Busy, busy, busy. Not really. :P Too lazy to edit, I have no beta also. D::: FORGIVE MEEEE

oOoOoOoOo means dream sequence. HAHA.

Chapter Nine

"Story Telling"

Sakura closed the door behind her, tears flowing down her cheeks. Before heading to her room, she wiped her face with her school blouse. She tried to walk without sound. Gently putting each foot forward with every step, she tried to look as if she was sneaking up rather than being miserable as she really was at that moment. Each tear she held back with great force.

Upon reaching the living room, she looked at who was watching the television. It was her older brother, Touya, watching the football game on ESPN. She smiled to herself as she reached the kitchen without Touya noticing her; she turned her back to him and walked as slowly and soundlessly as before only to find out that she was caught.

"What happened?" Touya's voice was serious and, to her surprise, lost the often amusement it had when they were fighting. She looked back at the living room and saw Touya walking towards her.

Seeing that her attempt failed, she forced a smile at him. "It's nothing, just a quarrel with Tomoyo." It was the best excuse she could come up with at the moment. Before he could reach her, she ran upstairs towards her room. On her way up, she spoke without looking at him. "Don't mind me, and go eat. I'm not hungry, sorry."

It wasn't Touya's nature to pry, but it seemed the right time to ask her what happened. Although, he held back, he wanted Sakura to open up to him, and not meddle with things. When the time comes when she needed him, she will most likely approach him, and he will be there for her; to be her friend, to be her older brother. Even if it took forever, he will be patient.

"Alright, kaiju." He returned to his usual self hoping to make her feel better, even for the slightest bit. And then, he turned back to the television, worried sick about her sister.

Sakura continued her way up, carelessly. Things that were in the way, she let hit her without caring even if it hurt, no physical pain can be worse than the feeling she held inside. Tears flowed endlessly from her eyes as she let herself cry now that nobody will see her miserable, little self.

When she arrived at her room, she didn't bother turning on the lights. She threw her bag on the floor not caring if the things inside it would scatter and broke. She closed the door behind her gently, not wanting to make a ruckus at home, even though she knew that her brother wouldn't come upstairs to check even if she did. The bed seemed wonderful at that moment; an inanimate body that will cradle her, and will carry the burden off her shoulders. It was perfect. It was heaven.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura helped him as he was about to fall on the floor. "Please don't cry," Syaoran pleaded, but she couldn't breathe properly from crying too much.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," in between them were sobs.

Syaoran's warm hand caressed her cheek, taking her tears away. "Please don't cry, Sakura-sama."

And then, with a loud thud, he fell unconscious to the floor.

"Syaoran! Syaoran!" Sakura called out as she shook him and tried to carry him, but found it impossible to do alone.

Terrified as she was, she looked around for help. The man was now staring down at them, fury in his eyes. "Don't try to act so tough," his voice sound disgusted. He walked away while rubbing and stretching his aching muscles. He spitted quite an amount of blood with saliva on the floor before closing the door behind him.

Again, she tried to carry him. She took out all her strength and pulled him up, but was only to lift him about a foot from the ground. Without end she tried lifting him up, though all of them were in vain. Weak and vulnerable as he was, she could not help, and will never, leave him.

After a few more attempts, Syaoran woke up. "Syaoran!" she hugged him as soon as she noticed him open his eyes. "I'm so sorry! If I only… If I could have–" But Syaoran stopped her by placing his finger on her lips.

"You don't need to be." His voice was gentle as it usually sounds; he flashed a brilliant smile afterwards. The smile on his face made her sure that he was okay, though he was still bleeding. She couldn't help but hug him tighter.

"Ouch!" Syaoran hissed in pain. "Can you, possibly, for goodness sake, hug me lighter?" His voice seemed as sarcastic as before, though for Sakura, it was sweet and gentle and soothing. She couldn't help but giggle and let him go, a smile evident on her lips. "Uh, I'm exhausted," while he tried standing up, and Sakura helped him. "Thanks," he smiled at her when he was back to his feet while Sakura supported him.

"I'm sorry!" The usual smile on her face was back. "I-I-just," Sakura started blushing, "I'm so sorry!" All she could do was apologize, and blush at the same time. They haven't been that close for a long time so it was making her a bit nervous. Not only close physically, but emotionally as well.

