What is love?
Summary: Still in depression from her breakup with her boyfriend, Sakura meets Syaoran in unusual circumstances. Will love blossom between the 2 individuals who don't believe in love? SS, TE
Legend:
- words - refers to thoughts
Hey! Sorry for taking so long to write this chapter. If you've read the A/N then you would know why. Thanks to all those who have waited patiently, you know who you are! Anyway, June holidays are here! So... Yay! Hehe...
Note: If you read the earlier posted version, and it didn't make sense, you should read it again... All the border thingies that were separating the different scenes somehow got deleted... --''
Disclaimer: We don't own CCS, CLAMP does...
In the last chapter...
"Kinomoto…" Three low voices growled threateningly, waking her up from her thoughts.
Sakura turned around and was greeted with the sight of 'B3'.
- Oh no! Now what? -
Chapter 7"You fucking Bitch!" Maki bit out furiously as she slapped Sakura so hard that her cheek turned as red as a lobster.
"Wha –" Sakura mouthed as she held her cheek in shock.
"We've told you millions of times to get the hell away from them! Looks like you need proof of what we can do to you." Serika said slowly, in a vicious tone.
"What have I done this time?" Sakura said sarcastically, curious as to the reason for their anger, but knowing full well that they made a big deal out of nothing, and so, couldn't help her tone. - Can't they just let me be in peace for once? -
"What have you done? You still have the guts to say that, you slut! Don't act innocent. We know that you are after them" Ami said irately as Sakura was immediately greeted with punches, kicks and pinches all over her body.
"Itai! You all have no right to do that!" Sakura exclaimed in pain.
"This is what you get for seducing boss Li and boss Hiiragizawa!" Maki shouted back, she was far too keyed up to stop now.
Sakura, being the card mistress, was quite good in martial arts and tried to block their attacks and retaliate but it was 1 versus 3 – she was outnumbered. Sakura thought of calling FIGHT out, but decided against it as it was not worth it for those bitches to know her biggest secret, in addition, being kind at heart, she knew that the FIGHT would easily defeat them, and send them sprawling. So, she tried to bear all the pain, hoping that they would be satisfied.
Several minutes later, she was lying on the ground in a fetus position, her mind in no state to think. The pain was too much for her to bear. Her hair and attire were in a mess while the 'B3' still didn't seem to stop…
&---&---&
"Hey did you hear? Boss Li and Boss Hiiragizawa's secretary spent the night together in the company. All by themselves!" Came a hushed whisper.
"Of course! How can I not have heard? Everyone's talking about it! I never knew Kinomoto was such a slut. She looked so innocent. I would never have thought that she was such a good actress. Wonder how she seduced him, the cold-blooded Boss Li that doesn't seem to give any attention to any woman in the world!" A female voice replied, with a tinge of jealousy.
"Haha... That is so true! I remembered when those pretty but empty-headed girls had tried to seduce him but he didn't give a damn about them! He had even fired them immediately! But I heard that they were locked in by the security guard by accident and he was fired by Boss Li early this morning." A different voice added.
"Do you really believe it? Will there be such a coincidence and good 'accidents' on earth? Why hasn't it happened to anyone else before? Moreover, even if it is, what else could they have done, all alone at night...Just them alone, a guy and a girl…." Another voice broke in laughingly, placing extra emphasis on the word 'alone'.
Whispers of this sort were rampant in the office. News of how Syaoran and Sakura had spent the night together in the company, alone, was known in every single department. As rumours often go, they change. And from the innocent 'unintentionally trapped in here', it changed to the 'having a relationship and doing you-know-what'. It was on the tip of everyone's tongues.
&---&---&
While walking to his office, whispers of this sort were everywhere. Every single pair of eyes had turned to face him, while more whispers could be heard. Some talked about it loudly, blatantly.
The pair of amber eyes widened as he cursed softly. That girl! What had possessed her to tell others?! Nobody else could have known, only them! He stood in front of the people gossiping about them who immediately stopped when they saw the Boss glaring at them.
