CHAPTER SIX
Lets See Action
--
The phone was ringing when he pushed the door open with his hip.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Syaoran muttered as he kicked the door back shut, his arms loaded down with grocery bags. Dumping all the things onto the table provided, Syaoran snatched the phone up, half hoping the person hung up.
No such luck.
"Syaoran!" a voice snapped in his ear. "Where the hell are you?"
"Meiling," Syaoran mumbled, already feeling a cold sweat slide down his spine. "How nice to hear from you."
"Don't get cute with me, Li Syaoran. What the hell were you thinking when you woke up this morning? Did you lose your freaking mind? What did you do? Pack a bag of what clearly looks like random clothing, throw a dart at a map, and then run off?"
"Meiling," Syaoran started.
"Don't Meiling me! I don't care if you're the boss. You have responsibilities! You cannot take off without telling anyone! Without telling me!"
"I'm really sor-"
"Do you realize what sort of morning I just had? I walked into this place and you were gone. Gone! And we had a meeting in an hour which I only then discovered you rescheduled. How could you do this? Then I had to look everywhere for you. Your freaking pilot told me you wanted to fly down to Japan, but couldn't wait a handful of hours. You flew commercial? You're insane! That's the only explanation I can come up with."
"Would you ju-"
"No, no, no, no! Don't you try patronizing me now! I don't want to listen to your crap right now!"
"Why did you phone me then?"
He flinched away from the ear piece when her answer was a shriek of frustration.
"Do you realize how many hotels I had to phone to be able to find you?"
Only being able to use the sound of her voice, Syaoran assessed the situation and construed that Meiling's temper was winding down.
"Why don't you enlighten me?"
"God I don't know! Too many!"
So he was wrong.
"I spent half the morning phoning practically every hotel asking if a Li Syaoran was staying there. While I was doing that, I was madly flipping through every daybook you could possibly own, trying to figure out what, if any, sort of business you have down there. You," she snarled, "are impossible!"
Syaoran cleared his throat.
"Are you done?"
"Are you done?" she repeated mockingly. "This isn't funny, Syaoran. That's all you have to say?"
"No. It's Sakura."
There was a blessed pause at the other end of the line.
"It's Kinomoto? What's happened? Is she fine? Did she phone you? Is that why you're there? Did something terrible happen? Syaoran! What's going on?"
"Meiling… Would you just shut up and listen?"
There was a huff of indignation.
"Fine. Go on then."
So with her quiet cooperation, Syaoran related everything to his oldest friend.
He could rely on her. Meiling was always quick study. Combined with her cunning and shrewd mind, she made a formidable woman and efficient assistant. She was a shark, and Syaoran would not have wanted it any other way.
"You're absolutely crazy," she hissed.
She was also never afraid to speak to him like this.
Respectful?
Sure. But only in moderation.
"Kinomoto is right. You have no business there. You're just going to get yourself killed. Then what is the Li family supposed to do? You're head of the business for a reason!"
"What about Sakura? I can't just leave."
"She doesn't want you there. Besides, from what I hear, it sounds like she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself now."
"You have to think about this from my side of the fence. Not just from the Li clan side."
"You're on that side!"
Syaoran sucked in a breath.
"I can't just pack up and leave, Meiling. Not until I know everything is safe again."
She scowled. He couldn't see her, but he felt those scowling vibrations just quiver through the telephone lines.
"Who's going to run the business?"
"You can. God knows you keep the place running smoothly."
She snorted. "You know what the respects are like. It may be fine for a while, but the clan won't like a woman with such authority. Your mother was a different case."
"Then get Jun to watch it."
"Jun! He's incompetent! You know about him and the ladies. He'll never be able to keep little Jun in his pants long enough to even glance at the business."
"Qiao?"
"More incompetence! You know how Auntie Ting spoils him. That boy can barely tie his own shoes."
"Tao?"
"You really want me to answer that?"
"Fine, fine, fine. I'm sure you'll think of something, Meiling."
"Oh no, I'm not thinking of anything. If you're not coming back here, I'm going over there."
Syaoran almost felt the bottom of his stomach drop out.
"You can't."
"And why not?"
"Because… Because… Because…"
"Because you're coming back."
"Meiling! I can fire you, you know."
