Tied By Fate
By: pnaixrose
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or any of its characters. They all belong to CLAMP
Dedicated to: SweetStrawberries
Chapter 11: Sick
The girl with the fiery ruby eyes tapped her foot impatiently, one hand on her hip while the other was gripping the luggage handle tightly. "Xiao Lang!" she said again, her voice high pitched and angry.
Sakura stood stiffly in her spot watching the girl curiously as Syaoran did the same with his mouth opened in shock. Sakura felt a growing bad feeling coming over her. They obviously knew each other. She wasn't sure how exactly, but the way the girl named Meiling had called Syaoran "love" definitely meant that they were...
Why did she suddenly feel so upset?
She looked up when the girl started talking rapidly in another language, probably some kind of Chinese dialect. Sakura, not knowing what she was saying just stood there, not daring to move. She could feel the tension building. She was afraid to anger that girl. Wow. Imagine that. And she was supposed to be the great Card Mistress too.
As the girl stopped talking, Syaoran was bright red. "No, no! W-We didn't do anything like that!" he said in Japanese.
Sakura blinked. Like what?
"Meiling," Syaoran said with the tiredness evident in his voice. "What are you doing here?"
Meiling smiled brightly as she dropped her hold on her luggage and ran to hug him at top speed. "When Auntie found out that you moved by to an apartment to live by yourself, she sent me here to give you some of your stuff," she said, as she snuggled against him.
Syaoran sighed as he saw the boxes that were left in the hallway. It figures that his mother would send all these stuff...along with Meiling. Suddenly he spotted someone watching them who he had almost forgotten was standing there.
"So Syaoran," Meiling said letting go of him, "Who's she?"
Sakura seemed to snap out of her daze quickly and let out a small smile. "G-Gomen ne...I'm Kinomoto Sakura," she said with a bow. "Nice to meet you...uh..."
Meiling smiled brightly. This Sakura girl didn't seem like another one of Syaoran's fanatic groupies. "I'm Li Meiling, Syaoran's cousin and proud member of the Li clan," she said proudly and then paused. "Woops. I don't think you know about the Li clan, do ya?"
"Oh I do. The Li clan members are all Clow Reed's descendants, aren't they?" she said, "You must be really proud to be in such a clan like that."
Meiling nodded proudly. "That's right I– wait a minute! You know about the Li clan's magic!" Her jaw was dropped in surprise. Barely anyone knew about the Li clan and their magic. Why would a simpleton like her know? Inching closer towards the girl, she studied her thoughtfully, circling around her a few times.
Sakura sweat dropped, getting nervous as Syaoran's cousin looked at her. "Uh...Y-Yelan-san was the one who told me."
Meiling raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why'd Auntie tell someone like–"
"M-Meiling!" Syaorna shouted suddenly. "Don't be rude now."
Meiling looked back at him, ignoring what he said. "Why'd Auntie Yelan tell this girl, Syaoran?"
"Meiling, that's...the Card Mistress..."
Her ruby eyes widened as she whipped her head to face the new girl. "No way!" Her grin grew. "KAKKOI! So you're the Card Mistress I've been hearing about!"
"Hoee...I guess..." Sakura said. Were people in Hong Kong talking about her? Hoee...how embarrassing.
"Ne, ne," Meiling said excitedly as she grabbed Sakura's hands. "You think you can teach me some magic?"
Sakura's confusion grew. Didn't all Lis have magic? But now that she thought about it, she didn't feel any magic aura from Meiling. She didn't have a drop of magic in her veins. She looked at her pleading eye nervously. She had no idea how to answer the question without getting this girl angry.
Luckily, Syaorna came to the rescue even though he was kind of rude to his own cousin. "Meiling," Syaoran said with a sigh. "You know people who weren't born with magic can't simply learn it."
Sakura immediately saw Meiling eyes darken as she let go of her hands. "I-I guess..." Then she frowned at Syaoran. "Didn't have to put it that way though."
Sakura agreed silently in her mind. Syaoran had been a little harsh. She felt so bad for Meiling now. Must be hard for people to see you as a lower status than they were. She wished she had some way to cheer the girl up. Wait a minute...
Syaoran immediately felt exactly what Sakura was going to do next. He groaned out loud in frustration but none of the girls seemed to notice him anymore. No...Sakura wouldn't...
"Ne, Li-san," Sakura said with a small grin as Syaoran outwardly groaned again. "Wanna come with my friends and me on a three day yacht cruise?"
Meiling's eyes grew once again. She had never gone on a boat before...and here was this Kinomoto Sakura girl she had just met asking her to come? But she had to admit to herself...it sounded quite exciting. "Uh...are...you sure?"
Sakura nodded, a big grin on her face. "It'll be so much fun! I heard there are a pool and a ballroom there too!"
"WAI! Let's go! Let's go!" Meiling said as she jumped in excitement. Wow. She had just arrived here and already she was making friends.
