Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.
Just warning you ahead of time, this chapter will contain romance and will have scenes leading to adult content. Though there won't be any explicit adult content whatsoever. I assure you.
And remember, this chapter is a flashback.
I won't be labeling it as such but it's implied from the title and from the kind of relationship Sakura and Syaoran have in this chapter. Enjoy reading!
Chapter Sixteen
"Five Years Ago"
A 21 year old Sakura bit her bottom lip nervously, her shoes tapping the floor constantly before she resumed her pacing.
"Sakura, really, it's like you're the one whose going up on stage," Syaoran said, a brow raised at his girlfriend who merely smiled guiltily back at him.
"I'm sorry Syaoran," she said, sighing. She took one more look at the large television screen down the hall outside before closing the door and sitting back down beside him.
"I still don't get why they listed you to perform last for today. And why didn't they ever put a TV in here anyway? It's the waiting room for those coming up next on stage isn't it? There should be a TV in here!"
Syaoran chuckled before taking her chin between his thumb and index finger, turning her gaze to look at him. He looked at her, a grin on his face before kissing her.
She smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her onto his lap.
He held her in place with an arm around her waist, his other hand now cupping the side of her face.
Sakura moaned slightly as his tongue gained entrance into her mouth, battling a war against her own for dominance, although she always let him win in the end. She ran a hand through his unruly hair and sighed contentedly as he continued kissing her thoroughly, slowly becoming aware of his hand slowly creeping up the front of her shirt.
"Syaoran," she warned as he started to trail his kisses down to her neck, making her giggle as he reached her most sensitive spot.
"Mmm…" he replied, not stopping his licking and kissing on her soft skin.
"We can't do this here," she said, taking hold of his wandering hand with her own and pulling it back around her waist.
Syaoran snickered before pulling back and grinning at her.
"You know why they don't put televisions in here?" he asked, catching her by surprise. She shook her head. "It'll make the upcoming performers nervous, more nervous than they already are. And do you know why they put my name up last for the day?" he asked, earning him another shake of the head from his best friend of thirteen years and girlfriend of six years. "It's so I can do this," he said, giving Sakura a long and passionate kiss on the lips, "without getting caught."
Sakura smiled at him and pulled him closer towards her for another kiss.
Not another minute later though, and someone had cleared their throat from behind Sakura, causing her to jump and scramble to her feet, almost sending herself to the ground.
This obviously amused Syaoran greatly because he had snorted rather loudly, trying to suppress his laughter, earning him a glare from Sakura.
"You're up in ten minutes Mr. Li," the woman from the doorway said, looking at him and Sakura curiously.
Syaoran nodded at her before turning to Sakura and hugging her. "Wish me luck?"
Sakura sighed and tiptoed to give him one final kiss. She pulled back not long after though since she was aware of the woman's presence still by the doorway. "Good luck my little wolf," she whispered into his ear, making him grin down at her.
"Thank you my cherry blossom," he said, leaving a parting kiss on her forehead. "I love you."
"And I, you."
"Mr. Li?" the woman said, getting their attention once more.
"Hai, I'm coming," he said, winking at Sakura once before following the woman out the door and down the hallway.
"You two really are something."
Syaoran turned to the woman and grinned at her. "I've known her since we were kids, when I was still 10 years old. We've been together since my last year of high school, she was one year my junior. I lost my parents in an accident when I was 19 but we only grew even stronger together since then. We've even attended the same college," he explained without hesitation.
She heard the pride in his voice from talking about his girlfriend but she was caught off guard at how easily he was able to talk about his history. "She's aspiring to become an actress too? Why didn't she join the show with you?" she asked, not wanting to impose on his more personal affairs. He might be thinking that this was typical of her to do an informal interview of the contestants.
"No, I majored in acting, she majored in music," he explained as they stopped right beside the stage where a girl who looked a few years older than him was still performing. "We agreed to join together but she's a really shy person in front of an audience. It's a waste though; she has the most amazing voice."
"I don't doubt that," she replied with a smile, making Syaoran grin even broadly at her. "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself, my name is Erika Kitamura."
Syaoran shook her hand, bowing his head slightly. "Nice to meet you. Do you work here at JTVN?"
"Sort of," she said looking thoughtful. "I'm actually a manager but my superior who owns this company insisted I work around the studio for awhile. He says I might find the next star here."
A loud applause then erupted from the front of the stage.
"That's your cue," she said, nodding at Syaoran.
