Chapter 2: Visitation
Sakura skipped merrily as she neared the corner. Today had started off great; she had woken up early, made a delicious breakfast by herself and her brother hadn't teased her much. The beautiful spring morning only further intensified her joy. As she neared her destination, she broke into a run. The joy within her was overflowing, and she couldn't wait to give it to her most cherished person.
"Good morning-"
Sakura looked at the sight of an empty street leading to the horizon. On either side were sakura trees not fully in bloom. It was a familiar sight but it was missing one thing.
"Syaoran-kun?" she uttered in confusion. She looked to the trees on the side of the road to see if he was standing outside of her view for some reason, but there was no one there. With no other place for him to stay out of sight, it was clear that he wasn't here and Sakura found herself at a loss. Syaoran had never been absent for their morning walk to school before.
'Maybe he overslept?' she thought before quickly dismissing the idea. Syaoran was a very disciplined person; unlike her, he wouldn't make a careless mistake like waking up late. Still, it was the only reason she could think of. She knew that their meeting point was a distance away from his apartment, though not as far as her house; she had set this place as their meeting point to so that Syaoran wouldn't have to walk all the way to her house, which was his original intent. That being said, she also had another reason for choosing this place. This road was the place where Syaoran had surprised her when he returned and seeing him here each morning reminded her of that wonderful day. Today, however, that sight was not here.
"I'll try calling him." Sakura took out her phone from her pocket and dialed his number. She waited as the dial tone rang repeatedly but was met with nothing as the call cut off. She repeated the call again a couple of times but each time was met with the same automatic voice telling her that her call hadn't connected.
'He's not answering. Where could he be?' Sakura considered her options. She could wait here but there was no indication of when he would come. Alternatively, she could try to catch him on the road. However, there was a chance she would miss him and then she'd be late for school.
Seeing no other choice, Sakura decided the best thing to do was go to school first; she was on duty with Tomoyo today so she had to get there early, and though Tomoyo would understand of her situation she didn't want to keep her friend waiting. She'll just have to meet him at school; Syaoran wasn't the type to skip school after all. She opened her phone and sent him a message: "Good morning, Syaoran-kun! Where are you? You're not at our meeting place. I have to go first because I have class duty today. I'll see you at school!" She followed up the message with a smiling sticker and thought about adding a heart one as well before embarrassing herself out of that idea. With that done, she continued on her way.
'It sure is a long walk to school.' Sakura thought to herself. Usually, she would be talking with Syaoran the whole way and before she knew it, they would have arrived. Without him, however, it felt long and lonesome. It was a welcome break from her loneliness when she saw Tomoyo as she neared the school gates. Seeing her longtime best friend brought the cheer back in her spirits and prompted her to run to the black-haired girl.
"Good morning, Tomoyo-chan!" she shouted cheerfully.
Tomoyo looked at the smiling girl approaching her and gave her own sweet smile. "Good morning, Sakura-chan." Suddenly, she noticed something and looked to her side where another person usually was. "You didn't come with Li-kun today?"
"No." Sakura answered disappointedly. "He wasn't at our usual meeting place. I tried calling him but he didn't answer." She sighed dejectedly. "And my morning was going great today."
"Cheer up, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo smiled. "I'm sure he'll be here later, then you can talk to him again."
Sakura smiled. Tomoyo always knew the right words to cheer her up. "Yes!" They walked inside the school and made their way to their classroom.
.
.
.
The classroom was still empty when they got there. Both of them set down their bags and immediately divided up the work between them. "I'll sweep up the classroom and you take care of the board." Tomoyo said.
"Yes!" Sakura replied cheerfully. They set about their work which was going quick. She and Tomoyo had a good rapport between them. The pace was going fine when a sound rang suddenly in the empty classroom.
"- Horra catch you, catch you, catch me, catch me, matte-"
As soon as she heard the ringtone, Sakura wasted no time; she dropped the board eraser she was using and immediately rushed to her desk. She grabbed the phone from her desk and looked at the screen: the words Syaoran-kun and his picture were there above a prompt for her to answer. She slid the prompt up and placed the phone on her ear.