"I'll introduce you to everyone too!" Sakura said getting as excited as her. "I just can't wait!"
"Me neither!"
As the two girls giggled and squealed, Syaoran watched them shaking his head slowly. Wow. That was a surprise. Who would have ever thought that Meiling, queen of grouchiness and complaints would ever be friends with Sakura? He had to let out a small smile though. It was kind of a relief. He wouldn't have to endure any fights between them which Meiling would be sure to start if they didn't get along.
"Sakura, are you sure about this?" he asked.
Sakura nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't I invite her?" she asked.
"Well, you did just meet her," Syaoran pointed out with a short laugh.
But Sakura shook her head. "She's your cousin, Syaoran! She's no stranger." She turned to Meiling. "Ne, Meiling-chan?" She stopped suddenly looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry...may I call you that?"
However Meiling was in some sort of daze and didn't exactly hear the question directed to her. She was staring at the apartment rug in deep thought. Her eyes kind of saddened.
Syaoran had called the Card Mistress by her first name. He had done that and laughed. Meiling hadn't heard him do that in so long...but she had been hoping that she was going to be the one who cause him to laughed and smile. She glanced up at Syaoran who had his gaze set on Kinomoto Sakura.
His eyes...they were different. They weren't suffering. They weren't burdened. They were completely different...and that she hadn't been the one to change them. Only a few weeks away from him and he had already seemed so at home here. Meiling sighed, her heart beginning to sink. Syaoran...he had always been so distant even though when he was standing right next to her. But here he was, being so familiar to this girl. He wasn't even that familiar with his own family members! He...He seemed to forget all about Hong Kong and everything and everyone who had anything to do with it...including his close cousin...her.
"...Gomen..." Sakura said suddenly waking Meiling from the daze. She was looking at the ground in embarrassment and shame. "That was really rude of me. I-I don't have to call you by your first name."
Meiling snapped out of her thoughts. Her lips grew into a smile and she laughed. This girl was something else, wasn't she? "You can call me Meiling," she said. "Only if I get to call you Sakura!"
Sakura grinned. "Deal!"
"Oh, here Sakura," Syaoran said as he picked up a towel and tossed one to her. She was still wet from running in the rain a few minutes ago.
Sakura laughed as she grabbed the white towel and dried her hair with it. "Oh yeah! Arigato."
Meiling forced herself to smile a bit as she witnessed the friendliness between the two. "Well, I'm going to unpack and stuff..." She turned to Syaoran with a playful wink and a laugh. "Auntie packed more underwear for you too. I must say, green boxers do suit you."
She left the bright red Syaoran and the laughing Sakura to find her own room. Her own room in Japan.
Wow. Things were different already...mainly the new, improved Syaoran...
"Whew, I thought school would never end!" Tomoyo laughed as she and Sakura walked away from the student filled building behind them.
Sakura nodded in agreement. "The bell took forever to ring. I was about to go crazy! I couldn't wait to leave!"
Tomoyo grinned. "You mean...with Li-kun again?"
Sakura stopped in her tracks. "Huh?"
"Yesterday Eriol and I saw you guys running in the rain without an umbrella!" Tomoyo said with a giggle. "It was a pretty cute sight! So what happened? Details!"
"It was...interesting," she answered quietly. Yesterday was one of the most confusing days of her life. First of all, the Li Syaoran was being nice to her! Second of all, she realized that he was hiding his emotions from her! Then...and then...there was that weird feeling she felt when he hugged her that time when they were protected by the rain under a tree. It was faint...but she knew it was definitely there. Why did she feel that? Oh well. It was probably nothing to worry about.
"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked. Her friend had just fallen into a trance suddenly. "Are you sick? After all, you did run in the rain yesterday."
Sakura looked up and smiled. They were turning the corner now. Only a few more streets and they would arrive at her house. Tomoyo had wanted to come over right after school today. She said it was something with her clothes she was bringing. "I'm okay Tomoyo-chan. I didn't seem to catch a cold. It's just that I was up all night yesterday packing for the trip," she half lied. She was up all night packing. But that's not the reason why she was all in a daze today.
Tomoyo laughed. "Well, c'mon! Let's hurry! I wanna see what clothes you packed!"
"More like you wanna replace the clothes I picked with ones you want," Sakura said with a grin.
"Yup! Exactly!"
Li Syaoran's eyebrow rose as he smelled an odd scent. Dropping off his keys on a small table nearby and taking of his shoes, he entered his apartment dizzily. He had just had a quite exhausting day of school and wanted to sleep a bit before getting ready for that cruise. He felt incredibly tired for some reason and he groaned at the smell of smoke.
"Meiling..." he muttered.
His cousin had planned to go to her first day of school today but she suddenly changed her mind. She said that she wanted to arrange the apartment with all the boxes she had brought in yesterday. Syaoran was grateful for that and looked around at his furnished and clean apartment. It didn't look empty anymore. Thank god Meiling volunteered to fix the apartment up. He didn't feel like lifting anything today anyway. But then again she was up to something. Maybe she was baking something. Syaoran groaned, feeling an ache in his head. Please...don't let her be baking!
