Kristy Selean: Yay! I finally finished this chapter! Sooooo sorry for
the long wait, but just to make it up, I made it a whole lot longer than
the last chapter. Almost double to be exact. For those who really don't
like sap or mushy attempts (note: ATTEMPTS), gomen-nasai (so sorry).
Hopefully some s+s scenes in this will make up for the delay, ne?
Forever It Will Stay
Chapter 5: The Last Day
The watch read 11:27. In a minute, the bell would ring, announcing the end of Sakura's modeling class for the day. Syaoran made sure his balance was set on the branches so he wouldn't fall out of the tree. Sakura walked down the aisle of the classroom with yet another set of clothes, only this one was very natural. Sakura wore a navy set of lower-rider jeans with a lavender tanktop and an unbuttoned short-sleeve white blouse on top of it. On her feet, she wore black platform shoes that were about three inches high.
Syaoran yawned. He already saw what the others did. They had to show off their clothes by using a unique set of diversions. One girl got kicked out for trying to act like a stripper. Another bored the class with her detailed explanation about her own clothes. They didn't have to change into other clothes, but they had to show off their own. Eventually, Sakura's turn came, and she only had three minutes to finish off her act. Even though he was tired and bored, Syaoran's curiosity got the best of him when Sakura stepped up to the plate. The windows were open so he could hear every detail that was going on.
"Go ahead, Sakura. You know what props are available to use."
Sakura's classroom had a few props including a set of CD's for music, a boombox, a few borrowed instruments, exercise equipment, and even a body- mike. There were other unique objects available if necessary. To Syaoran's surprise, Sakura picked out a CD and popped it into the boombox. As the music played, Sakura danced to the medium paced music. It had just enough beat in it to pull off her moves. Syaoran watched her performance; it certainly was better than the others. Sakura made sure she had just enough movements to show off her clothes but not too much to make it look like she was at a night-club or something. Just as the music finished its last note, the bell rang, announcing the end of class.
"Great job, Miss Kinomoto! You have a definite A for that performance. I'll be seeing you all next week."
Sakura raced down the hallway. Tomoyo didn't have her music class that day, so she wanted to get home ASAP. Syaoran smiled at her fleeing appearance before jumping off of the tree and heading down a path. Suddenly, crash! Syaoran barely had the time to catch whoever it was who bumped into him to prevent them from falling. School possessions were scattered on the floor along with class notes that went whizzing in the air. Syaoran had managed to catch quite a few and the other person had managed to catch the rest. As Syaoran handed them back to the owner, he recognized who it was.
"Arigato-gozai..." The speaker stopped midsentence after facing Syaoran.
"Sakura."
Sakura's eyes widened. She was definitely not expecting this at all. Sakura picked up her things in a hurried attempt to get away from Syaoran. Syaoran tried to help her pick up her things, but Sakura snatched them from the floor before he could help her. In a swift movement, Sakura turned the other way and started to run, but Syaoran was quicker than that. Syaoran grabbed her arm, making her whirl around to face him.
"We need to talk."
"Says who?"
Sakura stared at him icily with her usually glistening emerald eyes. Syaoran cringed at her voice. This was definitely not the Sakura he used to know. Something had happened to her, and he had to find out, especially if Eriol's theory was true.
"Sakura, please. This is my last day in Japan before I go. Please, can we just talk things over?"
"No," Sakura replied without any hesitation. Just as Sakura turned the other way again and started to walk, Syaoran stood in front of her. Before Sakura could do so much as protest, Syaoran kneeled on the floor on both knees. Sakura stood wide-eyed in shock and clutched her books for fear of dropping them again.
"Sakura, you know about my pride. You know how much I valued it and would never let it go for anything. I'm folding it over right now. Please, give me a chance."
Syaoran didn't really understand what got into him. One moment he saw Sakura and decided to leave, and the next, he was begging her on his knees to talk to him. Sakura noticed all the stares that she was receiving from the people on campus and decided to get it over with.
"Get up and get out of here!" Sakura replied through clenched teeth.
"I'll wait here forever, even if it takes me as long as it took for you to move on without me."
Sakura gasped softly. This was the first time they had ever mentioned their old life before these conflicts started. It was probably best to get it off her chest anyway. Sakura nodded hesitantly before leading Syaoran off the campus.
~*~
"So now what?"
"Well, are you hungry? You must have been from all that hard work."
"No."
A slight rumbling told Syaoran that Sakura wasn't telling the entire truth. Sakura flushed and turned away while Syaoran just led her to a nearby fastfood place to eat. They decided to grab a quick hamburger before heading off to the movies. The table was very quiet as they ate with only the occasional sounds of chewing and sipping of the straw. Syaoran cleared his throat.
