from skybluescramble:
Huah, second chapter!
Huge thanks for all my reviewers (bows deep): sie ching, Shenhui, James Birdsong, krazypig91, and belle391. You are awesome! And people who add this story to their favorite and alert, i am really really thankful :D sorry for not mentioning your name. but beyond that, i love you :)
So, I present this chapter for you! Still: NO FLAMES, and whenever you find grammatical errors just tell me by review :D
English is always not my first language -_-"
DISCLAIMER:
CLAMP's. CLAMP's. CLAMP's.
See? Me, skybluescramble, just own the fic. Not CCS.
Ah, wait. TMNT also not mine.
::The Proposal::
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SUMMARY:
"Listen. We made this deal: If she could drink more than myself, then I would give her—now, both of you—the best facility in this cruise for free. But if she can`t, well~ you pay for the drink. Simple."
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CHAPTER #2: How It Started
LONG-HAIRED woman called Tomoyo Daidouji collapsed on the floor. She leaned her back against the wall while doing staring contest with the ceiling. Her raven locks was unruly. She tried hard to recollect her memories—second time for today—since...
Since when?
Oh yeah. Since Sakura-chan got those golden tickets of Star Virgo Cruise Ship.
ONE day in winter, last year.
"HOEEEEE!"
The twenty-two years old Sakura Kinomoto squealed as she leaped gleefully, hands raised above her head. Although she already reached her twenties, the 'hoe' trademark never disappeared. But somehow... if she stopped saying 'hoe',it wouldn't feel like Sakura. The Card Mistress and her unique, spontaneous outburst are such a perfect mixture. Funny.
"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo looked from behind the Cherry Blossom's shoulders curiously. She just arrived from the bakery shop nearby, after buying some breads, jelly, instant coffee, and peanut butter for her dinner tonight.
It was another freezing day in December. Clothed in her furry coat, thick cotton gloves, knee-length dress, warm black leggings, a pair of high boots, scarf, and cute rabbit earplug, Tomoyo seemed so warm even though her face was pale. Blame this low temperature.
"You're back, Tomoyo-chan!" White breath came out as Sakura spoke.
"Yup. And what's hidden behind the happy expression of yours?"
"I won the first prize!" She smiled widely, pointing at the lottery machine. "I turned the wheel with eyes closed and I got the golden ball! The first prize, Tomoyo-chan! Guess how lucky I am!"
"Is that true?" Tomoyo couldn't help but smiled at her best friend's antics.
"Yeah." The man behind the lottery machine nodded. "And here's your prize, Miss. Two golden tickets of Star Virgo Cruise Ship. It would leave the day after tomorrow at nine. Enjoy your voyage for three weeks! Just call this number for further information."
With that, he handed an envelope to Sakura—along with a piece of name card.
"Thank you!" Sakura bowed.
"Thank you, Sir." Tomoyo repeated. And they left that spot.
The cheery Cherry Blossom called her after dinner. She asked Tomoyo to accompany her for the three weeks cruise on Star Virgo. At first, Tomoyo refused the offer. She said that Syaoran was a better pick for a companion, but Sakura was too persistent. The Card Mistress wanted some ladies time just two of them—something that sparsely happened since the little wolf became her boyfriend. Sighing in defeat, Tomoyo finally agreed to pack her things needed. In return, Sakura beamed with triumph on the other side of the phone.
"See you at the port!" Sakura cheered.
Click.
That was only a start of the opening part.
Thursday morning. The harbor.
Tomoyo gulped. Even with her cousin by her side, the cruiser still looked magnificent... and enormous. Swathed in layers of midnight black and white paint, with some elegant chimneys, the cruiser was simply charming everyone who saw it.
"Cool..." Tomoyo gasped. "It's absolutely beautiful."
"It's Titanic two! Tomoyo-chan, it's Titanic two!" Sakura jumped around like kangaroo, enthusiasm all over her face.
Tomoyo giggled. "No, Sakura-chan. I don't want to ruin my leisure time with so much efforts to save myself from a split ship."
"Ah," Sakura grinned sheepishly. "You're right."
"Come on! Let's get in! They said it would leave in fifteen minutes."
They stepped on the bridge which connected the ship with the ground while chatting joyfully. The sky above was clear blue, with flying seagull hunting for prey. What a peaceful day. No one knew that this voyage would bring a disaster towards the young Daidouji.
Dragging their own luggage, both of them examined all the door in the corridors as they looked for the room. It was number 304. After putting their stuffs, Tomoyo asked Sakura to go to the deck.
"The scenery up there must be more enchanting." She said.
For her, Sakura would never refuse.
"...I wonder what is Syaoran doing," Sakura huffed as she gripped the banisters. Hearing this, Tomoyo couldn't help but feel guilty.
"I'm sorry. You should have picked him for this cruise instead of me."
