CCSxSt Tail. Two rival 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
Sorry for late updates. Really, it's hard to write interesting. How do people do it? How do they write so that the readers can visualize what the hell the author's imagining? Tell me if my story is working…im finding it hard to lets the words flow.
Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...
The Ice-cream Parlour: The Rescue
A boy crept down low and crouched behind a bush, and he signaled for a girl to follow. The girl was dressed in a beige bikini with a lemon yellow sarong wrapped around her waist, which she had to hold up with difficulty to sneak around. They finally found a huge tree a little away from the beach, and hid behind it, breathing a sigh of relief that they didn't get caught by their not-so-attentive friends.
"You did it, you genius!" Eriol's mouth brushed Tomoyo's cheek lovingly. Her slender arms circled his waist and he could feel her smile into his shoulder.
"Just doing what I had to do. Now I can finally call you…Eriol…" she gazed up into his eyes and he was about to kiss her again but she slapped him gently on the forehead.
"Silly, our job isn't finished yet…" she grinned at his disappointed look. "Don't worry…we'll have plenty of time for that," she promised, "But right now-"
"Yeah, yeah, we have to perform the 'good deed' for our misguided friends," Eriol put on a saintly face and released her from his embrace. "Let's get this over and done with so we can move on to more…interesting things, shall we?"
Not missing the hints of pink on Tomoyo's cheeks, he laughed quietly and turned to look past the tree they were hiding behind. He spotted Syaoran lying on some flat rocks on the beach, not very far away from them, reading a book. "I can only find Syaoran…I can't find Meimi or Asuka…they must have ran off somewhere," he hissed to Tomoyo.
"Let's do this one pair at a time…Sakura's over there!" Tomoyo whispered back, pointing out to sea. Eriol noticed a figure floating on the surface of the water, and instantly felt a strong power emitting from that person. "Sakura's using Float, I think," Tomoyo said, whipping binoculars out of nowhere. "She usually does that when we go to the local swimming pool…"
Eriol muffled a laugh. "You mean…she doesn't know how to stay afloat by herself?"
Tomoyo slapped him with the back of her hand, this time a little harder. "Shut up meanie…it's only one of her few weaknesses…and don't you DARE tell anyone!"
Eriol reassured her that he wouldn't (not forgetting how scary she was when she's angry) and something in his head clicked.
"You said…she can't swim?" he asked, and Tomoyo nodded, face still glued to the binoculars.
"I think I have just the idea…"
Syaoran was entertaining himself with a book. The title read: 'Ways to Deal With Your Insanely Annoying Friends', and he was quite interested at first, with words such as 'stab' and 'suffocate' and 'poison darts' in each paragraph. But then his mind would drift off to Saku-Kinomoto, and how she had pointedly ignored him, and gone off swimming by herself leaving him all alone on the wide stretch of sand, leaving him to wonder if she ever accepted the apology he kindly took his wallet out for.
He spied her at the corner of his eye, sun bathing on the surface of the water (it was Float, he recognized. 'She doesn't know how to swim?' he had snickered.), her pink and white striped two-piece extremely eye-catching in the vast blue ocean. Well, it was eye-catching to him anyway.
Quietly observing the enemy. That's what Syaoran called it. He glanced over his book every so often, each time taking a longer peek, and more frequent. Eventually he couldn't even concentrate on the book. The single words he read mashed together into an unintelligible sense. She wasn't really that unattractive. He had been calling her that since forever but deep in there somewhere he knew she was anything but unattractive. And his mistake at the Masquerade clearly proved that. He wondered what Sak-Kinomoto thought of him at the Masquerade, but then grimaced and thought he better not think about it, considering what he did to her.
"Right…back to the book," he mumbled, diverting his eyes onto the page.
But then, she was looking quite cute, if he dare say, with her new haircut. He recognized it as a similar hairstyle to the one she had in elementary school, but now with it she looked anything but childish. The layers made it princess-like but the blunt edges gave an attitude. The cropped style showed-off her slender neck, exposing smooth skin, and now that the dark brown dye had completely washed out, the beautiful auburn was richer than ever. The tints of red and brown were especially brighter in the sunlight, he observed as his gaze traveled over the edge of the book again; he promptly smacked his forehead for the lack of control over his own eyes.