"So, did anything happen here after I left?"
"Why would you care?"
Sakura shot Syaoran a sorrowful look, one full of pain, agony, and sadness that Syaoran had to took away in guilt. He didn't expect it to be like that, but it turned out this way, nonetheless. Sakura didn't seem to be too happy about it. Syaoran faltered.
"B-because, I just wanted to know how everyone was."
"Everyone but me?"
In a sudden flash, Syaoran had Sakura's hand in his and was holding it tightly. Sakura almost dropped her food in surprise. His eyes were fired up with determination, but they pleaded her at the same time.
"Sakura, please. Can't we make this day a little peaceful?"
"Fine."
Sakura backed off of her hostility as a waitress came by to give them their bill. Syaoran shifted in his seat to pull out his wallet while Sakura reached into her purse at the same time. By the time they had their wallets out, they were both facing the same bill.
"I'll take care of it."
"No, it's okay. I'll handle it."
"Sakura, please, I already owe you enough. Can't I just take care of this?"
Sakura sighed and sat back while Syaoran smiled. He placed the money on the bill and handed it back to the waitress who gladly took it over to the cash register. Sakura finished putting her purse away when the two stood up to leave. Syaoran held the door open for Sakura while she walked through.
"This doesn't mean you paid your debt, Syaoran."
Syaoran cringed at the sharp, cold words, but deep inside, he knew he deserved it. How could anyone figure that a life that was planned out could be so hard to live? Syaoran and Sakura took a taxi to the nearest theater and decided to watch Secret Agent Angel. The movie was about a police officer who had been killed and was given a chance to find out who was committing the murders that kept on reoccuring on the same day every year. He signed up as a secret agent and took the case in order to save the life of a girl whom he soon fell in love with. Sakura and Syaoran managed to get good seats, considering that this movie had been out for a while.
"Have you seen this movie yet?"
"No. I never had time from modeling."
"Oh. I see. Popcorn?"
Sakura raised an eyebrow. How he had managed to just drop the subject and move on to food, she would never know. Sakura opened her mouth to refuse when she thought it over.
'To the fiery pits with the stupid diet from modeling. One day of munching wouldn't hurt.'
Sakura shook her head, smiled slightly, and took a handful off the top just as the lights dimmed and the movie began. Everything seemed normal. The movie was going by swiflty with Sakura and Syaoran munching on popcorn and drinking soda.
The movie passed by until they were at the last scene. It was a duel between the main character and the murderer. After relentless fighting (and Syaoran's comments about their "imperfect" fighting style), they both reached out for their guns and fired. Sakura wasn't really expecting that so she jumped into Syaoran's lap and almost screamed aloud.
"Sakura, it's okay. It's okay. It was just a gunshot in the movie."
"I know. It's... just... startling."
Syaoran smoothed out Sakura's back until her breathing returned to normal. They both blushed when they realized where they were. Sakura immediately climbed off of Syaoran's lap, much to his disappointment, and the movie continued. Sakura was still a little shaky when she saw the gore of the body of the murder, but she seemed to be okay, hanging on to Syaoran on their way out. Syaoran cast a worried look on his face as he escorted her out of the theater.
"Sakura, I'm sorry. I didn't know that would scare you so much."
"It's okay. I guess I should have paid more attention to the ratings. After all, it had been a while since I've seen a movie. Thanks, Li-kun."
Syaoran winced. It was that Li-kun again. Syaoran hated the sound of that honorific coming from Sakura. Sakura noticed that he stopped walking and stopped to see what was wrong.
"Li-kun?"
"Sakura, it's Syaoran. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"
"Well, okay, L... Syaoran."
Syaoran grinned and continued walking with Sakura. Sakura realized that she was starting to blush and turned away quickly. The old feelings were starting to come back to her...
'No, not now!' (Oh woah, cool! Unintentional alliteration! ^^ Okay, sorry, just had to do that.) 'I'm suppose to be marrying Yukito, yet I'm falling back in love with Syaoran? No, I can't!'
Sakura snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that her feet were leading her instead of her leading her feet. Sakura cast a confused look at Syaoran who stared back.
"Where are we going?"
"I thought that maybe we could visit the dojo nearby, unless they got rid of it."
"Oh. No, it's still there."
"Good."
They continued their walk until they were only a block away from their destination. Cars whizzed by them, the streets were filled with the usual Tokyo hub, and a few other pedestrians elbowed their way through the crowds.