"Come on, we've got to get you to the hospital." Syaoran needed Sakura's support to be able to move. Hurt as he was, he could only do little things.

A soft laugh escaped his lips. "Sorry," as he limped his body out in a very sluggish manner. It seemed that Sakura was having a difficult time as he was.

I must look so lame. Although every inch of him was fighting to keep consciousness, he couldn't help but snicker at his pathetic state.

His body ached all over. His head was bleeding quite a bit when he placed his hand on his head. And it was throbbing like hell. "Does it hurt somewhere?" Sakura noticed him rubbing his head.

Syaoran muffled a laugh. "Everywhere."

"I'm very sorry; I'll take you to the hospital as soon as possible." Syaoran felt Sakura lift him higher and started pacing up.

"Please stop apologizing," he couldn't help but rub his head. Little by little, his vision started getting fuzzy. Every inch of him was aching. He was punched and kicked and hurt by two guys; one buff, and the other, so-so, but surprisingly strong. Kicks were mostly in his upper body; about two clean punches straight to the face, one solid hit from behind which made his head hit the bench, the metal part sadly, and a very strong kick on his torso which seemed to have damaged his rib cage. Charging at someone did help him, but hurt him, regardless. Especially when charging towards the chairs.

"What's so funny?

She smiled at him and said, "Nothing."

It took all his strength to stand up and now he was forcing his body to stay awake so that he'd be able to walk with a little help from Sakura, but it was very hard. Pain and exhaustion was all he felt. His legs were shaking.

"You okay?" Sakura took out her strength and carried most of his weight.

Gently, Sakura helped him out the door. "Yeah," she heard Syaoran whisper.

Upon reaching the corridor, Sakura looked at where she heard a familiar voice. "Syaoran? Syaoran!" It was Naomi; she ran towards them.

Sakura felt Syaoran's arm slip away from her shoulder. Her heart paced up faster than before, she turned her direction towards him. Before she could kneel and carry him up, Naomi stood beside her, crying.

The next thing Sakura noticed was the numbness of her cheek. "What did you do?" Sakura kept still, her eyes focusing on Syaoran's unconscious body.

Fuji and Kogure carried Syaoran. "Move!" Naomi pushed her away; she fell on the floor, still dumbfounded.

Naomi stood in front of her, tears still streaming down her eyes. "Don't you dare come near him again!" Her voice broke out as she left her on the floor.

She sat on the cold concrete, still staring where Syaoran's body lay unconscious. Tears were endlessly falling from her eyes.

Tomoyo went to her and gave her a hug. "You okay, Sakura-chan?" as she stroked her hair. Sakura gave out a weak nod. "It wasn't your fault," she continued. "He chose to save you, and knew the risks he would take. Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault."

Upset and guilty as she was, Sakura couldn't help but cry out loud. Now that she and Tomoyo remained there was no reason for her not to cry her heart out. She knew that Tomoyo only wanted to comfort her, but she can't shrug off the guilt in her. She felt responsible for all of Syaoran's suffering. She felt angry with herself for being so vulnerable, so weak that every time she is in trouble, she needs others. Though she didn't know why Syaoran did all those things for her when they hate each other.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Someone was knocking on the door, but she told herself she won't care. Her pillow felt wet from all the tears she shed, but she didn't care. She was tired and upset and hurt. She hoped that it will all go away, but every minute it just got worse. She had her pillow above her face. Holding her sobs, she heard the door open and then close. Her tears did not stop and she unknowingly cried herself to sleep.

The moment Sakura woke up, she felt something heavy on her legs. It felt as though something big had fallen over her legs. When she removed the pillow that covered her face she recognized her brother, Touya. He slept on the chair and had his upper body leaning down on her bed. A smile escaped her dry lips.

She tried to move but they were numb. The instant she moved it felt like a million needles pricked her legs. A soundless 'ahh' escaped her mouth. After a few seconds of letting the numbness lessen, she tried to move it again. Instantly, it felt like billions of needles pricked it. "Ah!" she couldn't stop but chuckle at her silliness.

She felt Touya move so she stopped from making any sound. With her lips pressed, she stared at her brother as his eye lids slowly opened. "Good morning, onii-chan." She greeted him with a smile.

