Disclaimer: No possession of CCS whatsoever.
- Scene Change
-
'thoughts'
'sign language'
-.-.-.-.-
When Sakura ran into her house with Syaoran tagging along, she found that the hallway leading to her bathroom was completely soaked. She looked curiously at the bathroom door which was closed. Apparently, the toilet or bathtub must have flooded the whole hallway. She took off her shoes and socks, walked over to the bathroom door and reached a hand out. When she was about to turn the doorknob, her mom bustled through the hallway with two mops in her hand.
Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko, was a mute. Because of this, Sakura had learned sign language with her mother. Nadeshiko made signs that the toilet plugged and started flooding while Sakura was walking her dog. Her mother then noticed Syaoran at the end of the hallway. If she was not mute, Sakura was sure that she would have squealed in surprise. Sakura wasn't sure how to explain but came up with something quick.
'He's here to help,' Sakura gestured.
'Oh, that's great, Sakura! What a nice friend!' Her mother signaled back.
"Um, Syaoran, you wouldn't mind helping a bit with the plugged toilet would you?" Sakura asked out loud.
Syaoran broke out of the confused look he had earlier when they were talking in sign language. "Um, sure."
"Thanks," Sakura said and bowed her head. Syaoran was a bit surprised she was acting much nicer, but guessed that it was pretty obvious she wouldn't be rude to someone, or anyone for that matter in front of any of her parents. Syaoran nodded and returned a head bow.
Sakura opened the bathroom door, causing a whole flood to splash through. Bathroom slippers and anything of the sort on the bathroom floor were now floating on the water, which was about an inch and a half above the floor. Sakura made a ghastly face at the sight, bit her bottom lip, and after rolling the bottom of her pants up so that they would not get wet she strode around in the inch thick water and was picking up things from the floor. She placed them somewhere dry and ran out of the hall to the garage and quickly came back holding a tool box.
"Um, I hope you know what to do Syaoran," Sakura said as she handed him the box and took one of the mops her mother brought from the kitchen.
"Don't worry," Syaoran said as he also took off his shoes, rolled up the bottom of his jeans, and walked into the bathroom while Sakura ran to get a bucket.
- 30 minutes later -
'Your friend seems nice,' her mother signaled at her when they were almost done mopping.
Sakura smiled weakly at this comment and signaled, 'I guess so.' She then continued mopping floors without looking up, avoiding her mother's eyes.
After a moment, Syaoran turned around and put all the tools he used back into the box. He stretched for a moment and groaned. "I'm done, Sakura. It was just a loose screw."
Her mother beamed and signaled, 'Will you date my daughter?'
Sakura looked at her mother with an expression mixed with confusion, surprise, and anger. Syaoran looked confused, since he didn't understand sign language at all.
"Oh, um, eheh, my mom says thank you," Sakura said.
"Oh," Syaoran said and smiled at Nadeshiko. "Your welcome."
'Why do you always change my words?' Her mom gestured.
'Stop it mom, he's not my type,' Sakura looked as if she was hiding her anger as best she could, Syaoran thought as he saw her expression. He was looking at both of them perplexed and wondered what they were saying. Sakura signaled to her mother again. 'He's just a co-worker, don't get any ideas.'
'How would you know your type if you keep sticking to one man?' Nadeshiko looked stern when signaling this. 'Do you really want a guy who makes you cry?'
Sakura looked down, lost for words. Nadeshiko held a hand to her cheek and caressed it carefully. She then signaled to her again: 'No man is worth your tears and the one who is won't make you cry.'
Abandoning her mop and leaning it against the wall, Sakura ran into her room, which was next to the bathroom, and shut the door. Nadeshiko ran to the door and started pounding it with an angry face. Syaoran stopped her and made the signal "Shhh."
Syaoran had never learned sign language, obviously, and was trying to tell Nadeshiko that Sakura was broken-hearted. He pointed at the door, made a heart shape with his fingers at his chest and broke it with a cracking sound coming from his mouth that he couldn't help making.
'You've been broken-hearted before, too?' Nadeshiko looked at him with a wonder on her face. She had obviously taken his signal the wrong way.
"Um...Sorry, I really don't understand what you're saying," Syaoran said half-smiling and looking apologetic. He then pulled out his cell phone and looked at the time. "Oh, uh... I should be going soon."
Nadeshiko looked at his cell phone and her face brightly lit up. She took out her own cell phone and held Syaoran back. She was pressing a few buttons and after a few seconds, showed Syaoran her cell phone.
The message on it said, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Heh, err, yeah," Syaoran said uneasily.
She grabbed the cell phone back and erased the previous message. She then typed a second message and handed him the phone again.
"Is she as beautiful as my daughter?"
This was not exactly the conversation Syaoran had expected, but he knew he had to be polite so he said, "Umm," Quickly thinking, "They're both quite attractive." He looked at how Nadeshiko's face fell a bit and he hastily added, "Well, maybe Sakura is a bit cuter."
"How so?" Nadeshiko promptly typed out on her cell phone.
