Disclaimer:- Yeah, yeah. Read previous ones. Pah.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chap, I'd like to thank u personally but I don't have the time. I updated thisfast since I had already written this chap.
Chapter 16: Trip to Tomoeda
A thought often makes us hotter than a fire.
' Is she alright ? ' Syaoran furrowed his eyebrows as he eyed Sakura. They were sitting inside the first class of Flight 450 heading to Tomoeda.
" Something wrong ? " he asked her.
" N-no" Sakura said nervously.
Syaoran sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, and that's why your knuckles are whiter than that cloud over there." he pointed across the closed window of the airplane towards the sky.
Sakura had to admit that she clenched the armrest a little tighter than necessary as they picked up speed along the runway and one of her hands were braced against her stomach.
"What's the matter ?" he teased. "Scared ?"
" I feel like I left my stomach back at the airport. " she said pitifully.
Syaoran chuckled "Wait till you eat the food, you'll wish you had left your stomach back there "
Sakura groaned " You're not helping ! ".
30 minutes later...
" God, You look awful " Syaoran cried loudly. " You're green !"
" Shut up " Sakura snapped and glared at him " I'm air sick, that's all and.. " she sniffed. " Is that bacon.. ?"
" And eggs and chips and fried toast with sausages and... where are you going? " he asked startled.
Sakura had suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth and made a dash to the back of the plane
Syaoran, not remembering to care what on earth the people outside thought, followed Sakura. He was more concerned with the fact that she looked sicker than before.
He saw her enter the toilet and found Sakura clutching the sink and retching.
" I hate..flights.." she mumbled to Syaoran as he stood beside her and held her hair up out of her face.
" Well then you shouldn't have gotten sick." he told her gently.
Sakura groaned and succumbed to another wave of sickness.
" It might help if you ate some fruit " he told her mildly.
The thought of food made her stomach clench, but funnily enough, thinking about fruit wasn't so bad.
" Why?" she asked tired and felt Syaoran release her hair, making them fall past her shoulders.
He was now rubbing her back gently to ease her sickness " They might help settle your stomach."
" Do they have fruits inside an airplane ? "
" I doubt it, but you can drink a juice. It helps too "
Well.. she was quite hungry " Ok. But if I start throwing up again, I'll aim at you." Sakura told him with a laugh.
" Now there's a pleasant thought " Syaoran answered dryly as he watched her rinse her mouth with a freshener she had in her purse.
When Sakura turned around to face him, they both became aware of how close they were standing to each other. They quickly sprang away from each other blushing furiously.
" W-we better get going " Sakura stuttered her voice an octave higher.
" Yeah, there are other people who'd want to use this facility " Syaoran joked lamely causing Sakura let out an awkward laugh.
He unlocked the door and they stepped out, only to be met with applauses, wolf whistles and hoots.
Sakura came out behind him and peered over his shoulder to see practically all passengers in the second class, cheering and winking at them.
They both frowned confusedly and then it hit them.
Sakura with her hair tousled, her skin flushed and Syaoran with his red tinged cheeks and his messy hair, gave off quite a picture.
Groaning inwardly, and trying to ignore the knowing looks sent their way, Sakura and Syaoran went quickly to the first class and sat down in their seats.
An hour passed by, during which Syaoran often shot Sakura concerned glances and enquired if she was feeling alright. Not quite satisfied with her answer, he ordered her a juice and some light healthy snacks, which Sakura enjoyed eating immensely.
The fact that Syaoran worried over her, filled her insides with warmth.
' I can't believe how nice he is to me ' she thought sleepily ' If only he'd be like this every-time. But then again... the thing that makes Syaoran so unique is his personality... I'd never try to change that...'
Quite satisfied with her decision (not quite awake enough to even realize what she decided ), Sakura snuggled into the soft pillow the air-hostess gave, as sleep finally rose to claim her senses.
The last thing she felt was a soft, feather light sensation across her forehead as a gentle voice murmured " Sleep well, Sakura "
OoOoOoOoO
"And after hearing Sakura's name, Tou-chan got all weird." Nakuru sniffled " He started pacing around and muttered to himself. Then he got this strange look in his eyes and shouted a loud ' GAKI ' "
Tomoyo stifled a giggle.
" He said something about how he'd pound him and that's when I really thought he went mad. So I sort of..." Nakuru looked guilty " smashed a vase over his head. "
Eriol winced eyeing the shattered vase on the ground " It must've hurt "
Nakuru shook her head " I know where to hit, I used to work as a nurse remember ? "
" Believe it or not but he has an extremely thick skull. He was still conscious after the vase smashed, so I had to hit him with a chair " she gestured to the broken pieces of mahogany wood lying near the vase.
