Chapter Twenty
Card Captor Sakura
Jagged Amber
starjade
Running
Yelan sat in the middle of her kitchen, listening on the phone intently. Her eyes were trained on her watch as the minutes ticked by.
" You mean...the elder's relied their "evidence" on a few photographs?" Yelan asked, her voice deathly low. " What kind of idiotic judgement-" She halted and took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair frustrated.
" Thank you for your help. I'll get back to you," She said shortly and hung up the phone, breathing hard.
She wasn't about to lose Sakura. The girl was...was a miracle. She had done wonders in this household...just by being herself and just by accepting Syaoran the way he was. So many others came and went, seeing his blindness as a defect, looking at him as a treasure box of money or just a boy in need of "desperate desperate help." Sakura saw beyond this..
And now, it was all going down the drain.
Rubbing her forehead, she banged her head on the table tiredly. She had no idea where to start. Sakura was leaving in a few hours at the most, and she had no idea where Sakura would be. Why would the Elder's treat the boy like this? They always had a slight bitterness towards Syaoran, for reasons she could never understand, but to do something like take away the one thing that made Syaoran happy? It was damn right cruelty.
Then the phone rang again and Yelan picked it up. " Hello?" She spoke into the phone, her tiredness coming through clear in her tone.
" Aunt Yelan, listen! Xiao-Lang...Xiao-Lang, he left!"
It was Meiling. Her voice was breathless and apprehensive. Yelan stiffened and gripped the phone tighter, fear enveloping her body.
" What do you mean?"
" He...he went after her."
A shot of pure shock race through her body and she sat back into her chair with a thud. Eyes wide with bewilderment, she was hardly able to gasp out a "What?" into the phone.
" I'm serious, Aunt Yelan! He went after her! But...no matter what that means, he can't! He's blind, he's hurt...anything could happen to him out there, Aunt Yelan, anything!"
Yelan took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Her son...her son had went after Sakura.
It was as if a blessing had been bestowed upon her and she clasped her hands together thankfully. Then her eyes shot open as Meiling's words sunk into her consciousness and she tensed.
It was true. Those sixth senses always disappeared whenever he was injured...he couldn't protect himself out there. Syaoran always fought against having a walking stick or anything like that...so how was he going to be able to survive out there in the busy streets of Hong Kong?
" Meiling, I'm coming to pick you up from the hospital soon. Be ready," Yelan snapped into the receiver and hung the phone back in its cradle, grabbing her jacket.
Her son...her only child...
No matter what, she would never be able to repay Sakura for helping her son. Never.
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Sairah stared at Yen in shock. They were sitting in Yen's room, on top of her bed as Yen combed through her silky locks with a fine toothed comb, staring intently at the mirror.
" You mean...you told Syaoran about what you did?" Sairah asked, in absolute astonishment.
" Yes, Sairah, for the last time! Stop being a dumbass, would you?" Yen retorted, rolling her eyes as she got up and straightened out her clothing.
" Yen...that kinda ruins everything doesn't it?" Sairah asked, slowly. " Your whole "quest for a rich husband" will just fall apart if Syaoran knows about what you did to Sakura! Now, all he has to do is find her and then tell the Elder's that he doesn't want to marry you-"
Yen let out a whoosh of breath and whirled around, glowering at Sairah with narrowed eyes. Sairah stared back, wide eyed at the expression on Yen's face.
" You don't GET IT do you, Sairah? The ELDERS won't LISTEN to Syaoran! Hell, if they ask him to jump all he can say is HOW HIGH! So if they tell him, you're getting engaged to Yen then all he can do is strap that tuxedo on and get on that altar because there is absolutely nothing else he can do!"
Yen smacked her lips satisfactorily after she applied the cherry lip gloss and waved the wand at Sairah, pointedly. " Do you get it now?"
Sairah nodded her head slowly, and almost reluctantly, she spoke, " But...he won't care for you, now will he?"
Yen froze, and her fingers played with the ends of her shirt as she fingered a stray wrinkle. " It-It won't matter anyways," She said tightly. " My mother always taught me, before anything else, you need safety. You need to find a rich husband, otherwise you'll end up in the dumps, struggling for every last penny just like her family was like. And I won't let that happen, ever."
She smiled at her reflection and turned around, grinning at Sairah. " So, I've got a marriage contract to Syaoran, a life of richness and wealth being the wife of the leader of one of the oldest clans in China and all that's left for me is to..." She whirled around and laughed, grinning with happiness. " Enjoy the show!"