Syaoran thought for a bit. Actually, he was quite truthful when he said Sakura was cuter as he compared the images of her and the air-hostess in his mind. He tried to forget the horror of his opinion and decided to pick his favorite feature about Sakura for this question and landed on her emerald eyes.
"Um, well, I like her eyes." Syaoran looked at Nadeshiko and realized that she, too, had identical bright green eyes. "Oh, so her eyes are from you. Then it's just beauty passed down from her mother." Syaoran bowed his head and Nadeshiko would have giggled if she could make a sound.
"Sorry, but I really have to go now," Syaoran said, not very reluctant to leave. Nadeshiko followed him to the doorstep and waved goodbye. Syaoran returned the wave and left.
Sakura finally came out of her room when she noticed Syaoran had gone. She looked at her mother who was gesturing at her again: 'I like your friend. Listen to me. Don't choose the man who will make you cry.'
At this, Sakura once again barricaded herself in the room and slammed the door shut.
- Restaurant; Evening -
Eriol and Syaoran were at the cashier talking to two of Eriol's friends. They four were talking about his retirement.
"Well, that's great, I guess! You'll have time for other things now," one of the guests said. "Feel free to come to our house anytime to cook for us if you ever miss it!"
The other guest turned to Syaoran and asked, "So you will be taking his place?"
"Yeah." Syaoran smiled.
"Oh, yes, I specially chose him. He is very talented." Eriol smiled and winked at Syaoran.
"But compared to the Master, I'm only an apprentice," Syaoran said, smiling at them.
"Master is what they call only someone who is retired," Eriol said. His face lit up and he took off his master chef hat and handed it to Syaoran. "Looks like this hat officially belongs to you now."
"Well, Eriol, we have to go now!" The guests said.
"Very well, goodbye!" Eriol waved at the retreating guests and turned to Syaoran. "Hmm, have you seen Sakura?"
"Uhh, no."
"Oh, probably hiding again. Now where is that silly girl?" Eriol left Syaoran and was searching everywhere for Sakura. "Sakura?"
- Outside; behind the back door -
Sakura was sitting on one of the wooden boxes outside and was checking her cell phone every now and then. She lifted her head and turned around to see Eriol. She stood up and bowed as Eriol walked towards her. They both took a seat.
"Trying not to cry?" Eriol teased, smiling.
"You know that's not how I am," Sakura pouted and then returned to looking at her cell phone. "I've already told you before...I trust Ichiro and I know someday, I'll be his only one. I've already come this far, right? If I start over again, I might end up with someone even worse…like—Syaoran!" Sakura crossed her arms in anger.
"Hey...Sakura? I think you have the wrong idea..." Eriol said frowning. "You don't really even know him. Did you know—"
"I know perfectly well what he's like, thank you very much!" Sakura checked her cell phone once again. "Geez, tell me: how many times can a man break a woman's heart!"
Sakura turned around and saw Syaoran sitting next to her. She was a bit surprised but Syaoran opened his mouth to talk.
"Oh, who knows...how many times can a woman break a man's heart?"
Sakura breathed out in anger, but decided to give him a chance to say whatever he was going to say.
'When did he get here anyways? I must've not noticed when Eriol ditched me and went inside.'
"I usually don't like to talk about my personal life, but...I don't want you to be angry with me for no reason whatsoever." Syaoran looked down and continued his story. "As you might know, I have this girlfriend, right? Her name is Arisu. She's an air hostess. ('I was right.' Sakura thought, proud of herself for guessing it.) Last week, she left for a trip to Hong Kong supposedly...but I soon found out that she was here in Japan. With another man. She came to me in her uniform and luggage in tow a few days later, acting like she came back from the trip."
"Yikes, what happened? Did you talk to her?" Sakura asked eagerly.
"Yeah, obviously. I've only been dating her for about a year. But after talking to her, I found out she's been with the other man for seven years."
"She's been cheating on you from the beginning!" Sakura said, looking at Syaoran with sad eyes.
"Yes, I suppose. But she kept saying that she'd love us both the same, and that I didn't need to worry."
- Streets of Japan -
Sakura and Syaoran walked down the sidewalk, Sakura holding her leash. The short silence was ended when Sakura chuckled and looked at Syaoran.
"What's so funny?" Syaoran said, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Oh, nothing. I just didn't realize how we were in the same situation. From tonight, we're official partners." Sakura looked determined. "I didn't realize how many broken-hearted people were out there...and again, I'm sorry for being so prejudice."
"Yep, you never know." Syaoran looked at Kero. "What's his name?"
"Ichiro," Sakura replied.
"Not him, your so-called dog."
"Oh heh," Sakura laughed sheepishly, "Kero!"
"Ah, I see. What breed is he?"
"A Pomeranian," Sakura chirped. "Perfect for me: I have eyes but can't really see."
"You have the most interesting ways of putting things.."
"Interesting is a great way to live though, is it not?" Sakura smiled.
Suddenly, Syaoran's head lifted up as they neared a few stores lined along the sidewalk. He sniffed the air. "Mmm, smell that?"
"Smell what?" Sakura also threw her head up and sniffed.
"Sushi," Syaoran said simply.
"Well, sorry if I don't have a nose as keen as yours," Sakura said as Syaoran ran off to one of the stores.