Tomoyo laughed " Poor Touya-san... is he alright ? "
Nakuru smiled weakly " Just a bit out cold since yesterday... "
A big groan came from the couch. They snapped their heads towards the voice.
Touya was holding his head. " What happened? My head feels like it's going to explode..."
He got up from the couch with a fierce scowl, and noticed the three people standing in his house.
" What are you guys doing here ? " he asked gruffly.
In the blink of an eye, he found himself wrapped in Nakuru's arms as she hugged him tightly. Her whole body was trembling as she told him over and over on how she was worried and that she was very sorry.
Startled, Touya patted her head in a consoling way, although he had no idea what she was being sorry about.
All he remembered was preparing her breakfast for Nakuru and saying something along the line of I've heard that name somewhere before... What name he heard and everything else after that was a total blank.
" What's going on ? " he asked her gently.
Nakuru opened her mouth to speak but Tomoyo cut her off "You fell from the stairs and passed out Touya-san"
Touya blinked " I passed out ? "
Eriol nodded " Since yesterday morning... "
Touya blanched "I was out cold for the whole day? " he said astonished " And how exactly did I fall ?"
Nakuru released him and fidgeted under his gaze " You tripped "
" Must be that furball fluffy." he murmured frowning thoughtfully.
" I'm gonna get rid of that cat even if Kaijuu kills me for it " he added, a reluctant smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he thought of the bubbly voice of his sister.
They watched as he went over to take some aspirin for his headache.
Touya came back looking much better " I'm late for work " he grunted " Keep the keys under the doormat when you guys go out "
He shot them a suspicious look and headed towards the door, only to be pounced by Nakuru.
"Akizuki not now " he said in exasperation.
" Just wishing you a good day at work, Tou-chan " she said gently and released him.
Rolling his eyes and smiling slightly, Touya got in his car and sped off.
The three of them let out a big sigh as they settled themselves on the couch.
" We did it.." Eriol said with a smile.
Tomoyo giggled " For a minute there I thought we'd be busted. "
Nakuru frowned " But he'd meet Syaoran eventually... I mean Sakura does have to stay here you know "
" Yes, but Sakura's dad would be there. So I don't think Touya would do anything funny " Tomoyo said grinning.
" But Kinomoto-san said he was going out for two days... " Nakuru trailed off.
Tomoyo sweatdropped " Oh dear "
Eriol groaned " This is just not our day "
OoOoOoOoO
" Sakura..." someone shook her.
She mumbled incoherently and buried her face deep into a warm pillow.
"Sakuraa...wake up " the voice commanded in a gentle tone.
" Five more minutes..." she mumbled snuggling her head and clutching around the pillow tightly.
She sighed contentedly and listened to the rhythmic beating coming from inside the pillow.
' Since when did pillows have heart beat ? ' she frowned and opened her sleepy eyes to lock with deep amber ones.
" You can cuddle me later Sakura, we're about to land " Syaoran told her, eyes lit up in mirth.
Sakura withdrew from him quickly, her face tinged pink, but all color washed out when she realised what Syaoran had just said.
Gulping a little in fear, Sakura closed her eyes tightly and braced herself for the landing.
She felt something warm slid over her hands and peered her eyes open to see Syaoran's fingers entwined in hers.
" Don't worry " he told her giving her a reassuring squeeze and Sakura smiled at him gratefully.
It's quite amazing, how two simple words can make a person feel better. The flight landed and soon people were exiting.
"God, that was a looong journey " Sakura grumbled " I think my bum's gone numb."
" I can rub some feeling back into it, if you'd like." Syaoran suggested with a grin.
Sakura scowled and tried to hit him on the head with her purse.
He dodged and laughed " What? It was an innocent suggestion "
Sakura huffed " Stop being a baka and let's go " she said and dragged him off the plane.
Syaoran entered the airport feeling the vague sense of deja-vu. It was just like he remembered...Shiny white floors, black escalators, see-through glasses and people scurrying everywhere.
Sakura smiled " I can't wait to see everyone. Dad, Nakuru, Yukito... - "
A look of annoyance flashed briefly across Syaoran's face as she mentioned Yukito. He knew how she had a crush on him back in fourth grade...
"- and Oni-chan (brother)" she finished.
Before coming going on the flight, Sakura had warned Syaoran to behave properly towards her big brother. When he started protesting, she wentas far as to threatening him with bodily harm.
This shut him up immediately, he knew Sakura would be more than happy to kick his shins when opportunity presented itself.
" I can't believe I actually have to see that guy again " mumbled Syaoran, thinking about her over-protective brother.
