GOING ALL OUT!
Chapter 2

Second note to self:
Never call a person early in the morning with an unregistered number.
He might go wild Pokémon on you.

"Sakuraaa!" Chiharu ran towards her friend and hugged her arm. "Grabbing lunch?"

"Uh, yeah. I just thought to try out that new crepe place nearby."

"Sounds good! Wait for me, I'll just go get my purse."

"What about Yamazaki-senpai? You aren't going to eat with him?"

Chiharu paused for a moment, frozen just from hearing Yamazaki's name. When her face started glowing a little pink, she turned her head a bit to refrain Sakura from seeing her embarrassment. "I-I'll try to ask him if... if he wants to join."

Sakura smiled. "Yup!"

"In return..." Chiharu pulled Sakura's arm and looked at her intently. "You better explain to me what your relationship is with that guy from Hiiragizawa Enterprises. I saw you two flirting near the comfort room yesterday when they came."

This time, Sakura turned red. "E-Eh?!"

"I'll be waiting for your storyyyyy~" Chiharu teased as she happily skipped away.

"HOEEEEEE?!"

A while later, after the three colleagues had finally finished the obstacle of waiting in the long line of crepe enthusiasts in the nearby park, they managed to find a good sitting area where they could eat. And as much as Sakura wanted to enjoy her food in that lovely spot in the park, the awkward atmosphere between the other two people with her just wouldn't let her do so.

"This is fun." Yamazaki finally broke the silence. "Eating together with my murderer," he looked at Chiharu, "and her accomplice," he then looked at Sakura, "sure is nice. I feel very safe." He laughed nonchalantly.

Sakura laughed along awkwardly, remembering the time when she thoughtlessly gave Chiharu her computer monitor to throw at Yamazaki.

"It... It doesn't hurt anymore, right?" Chiharu shyly asked, fidgeting in her own seat.

"OUCH!"

She quickly stood from her seat in her panic, only to find out later that Yamazaki was only kidding. Irritated with his carefree attitude, she was getting her hands ready to strangle the life out of his neck until she sighed heavily and returned to her seat instead.

"Don't joke like that. I was worried," she pouted.

Yamazaki scratched his head as he let out a chuckle. "Gomen! Gomen!"

Sakura ate and laughed as she watched the funny exchanges between her two colleagues. Sometimes, they would argue, though it was usually only Chiharu who got mad. Sometimes, they would have a rare normal talk about everyday shenanigans. And sometimes, when there weren't many people around, they would exchange sweet glances and smile.

Their relationship looked really great (and funny) that Sakura often wondered why they hadn't started going out yet. She thought about how relationships bloom and come to fruition, and if there was a process to be had. She couldn't exactly know, most especially since she herself hadn't gone out with anyone yet... all because she was stuck up on that one guy.

"By the way, Sakura!" Chiharu cut in, interrupting her thoughts. "You promised to tell me about that guy."

Sakura quickly avoided her stare while scratching her cheeks. "D-Did I promise anything?"

"Oh, come on!" Her friend crossed her arms.

"Alright, alright!" Sakura sighed. "He's just someone from the same middle school, high school and college."

"Oh my gosh! That long!"

"Yes, so before you get any weird ideas, my answer is NO. We are not close in any way. And he is not the same guy from Mucho Macho."

"Wait... Mucho Macho?" Yamazaki stared at Chiharu unbelievingly. "You guys went there?!"

"Yeah, so?" Chiharu answered without interest.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why would I?"

Sakura tried to keep herself from laughing when she noticed Yamazaki crumbling to the ground as he was being swallowed by his self-pity and worries. She thought that he probably couldn't accept that he lost to a bunch of half-naked muscular men.

"Anyway, Sakura," Chiharu called, returning to their previous conversation, "it didn't look like you guys were just friends when I saw you two back there."

"What do you mean?" Sakura was starting to sweat from her friend's intent glare. It didn't look like Chiharu was going to stop without hearing what she wanted to hear.

"I told you I saw you and him outside the comfort room. You both looked so preoccupied with each other that I couldn't bother to interrupt and go in. And you were blushing so bad! I couldn't ask you about it yesterday since you were too engrossed with work after that. Not even Akizuki-san could bother you."

