Chapter Twelve

Jagged Amber

Card Captor Sakura

~starjade~

Changes

" Yen, maybe you got to face the truth," A brunette said, her eyes wide with sympathy. " Li isn't going to be engaged to you anytime soon. He's engaged to that other Li girl!"

" But they had an 'agreement.' He can cancel that engagement anytime he wants!" Yen said snappishly. " And I'll be the one he'll be cancelling that engagement for!"

" How about that....Japanese girl, what's her name?" The brunette, whose name was Sairah asked.

" Kinomoto," Yen growled. " What about her?"

She stomped over to her vanity and began to shove away the nail polishes they had been using back into her drawer. The brunette leaned back, intimidated.

" No reason..."

" Oh but you have a reason!!" Yen yelled. " That girl is getting to close for her own good!! But even if she does get 'too close' she'll never get him. Because my marriage to Li is almost fixed!"

She giggled and Sairah rose her eyebrows. " How?"

" You'll see, Sairah..." Yen said, her eyes shining. " You'll see."

***********************

Syaoran was clenching his teeth hard as he typed on a braille typewriter for his assignment. It was on the economy of china and it was taking him one heck of a long time to even finish a paragraph with the Japanese tutor in the next room making as much racket as possible.

" With the highest population in the world, China's economy-"

*Bam* " Ow!!* *Bam* " Dammit!"

Syaoran gritted his teeth and continued to tap out his assignment. Finally, the noise got to an extent that he felt as if his jaw would break if he clenched it any harder and he got up, flinging his chair on the ground and stomping out the door.

" Tutor! Shut the hell up!"

Syaoran then realized that there was soft music coming from the room and a lot of thumping around. Syaoran's eyes narrowed in confusion. What was that girl doing?

" Open the damned door, Kinomoto!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. The music shut off quickly and steps bounded towards the door as it flung open.

" O-Oh, hey Syaoran-" The girl started but Syaoran cut her off.

" Shut up and stop jumping around like a monkey. Some of the sane people of this household need to work, you idiot!" He retorted.

The girl spoke softly, " Oh, I'm so sorry, I just-"

Then she halted and there was a long pause. Syaoran shifted uncomfortably, wondering if she was staring at him or what.

" What?!" He finally burst out.

" Oh nothing. You probably wouldn't know..."Sakura trailed off.

" I know everything, wench. Now shut the hell up and see to it that you stay the hell out of my way, got it woman?" Syaoran growled.

" If you do know everything..." Sakura said, a sly tone creeping into her voice. " Then you would know how to dance."

Syaoran froze. What the hell? " What the friggin hell are you talking about?"

" Do you know how to dance?" Sakura asked, innocently.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and started to walk away. " All I came here to say is to shut your trap and stop invading my space. So get on with whatever pathetic things you do and leave me alone!"

As he walked away, he distinctly heard her mutter, " I knew it. He didn't know how to dance."

A sort of brash anger rushed through him and he whipped around. " I know how to dance, better than you probably do, tutor!" He growled brashly.

Already he realized his mistake when he felt her come closer. " I don't believe it. You're just going to have to prove it to me."

Syaoran seriously felt like punching something right then. He was an idiot! Now how would he get out of this one?

" I have no time to waste on you. Do you think I'd actually use my valuable time trying to teach your pathetic ass how to dance like a normal person?" Syaoran said harshly, turning to leave.

" Aw, little Syaoran is too scared to dance?" The insolent girl taunted.

Syaoran felt his blood boil. Damn that girl just got under his skin! " What the freak is wrong with you?" He burst out, turning around. " Why the hell do you want to learn how to dance?"

He could almost feel the embarrassment rolling off of her like waves. " Well its just-well, all the dances I've been to, there's never been-well, waltzing and stuff. I know how to slow dance and stuff I just can't-well, ballroom dance."

Syaoran rose his eyebrows. Sakura wasn't the kind of person to get all shy about her dancing skills, unless...Syaoran's eyes narrowed and he growled low under his breath.

" You just want to impress that Hirrigizawa bastard, don't you?" He hissed.

Sakura took a step back from him. " No! I'm just-well, I don't exactly want to be messing up and stepping on his toes and stuff-"

" You're just a whore, why should I help you?" Syaoran spit out, letting his anger get the best of him. Why was he so angry? Maybe it was the fact that the mere thought of this tutor of his going to the dance with his hated enemy made him feel like beating up Hiirigizawa until he was black and blue-

Then he realized that there was sort of a scary silence around him. He looked confused for a second, trying to figure out what Sakura was doing. He then heard an intake of breath and he felt clearly the vibes of anger and fury.

" You are a bastard, Syaoran Li!" Sakura said, her voice shaking with rage.

Syaoran felt taken aback. " Wha-"

" Calling me a whore? God, Syaoran, I am not going to take this shit anymore-" Sakura burst out, her voice loud and outraged.

" Well, I can't help but speak the damned truth around here-" Syaoran started to say, but Sakura's livid words cut him off.