Touya yawned while looking at his watch. Lazily, he stood up and stretched his arms. "Sakura," he began as he put down his arms before continuing. "It's already 6:41 on my watch. Doesn't your class start at 7?"

It took a few seconds before she could register what he said. Grabbing her alarm clock with her right hand, she looked at her alarm clock – 6:41. "Freakin' alarm clock! I'm going to be late!" In a rush, she almost jumped out of bed only to fall down on the floor because her foot got caught on her blanket. "Ahh!" she could hear Touya's laughter. "Get out!" His laughter still continued.

"I wish you were late more often," in between them were chuckles.

"I need to change, get out!" Sakura repeated, embarrassed.

His laughter died down. As his hand twisted the cold metal doorknob, "Hey, kaiju," he looked back at her. "You're not alone, and you will never be. If you need somebody to talk to you can talk to me, okay?" He left the room before she could even answer.

She smiled to herself. "Thank you, onii-chan."

Same as everyday, she did her daily routines; ate with her father and brother and then headed to school. Upon arriving, with tired feet and puffy eyes, she went to change her shoes. Hate letters already got ahead of her. She opened them and afterwards kept it on her bag. Eyes glared at her everywhere. Laughter and whispers surrounded her whenever she went by a busy corridor. Everything was as usual. Nobody seemed to know of the event yesterday.

However Sakura wasn't her usual self. She walked slower than usual giving the by passers more time to talk about her as she walked by. The topics in class didn't seem to interest her. She rarely spoke, even to Tomoyo. Guilty as she was feeling, she couldn't focus on anything except what Naomi said yesterday.

"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo's voice was subtle but worried. "Sakura-chan?" She started jerking her arm softly. "What's wrong? Sakura-chan?" But still Sakura did not answer. It was as if she was inside her own bubble, her own world.

Worried, she jerked her stronger. This made Sakura lose her deep thougts. "Oh, what is it, Tomoyo-chan?" she whispered to her.

This made her sigh. "You've been out of it all morning," she started, her voice sounded worrier. "Would you forget what Naomi said yesterday, it's not really your fault," she attempted to explain. It wasn't really her fault. Syaoran chose to help her. It was his choice.

Sakura couldn't answer. To her, it was her entire fault. If she hadn't let those guys drag her away, everything wouldn't have happened. If only she had enough strength to make them stay away, none of it would have happened. But she is weak. She is useless. That is why the people around her suffer. So she kept quiet. It was better, from her perspective, that she no longer answers.

"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo called out just to make sure her best friend was listening. Sakura looked at her direction but didn't answer. She sighed softly. "Just don't think about it that much, okay?" Sakura forced a stiff nod.

Doing what she thinks is best, Tomoyo kept quiet too.

Minutes passed, and still Sakura kept silent. Tomoyo did not bother her. She made herself busy by reading though she was still preoccupied by her best friend's unusual behavior.

Five. Eleven. Thirteen. Nineteen. Twenty-five. Still, Sakura kept everything to herself. Tomoyo waited patiently, but with worry. Their Calculus class was about to end, but Sakura was still quiet. Tomoyo expected that Sakura will cry, because she was hurt. It was normal. It was like her. It was human. And Tomoyo expected, rather hoped, that she will cry on her shoulder.

It was time for Chemistry and Sakura was still lost in thought. Mr. Makoto Ukitate entered the room, and everyone stood up except for Sakura. She wasn't noticeable since she sat at the farthest part of the room. "You may sit," he greeted as every student did so. He dropped his things on the teacher's table loud enough for anyone to hear, but Sakura still didn't budge. "I was informed this morning that Li-san isn't going to be participating in class for about a week at least." Murmurs emerged from the class, all voices were females'. "Ehem…" Mr. Ukitate's voice became louder making the students lower their voices. The silent female at the back caught his attention. "Kinomoto-san," he started. Tomoyo immediately nudged her strong enough in order for her not to ignore.

"What?" Sakura absent-mindedly replied.

"Teacher," Tomoyo pointed in front. Sakura followed her index finger.

"Yes, sensei?" Her voice sounded firm.

"Kinomoto-san, is something bothering you?"