Everything was probably against him today because when he entered the kitchen, a cloud of black smoke blurred his vision.
"Meiling!" Syaoran shouted coughing.
Struggling through the smoke filled kitchen, he went to a window and pushed it open. The dirty air ventilated through it and soon his vision cleared. But unfortunately, his head seemed to ache even more.
His cousin stood near the oven meekly, wearing a large apron and oven mitts on her hands. "Welcome home, Syaoran," she said trying to sound bright.
He stood in front of her, a stern and scolding look on his face. "What did you do, Meiling!" he said in exasperation.
She looked down at the floor in shame. Then she took the cake out of the oven...if you can call it a cake anymore. It was smoldering still and was burnt crispy. She set it slowly on the countertop and took off her mitts as she flopped down on a chair burying her head in her hands. "I just wanted to make you something before you came home..." she mumbled.
Syaoran sighed and smiled a bit. He patted her shoulder to console his dear cousin. "It's okay, Meiling. Baking was never one of your best skills anyway. Thanks for cleaning up the apartment though. I appreciate it," he said. Then he went to open the other window to let out the stinky air. "Wake me up in a few minutes or so okay? Then we'll go over to Sakura's. We're supposed to meet her there."
The girl didn't reply. This wasn't the Li Syaoran she knew. He was definitely different. First of all, he had never talked that willingly before. He had always said few words as much as possible and avoided other people as much as possible. But here he was yapping the longest sentence Meiling had ever heard him say. Second of all, since when did he start consoling people! He had never done that before! And since when did he start smiling! Since when did he care so much! Since when did he start calling girls out of their family by their first names! How the hell did he change so much in a matter of a few weeks!
She wasn't saying that he was a better person before...it's just that...she wanted to be the one to change him to this person. She suddenly felt a resentment to her first friend she met here. Kinomoto Sakura. Meiling knew she was the one who changed him. But for some reason, Meiling couldn't bring herself to hate her. Sakura was a good person. She knew that and couldn't deny it. Maybe if Sakura was a total bitch, Meiling could hate her. But she wasn't. She was kind and caring to such an extent that almost surprised Meiling...no wonder she changed him so fast.
Giving one more small grin to his cousin, Syaoran was about to leave the smoke smelling kitchen when suddenly Meiling stood.
"Syaoran, wait," she said slowly.
He stopped and turned to her. "Hmm?"
He saw her take a visible gulp. "Syaoran...I...when...when did you start calling Sakura by her first name?" she asked. It had almost been hard for him to hear her.
Syaoran practically froze. He didn't know what to answer. "I-I...I don't know..."
Meiling gave a small smile as she looked down at her feet. "Oh...okay then. Have a good nap. I'll clean up here, okay?"
He gave a short nod and with one last look at his cousin, he left the kitchen, his head throbbing even more than before.
"Hmm...it's already four o'clock," Tomoyo said looking at her watch. She turned to Eriol who was standing next to her. "We were supposed to meet at this time, ne?"
Eriol nodded. "Don't worry about it. He'll be here."
"Meiling-chan's coming too," Sakura said coming from behind them pulling a suitcase behind her.
They were all waiting patiently for the last two people to arrive. Their personal black limousine was waiting near them with all their luggage in the trunk.
"Meiling?" Eriol said, a grin growing on his face.
"Yup," Tomoyo said as she helped Sakura drop the luggage into the trunk. "Sakura said she invited her too. She's Li-kun's cousin I think."
Sakura nodded as she closed the trunk with a bang.
"I know Meiling-san," Eriol said with a big smile. "She liked me a lot more than Syaoran did actually."
"That's great! Then we all aren't complete strangers!" Tomoyo said. She added a giggle. "I just have to meet her first."
"You'll like her, Tomoyo," Sakura said. "Maybe you can even start making her clothes instead of me!"
They laughed when suddenly Touya emerged from within the house. "You guys set to go?" he asked. The three nodded. "Oh and Kero said to bring him a present," he said.
Sakura sighed. "I can't believe he didn't want to go for once. He always likes these kind of things."
Tomoyo laughed, her camera bag hanging off her shoulder. "Isn't he hung up on that new game you got him?"
"But he beat it four times already!" Sakura exclaimed. Then she saw her brother grumbled as he looked around. "Onii-chan? What's wrong?"
"Where's the gaki?"
"He's not a gaki...and he's not here yet," Sakura said with a frown.
Her onii-chan grinned. "Oh well. Maybe you'll just have to leave him behind!"
But as soon as he said that, Eriol spotted two figures running hurriedly towards them. He smiled. "They're here."
Touya groaned as Meiling and Syaoran arrived, panting for air, their luggage dragging behind them.
