'The Covens Underneath'
By Majah
Disclaimer:
I don't own CCS, but I do own the story in this fic and things that are non-CCS related. All the name of places, historical events and other things mentioned, which you don't seem to know IRL, are products of my imagination. Any similarities with the actual thing are purely coincidental.
From Previous Chapter:
So she pulled her eyes up just in time to see a clearer view of the approaching upperclassman. Though his features were evident to her, something else caught her attention. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the piece of cloth dangling in his breast pocket; an old looking jade-green scarf which greatly resembled the one she had years ago.
Sakura's stare went from the piece of garment to the upper classman's face, and as he ran directly in front of her, she felt the strange feeling inside her grew stronger. For a split second of him passing by, her heart seemed to jump out of her chest.
She couldn't explain what she was feeling. It was heavy by this second then lighter on the next. Her mouth went dry that she couldn't even swallow properly.
The chestnut-haired student seemed to have sensed someone looking at him that he shot a quick side glance only to meet emerald-eyes staring at him. He ran a few meters more before his feet slowed down into a walk until he completely stopped pacing.
For a moment, he just stood there with his back on a gaping Sakura. Then finally, he turned around with his amber eyes directed straight at her.
"Have we…met before?" he asked her with a deep frown etched on his forehead.
---: ACT ONE: ---
"THE BEGINNING OF AN END"
:Chapter Six:
"Rumor Spreads"
"Have we…met before?" he asked her with a deep frown etched on his forehead.
But, she just stared at him.
"Miss?" the chestnut-haired upperclassman queried once more.
Sakura's words were caught inside her throat. She didn't know why she had this kind of feeling. Worse was that she was also nervous and caught off-guard since she wasn't really expecting for the upperclassman to speak to her directly. She anticipated conversing with fellow students of same level who belonged to the middle-class at most and not someone like him.
The upperclassman's amber eyes pierced right through her as if he was charting every part of her features. Sakura shifted from one foot to another as her cheeks grew warm. It was her first time to receive such an intense gaze from a boy that it was, sort of, embarrassing for her. Her eyes tried looking away many times but she always found herself glancing back.
The frown on the upperclassman's forehead deepened. "Which clando you belong to?"
Sakura blinked, "Clan?"
"Yes. Clan." His voice sounded cold when it was obvious that he was getting impatient.
"I'm not sure that I understand what you are asking," she said to him.
"You don't?" The chestnut-haired boy looked amused yet irritated at the same time. "Are you toying with me? Because you seem to be implying that you actually do not know what a clan is."
"Hoe!" Sakura fidgeted which made her spill some water on the floor. Clan? Sakura raked her thoughts. I don't recall anything taught like that from preliminary school back in the orphanage. "But…I really don't know what it is," she replied once again.
"I can't believe that I am actually hearing this. You've got guts to pull such an act on me." His tone was so cold that Sakura squirmed a bit. Nevertheless, the upperclassman started pacing back towards her. "But still…I am going to ask you again; more slowly and spelled out. I expect a proper answer."
"Hoe!" She wasn't the type to be scared easily, but the strange feeling she felt earlier crept back as the upperclassman walked nearer.
"I want to know…," he remarked as he strode back. "…which clan you belong…aka...," He finally reached Sakura and turned to face her, "…the family in which you are born to with a specific ability unique to your bloodline to fulfill specific obligations for this coven." He stared directly at her emerald eyes.
Sakura was once again lost for words. First, she still doesn't have any idea about this clan thing he was talking about. Second, the only thing she understood was the word 'family', but she doesn't really know how to answer that considering that she already lost her remaining kin the day she was born. Third, she can't quite grasp the words such as 'bloodline', 'obligations' and 'unique ability'. Fourth, again…she doesn't know the meaning of yet another word; this 'coven' he just mentioned. And lastly…
He has warm eyes in contrast to his cold demeanor…such hypnotizing eyes, she thought. For some reason…I feel nostalgic. Why is that?
"Are you seriously just going to continue to gape like that?" he said irritably. "Are you really that delinquent as to refuse to answer a simple question from a senior of my stature?" He unbelievingly eyed the pails she held. "I mean…it has been a very long time since I saw anyone conventionally punished this way."
"Hoe!" she exclaimed with her cheeks hot from embarrassment. "I…uh…"
But she wasn't able to finish what she was about to say when the classroom's door flew open.
"Li-sama!" Nakuru exclaimed in surprise at the sight of the upperclassman. She held the door open which enabled students inside to get a good view of them. The high-classed students, who didn't even bother to look at her earlier, now stared wide-eyed. The others gasped at the sight of the chestnut-haired student outside.
