Me: Okay. This isn't a chapter; this is a promise from me to have the
Chapter 8 uploaded by Saturday at the latest. I sincerely apologise about
not updating for months, but I've had my exams, then settling into 6th
year, then I was on holiday...
Kero: Cut the nonsense Keyo, yeah you've been busy, but you've been back from Canada for over 2 weeks! You should have gotten a chapter done by now!
Me: Eeep! Okay, okay fine. I have been very lazy and I apologise for that. I'm also a dirty liar because here is the 8th chapter (as if I would waste space with an 'Author's Note'.) So enjoy.
Kero: And out of all the crap Keyo brought back from Canada, he didn't bring back the ownership of Cardcaptors.
Me: I don't own Tom & Jerry either.
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Chapter 8 – Saturday Promise.
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Sakura's jaw stretched wide as she let off a loud yawn. Sitting up she began to rub her eyes, her jaw moving around as yet another large yawn emitted from her small frame.
"You're not supposed to move y'know."
Giving her head a light shake, Sakura instantly became aware that she was still in Syaoran's room. Blushing, she began to twist a loose strand of her now dry hair around her fingers.
"I'm sorry. How long was I asleep?" She asked shyly.
Li placed the pad he was holding down on the nightstand, along with a pencil. Rising from the chair he had moved to, he helped the still half asleep Sakura back to her feet.
"Well it's 9:30, so about two hours."
The colour drained from Sakura's face as she realised the time, and that she was out well past her curfew.
"PHWEE! I AM SO DEAD! MY DAD'S GONNA BE MAD AND MY BROTHER WILL KILL ME!!!" She screamed in panic, her body and mind becoming fully awake.
Syaoran couldn't help but grin, she was cute, he thought, when she panicked, in fact, she was cute all the time. Shaking his head and wondering where that thought had come from, he proceeded to calm her down and provide assurances that it would be okay.
"Don't worry Sakura," He spoke as soothingly as possible, "you can use our phone to call up your Dad and tell him where you are.
"Yes, yes...thank you..." She muttered, exiting the room, only to immediately stick her head back through the door frame, a slight blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. "Ummmm. Where is the phone?" She asked nervously.
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Li led Sakura to said appliance which rested on the small table in the living room. Returning to his room to collect his sketch pad, Li's grin did not fade. 'She likes me...she actually cares about my existence...Li 1, voice in my head 0!'
"Okay. See you soon then. Sorry again. Bye!" Sakura placed the phone down with a sigh. Her Dad hadn't been as mad as she thought he would be, her brother, well, she knew that would be a different story. Spinning to face him as Li entered the room, her eyes fell on the sketch pad in his hands. Remembering his words when she woke up, a single question entered her mind. "Were you...were you drawing me while I was asleep?"
It was now Li's turn to blush, a feeling of guilt crept over him as he lifted the sketch pad to show her the picture he had been working on, muttering a soft, guilty, and embarrassed apology.
Sakura, however, could only stare at what was before her. The lower half of the picture was not quite finished, so her legs and the lower half of the bed were very rough, but the upper half of her body and the rest of the bed were completed, with only the minimal amount of tidying up required. Tracing her fingers over the pencil lines, a smile spread on her face.
"Li...if it's I keep this? When it's finished I mean." Sakura was entranced by the drawing; she felt that she had never looked more beautiful (even if she was asleep in it). "That is, if it's not too much of a..."
Li waved his hand, signalling that Sakura didn't have to say anything else. "No, it's no problem. I'll finish it tonight and give it to you when we go back to school on Monday."
"You sure?" Sakura asked, still smiling, and still melting Li's heart. "I could come by tomorrow if you wanted?"
The blush on Sakura's face began to spread, as the one of Li's became an even brighter red. Li was only able to nod his head and utter an 'ok'. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, shattering the silence and causing the two youths to jump in surprise. Shaking the blush from his face, Li moved across and opened the door to the smiling, and slightly damp form of Sakura's father.
"Hello." He grinned, the water dripping from his glasses and brown hair. "I hope I got the right apartment this time."
Smiling from behind Li, Sakura waved and greeted her father. Introductions were made, and apologies given and excuses divulged. Sakura's father was a very understanding man. Soon, Sakura and he bid farewell to Li, walking to the door just in time to encounter Li's elder sister coming in.