"Hello, Syaoran-kun?"
"Good morning, Sakura."
Hearing his voice through the receiver immediately lifted her spirits. "Good morning, Syaoran-kun!"
"I got your message. I'm sorry I couldn't come and meet you today. I'm not disturbing you, aren't I?"
The question made her realize that she had just abandoned her duty. Sakura turned around towards Tomoyo with an apologetic face and mouthed her apology. Tomoyo made an OK sign and mouthed that it was okay. "Er, it's fine. Anyways, why didn't you come?" Suddenly, the heavy panting from the other ine came to her attention. "Syaoran-kun, are you okay?"
There was a moment of silence, almost like hesitation. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I got a little fever so I couldn't meet you like usual."
"Eh, you're sick?!" The news shocked her more than it should. After all, Syaoran was always the perfect picture of good health. "Are you okay?! How bad is it?"
"It's okay. It's not that bad. I just need to get some rest."
His words didn't convince her, especially since his voice sounded a little off. "How hot is your fever? Have you at least eaten something? Have you taken any medicine yet?" Her mind worked harder, trying to find what other details she should be worried about.
"Don't worry, Sakura. I'm fine. I'll take some medicine and then I'll go back to bed."
He made it sound so simple, but it didn't dissuage her worries. She felt like she had to help somehow. "Is there anything I can do? Maybe I can come over and-"
"No!"
The voice was loud and clear, shocking her to her very core. It wasn't quite yelling, but Syaoran had raised his voice. Neither of them talked for a moment before Syaoran finally spoke again, this time in his normal tone.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice. I just didn't want you to worry too much. Besides, if you catch my sickness I'll feel bad. Don't worry Sakura, I'll better in no time. You should get back to preparing the classroom."
She opened her mouth to say more, but stopped. His voice was still echoing inside her. "Okay." she agreed reluctantly. "Just be careful. Don't exert yourself too much."
"I won't. Good bye, Sakura."
"Good bye, Syaoran-kun." she spoke with sorrow. "Get well soon." As the call disconnected, she put down the phone on her desk and sighed.
"Is Syaoran-kun okay?"
Sakura turned her attention to Tomoyo who was looking at her with solemn eyes. Her best friend was now a few steps away from her.
"No. He's sick." Sakura spoke dejectedly. "He said he was okay, but it sounded pretty bad." The sound of Syaoran raising his voice rang again in his ears and tears welled up in her eyes. "I think he's angry at me. I know I can worry too much, but…"
A sudden warm hand in her shoulder distracted her from her worries. Sakura looked up to see Tomoyo's face in front of hers.
"It's okay. It's normal to be worried for the people you care about. Li-kun probably didn't want you to be worried all the time. He definitely wouldn't want you feel sad; he'd want you to cheer up."
Tomoyo's words relieved some of the weight in her chest. She placed her hand on her chest and took a deep breath. "You're right, Tomoyo-chan. Syaoran-kun wouldn't want that." She reached out and clasped her best friend's hand. "Thank you, Tomoyo-chan."
"You're welcome." Tomoyo gave her brightest smile and clasped Sakura's hand back gently for a moment before letting go. "Now, let's get the class ready."
"You're right." Sakura walked back to the board. "Thank you, Tomoyo." she spoke again. "You always know how to cheer me up."
Tomoyo smiled. "It's okay. I wouldn't want to see you sad, Sakura-chan, although…"
"Eh?" Sakura was curious. What did her friend have to say?
"YOU'RE SO CUTE WHEN YOU'RE WORRIED!" Tomoyo shouted out. Her eyes sparkled with unbridled enthusiasm. "Sakura-chan's expressions back there were golden! I wish I brought my camcorder but I had to settle for my phone. I can't wait to look at the footage when I get home!" she shouted cheerily.
As always, her friend's outburst left her speechless, except for a single word.
