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A Big Thanks to these gorgeous people:- Kayapride, kriztalstar91, Kesshou Uryou, nena05000, Cheerful-Cherry, AfGhAnCuTiE, Pinaygrrl, okiayame, cherrysakura5, chikichiki, MunChixD, Emeralddestiny, Lady Golden Flower, Cherrysinger, Inu Star Angel, suppixchan, VampireJazzy, Low/Astrum, Filipian-Chic18, c0lap1nada, CherryChik, pschoticmassmurderer, LadyAkina, SakK, Chloena, wemsicles, arela/carissa/kasumi, Sakura-Moonlight, ccsluva, CC, CherryBlossom , Aeris Gainsbrough, cade-chan, ChryBlsms, iloveanime8, summer lover, hopeluv-chan, CherryFreakyFunK, litod3vil, Mew Sakura, leesuh, Kimiko5, illusion, KristiexxNguyen, Inkirietta, Shaoran Cute , asdf , x3Dorky-Candee, Kimura ,im not telling ,Yuna Sakura, reader love, totally-spaz, Doggie-Love, Amie, a little someone, quietgrlindacorner, candy-chan-chan, Emerald Amber, JENII, Cherry Izzy, SerenityMelody, may may-chan, Tammy and -Glittery-Bubbles- for reviewing last chapter.
Chapter 15 - Awakened Feelings.
Falling and dancing like the Cherry blossoms, my feelings towards you...
Akira leaned against a tree and stared ahead with a far away look in his eyes.
His front bangs were waving gently in the cool winter breeze. Suddenly a memory flashed through his mind.
Sitting on the snowy grass her face was lifted towards the sky, with the moonlight playing around the gold in her hair. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with a light of their own...and yet, it was the soft smile on her lips that was the brightest of all.
" What's wrong with me ?" he growled to himself. ' Why do I keep thinking about her... '
" Hmm, I can think a lot of things that are wrong with you. But firstly...the fact that you're standing here talking to yourself, is definitely up there."
Akira jumped, clearly surprised by the feminine voice. He whirled around to meet Naoko's wide brown eyes.
" I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay? "
"Oh, fine, just fine " Akira said, patting his chest. "I always thought having a beating heart was kinda annoying, anyway ."
Naoko smothered a giggle. " I'm glad to know it was nothing serious, then. Why are you here so early ? " she questioned curiously.
" Couldn't sleep " he replied " You? "
" Me neither " Naoko agreed.
" Tough luck " he said with an attempt at a smile. " What do you say we go for a walk ? "
Naoko smiled at him " I'd say it's a wonderful idea "
They walked past the lawn and reached the pond situated in the back of the mansion.
Naoko threw a rock into the water, and watched it skip five times before sinking beneath the clear, smooth surface.
The sun, which had just begun to rise in the east, sent rays of light flashing off the water, causing the entire area to glitter in a myriad of blue and white sparkles.
" I'm leaving " Akira spoke breaking the silence around them.
Naoko nodded " Yes, I suppose you were out here a little too long. You're bound to ge-"
" I'm leaving ." Akira interrupted stressing on the word.
Comprehension dawned on her. " Oh " Naoko whispered stunned.
Akira turned away from her and stared at the pond. " I finished the report on you girls like I was supposed to...and after the Rose ceremony tonight, I'm not exactly wanted here. "
" I want you..." Naoko blurted out quickly making Akira snap his head towards her.
" t-to tell me where you're going " she stuttered trying to cover her slip up.
Something akin to hurt flashed across his blue-grey eyes...but it was gone so fast that it made Naoko wonder if she saw it in the first place.
" I was planning on going to New York for a job. Since I had to come here, I cancelled the tickets. But now..." he trailed off.
" That's wonderful ! " Naoko exclaimed in what she thought was a cheerful voice " You're going to New York ! "
Akira remained silent.
" The city is quite crowded.. just like Tokyo I guess. " she let out a hollow laugh " Funny how two places half way across the globe get similar "
" It'll be a nice experience, to live there. A-and I'm sure " her voice choked a little " you'll get to meet a lot of beautiful women. Really, I'm happy for you "
Getting no reply from him, Naoko saddened.
" I guess this is goodbye then..." she whispered softly.
" Have a nice trip " she said and patted Akira.
Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, Akira grasped it and pulled her towards him.
She was slammed against his chest and he immediately wrapped his arms around her. She stood there against him, shocked and yet comfortable.