"Syaoran, why are we going to the dojo?"
"I thought I'd visit a few friends who may still be there. Besides, I heard there was a tournament, and you know me. I can't resist a good challenge."
Syaoran smirked at Sakura who shook her head.
"Challenge? For the great Syaoran Li? Oh yeah, sure, they're gonna really stand a chance against someone who has been training all of these years to wield a sword and fight since he learned how to crawl."
Syaoran felt the same familiar warmth creeping up his cheeks as he chuckled. Well, he had to admit he was good, but he never thought that Sakura would compliment him so easily as that.
"Well, thank you, Sakura, but let's keep that between us when I sign up."
Syaoran winked at Sakura just before stopping to open the door to the dojo for her. Sakura bowed slightly and hurridly rushed in in hopes that Syaoran didn't notice the blush creeping up her cheeks.
'Baka, baka, baka! You just don't know when to shut-up do you? Come on, Sakura, pull yourself together. This is Li-kun we're talking about here. The one who left you!'
Sakura bit her lip as she entered the dojo with Syaoran. Syaoran gave her a reassuring smile just as the other members welcomed him and led the two of them to their respective dressing rooms. Sakura walked into the girls' dressing room and was given something decent to wear for her training.
'But, I still can't forget him...'
Sakura felt a blush creeping up her cheeks when she thought of his smiles, his always determined eyes, and the soft look of care that he always gave her. Every little touch, every little look was etched into her memories that she refused to let go of. Suddenly, Sakura realized that something wasn't right.
"Hoeeee? Why am I getting dressed for this?"
~*~
'I wonder if Sakura's coming out yet.'
"Syaoran?"
Syaoran turned to see that Sakura was dressed out just as he was. He brought his old training clothes that he used to capture cards with. The only difference was the dragons encrested on his sleeves and the picture of the howling white wolf on the back. Sakura was wearing simple white robes and long pants.
"Ready to do this?"
"To do what?"
Before Sakura could sense what was going on, the once seemingly empty dojo was filled with former students who attacked them from all sides. Syaoran braced himself while Sakura only stared wide-eyed at the situation. She was going to fight too? Syaoran easily dodged the attacks coming at him. Actually, dodge was an overstatement. He was merely toying with them. Sakura watched as people went sailing left and right over her head, almost out the door of the dojo, and certainly to a corner of the room. Some people tried to attack her, but one centimeter too close and Syaoran shoved them out of the way.
'Just like he used to do.' Sakura thought as Syaoran finished the job.
Now it was a one on one. One warrior left standing who would challenge Syaoran. Syaoran braced himself to fight when Sakura stepped up to him. One hand on his shoulder immediately loosened him up. Syaoran stared at Sakura, confused, when he realized what she wanted. Syaoran stood aside as Sakura took her own stance. The last remaining fighter smiled and prepared himself to launch an attack at Sakura when she started walking up to him. He stared at Sakura with bewilderment, unaware of what was to come. Crack! The next thing that Syaoran and the last fighter realized was that Sakura had broken his nose, sending him on the floor, sprawling. Syaoran clapped at Sakura's handiwork.
"Nicely done, Sakura."
"Arigato, Syaoran."
All of the members clapped at the two fighters before them. After presenting each of them with a fighter's amulet for beating the dojo, Sakura and Syaoran changed and left.
"I never knew the dojo could be so much fun!"
"Now you know why I enjoyed fighting."
"Yep!"
Syaoran smiled. Sakura was being a lot more friendly toward him, kind of like the way things used to be before he left. Syaoran frowned at his last thought when he realized a slight tug on his hand. Surprisingly (not!), it was Sakura.
"Syaoran, let's go to the skating rink! We haven't been there since the Freeze card incident. Please? Onegai?"
Syaoran smiled at the pleading face before him. He shrugged and followed the excited Sakura to the skating rink. There were a few people there, but, luckily, there weren't that many, leaving them enough space to skate as they liked.
"Um...Sakura?"
"Hai?"
"I...I forgot how to put these on."
Sakura did a facefall. Syaoran tried to hid his embarassment while she tied his skates for him.
'The great Syaoran Li who could beat 50 people at once in a dojo did not remember how to tie on skates. Oh boy. Meilin would be all over this if she found out,' thought Sakura.
The two walked over to the skating rink and started to skate. Syaoran stayed close to the sides just in case he would fall while Sakura glided gracefully around the rink...actually, more like clung onto the sides for dear life. After a while, Syaoran got the hang of it and started to space himself away when Sakura skated past him. With her arms outstretched, one leg lifted behind her, and eyes closed, she was as graceful as she could be. Sakura moved to the center where she twirled a few times and did a double axile before moving back toward Syaoran.