" What was that ? " Sakura asked sweetly, although her expression was otherwise.
" I said, I can't believe pie actually have poo that die again " Syaoran said rolling his eyes.
Sakura raised an eyebrow. " Wha...? "
" I know, isn't it unbelievable? " he asked with a grin.
Sakura sweatdropped. " Hoee.."
OoOoOoOoO
Syaoran's eyes were glued onto the road ahead of him, the road that one would imagine would lead them to heaven, so heavenly white it glowed.
He cursed silently, how he wished it would. They were walking down the streets of Tomoeda, towards Sakura's house.
On the way, Sakura pointed to a clearing and started explaining how Yukito had taught her to ride a bicycle in this place.
' What did I do to deserve this ? ' he thought with a scowl.
His scowl deepened, as Sakura told him how Yukito had carried her in his arms when she fell off the bike.
" That's great " he spat out bitterly.
Sakura frowned " Is something wrong ? "
" Nothing. Now can we get a move on " he said with all traces of rudeness.
" Fine " Sakura said irritated. ' What's gotten into him ? '
The sky seemed to reflect their mood, as it clouded over slightly showing all signs of an oncoming snowfall.
She was walking ahead of him, and refused to even talk to him for his previous attitude. The winds were picking up and Sakura tried not to shiver at the coldness.
" You should've dressed more warmly " she heard Syaoran chastise her from behind. " Take my coat, you'll freeze to death at this rate "
Sakura ignored him and walked ahead.
" Are you going deaf ? I told yo-"
" I heard what you said " Sakura snapped " My house is just a block away, I'll be fine "
Syaoran glared at her back " You'll get sick again, quit being so childish and take my coat "
Sakura paused and turned around " And when was the last time you weren't immature ? " she shot back.
Sparks flew briefly between their eyes, and before they could start having any other arguments a loud squeal startled them both into snapping their heads to the front.
" KAWAII (cute)! "
A tall young woman with long grey-black hair was holding a video camera. Next to her was a man with dark blue hair, wearing silver-rimmed glasses looking amusedly at the scene before him.
" Tomoyo-chan ! Eriol-kun ! " Sakura shrieked and ran towards her best friends engulfing them in a big hug.
" I'm so happy to see you guys! " she said releasing them and smiled at the pair.
" Nice to see you again Dadouiji-san " Syaoran said coming over and standing beside Sakura.
Tomoyo smiled at him " Nice to see you too, Li-san "
His eyes narrowed at the sight of Eriol " And who are you supposed to be ? "
" I am Eriol Hiragizawa.. " Eriol noted the fierce glare on his face " Tomoyo's boyfriend " he added slyly.
Something seemed to go off deep inside Syaoran " Oh "
Tomoyo hid a grin, as she recorded all this.
Eriol extended his hand towards Syaoran, which he shook a bit hesitantly. " It's nice to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you from Sakura "
Syaoran blinked ' Sakura told him about me?'
He looked at her through the corner of his eyes and fought down a smile at her expression. Her eyes were wide, mouth opening and closing as she struggled to tell something.
" That's a very good imitation of a fish " he told her smirking.
Sakura flushed a little " Shut up "
But Syaoran continued teasing her " So you've been talking about my charming self to your friends in Japan, eh ? I'm touched " he said with a wink.
Sakura rolled her eyes and smiled" Well, I suppose you do have a certain charm that I just have to tell people "
His eyes widened slowly, was she complimenting him?
" - like your sick sense of humor, and not to mention your pig-headedness. I particularly had a fun time telling Eriol, how I'd like to see you choke and die on a piece of pineapple "
" Ouch, that hurts " Syaoran exaggerated and faked a wounded expression clutching his heart.
" Good " Sakura said, her previous anger towards him dissipating rapidly.
Tomoyo giggled " Let's go to your house Sakura. We'll talk there "
OoOoOoOoO
Nakuru served them all warm coffee as they sat around the hall.
" So what are you guys doing here ? " Sakura questioned eyeing Tomoyo and Eriol curiously.
Eriol smiled " Since we saw most of the places in Alps, we decided to end the trip "
Sakura, being known for her extreme achievements in the field of being dense swallowed the whole thing up, but Syaoran was slightly suspicious.
"And you just happened to decide this when we were coming here.. " he stated dubious.
Tomoyo sweatdropped " A bizarre coincidence, huh ? " she said laughing nervously.
Syaoran quirked a smile " Very..."
" Hoe ? " Sakura blinked at them confused.
Syaoran rolled his eyes " I'm going to take a hot shower, where's the bathroom ? " he asked standing up.