Sakura blinked. What could have caused them to react that way? Then, she looked back at the chestnut-haired senior. Is he that well-known? She remembered his words earlier about refusing to answer someone of his stature.
She gulped. Oh, please…don't tell me that I just offended someone important and high-ranked among those that are already up there.
"Nakuru-sensei." He nodded his head towards the educator.
As Sakura saw this light and simple gesture of a student towards a professor, her suspicion about the guy as someone important was confirmed. Normally, a student should bow to their teachers in greeting. But this particular upperclassman merely nodded his head. It only meant that he must have belonged to a prominent family which was ranked higher than Nakuru-sensei's.
Oh dear…
She grew uneasy. She heard the impact of their caste from the adults in the orphanage, but since Saradik was a small village, it was rare that top-classed individuals visited. She wasn't totally naïve about these things, but still, this was the first time for her to actually see the implications of their social structure. The stares she received the moment she stepped inside Tetsuroh Day School were just a prologue to a much deeper hierarchy.
The brown-haired woman looked excited at the site of the upperclassman, yet she seemed annoyed that he had to see this little punishment of hers.
"Did this girl do anything to you?" the educator asked. "If so, don't worry, Li-sama. I shall…" She glared at Sakura. "…punish her even more."
Sakura gasped.
The upperclassman raised a brow. He seemed surprised at the professor's cold and outright passing of judgment to the girl.
"I didn't do anything," Sakura said with pleading eyes. "I was just standing here and he passed by…"
"Hush!" Nakuru's voice boomed and cut her off. "You're such a sore. You will stand there every morning from now on."
Sakura shook her head. "But…but…"
"You dare contradict me!" the angered teacher exclaimed.
"Oi…," the upperclassman interrupted. "Nakuru-sensei, isn't this too much for you to punish her just like that?" he asked as he looked from Sakura to the long-haired woman. "Wouldn't her clan object to this?"
"Clan?" Nakuru glanced at the upperclassman strangely. "What are you talking about?"
"Huh?" Amber eyes blinked at her. First it was the girl, now their teacher was throwing him the same reaction. "What is it with everyone today?" He shook his head unbelievingly. "Her clan. Her family. The lineage she belongs to."
The woman stared at him for a while. Then, finally she gave a semi-smirk and semi-laugh expression. "What family? This girl is an orphan. She is from a small village in the outskirts. She is here under the Ministry of Education's outreach program for educating the needy." She gave him an intense glare which made Sakura fall back a little.
"She is NOT 'one' of us," she greatly stressed. "Li-sama, what on earth made you think otherwise?"
The upperclassman's eyes widened. For a moment, he only stood there as if trying to digest what the professor had just said. Soon, his brows furrowed into a frown. "That can't be…," he murmured and shot a gaze towards Sakura. His amber eyes pierced again like a dagger as he seemed to examine her from head to foot.
"A-ra?" Nakuru placed her hands on her hips. "You really actually thought that she is a…"
Her voice trailed off. Behind her, students were all ears at the little scene outside their classroom. Even those who belonged to high-classed families were gaping at the upperclassman. Some even gave him looks as if he had lost his mind.
Sakura shifted from one foot to another. Her arms already felt numb from holding those pails for so long. She didn't understand what was happening before her, but one thing she knew was that she had to do something in order to lessen the punishment bestowed upon her. She didn't like the look she was currently receiving from the senior. As spirited as her personality was, she was still at their mercy; someone like her who belonged to the lowest level in their caste. So without any hesitation, she quickly bowed low to him.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she started to say. "I'm not sure what it was that I did wrong. But if it was about those questions you've been asking me, which I do not know how to answer, please forgive me. Like what Nakuru-sensei said, I am from a small village. Quite remote actually, so I may not know many things yet…city things. I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry." Still bowing low, she looked up at him. Her emerald eyes pleaded. "I promise I would learn whatever needed to answer your questions and perhaps someday, answer them properly. But for now…please, do not be angry with me."
Then, she turned towards the teacher and bowed once again. "Nakuru-sensei, please don't hand down more punishment. I don't want to miss more of my classes than I already have. Please show mercy."
Distaste filled the woman's face. "Mercy? If I let you go just like that then others might follow your bad example. You should know your place, orphan."
She flipped her hair snottily. "I mean, being so late for your first class is already quite unimaginable from someone like you. After that you offend Li-sama? Tsk!"
"Nakuru-sensei…," the upperclassman spoke again, but this time in a more mellowed down voice. "…we are creating a scene."