"It's not really what you think."

Chiharu grinned. "He was holding your hands."

"He just gave me something. For business matters."

"Ehh? 'Business matters', you say?" her friend smiled at her mischievously.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yes!"

"Hmph. I don't believe it."

She dropped her head over her hands and let out a long and tired groan.

That other day, both Sakura and Syaoran were obviously surprised to see each other in the company she was working for. But they never uttered a word and handled their speechlessness like adults by simply greeting each other with a small bow of their heads.

Later that same day, after Sakura was done using the comfort room, she was then again surprised to see Syaoran coming out of the male's comfort room at the same time as well. She found it utterly incredible how they always found each other outside the comfort room. She planned to ignore him and pass by naturally when he suddenly called out to her.

"Kinomoto-san! Can I talk to you? Just for a short while."

Sakura was shaken for a bit, terrified that he might bring up the topic on his 'previous work'. "If you're worried about your job back then, I didn't tell anyone about it! I swear!"

Syaoran sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, yeah... I know you wouldn't. You promised after all."

"Oh! I... I see..." She was slightly embarrassed when she saw his shy character. It was completely different from the 'Syaoran' she saw a few weeks back who had an unkempt hair and an unsightly getup. The 'Syaoran' she was facing now had his hair brushed back and wore glasses and a suit—definitely the complete opposite of before.

"After that night, my conscience wouldn't let me sleep. I felt really guilty for what happened. I've been thinking of ways to make it up to you but I didn't even know how to contact you."

Sakura was struck. "R-Really?—I-I-I mean! You don't have to worry about that!" She couldn't look at him in the eyes, not after what he had just said. She didn't know it worried him so much that he even wanted to reach out to her just to make it up to her. Her heart kept pounding that she felt like all the blood suddenly came rushing to her face. "Seriously, Li-kun. Let's put the past aside. I'm okay!"

"Are... Are you sure?"

When Sakura slowly looked up, she noticed the downhearted look on his face. It seemed like he wasn't very convinced of her answer. Seeing him like that made her want to hold him in her arms and assure him that she was fine... that she felt great just by seeing him that day. But of course, she couldn't do that.

Instead, she smiled warmly at him without any hint of wariness or worry. She wanted to make him feel okay.

"Yep, I'm sure. So please stop worrying, Li-kun. I'm fine!"

When Sakura noticed the time on her watch, she suddenly started to panic, remembering her deadlines for the day. She immediately excused herself and was about to run back to her work station when she was suddenly pulled on the arm.

"Li-kun?"

"At least keep this." Syaoran handed out his business card. "If you need help with anything anytime, just give me a message or a call."

"Li-kun, I told you—"

"Just—here!" Syaoran forced the card onto her hands. His brows furrowed as he felt unable to keep his calm composure. "T-Then, see you!"

Syaoran hurried to the other direction while covering his face. Despite his efforts to hide away his embarrassment, Sakura still managed to see through him because of how red his ears became. Her face flushed red as she held onto the business card that he practically shoved at her.

"Idiot Syaoran..."

Sakura spent her entire Saturday morning at home staring at the business card lying on her desk. At times, she would hold onto her phone and attempt to dial the number written on the card, but she would later withdraw and jump back down on her bed with a long and heavy sigh. She had no real reason to contact him nor the courage to even do so. She felt embarrassed thinking how she didn't want to take advantage of his kindness.

"But I want to see him again..." she muttered onto her pillow, her feet kicking against the bed as she flushed with excitement.

How her heart fluttered like a high school student again.

"Sakura?" her father's voice echoed through the closed door after he knocked a few times. "May I come in?"

"Yeah, sure!" After Fujitaka went inside, Sakura quickly hid the business card under her pillow. "Something you need, otou-san?"

"Well, yes... I have to go get the pots I pre-ordered from the flower shop but as you can see, my back isn't exactly cooperating with me right now," her father embarrassedly said as he was rubbing his back. "Your brother originally was supposed to help me but something came up at his work so I was hoping you could help instead."

"Yes, of course! Let me take care of carrying them! I'm a strong girl," Sakura boasted as she showed-off her non-existent arm muscles, to which her father laughed.

"Thanks, Sakura. In return, I'll treat you to lunch."

