such a boring subject. I'm not really worried about it, so you shouldn't be either. Hey, you haven't been to the parlor yet! The cake's really good there. Hina-chan, come here!" she waved her over. "Come on, the parlor's set up by my class."
Shaking her head, Tomoyo sighed. It was so frustrating trying to get anything out of Sakura. Still, things would hopefully run more smoothly soon enough.
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Hong Kong…
The big, tough-looking policemen seemed highly out of place in the sky blue and pink themed child's room. By the door, Syaoran stood watching their progress as they took fingerprints from near the bed, the desk and wardrobe. His usual calm face was deathly pale.
"Well Mr Li, seeing that a lot of her clothes, possessions and bag are missing as you've told us," the chief officer remarked, "I think we can safely rule out kidnap. This looks more like a case of someone running away from home."
"Running away?" Syaoran echoed faintly. That made absolutely no sense.
"Do you have any idea why your daughter would do such a thing, or where she might be headed? Any information you can give us will be valuable in our search for her."
Syaoran shook his head. Everything seemed a blur to him, and he was only dimly aware of what the policeman was saying. He had no idea where she could've gone, or why she would do such a thing.
"I have my men looking for her all over Hong Kong. We'll definitely find her. After all, she's only a child. She couldn't have gone far. I'll keep you posted."
"Right, thank you."
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At Keishuku Elementary school, with evening drawing nearer, the bazaar was slowly coming to an end.
"I really enjoyed myself today. It's such a relief to get off work sometimes." Tomoyo commented.
Hina nodded emphatically. "It really was fun."
"Well, bye Sakura-chan." Tomoyo waved and walked towards the school gates.
"Bye Tomoyo-chan." Sakura waved in return. Suddenly she stopped, and looked down. Then towards Tomoyo again. "Tomoyo, wait, you're forgetting something"
Confusion written all over her face, Tomoyo looked back. "I am?"
Sakura pointed at Hina, who was still standing next to her.
"Oh, did I forget to tell you?" Tomoyo put a hand to her forehead. "I'm getting so forgetful these days. Since I'll be busy with work, Hina-chan will be staying with you."
"W-what?!" Sakura gawked. "Why me?"
"Because you're now on vacation, silly. Sigh, how I wish I could get vacations too. Anyway, make sure she calls home tonight okay?"
Sakura grasped Tomoyo's sleeve before she slipped away. "What are you doing Tomoyo? Are you absolutely sure we shouldn't report this to the police? And after all, my apartment isn't a reststop for runaway children."
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo chided. "Do you honestly think little innocent Hina-chan deserves to go to the police station? Look at her. After all, its probably only for tonight."
Sakura glanced back. Hina was looking at her with big, round, pleading eyes full of innocence.
"Awwww.. okay. But you owe me, Tomoyo."
"Sure, bye!"
After Tomoyo left, Sakura let out a funny little sigh. Then she faced Hina. "Well, Hina-chan, guess you'll be staying with me tonight."
"YAY!" Hina cried out happily. Secretly, she smiled to herself. Phase 1 of her plan was done.
"W-what are you looking at me like that for?" Sakura asked, slightly nervously. Hina had been staring at her every movement for the past ten minutes while Sakura straightened up the spare bedroom for her after dinner.
"Oops, sorry. It's nothing," Hina apologized quickly. "So do you live here alone?" she asked looking around Sakura's apartment.
"No, Mimo's here too." Right on cue, a white and gray cat padded into the room, gazing at Hina as though sizing this new stranger up. Deciding on the positive, it leaped onto her lap and curled up, purring.
Hina scratched its ears. "Wow, look, he likes me! His fur feels like velvet," she stated, giggling. "Well, but other than Mimo, you live here all by yourself?"
Opening a closet door, Sakura reached up for something. "Yes."
"Don't you get lonely?"
Sakura's hand froze in midair from reaching to an extra pillow and she looked back. Blinking once or twice, she stated firmly, "No."
"Oh." Placing her hands on the bed, Hina leaned forward. "You know what? You know what? Guess!"
Amused, Sakura questioned, "What is it?"
"My Papa's really really really really really handsome!!"
Sakura actually laughed a bright twinkling sound that filled the room. She ruffled the little girl's mahogany brown hair. "I'm sure he is." Crossing to the other side of the room, she pushed a window open.
"But he is, honestly. Oooh, look." She pointed outside the window up at the night sky. "A shooting star. It's so pretty. It means I should make a wish. Papa says that its tradition. Um, what's 'tradition' mean? Anyway, you know, he says its tradition to make a wish and that whatever you wish for after a shooting star always comes true."
