It's me again!!! This is another short chapter. I'll try and make the next chapter longer, but I can't really promise anything!! Anyway, enjoy!!
By: Sakuratenshi89
Chapter Five
Emperor's Palace, Tokyo, Japan, 85 A.D.
"Sakura!" yelled Tomoyo, panicking as she saw her cousin fall onto the floor in a dead faint. "Catch her!"
The man caught Sakura before she reached the floor. He placed her on the bed gently before facing an angry, red-faced Tomoyo.
"What the hell were you thinking!" she hissed venomously, making sure not to disturb Sakura.
"I was only stating the truth," the man said calmly.
"Well, the truth is, I'm not marrying you," sniffed Tomoyo. "I hardly even know you."
"What do you call those two years that we spent together?" asked the man angrily.
"You deceived me," accused Tomoyo.
A moan escaped from Sakura's mouth just then, interrupting the couple's argument.
"What happened?" murmured Sakura.
"You fainted sweetie," said Tomoyo. "Do you need anything?"
"An explanation would be nice."
Tomoyo sighed. She would have to tell Sakura this sooner or later. "Well this man here, though he isn't really a man at all, just a lying, deceiving, conniving little son of a…"
"Tomoyo!" exclaimed Sakura. "Just introduce me to him."
"This is Eriol Hiiragizawa," Tomoyo said reluctantly. "Also known to you as Eli Moon."
"So you're the man who made Tomoyo fall in love with you," said Sakura. "Congratulations, I didn't think that Tomoyo was ever going to fall in love with anybody."
Eriol smirked at Tomoyo, making her fume; Sakura could've sworn there was steam shooting from her ears.
"Sakura! You don't know what this man did to me!"
"Well, I'm waiting."
"It was true, I was in love with him, but the man I was in love with was Eli Moon, not Eriol Hiiragizawa. I met him when I was in England," explained Tomoyo. "We went out a couple of times and had fun and we fell in love. I went to go introduce him to my mother. My mother hadn't told me that I was betrothed at birth, so she told me when I brought El…Eriol home. She had met Eriol before and was shocked when I told her that I had fallen in love with him. She then told me that he was my fiancé and I was supposed to marry him anyway. I was so angry when I had found out. What was even worse was the fact that he knew who I was the entire time while I had absolutely not clue at all!"
"I didn't know Tomoyo, you should've told me," Sakura said quietly.
"I didn't want to trouble you," said Tomoyo. "You were coping with Touya going off to war, so I didn't want to burden you even more."
"I could've handled it."
"I'm sorry," apologized Tomoyo. "So you could imagine my surprise when he showed up here, at your father's banquet."
"I am your fiancé," Eriol rolled his eyes. "I'm invited to every banquet and event that you're invited to."
"Unfortunately," muttered Tomoyo.
Eriol ignored her. "So, you're the famous Sakura Kinomoto that I've heard so much about?"
Sakura blinked. "You've heard of me?"
"Of course," he jerked his head towards Tomoyo's direction. "When you court her for a year you find out everything about you. You're all she ever talks about."
"She is not!" Tomoyo said indignantly.
"It's always, have I ever told you about my cousin Sakura? She is the sweetest and cutest thing on this planet! This outfit I made the other day will suit her very well, you know, pink her so her color!" mimicked Eriol.
Tomoyo turned bright red. "Don't listen to him Sakura, he's just trying to get back at me for leaving him."
"That's what you'd like to think."
"It's true, you're just hurt because I left you!"
"You can't leave me, we're engaged! And there's no way to break the contract!"
"Damn!"
"I take it that you're not very fond of me."
"Isn't it obvious?"
Sakura held her head as she felt an oncoming headache arising from the bickering couple.
Aboard the Fune no Nadeshiko, 85 A.D.
Touya lay on the bed in his cabin aboard the ship, thinking. He was nervous, he decided finally, about going home after a year and a half in China. He could feel all the butterflies swarming in his stomach, not really helping his present illness, seasickness.
He wondered how his family was doing; they knew how he was doing. After all, he would send a report at the end of each week to his father. He never got a reply because it was too dangerous and he didn't like the thought of anyone opening his personal letter from his family. He had received a letter from Sakura once, but after that, he asked her not to write to him again, explaining the dangers if she did.