"Yaaaay!"

Soon after, Sakura got dressed and went to the flower shop together with her father. She had help from one of the shop's assistants to carry the pots and put them in the back of their car. As she was carrying the last pot to their car, she looked at her father who was walking beside her and felt the urge to ask him about the pots.

"By the way otou-san, I was wondering what these pots are for. Are you planning to grow flowers?"

"Ah, no... I guess I haven't told you yet, huh?" Fujitaka chuckled, embarrassed in his realization. "Your grandfather was finally released from the hospital just a few days ago."

"Really? That's great!"

"Yes, and he's immediately planning to go back to arranging flowers inside his home. I'm really worried, though, since I think he's forgetting that he's not so young anymore," he sighed. "So I told him that I'll go visit and help him tomorrow. He specifically requested these pots from this flower shop, since it was the same shop your mother used to visit. She did really love going to this place."

Sakura noticed the soft smile on her father's face at the mention of her mother who passed away a few years after her birth. She had vague memories of her since she was only three when her mother passed away. But she could tell that her mother had a very kind heart just from the smiles her father showed whenever he talked about her.

"Can I help too?" Sakura asked.

"Of course! But don't you have anything to do tomorrow?"

"I'm supposed to meet Tomoyo but I thought I'd like to see ojiisan, too. I haven't really seen him for a long time."

"Alright, but we'll have to wake up early tomorrow. It's a pretty long way to your grandfather's house after all."

"Hai!"

"This won't do..." Touya wiped the sweat off his forehead after he finished checking the car's engine. He earned black patches around his face and arms from tinkering the car. "Otou-san, you said the car was working fine yesterday?"

"Yes..."

"Did you hear any weird sounds?"

"I was with otou-san yesterday." Sakura came in the garage with two glasses of water for Touya and her father. "I didn't notice any weird sounds coming from the car. Still can't make it start?"

"Yeah. My guess would be the battery. I also already tried jump-starting it but still wouldn't work."

"Oh!" Fujitaka suddenly came to a realization. "I think the last time the battery was replaced was around four or five years ago."

Touya and Sakura first stared at each other then sighed as they watched their father letting out a nonchalant laugh while rubbing the back of his neck.

"The stores won't open 'til late morning," Touya noted. "It will also take some time to replace the battery. Still, I'll have to make sure first if the battery's really the culprit here."

"Then, we'll have to give up for today. I'll just call your grandfather and tell him we'll go visit next time."

Sakura felt dejected at the unfortunate news. And her grandfather even seemed so eager to plant some flowers after his recovery. She thought how sad and disappointed he might feel if their plans would be cancelled for the day.

"Um... I think there might still be a way," Sakura softly muttered as she was struggling to think otherwise. She had some sort of a plan, but she was not so sure if it was going to be the best plan.

"Oh?" Touya smirked. "What's the plan, kaiju?"

Sakura's face fumed when she noticed her brother trying to provoke her. "Just you wait and see!" And she quickly stormed off while her brother cried out an annoying 'goodluck' behind her back.

She reached for the card beneath the pillow on her bed and dialled the number on her phone. The edgy feeling in her heart was causing her thumb to shake above the "call" button on her phone. She was starting to have second thoughts of whether to call him or not. She never really thought of using that card but she couldn't think of anyone else to disturb that early in the morning. Besides, he was the one who told her to call him for anything at anytime.

In the end, she tightly closed her eyes and let her thumb do the work.

And it rang...

"Hello?" a tired husky voice answered.

Sakura took a deep breath. "H-Hello?"

She heard the voice grunt into the phone. "Ugh... Who is this? Do you have any idea what time it is? It's only around five in the morning."

Sakura gulped. She knew calling at that time wasn't a very good idea.

"B-But—"

And his voice raised. "Just the heck do you want?!"

Sakura yelped in fear. "IT'S SAKURA!" she unconsciously screamed into the phone due to her nervousness.

"S-SAKURA?!"

She suddenly heard a loud thud and shouts of pain from the other line. The man she was talking to whimpered for a short while.

The long pause caused Sakura to worry. "Li-kun? Are you okay?"

"H-Hey, sorry about that..."

She sighed in relief when Syaoran finally sounded normal and less grumpy. "Sorry for calling you so early. I've probably disturbed your sleep."