Sakura eyed Tomoyo searching for help, but got none. "Um… nothing, sensei." Her voice sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Nothing?"

She cleared her throat. "Nothing."

Mr. Ukitate was about to ask her again, but was cut off when somebody knocked on the door. "Come in," he said instead. The door slowly slid open.

The door revealed a man whose black hair started growing white. Upon recognition, the whole class stood up and greeted. "Good afternoon, principal!" they said in chorus.

"Good afternoon," their principal replied following it with a weak smile. "Excuse me, Ukitate-sensei, but may I have a word with Kinomoto-san?" His voice was heard only by the people in front.

"Oh, that won't be a problem," his voice was straightforward and flat. "Kinomoto-san," he called out.

Sakura stood up before answering, "Yes, sensei?"

"The principal wants to speak with you…"

Curious, at the same time nervous, for a reason she knows not of, Sakura took a deep breath before walking. She tapped Tomoyo's hand once, and then headed her way towards the door.

When Sakura left the room, "Well then, you may continue your class, Ukitate-sensei." And then he closed the door behind him.

"Well Kinomoto-san, we really need to talk." He grabbed her by the shoulder.

"What is it about, sensei?" She couldn't help but ask.

He sighed before answering. "This is hardly a place to talk about it. Come on, we'll talk in my office." He let go of her and headed to his office.

Instantly, her heart started beating faster. She felt more nervous than before. Something was waiting for her and it wasn't pleasant. With doubt in her mind and uneasiness in her heart, she followed the shadow ahead of her.

After a few minutes of walking and awkward silence, they arrived at their destination. The thick, shiny oak door stood in front of them. The room seemed occupied because there were voices coming from the other side.

The principal opened the door, "You may go in, Kinomoto-san."

Sakura bowed in gratitude before coming in, "Thank you."

Inside the room was, to her utmost dismay, Naomi, Fuji and Kogure who sat on the couch to her right. She and Naomi caught glances, so she decided to focus on the floor. The door behind Sakura closed as she sat on the chair to her left. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Now that everyone's here, we'll start."

He took his seat behind the table before starting. "So, may I ask what happened to Li-san?"

Naomi was the first one to answer. "Sir, he is currently confined in the hospital. It's because of that girl!" Naomi pointed out to Sakura who was expecting this response.

"Because of Kinomoto-san, you say. Is she responsible for inflicting serious injuries to Li-san?" He cleared his throat. "I doubt a girl such as Kinomoto-san here could hurt Li-san enough to hospitalize him." He turned his eyes to the two guys in the room.

"Well, not directly." Naomi was the one who replied. "You see yesterday we," she patted Fuji and Kogure's legs, "along with our friends were hanging on the school grounds when Kinomoto here came by." The principal was all-ears to Naomi's story. "We noticed she was being cornered by three guys. Then, she tagged along with one of them, who seemed to be her boyfriend because they looked awfully close to one another, and left the other two." Naomi didn't leave spaces for doubt.

Tagged along? That sounded so wrong. Boyfriend? That sounded even worse. But she kept it all to herself. Her blood started boiling, but she kept quiet. Subtly, she glanced at Fuji and Kogure's direction, and it seemed that they were uncomfortable with what Naomi was saying.

"Not long after, when the two of them were out of sight, she screamed for help," Naomi continued her story.

The principal noticed the loophole. "Natsumi-san, I thought you said she tagged along, if so why would she ask for help?" His voice sounded doubtful and intrigued and surprised.

Although it seemed a mistake, Naomi had it all planned out. "That's why we were also curious, sir, so…"

"So we came to check it out," it was Fuji who continued. "When we saw them Kinomoto was pushing him away. It seemed to us like she was being harassed."

"Harrassed? How?"

"He was kissing her everywhere and was slipping his hands up her skirt." Fuji spoke too fast as if he memorized it but the principal was too appalled by the scandal that he didn't seem to notice.

Silence fell upon them. Their principal's expression was unreadable. It was after a few minutes before Naomi spoke. "Here, sensei," she handed their principal a photograph. "This is also why we are surprised that she asked for help when they do it so often."

"Where on earth did you get this?" The rage and shock was evident in their principal's tone of voice. "Where?"