"Where is that Kinomoto?!?" He asked in a cold and menacing tone.
Not a single soul dared to move nor talk. No one dared to answer, but as his cold gaze swept over them yet again, seemingly implying that he would eat them up if they didn't reply, one brave soul decided to reply.
After getting his answer, Syaoran simply walked off without saying a word of thanks. Hushed whispers immediately filled the whole room again. Why had their boss behaved so strangely? Why was their boss was looking for Sakura? Was the rumour true? A glare from Syaoran before he left, silenced them temporarily, but had done nothing to stop the rumour, if anything, it had made it worse...
&---&---&
"Where is she?" A voice full of cold anger could be heard from a short distance.
'B3' stopped at once upon recognizing the voice and looked up. Syaoran who looked to be thoroughly pissed was exiting the lift.
"It's Boss Li! Let's go!" 'B3'sensed trouble and quickly left Sakura alone, just in time before Syaoran saw them.
Sakura tried to stand up, and to present herself in the best way possible, tidying her clothes and hair.
"You idiot! Why the hell did you tell everyone about that? Is it something for you to boast about?" Syaoran accused, not noticing how disorderly Sakura looked, nor sensing that something was wrong. He was too livid.
"About what?" Sakura asked surprised and irritated, she had just been beaten by 'B3' for no reason and now had to face some weird accusation by Syaoran, about something that she didn't even know about!
"You told everyone in the damn office about last night!" Syaoran tried to control his temper but couldn't, as he grabbed Sakura's arm roughly.
"Why would I want to tell people? Do you think I have nothing better to do? It is not like it is something to boast about. I'm hoping to forget about yesterday in fact. So stop accusing for what I didn't do!" Sakura yelled back while she flinched at the pain Syaoran was causing her as she quickly snatched back her arm. - I've got it, those B3 must have heard about last night… But how did they find out? -
Syaoran had become alert after she had snatched back her arm and looked at her carefully. Her hair was in a mess and there were bruises on her arm. Something had happened to her - She didn't have these bruises the previous night… -
"What happened?" Syaoran asked in a cold voice, masking his concern as best as he could. He seemed to have forgotten all about the argument that they were having at the moment.
"Nothing happened. I just happened to trip and fall okay?" Sakura lied while shifting her gaze to everything else except Syaoran. She was really bad at lying.
She comforted herself, - It's not like as though he is kind enough to care about me -
"I want to know the truth." Syaoran demanded as he stared at her fragile and delicate frame. -She is really bad at lying. It seems like she was beaten up!-
"Does it matter? It is none of your business. You are not the one that suffered and got beaten up. I don't care about your problems so you leave mine alone. Why do you all like to accuse me of things that I have never done?" Sakura burst out, the injustice getting the better of her.
"Well, if you didn't tell others, nothing would have happened. You deserve it." Syaoran argued back bitterly.
"How many times do you want me to tell you? I didn't breathe a word to anybody else! It is up to you to decide whether you believe me or not. I'm beginning to wonder if it was you who told others in order to watch me suffer" Sakura said, trying to defend herself, anger and sadness evident on her face.
"I'm not so free to do such childish things." Syaoran replied, but deep in his heart, he knew something was wrong; Sakura wasn't that kind of person. Now, he was positively sure that Sakura did not breathe a word to anybody else, but it was just his pride that stood in his way of apologizing to her. But then again, who else would have known?
"And you think I am?!" Sakura retorted.
- Ah! - Syaoran suddenly thought of something and walked away, forgetting all about the argument while Sakura shouted curses at his back.
&---&---&
Sakura was on the ground floor running an errand. When...
"Ohayo everyone! Ohayo Sakura-chan!" Eriol said in a cheerful voice as he entered the building.
"Ohayo!"
