Ugh, I can barely remember the plot...I've been THAT busy...
And I just realized this...IF YOU START READING FROM THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE VERY CONFUSED SO I SUGGEST YOU GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING BEFORE YOU GO ON TO LATER CHAPTERS!!
Trang: Aw, thanks for checking--but the thing is, I tend to post up chapters about a month later...check every week or so, I might have a new chapter up.
umiz: No fight in this chapter, sorry. )
Serenity's Blaim: LMAO!! It will come soon, don't worry.
renyun: of course I'm having different ending! In case you haven't noticed, there aren't two guys and two girls, with the two guys fighting over one girl. It won't have a sad ending...I hope.
Callista Miralni: Thanks!! This fic is based on the Korean drama Glass Slippers...or Shoes
And to all Manami-haters: Manami gets injured in this chapter, WOOT!! Only thing is, Sakura does too...GAH SPOILED TOO MUCH
Disclaimer: Don't own CCS, belongs rightfully to CLAMP!!
CinderSakura
By: Lotus Dreams
Chapter 12: Blood Loss
Manami stopped dead in her tracks. She looked from Nadeshiko to Syaoran, from Syaoran to Nadeshiko.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" she screeched.
The two broke apart, and Nadeshiko's eyes widened when she saw Manami.
"Mana-chan!" she said. "That--That wasn't what you think it was--it was all a mistake--"
"I FREAKING KNOW WHAT I FREAKING SAW!!" screamed Manami. "I SAW YOU TWO--TOGETHER--" She pointed a shaking finger at Nadeshiko. "YOU!!! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO COME INTO MY LIFE?!??! I WAS FREAKING FINE WHEN YOU FREAKING WEREN'T HERE BUT EVER SINCE YOU--YOU CAME, YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING FOR ME!! EVERYTHING!! GET OUT!! NOW!!"
"Hai," replied Sakura quietly, and swiftly exited. That left Syaoran with Manami. Strangely enough, Syaoran seemed unpertrubed, and was more concerned about Nadeshiko leaving than Manami's anger.
"What. Were. You. Doing. With. Her."
"What about it?" snapped Syaoran.
"I want to know what you two were doing."
"Sharing a kiss. Is that against the law?"
"You--" Manami was at a loss for words. "You--you've been brainwashed by her!"
"Iie, you're wrong," said Syaoran coolly. He didn't flinch at her yelling, he wasn't afraid of her--he had had ENOUGH. Enough yelling, enough jealousy, enough 'You're mine!' talk--it was time to let her get the message. "No one can be brainwashed. You know why I kissed her? It's because I'm in love with her--I like her. I love her. I think she's the one for me. I think we can be friends, but not lovers." He glared at her. "Do I still have to clarify?"
Manami's mouth dropped open.
"You--you--" Manami sputtered. "YOU--BASTARD!! YOU'RE MINE!! YOU WERE ALWAYS MINE BEFORE NADESHIKO CAME AND STOLE YOU FROM ME!!"
"You talk about me as if I'm an object to be won." Syaoran's voice was cold.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?! WHY ARE YOU BREAKING MY HEART THIS WAY?!!" shrieked Manami. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO LOVE HER AND NOT ME, WHY??!"
Syaoran shrugged. "Love has no reason." He slipped his hands inside his pockets, and walked past Manami. Manami was now left alone, standing there, breathing heavily and tears gathering in her eyes.
"Ohayou, Saku--whoa." Manami emerged from her room, her hair sticking in various directions, her mascara leaving black streaks down her cheeks, and her eyeshadow smudged. Her lipstick was thickly and clumsily applied, and her eyeliner was leaving her looking like a raccoon. Her clothes and hair stank, and in between her fingers was a cigarette. It was broad daylight, and Manami had just staggered from Kinomoto Inc., shocked and crying.
Needless to say, Touya was shocked.
"Sakura," he hissed, recovering quickly, "Why are you smoking? You know it gives you heart disease and lung cancer and makes your clothes and hair stink and your teeth yellow!! What are you DOING?"
"Syao--Syaoran doesn't love me," sobbed Manami. "He--He loves Nadeshiko!" She started bawling and inserted the cigarette into her mouth, and puffed on it a couple of times. Touya coughed as the smoke was blown into his nostrils.
"Stop!! Second-hand smoke is even worse!"
"I wanna die," wailed Manami, "I wanna DIE!!!"
"Sakura!" Touya grabbed her shoulders. "You shouldn't be saying this!! It's not worth crying over...whatever you're crying over..."
"SYAORAN-KUN DOESN'T LOVE ME!!" she bawled. "HE LIKES NADESHIKO, THAT B----!!IT ISN'T FAIR!! Why is it always ME?!!"
"Sakura calm down," ordered Touya. "Shape up!"
"I can't," Manami choked out. "I can't get over it!" She threw off Touya's arms and stumbled downstairs.