"Thanks for the chat. It really helped take my mind off things. And I wouldn't count on you finding the next star here any time soon," he said, walking up the steps and stopping by the heavy curtains beside the stage.
"Why is that?" she called out before she could stop herself.
Syaoran was startled but smiled back at her. "You already found him!" he said with a wink and laughed as he made his way on stage and waved to the crowd.
Erika watched the young man on stage rather interestedly. His entrance actually caught the audience off guard, whether it was because of his undeniable good looks or because of his seemingly fun disposition that was immediately replaced with a blank mask as he started his performance with a total change of character.
She looked down at her clipboard and flipped it to the very last page.
"Li Xiao Lang, huh," she said, reading the information on the bio-sheet and smiling to herself.
It was now officially two weeks since Syaoran's performance at the JTVN studio, and Sakura was getting worried.
"Sakura, please?"
"I can't help it Syaoran, it can't take them this long to decide, can it?" she asked, biting her lower lip again.
"Maybe I didn't get in," he said with a shrug, biting her earlobe playfully, trying to get her to relax. Every time she was worried about anything either serious or not, the only way he could get her to relax is through his teasing. "There are loads of shows and events I can still join. And maybe this time, you can come with me and actually perform too."
"But I know you've been looking forward to this one in particular. We've trained for this for months after all," she said, frowning.
Syaoran pulled back and looked at her before rolling on the bed with him on top of her.
"Sakura," he said, serious now, pushing her hair away from her face to look at her more closely. "I'm happy right now. Here, with you, in this apartment. I don't care if I don't become filthy rich and famous as an actor, as long as you're beside me. I don't mind just being on commercials, or playing small parts, or just starring in independent films. I'm happy doing those as long as you're around. Understand?"
Sakura didn't feel reassured hearing that although her heart was swelling with love for the man on top of her right now. Even if he was pinning her arms above her head with a very firm grip. "I understand."
"Good, now, how about I ease your worry?" he suggested with a mischievous grin before kissing the sensitive spot on her neck, causing her to half giggle and half moan.
"Syaoran," she said with a sigh not a minute later.
"What now?" he asked, not stopping as he trailed even lower.
"Something's ringing," she said in a satisfied tone as he continued kissing her.
"That's just the new tone I set for my cell," he said unconcernedly.
Sakura on the other hand felt different. Her half-lidded eyes snapped open as she unceremoniously- and forcefully -pushed Syaoran off her.
"Sakura!" he said as she started to search through the mess of clothes on the floor.
"Where did you put your cell?" she asked, frantically searching through the pockets of his jacket. Most of their clothes were scattered on the floor except for their underwear and their shirts which were all that they were wearing at that moment.
Syaoran moaned and dropped to the bed.
"Found it!" Sakura yelled triumphantly as she pulled the cell from his pant pocket. As she looked at the screen, she froze. "S-Syaoran?"
He looked over at her and noticed her face was pale.
She handed the cell to him stiffly and sat on the floor, resting her arms on the bed beside his head as he saw the caller's ID. It was JTVN.
"Answer it," she insisted with a nod.
Syaoran rolled onto his stomach and cleared his throat before answering the call.
"Hello?" he said, his throat now dry. "Yes, this is he. Yes…no, of course not," he replied with a laugh. Sakura watched him as he answered and laughed in between during the conversation. "Yes, I'll make sure of it….yes, okay…thank you for taking the time to call. Good bye."
Sakura sat quite still, watching Syaoran toss his cell on top of the pile of clothes on the floor.
"S-So?" she finally asked, not able to take the tension anymore and Syaoran's facial reaction did nothing to ease her curiosity. He had remained passive through the whole call.
"So?" he echoed, finally looking at her.
"Did you get in the final ten?" she urged getting irritated.
"What do you think?" he asked with a frown.
Sakura could feel her world crash for him.
"Oh, I'm sorry Syaoran," she said, getting up and sitting on the bed beside him and hugged him comfortingly.
Not a moment later, Syaoran pushed her onto the bed, with his signature smirk on his face.
"Honestly Sakura, I never knew I was that good of an actor yet," he said, making the girl beneath her look up at him with a blank look on her face. "And it hurts to think that my own girlfriend would doubt even for a moment that I ever got in or not," he added with a grin.
"I…"
"You?"
"I thought you-" she cut off, realization only just surfacing into her mind. "You…you jerk!" she shrieked, grabbing a pillow and smacking it hard on the side of his face, sending him flying off of her.
Syaoran laughed and immediately ran out of the room.
