CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS
Hey! Haven't updated in ages but I had exams! Well, now its holidays 4 me and I can rite again! the nxt few chapters are gonna b a bit longer, I think, but hey, ur not complaining, rite?
Thanks to: Lonely Magician Miss Blossom ZIA00013 Mimiluv DeAtHaNgEL-LaVeNdA Mimi-102 Rite4ever nicky lovey-teti chikichiki Tinaptran Illusion Dragon wingless-angel-qt...
Reviewers r so nice love u all!
Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...
The Ice-cream Parlour: Let the Contest Begin
"Tick, tick, tick," said Syaoran, imitating the clock. Sakura growled in annoyance. He had been doing that for the past half hour, and it was driving her insane. He was sitting close enough that she could hear every noise he made. And what pissed her off even more was that it was only 10:00am; there was still another half an hour to go. "Will you please shut up?!" she finally yelled.
Syaoran smiled evilly. His new favourite pastime was annoying Kinomoto. Why? He didn't know. He just found out today. It was entertaining watching her squirm and sigh and grip the edge of her seat without ever saying a word to him.
He slid his chair closer to where she was sitting, and she automatically shifted her chair away. Syaoran pretended to look offended but she didn't once look in his direction.
Tap, tap, tap, goes Syaoran's blue biro on the desk. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut in frustration.
Squeak, squeak, squeak, goes Syaoran's chair when he rocked back and forth.
Knock, knock, knock, goes Syaoran's knuckles on the hard surface.
Thump, thump, thump, goes Syaoran's head as he banged his forehead against the table.
"THAT'S IT!" Syaoran heard her scream and suddenly found himself out of his seat and pinned against the wall. 'What amazing strength Kinomoto has,' he mused in the split second. Sakura was holding him with the collar of his shirt and although his legs weren't dangling off the ground (because he was taller than her), he looked helpless. She seemed like a half starved tigress just let out of her cage.
"Li," Sakura snarled, her eyes frighteningly cat-like. "What the hell did I say just then?"
'Woah…' Syaoran thought with a smirk, 'she actually does look scary.' "You…ahh…said…to shut up," he said, unable to talk properly because he was painfully shoved against some plastic pinheads that were used to put posters up.
"And you didn't shut up, did you?" she said with a growl. She gripped his collar even tighter, and when she realized he couldn't breathe, she loosened her hold on him.
"I did shut up," Syaoran pointed out. "I stopped talking…I was just making noises. You should've told me to not make a sound instead," he said matter-of-factly. Sakura sent him a murderous look. If looks could kill.
Syaoran watched her in half amusement, half fear. She looked like she was going to detonate any moment into a killing frenzy.
Luckily for him, she didn't. She let out a huge sigh, and slumped back on her chair. Syaoran blinked. He thought she was going to attack him or something but she didn't. Why? And he was ready for her this time, too!
"I thought you were going to kill me just then, Kinomoto," Syaoran grinned, drawing a chair for himself.
"I can't be stuffed killing you every time you piss me off. Tomoyo educated me that it will be too energy consuming," she answered, eyes closed. "Besides, I can only kill you once and that wouldn't be enough compensation."
"Right..." he said, who couldn't think of a comeback fast enough. A silence ensued. "Anyway!" Syaoran said suddenly in a bright tone, "speaking of our gang…"
Sakura opened one eye to look at him weirdly. "We weren't speaking of our gang, Li."
"Well, now we are. We have something to discuss. Remember? Gang name."
"Oh yeah."
"Any ideas?"
"No."
"What about your friends?"
"No."
"Some enthusiasm, please?"
"What's the rush, anyway?" Sakura said, stifling a yawn as she laid her head on her arms.
"My idea is that we reveal our new gang to our school tonight. From tonight, we will no longer be known as separate gangs but one supreme ruling gang in Tomoeda. From tonight, we don't have boundaries in Tomoeda against each other anymore. And from tonight, our vast empire and all our minions will bow down and accept us as their new leaders, and we will kick those Hatashi Sharks' ass," Syaoran finished his speech by throwing his hands up into the air theatrically.
Sakura, for the second time that morning, looked at him weirdly. "Minions, eh?"
"Oh shut up, Kinomoto," was all he said.
"So…how about that name, then? We have…" she looked at the clock that hung on the classroom wall, "around ten minutes left. What do you propose?"
"Me? Wow, I never thought the day would come when Kinomoto asks for my opinion."
"Don't push it."
"Alright, alright," Syaoran said, "but I want to know what you think first. You must have thought of some kind of name by now. Seriously, any faint ideas of what our name should be?"
