Kero: Heeeeeeey there fanfic fans! It's time for the amazing adventures of Kero! Guardian of the Clow! In today's story we see our brave and dashing hero Kero…
Me: Okay Kero, I'm back. Having my net slagged sure is giving me a lot of writing time...what're you doing?
Kero: Oh…uh…erm…I was just getting ready to give the disclaimer!
Me: Oh that's good. Get ready to roll it then.
Kero: So what's happening in today's chapter?
Me: Well I'm planning on having them back at school of course…
Kero: And what else have you planned?
Me: I was figuring on making it up as I go along. That's what I usually do.
Kero: You're unbelievable.
Me: Well, I do know that things will be changing for Syaoran at school. After all, think of the impact Eriol will have upon everyone else's opinion of him.
Kero: Not bad. By the way, have you thought of an ending for this yet?
Me: … Just roll the disclaimer so we can start.
Kero: sigh Keyo doesn't own CCS or its character's. Clamp and its ninja lawyers of death do!
Chapter 13 – Back to school and other stuff.
"RISE AND SHINE MY DEAR LITTLE COUSIN! IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP, EMBRACE THE DAY AND…MMPH!"
Eriol's vastly unappreciated wake up call was quickly silenced as a pillow connected with his face. Syaoran took this moment of silence to flop around and pull the cover's back up.
"Ah, my poor little cousin. I take it Sakura tired you out last night." Eriol grinned pervertedly.
"Eriol I'm warning you…go away before I hurt you…" Syaoran mumbled. Normally he was very good in the mornings, just not this morning.
"Ah, the things you must have done, seen, felt!" Eriol called out dramatically, all the while Syaoran's temper shortened. Eriol then quickly switched to a thinking pose. "She looks like the bondage type to me y'…"
Syaoran's temper had officially expired, and he launched from his bed, pinning his cousin to the futon beside it (which Eriol had been sleeping on the night before) and began to make a very good effort to smother him.
"Mi mbetf shbf wbfs reffly sbft!" Came a muffled cry of perverseness that only made Syaoran press harder.
"PHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Was the cry that rattled the Kinomoto household as Sakura tore through the house, hopping violently as she tried to get her sock on and pack her bag at the same time.
"If you did these things the night before, you'd be in less of a rush in the morning Sakura." Her father sagely advised as he pulled his coat on.
"I know, I know!" She called as she managed to haul her shoes on.
Shooting upright, she kissed her father on the cheek and hurtled out of the door. Then back in again as she grabbed her bag and then back out again as she raced for the bus.
Plopping down into her usual window-seat, she began to feel uneasy. Looking around, she saw a stout Chinese boy glaring at her from a few seats back, bruises could be seen on his face. Shrinking back, Sakura had a fair guess about who it was, and knew she'd feel much safer when she got to school and Syaoran.
"Syaaaaaarrrooooon..." Mei-Ling whined as she slouched behind the boys. "Why do we have to walk?"
"Because it's much better for you and the school's not too far from the apartment." Came her friend's reply.
"Toooooooo faaaaaaar…And it's tooooo coooollllllllld…" Mei-Ling cried, as she continued to slouch onward through the autumnal weather.
It wasn't too long, however, until they arrived at the much loathed establishment and Mei-Ling perked up as she spotted Tomoyo milling around the front, and proceeded to approach her in her usual bouncy manner. Eriol proceeded to give an apologetic nod to Syaoran, and he too went over to where Tomoyo stood, intending to continue from where he left off the other day. Syaoran, meanwhile, simply shuffled into the building and began to head toward the classroom. Sitting down at his desk in the corner, he was surprised when the door opened up and Sakura came in. She looked through back through the window on the door, then let out a sight of relief. Only when she turned did she notice Syaoran.
"Oh! Syaoran! I didn't see you there." She called out, clutching at her chest in a vain effort to slow her heart down.
Syaoran proceeded to stumble through his first few words, caught off guard by the girl's sudden appearance.
"S…S…Sakura. Wh…what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Tomoyo?"
Sakura sat down next to him, nervously glancing at the door a few times.
"Sorry if I'm bothering you Syaoran. I…I…Just…" She then let out a little gasp and shrunk back in her seat as a face appeared at the window, with two others lurking behind it.
Syaoran's eyes developed a burning fire as he looked through the glass, the face of Mark and two of his cronies on the other side. Mark's drunken memories of the night were blurred, but they were good enough for him to remember Syaoran handing him his ass, and exactly what had set him off. And from the way Syaoran was glaring at him, it was clear he had no intention of letting him come near Sakura. So scowling, he and his goons turned and left.
Sakura let out another sight of relief and placed a hand on her chest to steady her pounding heart once more.
"Heh heh. Sorry Syaoran. I…" She was stopped as she saw Syaoran's head, hung low.
"No…I'm sorry Sakura…It's my fault. He's been following you hasn't he?" Syaoran's voice was wrought with depression.
"Yeah…since this morning…he glared at me the entire time on the bus. I ran through the school to see if he'd leave me alone…"
"I'm sorry Sakura…I'm so sorry…I should have…I should have just let him beat me up…then maybe he wouldn't have…"
Syaoran didn't get to finish, Sakura was next to him in a flash, her arms wrapping around his hunched form, and her head leaning against his back.