"Come back here you despicable bastard!" she shouted after him, trying to untangle herself from the sheets which she only just noticed, Syaoran managed to wrap around her earlier.
"I'm insulted Sakura!" he shouted back in mock hurt from somewhere outside the bedroom. "I can assure you that I am a legitimately born child!" he added with a laugh.
"Welcome to Tokyo everyone! And congratulations to you all for making it into the top ten! Each of you represents the different cities or towns you all reside in, so you must be very proud!"
Everyone seated in the many lined chairs clapped as the host settled himself in front of a podium off to the side of the stage.
"Now, as part of the ten finalist of the acting category in this event, this part of the show, as you all may already now, is private for you and your loved ones," he said, eyeing one side of the audience where the ten candidates sat and then towards the much larger group on the other side where their families sat, or in others' like Syaoran's case, their girlfriends or boyfriends. "Now about this part of the contest, it shall still be aired to the public of course but you won't have any time to prepare for your performance."
This caused the audience to break out in hushed murmurs at this turn of events.
"Yes, that's right. Sometimes we all have to be ready for anything even without prior notice; to be able to improvise, as the industry would like to call it. Now for more specific instructions, I'll be picking out names randomly from this hat," he said, taking off his long, black top hat, only to reveal that he was wearing a black bowler hat underneath it, causing the audience to laugh. "After I call out your name, you will come up here on stage and pick out random sheets of paper from this hat," he said, removing his bowler hat. "The papers in this second hat shall contain themes in which you are given a minimum of five minutes to think of a short skit to perform here on stage for a maximum of only ten minutes."
The murmuring within the audience heightened as this was announced.
"Now, shall we begin?"
Eight candidates had already gone on stage. Some of them were very good, though Sakura didn't want to admit it, and some of them cracked under pressure at a loss of what to do and actually ended up choking on stage.
"Li Xiao Lang from Tomoeda!" the host called out after reading the name on the paper.
Sakura watched as Syaoran took a deep breath and stood from his seat. He turned towards her and winked before making his way up the stage and picking a theme from the second hat.
"There he is," Mr. Ashiya said, slamming a fist on the table in the meeting room.
Everyone else seated around the rectangular table turned to him before looking at the large flat screen TV on the opposite wall.
"His name is Li Xiao Lang, the finalist from the applicants of Tomoeda," supplied a young woman who was standing at the side with a few other people of average rank in the company. "23 years old, single, and a college graduate with a degree in Fine Arts, majoring in Acting. He lives in an apartment with his long-term girlfriend back in Tomoeda. It's a small town just off Tokyo."
"Do you know him Ms. Kitamura?" Mr. Ashiya asked, looking at Erika curiously.
"Not really but I've spoken to him before. I was at Tomoeda for his performance the day before the top ten finalists were chosen from each district," she said.
"How's his personality?" he asked, looking back at the TV with a scrutinizing gaze as he walked around the stage, looking thoughtful for the five minute time allotted for him to prepare for his Improv.
"Very first-rate," Erika said with an approving tone. "He's down to Earth, cheeky and even a bit overconfident," she said with a smile, remembering their first and only conversation.
Everyone fell in silence as they watched Syaoran start his performance, all of which, as it went on and ended at only eight minutes, drew approving looks from everyone in the room.
"Excellent!" Mr. Ashiya said, applauding from his seat. "I say! This boy is a natural!"
"Here's to your outstanding performance!" Sakura said, beaming at him and raising her glass of apple juice.
"Why thank you madame," Syaoran said, bowing at her in exaggeration before raising his own glass of Coke as well.
Sakura giggled as they struck their glasses together before taking a sip.
"Seriously Syaoran, you were so good! You were better than the rest of them," Sakura said as she took her seat by the dining table of their apartment.
"It's known to happen," Syaoran said, grinning madly before sitting opposite her.
Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "So, when do you expect they would make their calls for the winners?"
"They said they'd call just…" he stopped, and took out his vibrating cell. "About now," he finished faintly with his eyes wide.
He showed the screen at Sakura who gasped and grinned in excitement.
"I'll kill myself if they're not calling you to tell you that you won," she said in a sure tone before he placed the cell on the table beside the salad Sakura had made and placed the call on speaker.
"Hello, this is Syaoran," he said out loud before motioning for Sakura to sit on his lap, which she did immediately.
"Mr. Li, this is Genji Ashiya of JTVN," the man with the much deeper voice greeted in a jolly voice.
"Good evening Mr. Ashiya," Syaoran said, holding on the Sakura's hand tightly. "Why, may I ask, are you calling?"