Oh yes. Back to that book.
Under Touya's watchful eye, he did not miss the brat's subtle, momentary glances at Sakura. 'That little pervert,' he growled, forgetting that was what Sakura called him moments before, 'nobody looks at my sister like that!'
Touya cracked his knuckles and was ready to march straight over there and tap the brat on the shoulder, but suddenly stopped. He suddenly had an uncontrollable urge for…
…icecream?
Touya grumbled. The icecream truck was in the opposite direction, half a kilometre away near the carpark. "Lucky bastard…you just wait…" He was sure that the brat would still be there when he got back, 'reading his book'. He turned and left, not realizing his mistake.
Sakura stared aimlessly at the sky. The water was cool and soothing on her back as she floated along, not caring where the waves took her.
Sakura and I are friends…
"Wouldn't that be nice if it were true, Li," she said to the wind. Although she told Tomoyo she had forgiven him, and she promised herself that she would give him a chance, seeing him again so soon made her feel uneasy.
"Li…"
"Li Syaoran…"
"Syaoran…"
The words were murmured and they sank deep beneath the ocean.
She needed some peace, away from him.
Sakura closed her eyes and stretched her limbs as far as possible, like a human starfish, enjoying the feeling of the sun warming her skin, and the feeling of the water carrying her further away from the shore. The waves pushing her…pushing her…pushing her…perhaps, a little too hard. The water around her jostled at her sides, trying to drive her under. She was numb with shock as a wave completely smothered her and Sakura suddenly found herself underwater, and for some reason, a force was holding her back from breaking through to the surface.
'Shit!' Sakura started to panic and felt her own Float magic slipping away from her, her mind was too scattered to focus. Fighting with all her might her fist broke through the seemingly solid surface and she quickly took a gasp of air. Flailing her arms about, she anxiously tried to find the direction of the shore, but the energy drained from her as she faced a wave as high as a two-storey building. The rush of water crashed over her head again and like before, while underwater, an unnatural force was fighting against her, this time pulling her downwards. Something invisible in the water was grabbing her ankles and was tugging her towards the bottom of the sea. Sakura shook off the clutches and struggled to swim up. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt air escape from her. 'Float…Float…lend me…your strength…'
Oxygen filled her lungs; sweet, pure oxygen that made her dizzy. Her vision focused and the bright sky greeted her. It was definitely magic. She could sense it, and it was, without a doubt, from an extremely strong and highly skilled source. She paled as yet another wave towered over her, accidentally swallowing some seawater in the process. 'Help…I need help…' Her body was sore and tired and she had no energy to fight. She didn't even know what she was fighting against. 'Somebody…'
The wall of water hurtled down and she screamed the first name that was on her mind before she was plunged into darkness.
"SYAORAN!"
She tried not to make a sound, but it was hard when you've been running for a long time. She peeked over the boulder to scan the landscape for any sign of Asuka. Funny…he was there running behind her a few moments ago. Meimi leaned back against a few rocks and muffled her giggling. Playing hide and seek was so fun! "Especially if your opponent was someone as dumb as him…" she snorted.
"Dumb as who?" Arms sneakily snaked around her waist and she was swiftly pulled to the sandy ground with a shriek of laughter.
Cut to Asuka, on top of Meimi, pinning her arms down.
She tried struggling but of course, it was no use. Besides, deep down she knew getting caught was half of the fun.
"Who's dumb now?" Asuka demanded, giving her a sardonic smile.
Meimi beamed, not afraid of him one bit. "You," she said simply.
Asuka looked down at the girl under him and took his time admiring her lithe frame. The low-cut halter one piece drew attention to her lean and tight body, from all those years of gymnastics. The blue floral pattern matched her brilliant aquamarine eyes, and her long hair fanned out around her head like a halo. He lowered his head and smirked when he felt her tense.
