A/N: Hey hey! I'm backkk…can't get rid of me that easy, lol! And if I'm not writing, I'm reviewing, so…nyah, there, for all you people who want to get rid of me.
–Ok, so I'm in a weird mood right now. Lol! I'm glad all of you enjoyed the last chapter and please read the end of chapter author's note for some questions that need answering. Hope you like this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize. That was a good disclaimer, wasn't it? Yea! I like that one…
Chapter Four: Trust
The night before…
Syaoran walked inside his mansion after saying goodbye to Sakura, trying to cover up his practically overflowing happiness at having someone actually try and get to know the real him, regardless of appearances.
It was definitely his day! And he would get to see Sakura tomorrow too. Although, he still find it rather strange that Sakura had won him over so easily, and he had had the strangest sensation in the pit of his stomach whenever he talked with her, kind of like a warm glow, and she just made him feel so happy…it was really hard to explain…
But he didn't want to ponder that at the moment, and ruin his perfectly good mood.
Taking off his shoes and setting them in the right place, he padded over to the dining room, where he found his family just beginning to get together for dinner…
Whew…he arrived just in time. Coincidence much? He laughed to himself, still having that strange happy-go-lucky feeling floating inside of him.
"Hello mother, sisters," he greeted formally, nodding at each one of them in turn. Then, he went over to his usual seat and scraped it open, sitting in it in a very stiff manner, unlike the usual plop he would give in the presence of his friends. The Li family was very traditional.
"Good, you've made it back just in time Xiao Lang. I was beginning to worry," Yelan acknowledged him.
"Soooo, little brother, where have you been?" Fuutie smiled at him, eyes twinkling.
Syaoran barely suppressed a groan as he answered,
"Uh…here and there. What I usually do. I hung out with Yamazaki and Eriol for a bit," which was not entirely a lie either, so nobody could accuse him of lying.
Yelan closely scrutinized her son. There was definitely something off. Carefully, she questioned,
"So, then, I trust your day has been good? You seem…a bit unusual at the moment. Care to share with us?"
Syaoran fidgeted in his seat for a bit, still unwilling to tell them about Sakura—at least not in front of his sisters. They would go all crazy and then just assume that she was his girlfriend…and when an idea appealed to them, it stuck.
"Um…no, I'm just happy to see Eriol and Yamazaki again, it's been a while since I last saw them,"
Just as he finished, the food arrived, carried by their servants. Syaoran quickly picked up his chopsticks and proceeded to coincidentally put food in his mouth exactly at that moment, so that no more questions could be asked.
His mother, seeing the slight truth in his words before, decided to accept it and go interrogate him later. She had a feeling that he was a bit uncomfortable in the subject of his day, even though she hadn't the faintest idea why.
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Syaoran grimaced to himself, recalling the events that had happened the night before. He spotted as bench in the park that Sakura had asked him to meet her at and flumped down onto it, still lost in his thoughts and therefore not noticing a girl with a sneaking expression on her face that was slowly nearing him, and who was shoving a pink notebook into her pocket. She had a pen stuck over one ear.
So, where was he? Ah, yes. After dinner. So then, after dinner, his mother had confronted him flatly and forced it out of him about Sakura, at which she was thrilled at.
But he still didn't particularly like the devilish glint her eyes had adopted…
And, knowing her, if she was anything like his four sisters (hey, they had to get it somewhere, even from usually serious mom), then she was planning something.
And so, in other words, he was dead.
Although he wouldn't mind that much if he was dead with a certain cherry blossom…
He quickly banished the thought, flushing a bit and scolding himself.
Bad Syaoran, bad Syaoran, bad Syaoran, bad Syaoran…
He had absolutely no idea where that random thought had popped up from (A/N: -smirks- I do), absolutely no idea.
He was only friends with Sakura, simple friends…nothing more. And to top it off, she annoyed him a lot too (even though he sometimes enjoyed it, he wouldn't admit it)…
"BOOO!"
"ARGGHH!"
All of a sudden those two screams erupted from the innocent bench in the park.
"Haha! GOTCHA!" Sakura grinned, pointing rudely in Syaoran's face and prancing up in front of him with a smug expression on her own face.
Syaoran, on his part, was trying to recover his dignity, but still managing to scowl up at her.
"What's with you and scaring people like that?" he asked, slightly disgruntled at being scared so many times in only two days.
Sakura, on her part, only shrugged.
"I don't know," here she paused thoughtfully, but continued on cheerfully, "But it's fun,"
Syaoran rolled his eyes at her, and running hand through his hair—an odd habit he had picked up from Yamazaki.