"Eh?" Sakura looked up at Hina, staring at her for a long time. Something about this little girl.. was familiar. But she couldn't place her finger on it. It seemed like she had heard someone say something similar about stars before, but when?
Hina closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. "I wish Papa isn't worrying over me too much, and if there's anything making him sad, I hope it can change so he can be happy."
Off to the side, Sakura shook her head as images flashed into her mind. What was she thinking? Brightly, she said, "That's a little unfair. All your wishes are only for your father. Save some for your mother too, at least."
Opening her eyes, Hina turned her small face to Sakura. "But I don't need to. My mother lives in the sky now, so all the stars are already granting her wishes."
Sakura cast her eyes down. "Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't know." Slowly, she walked over and sat on the bed beside Hina.
"It's okay." Hina said, her amber eyes twinkling. She hugged a picture frame to her chest. "Mother died soon after I was born, so I don't remember her at all."
"But you're the same as me, in a way. My mother also died when I was very little. I don't remember her at all either."
"Really?"
Nodding, Sakura said, "I only had photos of her to look at, and Otou-san and Onii-chan talked about her sometimes, so that's how I found out a little about what she was like. But anyway! You can make one of your wishes come true. Tomoyo said that you're supposed to call home. Really! What your father must be thinking. It's not very nice to run away like that. Especially, in Tokyo. This is a very dangerous city if you don't know where you're going." She hopped off the bed. "Here, I'll get the phone."
"No, it's okay." Hina rummaged into her bag and pulled out her hand phone. "I'll use this."
"All right. Call me if you need anything, Hina-chan. Good night."
"Good night." As Sakura made to shut the door, Hina spoke up. "Sakura-san?"
"Hmm?"
Smiling, Hina tilted her head to the side "She was right, you really are nice."
"Ho-hoe?"
"Nothing!" Waving her hands in front of her, Hina sweatdropped. As the door closed, she plopped down, holding out her phone. On to Phase 2.
--------
Syaoran slammed his fist so hard onto the table that everything placed on it vibrated. Everyone jumped at the loud noise.
"Syaoran, calm down, they'll find her." Fanren, his sister, consoled.
"She's right. They're bound to find something about her soon." Feimei agreed.
Syaoran averted his face from the bleary-eyed group sitting around the living room. His sisters knew nothing! Calm down! Like hell he would. It had been more than twenty-four hours since Hina's disappearance, and there was still no sign of her. Breathing rather fast, he stole one quick glance at all his sisters and cousins gathered there, then stormed out the front door.
Breathing in a gasp of chilly night air, Syaoran rubbed his face with his hands. Where was Hina? What if something had happened to her? Ran away.. She had no damn REASON to run away!! Angrily, he kicked out at a stone, which bounced against the tree.
Bounced? Looking closer in the dark moonlight, he realized what it was. Picking up the small white and red ball, he twirled it moodily around in his hands. His eyes were heavy, tired and aching. Leaning back against the tree trunk, he stared up at the twinkling stars. What were the chances that Hina wasn't lying hurt somewhere, tired and hungry and crying? "Kami…"
Just then his cell phone started to ring. Hastily pulling it out of his pocket, he switched it on. Surely, some sign of Hina..
"Hello??" he said anxiously.
"Mr Li, good evening. I just wanted to tell you that I've booked your flight tickets for tomorrow morning and also reserved a hotel room for you. You're supposed to reach the airport at 9:00am tomorrow."
"W-what?" Dumbfounded, Syaoran wondered what Roku, his secretary, was talking about. Right, tomorrow was Thursday, which meant he was supposed to go to Japan. But how could he? Frowning, he realized that Roku was still rambling crazily..
"..and then this and that and after that you can do this and then later that and again this. Um, oh, and.."
"Cancel everything, Roku. I'm not going."
He could almost picture the man hitting the ceiling. "WHHAAAAAT?!?!" he shrieked. "But.. but.. what do you mean by not going?"
Syaoran felt like strangling the man. "You heard me, not going means not going." He was about to hang up when..
"Wait! Mr Li, wait! You can't do this, you must go!" Roku sobbed into the receiver. "We've been working hard all year towards this conference."
"Send someone else then."
"You know we can't do that on such short notice. You're the only one who can and should and must go. If no one goes to that conference from our side there'll be a loss of millions!!"
"Let there be, then. But I'm not going to Japan."