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Sakura sprawled in a chair at the airport, bored out of her mind. There was two hours left until her flight and the Elder's had dropped her off early, obviously not wanting to wait another second to get rid of her. Bitterness swept through her and she had to swallow down the sullen feelings that rose up within her.
" Hey, Sakura."
Sakura froze at the familiar voice and looked up, stunned.
Eriol stood in front her, hands shoved into his pockets and spectacles gleaming. He cocked his head and grinned. " Why do you look so surprised for?"
" What...what are you doing here?" Sakura asked, dazed.
Eriol laughed softly. " Why, can't I bid farewell to my ex-date?"
Sakura stared at him and then giggled, shaking her head in bafflement. " How did you find me? This area you can't exactly get into, if what the Elder's told me is true and is guarded and-"
Eriol shrugged. " There's a lot you don't know about me, Sakura. One thing you've gotta accept is..." He smiled, smugly. " I can do anything."
Sakura stared at him and let out a peal of giggles. Eriol looked rather miffed. " Hey!"
" I'm not doubting you or anything!" Sakura said in between giggles. " Jus the way you said it..."
Eriol rolled his eyes, smiling. Then his navy blue eyes turned sombre. " You know, you only have a few hours until you go back to Japan."
Sakura looked down at her folded hands, her smile slipping off her face. " I know."
" You know there's a lot of...unresolved business that you can just leave like this."
" I know."
" So."
" ...so what..."
" So do something about it."
Sakura stared at him, confused. Then she let out a sarcastic laugh. " What can I do about it? I can't just walk out of this room and to Syaoran's mansion and confess my undying love-" Then she froze and looked up at him and saw that his eyes were twinkling.
" Who said you couldn't? You just assumed that you wouldn't be able to," Eriol remarked.
Sakura was realizing why Syaoran disliked Eriol. He had a way of confusing you that was quite frustrating. " What?"
Eriol huffed and then pulled out a airport women's outfit from his backpack. Grinning, he puffed out the hat and set it on Sakura's head.
" Perfect."
Sakura's jaw worked and then she stared at Eriol in shock. " How...how will I get out though, they know that no flight attendant came in here-"
" No flight attendant came in here, huh?" Eriol said, shaking his head. " You must have been blind, Sakura, because I swear, one of the most beautiful air flight attendants walked in here just a few moments ago! Before you leave Sakura...you might want to put on these."
Eriol picked up a pair of spectacles and set it on Sakura's nose. She stared at him in shock and he laughed. Then with a great peal of laughter, Sakura wrapped her arms around Eriol, hugging him tightly.
" You are seriously a genius!" Sakura cried.
Eriol looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. " And you realize that now?"
Laughing, she grinned at him. Then, rising to her tippy toes, she kissed him on the cheek. " No matter what Syaoran says, I seriously think you are the best friend a girl can ever have."
" Syaoran says bad things about me?" He asked, in fake surprise. Sakura laughed, shaking her head. Finally, a ray of light had burst through the dim situation. Maybe...maybe everything would work out..
-------------------
" GET OFF THE ROAD, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Syaoran roared at the top of his lungs, angrily.
People stared at him, blinking rapidly. Syaoran stalked down the sidewalk, glaring at everything around him, and wondered if he was passing off as someone who wasn't blind...Which he wasn't most likely, because he was walking down a pedestrian sidewalk and currently acting as if he was driving a car.
Fear was sweeping him up in dark waves but his determination was set. He had no idea what had pulled him to do something this rash...climb out of his bed, cast and bandages and all and stalk out of the hospital. But Sakura...Sakura had meant something.
And he damned well wouldn't let her go until she explained what the hell she was doing to him.
" Yo...you blind or somethin?" A voice said out of nowhere.
Startled, his mind screamed in frustration and he whirled around, flapping the air. " What? What!"
" I'm over here," An amused voice said and Syaoran turned to the correct position.
" I am not blind, you fool," Syaoran snapped. " I just have trouble seeing sometimes."
" Uh huh," Said the same amused voice. Syaoran then realized that the boy's voice was full of slang words and he slurred many of his sentences. Connected to the stench that was rising to his nostrils, and the rather heavy feeling that people were staring at him, he thought with pressing horror that he was not quite near the airport.
Rather, he had gone straight to the slums.
" Great.." Syaoran mumbled to himself.