"Meiling-chan! Syaoran! You made it!" Sakura exclaimed happily. "My brother will throw your luggage in the trunk. C'mon Meiling-chan, I'll introduce you to my friends," Sakura said as she took the tired girl's hand towards Tomoyo and Eriol.
Touya groaned as he lifted the two luggage bags into the trunk and closed it again as Syaoran, after momentarily having a glaring contest with Sakura's older brother, followed the two girls.
"This is Daidouji Tomoyo," Sakura said, pointing to Tomoyo. "Her mom owns the Daidouji Company. In fact, we got the tickets to this cruise from her mom."
Meiling nodded to the long raven haired girl. "Hiya."
Tomoyo smiled. "Nice to meet you."
As Meiling's eyes wandered over to the boy standing a few feet away, she let out a laugh. "Eriol!"
He grinned, his glasses twinkling. "Nice to see you again, Meiling."
She gave him a quick, friendly hug and laughed some more. "Hey, wait a minute," she said as she looked at him. "You only look a few years older!"
It was Eriol's time to laugh. "Well, I had to stay the same age as when I was going to meet the Card Mistress. But as you can see, I now look like a handsome teenager, don't I?"
Meiling giggled as Syaoran expectedly snorted causing Eriol to frown at him.
After they all shared a laugh, Sakura pointed to Touya who was standing a few feet away. "Anyway, that's my older brother Touya...but you wouldn't really care about him would you? Believe me you don't want to go meet him," she said which earned her a glare from her onii-chan.
"Well? We all set?" Tomoyo asked. " Hope you brought everything!"
Sakura and Meiling squealed as they got on the yacht and they immediately ran towards the side to see the open waters, leaving Tomoyo and the boys behind to talk to the captain. They were supposed to be listening to the rules and regulations while on the yacht, but they had been too excited to refrain from running around on deck.
"Wow! This is so cool!" Meiling exclaimed as she dangled herself carelessly from the railing. "It's like I can see forever!"
"I've never been on a ship before..." Sakura said, breathing in the relaxing salty air.
Meiling nodded. "Me neither. It's pretty exciting. Thanks again for inviting me."
The emerald eyed girl simply smiled. "I'm the one who should be thanking you for coming!"
The smile seemed to lessen on Meiling's face and she looked beyond the open sea, her hair drifting gently in the soft breeze. Sakura was the one inviting her, yet when Meiling had thanked her, she had somehow reversed it! How the hell can she be so nice! This is the girl who changed your Syaoran, a sad voice said. She'd have to be very skilled in something to be able to even reach the usually cold hearted boy. Meiling realized that Sakura's best skill was her personality. She could melt even Syaoran's heart with her kindness.
Meiling inwardly scoffed at herself. All she has ever been to him was a nuisance. She'd always say that she'd wanted to help the sorrow lift from his shoulders, lesson the workload, or even lesson the responsibility that he had gotten but she knew she was no good. She was a shame to him. Heck, she was probably a shame to the whole clan. She didn't have magic. That was a rare thing in the Li clan. If her aunt, a rather prominent Li, hadn't persuaded the Elders, Meiling would probably be in the care of foster parents right now...or maybe no parents at all. That's why she was so damn proud of being a Li. She would've given anything and everything to become a Li if she wasn't born one. They were all confident, proud, talented, caring people. It was the thing she loved the most.
The only thing she loved more than being a Li was...Syaoran.
"Hey," Sakura said suddenly breaking Meiling out of her reverie, "I wonder who else are onboard this yacht. Surely it can't just be us, right? It's too big for just five teenagers and the crew."
"I can answer that," Tomoyo said as she came with a usual smile on her lovely face. "My mother and all the other coordinators who made the Trail's Trials are here. She said it was like a three day celebration for creating it."
"Oh...isn't it kind of late? The Trail's Trials have been out for a few months already, hasn't it?" Sakura asked.
Tomoyo shrugged as she leaned against the railing. "I guess they wanted to spend it with the first winners of their game?"
Sakura and Tomoyo noticed Meiling looking at them in confusion as they conversed.
"What's a...Trail's Trial?"
"The ladies are off again doing their own thing while we have to carry this luggage to their rooms!" Eriol said in half frustration half amusement. He was pulling one luggage was the handle, and somehow carrying two with one hand. Walking through the surprisingly glamorous interior of the ship towards their assigned rooms, Eriol laughed. "You know, this place kind of reminds me of a hotel of some kind," he said.
And he was right. The interior was carpeted and was arranged into hallways. Every so often, they'd see a room or signs directing them to different places like the dining hall or to the deck. The hallways were even lighted with brilliant lights and were impeccably clean. Eriol never expected a boat to be like this. It also had great features like the dining hall and a pool on deck. But it was easy to find which way to go. This yacht wasn't that big. Eriol smiled to himself. It was like a mini, mini Titanic to his eyes.