Sakura noticed that Eriol had knocked into the door, pillars, people, even the receptionist's desk and practically everything else in his way as he walked toward the lift. He was late, very, very late.
No matter how dense Sakura was, she was not blind. Something was not right. She had heard how Eriol was never late, and he was never clumsy in all her years of knowing him.
&---&---&
Sakura was now in Eriol's office, trying her very best to explain an important document to him. She had tidied up her hair and attire, as well as put on another set of make-up. Eriol was obviously only there in person, not in mind, and even the ever patient Sakura was getting frustrated.
"Eriol Hiiragizawa! Pay attention! PLEASE! For god's sake!" Sakura yelled in his ears for the 40th time.
"Huh? Oh yea..." Eriol replied half-heartedly, while his mind was still elsewhere.
"Are you okay? You seem sick. Do you want to go home and rest?" Sakura asked, concerned. She didn't know what was wrong with him, but sick meant taking leave, and taking leave meant time for Eriol to become himself again, and a much higher chance of her keeping her sanity till she was much older.
"No... I'm fine" Eriol replied, his head was perched on his hands as he stared at the wall dreamily.
- If I didn't know Eriol well enough, I'd say that he's behaving just like a lovesick schoolboy. - Sakura mentally thought but laughed it off.
Eriol didn't seem like the kind that would have a girlfriend, not that he was not eligible; it was more a matter of his indifference towards girls. So many girls had flirted with him that he had become sick of them. She was one of the very few female friends that he had.
Sakura's phone suddenly rang distracting her thoughts for the moment.
"Moshi Moshi, I'm Kinomoto" Sakura picked up phone as she mouthed a sorry to Eriol, who didn't seem to mind and just nodded his head, indicating that it was all right.
"Ohayo Sakura-chan! I'm Tomoyo." The caller, now identified as Tomoyo said in a cheerful voice
"Oh it's you Tomoyo-chan. What is the matter?" Sakura asked surprised. It was rare for Tomoyo to call her by her phone.
"Well, I would like you to come an hour earlier for your modeling this week as we have to take your measurements and so on for the fashion show that is coming up soon. Is that alright with you?" Tomoyo asked.
"Okay, I will try to ask my boss to let me off earlier if that is the case," Sakura replied as she took a look at Eriol, finding him to be in daze still. - Is he really alright? -
"Your boss? As in Erio-- I mean Hiiragizawa-san?" Tomoyo asked as she stammered, as though nervous.
"Yup, I thought you knew? Why do you sound so tense all of a sudden?" Sakura asked curiously.
"Am I? You are just oversensitive Sakura-chan. Anyway thank you very much! Sorry for the trouble. It can't be helped, unless you want to stay back until midnight." Tomoyo stated.
"It's alright, I'm sure Eriol-kun will allow it. He is not that heartless" Sakura said.
"Yup, he is anything but that. Anyway I have to go now, there are too many things to be taken care of for the fashion show. Ja!"
"Okay, ja!" Sakura said as she hung up her phone. - Why does she seem so sure that Eriol is nice? Hmm, weird but it can't mean anything right? -
"I'm sorry about that, Eriol-kun. Tomoyo-chan was on the phone. And may I be let off an hour earlier this coming Saturday for the fashion show? Tomoyo-chan said there are a lot of things to work on..." Sakura stopped as she realized Eriol wasn't listening to her at all!
"Eriol Hiiragizawa! How many times do I have to call you?!"
"Huh? You called me?" Eriol asked blurrily.
"Argh, never mind. As I was saying, Tomoyo-chan just called me regar..."
"What? TOMOYO-CHAN?!? Eriol cut off Sakura's words as he stood up almost immediately, looking dazed, while blushing as he remembered what had happened the night before.
"Eriol-kun! What is happening to you? Why are you so red? Are you having a fever? Do you want to go home and rest?" Sakura asked worriedly as she reached her hand out to touch Eriol's forehead to check his temperature.
"I'm fine…" Eriol replied as he sat down again.