"This is about little Hina-san isn't it? Don't you worry, sir. They'll surely find her, after all, how far can a little girl go? I know! I'll personally take charge of finding her. Yup, indeed. And.."
"My decision is made Roku, good night." Pressing the button on his cell phone, Syaoran let out a sigh. What kind of a crazy moment was it when Roku became his secretary? He had barely finished this thought when the phone started ringing again. Grr.. That idiot man.
"Hello?"
"Papa!"
"Hina?!" Syaoran could hardly believe his ears. Shouting into the receiver, "Hina! Where are you? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Papa." She answered calmly. "I'm in Tokyo right now."
"To-Tokyo? Tokyo, JAPAN?! What in the world are you doing there?" Hina wasn't allowed to cross the street on her own, how come she was in a foreign country?
"Well, right now I'm just sitting."
Syaoran mashed his forehead with his hand.
"I came here on my own, because you wouldn't bring me with you. I really really wanted to see Japan, Papa. And know what? It's so cool! He he."
This made absolutely no sense! Forcing himself to calm down, Syaoran tried to think logically. "But Hina, you don't know anyone there. How—"
Hina cut him off. "It's okay, Papa, don't worry. I've found a very nice lady, and when she found out I had run away she let me stay at her place and now she's telling me to call you so.."
"Okay, okay. Stay wherever you are, and give me your address. Where in Tokyo are you?"
"Um.. I don't know the address." Hina confessed. "But! Oh, idea! Papa, there's this Keishuku Elementary School, and there's a park in front of it. I'll meet you there. You're coming right?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm not letting you stay there by yourself with just anyone. Listen, I'll meet you around midday. And listen, wherever you are, stay put. Do you understand? Stay there!"
"Of course, Papa." Hina said sweetly.
"You said you're staying with someone. Let me talk to this person."
Syaoran heard a shriek from the other end and Hina saying, "Hello? Hello? Oh dear, I can't hear anything, too much static."
"Hina?"
"Oh, no the line got disconnected, wah!! Too bad!" Click.
Sighing, Syaoran lowered the phone. Then, he dialed a number and put it to his ear again. After a couple of rings someone picked up.
Passing a hand through his tousled hair, Syaoran spoke, "Hello, Roku, forget everything I said earlier. I'm going to Japan."
"Really? Oh cool! That's the spirit!"
-----To Be Continued-----
[A/N]: Hehe, Roku's kinda funky, isn't he? I love all these little extra characters I come up with . So Hina went through a lot of trouble to get to Tomoyo, and then to get to Sakura. Sheesh, I remember having my cheeks pinched when I was little, and it really hurts! I started being scared of people who did that, haha. But yay, Syaoran's coming to Japan. What will happen next? Oh yeah, you must be asking: another new character? Kiritani Kisou. Yeah. Who is he exactly? And can you believe he was actually engaged to Sakura.. but he's not anymore, wonder what happened. I edited this chapter to rename Kisou.. If you haven't come across it yet, he was named something pretty stupid earlier on, so I changed it. Hm, Hina's a crafty little girl, but she's still only a child. I was having real trouble coming up with a title for this chapter, and I still don't like the one I used, but I didn't want to delay the chapter just because I couldn't think of a decent title. Hope you understand. Tomoyo's really observant to recognize Hina like that... Sakura's too dense.
Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. It all motivated me, and even with exams going on I managed to finish this chapter.
A few people had questions which need to be answered:
Meinien and Ai8 were both wondering how Hina could leave Hong Kong on her own and whether the airplane people wondered what she was doing there alone. Well, Wei did all the paperwork and dropped her off right at the gate of the airplane. It's sort of simple, I know someone who's been travelling alone by plane since she was five. Her uncle would drop her off at one airport, and her parents would pick her up at the other end. Anyway, if any of the airhostesses asked Hina where her parents were, Hina made up excuses, she's kind of crafty, like you saw in this chapter ; "She's that lady sitting over there, no, that one." Etc etc.
SueHime, you said that maybe since Sakura didn't go to University, she has no qualification.. Okay, Sakura did go and complete her university studies. But, she told Syaoran that she was going back to Tomoeda, so while he was searching for her over there, she was in the complete opposite direction, somewhere far far away. So Sakura-chan does have qualification, and she's a elementary school teacher now, what she always wanted to be since she was young.
Okay, feedback very much appreciated! If you have any questions or comments I need to tend to, I'll answer them next chapter.
Ja ne!
Kirei Blossom
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