They sat down on a nearby bench after ordering. Sakura didn't order any since she wasn't hungry at the moment and was watching Syaoran wolfing down sushi after sushi.
"How long have you been in this area?" Sakura asked as she looked up at Syaoran.
"About two months. Arisu called once and said she found her dream home. So I went to help her unpack and we finished in three days."
"Sweet."
"I actually thought we might get married someday."
"Listen here, women always expect men to be the aggressors. Therefore, you have to fight for her. Win her over," Sakura said with narrowed eyes. "It's like practically...the law of the jungle! You have to become the King."
"I don't see you fighting for your man."
"Women who fight for their men are considered cheap."
Syaoran thought about this. "Putting pride before love is also cheap."
"Well...swallowing your pride and losing love...that's worse," Sakura said stubbornly and got up from the bench.
"Hmph, you're quite romantic, ne?"
"Of course!" Sakura said turning to face him.
"Here," Syaoran said as he held up his hand in a thumbs-up sign. Sakura followed suit, confused. "Our secret 'handshake'...or whatever you'd like to call it." Syaoran pressed her thumb against Sakura's and then bent down and pretended do the same to Kero.
"Kero doesn't like you!" Sakura yelled pulling her leash away.
"Yes, he does!" Syaoran fought back. He pulled on her leash and they were fighting over it. Sakura was so caught up in yanking her leash away that she did not notice the leash dangling over the street. A truck suddenly ran by with a couple honks and the leash flew up and landed on the sidewalk next to Syaoran.
"Kero!" Sakura said, horror-struck, holding both her hands over her mouth.
"Oh, no!" Syaoran cried out as he handed Sakura the bag of sushi. He bent down over the leash and started acting CPR. "He'll be alright!" Sakura stared at him like he was crazy. Okay, she admitted that she was crazy for even walking an imaginary dog around the streets of Japan...but doing CPR on it? Crazy. He took the bag of sushi from Sakura and held it in front of the leash.
"He's responding to it! He'll live," Syaoran chuckled. "Hurry, let's take him to the hospital."
"Wha—?" Sakura said as she watched him stand up and carry the leash in his arms, giving him the 'there's-really-no-need-to-it's-just-an-imaginary-dog' look but laughed nonetheless.
- Restaurant -
Syaoran was upstairs in the supply room with a white trash bag. He grabbed a few canned goods and dropped them into the bag. There was a clear window next to him, looking down upon the restaurant. Syaoran looked through and saw the sliding doors open, welcoming Sakura in, her auburn hair billowing against the wind as the sliding doors shut. When she glanced up, Syaoran waved at her. She waved back and made her way upstairs to him, but not before greeting and talking someone that was out of Syaoran's view.
"Hey Syao—What are you doing!" Sakura shouted as she saw him dumping cans into the trash bag. "These are canned goods! They can last for like ten years! Put them back!"
Sakura grabbed the trash bag from him and tried to store it back into the cupboard but Syaoran kept trying to stop her saying, "We don't need these!"
"Oh, yes, we do!" Sakura smacked Syaoran upside the head.
"Ow, what!" Syaoran demanded, rubbing his head and losing his grip on the trash bag.
"Would you dump your girlfriend this easily?" She kept trying to restrain a smile as she shoved the cans back. Syaoran took notice of this and eyed her suspiciously.
"I'm going to be the dumped one if anything."
"Then let's not talk about broken hearts." Syaoran stared at her and she looked around, fighting back a big grin. "I'm not talking about me."
"What's up with you today? You're acting very...odd. Well, odder than usual."
"Shut up, silly, I'm happy for you." Sakura laughed at Syaoran's puzzled face and added, "Someone's here to see you."
Her head tilted to the window and Syaoran followed her gaze. The person she had greeted had now walked into the window's view. She had brown-red hair and was facing away from them.
"Arisu." Sakura smiled. "Now c'mon, go on down."
"I have nothing to say to her." Syaoran turned away and tried to grab the bag away from Sakura again.
"Nothing to say to her? Well, duh. What's there to say? Just use actions. Actions should show what you're feeling more than words. Like hugs, kisses, so on," Sakura beamed at him. "Oh, my, your lips are so dry! Here, I have some chapstick."
She pulled out something from her pocket and handed it to Syaoran. He applied a tiny bit and handed it back to her.
"Women would not want a man who doesn't know when to take actions," Sakura said, then sighed. "Mine hasn't called in two days, so consider yourself lucky. This is actually her third time looking for you."
Syaoran nodded and was about to head downstairs when he turned to Sakura. "Men don't always know when to express themselves. So maybe he's still thinking about what to say to you. Trust me."
Sakura smiled at him and pushed him downstairs after they pressed their thumbs together for their "secret quasi-handshake." She looked through the window as Syaoran hugged a surprised Arisu, and she sniggered. Chiharu suddenly appeared beside her and Sakura greeted and smiled at her.
The both laughed as Chiharu said, "Syaoran's such a lady killer."
-.-.-.-.-
Hehe, Sakura and Syaoran are finally friends. :) R-e-v-i-e-w.