"A-akira? " Naoko spoke around her heart pounding loudly in her chest.
Akira buried his face into her her hair, breathing in its unique, pleasant scent. ' I think I finally understand why...'
He fought the tightness that threatened to choke his voice.
" I'm glad I met you. I- " he wanted to say it so badly but he couldn't...
" I'll miss you..." Was all he could say. ' I love you, Naoko... '
Naoko's eyes softened at those words and she rested her head against his chest to feel his heart beating strongly against her cheek. " Me too..."
They both stood there losing track of time.
Holding onto each other desperately and tightly, as though even the smallest gap between them will cause the other person to disappear...
OoOoOoOoO
" Sakura ? "
The said girl's eyebrow twitched.
"Sakuraaaa.." the voice called in a loud whiney tone.
Sakura groaned and painstakingly opened her eyes. She shifted in her bed and squinted to see the big glowing red letters of the alarm clock.
" I'm worried " Ashley, Sakura's room-mate, informed her at exactly 6:00 AM in the morning.
" You couldn't wait another three hours to tell me this ! " Sakura snapped.
Clearly, Sakura isn't a before-the-crack-of-dawn type of person.
Ashley frowned " You weren't sleeping, were you ? "
" Nah, Of course not! What gave you that idea? I was just trying to see through the back of my eyelids for the past couple of hours " she said sarcastically.
" That's good. Hey, Sakura... "
Sakura glared, but the darkness ruined any chance of Ashley getting intimated by it.
" What ? "
" I want to ask you something. "
" Fine, Go ahead. "
" Are you sure? You're not sleepy ? "
" You destroyed all chances of that, didn't you? Just ask the question. "
" Okay. "
" Ask the damn question! "
" Okay, okay! Sheesh, there's no need to shout.."
" Just. Ask. The. Question. "
" Ok. Do you think Syaoran will give me a rose ? "
Sakura blinked " Say what ? "
Ashley sat up in bed and hugged her knees to her chest. " The last group date is today, so there's going to be a rose ceremony after it " she said.
Sakura frowned, she had forgotten about that. Truth be told, she was a little too preoccupied in figuring out what made her behave the way she did with Syaoran during the festival.
It's been a day since they shared a kiss and Syaoran had never brought up the subject. Which was just fine with Sakura.
The kiss wasn't exactly one-sided was it? Of-course not! We all know it takes two to tango... and Sakura wasn't too keen on finding out her real intensions behind the dance ...
She was brought out of her musings when Ashley spoke up again.
" I don't think he'll choose me " she said in a hollow voice.
" Why do you say that ? "
" We didn't go on any single dates this time and the one we went on was plain awkward " she stated sadly.
" But you know what?" Ashley continued airily " I don't care, it's his loss! Although I wish he'd choose you at the end "
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.
' I can't believe she just said that. I guess I misjudged Ashley all this time, underneath all that stupid air-headed exterior of hers she really is an honest, sweet, n- '
" Because that'll surely drive the other girls up the wall. To be perfectly honest, I'd be too surprised if it happens myself. "
'- nasty little twat, who should be stuffed down the toilet- provided, of course, that someone deposited something smelly and foul just minutes before ' Sakura ended her thought darkly.
" And, If you don't mind me saying this... "
" I do mind " Sakura interrupted.
" But you don't even know what I was going to say! " Ashley exclaimed.
"How can I know if I'm going to mind what you were going to say if I don't know what you were going to say? " Sakura asked.
" That's what I'd like to know! "
" No, that's what I'd like to know. You're the one who said ' if you don't mind ' "
Ashley blinked for a moment and scratched her head. " What was I going to tell you...? " she mumbled to herself.
Sakura rolled her eyes and got off bed ' It's impossible to get some sleep around here'.
Sighing she made her way towards the bathroom to take a long relaxing shower.
On the other end of the mansion
" Rise and shine! " a cheerful sing-song voice said.
Syaoran Li rolled over and mumbled incoherently as he pulled a pillow over his face to drone out the voice.
With a huff, Shiefa removed the pillow from Syaoran's grasp and threw to the side.
" I'll rise but I refuse to shine " he muttered huskily, blinking his sleepy eyes to the sunlight.
" Cheerful as always " Shiefa told him with a smile. " Never thought I'd see you sleeping at this hour..."
" Makes you seem almost normal... " she remarked mischievously.
Syaoran scowled " Yeah well, go thank the jerk who planned yesterdays date "
" Going to the opera isn't all that bad " She said with an eye roll.