This statement surprised the Card Mistress. "Gosh, Tomoyo-chan! It's not like I regret—"
The world suddenly seemed quiet for Tomoyo. That raven-haired young lady didn't even listen to Sakura's apologetic speech. Her full attention was, out of the blue, sucked into the sight of a man who emerged from the opposite direction.
He was tall and fit, well-built with a pair of strong arms and firm chest—but not too muscular (Tomoyo automatically wondered how it feels to be wrapped safely between them, and she blushed furiously when awareness hit her). His skin was light tan as the effect of getting sunburn. In matter of fact, the guy was hot.
But somehow his face looked familiar.
Or was it only her?
Whatever. Tomoyo was too busy to do anything else but stared. She stared at him like crazy stalker. He was talking on the iPhone and made a face. That guy was absolutely annoyed, and at the peak of his anger.
"I DON'T CARE!" Nah, now his temper exploded.
Tomoyo winched at the loud roar. She wasn't the type of a person who used to hear such harsh tone. She listened carefully from distance, trying to get more information. Besides, she must admit, eavesdropping is fun!
"YOU HEAR THAT? I. DON'T. CARE! Go with those sons of btches and I won't give it a shit! GET OUT OF MY LIFE!"
Wow. That was rude.
But thing that surprised Tomoyo was, right after hanging up the conversation, the guy threw his iPhone into the sea!
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!" She unconsciously screeched.
Sakura turned around, definitely confused. "What is it, Tomoyo-chan?"
"A-Ah..." The stammering Tomoyo quickly shook her head. "No—it's just... well, I reminisce my childhood."
By the way, that unreasonable reason convinced Sakura.
"You like TMNT?"
Not knowing what's better to say, Tomoyo nodded. "Not really... but I think—"
"HOEEE?" Sakura clapped in delight, interrupting Tomoyo. "I'm going to tell Syaoran! He would love to share talks about TMNT with you! Wait! I'll call him! Don't move, Tomoyo-chan, or you'll get lost!"
With the last warning, the brunette ran gleefully to find a quieter spot. Leaving her friend behind, sighing in frustation.
"Typical Sakura," Tomoyo murmured as her gloved hand brushed her unruly hair. Damn this wild sea breezes.
Tomoyo then continued watching that male figure in silence, trying hard to remember where she saw him before. But she couldn`t. How strange. Not that she cannot be forgetful sometimes, but for the looks that felt so familiar.. she should know about it.
"Tomoyo-chaan," called Sakura from behind.
With a nice smile plastered on her face, the raven-haired girl turned around. "What is it?"
"Syaoran wants to talk to you."
Oh geez~
"Really?"
"Yeah! And let`s walk to the dining room! There must be much warmer. We can stay there till dinner." Sakura paused a bit before adding, "Besides, my stomach is grumbling..."
Tomoyo let out a small laugh. "Okay. Hello, Li-kun? It`s Tomoyo."
DINING room was as crowded as a market with big sale. Four long tables placed in perfect rows and hundreds of plates filled with delicious meals were put on them. Sakura looked around, mouth agape, as she joyfully walked here and there, tasting food as much as possible.
"Ah! This pumpkin tart tastes great! Tomoyo-chan, you should give it a try!" She raised her fork, giving Tomoyo a signal to open her mouth.
"Well... if you say so." Tomoyo chewed it slowly as she tried to identify the ingredients. "Hmmm... you`re right. It tastes wonderful!"
"Yeah! The way it melts inside our mouth is so wow!"
"You like it?"
"Of course! I love it!"
"Then I`ll try to bake you some when we get home."
"HOE? B-b-but you don`t have to, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura was suprised.
"I do not. But I want to."
"Tomoyo-chan..."
"I think it`s good to improve my cooking ability, ne?" She winked. "If I can bake the same cake with the same taste, then we can eat anything we want without going to the restaurant."
Sakura`s shocked expression turned into a happy one as she hugged her best friend tightly. "I love you, Tomoyo-chan! You`re the best!"
Tomoyo giggled. "You love me?"
"Yeah! So much!"
"Even more than Li-kun?" She teased, poking Sakura`s waist.
The Card Mistress gulped, her face quuickly reddened. "Ah... that`s different case..."
"I know. I`m joking."
"BUT—! But if there will be an emergency situation when I must choose between you and Syaoran, I`ll choose you first, Tomoyo-chan!"
This time was Tomoyo`s turn to be surprised. But as a Daidouji, she immediately recontrolled herself. "Thanks, Sakura-chan. And I guess you won`t sacrifice Li-kun, am I right?"
Embarassed, Sakuraweakly nodded. "Y-yeah. I would find another way to save him..."
"That`s very nice of you."