"Don't you dare Syaoran Li…Don't you dare." She made out, fighting back tears. "You didn't do anything wrong, and it's not your fault…so don't you dare…"
Syaoran too, was holding off tears as this girl held him so tight. Sitting upright, he wrapped his arms around her slender form and pulled her close. Her headed shifted to rest on his shoulder and she was practically sitting on his lap.
"Thank you." Syaoran whispered into her ear. "Thank you."
Somewhere in the back of Syaoran's mind, the negative little voice (bet you thought I'd forgotten him) suffered a heart attack, and was put into a hospital bed by the voice of sympathy.
"Students, we have two new Class members today. They're visiting from China. I'd like you all to welcome Mei-Ling and Eriol Hiragazawa."
Many of the girls in the class began to melt at the site of Eriol, as he gave off his usual charming smile, Tomoyo received a few a jealous glares from the girls who noticed Eriol wink at her. Mei-Ling meanwhile had not failed to catch the attention of every boy in the class.
"Would you mind telling us all a bit about yourselves?" The teacher politely asked, hoping to use this as a distraction so that he could get on with marking some of the papers and keep the class quiet at the same time.
"Of course not." Eriol smiled before turning to face the class. "My name, as said, is Eriol Hiragazawa. I'm 17 and from Hong Kong. I am, regretfully, single at the moment however. But that's a problem I'm hoping to rectify while I'm here." His glance once more fell on Tomoyo who returned the smile that was sent her way. "I also happen to be the cousin of Syaoran Li."
This piece of information set a murmuring wave through the classroom, as people began to question their long held thoughts about the brunette in the corner (who was a little surprised that Eriol was risking social destruction by revealing their blood-link).
"Well, I'm Mei-Ling. I'm also 17 and, back in China, I live right next door to Eriol here. I am, very fortunately, not single. So all of you lust filled guys can shut your mouths now." The glare given by Mei-Ling was sufficient to get what she wanted done. "Eriol and I are both here to visit Syaoran Li, who happens to be a very good friend of mine." Mei-Ling stressed the word very, and several of the people who rather enjoyed picking on the good-natured boy found themselves coughing and shuffling nervously in their chairs as Mei-Ling's glare scanned the classroom.
Syaoran, meanwhile, groaned and slumped in his chair.
The change was kind of scary. Not nasty 'chain-saw wielding maniac scary', but scary none-the-less. The change could be called sudden, because it was certainly very noticeable, because of the number of people he could see re-assessing their opinions of him.. What had caused it was, of course, very obvious. Eriol's graceful charm had led many who based their opinions of him solely on rumours to pay more attention to him and begin to notice the vast errors of the rumours, and Mei-Ling's explosive temperament had more than served to scare off the creeps who had once seen him as easy prey. In conclusion, Syaoran guessed that he may be moving up in the School's social standing.
Although this brought many benefits (such as not being tripped up every few feet in the corridors) there was only one that Syaoran really appreciated. And that was that he could openly spend time with Sakura in school without worrying too much about what may happen to her social standing. He was also very glad of this, as Mark had become a malicious shadow for the poor girl, intent on deeds currently unknown. Syaoran did know, however, that he would stand by what he had said the previous night, and would not abandon Sakura.
At present, he was sitting the dining hall, rain having erupted during 3 period. He was not, however, at his usual lonely table by the window, rather at Tomoyo's regular table, seated between Eriol and Mei-Ling, with Sakura straight across from him. He also had a good view of Mark, and would engage in a glaring skirmish with him every so often, warding his gaze from Sakura.
Sakura had felt the stares on her back, and couldn't help but notice when Syaoran glared past her. She let off a sullen sigh, and gave a sad, apologetic glance at Syaoran, who upon receiving this, gave her one of those 'don't be' looks and get her to smile again. The two just sat for a moment, smiling rather shyly at each other, the noise of the dining room seeming to fade away. It unfortunately came crashing back in when Syaoran noticed Mei-Ling leaning over and in the process of devouring one of his sandwiches.
"Hey! Mei-Ling!" Syaoran cried, the moment now ruined.
"What?" The dark hair girl smiled in an impish way, sitting back up-right with the half-eaten sandwich still in her hand. "You weren't eating it."
The rest of the table erupted into laughter, the kind of laughter that only friends can produce at your misfortune. Syaoran felt his anger evaporate as he heard a rather stifled laugh emitting from Sakura, which caused him only to sigh happily, glad to see her worries removed for at least a moment. A joke was spurted off by Eriol, and the laughter only increased, but Syaoran didn't notice, he just rested his head in his hand and stared at Sakura, his thoughts and eyes completely taken over by her.
'Don't worry Sakura.' He thought to himself, making a silent promise. 'I won't abandon you…I will…I will protect you.'
So absorbed in the one he loved and his thoughts of her, Syaoran didn't even notice as Mei-Ling proceeded to steal and eat the rest of his sandwhich.
Me: Woosh! Finally finished.
Kero: Yeah. And your computer's been fixed for about 3 weeks now.
Me: Heh. By the way. This fic is coming up for being 1 year old.
Kero: How come?
Me: I just finished my Prelims awhile back, and my final exams are only a few months away.
Kero: Wow. A whole year and you haven't even managed to make 20 chapters…
Me: Awww…c'mon…that's cruel…TT
Kero: Quit yer whining. Sorry there are no responses in this chapter, cause it's part of a double update.
Me: Until next time!
Kero: Now back to work!
Me: Aww man…Advanced Higher English is hard…