"Well, I expect the answer was obvious the moment I mentioned JTVN!" the man replied, laughing heartily.
"Are you saying-" Syaoran said, stopping as he and Sakura stood from their seats. "I…"
"Yes my dear boy, amongst the final ten finalists, you have shown the most promise. Congratulations!"
Syaoran's mouth fell open as Sakura shrieked and jumped into his arms.
"Glad to meet you Mr. Li," Erika said as she shook hands with Syaoran. "Again," she added with a grin.
"I have to say, I'm very glad to meet you again too," Syaoran said sincerely. It really was a relief to be back in JTVN. The thought of never stepping into this building actually crossed his mind when he thought he wasn't going to win.
"Now Syaoran, may I call you Syaoran?" Mr. Ashiya asked, smiling at him from his desk.
"Of course," he said with a nod.
"Well, Ms. Kitamura's one of our newest and most promising managers," he said, waving a hand at Erika. "Not so different from you in fact. So I decided on pairing you up. Erika shall be your agent starting from today. You do have the right to choose your own manager though, but if you have no objections, I highly recommend you two to work together."
Syaoran shook his head. "No objections here. It's not like I have a whole line-up of highly recommended managers waiting for my approval or anything," he joked, making him laugh and Erika giggle.
"Brilliant! I can see a very prosperous future for the both of you," he said, quite sure of himself as he got up from his seat. "I have to end this little meeting here. I have to meet my wife for lunch while she's in town. Nice meeting you again Syaoran, I shall be seeing you around quite often enough," he said with a wink before showing him and Erika the way out of his office.
"He's great isn't he?" Erika asked as she led the way towards the elevators.
"He's something alright," Syaoran agreed. "What did he mean he'll be seeing me 'quite often enough'?"
"Well, most of the actors who start off from this company usually get Ashiya-san's support in their films. He usually offers to produce or co-produce the films and sometimes he also gives personal recommendations."
"That's mighty nice of him. He doesn't need to do that," he pointed out. "I mean, I don't know or even heard of any company who does that. Are there other companies with people like him?"
"No, but you can see the benefit it has for him and the company. JTVN has a long line of top-rated and international films it has cooperated with thanks to Ashiya-san. That's why most of Japan's aspiring actors hope to start off here," she explained, making Syaoran nod. That part, he knew of. That was the main reason why he and Sakura were so excited to hear that JTVN was holding another one of its annual events.
"Have a bit of an appetite now, don't we?" Erika pointed out with raised brows, amazed at how much he's ordering.
Syaoran thanked the waiter and turned to her. "I don't need that much," he said with a laugh. "That was for me and Sakura."
"Sakura?" Erika asked curiously.
"Oh sorry, I never told you her name. Sakura's my girlfriend. You saw her before, that day we first met. She's coming for lunch, I hope you don't mind. She's running a bit late though," he said, glancing at his watch. He and Erika had taken a train from Tokyo and were already back in Tomoeda. It was lucky enough for Erika that the town wasn't too far from Tokyo. She still had to constantly report to JTVN since Syaoran's career hasn't formally taken off yet.
"Of course not," she said with a smile. "You guys really stick to each other, do you?"
He nodded, smiling fondly. "We do. We depend on each other and we do almost everything together. Well, except for cooking and the mechanical stuff I guess. Cooking's her department entirely and I can't let her go even a foot near anything that's broken back in our apartment."
"That's sweet," Erika said sincerely.
"She is," Syaoran agreed, entirely missing her point as he was looking beyond her shoulder and beaming. "Sakura!" he called out, waving his hand in the air.
"Do you have a reservation ma'am?"
"I'm here with-"
"Sakura!"
The waiter standing by the podium and Sakura both turned at this.
"My boyfriend," Sakura finished smiling as she waved back. She turned back to the waiter and bowed. "Thank you," she said before making her way towards Syaoran who was sitting with a woman whose back was on her.
"What kept you?" Syaoran asked, as he pulled the extra chair set with the table closer towards him.
"Sorry," she said, kissing him on the cheek lightly before taking a seat. "You can't believe the amount of traffic there is outside," she informed him before turning to the woman across the table.
"Sakura, this is Erika Kitamura, my agent. Erika, this is Sakura Kinomoto, my gorgeous girlfriend," Syaoran said, making the introductions.
Sakura blushed at Syaoran's words and swatted his arm playfully before shaking hands with Erika.
"N-Nice to meet you," she said, stuttering in embarrassment.
