Me: By the time this is posted, my computer will be working again. As it is, it's been jammed up with spy-ware, which has been slowing it down, and a hacker program has been lodged in it's systems, preventing me from getting rid of it. That hacker program also ate my fire-wall from the inside…damn…
Kero: Stop whining and get on with the story! You haven't written anything in ages!
Me: Hey I've been busy! Training to be a lifeguard isn't easy!
Kero: Whatever, I still attribute
Me: I still don't own CCS, but for legal reasons I still have to remind you all so Clamp won't sue.
Chapter 12 - Li in the Kinomoto household.
Sakura couldn't stop worrying. She had made several attempts at biting her nails so far on the bus trip back to her house and had resolutely stuffed her hands in her pockets to prevent her from attempting to do so again. She wasn't worried so much about what her father might say. He would probably just give her a small lecture about how important it is to be home on time, and a few comments of 'you were starting to worry me'…what she was really worried about was the reaction of her over-protective big brother…who was likely to murder Syaoran as soon as he stepped through the door.
Syaoran…looking to the boy himself who still sat beside her, she could see that his eyes were closed. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to see if he was awake. Leaning closer to him and pushing herself up from the seat (so as to equal his height) she brought her lips close to his ear and gently whispered his name. She was greatly surprised, however, when Syaoran's eyes immediately opened and he turned to face her.
Syaoran himself was, of course, greatly surprised upon turning and finding Sakura a hair's breath from his face. He had been thinking about exactly what to tell Sakura's father. Not that he had been very much worried about that, he was more worried about what to tell her brother, whom Sakura had described as being a bit over-protective and who was likely to murder him as soon as he stepped through the door. But now all he could think about was how close Sakura's face was to his, and how easy it would be to lean in and kiss her. He could feel the blood rise to his face and Sakura could feel the same happening to her. Then the bus jerked violently as it came to a sharp halt, causing Sakura, in her unsteady position, to catapult forward and flop down across Syaoran's lap.
Both were stuck silent, all Sakura could do was bury her head in the seat and blush. She didn't move until Syaoran placed his hands on her shoulders and sat her up, allowing her to notice they'd come to the stop nearest her house. The two disembarked in silence, neither looking at each other until the bus had left. It was then the pair looked to each other, Sakura scratched the back of her head, an embarrassed look on her face, while Syaoran smiled shyly. The two then walked side by side down the street, only then did conversation begin to seep in between them.
"So what are you going to tell my dad?" Sakura asked, her eyes remaining on the path before her.
"I was figuring on just going with the truth." Syaoran said, the ghost of a grin forcing itself onto his face, just as he turned to look at Sakura, causing her to grin as well.
"Well I hope it will be enough to satisfy my brother…maybe I should go in first…that way I can hold him off if he tries to kill you so you can run!" Sakura smiled playfully, and proceeded to laugh lightly, a small smile was drawn onto Syaoran's face.
"Ah, but that would place you in the path of his wrath. And I could never abandon you."
Sakura looked at Syaoran oddly. There was a deep sincerity to his words, that was reflected in his eyes; the warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach spread up through her spine and tickled her brain, she couldn't help but smile, and as if it were the most natural thing for her to do, she moved her head so that it was leaning on Syaoran's shoulder, her eyes closed as her arm wrapped around his. And as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do, which it was, Syaoran blushed deeply and looked down at the peaceful face of the girl.
"S…Sakura?" He made out in his embarrassed state.
The girl gave a gentle sigh in reply, and pulled herself closer to him. She was, in fact, quite tired, and as such was somewhat unaware of the awkward position she had put her friend in. All she could recognise was that her feet were walking on automatic, and that leaning against Syaoran like this was very comfortable.
"Shleepy…" She murmured.