" Ya didn't answer my question, boy," The amused voice continued on. Syaoran's eyes narrowed. The voice was reminding him of Eriol's voice. Annoying confidence that made Syaoran want to punch them...
" Yes, I'm fucking blind," Syaoran swore. All he could think of was Sakura boarding the plane, Sakura going away, Sakura leaving, Sakura walking out of his life forever- " Now leave me the hell alone!"
He tried to walk past him but a tight grip on his arm stopped him. About to cuss, he felt a whirl of wind that could only mean...cars.
" Ya woulda run straight inta the truck, my man," Said the voice. " I told ya he was blind," HE heard the voice say to other people. " He looks beat up too."
" So what?" Syaoran growled. " I didn't ask for your help. Now if you don't mind," He said sarcastically. " I have somewhere to go. Bye."
" Well, wherever you going is ain't the slums, is it?" Said the voice. " Cuz you goin straight to the most dangerous areas of Hong Kong and who knows what'll happen to ya?"
" Shit," Syaoran swore under his breath, not realizing that his random running hadn't bought him straight to the airport. Running a hand through his hair, he blinked his sightless eyes and wished desperately that he was just a normal kid with seeing eyes. Maybe then Sakura would've stayed...maybe then he would've been able to bring her back...maybe then he wouldn't have chased her away-
" I'll take ya."
Syaoran blinked, breaking out of his thoughts at the stranger's voice. " What?" He snapped, frustrated. " Why do you keep talking?"
" I'll take ya, I said. Ya need to be somewhere, right? So Imma take you there," The voice said, a bit more rudely this time.
" I don't need your idiotic help," Syaoran said, scornfully.
Half an hour later, the guy from the slum and Syaoran stood in front of the airport, taxis and people bustling all around them and a glower on Syaoran's face.
" Admit it. Ya needed me," The guy from the slum smirked.
" I did not. You forcibly made me employ your services," Syaoran scoffed. Then he took out his wallet and glared. " How much do you want? Fifty bills? A hundred? What?"
Silence came from the slum kid and then for the first time, the kid laughed without amusement. " Ya someting, ya know that?" The kid said. " Ya think no one can do somethin nice without expectin somethin in return? What kinda jaded view do you have of this world? Ya gotta get your act in gear, boy."
Syaoran stared and felt the guy give him a firm handshake and say, " Keep yo money, boy. See ya later," Before his footsteps receded into the bustle of the people around him.
Syaoran stared, blankly, almost shocked and then the words sank into him slowly. Something nice without anything in return...Thoughts of Sakura, helping him down the hallways, laughing, cheering him on at the competitions, dancing, holding him raced through his mind and he felt his fists grip tightly in small balls.
He needed her to come back. He needed her to tell him what the hell she did to him. He needed her to...he needed her...she should at least explain this all to him, this emotional torrent that she left behind...he needed her...he needed to TRUST her..
He needed to let it all go..
" Flight 32, headed for Japan now boarding. Now boarding, Flight 32 heading for Japan," A woman's voice called over the speakers and fear began to trickle down his spine.
And now, because of his stupidity, she was going to leave. And with that, he felt every single emotion crash into a big ocean inside of his body, firing up and exploding and he turned and ran into the airport, at top speed, heading with the bustle of the crowd to the attendants standing at the desks. Jumping around kids, trolleys and suitcases he shouted, breathlessly," Where's the port for Flight 32?"
" Um, sir, there's a line-"
" Where is it?"
" Down to your left, make a right turn and past the escalators-"
Syaoran sped off, pushing through people, his heart beating rapidly and feeling as if a clock was slowly timing him down.
Ten...
" Last call for Flight 32 passengers. Flight 32, now boarding."
Nine..
" Watch out!" He fell to the ground, as someone bumped into him. Picking himself up hurriedly, he raced around the corner.
Eight..
Sakura...don't leave...
Seven..
" Isn't that the martial artist who lost? Isn't he like blind?"
Six..
People were beginning to recognize him.
Five...
He heard shouts, people calling his name but he kept running, faster and faster. The sound of the escalators reached his ears and he reached out with his senses, trying to avoid big objects but tripping over trolleys and little children.
Four...
The seconds ticked down..
Three...Two...One..
" Ready for takeoff. Flight 32 ready for take off."
He felt his gait slow down and his body began to slump as he slowed down to a full stop as he felt the emptiness of the gate surround him. It had already boarded.
The airplane had already boarded. Sakura was pretty much gone.