"Oh!" She squeaked in surprise. She and Li rarely had guests, so seeing anyone other than her little brother in the apartment was a surprise. Setting down her hand bag, she shook hands with Sakura's father as even more introductions were made. Turning to Sakura, she smiled, recognising her as the girl from her sibling's drawings. "Would you like some tea? Or coffee?" She offered as she hung her coat up upon the stand, shaking her hair to dislodge some of the water that had taken up residence there. However, due to the time he declined and the two soon bade good-bye and left back into the rain. As soon as they were gone, Li slumped down onto the couch, a red tinge still on his cheeks, and a dreamy look in his eyes.
When Sakura arrived home, she immediately ran for her room, hoping to avoid her brother and the annoying barrage of questions that were sure to follow. She made it to her door and just began to turn the handle when she heard his voice.
"Hey, kaijou! What exactly were you and the brat doing that made you forget the time!"
Sakura turned around, highly agitated. Her brother's teasing was bad enough, but the insinuations were worse. The questioning swiftly turned into an argument that took the cry of their father to get them to stop and go to bed.
Saturday. As with all young people, a certain tradition followed with these days. You woke up earlier and brighter than on a school day, and applied that energy to the process of slothing the morning away in front of the TV. For Sakura Kinomoto, this was no different. Promptly leaping out of bed, she grabbed some cereal, Kero and the remote and dropped herself down before the TV, willing to indulge her inner child with the glory of Saturday Morning cartoons. While sitting their, stuffing her face with chocolaty cereal, Sakura suddenly remembered that she'd promised to go round to see Li and get the drawing. Reaching for the phone, she dialled in his number (having noted it down along with his address). At Li's house, a similar ritual was in place. Li sat, clad in his green pyjamas, his sketch pad before him. Occasionally, a smile would enter his face as something on the TV amused him. He returned his eyes to the sketch pad, jotting down his name and date on the now finished drawing, when the phone rang. Reaching over, Li picked it up with one hand, the other supporting the pad in front of him as he admired his work.
"Moshi moshi. Li residence. Syaoran speaking." He droned into the phone, his mind more focused on the figure on the pad.
"Hi Li!" Sakura chirped down the phone, causing Li's attention to shift immediately. "It's Sakura. I was wondering when it would be okay to come round."
A blush instantly crept upon Li's face as he remembered the agreement from the night before, and why he had been finishing the picture that rested on his lap. Stuttering at first, Li began to respond.
"H-h-hi Sakura. Ummm...a-any time would be fine, really." He responded nervously, tugging at the collar of his top.
A light giggle emitted from the receiver, as Sakura enjoyed the cuteness of Li's nervousness. "Okay then, I'll come round in about an hour then. By the way Li, are you watching Tom and Jerry right now?"
A slight wave of embarrassment hit Li, as he thought whether or not to be honest. Deciding that, in this case, honesty may be the best policy (after all, she had to be watching it too) he stuttered out a 'yes'.
Sakura giggled before speaking into the phone. "Don't you ever wonder how Tom intends to kill Jerry if everything that supposed to kill Jerry keeps happening to him and he's fine?"
Li was puzzled by the bizarre question, but before he could respond, he heard a loud burst of laughter and then Sakura saying good bye and promising to be there in an hour.
And hour and thirty minutes later, Li was sitting, fully dressed upon the couch, wandering where Sakura was. Had she just been joking about coming round so he'd get his hopes up and spend the whole day waiting for a girl who wasn't coming? Before the nasty little voice in his head could comment, Li shook the thought away. She said he was her friend, and he trusted her. Sure enough, the doorbell rang and Li made his way over, sliding across the polished floor in his socks, and pulled the door open to reveal a slightly out of breath Sakura.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," She babbled as she wobbled in, suddenly lurching forward as she tripped over her own feet, but felt Li's arms encircle her, saving her from the floor. Both of their faces turned blood read, as said liquid rushed through their body at the situation. Not moving to get up, Sakura proceeded to explain the reason for her lateness. "I'm really sorry Li, I missed my bus and then got on the next one, but it took a longer route and..."
Li hoisted her back to her feet, but his arms stayed by her sides, and he began to cut off the stream of excuses. "It's okay Sakura. You don't have to apologise. I wasn't doing anything anyway, though I was a bit worried." Li smiled reassuringly, as his mind screamed 'ARGH! Did I really say that out loud!?'
Sakura felt herself leaning closer to Li, her arms sliding up his. "You were...worried about me?" She asked, finding her eyes becoming half closed.
"Yeah...I was..." Li responded, his voice little more than a whisper, his face centimetres apart from hers.