"It's no problem at all! I just thought you were a spam caller. I mean, your number isn't registered yet so, uh... yeah..."

Note to self: Never call Syaoran at five in the morning when your phone number is not yet registered.

"A-Anyway, so uh... what's up? You know, I never really thought you'd call. I kept thinking after that day that you probably thought I was acting weird."

"No, not at all!" Sakura paused and thought for a while. "Well, maybe a little bit..."

"Oh, god..." she heard him groan. "That was really embarrassing."

"But it's okay! I completely understand! Meeting again so suddenly after the, uhm, that night was pretty awkward after all."

"Right..." Syaoran laughed awkwardly before falling into silence. "Sorry."

Sakura blushed at the faintness of his voice, making her remember what happened that eventful night. She felt embarrassed with his sincerity and complete stubbornness in repeatedly asking for forgiveness. "I'm sorry, too."

"Yeah..."

"Mm..."

The two of them fell silent for a while. They could only hear each other's faint breaths as they both contemplated on how that previous night ended.

"Anyway, since you called, does that mean you needed my help?" Syaoran finally spoke, wanting to end the unpleasant air around them.

"Oh, right!" Sakura quickly remembered her real purpose for the call.

"So, what can I do for you?"

She took in a deep breath and hoped she wouldn't regret what she was about to say. "Do you have a car?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"This might be too much for me to ask of you but could you let us borrow it just for today?"

"Hmm..."

"I-It's okay if you won't agree to it!" Sakura quickly added. She felt absolutely embarrassed for even trying to request such a thing. "I'll understand, really! After all, I know it's not easy to let a stranger borrow it all of a sudden."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Syaoran laughed. "You're no stranger."

"Oh..." Sakura felt a bit happy to hear that from him.

"What do you need it for?"

"My family was supposed to bring some flower pots over to ojiisan's house but our car suddenly broke down."

"I see..."

Sakura was starting to get nervous. The other line was quiet. Too quiet. Was it really a dumb idea for her to be calling him just to borrow his car? And from a guy she was barely friends with?

She once again smacked herself on the face. 'Sakura, you're an idiot!'

"Where are you guys right now?"

"H-Huh?" Sakura was dumbstruck for a while before answering, "At our house."

"What's the address?"

She shared their house address with him and ought to describe what the house looked like for his reference. "It's a two-story yellow house with a dark blue-colored roof."

"Okay, got it."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was too lost for words.

"I'll just go take a quick shower then I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay." Her voice was quiet. She still couldn't believe he was going along with her request. "Li-kun, you're really coming?"

"Yeah, you said you needed help after all. I'll try to be quick."

"Okay."

"See you later then."

"Okay."

"Bye!"

"Bye..."

After the call ended, Sakura stood speechless with her mind hanging in the air. And just when she was finally able to process everything that had just happened, a rosy blush color filled her face. She kept jumping in her room with joy as she kept repeating to herself, 'He's coming!'

She rushed back downstairs to their garage to announce the good news. She was so excited that she almost tripped down until her face met her brother's back, causing Touya to spill some of the water he was drinking on his shirt.

"What the—"

"I found help!"

"Huuuh?" Touya stared at her unbelievably making her stick out her tongue at him.

"I managed to find someone who has a car and he's kind enough to let us borrow it!"

"That's great, Sakura. But is he really okay with that?" Her father looked worried.

"He said it's okay," she smiled. "He's even coming over right now."

"That sounds too suspicious," Touya remarked making Sakura glare at him. "Only a guy with hidden personal intentions would want to help out so early in the morning. And to even go so far as to lend a car."

"You're just too pessimistic," Sakura retorted. "Li-kun isn't like that!"

"Li?" Touya rubbed his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. "How come that name sounded so familiar." He then sneered at his dear sister.

Sakura blushed deeply before punching his brother in the arm. "You know nothing, baka!"

About an hour later...

"So you really came."

Touya gave the shivering young chestnut-haired man an intense glare, studying him very carefully from head to toe.

"Thanks for coming over to help." Touya bowed and showed a small but aggravating smile.

"Y-You're welcome..."