"Nice to meet you too Ms. Kinomoto," Erika said in a very professional manner.
"You don't have to be so formal with her Erika," Syaoran said with a raised brow.
Erika smiled at him before turning back to Sakura. "Of course, may I call you Sakura then?"
Sakura smiled back at her and nodded. "Sure."
"Very well. Now, since you're here Sakura, then we can start discussing Syaoran's future," she said, pulling out a folder from her bag and opening it before sliding it over towards the pair.
"Here's the proposed plan Syaoran, that is, if you accept," she said, taking out a pen and pointing to the parts of the print before explaining. "We already sent your tapes from day one of the event until you were properly announced as the winner. And already, international companies want you."
"Seriously?" Syaoran asked in surprise.
"Seriously," she repeated with a smile. "The industry needs fresh talent, a new face, and seeing you looking good on screen so naturally made you all the more desirable for them. Not to mention, you speak perfect English as you have proven during your Improv."
He shrugged at this. "They'll have to thank Sakura for that. All those days and nights, listening and singing to American songs since we were teenagers. I suppose it benefited me too," he said, smiling at Sakura and squeezing her waist slightly.
She giggled back at him and tapped his nose. "You owe me then."
"I suppose I do," he agreed with a grin.
"Well," Erika said, interrupting their little exchange. "Because of that, you have quite a few offers lined up already. "Three here and two abroad. The ones shot here in Japan are two national films, both action and the third offer is a lead role in a new romantic comedy series. As for the two offers abroad, one is for an action film to be shot in Los Angeles, California, and the other is also still an action film to be shot in New York City and in Connecticut."
"L.A.? New York and Connecticut?" he repeated unsurely.
"Yes," Erika said excitedly. "Ashiya-san personally recommends the offer for the L.A. shoots over the one in New York and Connecticut. It'll be a great experience and it'll give you a chance to meet more people in the industry seeing as California's practically crawling with movie stars day and night."
Syaoran frowned slightly. "Well, I suppose that's true," he agreed hesitantly. "But what about the offers here?"
"What about them?" Erika asked, surprised he was even considering the offers in Japan.
"Are they any good too?"
"Well, I suppose they are. But, aren't you interested in going to the States?" she asked with open curiosity and amazement at his lack of excitement for being wanted to work abroad.
"Don't get me wrong, of course I want to but…" Syaoran trailed off and looked down at his hand which was drawing circles behind one of Sakura's.
"Syaoran, don't hesitate," Sakura finally said, looking at him and smiling in earnest.
"But-"
She placed a finger on his lips to silence him. "I mean it; I don't want you to stop living your dream just for me. This kind of chance doesn't come every day, and you know it."
"She's right Syaoran," Erika agreed with a solemn look on her face. Now she understood his hesitance. He didn't want to leave his girlfriend behind.
"See?" Sakura added before nudging him slightly, with a grin on her face. "Besides, it's not like you're leaving Japan forever, you could always come back or visit me in between filming. And if that's not possible, we could always call each other, or even e-mail each other until filming is officially done."
"Well, I suppose," he replied although he wasn't convinced in the least.
Sakura sighed and watched Syaoran as he checked the messages from their answering machine in the sitting room. She took off her scarf and her coat, hanging it up on the rack before walking over towards him and hugging him from behind.
"Syaoran," she said, resting her head on his broad chest. "We need to talk."
"There's nothing more to discuss Sakura," he said, turning to face her. "I already made my decision and I already gave Erika my final answer. You heard it loud and clear earlier. I'm not going to the States. I'm not stepping a foot outside Japan unless you're with me when I do."
"But it's only for a couple of months though," she pointed out although her tone wasn't convinced in the least either.
"Couple of months? You heard what she said, filming for that movie in L.A. will most like take all year, fourteen months at most. How could I possibly agree to something like that? That'll mean I'll be missing your birthday for the first time since we were kids, and that'll also mean you'll miss my birthday for the first time. And don't forget Valentine's Day, and Christmas eve, and New Year's eve, and-"
Sakura silenced him immediately with her lips on his, kissing him fiercely.
By the time she pulled away, her eyes were glassy, tears threatening to fall. "I love you Li Xiao Lang," she whispered almost achingly.
"Why are you crying cherry blossom?" he asked, wiping away a stray tear.
"I…I don't know," she said with a mirthless laugh. "I, I don't know what I'll do without you," she added more seriously.
"I wouldn't know what to do without you either," he whispered back before pulling her closer towards him. "And I love you too my cherry blossom. I love you more and more each and every day."