Sakura shrugged. "I don't know…what about…Blood Dragoons? You know…like putting both our old ones together."
Syaoran shook his head, dismissing the suggestion. "We need a new name. Completely different. Something that is new, like our gang…"
"Well, what are YOUR cool brilliant fantastic ideas?" she said, sulking.
"Both our gangs' symbols are some sort of animal or creature, right?" started Syaoran.
"Right…"
"So we should be thinking along that line…"
"Right…"
"Stop saying that."
"Right…"
Syaoran ignored her this time and said, "Fine…if you don't really care, I'm not going to care about your opinion either."
"Alright…" Sakura said, yawning again.
"I'm gonna take charge."
"Right…"
"I think we should name our gang the Wolves."
"Alright," Sakura said, "that's a good idea."
"I know," said Syaoran smugly. "So…agreed then, on the Wolves?"
"Ri-wait," Sakura stopped, suddenly realizing something. "Wolves?"
Syaoran rolled his eyes. "I thought you were ACTUALLY listening just then? You even said it was a good idea!"
"But…" she sputtered, "Wolves…!"
"What's wrong, Kinomoto?" asked Syaoran amusedly.
"If we used Wolves…wouldn't we be naming the gang…after…you?"
'Damn!' thought Syaoran. 'I was hoping she didn't notice that.'
Sakura's eyes flashed as she stood up. "Mr Syaoran, Xiao Lang, Little Wolf, I hope you weren't trying to trick me. I have been paying attention in my Chinese lessons! I thought this was OUR gang, not just yours."
"So what?" he replied carelessly. "It should be named after me anyway. I am the stronger one out of us two. The Wolves is a good name; you should be glad that I'm letting you use my name to boost your title."
"Never!" she cried, "I refuse to let myself be held under your name! Any name but YOURS!" she declared, spitting out the last word as if it was a dirty word.
"What the hell do you WANT then, you stupid bitch?!" yelled Syaoran, tired of her ranting. "You didn't even care less about this just then!"
"Phoenix," was her quiet reply.
"What?!"
"The name I choose," she said, "is Phoenix."
"But that's stemmed from only your gang! You have to pick something that's fair to both!"
"And what about you, then? Is it fair that the whole gang is named solely after YOU?"
"We should get our other gang members to vote on this," Syaoran contemplated aloud.
"It won't work. Obviously Asuka and Hiiragizawa will back you up and Meimi and Tomoyo will support me," Sakura said thoughtfully.
After a few moments of deliberation, Syaoran finally spoke up. "I have an idea," he announced.
"Spill."
"I think we should have a competition or something to determine which name we will use. Say, if I win, we will use the Wolves…"
"And if I win, we will go with the name Phoenix," Sakura cut in, nodding, "Good idea."
"I haven't finished yet, Kinomoto," Syaoran said, "I've decided how and when we will go about this contest."
Sakura looked at him questioningly. "Explain. When?"
"At tonight's Masquerade."
2:00pm
Eriol's House…erm…Castle
"Hey how did you think to use the Create card to make these outfits?" Asuka said, watching Syaoran magically transform Eriol's sketches to life. The pile of newly made clothes dropped onto the floor as Syaoran stopped his magic.
"I don't know…I just thought of it," Eriol lied, picking up his costume and running his fingers on the edge of the fabric. Deep down, someone had given him to idea…
The other two guys picked up their costumes and the three went to separate rooms to try them on. When each of them opened the door and stepped out, they burst into laughter.
"Syaoran…you look like an idiot…" Asuka laughed, "Can you even move in that?"
"Actually, it's quite light," Syaoran said, closely examining the material. "And comfortable as well."
"Hm…we don't look that bad, do we?" Eriol said, looking his friends up and down. "Here…let's go to the mirror room, shall we?" he said, leading them down the long hallway.
They were standing in what Eriol called 'the mirror room', which looked it was built for ballroom dancing or ballet dancing. One wall was from top to bottom a mirror, where maybe the dancers could see themselves and keep in time as they practiced. A magnificent crystal chandelier hung in the centre of the huge room, glittering as the sunlight streamed in from the big arched windows. Red velvet curtains were pulled back to reveal a wide balcony outside. Gold and ivory trimmings laced the white stone walls, and a beautiful painting of cherubs in the sky stretched across the ceiling.
"Wow," was all Asuka could say, "Eriol, you've never showed us this room before!"
"Yeah…well, it was renovated just a few months ago."
Asuka still gazed in awe at the ceiling.
"So, can you please repeat to me what's going to happen tonight at the ball?" Eriol asked Syaoran, referring to what they were talking about before in the hallway.