"Really…" he whispered in her ear, "And what is my name again?"
Meimi was breathless. "A-A…" Asuka grinned triumphantly and sat back up straight, crossing his arms. The grin vanished when with surprising strength she flipped him over so that she was straddling him.
Oops. His fault for letting go of her arms.
"Dumbass!" Meimi crowed, "Your name is Dumbass!"
He stared at her in a in a strange mix exasperation and wonderment, but then grinned evilly. "You know," he said, resting his hands behind his head, "I can stay like this all day…can get used to the view."
Meimi looked confused but when it dawned on her what he meant she turned scarlet and fell sideways off him in a hurry. "ASUKA YOU DISGUSTING LOWLIFE OF A PERVERT!" she squealed, hiding her face.
She could hear Asuka chuckle. It was not until five minutes later after she made sure her cheeks returned to its normal colour, that she turned back to face him. She was about to smack him on the arm but found his eyes closed, a content smile on his face, dozing in the mid-noon sun.
'Eh…it's not fair if I hit him while he's sleeping,' she thought, and made herself comfortable on the warm sand lying next to him.
Making sure she kept at least a metre away from him, of course; just in case he tries anything.
Asuka opened one eye to see a head of strawberry blonde close, and his smile grew bigger.
He really should learn some self control. Really. Syaoran was sweating profusely as he concentrated hard on the book, not letting his eyes wander.
The wind was getting rougher. Why? His ears perked up, hearing the roar of the waves become louder. 'Stop hallucinating,' he told himself, 'you just want an excuse to look over there…'
But then he sensed it. Strong, steady magic coming from…just where, exactly?
He turned as a gust of wind blew the hair out of his eyes. The trees, perhaps? It was definitely from there…but strange, he can distinctly feel it coming from another, more powerful source; in the opposite direction, where the cliffs were. He strained his eyes to look in the distance. A figure was standing on the very edge of the cliff, clothed in black robes. "Who…" Syaoran leapt up. The aura was very faint, but nevertheless, it must have been someone of great power if it was noticeable from such a far distance. Eager to find out who it was, Syaoran left his book and was about to sprint across the sand when–
"SYAORAN!"
The desperate, piercing cry made his head snap around, recognizing the voice.
"Kinomoto!"
Wasn't she in the water?
The sight of the ocean churning made his stomach wrench in dread. The water was tossing and turning and-
-where the heck is Kinomoto?
His eyes searched the troubled waters urgently. And suddenly he saw it. Her slender arm, sinking below the surface.
He watched it in slow motion and his heart stopped.
'She was using Float…'
'She doesn't know how to swim…'
Thoughts raced, fear seeping into his skin with every step he ran down the beach towards the water, stripping off his black shirt in the process. He dived straight in and instantly felt the magic in the water flow around him.
'She was using Float…'
'She doesn't know how to swim…'
His gut twisted, knotted. What if he didn't make it in time? He propelled himself faster, the urgency and adrenaline pumping through his veins.
'Stupid girl…you can't swim and you get yourself into this…'
'Where the hell is she…'
He broke the surface for an intake of air, whipping around wildly. This was roughly where she was. He could sense her; she was near. Her aura was weak and flickering. Flickering.
'Shit…if it goes out then…' he didn't want to finish his sentence.
Without another thought he dived back down, searching deeper and deeper.
'Wait for me, Sakura...'
"Do you think we're overdoing this?" Tomoyo said, her amethyst eyes clouded with agonized worry.
Eriol didn't look too comfortable when he answered, "No…we are only using a bit of water magic…"
"Yes, I know…but somehow I feel our magic is being magnified…and when Sakura resurfaced she was terrified and it looked like something was trying to pull her under…"
"Well, look at it this way: this is going to a good cause, the plan is working smoothly," Eriol's voice steadied, "we've come this far; and I assure you, we are not going to let them die out there."
Tomoyo only nodded and wondered if it worth it; she slipped her hand into his for some reassurance. But her thoughts turned to Sakura.
What was keeping her down there for so long every time she went under?