"You won't."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Because I'm the best damn assistant you can ask for, and you know it. Besides, I'd just hassle you until you give me my job back anyways. You know I will."
Syaoran muttered curses under his breath, which he was sure Meiling would hear.
"Syaoran," Meiling started much gently than earlier, a worried note in her voice that wasn't there before. "If everything you told me is true, I want you back here. You know about dark magic. It's not something you mess around with."
"We're not messing around."
"I know." Meiling stopped. He could hear her gentle breaths and knew this was a time where she was slowly picking her next words. A rare moment in Meiling history.
"How is Kinomoto, Syaoran?"
"Sakura's… She lost Touya. But she seems to be taking it… I don't know, Meiling. I don't think she's letting herself grieve. She's changed so much."
"And how are you, Syaoran?"
"A little late for the niceties, isn't it?"
"You know what I mean."
Syaoran sighed. "I guess I'm doing okay. It's not easy seeing the love of your life for the first time in four years, yelling at each other before even asking how the other is doing, and then nearly watching her get killed. All in one morning."
"You should sleep, Syaoran."
"I'm going hunting."
"Don't be an idiot."
"You used to talk to me much nicer in the past."
"And you weren't so recklessly stupid in the past."
"Thanks."
"Syaoran." Her voice was sharp again. "If you don't get your ass back here soon, I am going down there to drag your sorry little waste of flesh butt back."
"Hey. There's no need to be insulting to my particulars."
"What did I say about being cute?"
"I-"
Meiling slammed the phone down.
Syaoran dropped the phone. Sat down. And began to bang his forehead against the tabletop.
This was great. Just great.
Why did he get the feeling that nobody wanted him here?
--
Sakura set the phone down for the billionth time of the day and flopped down with a sigh.
"No answer?" Tomoyo asked, yet again.
"No."
When Tomoyo didn't answer, Sakura scowled at her.
"Don't give me that! The time zones are weird. Maybe he's sleeping or… at work or something."
"Sakura, you've been phoning all day. If he's at work, he would've had to come home by now or at least have checked his messages. If he's sleeping, your insistent ringing would've been bound to wake him up."
"I know, I know," Sakura muttered, covering her face in her hands. "Tomoyo, always the voice of reason."
"That's right," she said as she snatched the phone out of Sakura's reach before she could pick it up again. "Look outside, Sakura. It's dark. You have to work tomorrow. Go to bed."
When Sakura looked out the window, it was indeed dark, a fact that worried her slightly. Did she really worry away the whole day with phone calls?
"Oh, this is just pathetic. You're absolutely right. I should go to bed."
But she cast another look at the phone in Tomoyo's hands.
"For God's sake, Sakura, I'll keep phoning him for you. Go on. Take a hot shower."
She rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Mother." She gave Tomoyo a speculative look before turning. "Will you really keep phoning him?"
Tomoyo turned her glare on Sakura.
"If I said I would, then I will. Now get out of here."
"Fine! I'm going, I'm going. Yeesh."
When Sakura was gone from the room, Tomoyo sat, still grasping the phone.
There was nothing to be hesitant about. Just phone him.
Lips thinning with determination, she flipped the phone over and punched redial, knowing fully well that she would hang up if she had to punch out the entire number.
Phone to her ear, she heard it ring. And ring. And ring. And ring.
"Well, isn't that too bad," Tomoyo murmured as an answering machine clicked on. She hung up before his voice started his message.
For another five minutes, Tomoyo sat on the couch and debated whether or not she should just go to bed as well. But… she promised Sakura she would keep phoning.
What the hell, if a call five minutes ago wasn't picked up, what could one more hurt?
So she punched redial yet again and listened to it ring.
There was a pressure in her chest that slowly lightened each time she counted off the rings. Soon there would be a message and then she would have fulfilled her duty and be able to go to bed.
She was rounding off the next ring and heading towards the last when it suddenly stopped.
"Hello?" a sleep-roughened voice murmured into the phone.
There he was. The voice in her head. And she didn't know what to say.
Tomoyo panicked, hit the off button and sank back into the couch with a groan.
"Oh God… Coward. That's what you are: a coward," she softly berated herself.
In her mind, she knew the right thing to do would be to pick up the phone, call back, apologize for her juvenile behaviour, and then inform him of the current events.