Syaoran would have to say that having Sakura lean on him like this was very comfortable, and he had half a mind to simply pick her up and carry her the rest of the way to her house. As he felt Sakura's pace slow down even more, he gained a whole mind to simply pick her up and carry her the rest of the way to her house. Stopping, he withdrew his arm from hers, wrapping it about his neck. He then wrapped his own arm around her back, and swept up her legs with the other, he head remained resting against his shoulder. The girl was as light as a feather to him and he continued walking at a gentle pace so as not to disturb her and to make the walk last as long as possible. She mumbled lightly and smiled as she slept, a clear sign of a good dream, Syaoran was enjoying something even better than a dream right now though, having Sakura so close to him like this (even if she was asleep) her gentle scent wafting around him. The tranquillity, however, did not last.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER!"
Syaoran almost leapt from his skin as the cry blasted through his ear drums, and Sakura was shocked awake. A light 'phweee' sound escaped her as she realised exactly where she was (in Syaoran's arms to be precise) and a blush settled in. She then found herself roundly whisked through the air and her feet on the ground, and the sight of her fuming elder brother before her.
"Touya, calm down." Sakura's head (still a little groggy from sleeping, so all this activity was really making it spin) whirled around to see the sight of her father standing in the door frame, his voice cooling off her aggravated sibling.
"Sakura, I'm glad to see that you're alright. You had me worried." Fujitaka Kinomoto smiled as he walked down to the edge of the garden to where his children stood, his son still glaring at the poor Chinese boy, who was obviously still trying to slow his heart back down. "And it's good to see you again Syaoran. Though it seems the theme of our meetings is always my daughter's lateness." Syaoran was quite glad that Sakura's father had obscured his view of her brother. Sakura's description of him had been very accurate; he was defiantly a very kind and calm looking person. Something about him reminded him of Eriol…a less spooky, evil, pain in the ass Eriol mind you.
"Do come in. We were just about to go and look for Sakura, but it seems you had no problems brining her back." Kinomoto-san smiled, his indications to Syaoran's actions making the poor boy blush.
Syaoran sat rather nervously in his chair at the table. After helping Sakura in explaining why she was so late, he had been invited to stay for dinner (which he had been glad of, he was in no rush to get back to where Eriol was waiting to torture him…he hoped they weren't rifling through his stuff…oh god his drawings of Sakura! He was going to suffer for sure when he got home!) and although the meal was delicious, he found it hard to focus on eating with Sakura's brother constantly glaring at him.
"Touya! Stop glaring at Syaoran!" Sakura cried out, just as annoyed as her friend who sat beside her.
Her father simply chuckled, knowing full well the great protectiveness Touya had for his precious little sister, and made a note to talk to him later about being so rude.
"So Syaoran, Sakura tells me you're a good artist." Kinomoto-san smiled at his guest.
"I wouldn't say I'm good…I can draw but…."
"Don't be so modest. I saw that drawing you gave to Sakura, she has it pinned on her wall next to her bed, it's very impressive."
"Thank you." Syaoran half whispered, while Sakura turned a light shade of red and Touya scowled.
"Sakura also said that you live alone with your sister. Is that right?"
"Yes sir." Syaoran responded, his manners kicking in on reflex. "My parents died in a car crash a few years ago, so it's just been me and her." Syaoran's face gained a saddened look, which was reflected in Sakura's, who knew that the subject of his parent's death still pained him to talk about after all this time. She could sympathise, she was the same way. She could talk about her mum without problems, but the topic of her death left her saddened and quiet.
A silence set on the table for a few moments, broken by what sounded like a growl from Touya, who seemed to have been ignoring the conversation thus far, causing Sakura to cry out.
"TOUYA!"
After dinner was eaten, and the plates cleared away, Sakura took Syaoran up to her room so that her father could have a word with her brother about his rudeness while they cleaned the dishes.
Syaoran couldn't help but notice the level of pink in the room. It wasn't a Barbie pink, but a soft cherry-blossom pink that really fitted Sakura. Sitting down on her bed, he suddenly found himself attacked by an orange cat.