" Truth?? Get it through your mind Syaoran, I am going with Eriol and he isn't trying to do anything to you through me! God, we hate each other Syaoran! Do you think he's going to find any usefulness in me?"

Hate might be too much of a strong word, Syaoran thought dimly and opened his mouth to defend himself, but as always, Sakura was not finished.

" Besides, I like Eriol! He is way better than you are! He treats me right, he talks to me like a friend, he supports me when I go through shit like what your giving me! And you have to be the most uncaring, ruthless, insensitive jerk I have ever met, so wrapped in self-pity that you can't even-"

" ALRIGHT!" Syaoran roared. He grabbed Sakura's hand, pushed her into her room, smacked play on the CD player and grabbed her roughly too him. " If you shut up, I'll dance! Fucking hell, you are so annoying!"

There was just silence after his words and the soft, lilting tunes from the CD player filled the room and Syaoran could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. His hand on her waist, his other hand holding hers; he had never done this before with a girl his age and his heart was beating overtime.

Sakura moved her head, looking up at him and a strand of her hair brushed against his cheek, making his breath catch in his throat. He was so damn near to her, his fingers wrapped around her hand-he never felt the need to see so badly before, just to see this girl, who sent these emotions rushing through his body and making him week.

" Th-thanks, Syaoran."

The words crept into his heart and he felt himself nearly revelling in the way she said his name. People usually called him Li, and this girl said his name with such a gentleness-

Syaoran shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts out of his mind. " This is a business deal! You stop pmsing twenty four seven and I'll teach you how the dance!"

Sakura said exasperated, " Me? Pmsing? If I wasn't sure you were a boy, I'd say you were born with permanent pms-"

" Shut up."

" And another thing-"

" The deal??"

" Oh yah....okay."

*************************

" It's step back, to the LEFT then step to the front then to the RIGHT!" Syaoran yelled as she stepped on his feet again. " How in all hells do you not know such a simple thing as that???"

" Well, I'm sorry, Syaoran!" Sakura retorted. " I didn't know that I should've known what step back, left, step front, right was when I was born!"

" Well you should've!!" Syaoran said, not being able to think of anything else except the fact that his cheeks were still flushed red and hoping to god that she wasn't noticing.

It wasn't the fact that he was blushing because of all those silly 'I love you' feelings all those girls at his school claimed to have for him. It was because-well, she kept on holding on tighter to him and coming closer to him and-it was just weird!!

He held back all the retorts of self-defence inside, trying not to insult her anymore. She never shut up if he insulted her, so he sighed and kept his mouth shut.

" Let's try this again.." Sakura said, sighing. She grabbed his hand tighter and pulled him back. " Step back-"

" Left," Syaoran said, almost monotonously. Sakura obediently went left and the dance began to unfold, a lot better than the fifteen million other times they had tried to do the dance. Soon, they were dancing in a more graceful motion and he felt his cheeks burn brighter as he stopped concentration on the dance and began to concentrate on her.

She was a mystery to him. She was a girl. Of course she was supposed to be after his money-or she was trying to make him a sappy mush by getting him to cry like a wuss and walk home with perfect grades. Nah, he wasn't going to let her get away with that! But even after everything-what he did to her, what Meiling did to her, what Yen and the school did to her-she was still here. Dancing with him!!

He felt a familiar longing once more to see. He wondered what she looked like. Was she pretty? He tried to remember what the colour green was. That's what Meiling had told him Sakura's eye colour was. Green....he tried his hardest to concentrate. Green was the colour of grass, of leaves-

He couldn't remember.

A gasp went through him and his eyes flew open, but darkness shrouded his vision and he knew that no matter how much his eyes were open, he wouldn't see....What was the colour of Green??

He launched away with her with a curse. He heard her stumble and fall and a string of curses followed the fall.

" What-what's wrong with you?" He heard her say, but he couldn't answer her.

He had forgotten what colour green was.

He felt her come up to him and felt her touch his arm softly. " You okay?"

" Get the fuck away from me," He hissed, his shield masking his face, his jaws clenching tight. Her touch flew back as if she was touching fire and Syaoran backed away from her.

Grass....grass...was green...what was green?

" Syaoran-"

" Learn the dance by yourself, I won't degrade myself by teaching it to a whore whose main purpose here is to seduce men into her bed!" Syaoran barked. " So stay away from me! I don't care what you do with Hiirigiziwa but I have a lot more pride than to come near a slut like you!"

Silence came from Sakura and he didn't wait to hear her response. He stomped out of the room and straight into his room where he changed quickly into his training clothes and nearly flew down the stairs and down the familiar route to the backyard, where he launched into his training in full force.

His arms began to hurt, as he yelled with all his heart and he jumped into the air, getting into his most hardest workout he had ever done. He did a flip in the air and landed on the ground, stumbling as he fell to the ground.

Breathing hard, he grabbed a fistful of grass and brought it close to his face. He could feel it, he could smell it, hell he thought he could even hear it-He knew it was grass, he knew that strands of the torn grass were slowly falling from his palm-

But what colour was it? What colour was it? What colour-were her eyes?