Syaoran sighed as he looked at his own reflection in the huge mirror. "It's simple, really. It's a Masquerade, remember? Kinomoto and I are going to hide our auras (actually you two will have to too) and by the end of tonight, the first person to recognize the other is the winner."
"Winner of what?"
"We were having an argument ("Typical," muttered Eriol) about our new gang name. So we came up with a solution: If I find her tonight before she finds me, she must agree on the gang name 'the Wolves'."
"What was her suggestion?" Asuka said, also in front of the mirror. He adjusted his collar and tried to fix his hair in some sort of style.
"She wanted to name us 'Phoenix'. I mean, what kind of name is that?" Syaoran sneered, remembering the morning. "Oh yeah, and when I think I've found her, I have to say 'Wolves' in her ear."
"How will you know it's really her, though, after you say 'Wolves' in her ear?"
"She has to take off her mask and then lead me to the stage, where we will announce our alliance to the school."
"What makes you so sure that you will win? I mean, she has just as a likely chance as you."
Syaoran chuckled. "Stop worrying, Eriol! It will be easy to recognize her…she is, after all, the ugliest girl in the school. Even behind that fancy mask she is going to wear tonight, her ugliness will show through!" he said. Eriol was still doubtful. Who was Syaoran kidding? Syaoran knew Kinomoto was the prettiest girl in the whole of Tomoeda; he was just not admitting it.
"Besides," said Syaoran, "I have a little something that will help me in that backpack of mine…" he pointed to his bag that he brought along. "Something called temporary haircolour and contact lenses…"
4:00pm
Tomoyo's Mansion
"I have to find Li Syaoran tonight at the Masquerade before he finds me," explained Sakura to her two friends. "Because we will all be in costumes, it will be harder, I guess."
"Sounds impossible," said Meimi, munching on a chocolate bar. "The whole school is attending this dance…which means you have to look through over a thousand people!"
"And plus, we have agreed to hide our auras," added Sakura.
"Oh Sakura," Tomoyo's eyes misting over with worry, "Why did you ever agree to this?" She was finishing the designs for their costumes, colouring in the last details.
"Because! I won't let him stamp all over us like that. Imagine being named the Wolves, after him! We have to stand our ground! I'm supposed to have a leadership position in the gang! And I don't care what he thinks…I have the responsibility to speak for you two."
"Well, I don't know…" Tomoyo said uneasily, now using watercolours, "Even if you find him, you can't exactly drag him away and make him do whatever you want to do."
"We had a deal," Sakura said, "If I find him, I will say 'Phoenix' in his ear. When he hears that, he has to surrender his mask and we will go to the stage and announce our gang."
"What happens if he hears you say Phoenix in his ear, but pretends he doesn't know you or what you're talking about? How do you know if he's willing to be honest in this?"
"I don't," Sakura answered truthfully. "I have to trust him; and he in turn, has to trust me." She sat in deep thought after that.
Meimi sat on Tomoyo's bed, flicking through some fashion magazines. "Hey Tomoyo, why not try adding this kind of frill on the bottom of the dress?" She pointed to the page she was looking at. Tomoyo went over to her. "Yeah, ok…wait I'll just draw it on…"
"I'm still not so sure about tonight, Sakura," Tomoyo said while adding Meimi's suggestion on paper.
"Well, I wish you'd stop worrying," Sakura stretched, getting ready to cast some magic. "Everything is under control. You know I won't let Li beat me in anything."
"Still…" Tomoyo frowned as she worked, "Sakura, he has a chance of winning."
"Of course. But remember, so do I."
"Alright. Here, I'm finished," Tomoyo leapt up from her chair and handed Sakura her work.
"Wow Tomo, you really did outdo yourself this time," Meimi exclaimed as she looked over Sakura's shoulder.
Sakura felt a warm energy surge to the tips of her fingers and she directed the power to the piece of paper. The drawings started to glow as Sakura imagined them in her mind. She imagined the softness of the material; the bright glittering colours that Tomoyo had painted…she imagined the hemlines studded with diamante, the shiny pearl beads that decorated the straps, the silky ribbons that bound the waistline…
When she opened her eyes again a heap of clothes were in her arms. Tomoyo immediately looked at each of her creations in turn before giving a satisfied smile. "Here, quick! Try these on!" she ushered them into different rooms down the hall while she stayed in her bedroom.
Meimi soon met Tomoyo in the hallway. "These fit great Tomo," she praised, "And I love this design."