…Only to find it completely slicked with gel when he pulled it out. Disgusted, put it behind his back so Sakura wouldn't see it and rubbed it over the bench.
The gel is definitely going, he thought to himself. I don't care if people think I'm a poser, this is stupid. I can't believe I lived with myself like this for so long! He berated himself for the millionth time.
Hmmm…I'm going to get Sakura back for scaring me too…imagine, a girl humiliating me, and so many times too! I swear, my pride is being flushed down the toilet faster than I can say—
"Uhm, Li? Li?" Sakura waved a hand in front of him, snapping him out of his thoughts, and at which he replied with a blank expression, a bit offended at being so rudely interrupted.
Giving a half-hearted glare at being ignored, Sakura repeated,
"I was asking you a question. I said, what do you want to do today?"
This was answered with another point blank stare.
"Let me guess, you don't know, do you," Sakura said sardonically, eyes laughing at him.
…Syaoran finally realized at how stupid he must have looked.
"Um! I mean, no! I know what we can do…we…could…uh…you know…do…uh…go to the ice cream shop?" he ended lamely, giving her a sheepish grin, a sweat drop trailing its way down the back of his head.
Sakura rolled her eyes, blowing a breath out in exasperation.
"You're the man, you're supposed to come up with these sort of things, not the other way around!" Syaoran was strongly reminded of their conversation yesterday at Ice Cream Villa. "Ok, I'll decide then…let's just go…um…how about let's go…umm…oh!" her eyes lit up as she finally found something, "Let's go to this really great park I found the other day! It's mostly trees and forest and stuff. We could go and check it out?"
Syaoran nodded, agreeing and not wanting to make a bigger fool of himself than he already had. Especially since he was only just realizing what Sakura was wearing.
Some dark blue jean capris with a belt and a baby blue t-shirt that had the words 'Gotta Love Me' written across it in dark blue. She was wearing sandals.
For some reason unknown to him, he blushed and that glowing feeling returned, although he knew it wasn't at its peak yet. That was when she smiled. Or laughed. Or spoke. Or made one of her extremely cheesy, ridiculous and un-funny jokes.
In other words, he got it when he had a taste of her personality.
So then he got up from the bench he was sitting on to try and shake himself off.
He expectantly waited for Sakura to start leading the way to the park.
…Only to be faced with a Sakura that wasn't doing all of those things. In fact, she was scribbling in her notebook.
He eyed her and murmured to himself,
"Jeez…whata weird girl. She's like…a…a…stalker lady," Then, louder, he said, "You're still carrying that thing around? I would've thought that you forgot about it." Here he pondered for a moment, "I guess luck just didn't head my way today," he pretended to shake his head sadly as he went over and peeked over Sakura's shoulder.
- Subject does not like being scared
-Does not know how to plan things at all
At this last jot note, Syaoran became defensive.
"Hey! I so can plan things…it's just that I didn't think this needed planning! I plan for formal stuff and stuff like that," he protected himself indignantly.
Sakura rolled her eyes, a teasing smile pulling at her mouth.
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say Romeo…" and with that, she tucked her little book away and started walking, Syaoran watching her in open surprise for a moment before jogging up to catch her.
She made a nickname for me…Romeo…
Whoa—
I never thought I'd say this, but I think I like it…
When Syaoran heard his thoughts (usually they were insanely wild and completely random ones too, this time wasn't an exception), he shook his head, muttering under his breath (which he seemed to be doing a whole lot lately),
"You're getting too soft for your own good, man. Better not let your sisters know about this nickname or you'll be doomed for life,"
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"We're here!" Sakura chirped cheerfully, throwing her arms out as if she was welcoming the world. She breathed in deeply as Syaoran took in the scenery.
Trees.
That was the first thing that hit him.
Trees and trees and trees…oh, and grass too…and some flowers…
But other than that—trees.
"…" he stared dubiously at the scenery, but then, hesitantly,
"This is a…nice park." He commented, trying to push away his little wheedling doubts.
What he was thinking, however, was that this wasn't the first place he would've headed for if he had been the one choosing.
Sakura, sensing this, whacked his arm, and then, when she saw him give her a mock 'what did I do?' look, planted her fists on her hips.