" They had the open air conditioning in the middle of the friggin winter ! " he snapped " and I had to go through the torture till 1:00 A.M in the morning "
" It's art, you should learn to appreciate it " Shiefa said with a frown.
Syaoran snorted " That isn't art. Art are paintings that can't sing! What they did was screech in the highest vocal possible to break everyone's ear drums "
Shiefa laughed " Well, atleast your date must've suffered along with you "
Syaoran grimaced " Airo sang along with them, I don't know who was doing a worse job at it. God, If only I had gone with Saku-" he stopped suddenly, eyes widening and looking as if someone punched him in the guts.
Shiefa giggled "Ooh, look who's been bitten by the green-eyed monster " she teased.
Syaoran's cheeks immediately turned pink " Shut up ! " he yelled embarrassed.
" My little brother is growing up so fast..." she sniffed " The next thing you know, there'll be little Sakura's and Syaoran's running around "
Syaoran turned a shade of red " SHUT UP, SHUT UP ! "
Shiefa smiled " Aww...You're even blushing, That's what normal guys do! My, my this Sakura Kinomoto sure turned your world upside down.."
"ARGH! LEAVE ME ALONE! " Syaoran screamed and stalked off the room, his face now a healthy deep red shade.
Shiefa smirked watching him leave ' Like it or not Syaoran, you're falling for her...hard '
OoOoOoOoO
Eriol rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed into the phone "Yes, we'll be over there tomorrow. Don't worry about it "
Someone blubbered on the other end.
"Nothing's going to happen, Nakuru. I'm sure what you did was for the best...I'll get there as soon as possible. I promise, now stop crying and get some sleep "
More sniffling.
Eriol rolled his eyes " Right, you do that. Bye " he put the phone down.
" What was that about Eriol-kun? " Tomoyo asked coming behind him.
Eriol smiled "Pack your things Tomo-chan, we're catching the first flight to Tomoeda "
Tomoyo frowned " Why ? "
" Touya " Eriol answered.
Tomoyo gasped " Does he..." she trailed off uncertainly.
"Yes, unfortunately he does. " Eriol furrowed his brow " The show was aired a day before and Touya saw it "
Tomoyo groaned "Oh no... poor Nakuru-san. No wonder she called you up at this hour, she must be having a hard time managing Touya-san "
Eriol smirked " Not exactly..." He leaned in and whispered something to Tomoyo making her eye's widen.
" You're kidding ? " she said gaping at him in disbelief.
Eriol shook his head as a ' no '.
Tomoyo let out a hearty laugh " Poor Touya-san... "
Eriol laughed and nodded his head " Indeed.."
" Come on, Lets get going then. I don't want to miss this ! " Tomoyo said and started arranging her clothes in their suitcase.
She paused suddenly and turned towards Eriol " From what Shiefa last told us, isn't it time for the...? "
Eriol smiled " Yes, Sakura and Syaoran will be coming "
Tomoyo squealed and started packing things twice as fast as before " I'm going to see some of the best video recording moments in my entire life ! " she said excitedly.
OoOoOoOoO
The last group date had gone to Kasumi and Ashley, and it was a trip to a palace.
The 2 girls came back, Kasumi looking cheerful as usual but Ashley wore a defeated expression. Kasumi elaborated their date to everyone in the room.
Sakura rolled her eyes,sheglanced at Naoko and did a double take. Ashley's appearance was nothing compared to the state Naoko was in.
Her eyes seemed to lack the usual intelligent glint, it was filled with sadness and pain. Her face was a bit pale and her entire demeanor radiated misery.
Before Sakura could confront Naoko about it, Shiefa strode inside and announced the girls to get ready in five-minutes for the rose ceremony.
The tension was disgustingly thick as the girls descended the stairs and made their way towards the ceremony-hall.
Naoko, Sakura observed, was very detached and for one strange moment she wondered if Naoko was worried about Syaoran choosing her like the other girls.
The moment was gone as soon as it came, for Sakura knew without a doubt that Naoko simply wasn't of that type.
' Then what is she troubled about...? ' Sakura thought biting her lip in worry.
The girls arrived in the hall, and lined themselves a little away from where Syaoran stood before four roses.
Syaoran stepped forward and tenderly picked up the first rose and began the same explanation.
" I've gotten to know more about everyone and have grown fond of each of you. I feel like I have a connection with everyone here... " and all that stupid crap only idiots will truly believe in .