He eyed the students inside the classroom uncomfortably. "There is no need to go to such extents. I believe it was partly my fault. I jumped to conclusions. Like what she said, I was just passing by…I …uh…" He cast her a strange look. "…thought…I mean…" He stammered for a while as if he was trying to search his mind for the right word. "…I…mistook her for something else and started bombarding her with questions. But since you cleared it up about her origin, it was quite obvious why she has no idea about my inquiries. I thought she was purposely denying me an answer. So there is no need to punish her."
"Eh?" Nakuru arched a brow. "Are you defending her, Li-sama?"
Sakura blinked and glanced up at the upperclassman. His amber eyes seemed to waiver for a second, but eventually went to emulate coldness the moment the professor mentioned the word 'defending'.
Yet, the woman repeated her words, "Actually defending someone like her who belongs to the lowest class?"
The auburn-haired girl felt like a dagger had been stabbed right through her heart. She knew that she was poor and had no good roots, but do everyone have to keep reminding her about it?
A scowl crept on the senior's face as the teacher's taunting tone rang in his ears. "Mind your words, Nakuru-sensei," he said icily. "Saying such a thing is an insult to the Li Clan."
Sakura heard it again; the word 'clan'. She looked up curiously. He did mention about a clan being the family you were born into. Well, he said more than that but it was the only thing she could understand. Nakuru-sensei called him 'Li-sama'. So probably that was his surname…'Li'. Because if it's a first name then it would be odd to refer to a whole family by his first name. She nodded to herself. Yup. It's probably his last name. I guess he meant that Nakuru-sensei is throwing an insult towards his family?
Inside the classroom, students started whispering. For those who belonged to middle class, the scene before them would be something enticing since it was not every day that they would see a teacher-student conflict with the student actually being the more intimidating one. But for the wealthier half of the classroom, Nakuru 'tactlessness' was uncalled for and would question her sanity for speaking like that to someone like Li.
Nakuru immediately realized that change in the senior's demeanor. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. This particular kid was no ordinary kid amongst their 'kind'. He had been branded as brutal and deadly. So before she ended up colliding with the upperclassman's views, she quickly gave a cheerful smile.
"Mah…mah…don't be so rush, Li-sama." She waved her hand about. "I was just surprised…haha." She gave a nervous laugh. "I wasn't really thinking." Then, she threw an arm across Sakura's shoulders and pulled the girl against her. "It seems that everything had been explained. No need to prolong this little scene."
Sakura blinked at the professor's sudden action.
"Since, Li-sama was so kind as to narrate what truly happened, I am taking back the punishment I gave earlier. There is no need for you to stand here every morning," the woman said.
"Hoe!"
"And furthermore…" She glanced at her watch. "I think your punishment for today is quite enough. You may set those pails down and go inside."
"Oh thank you!" Sakura kept bowing many times. "I'm really sorry for being late. Really sorry."
"Yeah, yeah whatever," Nakuru gestured her hand lazily.
"Thank you again…thank you…," She bowed once more; one bow to the teacher, the other to the upperclassman. She was actually grateful to him despite of the little scene created. Actually, she still had an hour to go to her punishment but thanks to him it was cut short.
The upperclassman only stared at her with his frown never leaving his face. Sakura thought that he might contest but was relieved when he riveted to an uninterested attitude with a mere 'hah' as a retort.
"Well, go on." Nakuru motioned for her to go inside. She bowed one last time and proceeded to her seat at the back of the classroom.
The other students gazed at her with mixed expressions. Some were smiling, some were looking at her pitifully, and some even glared. At the door, their teacher seemed to be trying to have a simple conversation with the chestnut-haired upperclassman, but her voice trailed off when he inserted his hands into his pockets and started walking away. Just like that, without even saying goodbye to the faculty.
The woman bit her lips and threw her hands in the air. "Whatever," she remarked before finally closing the door.
As Sakura placed the pails of water down the small storage cabinet at the back of the classroom, she couldn't help but wonder what just happened. She glanced over her shoulders and saw that their teacher had called on the attention of the class and resumed teaching without even waiting for her to settle down on her seat.
It was as if she was once again…completely ignored.
Sakura sighed. What a day…, she thought. And it is just the first half.
"You mistook a human for a vampire!" Yamazaki's bewildered voice echoed inside Syaoran's ear.
"Ssssssssssssssssssh!" Syaoran hissed at his friend. "People might here you!" He glanced nervously beyond the line of huge shelves behind them.