They drew closers, feeling the warm breath of the other upon their face. The voice in Li's head screamed at him, crying for him to stop, but it fell on deaf ears as Li ran on auto pilot, his eyes sliding down to Sakura's lips. A sudden crashing sound caused the pair to jump apart, their hands covering their swiftly beating hearts. A loud cry of frustration soon followed.
"ARGH! Damn it!" Julie's head suddenly appeared from around the archway to the kitchen. "Syaoran, could you pass me the broom please, oh hello Sakura." She greeted warmly as she noticed the girl, though not the redness in her cheeks.
Apologising swiftly, Li darted off to the cupboard and fetched the broom and passed it to Julie, who had rather unfortunately shattered a nice bowl (but this fic's not about her). Returning to the living room, a very embarrassed Li picked up the sketch pad, tearing the picture from it's place and handing it to Sakura.
"Umm...h-here ya' go. I finished it off this morning." Li stuttered.
Sakura felt herself grow more comfortable, as her senses returned to normal. Though her mind was screaming, 'YOU ALMOST KISSED HIM! OH MY GOD YOU ALMOST KISSED HIM!"
"Thanks Li. Hey, would you like to...ummm...y'know, hang out today?"
Li was caught off guard by the question, and was unsure of how to respond, not wanting to cause the girl any problems.
"Y-yeah I would. But...uh, are you sure, I mean."
"Yeah I'm sure." Sakura smiled. "I don't know much about this place anyway, and I'm sure you'd be a good guide." She smiled, wrapping her arm around his.
Li blushed profoundly, but did his best to hide it from her. "Okay then. Julie! I'll be back in a bit okay?" He called to his sister.
After a reassuring response and the passing over of money for lunch, Li and Sakura exited the apartment and headed down in the lift.
'Li is so sweet. I don't know how anyone can be mean to him.' Sakura thought as she smiled at her friend. 'I'm going to make this the best day of his life!' Sakura swore to herself as the lift bumped to a stop and the two walked out into the morning sun.
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Me: Well, that's not bad for an 8th chapter.
Kero: They'll kill you for skipping on the kiss y'know.
Me: Heh heh. Good things come to those who wait.
Kero: Then the chapters you made for your other fics must be fantastic.
Me: ARGH! I FORGOT MY OTHER FICS!!!
Kero: HOW COULD YOU! GET TO WORK ON THEM NOW!!!
Kero: Cut the nonsense Keyo, yeah you've been busy, but you've been back from Canada for over 2 weeks! You should have gotten a chapter done by now!
Me: Eeep! Okay, okay fine. I have been very lazy and I apologise for that. I'm also a dirty liar because here is the 8th chapter (as if I would waste space with an 'Author's Note'.) So enjoy.
Kero: And out of all the crap Keyo brought back from Canada, he didn't bring back the ownership of Cardcaptors.
Me: I don't own Tom & Jerry either.
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Chapter 8 – Saturday Promise.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
Sakura's jaw stretched wide as she let off a loud yawn. Sitting up she began to rub her eyes, her jaw moving around as yet another large yawn emitted from her small frame.
"You're not supposed to move y'know."
Giving her head a light shake, Sakura instantly became aware that she was still in Syaoran's room. Blushing, she began to twist a loose strand of her now dry hair around her fingers.
"I'm sorry. How long was I asleep?" She asked shyly.
Li placed the pad he was holding down on the nightstand, along with a pencil. Rising from the chair he had moved to, he helped the still half asleep Sakura back to her feet.
"Well it's 9:30, so about two hours."
The colour drained from Sakura's face as she realised the time, and that she was out well past her curfew.
"PHWEE! I AM SO DEAD! MY DAD'S GONNA BE MAD AND MY BROTHER WILL KILL ME!!!" She screamed in panic, her body and mind becoming fully awake.
Syaoran couldn't help but grin, she was cute, he thought, when she panicked, in fact, she was cute all the time. Shaking his head and wondering where that thought had come from, he proceeded to calm her down and provide assurances that it would be okay.
"Don't worry Sakura," He spoke as soothingly as possible, "you can use our phone to call up your Dad and tell him where you are.
"Yes, yes...thank you..." She muttered, exiting the room, only to immediately stick her head back through the door frame, a slight blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. "Ummmm. Where is the phone?" She asked nervously.
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Li led Sakura to said appliance which rested on the small table in the living room. Returning to his room to collect his sketch pad, Li's grin did not fade. 'She likes me...she actually cares about my existence...Li 1, voice in my head 0!'