"Li, I know you don't mean what you just said, but just appreciate the nature," then, at seeing his obedient nod, but coupled with a slight hidden snort (which was not so hidden), she continued on and ranted, "Mother nature has supplied us with so many things, including the food you eat! Trees help you breathe, since they provide oxygen. Without them, you would be dead. Mother Nature has also given us water, and the materials that we use to make our everyday needs. Everything has some link to Mother Nature! The least you can do is appreciate it instead of—"
"Ok, ok!" Syaoran held up his hands in a defeated manner, "I get it already! I'm sorry about 'not appreciating Mother Nature'. Now come on, let's go…um…explore!"
Syaoran made a mental note to himself as he tugged Sakura along with him, seeing her flounce indignantly and jot something down on her notebook (which was probably about how he didn't appreciate Mother Nature).
Never get on her bad side.
But he had to admit, Sakura did have a point about Mother Nature.
…Kind of, anyway. (A/N: Only to his weird, twisted mind it's like that, lol! Sorry, couldn't resist butting in.)
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Contented, Syaoran strode inside after another good day with Sakura, feeling regretful about not being able to spend the day tomorrow with her.
He had some conference thing he had to attend to with his mother for the whole day, so that he could 'watch and learn from her' and be the best possible leader for the Li Company.
Smiling to himself and shaking himself away from his oh joyous adventure the next day, he thought about the park they had gone to, which hadn't turned out as bad as he had thought. Eyes brightening, he remembered one particular moment he liked. It made him feel warm knowing that Sakura had trusted him with something so private…
"Hey! Romeo, come over here, I think I found something!" Sakura called from over her shoulder, straying from the path and tumbling through some bushes, making a lot of noise.
Syaoran sweat dropped at this, but was secretly pleased that she had called him by his new 'nickname'.
The queer feeling in his stomach kept on 'glowing' (Syaoran's thoughts: Man, is this what a crush feels like? No, it's different. I do NOT have a crush on Sakura though, so it has to be something else).
He yelled,
"Yeah, coming! Give me a moment,"
He trampled after Sakura, worrying for a bit if there was poison ivy, but he honestly didn't want to think about that…
So he didn't. Simple as that.
Finally spotting Sakura's back, he blinked as he took in the adorable picture of her, standing there with her mouth open, hair all ruffled and with leaves and twigs tangled in it.
Why does she have her mouth open? And why's she standing there like an idiot? These were Syaoran's first thoughts that came across.
Curiously, he approached her and stood beside her.
It was then that the sight that Sakura had seen met his own amber-chocolate eyes.
Mouth dropping open much like Sakura's, his eyes opened in wonder.
Cherry blossom trees stood everywhere, in no particular order, although they did made a rough circle. It was as if someone had tried to orderly plant them, but it went a little wrong. Delicate petals lay on the floor, along with some wilting flowers that had fallen out of some of the trees.
And the blossoms were so pink that it was almost breathtaking.
It was just beautiful.
Syaoran was strongly reminded of Sakura as he looked around, whose name actually meant cherry blossom in Japanese.
"I never knew cherry blossom trees grew in Hong Kong…" Sakura finally breathed, eyes still burning with wonder, like a child in a candy store. (A/N: I don't even know if cherry blossom trees bloom in Hong Kong, lol! Please ignore this if they don't)
"Me neither…and I've lived in Hong Kong all my life…" Syaoran whispered as well, not willing to shatter the peace and tranquility the scene represented.
"Well, I haven't lived here for my whole life…I used to live in Japan…but when…" here she looked downcast, gulping sadly, "When my mom—died…my dad couldn't take it, looking, everyday at things that reminded him o-of her. So...we moved here,"
Syaoran turned speechless, gazing at Sakura.
He never knew she had such a burden in her life…
So then, feeling a bit uncomfortable in the situation they were in, Syaoran shifted his feet around and dropped his gaze to the ground. Eventually, he tried comforting her.
"…Um," he started uncertainly, "…I know it hurts…my dad died when I was little too," his voice faded here, but then held up strongly, "So I understand what you've been through. I don't remember my father that much though. He died when I was four,"
(A/N: Again, I'm not sure about this, so just bear with me)
Sakura's saddened emerald eyes which were a couple of shades darker than they usually were, softened at his confession, glad to be witnessing his soft side.
"…My mother died when I was five," (A/N: Again, not sure!)
"So…aren't you going write down those facts about me?" Syaoran tried cracking a joke, one side of his mouth curving up in a half smile.
Sakura answered back with her own creaky smile as she leaned her head on his shoulder, eyes asking for permission. He nodded to her and let her, that bubbly feeling welling up inside him again. He felt strangely elated as well, lighter…
"This is too personal. I wouldn't do that," Sakura shook her head softly, "Besides, what if someone actually does get to my notebook and figures out it's you I'm talking about? I did kind of make it obvious," here she laughed sheepishly, and Syaoran felt relief wash through him.