Sakura smiled, closing her eyes before pulling his head down for another heated kiss.
"Syaoran," she said in a tiny though very sure voice, after they pulled apart.
Syaoran lifted his chin from the top of her head and looked at her. "What is it?"
She didn't say a word, instead pulled him towards their shared bedroom.
"Sakura?" he asked, watching her carefully as she led him towards the bed.
Sakura lay on the bed and pulled him on top of her. She smiled up at him, all the love she felt for him reflected in her eyes.
It was only a few more minutes of kissing and embracing before Syaoran finally understood her request.
"Are you sure about this?"
They had been dating for years now, and indeed they had lived together for almost three years already, but they had always resisted in doing what they shouldn't. Sakura saw to it that they did. Of course they had done other things to avoid it, but that's just it. They might have done other things, but never actual sex itself.
She held his face in between her palms and pulled him closer, touching his forehead with her own. "Make love to me tonight, my little wolf," she whispered with a sweet smile.
As the words left her lips, Sakura immediately noticed the look on Syaoran's expression change. His eyes had darkened considerably and his jaw tightened just before he took her lips in his in a searing kiss and pushed her further down the bed with his body.
"Syaoran, are you sure?" Erika asked yet again.
Syaoran ran his hand through his hair before looking at Erika straight in the eye. "My mind hasn't changed. I'm sure. I told you so last week."
Erika sighed and sat back into her seat. "I was hoping you were only joking."
He raised a brow at her. "What's so bad about taking the job here in Japan anyway?" he asked, trying to cheer his manager up. "It can't be that bad."
"It's not that bad, no. But the job offered in America is much better," she pointed out, although not getting the desired effect she wanted from him. Doesn't he regret not taking the job at all? "The job offer still stands until next Friday."
"They won't need to wait for my answer 'til then. You can give them my answer now," he said, nodding at her cell that was resting beside her half-filled coffee cup.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked, looking at him curiously.
"As long as it doesn't involve me saying yes to going to America," he said jokingly before taking a bite off the sandwich he ordered.
"Why don't you want the job in America?"
"It's not that I don't want it," he answered. "It's just that I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?" she asked with a frown.
"Wasn't it obvious last week?" he asked with raised brows. "I can't leave Sakura behind."
"Why not? It's just as she suggested that day. You could always send each other mail, or texts. Or you could call her or visit her during breaks from shooting."
"I know, but I don't think I can live with just that," he said with a shrug. "Sakura's my everything, Erika. I'd do anything for her, and she'll do anything for me. We're like that; we've been like that for years," he said matter-of-factly.
"You love her that much, do you?" Erika asked, almost amused, making Syaoran chuckle.
"Seems surreal from a simple twenty-three year old guy from a small town, I know. But that's the truth. I love her that much. I'll do anything to make sure she's happy, as I know she would for me."
"Where is she anyway? It's almost unusual to find you without her beside you or anywhere nearby."
"She's visiting her father who lives in the other side of Tomoeda. She doesn't get to see him often, so she's staying there for a couple of days."
Fujitaka looked up from his paper and watched Sakura curiously.
"Sakura?" he asked, looking somewhat amused.
Sakura immediately snapped out of her reverie and ceased her humming and turned to her father.
"Hmm?"
"By any chance are you daydreaming about Syaoran?" he asked bluntly, making his daughter, and only child, blush.
"W-Why do you ask?"
"You seem to have that wistful smile on your face ever since you got here, that's all."
"How would you know if I was smiling from thoughts about Syaoran?" she asked with a raised brow.
Fujitaka shrugged. "Just figured it must be about him," he said although with a knowing smile.
She grinned back at him before resuming her duty with the dishes. Her father was right, she was thinking about Syaoran and how excited she already was to return to him. No offense to her father, she missed him to death as well but she can't help but long to see Syaoran again. Especially after the sweet send off he had given her at the train station before she left.
Sakura placed a hand over her pant pocket, feeling the folded piece of paper still inside. Syaoran had given her a bouquet of red roses and had also written her a poem which he recited to her as they waited for her train to arrive, whispering the words into her ear and giving her Goosebumps all over as he did.
It took a little convincing for him to give her the paper he had written the poem on since it was just a piece of paper torn off a notebook and was full of scratches from his pen of words that were unacceptable to him. Reading it made her heart swell even more. He had put his heart into the poem.
"I miss you already Syaoran," she whispered so only she could hear and looked out the window, a smile back on her features before she started humming again.