"Yeah, it looks great on you, Mei," Tomoyo said. Meimi nodded her thanks and said, "You look awesome as well. You're such a natural head-turner!" Tomoyo blushed a bit but then focused her attention on Sakura's door. "Come out, Sakura! Is it not fitting well? I can draw it again!"
"It's not that…" came the mumbled reply.
"What is it?" Meimi asked anxiously. "Don't you like the colour? I helped Tomoyo with the colouring part…"
"No, it's not that either…"
"Then what?"
"It's…um…" the door slowly opened to reveal an embarrassed Sakura with her arms crossed over her chest. "Don't you think it's a bit revealing?" Tomoyo laughed at her shy friend. She took Sakura's arms and made them stay by her side. "Sakura," she said gently, "You look perfectly fine."
"Beautiful," Meimi teased. Meimi wondered why her friend, Sakura, was fretting over her appearance. She was gorgeous, especially in that dress.
"Absolutely stunning."
"Amazing."
"Breathtaking."
"Alright I get it," said a very red Sakura.
"Well, I think the colour of this material suits your haircolour," Tomoyo said as she stepped back to look at Sakura up and down. "Meimi you chose just the right shade of green!"
"Matches her eyes perfectly, too," agreed Meimi.
"Uh oh…" Sakura realized something. "I forgot to tell you guys…"
"What is it?"
Sakura walked back into Tomoyo's room, and when she came out again she was holding a bag that she brought earlier. "I have to win the contest tonight, right?"
"Right…" chorused her friends.
"So…I've brought along this…" Sakura took out a box of haircolour. "And this…" she searched around in her bag and pulled out a pair of disposable contact lenses.
"But…won't that be cheating?" Meimi said, nibbling on a piece of hair.
"Oh come on Meimi…I bet Li is planning to use a dirtier trick than me to bend the rules anyway."
Tomoyo gasped. "Sakura! You're going to change your haircolour?! You're going to cover your beautiful, red hair…" she sobbed as she sank to the ground.
Sakura looked at her with a frustrated sigh. "Tomoyo…read the label…its temporary haircolour. Washes out in a few days."
"Oh!" Tomoyo got off her knees in a second, cheerful again. "OH!" she said suddenly, very loudly.
Meimi giggled, "What is it this time?"
"Sakura! Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Tomoyo scolded, "We've got less than four hours to get ready, and you still have to change your haircolour!" she pushed Sakura back into the room where she changed. "Change back into your normal clothes…hurry!"
7:50pm
"Syaoran, man," Asuka patted him on the back, "you think you can do this?"
"Yep," was his simple and confident response. The three young men were sitting outside the school gates, waiting for the night to start.
It was twilight; the sun was setting and already the skies were disappearing to a black night. Eriol looked at the darkening school building before them. The doors that led inside the school, then eventually the main hall, were already open; he could see the warm light flooding to the outside. A cold breeze of the evening made him shiver; he could feel something was going to happen tonight…something unexpected, something unknown. Nevertheless, he gave his friend a small smile, "Good luck, Syaoran."
8:15pm
"Sakura!!!" Meimi shouted, "look at all those people! Isn't this exciting?!"
Sakura turned to see the crowds of people waiting in line to enter the hall. "Hell yeah!" she happily replied. "Oh no…but there's such a long line!"
Meimi poked Sakura in the ribs. "Well…we are only late 'cause you couldn't put your contacts in properly."
Sakura pouted. "It was so hard! But it doesn't matter…I know how to get in the fast way…"
Tomoyo surveyed the line of dressed-up people with a critical eye. "Pfft…sluts…eww…cardboard… pirates…you call that a mask? Faux fur…bunny ears…" she muttered.
"Come on," Sakura said, dragging her away to the front of the line. "Blood Phoenix, no admission," she said to the couple of teachers at the door. Mr Jin swallowed and let them through. "Uh…you know where the main hall is, right g-girls?" he choked. "Turn right after the end of this hallway, then left after you reach the office."
Meimi gave him a sweet smile which Mr Jin gulped at, scared of what she was going to do to him. "Thanks, Mr Jin," she laughed at his reaction.
They entered the building, and following the teacher's directions, soon arrived at giant wooden double doors: the entrance of the main hall. Already they could hear the loud music and people dancing and laughing away, the tinkling of glasses and the glowing atmosphere of the Masquerade Ball.
"Ready?" Sakura said to Tomoyo who was holding on to her left hand. Tomoyo nodded and stared straight ahead at the doors.
"Ready?" Sakura asked Meimi who gripped at her right arm. Meimi half-smiled and only held onto her arm tighter.
"Right," Sakura murmured. "Let the contest begin…"
And together, the three friends pushed the heavy doors open.
R&R tQ
scarletskies