"Hoeee…"
"Ah, so he caught a cold, huh?" Chiharu spoke as she finished listening to Sakura's story. "I wondered why he wasn't in class today."
"Speaking of which," Yamazaki suddenly interjected. "Did you know that colds were originally called-"
He never got to finish that story as Chiharu stuffed a large eggroll from her lunchbox down his throat. "Still," she continued as if there were no interruptions. "It's surprising to hear. I mean, Li-kun always looks like he's in good health."
"Well, there are other things that can determine if you catch a cold." Naoko reasoned. "My dad also caught a cold once even though his health seemed fine."
"Yeah, I guess so." Chiharu agreed. "What do you think, Sakura?"
"Yeah." Sakura agreed half-heartedly. She had not been able to focus during the morning lessons as her mind kept going back to Syaoran. He'd been a large part of her daily life for a long time now that she felt something was missing without him there.
"You should go visit him."
"Eh?" Sakura looked up at Chiharu, who was looking at her intently.
"I said you should go visit him after school." she repeated. "You're clearly worried about him, so you should check to see if he's alright."
"Hoeee?!" Sakura put up her hands and shook them vigorously. "I can't do that!" she protested.
"Why not? You both are going out after all. It's only normal for a girlfriend to visit her boyfriend when he's sick."
"Well, I mean-" Sakura's face turned pink. "I want to, but I don't want to impose on him, especially if he's sick." Again, the phone call earlier came to mind. "I'll just be a bother to him."
"Silly, you're not going to bother him." Chiharu rebutted. "If anything, he'll be thrilled. The person you like taking care of you when you're sick, who wouldn't want that?"
"You've never done that for me, though." Yamazaki interjected.
A second eggroll silenced the protest. "I'm telling you, Sakura. You should totally do it!"
"I agree!" Naoko seconded.
"Me too!" added Tomoyo who had been silent until now.
"But…" Sakura bit her thumbnail lightly. "When I told him I wanted to come over earlier, he said not to come." A sharp pain rose in her chest as she remembered his strong reaction.
"Kinomoto-san."
Sakura looked up to see Yamazaki smiling at her.
"Li-kun isn't always honest with himself, but in the end he's quite a simple person. I'm sure he'd be happy if you came, even if he doesn't say it."
That sealed the deal. All of her friends looked at her with anticipation. It dawned on her how absurd it was that they had to encourage her in the first place; it wasn't like she didn't want to go in the first place. 'I should have more confidence. I am his girlfriend.' she reminded herself.
"I'll do it!" Sakura declared with conviction. The declaration earned a round of applause from her friends.
"Li-kun will be so happy!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "I wish I could come and record you but I have singing practice today."
Tomoyo's words reminded her of her own club. "Ah, that's right! I also have club practice-"
Chiharu placed a hand on her. "Don't worry. I'll cover for you. This is a very important matter after all." She gave Sakura a mischievous wink.
Sakura's face turned a shade of red. "Thank you, Chiharu-chan."
"Right then, it's decided." Chiharu concluded. "Now, we'd better hurry up. Lunchtime is almost over."
The rest of school had gone a little better; she wasn't as worried as she had been before. All the same, she felt excitement in her heart. As soon as the final bell rang and homeroom was over, Sakura wasted no time; she quickly packed her bags and headed out the school gates, picking up some handouts for Syaoran from Chiharu, who was in his class, along the way.
'Right, let's go.' Sakura set off, but before she went to the apartment she made a quick stop first. She had recalled when Syaoran told her that there was a supermarket he shopped at nearby his apartment where he did his monthly shopping. She'd been amazed by how self-reliant he was back when she'd heard the story. Right now, however, that knowledge would serve her. Recalling it's location from their conversation, she managed to find it and buy the ingredients she needed. It was a simple porridge recipe her father taught her. He'd said it was effective for colds and she hoped that was true now.