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crinkled sheet of paper, a faint whiff of cherry blossoms escaped and he felt all the present situations that had gone wrong disappear. He unfolded it and began to read for probably the hundredth time in the past month.
Onii-chan,
Genki desu ka? (How are you?) Watakushiwa anata ga nai noni ki ga tsuku gaman dekinai imasu. (I find the absence of you to be unbearable.) I know you don't like me getting all mushy around you, but I can't seem to help it. You're my only brother, my big brother. I hate to say this, but I even miss you calling me kaijuu. I can just picture your smirk all the way from over here in Japan, so I'll be here to stomp on your feet again when you come back home (don't worry, I'll be more gentle with you because it'll be your homecoming).
I hope you win the war because then my big brother can come home and be my big brother again instead of the captain of the Japanese armies. Receiving letters once a week just isn't the same as having an annoying as heck older brother around. It seems rather surreal that you are off to war; it was like yesterday when we were still young and had nothing to worry about. We were just carefree kids having fun, now you're off at war and I don't know whether you're going to return or not.
I'm going all, sentimental over this one letter, but I'm a girl. It wouldn't kill you to show a little emotion every now and then onii-chan. I'm here waiting for you to come back and I'll keep on waiting no matter how long because you're my only brother. I know you hate this part, and I love you. No matter how many times you call me "kaijuu" or other really annoying names, no matter how many times you scold me, I still love you. I'll be the first one waiting at the docks when you arrive home. I promise.
Love, your imouto (little sister),
Sakura
Touya smiled affectionately at the letter. Ever since he received the letter, he had kept it by his side, in his pocket at all times. He wondered how she was doing, never once did she mention how she was faring back in Japan. But that was Sakura, always the one worrying about others when she was the one who needed to be taken care of. She was just so unselfish it was disgusting.
He folded the letter back up and tucked it back into his coat pocket.
"Letter from a lover?"
Touya sat up on his bed and saw Syaoran Li standing there before laying back down.
"I thought I ordered prisoners not to be wandering the ships after nine," Touya said listlessly.
"Yeah, well, let's just say, security around here isn't the best," smirked Syaoran. "It was easy escaping them."
"Oh?" asked Touya raising an eyebrow. "It doesn't really matter anyway, the only place those people can escape to is the to their death. And I doubt any of them want to drown to death. It is a rather unpleasant way to die."
Syaoran snorted. "That is ironic, death itself is unpleasant. You seem to know a lot about drowning."
"My sister almost drowned once," Touya said quietly. "We had gone fishing with my father and she leaned too far when we weren't watching and fell over. We were able to rescue her though, thank Kami-sama. She was only five once, but since then, she's been terrified of large bodies of water."
"You seem pretty close."
"We are," Touya said shortly.
"So that letter is from her then?" asked Syaoran.
"It is. Why are you down here anyway?"
"I wanted to ask you a question.
"Well then ask it."
"How much longer 'til we reach Japan?"
"I'm assuming a week at the most."
A silence fell and Syaoran returned to his room, while Touya fell asleep, dreaming of his once carefree past with his younger sister.
Emperor's Palace, Tokyo, Japan, 85 A.D
"Your Highness, the Emperor wishes to speak with you in the throne room," said a messenger, bowing.
"Thank you," said Sakura. "You're dismissed."
The messenger bowed and left the room.
Sakura turned back to the couple, who were now in the midst of cough making up. Sakura had just watched and heard them arguing a few seconds ago and now they were declaring their undying love for each other and apologizing? Sakura shook her head, clearing out the thoughts. She sure did have some strange friends who knew strange people. It didn't matter though, from the looks of it, Tomoyo and Eriol made the perfect couple. Both equally stubborn, loud, and well, strange.
Sakura sweatdropped as things got a little out of hand but she didn't bother trying to get them to give each other some air. She sighed and turned towards the door.
"Well, I better go," said Sakura in a loud voice.
The couple was too engrossed in each other to notice, so Sakura slipped out of her room and closed the door gently to give them some private time. She would remember to change the sheets on her bed later.
She walked to the throne room gaily, humming a song. She saw her father sitting on the chair looking rather grim and knew immediately something was wrong.
"What's the matter Daddy?" asked Sakura worriedly.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news Sakura."
"What?" asked Sakura, her green eyes growing wide.
"It's concerning…"
"I knew it!" wailed Sakura. "Touya's dead!!!" and with that, she began to cry her eyes out. "It's not fair! I never got to say goodbye!!!!!"