It was noon and most of the human students were having lunch. During this hour, vampires like them pretend to be having lunch by staying inside a private room that was supposed to be a classy cafeteria which was off-limits for those who don't belong to high-classed families. They don't exactly eat every day. Actually, 'eat' wasn't the term for them. They 'feed'. This was normally two to three times a week depending on the schedule of the clan you belonged to. So everything was just a façade. Many of their kind still lurked inside this so-called fancy cafeteria but some only wander about or for him and Yamazaki, they were often found in the library.
Yes, in the library, but Yamazaki was having a hard time whispering in a very low voice. Syaoran swear that if there were students in the next aisle, they would have heard the guy.
"Okay…okay…" His friend took a deep breath as if to concentrate. "Like I was saying…" He threw Syaoran the same look everyone in that girl's class had been giving him. It was a look which implied that he must have lost his mind. "You really did? You actually thought that she is vampire?"
Syaoran tried to cover his view of the look Yamazaki was giving him with a book but the intensity of his friend's awed aura was too strong to ignore. "Yeah…yeah…okay. I know. I must be crazy."
"Oh, I get it." Yamazaki suddenly calmed down. He crossed an arm in front of him and rubbed his chin with his fingers as if to think. "This must be another kind of side effect from Fujitaka-sama's spell."
Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Enough with that side effect thing. Fujitaka, himself, said that the spell wasn't supposed to have any. So, cut it out already."
Yamazaki raised a brow. "Hmmm? I thought you don't think highly of the coven's leader? Yet, now you take his word for it?" Then, he realized another thing. "Weh! You just called him by his first name! You shouldn't do that! Someone might hear you!"
"Someone might hear you!" Syaoran implied back. A few people who sat at the tables beyond the shelves looked at them; frowning.
Both seniors bent their heads and inched towards the farthest aisle of books.
"You are a very difficult person to decipher," Yamazaki said to him thoughtfully.
"Well, I have issues," Syaoran remarked and pretended to pull another book from the stack in front of him.
"Seriously, Li, was there any reason why you thought that orphan girl is a vampire?" his friend continued to ask.
Syaoran took a deep breath as he stared at the book he was holding absent-mindedly. He was like that for a while before he decided to answer. "I don't know why, Yamazaki."
"Eeeeeeeeh? Come on, Li. There must be. You are not the type to go girl watching or something," Yamazaki pointed out. "What made you glance at her in the first place if you were hurriedly trying to go to Terada-sensei's class? You were running, for keep's sake."
Syaoran ran his fingers in his hair as he recalled the things that happened earlier. "I don't know. I was running. I wasn't even minding the things around me. Only the path which will lead me to the end of the hallway. I had my eyes fixed on it. But…"
"But…?"
"But, when I went passed this girl…I felt my heart skipped a beat," he said to his friend.
"Skip a beat?" Yamazaki's brow's twitched. "Don't you dare tell me that you are turning into a romantic type of guy?"
"Huh?" Syaoran blinked. "What?"
"'skip a beat'…oh come on, Li…what kind of statement is that? It sounds like something out of those romance novels my mother reads." Yamazaki looked disgusted for a moment.
"WHAT!" Syaoran's voice boomed which caused some heads to turn. Even the librarian looked up from her desk. She didn't look angry. In contrary, she only smiled. She had long hair and fair face.
"Ah, Li! You just got Kaho-sensei's attention!" Yamazaki remarked. He turned to her and bowed low as if to apologize then quickly pulled Syaoran towards the opposite aisle with less people.
"I can't help it," Syaoran muttered. "You are speaking nonsense to me."
"Well, you're the one who started with this 'skip a beat' thing. It is the normal thing to assume," Yamazaki replied defensively.
"This is NOT like those romance novels. Do you honestly think that I would be attracted to such a scrawny little thing?" Syaoran asked disbelievingly.
"Then why say such words?" Yamazaki asked. This time, it was his turn to pull out some books.
"My heart…literally skipped a beat. In fact, I think it stopped beating for a while then suddenly thumped fast."
"Eh?" His friend gave him a confused look.
"I was surprised. The only time I have that kind of reaction is before I conjure myself to transform into my beast form," he stressed to make sure that his friend doesn't go on assuming another thing.
"Really?" Wide-eyed Yamazaki asked him; full of curiosity now.
"Yeah," Syaoran looked down and slumped against the shelves. He allowed himself to slide until he was sitting on the floor.
His friend followed and sat beside him. "Does that mean that you might have transformed there and there in front of this girl?"
"You know…that's thing. I don't think I could have transformed. The reaction was too light to force a transformation against my will. If it was followed by successive contractions, I might have," Syaoran explained.