Realizing that no one had replied to his statement, he turned and frowned at Syaoran who was lagging off behind him. "What's wrong? You're only carrying two bags and you're lagging behind. Where's the big, strong, Li Syaoran, eh?" he joked.
He got an almost inaudible grunt and he watched as Syaoran trudged behind him. "I'm kinda tired..." he mumbled.
"I can see that...oh wait. Here are our rooms."
They stood in the hallway of five doors which were labeled. Three of the rooms were to Eriol and Syaoran's right, while the other two rooms were across the hallway. It was at a dead end and Eriol was relieved. Their rooms were close to each others. He was afraid that they would be stationed to different parts of the ship.
"Thank god," Syaoran mumbled as he stumbled through the door labeled " Kinomoto Sakura: Winner of Trail's Trials" and plopped her heavy suitcase on the elegant bed. Then, not even taking a glance around to see the rather beautiful room, he charged out and went to the room that said " Li Syaoran: Winner of Trail's Trials." Dropping the luggage carelessly, he collapsed on the bed, panting slightly.
After a minute with his eye closed, he opened them and glared at the guy standing at his doorway. Eriol had already dropped the luggage off at the appropriate rooms. Syaoran groaned. Great. Now he was going to annoy him when all he wanted to do was sleep.
Eriol smirked at his friend's glare. He was definitely used to it by now. "Guess what? I have blackmail on you."
Syaoran's eyebrow rose. Where the hell did that come from! He stared at the blue haired guy threateningly. Hiiragazawa was just playing with him, trying to irritate him. He was probably bored and had nothing else better to do. "You got nothing on me, Hiiragazawa," Syaoran warily said.
Eriol's smirk grew. "Oh really? What about your little-ahem-encounter with Sakura yesterday? And you two walked in the rain?"
Syaoran leaned back on his comfy, temporary bed. "Y-You can't prove a-anything happened," he said trying to remain calm but felt the redness cover his cheeks.
But of course Eriol didn't fall for it. "I didn't say anything like that. You basically proved it then. Something happened between you two. Otherwise, you wouldn't be stuttering and blushing like a little girl."
Syaoran glared at him silently, wishing he would leave so he could rest. But of course, he didn't.
"Tell me," Eriol said, his face quite serious now. "What do you think of Sakura?"
Eriol was curious. He had already seen some signs of him starting to fall for her, but of course they weren't confirmed. He was pretty sure that he did though. Of course, he was wondering what Syaoran thought of it. Besides, that little talk they had at the amusement park before was still fresh on his mind...
"Can crushes or attractions stop your heart from hurting?"
It didn't seem like some petty crush or a mere attraction like Eriol had thought it would start out to be. It actually sounded like it could be...love. But so soon? They had only met a few weeks ago! Maybe fate really did tie their souls together.
"Leave me alone, Hiiragazawa," Syaoran said as he closed his eyes. "I've had enough of talking with you. Last time I talk to you about this subject I got confused as heck." He added a sigh. "I'm too damn tired for any of that now."
"You might as well get it over with now because you know I'll ask you again later," Eriol said with an uncharacteristic growl.
Syaoran's jaw clenched. He was right. But he felt so tired! He couldn't even think straight anymore! He just lay there motionless hoping that the annoying reincarnation would take the picture and leave. But he didn't. Sighing, Syaoran sat up on the bed. Talking to Hiiragazawa with a pounding headache was better than falling asleep with him watching him. Now that was just plain creepy.
"Okay, what do you want?" Syaoran asked rubbing his head.
Eriol gave an 'innocent' smirk. "Oh, I'm just wondering something."
"What?" Syaoran asked again this time more frustrated. "Just spill it already!"
"Syaoran, what happened yesterday? Tomoyo and I saw you and Sakura walk—no run off somewhere after school in that rain."
Syaoran's face grew hot as he recalled the events of yesterday's rainy afternoon. He still remembered the warmth of her hand as he dragged her through the streets, how her bangs stuck to her forehead, how she had a bright smile on her face, how close he had been to her...
How he was so sure he was in that crazy thing called 'love'...
He was. He was in love with the Card Mistress. The girl that he had hated so much when he had first came here. The girl whom he was 'bonded' through emotions with. Kinomoto Sakura.
Syaoran heard a chuckle and knew immediately that Eriol knew. There was no need for asking anymore. It probably showed through his face this very second.
"I see..." Eriol said simply with a hint of amusement in his voice. The very sight of Syaoran going into a daydream in front of him was very entertaining. But he knew when he had asked that question and when Syaoran's usual cold expression melted into a gentle one, he had hit the jackpot. It was true. He had been right! Li Syaoran was in love with Kinomoto Sakura. Now only if Eriol knew what Sakura felt.
Syaoran didn't respond at Eriol's short statement. He couldn't. For some weird reason, he couldn't deny it.
That's because you are in love with the girl. You fell...and you fell deep.
The Li leader scowled and ignored the small voice in his head.
