Disguise

Blue Sonnet

PLEASE READ: There will be a different style for character thoughts for this chapter and later chapters of this story so as to avoid confusion and looooong dialogues. Enjoy!

( ) - Sakura's thoughts

-( )- - Syaoran's thoughts

Something in Common?!

"Now, I never knew you were such a selfish bastard, Li."

The baritone voice, as much as the message, immediately brought Sakura's attention to the handsome blond man behind them.

"I never knew you were such a rude pig-head, Bryant." But Syaoran was grinning as he slapped the blond's shoulder, if a bit too hard.

The man was grinning too as he glanced Sakura's way. "So this is why you chose to cancel meeting me, eh? I can't blame you, man. I would have done the same thing. Now, can I have an introduction?"

"Sure. This is my secretary, Sakura Kinomoto. Kinomoto, this is Raphael Bryant, heir to the Bryant Chain of Companies and infamous scamp."

Sakura smiled and clasped the hand he held out. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Bryant."

"It's Rafe, and the pleasure's all mine. Would you mind if I call you Sakura?"

"No, not at all, Rafe."

"You know, I always knew Syaoran was pretty lucky way back when we were classmates. But I didn't know he was this lucky!"

(Don't worry, he's just flirting. Just accept the compliment at face value.)

-(What am I, chopped liver?!)-

"It seems you know each other pretty well. Since when have you been friends, if you don't mind my asking?" Sakura inquired, steering the conversation to safer waters.

Rafe seemed to take the hint. "We were classmates back in college, since we studied under the same professor for three years." He smirked at Syaoran. "Do you remember those times when La'Fonte used to fry our butts crisp?"

(La'Fonte?)

Syaoran snickered. "Yeah, though more often than not it was yours that was hangin' in the balance."

"Excuse me," Sakura interrupted with wide-eyed surprise, "but do you guys happen to be talking about André La'Fonte?"

"Yeah, he taught us for three years in America," Syaoran replied, glancing at her. "You know him?"

Sakura burst out laughing. "How could I forget the famous line?" She cleared her throat and gave a perfect imitation of his accent. "'Yoo must alveyz be prepared. Eef zer eez anything zat can go wrong, eet will.'"

Syaoran and Rafe stared at her in disbelief, and in the next moment were laughing so loudly that several guests turned around to find the source of the noise.

"And here I thought Syaoran mimicked that phrase the best. You're just full of surprises, Sakura." Rafe gave her a dazzling smile.

Syaoran finally calmed himself down and threw her a baffled look. "So how do you know him anyway?"

Sakura caught the look but decided to ignore it. "I studied under him at Tokyo University. One day in my second year he just walked up to me and gave me a ton of books, saying he wanted me to read them all that night and be in his class at eight o'clock sharp the next day.

"Anyway, it turned out that he was there for some scholar hunting. He taught me for one semester, and at the end told me that I was going to America to study in his school." She paused to chuckle a bit. "Of course, pompous as he is, and with good reason, he didn't take into account that I might not want to go. In the end, I told him no, and he left for America spitting mad and muttering about wasted time in that funny accent of his."

-(Sounds like La'Fonte alright.)-

Syaoran glanced at Rafe and knew they were thinking the same thing.

"So that's why he was away that long. He never did tell us why he stayed so long in Japan. Right, Syaoran?"

"Yeah, I didn't know either," Syaoran replied, then turned to Sakura again. "So he never forgave you?"

"No, he did, or at least I think he did. It turned out we had grown fond of each other, and started writing letters shortly after his departure. But, well, we never know," she paused in mock contemplation. "Maybe the old duck was only keeping correspondence just to spite me," she quipped fondly.

Both men were now looking at each other, guessing at each other's thoughts. They knew she wasn't lying. They also knew that 'the old duck' only took on the most promising students, regardless of status in society. And one of them was stumped that if things were quite different a few years ago, this woman would have equaled him in social stature today, if not in wealth. It was an easy guess who.

-(I never thought I'd meet a woman other than my mother whom I'd respect this much.)-

(Why are they so quiet now? Did I say something wrong?)