Yamazaki gawked. "You could have? But…you haven't changed against your will for quite some time now, Li. I mean the last forced transformation was when you were twelve."
"And I have to thank my family for trying to train me as an encanter despite the fact that I was supposedly doomed to be a beastshifter. The training didn't allow me to gain power but it did teach me how to do proper concentration." Syaoran looked at Yamazaki, "It really helped."
"So, today…," his friend started to say.
"I don't really know. It could have been just a coincidence. Then again, when I took a second look at her…," It was Syaoran's turn to rub his chin.
"What?" Yamazaki was overflowing with curiosity.
"She stared at me with emerald eyes. She seemed to be gaping as if she also felt something. I am used to the stares people give me, but hers was different. I had this feeling that I've seen her somewhere but couldn't really pinpoint where," Syaoran reminisced.
"Really?" Was the only thing Yamazaki could say as he tried to absorb what his friend was saying.
"I thought perhaps she belonged to some clan with some kind of in-earth power. I mean…hello…she had emerald eyes. Can humans have that kind of eyes?" he asked his friend.
His friend only shrugged. "Sometimes a human may have a dormant gene that may cause abnormality; hence the different color of his or her eyes. It happens."
"Genetics, huh?" Syaoran murmured. "But even so…I've seen navy blue and hazel…but green? If it was dark green, it wouldn't be catchy. But it was emerald-green. Like it has depth in it."
"Like whenever a vampire belongs to a unique bloodline?" Yamazaki asked.
"Yeah," Syaoran frowned. "Exactly."
"Hmmm…well…you should know better than I am. I mean, I don't have that kind of eyes. It wasn't even taught in my family," Yamazaki pointed out.
"I hope I didn't offend you or anything, Yamazaki, but it was part of my education while I was growing up. And what's more was that…I remembered mother saying that NOT ALL who belongs to a unique bloodline have these eyes. They were bestowed only to those that inherited a distinct ability of that specific lineage. That's why I have amber eyes while my mother has plain black ones. I inherited the beastshifter burden," he explained to his friend.
Yamazaki's mouth was curved into an 'Oh'.
Syaoran heaved a deep sigh. It was all weird…these things that had happened since yesterday.
"I think you should ask you mother about it," Yamazaki suddenly said.
"Hmmm?" He arched his brow questioningly.
"This kind of topic is much well-known to your type of family, Li. Even we, vampires, have an inner caste."
"Yamazaki…," Syaoran glanced at his friend. "…oi…you're an invaluable to me even if my family is ranked way higher than yours."
Yamazaki smiled. "Yes, I know but you can't stay away from the facts, Li. If it bothers you so much, why not consult your mother? She is almost an elder herself and a prominent member of the council. It's either you ask her or you ask our dear headmaster."
Syaoran scowled. "I'll ask my mother. I can't believe you have to bring up that jerk."
Just then, a familiar 'Hoe' became evident to both teens. Syaoran, upon realization on where he might have heard it before, quickly jumped to his feet and peered through a crack the books had made on the huge self. Yamazaki was startled for his friend's brisk action and joined him on looking at whatever had caught his attention.
"That's her!" Syaoran whispered enigmatically to his friend.
"The girl with the emerald eyes?" Yamazaki asked in equally low-toned voice.
"Yeah," Syaoran eased the book a little enough for their eyes to see the other side while remaining hidden.
They were currently situated at one of the farthest aisle of bookshelves in the library. Unlike the place they were earlier, Yamazaki dragged Syaoran in the other side during his huge reaction about his 'romance novel' remark. This side of the library also had tables laid out in rows. But since, the facilities in this side were older and mustier than the ones at the other side. Not one student decided to sit there.
Until now…
The emerald-eyed girl with the pails earlier now sat there together with some other female humans. They had just arrived and were seemingly in deep conversation; completely oblivious that the two seniors were there…eavesdropping.
Yamazaki squinted and even summoned his vampiric eyes to zoom into the said human. Indeed, it was like what his friend said. She has a beautiful set of emerald eyes. They were like jewels which glistened under the light.
"Wow," Yamazaki said in awe.
"See what I mean?" Syaoran whispered.
"I wonder if she caught any attention with those eyes," his friend remarked.
"It seems she had," Syaoran gestured towards the tables at the other side of the library were a group of sophomore guys sat. And from the looks of how they, like Yamazaki, were conjuring their own vampiric eyes, it was obvious that they were also checking out the girl.