"Okay. See you soon then. Sorry again. Bye!" Sakura placed the phone down with a sigh. Her Dad hadn't been as mad as she thought he would be, her brother, well, she knew that would be a different story. Spinning to face him as Li entered the room, her eyes fell on the sketch pad in his hands. Remembering his words when she woke up, a single question entered her mind. "Were you...were you drawing me while I was asleep?"
It was now Li's turn to blush, a feeling of guilt crept over him as he lifted the sketch pad to show her the picture he had been working on, muttering a soft, guilty, and embarrassed apology.
Sakura, however, could only stare at what was before her. The lower half of the picture was not quite finished, so her legs and the lower half of the bed were very rough, but the upper half of her body and the rest of the bed were completed, with only the minimal amount of tidying up required. Tracing her fingers over the pencil lines, a smile spread on her face.
"Li...if it's I keep this? When it's finished I mean." Sakura was entranced by the drawing; she felt that she had never looked more beautiful (even if she was asleep in it). "That is, if it's not too much of a..."
Li waved his hand, signalling that Sakura didn't have to say anything else. "No, it's no problem. I'll finish it tonight and give it to you when we go back to school on Monday."
"You sure?" Sakura asked, still smiling, and still melting Li's heart. "I could come by tomorrow if you wanted?"
The blush on Sakura's face began to spread, as the one of Li's became an even brighter red. Li was only able to nod his head and utter an 'ok'. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, shattering the silence and causing the two youths to jump in surprise. Shaking the blush from his face, Li moved across and opened the door to the smiling, and slightly damp form of Sakura's father.
"Hello." He grinned, the water dripping from his glasses and brown hair. "I hope I got the right apartment this time."
Smiling from behind Li, Sakura waved and greeted her father. Introductions were made, and apologies given and excuses divulged. Sakura's father was a very understanding man. Soon, Sakura and he bid farewell to Li, walking to the door just in time to encounter Li's elder sister coming in.
"Oh!" She squeaked in surprise. She and Li rarely had guests, so seeing anyone other than her little brother in the apartment was a surprise. Setting down her hand bag, she shook hands with Sakura's father as even more introductions were made. Turning to Sakura, she smiled, recognising her as the girl from her sibling's drawings. "Would you like some tea? Or coffee?" She offered as she hung her coat up upon the stand, shaking her hair to dislodge some of the water that had taken up residence there. However, due to the time he declined and the two soon bade good-bye and left back into the rain. As soon as they were gone, Li slumped down onto the couch, a red tinge still on his cheeks, and a dreamy look in his eyes.
When Sakura arrived home, she immediately ran for her room, hoping to avoid her brother and the annoying barrage of questions that were sure to follow. She made it to her door and just began to turn the handle when she heard his voice.
"Hey, kaijou! What exactly were you and the brat doing that made you forget the time!"
Sakura turned around, highly agitated. Her brother's teasing was bad enough, but the insinuations were worse. The questioning swiftly turned into an argument that took the cry of their father to get them to stop and go to bed.
Saturday. As with all young people, a certain tradition followed with these days. You woke up earlier and brighter than on a school day, and applied that energy to the process of slothing the morning away in front of the TV. For Sakura Kinomoto, this was no different. Promptly leaping out of bed, she grabbed some cereal, Kero and the remote and dropped herself down before the TV, willing to indulge her inner child with the glory of Saturday Morning cartoons. While sitting their, stuffing her face with chocolaty cereal, Sakura suddenly remembered that she'd promised to go round to see Li and get the drawing. Reaching for the phone, she dialled in his number (having noted it down along with his address). At Li's house, a similar ritual was in place. Li sat, clad in his green pyjamas, his sketch pad before him. Occasionally, a smile would enter his face as something on the TV amused him. He returned his eyes to the sketch pad, jotting down his name and date on the now finished drawing, when the phone rang. Reaching over, Li picked it up with one hand, the other supporting the pad in front of him as he admired his work.
"Moshi moshi. Li residence. Syaoran speaking." He droned into the phone, his mind more focused on the figure on the pad.
"Hi Li!" Sakura chirped down the phone, causing Li's attention to shift immediately. "It's Sakura. I was wondering when it would be okay to come round."
A blush instantly crept upon Li's face as he remembered the agreement from the night before, and why he had been finishing the picture that rested on his lap. Stuttering at first, Li began to respond.
"H-h-hi Sakura. Ummm...a-any time would be fine, really." He responded nervously, tugging at the collar of his top.