But she couldn't do it.
Slowly, she set the phone back into the charger, stood up, and went to bed.
--
"Sakura."
He's calling me.
"Sakura."
Deafening silence.
"Sakura."
It's a white room, stretched out and out and out, far, far away. No walls, no floor, nothing. There's nothing.
"Sakura. Come here. Help me."
I walk, but I'm not walking. Where is he?
"I'm here, Sakura, I'm here."
Why don't I have a form? Why am I trying? There's nothing here.
"I'm here."
Is that…
"Sakura."
Oh he's so far away. Why won't he come to me?
"Sakura."
"Come back… Just let me-"
"Sakura!"
She jerked awake as someone snatched the covers from her. Cold air rushed into her warm cocoon, and she wailed as she made a futile grab for her blankets.
"Sakura! You are so late for work," Tomoyo scolded, her blankets all rumpled and gather in her arms. "I kept calling and calling and you kept answering…" she shook her head. "I should have known better. You have mastered the art of talking and answering questions in your sleep."
As Tomoyo continued, Sakura rolled over onto her stomach to glance at the clock. Tomoyo was probably just exaggerating, she's be that-
"Shit!" she yelled out, jumping out of her bed and started yanking off her pajamas.
Tomoyo snorted.
"You're uniform's right there," she said, pointing to her table chair.
"Tomoyo the Small," Sakura muttered in her underwear as she started pulling on the cute little ice cream parlour uniform, "always ruthlessly efficient in her dealings."
"You're absolutely correct," Tomoyo laughed as Sakura threw the frilly pink apron on and fixed the cap onto her head. "Go on downstairs," Tomoyo said as she tied the apron in the back. "Breakfast is ready."
Sakura grimaced as she yanked a hair brush through her hair.
"This is just fantastic. I cannot be late again."
Tomoyo smiled.
"Then you better hurry."
"Thanks," Sakura muttered with just a touch of sarcasm, and dashed out the door towards the kitchen.
She stopped in her tracks when she came to the kitchen. Cerberus was curled under the dining table and Yue sat quietly at the end of the table. Her father was calmly flipping pancakes at the stove, as if cooking for magic beings was just another day for him.
Confusion settled over her panic.
"What's going on? Tomoyo said breakfast was ready… I'm late!"
"Sit down, Sakura," Cerberus mumbled through a mouthful of food as he speared another pancake with a claw and popped it into his mouth.
Sakura stubbornly refused to move.
"No! I'm late!"
"Look at the time, Sakura," Yue said in his usual subdued tone.
"I know what the time-" Sakura stopped.
She blinked, shook her head, blinked again, and then realized the time wasn't changing.
Footsteps approached from behind.
"You turned my clock forward an hour?" Sakura cried out as she rounded on Tomoyo.
She smiled sweetly. "Of course, Sakura. How else was I to get you out of bed?"
Sakura just stared at her.
"Tomoyo the Small, indeed; never to be underestimated."
Before it could go any further, Fujitaka set the plate of pancakes down on the table.
"Good morning, Sakura!" he greeted cheerfully.
She smiled back. Despite all the annoyance of morning, how could she not? "Good morning, Daddy."
"Come eat. Kero and Yue have been sitting here for a while, thinking and scheming while you were sleeping."
She raised an eyebrow at the two.
"Really?"
Cerberus stuck another pancake in his mouth.
Sakura rolled her eyes as she took a seat.
"Fine. Tell me what your plan is."
"We want to call the spirit."
Sakura stared at Yue.
"How do we even know it's a spirit? Why not a demon, or – or – or-"
"A ghost?" he supplied.
Sakura cringed.
"Because it's a magical being. Therefore, it must have one sort of spirit or another. If we can call it forward…"
"How do we know how it'll react? How dangerous it could be?" Sakura cut in. "We haven't even seen its true form and look what it's already done!"
Cerberus waved a pancake speared claw at her.
"We've thought of all that already. We think we've devised a plan to prevent something like yesterday happening. Yue and I will work it out some more."
Sakura frowned.
"Shouldn't I be in on this? I'm going to be the one doing all the work, right? So shouldn't you fill me in?"
Yue shook his head.
