Ace!
Class 06 – Intensity
Disclaimer – You know the drill.
A/N: A small warning – contains shounen ai for those who don't like it. Well, it was obvious before. :P
"Tomoyo," Sakura said nervously, she couldn't quite tell if it was her best friend's voice. The girl on the other line giggled.
"No, I'm her roommate. Hold on, and I'll get her." Sakura laughed nervously, and tapped the wood of her desk. How would Tomoyo react to Akizuki? Perhaps the same way as Touya and Yukito?
"Sakura," Tomoyo said questioningly, and Sakura smiled. It was nice to hear a female voice.
"Yeah. How are things going?"
"Perfect," Tomoyo said, and launched into a discussion about the girl's choir group. Sakura listened patiently, trying to figure out a way to invite Tomoyo to their outing. "So, how are things over there? Did you get out of your streak?"
Sakura shook her head, "Nope. I played Syaoran. He'll probably end up being number one on the team."
"That's too bad. Who do you play tomorrow?"
"Akizuki. Which reminds me, I invited him to our Friday dinner."
"Really," Tomoyo said, and arched an eyebrow, "I thought I would meet this 'Li Syaoran' before I met any other members on your team." Sakura laughed nervously.
"You see Tomo-chan, he thinks that you're male." Tomoyo's shriek of surprise almost busted Sakura's eardrum. "I know its only been a week, but Akizuki's gay and he wanted to go out in drag and I couldn't resist becoming a girl again and –"
"So, I'm supposed to be cross-dressing? Is that all? Why didn't you tell me that in the first place," Tomoyo said, relieved. "I thought I was going to have to dress as a male, and unlike you, I cannot look like a man no matter how hard I tried."
Sakura blinked, "I'm honored and insulted at the same time." After a beat, both girls started laughing.
Akizuki opened the door, heart heavy. Although his people were more tolerant of his lifestyle than other worldly counterparts (the stories in America were particularly harsh) he didn't think that Hideki's hatred ran that deep. Or at least, deep enough to miss practice.
"Even if we're not roommates, we're teammates Hideki," he mumbled, sighed, and plopped onto his bed.
Suddenly the door opened, and with it an intense aura of urgency. Akizuki arched an eyebrow and sat up. Hideki stood at the door, with an intelligible expression on his face. He walked over, almost stomping each step, and pushed Akizuki down on the bed.
Akizuki stared at him, eyes wide. Hideki growled and kissed him passionately. Akizuki's heart near stopped – could he be dreaming?
"Why," Hideki grunted as he bit Akizuki's neck, "Why am I like this," he questioned and ripped Akizuki's shirt off. Akizuki moaned softly when Hideki grabbed his crotch. Hideki reached for Akizuki's hand and cupped it over his own growing hardness. Akizuki instinctively began massaging it, causing Hideki to moan in pleasure. "Why are you making me this way," he asked, then began sucking Akizuki's nipples.
"Why," he continued, returning his focus to Akizuki's neck, "Are your moans turning me on more than a woman ever could?"
"Hi-hideki, I," Akizuki began, but was cut off by a kiss. This wasn't right. Never before had he felt so . . . desired. It delighted him that Hideki was throbbing underneath his shorts, and he was the cause of it. But. . . he was just a piece of meat. Hideki didn't care about him – he was just being used as the catalyst for coming out.
"Hi-hideki," Akizuki moaned out in protest, "Please. . . .. s-stop. . . ."
"No," Hideki growled, then pulled Akizuki's shorts and boxers down. Akizuki tried again to make Hideki stop, but before the words could leave his mouth, he became a slave to pleasure.
Sakura sighed and sat down on her bed. She looked over at Li's empty bed and wondered briefly where he was. But his matters didn't concern her. She sighed and looked at her books. No homework . . . Nothing to get ahead on . . . . She groaned and buried her face in her pillow. "I'm bored!"
"Then you could be practicing," Li said, and Sakura looked over at him in shock. When did he come in?! She blinked then looked again. Li wasn't there. She groaned. Could she be hearing things already?
"I'll just go to sleep and when I wake up, things will be normal again," she murmured and closed her eyes.
Li walked in drenched in sweat. Coach's little speech hurt his pride, and he practiced hitting the ball a couple more hours than practice lasted. He waited for Sakura's voice, and when he didn't hear it, he gently closed the door. He walked in and saw her sleeping form in the dark. So she hadn't sleepwalked yet. He frowned, until he saw tears in her eyes. He walked over to take a closer look, and yes, she was crying. He bit his lip, what could have happened? "Syaoran," she muttered, "Where are you?"