A ghostly pale body was plummeting into the depths of darkness. The little light that infiltrated that far under the sea nearly made Syaoran miss her, and he grabbed her arm just in time. Cradling her, he began to swim up, the job painstakingly slow since he was burnt out from the search.
An invisible coil slyly wrapped itself around his leg.
'What the fuck?' Syaoran's eyes widened in shock as he was quickly being dragged down, 'is this what she was fighting against?'
He angrily kicked out at whatever was holding him and he felt the grip loosen. Not wasting another second he swam faster up, with Sakura, as if asleep, protectively embraced in his arms. Yet he could not hold his breath any longer. He fixed his stare on the bright light that glimmered past the surface, on the world above the surface. Every muscle in his body screamed out pain and his legs felt like lead. The bright light blurred. He needed oxygen. They weren't going to make it.
'We will not die here…' He felt a clench on his left ankle but continued to swim.
'Sakura and I will NOT DIE HERE!' he yelled in his head, as the light drew nearer and nearer.
-
Blue skies. How glad he was to see them again.
Syaoran breathed in huge breaths. They needed to get out of the water as soon as possible. He switched positions so that Sakura was now on his back, keeping her out of the water and making it easier for him to carry. She seemed lifeless, limp; her skin was cold but the pulse was still there.
"Hang…in there, Sakura," he muttered, feeling her chin rest on his shoulder. If he wasn't in this situation now, Syaoran would have blushed that some parts of her body were pressed right against his back.
Funny, why were the waters so calm? The sea had returned to this morning's state in the blink of an eye, with no sign of the turmoil it was in before. The wind had reduced to a soft, soothing breeze. Syaoran cautiously swam towards the beach, wondering if all he had just experienced was just a horrible dream.
When he could finally feel his feet touch the ground, relief flooded thought his tired body.
"Mmrh…" a feeble voice mumbled at his ear.
Syaoran felt even more relieved. Good. She was gradually regaining consciousness. He thought he had to perform CPR on her…not that he was looking forward to it, of course.
He slowly waded ashore, with Sakura making more incoherent noises. At last they reached dry land, and he gently slid her off his back and collapsed onto the ground, gasping from exhaustion. The refreshing salty air filled his lungs and he lay on his back, looking at the sky.
The perfectly beautiful, endless sky that he thought he would never see again. Reflecting on his experience, he realized he narrowly escaped death to save her.
"Her! Of all people!" he began to say in an appalled tone, but found he couldn't. Inside, he was so glad, so grateful that they had survived, that he couldn't bring himself to complain of her existence anymore. When he was watching her drown, his chest had constricted painfully and the fear that was running through him was so intense that he thought of nothing but getting to her. That fear…the fear of what, exactly?
The fear of losing her? No way.
Could it be that he was so glad, so grateful that she had survived, that he couldn't bring himself to complain of her existence anymore?
Nah.
Syaoran pushed these thoughts away. Let's save them for another day. He sat up to check her over. She was still murmuring things, but now she was moving a bit, too. Her aura was strengthening; she was breathing steadily and a rosy colour was returning to her cheeks. He brushed the wet auburn locks off her face and shook her lightly.
"Sakura…"
No response. Syaoran looked a bit worried. She should be waking up any moment now…
"Sakura…wake up…" he tried again, leaning down closer to her ear.
"Hmm mrph ion…" said she.
"Sakura…please?" he coaxed gently, though he knew that she couldn't hear him.
Maybe she did.
Slowly those green eyes opened, and Syaoran backed away instinctively.
-
"Syaoran…?"
The robed figure stood on the cliff overlooking the beach, his cloak flying behind him.
"My my, so lucky this time, Miss Kinomoto…" he grinned, showing yellowing teeth. "And just when I thought all I needed to do was distract Touya Kinomoto…"
He looked towards the small patch of trees near the beach with a frown. "And we had a little interruption with Mr Hiiragizawa and Miss Daidouji…"
"However…everything is still going according to the master plan…"
"So punishment at this stage is unnecessary…"