"We do not know if this will work. Let Cerberus and I discuss the matter until you get home tonight."
Sakura turned to Tomoyo.
"Did you know about this?"
Tomoyo shrugged. "I knew they were talking about some sort of plan involving this… thing, but I don't know any details either."
Her frown remained.
"Fine. But I don't like this. Next time, even if you don't know if it'll work or not, you tell me about it."
Yue nodded. Cerberus grumbled as he buried his face in another pancake.
"Eat, Sakura," Fujitaka gently reminded. "You've got work soon."
Sakura gave her father a sheepish smile as she picked up utensils.
"Right! At least I won't be late today." As she transferred pancakes to her plate, she glanced at Tomoyo beside her. "By the way, did you manage to get a hold of Eriol last night?"
Something passed through Tomoyo's eyes so quickly that Sakura wasn't sure if she imagined it or not.
"No. I didn't."
"Oh," Sakura replied absently as she smothered her pancakes in syrup. "Okay. I guess we'll just… try again tonight."
--
"Sakura!" Rika greeted as she entered the ice cream parlour. "You're here… on time."
Sakura mock scowled at Rika as she threw up the side counter to pass through to the other side.
"Good morning to you, too. Has many people come in yet?"
"Not really. You know how it's like before lunch."
"Don't I ever…"
Sakura surveyed the parlour as she joined Rika behind the counter. It was a cheerful place, with high, round tables and splashes of colour. Right now, before the lunch hour, there were only a scattering of people just hanging out. There was time yet before the noon rush with people looking for a snack.
She remembered hanging around here with her friends when she was a kid. It was a great place. It had ice cream. What more could a child ask for?
"So how are you doing, Sakura?" Rika asked. "We don't really get to hang out anymore…"
Sakura cast a regretful look at her.
"I know. Remember how easy it was in elementary school? Then high school came along… then part time jobs… then college." She shook her head. "We should find more time for friends."
Rika snapped her fingers. "That's a great idea. Maybe we could all get together sometime. You know… You, me, Tomoyo, Chiharu, Naoko… and maybe Chiharu can bring Takashi. Just the old group."
The thought had a slow smile come across Sakura's face.
"You know, I think that's a great plan. Maybe it's just what I need."
"Great! Just let me…" she trailed off, staring over Sakura's shoulder.
"What is it?" Sakura turned and felt her good mood drop. Rika quickly pretended to look busy.
"Hey Sakura," Syaoran grinned. "Cute outfit."
She glared at him. This wasn't good. Just the mere presence of Syaoran was going to give her wrinkles.
"What do you want?"
"Is that any way to speak to a customer? I want ice cream."
With great effort, Sakura smoothed out the glare and replaced it with a sugary fake smile.
"Sure! What kind of flavour would you like?"
He laughed.
"There's no need to get all sarcastic. I didn't know you work here." He scanned the choices quickly. "Vanilla. Waffle cone."
"Bor-ing," she announced as she scooped it up.
"Are you this mean to all the customers?"
"You're not a customer," she said as they exchanged the ice cream for money.
"I believe I just purchased a product from you. Therefore, I'm a customer."
"Shut up. Get out of here. No. Better yet. Go home. As in out of this country."
"Racist," he grinned as he licked off ice cream that had dripped onto his finger.
Sakura's stomach clenched.
"What time do you get off work?"
"At four. Why?" she asked, not liking the reaction she was having to Syaoran licking his ice cream.
"Great." He sent her another quick grin. "Because I'm going to take you out. On a date."
She blinked.
"In your dreams."
"Sakura, it's been nothing but a dream since I've gotten here. I'll see you at four."
And before she could think of a snappy response of rejection, Syaoran left.
Rika inched up beside her.
"Was that… who I think it was?"
"Syaoran," Sakura muttered. They both watched as Syaoran stopped at a crosswalk before casually strolling across.
"Do you… think he'll want to join us?"
Time for a change of subject.
"How's Mr. Terada, Rika?"
Her cheeks reddened ever so slightly.
"He's… fine."
Sakura nodded as her mind began to work out ways to get out of her forced date with Syaoran.
"That's good to hear."
A/N: A bit fluffier... a break from the angst. Longer to compensate for my severe lack in ability to update quicker. My apologies. Reviews, anyone?