"Are you sure?" Mr. Ashiya asked again, frowning slightly.
Erika nodded almost regretfully. "I asked him again earlier, he says he won't take any job outside Japan."
"Did he say why?"
"He won't leave his girlfriend behind," she said rather unkindly. "It's a total waste of talent on his part!" she said with a defeated sigh.
"Well, it's his decision. Perhaps you can try convincing him again? I'll give the call to L.A. next Friday anyway. He might change his mind within the week, you'll never know," he said, still hopeful.
"I doubt it, at least, not unless his girlfriend personally forces him into a plane heading for the States, or unless she threatens to break up with him or something," she pointed out, frowning. "Maybe if I pray hard enough for something like that to happen within the week, it just might. For now though, his career is hopeless, and so will mine be if he doesn't reconsider," she said mirthlessly.
Mr. Ashiya raised a brow at her. "Whatever's meant to happen will happen Ms. Kitamura, regardless of how it will happen. Fate is funny that way. Goals are constant but the paths in achieving it are not. We always have the power to take a different road as we wish. So it's best not to have that sort of mindset. Nothing good will ever come to those who think that way."
"We always have the power to take a different road as we wish," Erika repeated as she looked at the yellow painted two story house. "Thank you for the advice Ashiya-san," she said to herself as she slipped the paper with the directions into her bag before ringing the doorbell.
It had taken her two days to get accurate and reliable directions to the Kinomoto residence. Even if Tomoeda was a small town, the task still wasn't easy.
"Hai!" a male voice called out from inside, and not a minute later, the door swung open. "Yes?"
Erika smiled up at the tall man who had a kind look on his face.
"Good morning, my name is Erika Kitamura. I was wondering if I may speak to your daughter? Sakura Kinomoto?"
This caught Fujitaka by surprise. Hardly anyone ever calls for Sakura here anymore. Almost everyone who knew their family knew that she had been living with Syaoran in the other side of Tomoeda for the last few years.
"Yes, of course," he said before turning to look down the hallway. "Sakura!"
"Hai?" the familiar female voice called out from somewhere inside.
"You have a visitor!"
"What? Wait, I'll be right there!"
Fujitaka smiled down at Erika with an apologetic smile.
"She's heading back to her apartment in the other side of town this afternoon. So, she's still packing," he told her with a light chuckle.
Erika didn't laugh but smiled with a shake of her head. What Syaoran saw in this girl, she didn't know. She just seemed to prove herself even more irresponsible every time she saw her.
"You're lucky you caught her here in time," Fujitaka added.
"Yeah, lucky me."
It was a few moments later until Sakura finally appeared.
"Oh! Erika! What are you doing here?" the younger girl said in apparent surprise. "I'll take it from here dad," she added to Fujitaka who nodded and with one last smile at Erika, walked back inside the house. "Would you like to come in?" Sakura asked, making Erika shake her head.
"No thanks, I just dropped by to ask you a few things," Erika said with a smile. "Do you mind taking a walk with me? I think I passed by a park coming here."
"So, what exactly did you come all the way here for?" Sakura finally asked as she dropped down to sit on one of the benches near the playground. "Is Syaoran doing alright?"
Erika sighed and sat down beside her. "He's not."
Sakura looked at her, brows furrowed immediately. "He's not?"
"Syaoran's taking one of the job offers here in Japan," she said almost unnecessarily. She knew that Sakura knew all this already. But it was necessary for her to point it out to the girl beside her.
"Yes," Sakura replied guiltily. "Well, he said he wanted to take a job closer to home."
Erika turned to her and frowned. "He wants to take a job closer to you," she said almost accusingly. There was no point in delaying what she had come all this way for.
Sakura looked down, a blush creeping up to her cheeks.
"I…I know. We did talk about it. I told him to take the job in America, but he just wouldn't listen," she said although smiling slightly at the thought of what Syaoran told her the night of the first and only time they ever made love. "He doesn't care as long as we're together."
"Do you care?" Erika asked, taking Sakura off guard. "Do you care what happens to him?"
"Of course I do," Sakura said with a frown.
"Apparently not enough since you're actually allowing him to stop living his dreams for your sake," she retorted casually and rudely.