Funny how she called him by his first name when she was sleepwalking. He gently held her hand and assured her he was there. Sakura's tears still flowed. Li stared at them, then he leaned forward and kissed her eyes softly, then sat on the bed and pulled her into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around him tightly, tears starting to cease. "I was so scared," she muttered, and cried into his shoulder. Li stared at her, wondering what happened in the nightmare. He ran his fingers through her hair and tilted her chin up.
"Just one kiss," he told himself, "Enough to relieve the tension. Enough to make me stop thinking of her." Sakura's eyes widened when he kissed her gently, but she quickly got over her surprise and kissed him back. Syaoran tried to stop after one kiss, but he couldn't. "Just one more," he kept telling himself, but Sakura's lips were a sweet candy he could not get enough of.
"You're taking advantage of her," a voice in the back of his mind warned, "She'll hate you if she wakes up."
Sakura's mind and body whirled. First a nightmare morphed into Li comforting her then changed to him making out with her? "Don't ever let this dream end," she thought, as she claimed his lips once more.
"Feel better," Li asked, and Sakura nodded. He smiled, ever so gently and sweet, then took her hand and lead her to a huge white bed. Sakura's eyes widened – they weren't going to do that were they? Li lifted her onto the bed and put his forehead against hers. "Rest," he commanded, and as if his words were a magic spell, she closed her eyes and slept. Sometime while she slept, she felt Li climb next to her, and hold her in his arms.
Sakura woke on Li's bed again, only, like her dream, his arm lay across her stomach and his legs were tangled in hers. She blinked, she wasn't dreaming again, was she? Her cheeks flushed red – what if the previous night wasn't a dream? Had she really kissed Syaoran? Did he know her true gender? She heard a soft groan and stiffened.
Syaoran groaned and opened his eyes slowly. A head of brown hair blocked his view, and his eyes widened as he flashbacked to last night. Her crying, him comforting her, kissing her, until he tried to leave but she begged him to stay and hold her for the rest of the night . . . . he promised himself to wake early and return her to her own bed, but, judging by her labored breathing, she was already awake.
He suddenly became conscious of their intertwined legs and his arm across her stomach. He quickly pulled away, blushing. Sakura turned and looked at him, confused. "What happened last night," she asked, and he noted that her cheeks were as flushed as his own.
"Lie," the voice in his head ordered, "Its too early for a relationship. Its too early for any of this to happen. She sleepwalked into your bed before, so she'll believe you if you say that she crawled into your bed at night."
Li sighed and pushed her feet off the bed and walked to his dresser and pulled out clothes. "Li," Sakura asked, staring at him, "What happened last night?"
"I don't know either," he replied quickly, then walked to the bathroom, Sakura's taste lingering on his lips. He sighed as the ice cold water beat his head. What had he done? His body wanted her, needed her, and she was the one thing he could not have.
Sakura tried to breathe normally, but her heart raced like she had just finished her laps. She tried to calm herself, but her body refused to. She climbed out of Syaoran's bed and made it out of politeness. Then she grabbed her clothes and a towel and waited for Syaoran to finish showering.
He walked out, fully clothed, instead of his usual towel around his waste. He didn't meet her eyes as he walked over to his desk, grabbed his bookbag and walked out of the room.
Sakura rose a minute later, and walked to the bathroom. She stripped and looked at her reflection. "Mirror, Mirror on the wall, what the hell happened," she questioned and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She gasped and stared at the spot where her neck met her shoulder.
A love mark.
"It wasn't a dream," she muttered and sank down to the cold floor. She kissed Syaoran, and he knew her true gender. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she quietly sobbed.
Akizuki woke in the tight embrace of Hideki. He smiled and leaned over and kissed Hideki. Hideki groaned and deepened the kiss. "I guess you won't be moving out," Akizuki murmured, and Hideki grunted. Chuckling, Akizuki squirmed out of his embrace
"Where are you going," Hideki asked, and grabbed Akizuki's arm.
"To shower. I suppose you wish to join me?" Hideki smirked and carried Akizuki to the bathroom.
Sakura looked at her clock, one hour until tennis practice began. She touched her mark for the hundredth time that day, confused. Why? Why had Li kissed her? Why did he lie about it? Why is he so damned hard to read?
The door opened, and Sakura quickly wiped her tears. "Sakura," Li said, and her eyes widened. So he really did know . . . She turned and looked at him. Li's eyes were concerned, and a bit sad. She opened and closed her mouth, unable to produce sound.
The whole situation was awkward. Why couldn't they go back to the playful banter?
"We . . . need to talk."
Sakura nodded and moved over to make room for Li to sit. He sat on the opposite corner, as far away from her as possible. They sat in silence for a long time, neither knowing what to say. "I," Li began, and looked down, "Am sorry."