"Having fun?"
"Not as much as you, I'd bet."
"Aww. Come on, Syaoran. It's easy!"
"For yo-woah!"
Sakura took Syaoran's hand and led him to the center of the rink. She held his hands and told him to hang on. Syaoran looked a little intimidated, but Sakura's soft smile ended the argument. Sakura held on tightly to his hands and started to spin around the center until they were lost in a cyclone.
"Sakura! I can't hold on much longer!!"
"Just hang on! I'll try to slow us down!"
Oh, Syaoran hung on all right. A little too tightly, that is. By the time the cyclone finally ended, Syaoran found himself practically embracing Sakura just to make sure he didn't fall. Sakura blushed brighter than a red apple as Syaoran slowly peeled himself off of her.
"S-sakura..."
"H-hai?"
"DON'T EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!!!"
"Hoeeeeeee???"
~*~
Laughter sounded from a nearby cafe as a couple walked out of it.
"Man, that Yamakazi. How many more lies will he have to tell before Chiharu crushes his brain with that mallet of hers?"
"Who knows."
Sakura and Syaoran walked out together from the cafe. They just finished dinner and it was nearing Syaoran's depart flight time. Syaoran checked his watch one more time just to make sure that he wasn't late for his flight.
"When are you leaving?"
"My flight's at 8, so it's not long from now."
"Oh."
Sakura felt disappointed. He was leaving again. Then again, she did ask him to leave her alone, after all. It was probably for the best. Syaoran and Sakura walked until Syaoran got a taxi.
"Where are you going next?" Syaoran asked.
"I think I'll just walk home."
Syaoran's face turned serious, confusing Sakura. Why was he staring at her that way?
"You shouldn't walk home at this time of night. Who knows what kind of people are out there."
"Oh, Syaoran, I'll be fine."
Before Sakura could protest any further, Syaoran scooted over for her to sit. Sakura sighed and sat down. The taxi ride was a short one that dropped her off at the front of the place that she and Tomoyo stayed at.
"Arigato, Syaoran."
"Dodashimashite." (Is that the right spelling? It means you're welcome.)
"Don't forget to keep in touch once you get to Hong Kong."
"Don't worry. I won't forget."
Sakura waved as the taxi drove off with Syaoran before heading inside. Tomoyo left a note saying that she went grocery shopping. Sakura headed toward her room for a bit of rest and homework time when her mind drifted back to the events of the day.
'He isn't so bad. I guess I should never have hated him. He didn't mean to hurt me after all.'
Sakura smiled.
~*~
The taxi started to drive off when Syaoran decided on a different course: to Eriol's house. He got there, knowing that he had enough time to stay for at least half an hour and still make it to his flight on time. Syaoran entered the house and headed straight for Eriol's room. There was no need for introductions. After all, Eriol was one of the creepiest magicians around.
"Hiiragizawa, I ned to talk to you about something."
"Yes, my little decendant?"
Syaoran rolled his eyes.
"It's about Sakura's energy. Did the positive go up today?"
Eriol closed his eyes and meditated. He felt a pink aura, a strong one, start to fight the shadowy aura that originally enshrowded the earth. Sakura was fighting back.
"Hm...Now that I think about it, yes, it did go up quite a few notches today."
"Good. Maybe it will stay that way since we cleared out our problems."
Syaoran left Eriol's house and headed back toward the taxi. Eriol sighed and stared into the fireplace where the blazing fire left behind only a few glowing embers. Eriol poked at the fire to stir the embers.
"I hope so, Syaoran. I hope so."
~*~
"I'm home."
"Xiao-lang!" "Little brother's come home!" "Baby brother!" "Our kawaii baby brother met up with the kawaii Sakura!"
"Girls, girls! Enough squeeling over your brother. He is probably exhausted from his flight."
Fuutie, Feimei, Fahren, and Xiefa immediately got off of him. Syaoran sent his mother a thankful glance and headed up to his room. After safely securing his door, Syaoran got into bed and sighed.
'It was a good day. Seeing Sakura again and getting things patched up will certainly be good results for the Li clan. I'll have to file a report tomorrow on what happened.'
Syaoran's mind drifted back to the events of the day, starting from gathering papers, Sakura jumping into his lap, Sakura breaking a guy's nose, and the embrace at the skating rink. Syaoran felt a familiar warmth creep up his cheeks.