"Sakura, come back!!"
"IIE!!" shouted Manami. "Leave me alone!" She made her way to the kitchen and flung open the cupboard. "Beer...beer..." she mumbled to herself. "Alcohol...no alcohol..." She threw the cigarette down and stamped it underneath her slippers. Then, grabbing her purse, she staggered out the front door, with Touya calling after her, climbed into her car, and drove--to the liquor store.
Touya kicked the door to Manami's room in frustration. What is wrong with my sister? he thought. Mr. Kinomoto, hearing Touya, came out from his study.
"What's going on?" called up Mr. Kinomoto.
"Sakura's acting really weird," Touya hollered back. "She came out as a mess and she was SMOKING. Now she went out for...well, apparently for beer."
"NANI?!!?!"
"Hai, BEER, ojii-chan."
I am seriously having a talk with this girl, thought Mr. Kinomoto
Nadeshiko quickly went to her department, breathing heavily, feeling many different emotions at once. She was shocked, first of all, because Syaoran had so suddenly and unexpectedly kissed her. Her first kiss. She felt guilty, because Manami had walked in on them, and she seemed to be incredibly infatuated with Syaoran. Thirdly, she felt slightly afraid that Manami would make up some excuse and go to her grandfather or brother and tell them to fire her. She sighed.
"Nadeshiko-chan?" Nadeshiko heard someone call her, but her brain seemed to register it more slowly.
"Nadeshiko-chan? Kinomoto Nadeshiko?"
"Hai?" Nadeshiko turned around sharply, coming face to face with Syaoran. She was the only one in the department/office at the time, so she was a bit freaked out.
"Look, Nadeshiko-chan..."
"Don't." Nadeshiko turned away from him. "I...I don't want to make Manami--Sakura--anymore upset than she already is."
"Nadeshiko..."
"Please. Let's just...try not to cross paths."
"Nadeshiko." Syaoran grabbed ahold of her shoulders, and spun her to look at him. Her green eyes refused to meet his. "Can you tell me if you...like me or not? You never really answered that question before. I want to know. Do you like me?"
"I..."
"If you hate me, I'll leave you alone forever and ever." Syaoran sounded serious. Nadeshiko knew how her heart truly felt, and she raised her head towards him, meeting his penetrating gaze.
"Aishiteru(I love you)," she whispered. "...But...I don't think we can be together..."
"Says who?" replied Syaoran, pulling Nadeshiko into a tight embrace. "I love you too. And nothing's going to stop me."
Manami poured herself a glass full of beer, and chugged it all down in one gulp. Emitting an unbelievably disgusting belch, she uttered one word: "Syaoran..." Hiccuping, she poured herself another glass, and chugged THAT down too. "Uuunnnnnhhh...." she grunted. As you can probably guess, she was drowning herself in alcohol just to get rid of her unhappiness.
By the time she left, it was practically around 10--she was extremely drunk; 3.4 L of beer does that to you. Tripping, she climbed into her car. She laughed drunkenly. "Hehe...I'm too drunk to walk so I'll drive!!" (A/N: I love that line!! I just had to use it!! xD My gym teacher was making jokes about alcohol people) She chuckled again, and started the car. She drove unsteadily, almost hitting the fence and she seemed to be unable to drive in a straight line.
She reached a busy intersection. The light was red, but unaware, Manami kept driving. "I'm too drunk to walk so I'll drive...haha..."
Unfortunately for her, there was someone else crossing the street, and as she laughed again...
BAM.
Blood spattered onto the windshield, and all Manami saw was darkness.
"I'll take you home," said Syaoran, taking Nadeshiko's hand. Nadeshiko shook her head. "I'm working late tonight--until 10. You go on ahead."
"I'll wait for you." Again, Nadeshiko shook her head. "Iie(no). Don't worry about me." Syaoran hugged her briefly, bid her goodbye, and then left. He wasn't unduly worried about Nadeshiko; she was an independent woman.
However, there was an uneasy feeling as he left the company...
When Nadeshiko left the workplace, she glanced at her watch. "10 o'clock, exactly," she said aloud. "Pretty late for me." She walked quicker, as the night sky was without stars, and it was dangerous for her to be walking home alone at such a late hour.
She reached a busy intersection. The light was green, so she walked across quickly, not wanting to be hit. As she hurried, she heard a faint voice shouting out, "I'm too drunk to walk so I'll drive...haha..."
The voice sounded strangely familiar. Nadeshiko turned her head to the right--and saw a car speeding towards her at full speed, even though the light was red!
"Abunai (watch out)!" someone shouted.
Her first instinct was RUN!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, LITERALLY!!...but when she saw who the drunken driver was, it shocked her out of her wits.
Manami.
In that split second, the car hit her.
CRASH.
A dark red liquid oozed onto the streets--Nadeshiko's own blood. Her vision went black, and unconsciousness was immediate.
"Sakura!"