He then stood and was about to walk away. Sakura shook her head, unsatisfied, and called out, "Wait!" Li turned, and stared at her.
"You . . . know I am a girl?"
"From the first day," he replied. Sakura nodded, she was too naïve to think that he believed her lies. "Your sleepwalking . . . do you really not remember anything that goes on?" Sakura shook her head, and Li frowned.
He told her of all the incidents he had kept quiet about or lied. Sakura listened intently, embarrassed. "Last night I walked in from a late night practice and you were crying and calling out my name. I was only going to hold your hand, but I couldn't control myself."
Sakura climbed out of the bed and bowed. "I'm the one who is sorry. I had no idea I had been that . . . open when I was sleepwalking."
Silence filled the room again. Sakura sighed and looked at Li. He still appeared to be troubled. She frowned, then sighed. "Syaoran."
At the sound of his name, Syaoran's heart leaped. Not even an entire week, and already this. He bit his lip and nodded, but refused to meet her eyes.
"I trust you. So please, take good care of me."
Syaoran's eyes widened and he stood there for a moment, stunned. She was acting too kind, too gentle, and he had practically molested her in her sleep! He couldn't accept. He would only end up hurting her. Their tennis skills would be muddled from their personal relationship. Hell, it was already becoming too much.
He shook his head 'no'. Sakura eyes began to fill with tears, hurt. She took timid steps toward him, and wrapped her arms around his stomach and buried her face in his back. "Syaoran," she begged, "I know its only been a week, but please, I beg of you –"
"Don't," he interrupted and turned to meet her eyes. "Its not manlike to beg," he continued, and wiped a tear, "And you came here to play tennis, am I right?"
Sakura nodded and smiled through her tears.
"Reach for one goal at a time," he advised, and removed her arms from his waist, then left the room.
Sakura watched him leave and stared at the door long after he left. "I came here to play tennis," she repeated, "Not to fall in love." A small smile appeared as she felt the earlier pain fade away to renewed determination.
"I will go pro," she decided, and grabbed her racket and dashed to practice.
Li sighed, an huge load was lifted off his chest that afternoon. He stared at the ball in his hands, the rough feel of the yellow felt, and tightened his grip on the smooth racket. He glanced up at Eriol, then the sky, and then the ball as it flied towards the other side of the court.
Eriol returned his serve, abet weakly. Li sent a strong backhand towards the right corner, but Eriol reached it and sent a lob back. Li slammed it down, and still, Eriol managed to return the ball. Li's eyes widened -the point should've been over two moves ago.
His playing style was entirely different than when he played Sakura. Li frowned and continued to place the ball either far back or up close, but nothing guaranteed a won point. Still, Li won the first game. He watched Eriol serve, expecting a hard and fast ball. Instead the ball traveled slowly, similar to Sakura's serve when she tired out, and bounced toward him. Li weakly returned the ball and lost the point when Eriol sent a hard forehand down the line. A spin serve. Abet a slow spin serve. He frowned; calculating spin had never been a strong point.
Coach watched his players with curiosity. All seemed to be playing the better than yesterday. Kira, in particular, improved the most. His serves were faster, his timing sharper, his returns cleaner. Akizuki looked like a huge problem had disappeared, and Hideki was apologetic over yesterday's absence. That didn't stop him from giving the little beep five hundred laps around the courts though.
Li and Eriol's match was particularly interesting. Eriol seemed to be dominating the match, even though the game count was in Li's favor. The two were neck and neck, each playing to each other's weaknesses. Coach nodded with satisfaction – his two leaders would be more than enough to kill the competition.
Li ran back and lobbed back a baseline ball. Eriol smirked and slammed the ball back at him, aiming for his ankle. Li quickly put his racket down in time to knock the ball out of bounds, saving his foot. "Was that your trump card," he wondered when Eriol's eyes widened ever slightly. Confident, his next serve was untouchable.
The match ended at 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 Li. Sakura's match ended at 6-4. 6-4, her. Coach announced the ladder as Li, Eriol, Kira, Akizuki, Hideki.
Sakura ran up to Li as he walked back to their dorms. "Thank you," she said, when she neared him, "If it wasn't for –"
"Your skills won the match today, not my words," he finished, and Sakura stopped. Sometimes, the little wolf could be sweet. She smiled, caught up to him, and punched his shoulder.
"Race you to the cafeteria," she said, and started running. Li smirked and followed, then easily beat her. Sakura panted when she reached the entrance. "You're inhuman," she muttered.
"Since you lost, you're paying," he stated, then walked inside.
Sakura's mouth dropped. "What?!" Like all men, Li ate enough to feed an entire nation.