"Hmm, you don't seem to have a fever, then why are you..." - !! - Sakura suddenly had a thought. "You just called Tomoyo-chan by her first name didn't you? Plus, you reacted so loudly when I said Tomoyo-chan's name... Don't tell me, you are blushing?" - Now that I think about it, just now on the phone...Tomoyo-chan's behavior was also very suspicious. -
"Wha... What... I'm not blushing! No, I'm not! Why would I be?" Eriol denied profusely, but he blushed even more. Unbelievably, Sakura had gotten it correct, for once.
"Oh yes, you are. Something is going on between you two isn't there?" Sakura asked with a mischievous look on her face. This was one of the very few times Sakura was not as dense as she normally was, an event that only happened once in a blue moon.
"Ah oh fine! You got me this time. We are going out..." Eriol confessed, knowing that there was no way to hide it anymore. It was not like he really wanted to hide it anyway.
"I knew it! So how'd you two come together? And since when?" Sakura asked excitedly.
Eriol's face suddenly lit up as he talked about the dinner last night. He blushed again.
"Well, it's nothing really... Anyway Sakura-chan, I don't know if I should ask you or not, but... What really happened last night? I mean, you know…between you and Syaoran..." Eriol asked suddenly as he suddenly recalled something while thinking about what happened during the dinner last night.
"The security guard just er... locked us in unintentionally while I came back to take some documents. And it just happened that erm... Li-san was in the office also. But nothing happened. He just stayed in his office while I stayed outside until morning and we left separately." Sakura, caught unaware, quickly made up something as she went along.
"Hmm, if that was the truth, then I must say that the rumours are really getting out of hand. When I entered the company, after greeting you, I went up the lift and saw the security guard telling other people about you being locked up with Syaoran, and you know, with stuff added that you two were…Erm, never mind. It doesn't really matter now." Eriol cut off halfway, deciding not to continue.
"We two were what?" Sakura asked densely. - I see, so it is the security guard that told the others. No wonder the rest of the people in the company including B3 know about it although both of us didn't breathe a word.-
"Erm, never mind! Treat it as though I didn't say anything." Eriol replied, blushing a little.
An uncomfortable silence ensued.
"Hey, I have to start working now. Can't keep slacking right? Since I'm a 'big boss', I have to show a good example!" Eriol finally getting back his senses. He stretched, indicating that he was ready to start work soon.
"Glad to see that you are finally going to start work" Sakura stated with a smile as she continued to explain the document to him.
&---&---&
"Okay, that's all I have to say. Please look through again and sign in by noon." Sakura said in an official manner. Eriol nodded as Sakura continued.
"Also, like I was saying just now, may I be let off an hour earlier this coming Saturday for the preparation of the coming Tomoyo-chan's fashion show, as requested from your beloved Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked, stressing on Tomoyo's name, knowing full well that Eriol would not say 'no' by now, after hearing Tomoyo's name.
True enough, after hearing Tomoyo's name with a beloved added in front, and that it was her request, Eriol had no heart to say 'no'.
"Sure, you may go off early. If you want, you can get the whole day's leave…" Eriol replied dreamingly, thinking of his Tomoyo.
"Yay! You are so kind! I'm sure your Tomoyo-chan will be delighted about this too. I will go back to do my work now, Ja!" Sakura said laughingly as she quickly made her way out of his office, just in case he changed his mind suddenly.
"Oh wait! I can't believe I almost forgot to give you this important document. Read through this and sort it out by the end of the day." Eriol suddenly said, snapping out of his daze and said in a serious tone, stopping Sakura in her tracks.
"And also – " Eriol suddenly stopped as he noticed a purplish bruise on Sakura's arm. Having a very bad feeling about it, he quickly stood up and lifted her arm gently. When Sakura cringed, he knew something had happened.
"It's nothing really, I just happened to trip and fall." Sakura immediately replied upon seeing Eriol's face darken.