"ARGH!" Was the word chosen from his vocabulary as he fell back under the force of the feline's attack. He was swiftly saved by Sakura who hauled the creature from his head.
"Bad Kero! Don't do that! Syaoran's my friend." She scolded the cat as she set him down on the floor. Kero gave Syaoran one last look (that reminded Syaoran of Touya's glare) and then marched huffily out the room to find and tease Yue.
"Sorry about that Syaoran, he's usually very friendly. Honest." The girl smiled sitting next to him.
Looking at his face, Sakura couldn't help but remember the bruises that lay under the make-up Mei-Ling had used on him. Her hand raised slowly and placed itself lightly on Syaoran's face.
"It's…It's not fair that people do those things to you…you don't deserve it." She said sadly, looking over his features. "It's really not."
The fuzzy feeling that had earlier spread to her spine and tickled her brain, had now taken a full run in her chest, making it feel tight, and she was becoming a little light headed as she began to stare into Syaoran's eyes.
Her hand slipped down to Syaoran's waist and she wrapped her arms around him and lay her head on his chest, drowsiness was settling in on her again, but she fought to stay awake, her eyes remaining half open.
"It's all right now though." Syaoran partially whispered; his blush barely under control as he felt his arms wrap around Sakura's shoulders. "I've met you. It makes it feel…worth it…" He smiled gently, wondering if Sakura could actually hear what he was saying.
Before the conversation could continue, there came a knock on the door to Sakura's bedroom, and Sakura jerked up-right, shocked into alertness.
"Come in!" She called, and her father stepped through the door.
Fujitaka Kinomoto had actual come up a few minutes earlier to find the door to his daughter's room ajar, and had decided not to interrupt what he was seeing, not just yet anyway. From the way Sakura talked about he young boy, it was clear she was developing feelings for him that she wasn't yet aware of, and from the way Syaoran looked at his daughter he could see that he had already developed some very strong feelings for her that he was very aware of.
"I have to go and get some milk. If you want, Syaoran, I'll run you up the road to your house just now."
"Thank you." Syaoran responded, bowing his head lightly. He turned to Sakura and bid her good bye and proceeded downstairs behind her father. As he stepped into the car, he looked back and waved to her as she waved to him through her window. The next thing he knew he was sitting in the front of the car and was speeding on his way back home.
"I didn't want to embarrass you by asking you at the table, but exactly what do you think of my daughter?"
Syaoran was caught off by the question (he had just begun staring off into space). He turned to look at the smiling face of Kinomoto-san.
"It's alright, I don't suspect you of being a malicious pervert…though Touya might do…I just want to know. I can see you care a lot about her."
Syaoran's head bowed, his eyes shutting slightly.
"Yes. Yes I do….but…"
"But you think it's pointless because she's too good for you?" The great mind reader smiled.
Syaoran looked up, a little surprised, and nodded sadly.
Fujitaka Kinomoto smiled, seeing himself in Syaoran when he had been his age, believing himself to be so far beneath his late wife.
"Don't worry. You'll see your own worth in time." Was all he said as he pulled the car up before the apartment. "Take care." He smiled as Syaoran got out the car.
Syaoran watched as the car sped off into the night. Turning, he entered the building and hit the switch on the lift and began to speed up to his apartment, his eyes downcast, ignoring the star filled sky as he found himself in deep worth.
"See my own true worth?" He muttered to himself as he unlocked the door and proceeded inside, ready to face his obnoxious cousin, aggravating best friend and his sister, who would no doubt be relishing in the early end to her work she received on a Sunday.
"Touya! How can you be so mean to him like that!" Sakura cried, hurling a stuffed sheep at her brother.
"I just don't trust him." Touya huffed, his arms crossing his chest as the sheep bounced off his head. "And I don't think you should hang around with him."
Sakura fumed as those words left his mouth, and a deep burning anger welled in her chest.
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT!" She cried. "Syaoran's the nicest person I know! And I know I can trust him!" 'I made the mistake of not trusting him once…and I almost destroyed him by doing so.' She thought to herself. "Just get out!"