'What the heck is this feeling? Why do I feel so...fluttery?'
Syaoran shook his head.
'It must be the flight.'
And with that, the great martial artist Syaoran Li turned out the lights and went to sleep.
Forever It Will Stay
Chapter 5: The Last Day
The watch read 11:27. In a minute, the bell would ring, announcing the end of Sakura's modeling class for the day. Syaoran made sure his balance was set on the branches so he wouldn't fall out of the tree. Sakura walked down the aisle of the classroom with yet another set of clothes, only this one was very natural. Sakura wore a navy set of lower-rider jeans with a lavender tanktop and an unbuttoned short-sleeve white blouse on top of it. On her feet, she wore black platform shoes that were about three inches high.
Syaoran yawned. He already saw what the others did. They had to show off their clothes by using a unique set of diversions. One girl got kicked out for trying to act like a stripper. Another bored the class with her detailed explanation about her own clothes. They didn't have to change into other clothes, but they had to show off their own. Eventually, Sakura's turn came, and she only had three minutes to finish off her act. Even though he was tired and bored, Syaoran's curiosity got the best of him when Sakura stepped up to the plate. The windows were open so he could hear every detail that was going on.
"Go ahead, Sakura. You know what props are available to use."
Sakura's classroom had a few props including a set of CD's for music, a boombox, a few borrowed instruments, exercise equipment, and even a body- mike. There were other unique objects available if necessary. To Syaoran's surprise, Sakura picked out a CD and popped it into the boombox. As the music played, Sakura danced to the medium paced music. It had just enough beat in it to pull off her moves. Syaoran watched her performance; it certainly was better than the others. Sakura made sure she had just enough movements to show off her clothes but not too much to make it look like she was at a night-club or something. Just as the music finished its last note, the bell rang, announcing the end of class.
"Great job, Miss Kinomoto! You have a definite A for that performance. I'll be seeing you all next week."
Sakura raced down the hallway. Tomoyo didn't have her music class that day, so she wanted to get home ASAP. Syaoran smiled at her fleeing appearance before jumping off of the tree and heading down a path. Suddenly, crash! Syaoran barely had the time to catch whoever it was who bumped into him to prevent them from falling. School possessions were scattered on the floor along with class notes that went whizzing in the air. Syaoran had managed to catch quite a few and the other person had managed to catch the rest. As Syaoran handed them back to the owner, he recognized who it was.
"Arigato-gozai..." The speaker stopped midsentence after facing Syaoran.
"Sakura."
Sakura's eyes widened. She was definitely not expecting this at all. Sakura picked up her things in a hurried attempt to get away from Syaoran. Syaoran tried to help her pick up her things, but Sakura snatched them from the floor before he could help her. In a swift movement, Sakura turned the other way and started to run, but Syaoran was quicker than that. Syaoran grabbed her arm, making her whirl around to face him.
"We need to talk."
"Says who?"
Sakura stared at him icily with her usually glistening emerald eyes. Syaoran cringed at her voice. This was definitely not the Sakura he used to know. Something had happened to her, and he had to find out, especially if Eriol's theory was true.
"Sakura, please. This is my last day in Japan before I go. Please, can we just talk things over?"
"No," Sakura replied without any hesitation. Just as Sakura turned the other way again and started to walk, Syaoran stood in front of her. Before Sakura could do so much as protest, Syaoran kneeled on the floor on both knees. Sakura stood wide-eyed in shock and clutched her books for fear of dropping them again.
"Sakura, you know about my pride. You know how much I valued it and would never let it go for anything. I'm folding it over right now. Please, give me a chance."
Syaoran didn't really understand what got into him. One moment he saw Sakura and decided to leave, and the next, he was begging her on his knees to talk to him. Sakura noticed all the stares that she was receiving from the people on campus and decided to get it over with.
"Get up and get out of here!" Sakura replied through clenched teeth.
"I'll wait here forever, even if it takes me as long as it took for you to move on without me."
Sakura gasped softly. This was the first time they had ever mentioned their old life before these conflicts started. It was probably best to get it off her chest anyway. Sakura nodded hesitantly before leading Syaoran off the campus.
~*~
"So now what?"
"Well, are you hungry? You must have been from all that hard work."
"No."
A slight rumbling told Syaoran that Sakura wasn't telling the entire truth. Sakura flushed and turned away while Syaoran just led her to a nearby fastfood place to eat. They decided to grab a quick hamburger before heading off to the movies. The table was very quiet as they ate with only the occasional sounds of chewing and sipping of the straw. Syaoran cleared his throat.