"But the only thing that couldn't have mistaken her as a vampire is those eyes. Other than that…"Yamazaki shook his head. "…her skin looks ordinary, without the normal glow our kind has. Her hair isn't as silky, either, although it may look better if she brushes it more. As for her body…" His eyes lingered to the curves of the girl and grinned. "…not bad, Li. She has good measurements on the parts that count for a girl of her age…even though she might look skinny." Then, his grin widened. "I don't mind taking her in as my concubine anytime. Hell those eyes and curves will make up for everything."
"What?!" Syaoran hissed but tried his best to keep his voice down or else the group of girls might hear them. "Are you insane, Yamazaki? Are you saying that she's your type!"
Yamazaki grinned mischievously. "If I were you earlier, I would have offered to hold those pails myself."
Syaoran twitched. "You would actually hit on her?"
His friend laughed. "Why not? It's a rare thing to come a across a human girl like that."
"You already have Chiharu," Syaoran reminded him.
"Eh? Chiharu is a completely different thing. Chiharu is my beloved. And like us, she is also a vampire." Then, he nudged Syaoran. "What's wrong with you, Li? You know very well that a vampire and human can't be together. Although, we don't have rules regarding it but it is the common law of nature."
Yamazaki went to trivia voice.
"The reason why it was not encouraged is because the two species are incompatible. Let's just say that for some out of this world reason a vampire falls in love with a human, no matter what that vampire does they cannot be together. For one, our lifespan is different. We live longer. We live for hundreds of years. The only thing that our phase can be the same like that of a human's is during puberty; our age. We grow like them physically from baby to twenty-one years old. After that, our body stops to age and adapts to our lengthy life span. Plus, we don't get sick. We die either from starvation and old age. And oh! How can I forget? We can also die in battle in the hands of a fellow vampire. Next reason will be, we have a natural strength that might be too much for a human to handle. So even if we consummated a human, the unity won't produce a child. Unlike them, we, vampires had means to control on whether we would like to have an offspring or not. And this depends on the will of the male vampire rather than the female. Our vampiric spiritual abilities are the ones that regulate the act. If we don't want our seed to blossom in our partner's womb, we can control it not to. Of course, this technique is natural to us and is greatly affected by our deepest emotions. So, having this kind of situation, if a male human tried to consummate a female vampire, he wouldn't have the abilities to make her pregnant. In a reverse event, if a male vampire consummates a female human, the female human's body is too weak to handle the baby with vampire blood inside her womb. Hence, it would only cause the fetus to die and she will only have a miscarriage," Yamazaki looked like he was going to go on and on if Syaoran didn't hit him on the head.
"Ouch! What did you do that for?" his friend asked.
Syaoran growled at him, "You don't have to explain all that, Yamazaki. I've known those since I was eight!"
Yamazaki chuckled. "Sorry. I just love explaining."
"I know," Syaoran grimaced.
"But you never let me reach my point." Yamazaki cleared his throat. "What I was trying to say is that we can still get humans as lovers lusting for physical pleasure," he grinned deviously.
Syaoran groaned, Here we go again.
"It won't last forever but that would be paradise," his friend said dreamily.
"We are too young to have concubines," Syaoran pointed out.
His friend winked. "Yeah, well…we can still fool around." He snickered as he gazed once again at the emerald-eyed girl. "Seriously, Li. You are too tensed. You should learn to smile a little so girls won't be scared of you."
"I refuse to be a part of an activity that is a total waste of time," Syaoran declared haughtily.
But his friend only chuckled. "It's because you haven't experienced it, Li. That's why you considered it to be like so. I know for a fact that you haven't been with a girl yet since all of them will run ten miles away from you…vampire or human."
"I can't help it, you know." Syaoran gritted his fangs. "I am born with this kind of aura…which I would like to remind you…is very deadly and already killed a bunch of skilled individuals."
"Haha…I guess you have a point. Don't worry. Perhaps someday you will find someone who won't be scared of you and adore you like that 'lovesick puppy' that you are deep inside," Yamazaki teased; obviously referring to his beast form's behavior earlier.
Syaoran was getting ticked. "You're lucky, Yamazaki…that we are inside the library and are in hiding. Or else I would have slammed you hard on the ground."
But his friend continued to laugh silently. "That's why I am ceasing the opportunity." He riveted his attention back to the group of human girls. "Let's hear what they are talking about."
Both focused their attention once again to the three females.
A dark-haired girl with a talkative personality was hogging the desk as she tried to lean forward to talk to the emerald-eyed girl.
"That was really cool!" she whispered, ecstatically. "I wish it was me that was actually getting punished earlier. I almost drooled just thinking about it."
"Hoe?" the emerald-eyed girl blinked.
"Yes," another girl butted in excitedly. "Imagine…having to talk to someone like Li Syaoran!"