Seemed unable to handle her embarassment, Sakura out of the blue pointed to random place. "Umm... I`ll go to that side! I haven`t tried all the dessert!" And after saying that, she ran away. Tomoyo simply shook her head in amusement with her friend`s antics.
Not really knowing about what to do, Tomoyo decided to stand still in the corner. Hands crossed, she observed all the people in the dining room in a calm state. God knows how long she stood there, because suddenly there was a very, very big crowd at the north side of the room.
Feeling curious, she walked closer and asked the nearest person. "What happened?"
"Drinking competition! Heck, it`s so interesting!" A man answered her question.
Her eyebrows twitched. "Drinking? Who?"
"I don`t know! A girl versus a guy. The girl has oriental face, just like yours. Come on!"
Tomoyo`s heart started beating fast. Oriental face?
"Come on! Don`t you want to see?" He shouted to beat the noise around.
"I can`t!" She shouted back. "Too much people block my way!"
"I`ll help!"
And he did. He helped her pushing some people aside so that she could walked forth a bit easily. Tomoyo turned around and was about to say simple `Thank you` to him, but a long, high-pitched, cheery squeak that came from behind made her froze.
Oh my. Please don`t let it be her...
"HEEEEY! Tomoyo-chaaaaaan! You`re here!"
Great. "Sakura-chan! What are you doing?"
"Here, To-chan! Sit—hiccup—here!"
Tomoyo hurriedly rushed to Sakura`s side. She was EXTREMELY worried. "Dear God, Sakura-chan, you`re drunk!"
"Surely, Tomoyo-chan! I made—hiccup—a competition with him!"
And along with that statement, Sakura`s forefinger raised up, pointing to a certain someone who sat at the other edge of the table.
Tomoyo looked up, and...
Well~ he was the guy who threw his iPhone to the sea few hours ago.
"Don`t you know what you are doing?" Tomoyo snapped angrily at him. "You are a total stranger and you dared to—!"
"Wait!" Sakura grabbed Tomoyo`s wrist as she struggled with her words. "He isn`t—hiccup—a stranger for us! You... don`t remember him, To-chan? We were—hiccup—best friends! Me, you, him, and—hiccup—Syaoran!"
Really?
Now Tomoyo was beyond confusion.
"Am I... forgotten, Young Lady?" The man before her finally spoke, with slight teasing in his voice. And somehow it brought realization to her.
Tomoyo blinked.
Again.
Once again.
"Impossible..." She gasped, hands covering her mouth in reflex.
He smirked. "Already identified, huh?"
"Hiiragizawa-san?"
"Yep. And just go with Eriol."
"Akizuki-san and Spinel?"
"They didn`t come along."
Sakura clapped her hands for attention. She could sense that her self-consciousness were half gone. "Tomoyo-chan, I don`t think I can drink anymore... so—hiccup—would you please replace me for this competition?"
"EH?" Tomoyo`s eyes grew wide. Then she whispered, "No way, Sakura-chan. I can`t hold alcohol more than a glass..."
"Please, To-chan. We—hiccup—don`t have any other choices!"
"What do you mean?"
"Sorry, I need—hiccup—to rush to the restroom—hiccup—now!"
"Sakura-chan! Wait, I don`t understand!"
"Can`t! See you in our—hiccup—room!"
"Sakura!" Tomoyo called again, but it seemed that her effort was in vain.
"Let me explain," Eriol interjected. "Now sit."
Half-heartedly, Tomoyo obeyed. She inhaled a deep breath before sank down on Sakura`s previous place.
Eriol smirked. "Good girl."
"What is it?" Tomoyo tapped her fingers impatiently.
"Listen. We made this deal: If she could drink more than myself, then I would give her—now, both of you—the best facility in this cruise for free. But if she can`t, well~ you pay for the drink. Simple."
Tomoyo looked at the empty bottles scattered on the table, feeling horrified. "How... how much these cost?"
"Umm... I told the servant to bring out the best stocks. At least each costs one hundred thousand yen."
"ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND YEN FOR EACH?" Tomoyo yelled as her hands rolled into tight fists, so tight until her knuckles turned white. "You`re crazy! How could you...!"
"It`s my ship, anyway. I can do anything as I please."
"Your ship?" She gaped, "No way!"
"Ask them," Eriol turned his eyes to the ship officers and servants. "Ask them one by one and you`ll get the exact same answers."
Tomoyo gritted her teeth. Alright, so this is the time for the Daidouji to show their guts. One hundred thousand yen for a bottle of drink is huge motivation to not losing this stupid game.
"I`m in!" She grasped the glass that once used by Sakura and poured some wine. She lifted it into eye level, peering at Eriol. "Happy now?"
He smiled smugly. "Never been happier."
"So, on the count of three?"
Eriol nodded. "One... two... three. GO!"
The crowd cheered loudly as the battle restarted.
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to be continued.