Thankfully, Rafe saved them all from further embarrassment at the awkward silence by continuing the conversation that was left hanging.

"Yeah, you better watch out for a few snide comments when you read your letters. And make sure that there's no bomb attached before you open it. You never know with that old geezer." And he proceeded to tell Sakura about the times when they made him angry, and the punishments he gave out. Soon Sakura was laughing harder than she had in three years.

Meanwhile, Syaoran was watching them talking, and was busy with his own musings.

-(Come to think of it, I've never seen her laugh like that. She looks incredibly cute.)-

He caught himself and began to scowl.

-(What are you thinking, you idiot! She's Kinomoto, your sworn enemy!)-

-(Sworn enemy? Since when? How? Why?)-

-(I don't know! And why am I even talking to myself?!)-

Rafe's voice brought him back to reality. "What are you doing, man? Are you alright?"

Strangely, Sakura looked concerned, too.

-(Nah! It's just my imagination.)-

"HELLO!!! Earth to Syaoran!!!"

"Huh? What? Oh yeah, I'm alright. I was just thinking," he replied dully.

Rafe looked appalled. "Don't! It's not one of your strong points."

Sakura tried to stifle a giggle. Too late. Syaoran was glaring daggers at the blond. "Shut up, Rafe. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"If you mean anything more important than accompanying this beautiful lady because you can't since you can't hold on to a thought longer than a flea at the sight of her, then no, I don't have anything better to do." The blue-eyed man was grinning from ear to ear.

Sakura was having a hard time stifling her chuckles.

(Rafe is being really kind. He's trying his best for me to enjoy this party.)

Syaoran was trying his best not to grind his teeth together. "Well, since you are so reluctantly gracing us with your presence, though unwanted it may be, why don't we talk business? It was her only reason for coming here, you know."

Rafe dismissed the idea with an impatient wave of his hand. "We can talk business anytime. Right now I think your mom and cousin are coming toward us," he lifted Sakura's hand with his and made a show of kissing it. "It's been a pleasure talking to you. I do hope we meet again sometime soon."

Sakura smiled at him. "Me too. It's nice to meet new friends."

The handsome blond winked at her and grinned at Syaoran. "I'm going off now, mate. If you're lucky, then we might meet again very soon."

Syaoran rolled his eyes, but he too, was grinning. "Then I'll just pray that my luck will turn from bad to worse, just so that I can never see you again. Next year would be soon enough for me."

Sakura watched with fascination as Syaoran exchanged caustic remarks with his close friend. It gave her time to really study him.

(I've never seen him so relaxed. He can be really funny if he wants to be. It's a good thing he isn't nice to me, or I might have ended up liking him from the start.)

Sakura caught herself and almost choked on her drink.

(Hello?! What am I thinking?! This is Syaoran Li we're talking about! Sure he's good-looking, handsome in fact, with those deep amber eyes and striking face...)

This time she did, and ended up with a coughing fit that brought Syaoran's attention back to her. Rafe had already left to meet Syaoran's mother halfway.

"Hey, are you alright?!" He pounded on her back and sent her to another fit.

Sakura slapped his hand away and took a good long drink from his glass, because there was nothing left on hers. She was glaring at him when she finished.

"Are you trying to kill me?!"

"I was trying to save you, idiot."

-(Here we go again.)-

"If that little stunt you pulled is called saving, then I wouldn't know what killing is."

(Nice going, Sakura.)

"What'd you expect me to do? Sit back and watch while you choke to death?"

-(A month's worth of lunch, Syaoran! Get a grip on yourself, you idiot!)-

"No! But I didn't ask you to make it worse!"

(Shut up, Sakura! It's your fault.)

"Is there anything amiss?"

Both Sakura and Syaoran flushed at recognizing the smooth voice. Yelan had made their way to them without their noticing because they were bickering too much to care.

"Nothing!" they exclaimed at the same time.

Yelan's brow lifted only slightly, a sure sign that she didn't believe either of them, but let it go for now.