Yamazaki threw a 'see, some girls actually think you're hot' look at Syaoran. The chestnut-haired guy dismissed it with a glare.
"Ssssh! Keep your voice down, Rika. We're in the library," the emerald-eyed girl said. "I don't want to be involved with another trouble."
"Don't worry. Kaho-sensei is nice compared to Nakuru-sensei," Rika replied as she motioned over to the librarian. "I'm so glad that you are in our class. Right, Mei-ling?"
The dark-haired girl nodded, "And I'm so proud that someone in our social rank actually had a conversation with someone from the upper class."
"But, Mei-ling…" The emerald-eyed girl started to say. "…it was a scary conversation. He bombarded me with questions I don't even understand. Then, he got angry with me."
"It's normal. Li Syaoran is always grumpy," Mei-ling said.
Grumpy? Syaoran's brows twitched. He could hardly call his image as 'grumpy'. Beside him, Yamazaki was trying to contain his snicker.
"Anyway, Sakura…" Mei-ling continued. "…you've got quite an experience for your first day in Tetsuroh Day School."
Sakura? Syaoran frowned. That's her name? Yamazaki looked up as he sensed a change in his friend's aura.
"What's the matter, Li?" his friend asked.
"Her name…I don't think that is supposed to be a human's name," he said.
"Huh?" Yamazaki blinked. "It sounds fine to me."
Syaoran's frowned deepened. Once again, it has something to do with his mother's teachings. He wouldn't like to say anything more to Yamazaki since he already said too much about what was taught to him as someone who belonged to one of the highest ranked clan in their coven. So he decided to keep his thoughts to himself.
"Never mind," he murmured.
"Yeah, it is one hell of an experience," Sakura slouched down.
"Aw…cheer up, girl. I know the stares are quite painful at first, but you'll get used to it. You got us now. Just keep close to us and you'll be fine. We are larger in number compared to those spoiled rich kids," Mei-ling dramatically declared.
Rika nodded in confirmation.
"Thanks, both of you." Sakura smiled happily. She was grateful to have new friends.
Just then, someone from the other table stood up and went over the group's table.
"Hey," the new arrival said. "Care to introduce me to your new friend?" She had curly hair that flows down to her waist.
"Oh, sure!" Mei-ling replied enthusiastically. "Sakura this is Rin. She is also someone from middle class, but she is already a sophomore. Rin, this is Sakura."
The two said their greetings. Mei-ling would have started another path of the conversation but she was immediately cut off by Rin.
"Is it true?" she asked Sakura.
"Huh?" the girl blinked.
"Are the rumors true? That Li Syaoran defended you against Nakuru-sensei this morning?" she asked excitedly.
Behind the bookshelves, Yamazaki grinned. "Now, that I didn't know." He glanced at his friend whose brows were once again twitching.
"I didn't exactly defend her. Nakuru-sensei was being unreasonable and it was partly may fault, too," Syaoran said.
"Oh? Since when have you been sympathetic over humans?" his friend pointed out.
"Don't start, Yamazaki. Don't start."
Back to the girls.
"I wouldn't know how to call it," Sakura started to say. "But I did get out of more punishment." She chuckled nervously.
Beside Syaoran, Yamazaki spoke tauntingly, "Really? How nice of you." But his comment was ignored by the other.
"Oooooh…," the sophomore named Rin said. "Did he hit on you?"
"Wai!" Sakura exclaimed which earned her some head turns from the other people in the library. She bowed her head to apologize.
Behind the shelves, Syaoran was getting ticked. Yamazaki was having a feast watching his friend's reactions.
The sophomore spoke once again, "Oh, come on. You don't have to be shy about it. It was all over school that Li Syaoran tried hitting on you while you were being punished which made Nakuru-sensei very angry."
Syaoran almost lost his balance. Yamazaki had to support his friend as the news of the rumor spreading the school hit like a shockwave. "Wow, this is great, Li! You're very first scandal."
But Syaoran was too dumbfounded to counter his friend's teasing.
"Wai!" It seems the emerald-eyed girl also had the same reaction.
Her two classmates giggled.
"Well, yeah…" The sophomore blinked innocently. "…everyone's talking about it. Especially that part wherein he used his rank in society to intimidate Nakuru-sensei to get you out of trouble." Then, she sighed. "Imagine that…having such an elusive and powerful knight in shining armor on your first day of school." She gave Sakura a thumbs-up. "Keep it up, girl! We are all rooting for you." And with that she went back to her own group friends at the other side of the library.