She continued wailing, not noticing that she was putting on a very nice show for all the servants.
Fujitaka sweatdropped at how his daughter had jumped to conclusions so quickly, he cleared his throat, making Sakura look up at him and wipe away her tears, sniffling. "Actually that's not it."
"Really?" asked Sakura happily.
Fujitaka sweatdropped yet again, his daughter had some serious mood swing issues, he was going to have to ask the royal doctor about it just to make sure someone or thing had invaded her body. "It's actually about you."
"Oh, okay, but why were you looking so sad Daddy? I know I'm not dying, or could I be?" gasped Sakura.
"No, you're not dying," said Fujitaka patiently.
"Well, what is it then?"
"As you know, you're sixteen and in a few months you will be seventeen," began Fujitaka quietly. "And in our culture that's about the age when a young woman should marry."
"Let me guess," interrupted Sakura. "I'm betrothed aren't I?"
Fujitaka nodded and waited to see how his daughter would handle it.
"To whom?"
"You know him quite well, I believe," said Fujitaka. "You may come in."
Sakura looked to his side and saw someone she would have never thought walk in, "Paul?"
"Konnichiwa (hello), Fujitaka-sama, Sakura-hime," said Paul, bowing.
"I'm engaged to Paul?" asked Sakura. "Since when?"
"We decided a few days ago," said Fujitaka. "A few days before the party."
"We?"
"Paul's father, Domitianus, and I."
"So, you decided even before the banquet. The one you said that I could choose a husband from?" asked Sakura incredulously.
"Actually we agreed that if you didn't find someone suitable after the banquet, then you and Paul would become officially betrothed."
"Did you know about this?" asked Sakura.
"I didn't know about it until this morning," admitted Paul. "I was rather surprised too."
"Well, I'll leave you two to go talk things out," said Fujitaka, tired all of a sudden. "You will leave in a week for Rome."
"But what about Touya?"
"Who's Touya?" asked Paul, curiously. He was also secretly jealous, was Touya Sakura's current suitor and lover?
"He's her older brother, and my only son," explained Fujitaka to Paul before replying to Sakura's question. "I don't know when he will return, but just hope that he will return to see you before you leave for Rome."
"I don't believe this!" exclaimed Sakura as soon as her father was out of sight.
"Me neither."
"I was just a free woman a few days ago, and you were a free man too! And now we're betrothed??"
"I think that we should talk this out Sakura," said Paul quietly.
They walked out to the garden and wandered around, savoring the peaceful aura of the garden before Paul broke the silence.
"I want to try and make this betrothal work," said Paul. "I really like you Sakura, you're different from any other girl I've ever met before and that's really saying something."
"I don't know Paul," said Sakura nervously. "I've never really thought of marriage and to tell you the truth it scares me, committing myself to someone like that. I really like you too but I don't know if I love you."
"I have a suggestion," said Paul. "Why don't we give this betrothal a try and if it doesn't work out between us, if we find that we're better off as good friends, then we'll break it and you can come back to Japan. Does that sound good?"
Sakura thought for a few seconds before nodding, "I like the sound of that."
"So you'll come back to Rome with me?" asked Paul eagerly.
Sakura nodded again.
"You'll love it there!" Paul shouted happily before lifting Sakura up and swinging her around.
Sakura laughed. "I'm sure I will."
Fujitaka smiled as he watched his daughter being swung around by his, hopefully, if all went well, future son-in-law.
"They seem to be getting along fine," said a deep voice.
"Don't they? Domitianus, are you sure that this will work out?" asked Fujitaka hesitantly.
"The least we could do is try," said Domitianus, Paul's father.
Fujitaka remained silent, but he agreed with the words that Domitianus had spoken.
A/N: Does anybody know Japanese? Because mine isn't very good and I don't think my grammar is right. Please email me or leave a review to tell me the correct spellings and word usage.
Titus Flavius Domitianus was a real emperor of Rome, he completed the Colosseum in 82 A.D., the dates I have aren't very accurate because he was born in 51 A.D. So that means that Paul was born when he was fifteen, just go along with me okay? My history isn't very accurate.
And I know that ya'll are thinking, Sakura is marrying Paul?? Don't worry, everything will work out in the end, this story is SS, I'm positive.
Thanks to all my reviewers!!!!