"So, did anything happen here after I left?"
"Why would you care?"
Sakura shot Syaoran a sorrowful look, one full of pain, agony, and sadness that Syaoran had to took away in guilt. He didn't expect it to be like that, but it turned out this way, nonetheless. Sakura didn't seem to be too happy about it. Syaoran faltered.
"B-because, I just wanted to know how everyone was."
"Everyone but me?"
In a sudden flash, Syaoran had Sakura's hand in his and was holding it tightly. Sakura almost dropped her food in surprise. His eyes were fired up with determination, but they pleaded her at the same time.
"Sakura, please. Can't we make this day a little peaceful?"
"Fine."
Sakura backed off of her hostility as a waitress came by to give them their bill. Syaoran shifted in his seat to pull out his wallet while Sakura reached into her purse at the same time. By the time they had their wallets out, they were both facing the same bill.
"I'll take care of it."
"No, it's okay. I'll handle it."
"Sakura, please, I already owe you enough. Can't I just take care of this?"
Sakura sighed and sat back while Syaoran smiled. He placed the money on the bill and handed it back to the waitress who gladly took it over to the cash register. Sakura finished putting her purse away when the two stood up to leave. Syaoran held the door open for Sakura while she walked through.
"This doesn't mean you paid your debt, Syaoran."
Syaoran cringed at the sharp, cold words, but deep inside, he knew he deserved it. How could anyone figure that a life that was planned out could be so hard to live? Syaoran and Sakura took a taxi to the nearest theater and decided to watch Secret Agent Angel. The movie was about a police officer who had been killed and was given a chance to find out who was committing the murders that kept on reoccuring on the same day every year. He signed up as a secret agent and took the case in order to save the life of a girl whom he soon fell in love with. Sakura and Syaoran managed to get good seats, considering that this movie had been out for a while.
"Have you seen this movie yet?"
"No. I never had time from modeling."
"Oh. I see. Popcorn?"
Sakura raised an eyebrow. How he had managed to just drop the subject and move on to food, she would never know. Sakura opened her mouth to refuse when she thought it over.
'To the fiery pits with the stupid diet from modeling. One day of munching wouldn't hurt.'
Sakura shook her head, smiled slightly, and took a handful off the top just as the lights dimmed and the movie began. Everything seemed normal. The movie was going by swiflty with Sakura and Syaoran munching on popcorn and drinking soda.
The movie passed by until they were at the last scene. It was a duel between the main character and the murderer. After relentless fighting (and Syaoran's comments about their "imperfect" fighting style), they both reached out for their guns and fired. Sakura wasn't really expecting that so she jumped into Syaoran's lap and almost screamed aloud.
"Sakura, it's okay. It's okay. It was just a gunshot in the movie."
"I know. It's... just... startling."
Syaoran smoothed out Sakura's back until her breathing returned to normal. They both blushed when they realized where they were. Sakura immediately climbed off of Syaoran's lap, much to his disappointment, and the movie continued. Sakura was still a little shaky when she saw the gore of the body of the murder, but she seemed to be okay, hanging on to Syaoran on their way out. Syaoran cast a worried look on his face as he escorted her out of the theater.
"Sakura, I'm sorry. I didn't know that would scare you so much."
"It's okay. I guess I should have paid more attention to the ratings. After all, it had been a while since I've seen a movie. Thanks, Li-kun."
Syaoran winced. It was that Li-kun again. Syaoran hated the sound of that honorific coming from Sakura. Sakura noticed that he stopped walking and stopped to see what was wrong.
"Li-kun?"
"Sakura, it's Syaoran. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"
"Well, okay, L... Syaoran."
Syaoran grinned and continued walking with Sakura. Sakura realized that she was starting to blush and turned away quickly. The old feelings were starting to come back to her...
'No, not now!' (Oh woah, cool! Unintentional alliteration! ^^ Okay, sorry, just had to do that.) 'I'm suppose to be marrying Yukito, yet I'm falling back in love with Syaoran? No, I can't!'
Sakura snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that her feet were leading her instead of her leading her feet. Sakura cast a confused look at Syaoran who stared back.
"Where are we going?"
"I thought that maybe we could visit the dojo nearby, unless they got rid of it."
"Oh. No, it's still there."
"Good."
They continued their walk until they were only a block away from their destination. Cars whizzed by them, the streets were filled with the usual Tokyo hub, and a few other pedestrians elbowed their way through the crowds.
"Syaoran, why are we going to the dojo?"
"I thought I'd visit a few friends who may still be there. Besides, I heard there was a tournament, and you know me. I can't resist a good challenge."