It's funny, ain't it? Here is a boy who everyone thought would never feel this way, who everyone thought would grow bitter and cold every single day. A boy who had experienced such a rough childhood. A boy who hadn't given a second thought about girls or even his feelings. Then suddenly a girl just can't escape his mind. Ironic?
Nah...
Fate is more like it.
"WHOOHOO!" Meiling screamed as the boat let out two loud horns. "We're going! We're moving!"
The other two girls watched with smiles on their faces as the new Chinese girl ran towards the front of front of deck and looked down at the ocean.
"She's really nice," Tomoyo said with a giggle. "Certainly has lots of energy."
Sakura nodded as the boat started going forward, almost causing her to lose her balance. "I wonder why Syaoran never told us about her."
Her best friend shrugged. "There's probably a lot about Li-kun that we don't know." Then her face grew sly. "Sakura, you're probably the only one who knows a lot about him!"
"I guess..."
Tomoyo saw Sakura's face sadden a bit and was instantly curious. "What's wrong?"
She looked up at her and shrugged a bit, pasting a smile on her face. "I-It's nothing really, Tomoyo-chan. It's just that...he's hiding his feelings from me?" Sakura said. "It's as if...he's worried I'll find something out. I know that everyone needs their privacy but...I don't know. I'm probably overreacting."
Tomoyo's smile lessened. Syaoran was hiding his feelings? She had a suspicious feeling that it had something with his feelings...for Sakura.
"S-Sugoi!" an excited Sakura exclaimed. Her eyes traveled towards the pool on deck. It was lined with clean gold and blue colored tiles and the water inside looked sparkly clean. It almost looked like it was waiting for someone to jump in.
"It's pretty impressive, ne?" grinned a delighted Sonomi. She had just finished their tour with this pool and was quite happy at the kids' reactions.
"Oh! Let's go, let's jump in!" Meiling suggested to the other three teens that were next to her.
"Sounds good. May we?" Eriol asked politely as he looked to Sonomi.
The older woman glanced at her watch and smiled. "Yeah sure. No need for politeness. It's around four-thirty right now. In about two hours, the crew wants to meet you, Sakura-chan!" Sonomi squealed. "After all, you're the first one to finish the Trail's Trials. Just think, Nadeshiko's daughter was the first to finish that hard game!" Sonomi sighed at the memory of her dear cousin, Sakura's mother.
However the girl sweat dropped at Sonomi's antics. "I-I wasn't the only one who did it, Sonomi-san! I had my friends...and Syaoran was there with me!"
Sonomi nodded. "That's right! You're boyfriend, ne?" She laughed. "Well, he looked cute! You're one lucky girl, Sakura-chan! Where is he anyway?"
Eriol and Tomoyo watched in delight as Sakura's face grew bright red. But unknowing to them, Meiling's face paled and her breath stopped short. Were Sakura and Syaoran really going out? After all, none of them had said it, but it kind of seemed so. Was it true?
"S-Sonomi-san, Syaoran and me...we aren't...we aren't together," Sakura said trying to suppress the blood rushing to her face. But of course, it didn't work much. She couldn't help it! The thought of her and Syaoran together was ridiculous though!
Meiling let out a breath and her face color appeared normal again. Unfortunately for her, two observing pairs of eyes saw this.
Sonomi laughed. "Aw, gomen ne Sakura-san. I just thought that...well, never mind." She clapped her hands together. "Well, go get changed and get your friend! Go jump in the pool!"
Eriol sighed as he waited in out in the hallway where their rooms were. Tapping his foot as he leaned against the wall, he waited for the girls who were currently changing in their rooms. Why did girls have to take such a long time? All he had done was dress in some trunks and a shirt and slip into his flip flops. Do girls really have to take this long?
He stared at the door in front of him. It was Syaoran's door. They hadn't tried calling him yet because they were afraid he'd get angry. Eriol noticed that he was quite sleepy before so he was probably asleep. And anyone who was crazy enough to wake him would most probably hear his grumpiness when he awoke.
Suddenly a door opened to reveal a lovely looking Tomoyo wearing a white two piece bathing suit. Her hair was done in a bun and in her arms were a towel and a bottle of sun block lotion. Eriol felt his hormones acting up as he felt a blush creeping up his face. He just couldn't look away and when she approached him, he even felt himself dizzy a bit. Jeez. Being a teenager was tough, ne?
"Hi, Eriol!" Tomoyo said happily. She was obviously oblivious of his azure eyes staring at her from behind his glasses. Then she handed him the sun block. "Put that on. You don't want to get sunburn."
"Y-You look lovely, T-Tomoyo..." he finally said as he smiled at her, trying to force his eyes to stay on her face instead of the rest of the body. It would be quite rude to stare at her now, wouldn't it? There would be time for a little glance or two later on.