Syaoran just recently arrived at the Kinomoto residence about an hour since his last call with Sakura. He brought with him a black SUV, which had just enough room for the pots in the trunk of the car. As soon as he arrived and stepped out of the car, he was surprised to be first greeted by a guy he wouldn't dare look in the eyes, scared that he might end up lifeless later in the middle of the street.

"Nii-chan, stop it! You're scaring him!" Sakura came rushing out of the house as soon as she saw them together. She quickly pushed Touya away, giving her room to greet Syaoran properly. "Thanks so much for coming over to help!" she said and bowed. "You really saved us today!"

Syaoran swiftly shook his hands, blushing. "It's the least I could do."

"Is that Li-san?" Fujitaka followed after he was just done getting the pots ready. "Sakura told us you were willing to lend your car. Thank you so much for helping out."

"It's nothing really! Anything to repay Kinomoto-san's kindness."

Everyone stared at Syaoran at his mention of the Kinomoto name.

"I-I meant your daughter!" he quickly added, realizing what he just did.

Fujitaka chuckled. "I see. It's nice to know that Sakura has many friends she can rely on."

Sakura and Syaoran took a quick glance at each other and swiftly looked away, their faces slightly red. She couldn't exactly call Syaoran a friend, or at least she thought that their relationship wasn't at that level just yet.

"By the way, if you wouldn't mind, I was actually thinking of driving you to where you need to go."

The Kinomoto family looked at him surprisingly.

"Maybe he doesn't trust that we would bring his car back in one piece," Touya whispered to his sister. And his sister answered him with a swift elbow on his stomach.

"But Li-kun, is that okay?"

Syaoran sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't really have much to do today. And I thought you might need an extra hand, so..."

"That would be great!" Fujitaka cheerfully smiled. "Any form of help is truly appreciated, thank you. Then maybe we could start by taking the pots to your car?"

"Ah, yes! I'll help carry them."

"Yes, please! It would help my back a lot," Fujitaka shyly admitted with a small laugh.

Syaoran was just about to follow after Fujitaka and Touya when he suddenly felt a tug on the sleeve of his shirt.

"Li-kun," Sakura called quietly, "if this is about trying to repay me—"

"Ah, no! It's not like that! This time, I just want to help, really," Syaoran smiled to reassure her. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay..."

After she had let him go, she remained quiet in her place as she watched his back going farther away. She didn't intend to keep him all day but the sudden turn of events said otherwise. She honestly felt happy to know that she could be with Syaoran the entire day, but there was a feeling in her heart that told her something was off.

She suddenly remembered what her brother told her earlier... about the probability of hidden intentions.

'What are you doing, Li-kun...'

"Alright! I'm finally done!" Sakura was happy to finish planting the last few flowers into the last pot.

On the other hand, she looked behind her and saw Syaoran being lectured by her grandfather for making even the smallest mistakes when he was transplanting some of the flowers from the garden to the pots. He wouldn't go easy on the young man ever since he heard from Touya that Syaoran used to be Sakura's childhood crush. Sakura felt relieved to know that Syaoran wasn't around at the time her brother exposed her secret or she wouldn't know how to face him since she couldn't admit that Syaoran wasn't just any childhood crush.

He was her one-sided love that lasted for years.

After Masaki was done with his lectures, Syaoran was walking back to the garden feeling dejected as he scratched his head. He was later surprised by the shocking cold that brushed against his cheek.

"Juice?" Sakura smiled and gave him a glass of ice-cold orange juice.

"Thanks, Kinomoto-san."

"Don't worry about ojiisan! He's really kind. But he does get a bit grumpy from time to time as he got older."

To Sakura's pleasure, Syaoran finally laughed. "Yeah, got it."

The entire day, the Kinomoto family, together with Syaoran's help, managed to plant the flowers from the mansion's garden courtyard into all the pots they brought with them. It was a request from Sakura's grandfather who couldn't move as much as he did before due to his weakening body. Because he couldn't go out as much anymore, he wanted to see at least some of the flowers inside his house whenever he moves around.

Syaoran stretched out his hands to their full extent. "I can't believe we're finally done!"

"Yeah, and to think we did almost all of the work."

"Can't be helped," he shrugged. "Fujitaka-san and Touya-san were asked to fix some other things around the mansion."