"Sakura, I'm glad to see you here. You look beautiful, dear. Syaoran didn't tell me he was bringing you, or I'd have met you earlier than now," she stated, her gaze pinned on her son.

(So that's why he was so guilty! Why, the pompous jerk!)

"Don't worry about it, Ms. Yelan. He and his friend were keeping me company, anyway."

(Now where did that come from?)

-(She's not telling? She must be planning something.)-

A polite cough was heard behind Yelan, and their attention was diverted to a beautiful raven-haired lady with ruby eyes.

"Oh, yes, I nearly forgot. Sakura, this is Meiling Li, my niece. Meiling, this is Sakura Kinomoto, Syaoran's secretary."

Meiling smiled at her warmly. "Hi! I hope my cousin isn't giving you a hard time. He can be so pig-headed sometimes. By the way, this is our house, so make yourself at home. It's my sister's birthday."

Sakura chuckled. "Thanks, I will. And he isn't giving me any more than I can handle, don't worry."

Syaoran snorted. "Don't go looking for comrades in arms, Meiling. It wouldn't be fair if you ganged up on me."

Yelan folded her hands in front of her and prepared to go. "Well, I'll leave you children alone, now. Take care of them, Meiling."

-(Children? She'll never change.)-

Meanwhile, Meiling was staring hard at Sakura, and it was making her ill at ease.

"Is there a problem, Meiling?"

"You look really familiar. I think I've seen you somewhere before."

"Maybe you saw her when you visited me in my office last week," Syaoran suggested.

"Of course not, you dope. I took the elevator leading directly to your office. Sakura Kinomoto... Sakura Kinomoto... Where have I heard that name before?" she paused for a few seconds before crying out in surprise.

"Syaoran, you jerk! You never told us you had a model for a secretary!" She turned to Sakura. "You're Sakura Kinomoto of Cherry Blossom's, right?"

-(How could I have told? I didn't even know that until today.)-

Sakura flushed with polite embarrassment. "Please, not too loud. The designer is my best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji. Sometimes I work with her when she has a show."

"I'm a fan of her designs! Nothing simple in her catalogue, oh no. That's why I admire her so much."

Syaoran noticed Sakura rubbing the side of her temple and noticed his now empty glass beside her.

(Meiling's making me dizzy. My head hurts.)

Syaoran touched her arm in concern, which didn't escape Meiling's notice. "Kinomoto, do you drink? What I mean to say is, are you accustomed to wine?"

Sakura was having a hard time concentrating. "No. I never did care much for wine, because I get dizzy every time I drink too much of it. I can't even hold on to myself after a single glass."

Syaoran slapped his forehead. "Then why in hell did you empty my glass? What did you think was in it? Water?!"

She was too dizzy to even glare at him. "I was choking at the time, if you don't recall, so I couldn't have taken extra pains just to make sure it was water I was draining in."

Syaoran heaved a sigh. "Meiling, can you tell my mother that I'm leaving? I'm going to drive Sakura home. She's in no condition to do it herself." At Meiling's nod, he turned and started to help Sakura walk towards his car.

"Wait! What about my car?" Sakura pointed to the shiny white car parked three cars behind his.

"I'll tell the valet to drive it to your place later. He has the keys, right?"

"Uh-huh."

He pushed her slightly. "Hey, don't fall asleep on me! Man, what did I do to deserve this?"

He opened the door and helped her in. As soon as he got on the driver's seat though, she was already sound asleep.

"Great! Now, what do I do?! I don't even know where she lives!"

---OMG!!! I hate this spell check!! Syaoran's thoughts were supposed to be in brackets!! Sorry if it's a bit confusing...

Anyway...

---Yay! This is so exciting! I love you guys so much! I was going to save this chapter for when I have at least 40 reviews, but oh well. Review, guys! Is the change I made for the better or for worse? Should I stick to my old style? Please please please review!!! What will happen next? I need inspiration! Oh, and Meiling will be a rival for Sakura, just not an annoying one. Later! And don't forget to REVIEW!!!