Then he heard a shout.
" Syaoran! Syaoran!"
Every single cell in his body tingled. That voice...that presence...
" Kinomoto.." He whispered. " Sakura.."
Right when he lifted his head to search for her, tight grips had grabbed onto each arm and began to pull him back.
" You're not supposed to be here, Master Xiao-Lang," He heard a gruff voice speak next to him.
" Syaorannn!"
" How did you get out of the hospital?" He heard another voice, one of the elder's say. " Your not healed! Why are you here anyways?"
He fought against his captors, struggling wildly, his body straining towards that voice. " Look, you don't understand-" He growled, ferociously.
" We do understand," The elder said softly. " She was playing with your mind. She's a temptress, and always was. All of them are just after your money and your prestige. She is better gone. Now, please Xiao-Lang come with us-"
" NO!" He shouted. " SHUT the FUCK up and LISTEN to me! You better let me go before I kick all your asses-"
" Are you sure about that, Xiao-Lang?" The elder said, deathly quiet. " Are you sure you're ready to gamble your leadership role of the clan? Are you sure?"
Where had this come to? What had this come to?
" Sakura..." He whispered, softly.
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She had escaped from the room on her own, without anyone noticing. Feeling uncomfortable in the short uniform, she had walked through the halls of the airport, her destination set.
To the Li mansion. To convince Syaoran she wasn't the gold digger he thought she was. To finally...tell...maybe...
She shook her head. She wouldn't go that far yet. For now..
Then she heard commotion come from one side of the airport. Her flight was boarding and she could hear people crying out.
" It's him!"
" The one who lost?"
" Yea, him!"
Sakura felt her curiosity peak and she struggled through the growing crowd and then heard the words that made her skin tremble and her heart pound hard against her chest.
" It's that leader of the Li Clan...Li Syaoran..."
Li Syaoran..
He was here. He was here. He was here.
It repeated in her head like a mantra and she felt her body move on its own as it raced through the crowd, her eyes searching desperately for a sign of the chestnut haired man. And then she saw someone running through the crowd and then she shouted at the top of her lungs.
" Syaoran! SYAORAN!"
He stopped and halted but before she could cry out again, he was grabbed by two muscular men and the elders surrounded him. Sakura screamed in anger, pushing against the crowds. He was in an isolated spot next to the escalators and she could see him arguing and then slowly, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
Did he believe them?
Did he come here...for her?
" Syaoran!" She cried once more. Then she saw him walk out, side by side with the muscular body guards, the elders following close after.
Tears welled up in her eyes. No. She would try again. Again and again, until she was sure Syaoran acknowledged her and knew that none of this was her fault and the pictures were the cause and someone was behind it all and-
She ran through the crowd, pulling the hat over her telltale auburn bangs and pushing the glasses up further on her nose to hide her green eyes. Then she walked side by side with the body guards.
He was so close. So close, she could touch him. His sightless eyes were directed to the ground, bandages still wrapped around his forehead and a cast on his arm from the fight.
Her heart thumped hard and she felt tears well up. She wasn't there at the fight. She wasn't there for him.
Then his eyes jerked up and for one split second, those sightless eyes met hers and she felt as if he could see, as if he just saw her...
" Sakura?" He breathed, and she knew he had sensed her with that queer sixth sense of his.
Then the bodyguards whirled on her and with that movement, the Elder's came around and saw her, standing there in flight attendant uniform and all.
Like a deer caught in headlights, she stood and stared back. Then she squeaked, " Hey...guys..."
Then with a yell, Syaoran broke free of the body guards, grabbed her arm and pulled her through the massive crowds who were crowding to board the next flight, and they could hear the shouts of the body guards behind them but they kept running and running.
And all Sakura could feel was Syaoran's hand on hers, his expression when he realized she was there and the heat that traveled around her heart and body.
She loved him. She loved him. Gods, she loved Syaoran Li.
a/n: Yeaaaaaaahh sweet aint it? Now just remember guys, Syaoran didn't do that full about turn. He's just confused about what he's feeling and so he wants her to stay, so he could get her to 'explain' what exactly she did to him. He hasn't come to term with his feelings for her and is still in denial and most of all he doens't like it when choices are made for him. So the fact that the elder's chased her away and made him marry Yen is fueling most of his actions. Juss to make sure, incase you guys think it'll be all fluffy fluffy. LOL. anyways guys, see ya latez, sry about the late update, CHEMISTRY is a beep
starjade