She blushed, suddenly what she was wearing in front of him. "Th-Thanks..." Eriol nodded and stared at the ground as Tomoyo looked elsewhere wondering if she looked all right in the bathing suit. They stayed there for a couple of minutes in an uncomfortable silence when two other doors opened. Tomoyo almost sighed aloud in relief.
They watched as Sakura and Meiling approached them. The Chinese girl was wearing a dark red bikini with a white towel wrapped around her waist and Sakura was wearing a pink two piece.
Tomoyo grinned, momentarily forgetting about the uncomfortable moment that passed between her and Eriol. "KAWAII! Sakura-chan, I told you that you would look good in that!" she said as she suddenly whipped out her camera. Turning it on, she recorded the group.
Meiling leaned over to Sakura. "Is she always like this?" she whispered.
Sakura nodded and laughed. "It's kind of her hobby."
Tomoyo's face appeared from behind the camera as she recorded a posing Eriol. "Hey, aren't we still missing someone?"
Meiling's eyes seemed to brighten up at the mention of him. "Oh yeah! Syaoran!" Walking over to the door, she knocked hard as the others held their breaths, expecting a grumpy shout from within.
But to their surprise, none came. "Syaoran!" Meiling called, knocking again and again.
Still no answer. Frustrated, Meiling turned the knob and looked inside.
No Syaoran anywhere.
"Hey, where is he?" Eriol said peering inside the darkened room.
The ruby eyed girl closed the door with a sigh. "He's probably off wandering again. He used to do that a lot at home. The Elders always got so angry."
Sakura was actually getting a bit worried. Syaoran hadn't looked all that well all day. Even in school, he looked pretty tired. Maybe something was wrong?
Suddenly she felt a spark of confusion that wasn't hers. That shield Syaoran held around his emotions probably came down for a second. He was thinking again. But it wasn't the usual pain that she felt. In fact, there was no pain at all. Just...deep confusion. And for some reason, she felt a bit dizziness with it. Something seemed wrong.
"Hey, do you mind if I go look for him?" Sakura asked, a tint of a worried tone in her voice.
"Is something wrong?" Tomoyo asked.
Sakura gave a small smile. "No, no. I'm just a bit worried."
Eriol nodded. "If you want to you can. We'll be at the pool."
Sakura walked slowly up the steps to the deck. She had looked all over inside the boat, but he wasn't there. That meant he was probably on deck somewhere. Glancing every which way, she tried to pinpoint where exactly she had felt his emotions from. But she couldn't. Sighing she looked up into the sky in frustration. She just couldn't find him! Where was he?
Suddenly, a figure caught her eye as she walked on. He was leaning against the railing, looking out into the ocean. Spotting some dark brown hair, she started towards him.
He must have heard her footsteps because he turned and saw her coming. "Oh."
"Where were you?" Sakura asked letting out a breath of relief she didn't know she was holding in.
"Here."
Leaning against the railing next to him, she looked at him. "Why?"
He just shrugged. "I don't know."
That was a lie. He knew it was a lie. He knew exactly what he was thinking about. He was thinking about her. He was thinking about the very person he was standing next to. Why? He couldn't say why. He just couldn't get her out of his head. He just couldn't stop thinking about her and what almost happened yesterday while running to his apartment. Just hugging the girl would bring about all that confusion? It was enough just thinking about her! What if he found himself with her in a situation like that again? He wouldn't know what on earth to do. He sighed. He couldn't do this anymore. It was tiring him out just thinking about her so much.
He didn't want to stop though.
Just the sight of her, the thought of her seemed to brighten up his day somehow even though it confused him still. He couldn't explain it. Wasn't it too soon though? He'd only known the girl for a couple of weeks! Can you fall in love in a couple of weeks?
"Syaoran-kun?" came a quiet, sweet voice.
"Yeah?"
Sakura fidgeted in her spot, playing with her fingers. She didn't know why she wanted to ask it. But she was just curious to finding out why he was hiding his emotions from her. "Wh-Why are you...shielding your emotions from me?"
Syaoran was startled but the girl rambled on.
"I-I mean, I know that everyone needs privacy. But I...I thought...we were close enough to be let our emotions free? I mean..." she blushed at the thought. "I-I don't hide my feelings about Yukito-san from you. I never did. I-I thought that...I don't know. I sound like a fool..." She laughed nervously, watching his reaction.
He froze. But it wasn't because of the question she just asked. It was because he had almost forgotten. She was in love with Tsukishiro. He felt a sudden stab at his heart. How on earth could he forget! The girl he loved was in love with another guy!
Wait. He had admitted it. He had just admitted that he loved her.
A sinking feeling came now. He was in love with her. It was no use denying it.
But it didn't matter. After all, Sakura was in love with Tsukishiro Yukito.
Syaoran was writhing in pain inside. It hurt a lot. It hurt a lot to find out that you loved a girl for the first time...only to find that she loved someone else. Damn! Why'd she have to be his first love?
But he knew the answer to that. It was because she's the only one who literally felt what he went through. She was the one who started to change him.