He grinned, fully this time (no half smile) down onto her auburn head as he felt their conversation turning less dark. He then teased playfully,
"So, what're we doing having this serious conversation? Let's go explore the Sakura trees," And then he unattached Sakura's head from his shoulder and bounced off to the biggest tree, leaping up into its branches.
He was determined to get to the top of it and scare the pants out of Sakura, worrying about if he was going to fall or not. The prospect of it made him smirk.
Before climbing the tree though, he thought he saw Sakura blush, but he knew he must have been imagining it.
The day that Sakura would fall in…dare he say it? In love with him would come when they were all dead, she only thought of him as a friend, and he only thought of her as a friend. And it would remain that way.
Syaoran stretched out his muscles, having changed into his practice clothes as he was thinking about his time with Sakura.
After scaring the pants off Sakura by climbing to the top of the cherry blossom tree, as he'd wanted to, they had played a game of hide-and-seek, and tag. Childish, yes, but they had loads of fun. And, Syaoran had finally let Sakura call him by his first name, towards the end of their time together. He finally trusted her enough for that (and Sakura seemed to be all hyperactive after that for some reason).
Jogging down to the traditional dojo with his traditional Li sword (the Li's had a very extensive history, they had even been a kingdom once in the far past, but their numbers had dwindled so now they were only a very, very rich company…they had kept most of their traditional ways though). His mother had insisted that he learned martial arts, and he hadn't objected that much, despite the aching muscles that he had come to expect at the end of the day. It was fun, a way to concentrate himself and yet also a way to free himself, and he liked that.
Syaoran got into a stance, letting his mind drift once again as he practiced, or 'trained' as his mother liked to call it.
His mind went back to what he had been thinking about when he was in the cherry blossom clearing.
The day that Sakura would fall in…dare he say it? In love with him would come when they were all dead, she only thought of him as a friend, and he only thought of her as a friend. And it would remain that way.
Syaoran still agreed with that statement.
…Little did he know.
Just because he didn't think that he and Sakura could be together, didn't mean that they couldn't. That they wouldn't.
And after Sunday, would be his time to show up at school, this time with a whole new look.
Who knew what could happen?
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A/N: This chapter isn't as long as before, but it's better than my first two! I never used to make chapters this long before…and somebody even called my last chapter only sort of long. Humph! Why I never…nah, just kidding, lol! Anyway, last chapter every paragraph (if you can call them paragraphs) was only, for the most part, only one sentence long, so it made the chapter look longer. Here, in this chapter, as you can see, it's not like that (well…in some places it is...lol, ok, in a lot of places it is) so this chapter is probably just as long as the last chapter (maybe...maybe not lmao!).
Here are some questions that need answering!
Question: Why did Syaoran all of a sudden just let Sakura call him by his first name in the last chapter?
Answer: Uhhh…that was my mistake. I didn't mean to do that! –looks sheepish- Just that, sometimes when I edit my chapters I miss some things by mistake. But since so many people liked that last chapter, I went back and left it, but included an extra line that said something like 'Both of them didn't notice that Sakura had called Syaoran by his first name'. Please tell me if I make any sort of these mistakes in any chapters I write, because, like I said, sometimes I miss them when I'm looking over my chapter. Thank you to the reviewers who pointed that out. Sorry again!
Question: If Syaoran's in Hong Kong, shouldn't his Chinese name be Sieu Long?
Answer: Well, all of the fan fiction writers over here on f a n f i c t i o n . n e t use Syaoran's Mandarin name (Xiao Lang), but the person who pointed this out is right. Technically, if you live in Hong Kong, chances are that you speak Cantonese, not Mandarin. But I myself speak Mandarin, so I'm more comfortable with using it (I don't know any Cantonese whatsoever, lol). So, I'm sorry if it's wrong, but I'm just going to use Xiao Lang. Besides, the way you say Xiao Lang is different that you think. It's actually pronounced 'Shao Long', so the reviewer's spelling of the Cantonese version may be wrong, since she (?) did it according to how you say it. Don't worry though! Thanks to the reviewer who pointed this out, it's a really good point!
I think that's about it! So, if you have any other questions, just review and ask them, yeah?
So…what I'm trying to say is, please review? Pretty please? As usual, no flames please, but I can take constructive criticism and suggestions, because it helps me improve my story. I don't particularly like this chapter either, so please be a little light.