Syaoran smirked at Sakura who shook her head.
"Challenge? For the great Syaoran Li? Oh yeah, sure, they're gonna really stand a chance against someone who has been training all of these years to wield a sword and fight since he learned how to crawl."
Syaoran felt the same familiar warmth creeping up his cheeks as he chuckled. Well, he had to admit he was good, but he never thought that Sakura would compliment him so easily as that.
"Well, thank you, Sakura, but let's keep that between us when I sign up."
Syaoran winked at Sakura just before stopping to open the door to the dojo for her. Sakura bowed slightly and hurridly rushed in in hopes that Syaoran didn't notice the blush creeping up her cheeks.
'Baka, baka, baka! You just don't know when to shut-up do you? Come on, Sakura, pull yourself together. This is Li-kun we're talking about here. The one who left you!'
Sakura bit her lip as she entered the dojo with Syaoran. Syaoran gave her a reassuring smile just as the other members welcomed him and led the two of them to their respective dressing rooms. Sakura walked into the girls' dressing room and was given something decent to wear for her training.
'But, I still can't forget him...'
Sakura felt a blush creeping up her cheeks when she thought of his smiles, his always determined eyes, and the soft look of care that he always gave her. Every little touch, every little look was etched into her memories that she refused to let go of. Suddenly, Sakura realized that something wasn't right.
"Hoeeee? Why am I getting dressed for this?"
~*~
'I wonder if Sakura's coming out yet.'
"Syaoran?"
Syaoran turned to see that Sakura was dressed out just as he was. He brought his old training clothes that he used to capture cards with. The only difference was the dragons encrested on his sleeves and the picture of the howling white wolf on the back. Sakura was wearing simple white robes and long pants.
"Ready to do this?"
"To do what?"
Before Sakura could sense what was going on, the once seemingly empty dojo was filled with former students who attacked them from all sides. Syaoran braced himself while Sakura only stared wide-eyed at the situation. She was going to fight too? Syaoran easily dodged the attacks coming at him. Actually, dodge was an overstatement. He was merely toying with them. Sakura watched as people went sailing left and right over her head, almost out the door of the dojo, and certainly to a corner of the room. Some people tried to attack her, but one centimeter too close and Syaoran shoved them out of the way.
'Just like he used to do.' Sakura thought as Syaoran finished the job.
Now it was a one on one. One warrior left standing who would challenge Syaoran. Syaoran braced himself to fight when Sakura stepped up to him. One hand on his shoulder immediately loosened him up. Syaoran stared at Sakura, confused, when he realized what she wanted. Syaoran stood aside as Sakura took her own stance. The last remaining fighter smiled and prepared himself to launch an attack at Sakura when she started walking up to him. He stared at Sakura with bewilderment, unaware of what was to come. Crack! The next thing that Syaoran and the last fighter realized was that Sakura had broken his nose, sending him on the floor, sprawling. Syaoran clapped at Sakura's handiwork.
"Nicely done, Sakura."
"Arigato, Syaoran."
All of the members clapped at the two fighters before them. After presenting each of them with a fighter's amulet for beating the dojo, Sakura and Syaoran changed and left.
"I never knew the dojo could be so much fun!"
"Now you know why I enjoyed fighting."
"Yep!"
Syaoran smiled. Sakura was being a lot more friendly toward him, kind of like the way things used to be before he left. Syaoran frowned at his last thought when he realized a slight tug on his hand. Surprisingly (not!), it was Sakura.
"Syaoran, let's go to the skating rink! We haven't been there since the Freeze card incident. Please? Onegai?"
Syaoran smiled at the pleading face before him. He shrugged and followed the excited Sakura to the skating rink. There were a few people there, but, luckily, there weren't that many, leaving them enough space to skate as they liked.
"Um...Sakura?"
"Hai?"
"I...I forgot how to put these on."
Sakura did a facefall. Syaoran tried to hid his embarassment while she tied his skates for him.
'The great Syaoran Li who could beat 50 people at once in a dojo did not remember how to tie on skates. Oh boy. Meilin would be all over this if she found out,' thought Sakura.
The two walked over to the skating rink and started to skate. Syaoran stayed close to the sides just in case he would fall while Sakura glided gracefully around the rink...actually, more like clung onto the sides for dear life. After a while, Syaoran got the hang of it and started to space himself away when Sakura skated past him. With her arms outstretched, one leg lifted behind her, and eyes closed, she was as graceful as she could be. Sakura moved to the center where she twirled a few times and did a double axile before moving back toward Syaoran.