She was the only one who touched his heart so deeply.
"Syaoran-kun!"
He figured by the tone of her voice that she felt a tint of the pain he felt. She was worried. Damn. She was always worried. And was always caring, gentle, happy, loving...
Feeling dizzy, he leaned his head against his arms which rested on the railing. He couldn't concentrate anymore. Everything just seemed to be going wrong. It just hurt. Sakura was in love with someone else.
"S-Sakura..." he whispered, his head still bent down. That was probably a good thing. Sakura wouldn't see the pain in his eyes that way. "D-Do you...love Tsukishiro?"
Sakura blinked at the unusual question. "Syaoran-kun, is something wr–"
"Answer the question!" he shouted, lifting his head and staring down at her. His emotions were wild and angry. He barely knew what the hell he was saying anymore. Having the head splitting headache and the dizziness didn't help either.
Sakura grew stiff as she saw those fierce amber eyes looking down at her. What was wrong? Why was he acting this way? Why was he asking this question?
"ANSWER!"
Her heart thumping in fright, she gulped. "Y-Yes!" she answered quickly, barely thinking. When she realized what she said, her eyes softened. "I-I...love him." She did. She never felt the same way about anyone...
...that's what she thought. A second after she said it, she suddenly felt like she was lying. It felt...fake.
"I-I wonder where Syaoran is," Meiling said aloud by mistake. She was worried too. Syaoran hadn't seemed himself all day. First, he'd been all sleepy, then he'd act weird like when she had ruined the cake. Was something wrong?
And what exactly was it with Sakura and Syaoran? W-Were they together?
She was sitting on the pool's edge, her legs dangling into the water as she stared into the air. She didn't even notice it when Eriol and Tomoyo, who had been racing and laughing with each other came up to her. Tomoyo propped herself beside the girl, her body dripping wet as Eriol stayed afloat in the water.
"Meiling?" Tomoyo asked. "Is something wrong? You haven't even been in the water yet."
"What the matter?" Eriol asked, his glasses for once off his ears since he was swimming. "At Hong Kong, you loved swimming."
Meiling snapped out of her daze. "I-I was just...wondering where Syaoran was."
Tomoyo and Eriol glanced at each other as Meiling fell into another trance. The sound of her voice was the one that gave it away and they both thought the same thing.
Was Meiling in love with Syaoran?
Watching him carefully, Sakura looked up at the boy in confusion. His face seemed to harden as if she had said something wrong. She noticed that he gripped onto the railing so hard that his knuckles turned white. "S-Syaoran-kun?"
Suddenly she saw his eyes almost close. He was tired. Greatly tired. She gasped as he lost his balance and wobbled a bit, his grip on the railing loosening.
"Syaoran!"
Just as she thought he would collapse, he gripped onto the railing again, resting his head on top of it. "Tired..."
His face was flushed as he struggled to open his eyes. Worried, Sakura reached out and placed a gentle hand on his forehead. She gasped. "You're sick!"
"Am I?" he asked in a tired voice. Everything was fuzzy now. He barely could remember who he was talking to.
"You might have a fever, Syaoran!" Sakura exclaimed. "Was that why you were acting all funny today? Why did you come if you feel so sick?"
"B-Because Sakura asked me to..." He answered deliriously.
Her emerald eyes grow soft. "Syaoran..." With a sigh, she picked up his arm and made him lean against her.
"What are you doing?" he asked as he took an unsteady step.
"I'm bringing you back to your room! This is dangerous having you all dizzy-like on the deck of a boat!"
A burst of wetness on his forehead woke him. It was relaxing to have his forehead cooled down. Grumbling, he opened one amber eye. The sight made him catch his breath in his sore throat. Two beautiful emerald eyes staring worriedly down at him.
As he tried to sit up, he was instantly pushed down. "Don't you dare get up, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura scolded. "You stay until you get better!"
Too tired to retort, he lay back in the bed he was in. He realized that she had brought him to his room.
"A-Arigatou...for bringing me back here."
Sakura smiled brightly which caused him to blush. "No problem."
He lay there for awhile, his eyes almost too tried to keep open. The silence was comforting though. Having her near him seemed to slow down his aching body. But something was weird. He felt a growing guilt inside of him that wasn't his...it could only mean that it was Sakura's...
"Syaoran-kun, gomen ne..." Sakura suddenly blurted.
He looked at her like she was crazy. Why on earth was she apologizing? "What are you talking about?"
"I-I uh..." she smiled nervously. "Yesterday...in the rain after school...you got sick because of that didn't you?"
Syaoran looked at her for a second. This girl always put everything on her shoulders somehow, didn't she? Here he was with a fever because he had been the one running out in that rain and she was apologizing. Wow...she's...
...amazing.
He saw her almost let out a small gasp. He had just suddenly given her the best smile he had. But he can't help it. After all, she as the first love he had ever had. She had stolen his heart...
...if only he could steal hers...