"Calm down, Kinomoto-sama. Sakura will be fine."
"I want to know how she is!! After driving drunk and hitting someone, how the hell can she be fine?!"
"Well, she miraculously survived a car crash drunk, and if she's alive, then I think she's fine. She's got a couple of broken ribs and her left arm is also a little disjointed, but that's just minor injuries."
"MINOR INJURIES??!!!" roared Touya. "SHE FREAKING BROKE HER RIBS AND ARM AND YOU'RE SAYING SHE HAS MINOR INJURIES???!!!"
The doctor winced. "It's not too bad. We can fix that immediately. It's just that..."
"NANI??!!! TELL ME!"
"...she suffered a lot of blood loss when she hit Kinomoto Nadeshiko. Her head crashed into the windshield, and the glass cut her head. It was lucky that someone had called the ambulance, or else Sakura might not have been able to make it."
"Blood loss? You're--you're not kidding me?"
"Kinomoto-sama, I dare not 'kid' around with these matters."
"Is it serious?"
"Well, we temporarily replaced some spilt blood, but she spilled quite a lot of blood...and we can't guarantee that our blood from the blood bank can be of the utmost use to her."
"What are you trying to say?" demanded Touya.
"Well...the best way for her to survive is for a family member--preferably a sibling--to donate blood."
Nadeshiko woke with a devastating pain in her head. And her stomach felt horrible, as if something had hit her...she slowly sat up, propping herself on her elbows...as she leaned against her pillow...
She suddenly lurched over the side and threw up.
Wiping the vomit from her mouth, she coughed, and ripped a tissue from the nearest tissue box, wiping her face. I feel so sick, she thought. What happened?
The door to her room opened, and in came Syaoran. His face was pale, and his expression was frightened.
"Nadeshiko!" he said. "You--" he glanced at the retch on the ground. "You threw up?"
"Hai," answered Nadeshiko hoarsely. "Get--get the nurse, I--I feel sick..." She sank back slowly onto the bed.
"Nurse!" called Syaoran. "Nurse! Nadeshiko just threw up, can we get someone here..." As a janitor came in and cleaned up the mess, a doctor entered the room. "Kinomoto Nadeshiko, is it?" he said briskly.
"Hai," replied Nadeshiko.
"Well, here's what happened--you were walking across the street at around ten o'clock--a dangerous hour for a young girl like you to be roaming around the streets, by the way--and then a car hit you and knocked you unconscious. The car hit you in the stomach, so I presume that's why you feel so sick at the moment and vomited all over the floor. When the car hit you, you actually went a couple of inches into the air and then slammed onto the ground, and you lost quite a lot of blood, just like the driver. Also, it may have damaged your memory just a tiny bit, so I suppose it will take a little bit longer for you to remember what happened yesterday."
"N...Nani?"
"You lost blood, kid. You need it to be replaced."
"And--And if I don't?"
"Well, we can replace your blood with blood from the blood bank, but it would be best if a sibling or a family member donated blood for you."
"I see."
"We've temporarily replaced your blood already, so you'll live; however, the sooner you find a family member, the better." With that, the doctor left. Syaoran raised an eyebrow.
"That's it? He gives us a report and then he lives? What a bastard."
"Forget it," said Nadeshiko weakly. "Why don't you go home, Syaoran-kun, I'll...I just want to rest." Syaoran was surprised.
"You want me to leave you alone? After you've been hit by a car." Nadeshiko nodded.
"Please...I just need some peace and quiet. My head hurts like hell, my stomach feels bad..." She yawned, trying not to throw up again. Syaoran's eyes softened.
"Alright," he said gently. "I'll just wait outside, okay? Just in case anything happens."
"Okay..." Nadeshiko's eyes closed. Syaoran smiled at the sleeping beauty in front of him; true, she was covered in bandages, but beautiful nonetheless.
"Sweet dreams, Nadeshiko-chan," he whispered, and walked out the door.
As soon as Syaoran was outside the door, Nadeshiko opened her eyes. She stared at the ceiling, one thought circling in her mind...
Well, we can replace your blood with blood from the blood bank, but it would be best if a sibling or a family member donated blood for you...
I have no siblings or family members, thought Nadeshiko. I'm an orphan.
The sooner you find a family member, the better...
I have no family...I have nothing...Nadeshiko's eyes filled with tears. For once in her life, she envied Manami--at least she has family. At least she has a caring brother, and a considerate grandfather. Sometimes I wish I could be her...
DUN DUN DUN!!! Yes, that will be the end of chapter 12. Originally, I wanted to call the chapter 'More Than One Danger', because both Manami and Sakura losing blood is one danger, but there's also that danger of Mr. Kinomoto and Touya finding out who the REAL Sakura is. Do you know why? Well, if you've seen the drama, you probably know why...although my version is beginning to become a little different than the real drama. ANYWAY, READ AND REVIEW!!