A light giggle emitted from the receiver, as Sakura enjoyed the cuteness of Li's nervousness. "Okay then, I'll come round in about an hour then. By the way Li, are you watching Tom and Jerry right now?"
A slight wave of embarrassment hit Li, as he thought whether or not to be honest. Deciding that, in this case, honesty may be the best policy (after all, she had to be watching it too) he stuttered out a 'yes'.
Sakura giggled before speaking into the phone. "Don't you ever wonder how Tom intends to kill Jerry if everything that supposed to kill Jerry keeps happening to him and he's fine?"
Li was puzzled by the bizarre question, but before he could respond, he heard a loud burst of laughter and then Sakura saying good bye and promising to be there in an hour.
And hour and thirty minutes later, Li was sitting, fully dressed upon the couch, wandering where Sakura was. Had she just been joking about coming round so he'd get his hopes up and spend the whole day waiting for a girl who wasn't coming? Before the nasty little voice in his head could comment, Li shook the thought away. She said he was her friend, and he trusted her. Sure enough, the doorbell rang and Li made his way over, sliding across the polished floor in his socks, and pulled the door open to reveal a slightly out of breath Sakura.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," She babbled as she wobbled in, suddenly lurching forward as she tripped over her own feet, but felt Li's arms encircle her, saving her from the floor. Both of their faces turned blood read, as said liquid rushed through their body at the situation. Not moving to get up, Sakura proceeded to explain the reason for her lateness. "I'm really sorry Li, I missed my bus and then got on the next one, but it took a longer route and..."
Li hoisted her back to her feet, but his arms stayed by her sides, and he began to cut off the stream of excuses. "It's okay Sakura. You don't have to apologise. I wasn't doing anything anyway, though I was a bit worried." Li smiled reassuringly, as his mind screamed 'ARGH! Did I really say that out loud!?'
Sakura felt herself leaning closer to Li, her arms sliding up his. "You were...worried about me?" She asked, finding her eyes becoming half closed.
"Yeah...I was..." Li responded, his voice little more than a whisper, his face centimetres apart from hers.
They drew closers, feeling the warm breath of the other upon their face. The voice in Li's head screamed at him, crying for him to stop, but it fell on deaf ears as Li ran on auto pilot, his eyes sliding down to Sakura's lips. A sudden crashing sound caused the pair to jump apart, their hands covering their swiftly beating hearts. A loud cry of frustration soon followed.
"ARGH! Damn it!" Julie's head suddenly appeared from around the archway to the kitchen. "Syaoran, could you pass me the broom please, oh hello Sakura." She greeted warmly as she noticed the girl, though not the redness in her cheeks.
Apologising swiftly, Li darted off to the cupboard and fetched the broom and passed it to Julie, who had rather unfortunately shattered a nice bowl (but this fic's not about her). Returning to the living room, a very embarrassed Li picked up the sketch pad, tearing the picture from it's place and handing it to Sakura.
"Umm...h-here ya' go. I finished it off this morning." Li stuttered.
Sakura felt herself grow more comfortable, as her senses returned to normal. Though her mind was screaming, 'YOU ALMOST KISSED HIM! OH MY GOD YOU ALMOST KISSED HIM!"
"Thanks Li. Hey, would you like to...ummm...y'know, hang out today?"
Li was caught off guard by the question, and was unsure of how to respond, not wanting to cause the girl any problems.
"Y-yeah I would. But...uh, are you sure, I mean."
"Yeah I'm sure." Sakura smiled. "I don't know much about this place anyway, and I'm sure you'd be a good guide." She smiled, wrapping her arm around his.
Li blushed profoundly, but did his best to hide it from her. "Okay then. Julie! I'll be back in a bit okay?" He called to his sister.
After a reassuring response and the passing over of money for lunch, Li and Sakura exited the apartment and headed down in the lift.
'Li is so sweet. I don't know how anyone can be mean to him.' Sakura thought as she smiled at her friend. 'I'm going to make this the best day of his life!' Sakura swore to herself as the lift bumped to a stop and the two walked out into the morning sun.
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Me: Well, that's not bad for an 8th chapter.
Kero: They'll kill you for skipping on the kiss y'know.
Me: Heh heh. Good things come to those who wait.
Kero: Then the chapters you made for your other fics must be fantastic.
Me: ARGH! I FORGOT MY OTHER FICS!!!
Kero: HOW COULD YOU! GET TO WORK ON THEM NOW!!!