" Two doors from my room " Sakura answered and saw him walking towards the stairs "You remember where my room is ?" she asked stunned.
Syaoran turned to face her and shrugged " It's a little hard to forget my time here thanks to the Change Card mix up. I was stuck as the stuffed animal you know "
"And besides " he added with a mischievous smile " I can hear screams of PINK from up there, so I figured that's where your room is "
He laughed at her outraged expression and climbed the stairs, carrying his light weighted bag.
Sakura fumed and gritted her teeth " He's unbearable ! "
" But you like him anyway " Tomoyo said slyly, while recording everything on camera and was given the satisfaction of watching Sakura turn a little pink.
"A-are you crazy ! " she stuttered " I don't like him ! "
" You may think so, at the moment. But sooner or later, the two of you won't be able to deny your passionate feelings for each other " Tomoyo said matter-of-factly.
Nakuru nodded " And when that time comes, the two of you will get together like that." With those words, she snapped her fingers.
Sakura's eyebrows had risen higher and higher with each word they had uttered, so that now they had disappeared behind her bangs.
As they grinned at her, Sakura took a deep breath and hissed: " Passionate feelings? Have you guys been watching those cheesy romance flicks again ?"
Nakuru smiled sheepishly, and mumbled: " Just once in a while "
Sakura rolled her eyes.
Eriol grinned slyly " Well, look at the time girls ! Don't we have that important thing we should finish ?"
Nakuru frowned "What importan- " she received a sharp kick from Tomoyo, swallowing down a yelp she managed a tight smile on her face " Oh! yeah I forgot about that ! "
Tomoyo grinned " We'll come back a little later then, Sakura-chan "
" But -" Sakura was interrupted by Nakuru.
She winked at her and shot an inconspicuous look towards the stairs " I've heard lovers like being alone "
Sakura's jaws dropped " What !" She could only watch stunned, as her friends went outside waving her good-bye.
Sighing, she plopped herself on the couch. ' Might as well watch something on T.V '
" Urgh, too boring " Sakura said as she saw a kids show going on.
She changed the channel " Too cheesy "
CLICK " No" CLICK " Eww " CLICK " Not this either " CLICK " Nope "
" If you press any harder, you'd end up breaking the remote " a husky voice whispered behind her ear making her jump in surprise.
"S-syaoran! You baka, don't do that ! " Sakura yelled placing a hand over her chest, to soothe down her rapid heart beat.
" Sorry. So, you're getting bored already ? " he asked raising an eyebrow.
Sakura sighed " Nakuru, Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun went out saying they had to finish doing something. And there's nothing good on T.V.. "
Syaoran came in front of her " Let's go out then, I haven't been here for the past 13 years "
" Sounds good " Sakura smiled at him.
" Wear something warm, will you? I don't like seeing you shivering in the cold " he grumbled with a scowl.
Sakura laughed and grabbed a thick coat from the stand and roughly put it on herself.
" Happy ? " she asked coming near him.
Syaoran smiled gently and straightened her collar " Very much " he answered looking into her eyes.
His eyes were dark embers of fire and wood, and Sakura felt herself begin to drown in those fiery amber orbs.
" 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. She seemed afraid to move away or do much else, and he felt very much the same way.
" Sakura ?" he said softly, in an attempt to break her out of the trance she'd fallen into, and the trance he was falling into as well.
" Mm ? " she wasn't really paying attention.
Her lips were so warm and soft beneath his fingers... An unexplainable emotion rippled through him as he continued looking at her.
Syaoran felt himself leaning forward ' What are you doing to me, Sakura... ? '
Just as his lips grazed hers lightly, the front door opened with a loud bang, causing them to jump startled.
Sakura's hands flailed out as she lost her balance, and she managed to grab onto Syaoran thus pulling him on top of her as she fell down on the couch.
" Hey Akizuki are you still here? Then could you ge-" Touya's voice died in his throat and he stiffened taking in the scene before him.
Sakura, his little baby sister, was lying down on the couch legs sprawled and top of her was a brown haired guy with his hands around her side and face buried in her chest.
" O-oni chan, t-this isn't what it looks like ! " Sakura cried out desperately as they quickly detangled from one another blushing fiercely. "S-syaoran fel- "
That did it. The key word to recover Touya from his temporary shock.
Within 10 seconds that followed this name, the silent atmosphere that surrounded the street of Tomoeda was badly broken.
A loud cry of ' GAKI ' was heard in the neighborhood, followed quickly by a string of colorful curses that made some of the unfortunate passerby's cringe.
A/N: I don't have the time for review replies, my exams in two days.. gotta study..