Sakura stood up from her seat as Erika said this. "I am not! I told him he could-"
"You told him? Sakura, if you love him, you would do more than just tell him to go and take the job in America," Erika said with a look of disgust at Sakura. "If you truly love him, you would do everything in your power to ensure his happiness even if it would hurt! You know it more than I that it has always been his dream to be an actor. He's gone this far hasn't he? Went through college for a degree, gone through auditions, entered contests, accepted small parts, all for the sake that those small stepping stones might lead him to his ultimate goal. And here it is, his entire future presented to him, and yet he doesn't take it because of you."
Sakura fell silent at this. She never even considered things that way, never even thought of things that way before. Was she really holding Syaoran back?
'You are,' she told herself, crestfallen. If she weren't around, Syaoran would go to America and take that job. Not everyone's blessed to have this sort of thing happen to them. But Syaoran is, and she was actually willing to stop him.
"I can't stop Syaoran from making his decisions," Sakura told her, her happy and excited mood at the thought of going back home to Syaoran, completely deteriorated now.
Erika stood up, her heels taking her a few good inches above Sakura. "You know you can. And you know what you can do to make sure he makes the right decision. You're just not willing to out of your self-centeredness," she spat coldly.
"But I-"
Sakura immediately shut her mouth as the person in front of her sent her a deadly glare.
"You're bringing him down. This opportunity doesn't come to everyone Sakura!"
"I know but-"
"If you really love him, you'll let him be!" Erika cut in harshly.
"I do! But-"
Erika shut her up by throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. She was done listening to all of Sakura's pointless reasoning. She settled the straps of her bag on her shoulder before making her way back down the path of the park.
Before she got even two meters away from Sakura however, she stopped and turned back to look at her.
"How can you be so selfish?" she added, looking sickened.
"I'm not!" Sakura reasoned hysterically. "I-"
"You're selfish! You really are selfish," Erika interjected again, before hurrying back down the path, ignoring not Sakura's reasoning, but ignoring her sobs.
Syaoran glanced at his watch before looking back at the train that just arrived. 'Sakura should have arrived two hours ago,' he thought, getting even more concerned now.
After a moment's deliberation, Syaoran left the station and headed back to the apartment. 'Maybe she went straight back home,' he thought, or rather, hoped.
"Sakura?" Syaoran called out into the empty apartment. He frowned, wondering what happened to her. Brows furrowed, he immediately ran to the phone.
"Hello, Kinomoto residence, Fujitaka speaking."
"Hello? Fujitaka-san?"
"Yes? Is that you Syaoran?"
"Yes, is Sakura still there with you?" Syaoran asked quickly, hoping beyond hope that she was. He didn't care if she was late, or if she kept him waiting, as long as he knew she was safe.
After a moment's silence, he finally spoke.
"Oh no…"
"What? Fujitaka-san? What's wrong? Is Sakura there?" Syaoran asked again, not liking the reply he got from the man on the other line.
"Syaoran, Sakura's not here."
"Where is she?" he demanded, not caring how rude he sounded now.
Syaoran listened to him, to his explanations. Not to Sakura's explanations for leaving him, but her father's. Sakura had told Fujitaka that she was leaving Tomoeda, that she was leaving Syaoran. Fujitaka thought it was just a joke and so didn't take her seriously because he knew how Syaoran and Sakura felt for each other. She had left the house over an hour ago with nothing but the suitcase she had brought with her for her five day stay with him.
"She left?" Syaoran echoed brokenly, dropping the phone to the floor.
Author's Note:
I know. Syaoran and Sakura were so cute and all lovey-dovey before they broke up. Goes to show just how much they've changed since then. You noticed how almost all of their scenes together involved them kissing? Well, that's to compensate for the lack of romance between them in the first few chapters of this story. Also, I had to make them so much in love. After all, how could they even consider having sex which led Sakura to have the triplets if they really didn't love each other enough to do it, right?
A few important clarifications: Sakura is 21 (nearing 22) in this chapter, and Syaoran is 23. So, that makes them 26 and 28 in the actual timeline of the story. They've known each other since Syaoran was 10 and Sakura was 8. They've dated since Syaoran was 17 and Sakura was 15 (nearing 16). Their age gap isn't 2 years but I suppose 1 year and a couple of months, which explains why Syaoran said that Sakura was only one year his junior in high school. Confusing? I hope not.
And regarding Syaoran's family, yes I'm sorry I killed them off, but it had to be done. It explains why he's been living with Sakura for years in their own apartment considering how young they still are and how they rely so much on each other besides Fujitaka.
Also, yes, you can go ahead and start swearing your heads off at how conceited Erika is. Congratulations to those who had guessed and suspected from the beginning! I suppose I did make it painfully obvious.
For now, Ja!
Raeny