Even Naomi was surprised to hear their principal that angry. "One of the other two gave it to us. They said that she," Naomi gave Sakura a disgusted look, "was only acting up, they said Seiki-sempai and she are very physical."

"Kinomoto-san, do you have anything to say for yourself?" He threw the picture at her. "Never in my nine years in this school have I seen a young lady behave this way!"

Stunned to see him in rage, Sakura kept quiet and picked up the discarded photograph on the floor. Blood rushed to her head as if she was about to faint. In the picture was the one who harassed her and hurt Syaoran, alongside him was her. They were lip-locked and his hands were under her skirt. That's not me. Sakura kept telling herself, but she could only do so in her mind. That is not me.

Naomi smiled to herself. "The other two who was with him gave it to us, because they didn't want to involve Seiki-sempai in this mess," she repeated.

"I am really disappointed in you, Kinomoto-san," their principal said as he shook his head in disbelief. "Continue," he ordered Naomi. It seemed that the photograph Naomi showed him got better of his mood.

"So they came to her aid. But we were surprise she called out Syaoran's name." Naomi's voice sounded bitter when she continued, "As you know, sensei, she and my Syaoran had a relationship. They had a relationship.

"Maybe Syaoran-kun couldn't leave her be. I don't know. I wouldn't know how he felt that moment. She was crying out for help, and she was calling out her name. He couldn't ignore her, could he? So what does he get in helping this, this, wretch! Broken ribs! Bruise all over his body! Pain in ev–!"

Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "It's okay, Naomi, he'll be fine." Kogure hugged her. Her story was untrue, but her anger was not. Sakura was finally able to make sure of Naomi's hatred towards her. Naomi hates her. She loathes her very existence.

"Kinomoto-san," his eyes were full of disappointment and judgment, "would you care to explain yourself?" asked their principal.

Broken ribs? Must have been from… no, there's nobody else at fault here but myself. Sakura couldn't think straight. Feeling blameworthy of Syaoran's injuries, she could only keep silent. I have nobody else to blame but myself. If only I, if only I was–!

"Kinomoto-san I am really disappointed in you. Not only did you act beyond your age, you also caused harm to your friend. Are you happy with what you've done?"

No. But I can only blame myself for being weak. I cause harm to the people around me.

Guilt got the best of her. She couldn't defend herself, nor could she think straight. Even if she tries to defend and tell the truth, what could she do, it was three against one, and Naomi even had a fake photograph, but it seemed so real. Everything that would be coming out of her mouth will just become excuses. Everything would be a futile attempt to save herself.

A long sigh came from the principal. "Now that everything is clear, you can all go. Kinomoto-san, about your punishment, I'll inform you as soon as the faculty and I decide upon it. I am saying to you now, you will not walk out of this school uneducated and ill-mannered. I will see to it that the correct punishment is given to you." Sakura replied a stiff nod. "I hope this doesn't get out, we don't need any public humiliations right now."

All of them stood up, and left the room. The atmosphere was heavy. Sakura did her best to hold back her tears while in front of the principal. Now that they were out of his sight, she could have let it all flow, but she didn't want to give Naomi the pleasure of seeing her suffer.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." This made Sakura look up. It was Fuji who was apologizing. "I just don't want to involve my friend here. I'm deeply sorry," he bowed in regret and guilt.

Sakura wiped a tear that escaped with the back of her hand. "I don't want to involve him further either," as she forced a smile at him. "Can you please tell him thank you for me? Please tell him how grateful I am. And please tell him that I'm sorry." As she said those words, she couldn't help but let her tears flow. She ran away as soon as she finished. Naomi needn't see her cry. Doing what she did was enough.

"Hey, Naomi. You said that this is for the best, but why do I feel this way? This doesn't seem right." Kogure couldn't help but feel responsible. "I don't like seeing women cry."

"What he doesn't know can't harm him," Naomi's voice was firm.

This made them sigh in regret. How could they have let Naomi control them? "Hope you'll cut her some slack, because you've already done enough. If you think about it what she's going through is more than ten folds what you experienced years ago." Fuji knew of her past.

"Stop! Don't dig up the past," her voice kept its firmness. She walked away, heading towards class, about to act as if nothing happened. Fuji and Kogure followed the shadow in front of them.

Will be uploading the rest now. I'm too lazy to edit it. HUHU.