"Having fun?"
"Not as much as you, I'd bet."
"Aww. Come on, Syaoran. It's easy!"
"For yo-woah!"
Sakura took Syaoran's hand and led him to the center of the rink. She held his hands and told him to hang on. Syaoran looked a little intimidated, but Sakura's soft smile ended the argument. Sakura held on tightly to his hands and started to spin around the center until they were lost in a cyclone.
"Sakura! I can't hold on much longer!!"
"Just hang on! I'll try to slow us down!"
Oh, Syaoran hung on all right. A little too tightly, that is. By the time the cyclone finally ended, Syaoran found himself practically embracing Sakura just to make sure he didn't fall. Sakura blushed brighter than a red apple as Syaoran slowly peeled himself off of her.
"S-sakura..."
"H-hai?"
"DON'T EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!!!"
"Hoeeeeeee???"
~*~
Laughter sounded from a nearby cafe as a couple walked out of it.
"Man, that Yamakazi. How many more lies will he have to tell before Chiharu crushes his brain with that mallet of hers?"
"Who knows."
Sakura and Syaoran walked out together from the cafe. They just finished dinner and it was nearing Syaoran's depart flight time. Syaoran checked his watch one more time just to make sure that he wasn't late for his flight.
"When are you leaving?"
"My flight's at 8, so it's not long from now."
"Oh."
Sakura felt disappointed. He was leaving again. Then again, she did ask him to leave her alone, after all. It was probably for the best. Syaoran and Sakura walked until Syaoran got a taxi.
"Where are you going next?" Syaoran asked.
"I think I'll just walk home."
Syaoran's face turned serious, confusing Sakura. Why was he staring at her that way?
"You shouldn't walk home at this time of night. Who knows what kind of people are out there."
"Oh, Syaoran, I'll be fine."
Before Sakura could protest any further, Syaoran scooted over for her to sit. Sakura sighed and sat down. The taxi ride was a short one that dropped her off at the front of the place that she and Tomoyo stayed at.
"Arigato, Syaoran."
"Dodashimashite." (Is that the right spelling? It means you're welcome.)
"Don't forget to keep in touch once you get to Hong Kong."
"Don't worry. I won't forget."
Sakura waved as the taxi drove off with Syaoran before heading inside. Tomoyo left a note saying that she went grocery shopping. Sakura headed toward her room for a bit of rest and homework time when her mind drifted back to the events of the day.
'He isn't so bad. I guess I should never have hated him. He didn't mean to hurt me after all.'
Sakura smiled.
~*~
The taxi started to drive off when Syaoran decided on a different course: to Eriol's house. He got there, knowing that he had enough time to stay for at least half an hour and still make it to his flight on time. Syaoran entered the house and headed straight for Eriol's room. There was no need for introductions. After all, Eriol was one of the creepiest magicians around.
"Hiiragizawa, I ned to talk to you about something."
"Yes, my little decendant?"
Syaoran rolled his eyes.
"It's about Sakura's energy. Did the positive go up today?"
Eriol closed his eyes and meditated. He felt a pink aura, a strong one, start to fight the shadowy aura that originally enshrowded the earth. Sakura was fighting back.
"Hm...Now that I think about it, yes, it did go up quite a few notches today."
"Good. Maybe it will stay that way since we cleared out our problems."
Syaoran left Eriol's house and headed back toward the taxi. Eriol sighed and stared into the fireplace where the blazing fire left behind only a few glowing embers. Eriol poked at the fire to stir the embers.
"I hope so, Syaoran. I hope so."
~*~
"I'm home."
"Xiao-lang!" "Little brother's come home!" "Baby brother!" "Our kawaii baby brother met up with the kawaii Sakura!"
"Girls, girls! Enough squeeling over your brother. He is probably exhausted from his flight."
Fuutie, Feimei, Fahren, and Xiefa immediately got off of him. Syaoran sent his mother a thankful glance and headed up to his room. After safely securing his door, Syaoran got into bed and sighed.
'It was a good day. Seeing Sakura again and getting things patched up will certainly be good results for the Li clan. I'll have to file a report tomorrow on what happened.'
Syaoran's mind drifted back to the events of the day, starting from gathering papers, Sakura jumping into his lap, Sakura breaking a guy's nose, and the embrace at the skating rink. Syaoran felt a familiar warmth creep up his cheeks.
'What the heck is this feeling? Why do I feel so...fluttery?'
Syaoran shook his head.
'It must be the flight.'
And with that, the great martial artist Syaoran Li turned out the lights and went to sleep.