Sakura stared at him wide-eyed. Since when did he ever start calling her family by their first names? And yet he still kept calling her 'Kinomoto-san' despite having known each other since middle school.

"Hmph," she quietly pouted while facing the other side.

"Kinomoto-san?"

"Yes, Syaoran?"

Syaoran was a little shocked with what he heard. At first, he couldn't really understand the sudden change in her mood until he finally read the atmosphere and burst out into a fit of laughter.

"What are you laughing about?"

He swept a tear from his eye and smiled at her playfully. "Nothing much, Sakura~"

The auburn-haired girl went completely red.

"You could have just said that's what you wanted, baka." He flicked a finger on her forehead.

"Ouch!" Sakura rubbed her forehead and glared at him. "I didn't really want it."

"Oh? Would you prefer I call you 'Kinomoto-san' again?"

Sakura struggled with herself, not wanting to admit her selfish desires. "Do what you want."

"Then, Sakura it is."

He followed after her to the wooden bench in the courtyard and sat beside her. They stayed beside each other in peace and silence as they watched the water fountain in front of them endlessly flowing while the sun started to make exchanges with the night sky.

"Is it really okay?" Syaoran suddenly asked.

"What's okay?"

"To call you by your first name? We've known each other since middle school after all."

"But..." Sakura fell silent for a bit. She then looked towards Syaoran's direction. "Are we close, Li-kun?"

Syaoran also looked in her direction and smiled. "We can start to be."

"I see..." A soft and innocent smile gradually showed on her face. She looked down on her lap as her cheeks tinted a light pink blush. "That sounds good."

"You can start calling me by my first name, too."

"Just to be fair?"

Syaoran chuckled. "Just to be fair."

Sakura suddenly stood up and stretched her arms upward. She felt like she was able to release a big burden from her heart. She felt pleased and overjoyed that she finally managed to climb through a high wall.

"I feel like I've seen a lot of Syaorans in just this one month."

"Oh?" he asked as she piqued his interest. "What kind of Syaorans?"

"You know how Pokémons evolve?"

"Lol. Suddenly it's about Pokémon?"

Sakura felt embarrassed. "Just listen."

"Okay, fine."

"Most Pokémons start out cute and innocent, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then, they evolve into more powerful and scarier creatures."

She heard him laugh a bit. "Okay, go on."

"But you're the complete opposite."

"Huh?" he was suddenly dumbstruck.

"I first saw you in Mucho Macho as some kind of wild Pokémon in his final stage. You looked like you were finally able to unleash the beast in you. You know, the crazy kind."

"What?! What the heck are you trying to—"

"Then, I saw you again in our office. You looked more mature and more refined. That's your previous stage."

Syaoran rolled his eyes and groaned. He couldn't tell what she had to say next.

"Then, I meet you again here... in your baby stage. Kind, innocent, and sweet. The same traits of a baby Pokémon who just met his partner for life." Sakura lightly chuckled at the thought. "I kind of like it that you're the type of Pokémon who devolved. I got to see that baby stage much longer compared to your previous stages."

Syaoran stared at her, too awestruck for words. He found her way of comparing him to a Pokémon really funny, but the lovely meaning behind it in the end was all worth it.

"I... might evolve again, you know."

"Then, I'll just have to tame you as your master."

"You're my master now?"

"It's the Pokémon! Just the Pokémon talk!"

Syaoran laughed hard at her embarrassed face. He later wondered if she ever realized the other possible interpretation in what she had just said—about him being a Pokémon and her being his master and partner for life.

He chuckled at the thought and muttered, "That would be interesting."

"Huh? Did you say anything?"

Syaoran stood from his seat and walked ahead, smiling to himself.

"Nothing!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

You're probably wondering... "Why is Masaki Sakura's grandfather? Isn't he her 'great-grandfather'?" In the manga, yes, that is the case. But in the English dub of the anime adaptation, Masaki is considered her grandfather. I ought to use the concept of the latter since being her "great-grandfather" in this story's timeline might make him too old for the story. So just to be safe, he is now her grandfather.

Any more questions? Ask away! Just make sure to use an FF account or I won't be able to reply. And thanks for the kind reviews for the previous chapter! Hope you'll also like this one!