***************

" Is Sakura here?"

Syaoran wanted to crush the phone right then and there. " No, she isn't!!"

" Dear Xiao-Lang, I know she is right there, probably watching T.V. or something. Give it to her."

Syaoran growled. How did Eriol know all of this! Sakura was watching T.V. silently, her eyes glued to the set. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since the morning, and even though he pretended it wasn't bothering him...

"I don't care what you do with Hiirigiziwa but I have a lot more pride than to come near a slut like you!"

Wincing inwardly, he growled and slammed the phone down shut. The phone began to ring again and Syaoran walked out of the room, leaving Sakura no choice but to pick it up.

" Hello?" He heard her soft voice say. " Oh hey, Eriol! Thanks......thanks for calling. Yes, I got a dress. Tomoyo and I bought one last weekend. I-I don't think I can go out today, but maybe tomorrow? But thanks for calling....I needed it. Bye."

She shut the phone off and he felt anger run through him as he heard her words. She didn't need Eriol!! Didn't she see that Eriol was merely using her to get back at him??

He heard her footsteps come close to him and he leaned against the wall, pretending like he hadn't been eavesdropping on their conversation.

She stopped near him and didn't move another step and he felt apprehension fill the room. Then she started to walk past him and the scent of cherry blossoms nearly overwhelmed him as she walked past him. A longing filled him again, similar to the one he had felt before when they were dancing.

He couldn't keep the words in anymore and he shouted, " Are you still going with that bastard?"

There was silence after his words and he regretted them instantly.

But her shaking, soft voice didn't yell at him. She just said quietly, " Yes, the slut is going with Eriol. If anyone is the bastard, Li...it's you."

He flinched as she walked out of the room and away from him. As soon as her steps faded away, anger filled him. Ever since she came here, he had been feeling-guilt, remorse, longing-he had never cared so much that he was blind until now.

" Argh!!" He growled and he punched the wall hard. This was getting complicated....too complicated.

*************

" Hey, Daddy....Yeah, I'm fine...." Sakura whispered into the receiver. She wiped a few of tears that had emerged and smiled faintly. " Yeah, I'm eating well. I'm doing good in school too. How's your health? You're not getting worse are you?"

Sakura had called her father, not being able to take the loneliness that had surrounded her since she had come to Hong Kong. She had never felt a more overwhelming sense of homesickness, but when she heard her father's kind voice over the phone, she had almost resolved to pack up and go home. She needed to go back home and take care of her father, she couldn't be here, living in a luxurious mansion, caring only about how much Syaoran was bothering her!

" Daddy, maybe I should come back-Dad, please, I'm okay, really I am. Its you I'm worried about. How's the boy I'm supposed to tutor? Well, he's...okay. I think I'm progressing...I hope you get better, Daddy. Say hello to Touya for me, alright?"

She hung the phone up and set it on the table, feeling her heart wrenching hard. She wanted to go back home...she wanted so much to see her father once more...he was sick and she knew it!! He was just saying he was doing better to make her feel better.

Tears rose to her eyes and she slid down the wall, her eyes closing as tears fell down her cheeks. She brought her knees up and buried her face in her arms, crying softly to herself. Maybe if she went back, without telling him? It didn't matter that she would fail, all that mattered was her father...

Thinking about the last time she had seen Fujitaka, she felt tears fall down her cheeks even faster. He was lying in the hospital bed, watching her with happy but tired eyes as she announced her trip to Hong Kong. They had been worried for a bit that she would have to pay for the ticket and the accommodations, but the Li family had provided it all. He had told her to smile....that even the worst of people would cheer up after seeing her smile.

But Syaoran couldn't see....and he hated her guts.

Sakura's body shook as she cried into her arms, wishing all the pain away. Then she felt someone touch her shoulder and she wrenched away from the touch, thinking it Yelan. The person stayed however, and Sakura felt herself break down as she turned and grabbed the person around the waist, burying her face into the person's chest, letting her tears go.

After a few moments, she finally calmed down and she felt silence surround her as she opened her eyes. Then she realized that she was gripping someone's shirt and it was quite a masculine chest she was leaning against.

Oh no....

Fear filled her as she looked up and up....into those glassy amber eyes.

a/n: Hohohohoho...................................................hohohohohohoh.

Are you guys not seeing or reading what I'm seeing/reading???

Yes!! That romance/drama part of the genre is FINALLY kicking in!! Yes!!! *does a booty dance* Wat wat wat wat....

Ya guys just have to patient wit da romance though. I'm takin it slow cuz this is alot nearer to reality. A guy whose blind and bitter ain't gonna fall in love so damn quickly!! So even though ya wanna see some action...I'm tellin ya, it'll come but not so soon!

But anyways, thanx guys for the suppourt and the reviews! Ya'll are makin me feel a lot better-and all dat pressure from exams ain't doin a lot for me, so your reviews make me a lot more happier! Thank ya'll and I want ya to be reviewin dis chappie too, aight?

See ya latez,

'nuff luv,

~starjade~