"What? No! You got it all wrong!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Yes, tell her that she's wrong!" Syaoran suddenly blurted. Beside him, Yamazaki was laughing his wits out.
The noise they were making behind the shelves would have been heard if not for the series of "sssssssssh" thrown at the emerald-eyed girl with her last remarks. Even so, her pleads were useless since she had to rivet back to her table and talk in a lower voice.
"No…this can't be happening." She looked at Mei-ling and Rika with panicky eyes.
But her classmates only giggled once more.
"Guys…" Sakura pleaded, weakly.
"It's alright, Sakura. It would eventually die down," Rika remarked.
"NOT," Mei-ling stressed.
"Eh?" Sakura turned to her.
"Mei-ling, you're so cruel. I was trying to make Sakura feel better," Rika pointed out.
Mei-ling snickered before speaking. "Listen, I don't want to lie to you." She waved a finger in front of Sakura's face. "Once there's a rumor which will spread around this school, the chances of it being forgotten are very slim. My older sister also studied here and she particularly warned me about these things. It would haunt you until you graduate. Especially those that involves people who belongs to the elite list. And my dear…Li Syaoran belongs to one of the most prominent family in Tetsuroh. Good luck to you," she continued to chuckle. One could wonder if she was being supportive or not.
"Oh Mei-ling," Rika sweat-dropped.
"So," Me-iling said happily. "Like what Rin said." She made the same thumbs-up gesture at Sakura. "I shall be rooting for you."
"Hoe…" Sakura bent her head grimly.
Well, she wasn't the only one being grim.
"Get a hold of yourself, Li." Yamazaki comforted his friend.
"Why me?" Syaoran muttered as he spaced out. "Why am I burdened with difficult things? As if my dilemma about my beast self is horrible enough…then those blasted tournament…then the possibility of killing my closest friend…and even being a test subject for Fujitaka. Why does school life have to add to everything?"
Yamazaki bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. "It's not the end of the world, Li. Rumors and scandals are part of school life. You should have gotten one years ago. At least it kicked in your senior year."
"I don't want any scandal. I just want to be left alone in peace," Syaoran spoke as if on trance. "Peace…hmmm…that's it…maybe I should just die. That would be peaceful."
"You won't die, Li. You are too powerful to be killed just like that," Yamazaki pointed out.
"Damn," Syaoran spoke without life.
Yamazaki was about to speak again when he saw someone approaching the girl's table.
"A-ra?" he blinked in surprise.
"?" Syaoran looked at his friend and turned his head to see what his friend was staring at.
As soon as he saw, he's face illuminated the same reaction as Yamazaki's.
Another person arrived at the girl's table. But this time, it wasn't another human and it gained much head turns from the occupants of the library. There stood with majestic raven hair and amethyst solemn eyes, was none other than…
"Hello," the girl said in a mellow voice. Her face was fair and it glowed with rich smooth skin. "I am Daidouji Tomoyo." She smiled sweetly at Sakura. "I heard you met Li Syaoran this morning."
Syaoran couldn't believe his eyes.
"Oh that's...," Yamazaki whispered.
Syaoran frowned. "What's she doing here?"
Just then, the raven-haired girl turned her head towards the bookshelves were he and Yamazaki were hiding, then smiled once more.
"Maybe perhaps, I should be asking you also," she said and directed her eyes towards the crack were the two friends were peeking.
All heads turned towards the back shelves.
"Uh-oh…" Yamazaki bit his lips.
Then, she curtly turned her head and chirped cheerfully. "Eavesdropping isn't nice," she cutely remarked. "Neh? Yamazaki-kun?…Li-kun?"
Syaoran bent down his head, but eventually smiled. Yamazaki was gaping but nevertheless followed his friend when Syaoran started walking down the aisle.
The people who were seeing the new encounter before them, gasped as soon as Syaoran stepped out of their little hiding place and revealed himself. Well, not all gasped. Early occupants of the library were aware that he and Yamazaki were somewhere at the back. But still, it created utmost reaction.
Sakura's mouth dropped open as she saw the upperclassman.
But for someone who had been caught, the chestnut-haired senior just lazily stood there and only muttered a simple…
"Yeah," he smirked and locked gaze with the amethyst-eyed daughter of their school's headmaster.
(Up NEXT Chapter Seven: "Trouble Magnet")
Author's Note:
Looks like I am going to reach 100 reviews before chapter 10 after all! Whee! Imagine…98 reviews already. I'm so happy. Now my next goal will be…umm…to reach a thousand reviews? Haha I think that would be too ambitious.
Thanks to all of you. R & R Onegai Shimasu!