Disclaimer: CCS is not mine... but you know what... BWAHAHA it will be!!! In my dreams at least.

Hehehe. Late update gomen gomen.

Ice Queen

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Nani?" Sakura nearly screamed except, well... she was the Ice Queen... and Ice Queens aren't supposed to scream.

Worried amethyst eyes glanced over at her best friend, "There is a local gang outside making a ruckus... we might have to stop the show."

Syaoran frowned, "Can we call the police and ask them to take care of them?" "No..." icy emerald orbs flashed. "There isn't enough time. Even though we're in intermission, it only lasts for about ten minutes... besides have the cops here will just make the audience more uneasy."

"What do we do?" Tomoyo wailed. "We've worked so hard on this!"

"Don't worry Tomoyo. I'll take care of them," Sakura's eyes were hard. Ice Queen mode struck her body instantly as she began walking towards the main entrance.

Startled, Sakura turned. Syaoran was holding onto her hand in a death grip. "W-What are you doing? Let go!" Sakura tried pulling away, but all she succeeded in doing was earning herself a few bruises.

Syaoran's body language had changed, "You can't go out there." "... What the heck are you talking about? Of course I can!" the air turned cold.

It was different from before though, there was a hesitancy to the fierceness of Sakura's words. "I'm the Ice Queen. I can take care of myself... without a nanny behind me!"

"... then can this nanny be beside you instead?" the air around Syaoran softened as if trying to coax her to let him be next to her, to be with her.

Walking away abruptly Sakura's only invitation was, "Don't get in my way." But that was the only invitation Syaoran needed.

--

The front doors to the school slammed open and auburn hair swayed in the wind.

"What the hll...?" all fighting and shouting stopped as the gang's attention fixed on the pair of cold, unfeeling, green eyes that were daring them to make a sound. They didn't take that dare.

The atmosphere of the entire area dropped twenty degrees as the Ice Queen of Tomoeda High stepped up to the leader of the gang.

Trying to gather as much pride and courage as possible the head monkey spoke, "What the hll do you want?"

A slender, amused eyebrow raised and a malicious smile formed across pale skin as an eerily detached voice hissed, "What the hll am I doing here? You've got guts, punk. Tell me then, what the fck are you going to do about me being here?"

"Punk?" teeth ground together as a fist rose in the air and swung, aiming for the girl's face. A thin arm stopped his blow seemingly effortlessly.

Unfeeling, piercing, nerve-racking needles shot through the large man's body as Sakura's deadly gaze met his own.

"Yes... punk."

A small hand cut through the air, hitting the gang leader's face, sending him flying to the ground.

"You have something to say about it?"

Heavy footsteps could be heard making their way over to her, "Why you little..."

"Little what?"

No answer was provided except for the crazy and sloppy punch meant to hit her back. It never reached her though, and she didn't have to even lift a finger.

The body of an unconscious man fell to the ground, to the shock and uneasiness of the gang.

"Why do you waste your time on them?" Syaoran's voice cut through the air.

Sakura looked at him, both surprised and intrigued. Apparently, her... housemate was also capable of being detached and unfeeling... he was quite good at it too.

"I don't know... but they better get lost unless they like serious pain."

They did get lost. The body of the gang leader and his comrade were left on the ground. Obviously, the pathetic wannabes had valued their lives for what little it was worth.

Temperature returning to a more normal degree, Sakura looked at Syaoran, "Let's go."

"Aa."

--

"YATTA!!! You did it! Sugoi! Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun!"

The lead actress in the play merely nodded stiffly, she was trying to shift from Ice Queen mode to regular human being. She would need it for the play, a lot of scenes that were too sweet for her taste were coming up and intermission had just about ended.

"... You were pretty cool out there, Sakura," Syaoran seemed embarrassed at his compliment. He hadn't meant to say it out loud, but somehow, the words managed to escape out of his lips.

She was surprised, to say in the least, "..... thank you...."

--

A bazillion scenes of the play later

--

"I'm going to be at the fighting test tomorrow... I made it," Suzuka's voice sounded odd to even herself. It was sort of... happy.

But to her utmost surprise and disappointment, she received no response from Heero. He merely walked away, leaving her alone on the rooftop.

Suzuka took a deep breath. She had graduated from the classes as one of the top three students. (She wasn't exactly the best at sewing so yah.)

Tomorrow the last judging test would occur. She, along with the other two girls would fight with Heero. They didn't have to win, just pass. After all, it was impossible for any of them to defeat the famous Kishimoto fighter. He was the best. It would all be decided tomorrow. After that, there would be a tea ceremony in which she had to pass without mistake... if she passed she would become the next Kishimoto family mistress... Heero's fiancée.

--

The first two girls stumbled a bit. They weren't bad, they just weren't very skilled in fighting. He gave his approval. The first girl seemed the better of the two so far, but now it was Suzuka's turn. After seeing their performance and how easy he had gone on them, she was pretty sure that she would pass.

Taking a deep breath, she walked onto the stage and they bowed at each other.

Getting into a fighting stance, she gasped out loud as she felt the mood of the room change. His attitude went from easy-going and almost bored to suddenly very serious. Such an atmosphere made his father and the judges lean in, looking closely.

Looking at him carefully, Suzuka decided to attack. Charging at him, she punched his face and ducked, coming up again to punch his face again, but it was only then she realized that none of her attacks had connected.

He was suddenly behind her, landing a blow on her back the knocked both air and blood out of her.

Collapsing to the ground momentarily, she slowly got up. There was no more energy in her body. The match was over as quickly as it had begun. She had not passed.

Looking coldly at his back her voice was a whisper so that only he could hear it, "It is obvious to me now that you didn't want me as your wife."

Heero's eyes widened as he felt rather than saw Suzuka fall to the ground. His entire body and mind screamed at him to run over to her and apologize but he couldn't bring himself to.

It wasn't until Heero's father told her to get off the stage that she did.

--

Suzuka bit her lip until it bled to keep from crying. She had packed all of her belongings. It was time to return home. She gave her room one more wistful look before closing the door for, what she was now positive, good.

Turning at the sound of a footstep, Suzuka stared straight into two amber eyes watching her carefully.

"What do you want?" her voice sounded almost hesitant and she cursed herself in her mind for that.

"............ I'm not going to ask you to stay."

The silence was almost deafening. In the end, Suzuka gathered her pride and began walking away, "I know."

"Here."

He took her hand and placed a small object in it. Slowly opening the palm of her hand, she was surprised to see the small crystal she had given him on the roof.

"Keep it." Her words sounded cold even to her. "Or throw it away. It doesn't matter anymore."

She left him there.

--

"Suzuka..." Heero said softly into the night wind. He was sitting on the roof again, but this time he couldn't concentrate on the night sky. The only thing processing in his mind was the image of a fierce young girl. "Am I going to be all alone now? ...but it was for the better. She loves aniki... not me."

Suddenly, he was reminded of the emerald... and of the note she had given him.

The only thought that now ran through his mind as he jumped off the roof and began sprinting out of his home were her words, "I think I might try and be your wife..."

To be continued...

MUAHAHAHA. The next chapter will be the end of the play and so yah. Sorry it has taken so long to finish... I just wanted it to be super good!

Aniki – older brother

Yatta – yay/yippee

Sugoi – super/great

Quote:

There's a light at the end of the tunnel... just pray it's not a train.