"The truth Sakura, the truth." Eriol replied exasperatedly. -It is just like Sakura to hide the truth so people wouldn't worry about her, but by doing that, she is just doing the exact opposite!-
"It's nothing really..." Sakura replied firmly, not planning to say the truth.
"Okay, I shall believe you this time." Eriol said, as he walked away. But he did not believe Sakura at all. - It must be something to do with the rumours. And no doubt, it must be the work of B3. One day, I will find a way to fire them! They are going way too far! -
Sakura didn't dare to meet Eriol's gaze and after saying a hurried goodbye, she quickly left his office.
&---&---&
Feeling physically, emotionally and mentally drained, Sakura decided to go to the toilet to wash her face and freshen up before starting her day of work.
As she raised her head and stared at the mirror while the water dripped down her face, the familiar shade of brown hair alerted her to a possible danger and true enough, she was soon showering in ice-cold water.
"B3" Sakura bit out venomously, though sweet by nature, 'B3' had tested her patience to the very limit, and past that even. More verbal abuse was thrown at her but she blocked them all out. It took all of her self-control to prevent her from using her magic and sending them to the moon, literally. She was in no mood to put up with them.
Finally satisfied after seeing Sakura shivering with cold, they left. Sakura told herself to forget it as she walked back to her desk. Water was dripping off her clothes as she shivered. The air-conditioner in the office seemed much colder than usual.
&---&---&
Now, Sakura was sick of everything. The meeting with Andy, Syaoran's accusation, the rumors and being bullied by 'B3'. - Can't all of them just leave me in peace?-
"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?" Eriol's voice suddenly interrupted Sakura's thoughts from behind.
"I'm fine." Sakura replied trying to keep her voice casual but was unsuccessful as noted by how she squeaked out 'fine'.
"Your clothes are wet." It was not a question, but a statement.
"I slipped, accidentally knocked against a bucket of water in the toilet and the water fell on me. I've been so careless and clumsy lately..." Sakura quickly explained as jokingly as she could while trying to laugh at herself.
"Uh-huh. You should be more careful." Eriol said out loud but thought to himself, - Just stop lying! -
"Why don't you go home and change? You will catch a cold if you don't change out. I give you permission to take the rest of the day off. It's been a harsh day today for you. Go home and have a nice rest. I'll deliver the document myself." Eriol said as he mentally forced himself to think of more ways to fire the B3 without getting the company into trouble, enough was enough.
"Hai..." Sakura agreed, having no energy to argue anymore, besides, she was in need of some peace and quiet, after all that had happened. She was really grateful to Eriol for allowing her to take leave.
&---&---&
Even as she exited the building, the day's events came to her mind. And immediately, Syaoran's accusation surfaced. The hurtful words that he had said, although she had not shown it, for some weird reason or another, seemed to reach her heart directly. It seemed to break her heart, that accusation of his. It was strange, considering that she didn't like him or anything; they could only be counted as acquaintances, if not enemies.
And with his accusation in mind, she realized that he wasn't talking rubbish nor exaggerating. Anyone, and everyone were talking about it. The earlier incomprehensible whispers when she had arrived at work now seemed to be screams, directed directly in her ear. All of them seemed to be about her and her so-called 'affair' with Syaoran. Her head started to swim. She was having a splitting headache now. She couldn't think straight and decided to rush home so that she could get some rest.
&---&---&
Her mind felt blank when she reached home. Naoko was not in, nobody to accompany her, nobody to listen to her problems. Why was it that Naoko wasn't here when she needed her most? After changing out of her wet clothes, Sakura just lay down on her bed to rest her head, and was soon in dreamland. It had been a very tiring day for her…
End of Chapter 7Jo: Not a cliffy... I think. Innocent grin Well... Not really actually...
Ling will not be commenting as she has fallen asleep. Wah... Soo hardworking until she fell asleep! Oh well... Haha... Anyway, have a nice day and remember to review!