Unsurprisingly, most of the girls were swallowing up anything he said and were looking at him with rapt attention.
" He's grown fond of us! " Sakura heard Kasumi gush, she sighed in exasperation.
Syaoran was getting ready to call his first name. Finally he said, " Sakura "
Sakura was taken by surprise. This was the very first time Syaoran called her name at the beginning of the rose ceremony.
She accepted the rose from Syaoran, and saw him give her a slight smile, fighting down a blush she quickly went and stood to the other side.
The next girl to be called was Kasumi, who tried to swallow a squeal (unsuccessfully at it too) and took the rose from Syaoran giving him a tight hug.
" Thank you " she whispered voice thick with emotion and joined Sakura.
The nerve-wracking atmosphere had just gotten worse, as there were only two spots left.
Syaoran took the third rose " Naoko " he called out.
Naoko stood there seemingly lost in thoughts, she yelped as Ashley gave a sharp kick in the side.
" He just called your name " Ashley whispered fiercely.
Naoko nodded and hesitantly walked forward.
" Will you accept this rose " Syaoran asked.
Naoko eyed the rose held in his hand...a picture of Akira laughing flashed across her eyes.
She stood there frozen...unable to speak around the strange lump that was forming in her throat, while her mind flooded her with more images of Akira.
His smile...his laughter...the way his eyes seemed to comfort her...
But saying that made you look up didn't it ?
It broke my heart to see the beautiful woman I like upset...
I'm glad I met you I- ...I'll miss you...
' Akira...'
" No.. " Naoko whispered softly, then a determined expression came on her face and she repeated her words a bit louder " NO "
The girls gasped, even Sakura was shocked at Naoko's open rejection.
Syaoran seemed to be unfazed by this, infact he looked considerably happy. " One hour left, hurry " he told her and shoved something into her hand.
Naoko appeared to have understood what he said, and she gave him a grateful smile.
Hugging a confused Sakura and muttering a hurried 'Good bye ', she dashed out of the hall and towards the outside.
A limo, that was usually reserved for the rejected girls to ride take them home, stood before her with it's doors wide open.
Naoko scrambled inside and stared surprised at her bags that were sitting there. She finally saw what Syaoran shoved into her hands and gaped.
It was an airplane ticket to New York !
' Syaoran had it all planned...' she thought with a slight smile.
Gaining her attention, Naoko ordered the driver to take her to the Hong-Kong airport and told him loudly ' to step on it '.
At the airport (35 minutes later ...)
Akira got up from his seat and reluctantly made his way towards the Boarding gate.
' Well, this is it. Time to leave ' he thought sadly. ' I'll never forget this place...'
"Akira ! "
' I wish I hadn't been a coward and told her how I felt... but then again she would've probably slapped me or never spoken to me again... '
" AKIRA ! "
His eyes reflected deep pain ' I didn't want to ruin our friendshi- '
"OOF " Akira exclaimed and stumbled slightly as someone collided onto him from the back.
The person was clutching him from the behind so tightly that he found it hard to breathe.
" Akira..." the person whispered.
" Naoko? " Akira said in disbelief, he gently removed himself from her grasp and turned to face her looking astonished.
" What are you doing here ? " he asked eyeing the ticket and bags that she had with her curiously.
Naoko smiled up at him through tearing eyes " Just making sure you took what you left behind..."
Akira blinked confusedly.
" Me..." she whispered with a tear slowly making it's way down her cheeks.
Akira's face softened and he wiped the tear away gently.
He locked eyes with her, and Naoko felt her heart start to pound hard and rapidly in her chest at the many emotions she found glowing within the beautiful, blue-grey pools.
" Naoko...I love you " he said softly.
Her eyes widened at this confession, her mouth opening as she struggled to think of some reply, but his thumb caressing sweetly over her lips drove whatever words she would have spoken right out of her mind.
And then his face was drawing closer, his eyes slip closed, and in another moment, Naoko felt the very real, very solid pressure of warm, soft lips coming to rest tenderly against her own.
For the very first time in her life Naoko didn't feel like running away, the disgust that usually swelled inside her when someone kissed her was completely gone...
His kiss not only consumed her lips, but her mind, leaving her unable to utter a coherent thought, her body paralyzed in a mist of emotions that she couldn't even begin to decipher.
His hands slowly slid down and wrapped around her waist, pulling her more close to him as the kiss deepened further, the passion behind it making her go weak in the legs.
Slowly, they ended the kiss and pulled back. He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed silently. Her fingers intertwined at the nape of his neck, her touch making his skin tingle with a burning cold.