Touya sighed huffily and did as he was bid, slamming the door behind him as Sakura flopped down on her bed, cuddling the recovered stuffed sheep and staring at the picture on her wall. Kero hopped up onto her bed and hissed at the drawing. Placing the sheep down, Sakura picked up the cat and lay on her back, dangling the pet above her.
"Not you too Kero…Syaoran hasn't done anything to deserve so many people being mean to him."
Placing Kero down, she felt sleep once more tugging at her.
"It's…It's just not…just not…fair…" She murmured as sleep overtook her and she entered a blissful slumber.
Kero: That was quite heart-warming.
Me: Not too sappy? Not too lacking in dialogue?
Kero: We'll let the reviewers flame you about that. It's about time you received some.
Me: Ah well.
Kero: Now, although I'm not the brat's biggest fan…I really have to ask one thing…
Me: What's that?
Kero: HOW LONG UNTIL THEY FREAKING KISS! YOU KEEP LEADING UP TO IT AND THEN STOPPING!
Me: Yeek! Don't worry. It'll happen….eventually.
Kero: Whaddya' mean 'eventually'!
Me: Urm…time to respond to the reviews!
VcChick: Sakura is always nice. I can't wait to see what the reaction will be when tehy
get to school! with a couple more people to hang out wiht and tomoyo has to
beable to accept syao now! yay!
Me: I like nice people. So Sakura has to be nice. And you'll see the reactions of people at school starting in the next chapter.
Scarlett Eternity : OOh You finished it (Why yes, I kept forgetting to check >>; The spam was
awful on the last one, I was getting about twenty viruses sent to me daily ..;
So I moved from that one, I meant to tell you before, but forgot.
Mnn, talk to you later Hope you finish another one
Me: Well I finally finished this and the next one. Sorry about the viruses.
The-Wolf-of-Stars : haha, that was funny! i love how S+S are getting closer. hurry with the next
chapter though!
Me: You can't rush genius, or in my case, dumb luck.
Rinoa Leonheartilly: I just started reading this, and I love it! Update soon!
Me: I'm glad I got a new fan Sorry that I take so long to write these.
lightdragon1987:I think you portraded Eriol well. By the way how far are you in the series?
I can't wait for you to update. I love the fact that Tomoyo melts around Eriol,
most of the time you never quit know what she's realy thinking. This is a great
chapter!
Me: Thanks. I think I go a bit ooc in the next chapter though. Thankfully, since writing these chapters, I have read more of the manga.
sweet-captor: kawaii
Me: Err. Yes.
angel-demoness7: lol, i love this story! please update soon!
Me: Such praise burns my ears.
Cherrysinger: aW! This is so CUTE! And not to mention magnificently funny too. I LUV IT! MY
FAV CHAPTER SO FAR! Keep it going girl.
And oh yah, marry christmas to you too! Hope you got lots and lots of presents,
and spent time with your family.
Now, please update soon! (I'm a random person, I know...I'm always the one
changing subjects about what to talk about).
Me: I'm glad you liked it. Getting praise like this really makes writing this stuff worthwhile. I did have a good christmas, as I got to see my paternal relatives.
Kero: Hey! She called you a girl! I thought we covered that way back!
Me: Yes. I think we did. Despite common belief, I am a guy. ;
dragonspirit888: Great story. I think this chapter explained things out too quickly like how you
changed madison's name to tomoyo all of a sudden. And how did she just pop up
into the group. I would have liked it if you eased her slowly in the picture but
oh well. Story is great. Hope you update soon.
Me: Ah, I've been wanting to have a go at this since I got it.
1 the names : Yes. I know the change was sudden, but I couldn't think how else to do it.
2: I just felt that appearing rather spooikly from nowhere like that was something Tomoyo would do.
Kero: Thanks very much for all of your reviews! Keyo does read them all! Even though he should spend more time studying and doing homework!
Me: Until next time!