After she finished shopping, Sakura headed for his apartment. It was closer than she'd expected. After a few turns she was already near the building. She looked up at the tall structure and walked closer. However, with each step nervousness came over her. As she entered the compound and took the elevator up to his floor, the feeling intensified. The reason for that had been on the back of her mind, but was now the only thing she can think about now that she was here:
'I've never been too Syaoran-kun's place alone before.'
Well, that wasn't technically true; she'd been here before to wish him a happy New Year back when the Clow Cards were becoming Sakura Cards. More recently, she and her friends would often study at his place as Syaoran offered to tutor some of them. However, today was different: she was coming alone as his girlfriend and Syaoran was living alone now. The thought of the both of them being alone in his place both excited and frightened her.
'Oh no, I'm getting too conscious.' She put her hands on her face and tried to shake off her embarrassment, dangling her schoolbag and the bag of groceries she had. 'This won't do. I've got to stop being so afraid so we can move forward.' Since Syaoran returned, their relationship had been progressing slowly. It didn't help that they had to deal with the Clear Cards for a while. She remembered Meiling had said that she was "dense", but she hadn't picked up on it back then. Now, she knew better and couldn't help but agree.
'No, I can't get myself down!" She summoned her resolve and reminded herself that things were different now. They weren't the awkward couple in their first-year of middle school anymore; they were in their third year now. It had taken them a while, but they had gotten used to being around each other. They regularly went on dates and they were less hesitant with physical contact, though it still embarrassed both of them especially in public. This was a step she hadn't taken, but they'd progressed enough to get there.
The doors of the elevator opened, almost challenging her to come forth. Sakura swallowed nervously as she took a hesitant step outside the elevator, then she skipped the rest of her body out as if the elevator would swallow her if she didn't get out too fast. Truthfully, she was afraid of chickening out if she waited too long. Having passed her checkpoint, she traversed the floor to Syaoran's building. It wasn't long before she set her sights on his door on her left. As she walked, she took a moment to enjoy the beautiful view of Tomoeda on her right. It helped to calm her nerves as she finally reached the front of Syaoran's door.
Sakura looked at the wooden structure and froze. Behind that door, Syaoran was probably resting. The morning's phone call echoed in her mind. He had said not to worry about and yet here she was coming here because she was worried. 'Is he going to be mad that I came?' He'd never been angry at her before but she pictured it on her head nonetheless. The bottom of her eyes stung as tears threatened to gather.
'No! I can't cry!' She shook her head vigorously to dispel those illusions and looked at the doorbell. It was a simple action; all she needed to do was press the little black button, but it felt as hard as climbing a huge mountain. Sakura raised a finger and approached it slowly. As her finger neared the doorbell, her heart beat harder and harder till she could hear it in her ears…
And then with a swift move, she pressed the button and withdrew her hand immediately. Inside, she could hear the voice of the doorbell echoing throughout the room.
'I did it!' She clenched down on her heart, which was still beating wildly. There was no turning back now; all she could do was to wait for Syaoran to answer. She stood in front of his doorway for a few moments but grew restless as she could hear no response.
'Maybe he didn't hear me.' Sakura pressed the doorbell again. This time she heard his voice telling her he was coming, though it sounded rather hoarse, either from sickness or anger. She hoped it wasn't the latter as she heard his steps approaching. A few seconds later, there was the sound of the door being unlocked. As the door fully unlocked and swung forward, Sakura tensed and clutched both bags tighter. This was it; how would he react? Would he be happy? Angry? Surprised?
"Sakura?"
Syaoran fully came to view, dressed in sweatpants and a blue long sleeved shirt. The expression on his face showed how surprised he was. However, Sakura's attention wasn't on the fact that he wasn't angry.
She saw how his face was tinged a little with red.
She saw how much he was sweating was all over his body, creating dark creases on his pits and the bottom of his collar.
She saw how tired he's sounded when speaking her name.
It was at that moment all her worries and nervousness evaporated. In it's place, was a single thought. She took a deep breath and gave her brightest smile.
"Good afternoon, Syaoran-kun!"
'I'm going to take care of you.'