She looked at him, her brown eyes searching through him " You love me ?" she asked astonished.
He kissed her forehead gently " Yes "
Naoko bit her lip " I...I don't know what to say Akira.. " she said softly.
" Don't worry " Akira said brushing her cheeks tenderly " I'd never rush you into anything... I'll wait until you're ready for this. But, until then, I promise I'll do my very best to make you fall in love with me. "
With this said Akira pulled back from her and gently took her hand in his.
# " Last call for boarding Flight 457 heading for New York " # a woman announced in the speakers.
Akira smiled cheekily " Now then, let's go eat some bad food and watch a lame movie ! " he declared.
Naoko laughed " You're impossible ! " she said slipping her arms around his.
As they made their way towards the flight Naoko reflected upon her time in the show.
' I guess coming here was for the best... I got to meet a wonderful person like Akira, who even fell in love with me.. ' she thought with a dark blush.
' I have to thank Syaoran for all this, If it weren't for him I wouldn't have come here and Akira would've gone off to New York without confessing his feelings for me... Syaoran really is a nice guy, though Sakura would say otherwise '
Naoko's smiled as she looked at Akira through the corner of her eyes ' I hope you find happiness as I did Sakura... I wish you and Syaoran would soon realise that you are meant to be together...'
OoOoOoOoO
Since Naoko had fled the ceremony, there was only one girl that didn't receive a rose, Ashley.
After a tearful parting from her, the girls had gone off to their room-hall with Shiefa in tow, who briefly explained why Naoko had quit the show.
" What Naoko did was so romantic ! " Kasumi squealed starry eyed.
Airo smiled " Didn't think it'll turn out this way... but they make a cute couple "
Sakura nodded " I'll really miss her though..."
' The last person to keep my sanity intact is gone now ' she thought dryly.
Kasumi giggled " I'm so pumped about the on-coming hometown date.. I can't wait to introduce Syaoran to my family "
Sakura frowned " Home town dates? What's that ? "
" You don't even know about it ? " Airo asked with mild disgust.
Sakura scowled " No. What are they? " she asked peevishly.
" Syaoran gets to visit each of our hometowns " Airo said mater-of-factly.
Kasumi nodded " Yeah. You get to show him around your town and then he'll meet your family"
Sakura paled visibly. " Meet my f-family? " she asked meekly.
Kourin nodded " Yeah, and he'll dine with them and see if they like him or not "
Sakura already knew the answer to that. Syaoran would easy get along with her dad, he seemed to genuinely like her father when he was in his fourth grade, during the card captoring days. But her brother...
Sakura shuddered, she can't imagine how he'd react on seeing Syaoran again.
Airo sighed dreamily " I'm going to cook him dinner. You know what they say, 'A way to a man's heart is through his stomach ' "
Kourin scoffed " Puh-lease, through his stomach? Gurl, you're aiming a little high " she said with a sly grin.
" Aim is high? What's lower than the stomach is..." Sakura trailed off and blushed furiously.
" HENTAI (pevert)! " Kasumi said between peels of laughter.
Airo giggled " But I must say, I like her version of the saying better "
Kourin grinned "Obviously "
A/n:- As to why Naoko didn't decide to go with Akira in the pond scene, It's because she's a girl with so many insecurities, and so it took her sometime to act upon her feelings. Refer to chap 10 and see, you'll understand further. This chap didn't have much Syaoran/Sakura, but now that we have Naoko/Akira out of the way we can refocus on them...
Here's something that'll hopefully pass off as a peace offering for my delay in update...
Sneak-preview of next chapter : -
" Let's go " she said in an overly-loud voice, looking away from him quite deliberately. " What do you think about going to the Penguin park? Or to our Elementary school? You know, to look around places you once saw. Or maybe visit the Tomoeda shrine. Or how about we catch a movie? Or maybe -"
"Are you okay?" Syaoran interrupted Sakura's nervous babbling in a loud voice of his own.
" Me? Oh, I'm fine! Don't worry about me! Yeah, there's nothing to worry about! Why, do I look like I need someone to worry about me? Do I look pale or something? Because I'm fine. I really am. Yup. I'm -"
She was interrupted once again by Syaoran's index finger lightly touching her lips. A warmth seeped from his finger and spread to her lips and throughout her entire body, like a wave of emotion.
Sakura closed her eyes.
A/N:-that's all you get... I'll update soon ...Ja ne!