Chapter 27 The Accident

Sakura had met up with Ryu early that morning. They just hung around and went out. That afternoon, Sakura told him, "Hey I have to meet up with Eriol and Tomoyo. They are helping me with my free skate program. You want to come along?"

"Sure. So how is your program doing?" Ryu answered.

Sakura started laughing a little. "It's coming along. Eriol has been helping me a lot and Tomoyo has offered to make my outfit." Sakura answered. Ryu grinned.

"Hey guys! Wait up!" Someone called out.

Ryu and Sakura turned and saw Tomoyo running towards them. Sakura smiled and said, "We were just on our way to meet you and Eriol."

Tomoyo smiled when she caught up with them. They started walking. Tomoyo then said, "I was afraid that I was running late. Got held back at choir practice."

Sakura smiled at her and said, "There's no problem. You're on time." Tomoyo returned her smile as they continued on their way.

Pretty soon, they met up with Eriol and they sat down to have some drinks while they talked. "Mikagami-san is telling me that you have improved a lot but he asked me to tell you that he's stepping you up into high gear." Eriol said.

Sakura smiled and leaned closer to him. Her eyes narrowed a little and said, "Does that apply to you too?"

Eriol started laughing and replied, "Yeah. But your presentation is coming sooner than mine so he's going to be a little harder on you."

Sakura slumped a little and exasperated. She then said, "Great. I wonder what he'll have me do this time? I just hope that it's not that bad because Coach is also getting me into high gear in preparing for both my short and free skate programs."

"You'll survive I promise." Eriol said. Sakura smiled.

Just then, Sakura's phone started to ring. It registered an unknown number. Sakura frowned a little. She felt that there was something bad that had happened. Sakura answered. "Sakura-chan! Thank goodness I got in touch with you!" Came Wei's voice.

"Wei-san? Why? What's the matter?" Sakura asked.

"Master Shaoran got into an accident last night! I've been trying to get in touch with you since this morning." Wei said.

Sakura's face registered shock and concern. "What? Accident? What happened? Wait! Does Aunt Yelan know about this?" Sakura quickly asked.

"No, not yet. I am about to call her." Wei said.

"I'll call her. I'll be the one to tell her. I'm on my way there." Sakura said as she quickly hung up.

She turned to the others and said, "Shaoran's been in an accident. He's at the hospital. I need to go." She stood up as the others did as well.

"Wait! We're coming with you." Ryu said as both Eriol and Tomoyo nodded. They quickly left the building and headed to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Sakura quickly made her way towards Wei. Wei stood when he saw Sakura coming. They saw that Rika was there too. She said nothing but was clearly devastated. "What happened, Wei-san? Is he alright?" She asked.

Wei had this sad expression on. He started to explain, "Last night, he got into an accident when he saved this small boy from being ran over. The roads were slippery since it was raining so the car wasn't able to break in time. Master Shaoran was hit and is now being treated. It caused a quite of an accident as other cars had hit the car. Putting that aside, Master Shaoran is lucky that he survived it and is still alive. I am still waiting for what the doctors have to say."

Sakura and the others said nothing. They were really taken aback with how things started to develop. As if on cue, the doctor came to them. He then started to say, "He is alright though unconscious. He does need to have blood transfused into him. He had lost a lot of blood because of the accident. Unfortunately, we are running low of his blood type because of what happened with the French Ambassador recently and also other patients had needed it. The hospital's supply of the blood type is not yet stable."

"Then take my blood" Sakura quickly said without thinking. All eyes turned to her. She stepped forward to the doctor and said, "We have the same blood type. He said so. Shaoran told me before that we have the same blood type. Take some of mine to save his life."

The doctor nodded and told her to wait as he went to go and ask a medical technician to prepare with the basic blood test to check for compatibility.

Wei then approached her. Sakura smiled hesitantly back at him. "Please don't tell Shaoran about this, Wei-san. Don't tell him about what I am about to do." Sakura said as she turned to face him. Wei was surprised with the request. He looked at her but reluctantly gave a nod.

The doctor then called her. As the medical technician was starting to conduct the exam and the doctor anxiously looking on, Sakura turned to the doctor and said, "He doesn't need to know right?" The doctor turned to her, uncertain on what she was asking. "The blood. He doesn't need to know that it came from me, right?" Sakura repeated.

"If you do not want him to know, then we will not tell him." The doctor replied. Sakura nodded.

Sakura got out of the examining room after a blood sample was extracted from her. She left the technician and the doctor continue on the blood compatibility exam. She really didn't want to see fresh blood just yet. After what she went through during the hostage taking at the embassy and being splattered with blood from people who were shot, it was going to take awhile before she got over her new fear of blood.

When she went out, the others went up to her. She smiled a little and said, "They are still doing a little more determining if my blood is compatible with his." She went and sat on a seat nearby. She looked up to them and said, "No one must speak of this to anyone, please. I don't want him to know what I am about to do."

Tomoyo sat next to Sakura and asked, "Why, Sakura? Doesn't he deserve to know?"

Sakura closed her eyes and said, "It is better this way, Tomoyo. The less he knows about this, the better. I know him. Just trust me on this one."

Tomoyo looked at Sakura and exchanged glances with Eriol and Ryu. She nodded. Pretty soon, the doctor came out and told them that it was a match. He then ushered Sakura into Shaoran's room.

When Sakura entered, she stopped at the door when she saw Shaoran just lying there with machines attached to him. He had his eyes closed and it felt pretty heavy inside. The doctor then called her as she looked up at him. He motioned her to the empty bed. Sakura wanted to shiver but she forced herself not to.

As the doctor prepared the blood transfusion machine, Sakura sat on the bed. Her back was towards Shaoran. She saw that Wei had entered the room and so did the others. She looked up at them and smiled a little. When the doctor said that the machine was ready, Sakura then laid back on the bed. The doctor then said, "This may hurt a little when I insert the needle but it will subside." Sakura nodded.

She closed her eyes when the doctor inserted the needle. She bit her lip to keep the pain in check. The machine started to transfuse blood. The doctor then said, "The transfusion has started. I will come back later." Sakura nodded. The doctor then left.

The others stood near the wall as they let the girls sit. Wei then went and stood at Sakura's side. Sakura turned to him and smiled. "You are saving his life, Sakura-chan. You have always looked after him. Why don't you want him to know about this?" He asked.

Sakura smiled again. She then said, "You've got it a little wrong, Wei-san. He is the one who has always looked after me. He makes sure that nothing happens to me. He helps me with school, with life, everything. This is but a small thing I can do for him, after all the things he had done for me. The reason why I don't want him to know is because I don't want him to get attached to me. He might think that he owes me something if he found out. I don't want it that way. I want him to live and be free. He deserves to be happy, not tied up to me."

Sakura closed her eyes and turned to look at Shaoran. He had still hadn't regained consciousness. "Yes, Wei-san. He deserves to be happy for once. He already bears the responsibility of being the head of his family. I don't want him to be burdened by me as well." Sakura said.

Wei said nothing as he was saddened a little. He looked at his young master. Shaoran had truly chosen such a fine young woman to love. She was willing to give everything to save his life and to make sure that he was happy even if it meant staying out of his life and doing things for him in secret. Wei had watched them both grow up. He had known that it was inevitable that one day they would fall for each other. It saddened him that they still hadn't quite figured that one out.

In the silence of the room, Ryu and the others could hear the conversation between Wei and Sakura. Ryu started thinking. He had said from the beginning that he didn't mind standing in the line of fire or even pretend courting Sakura if it meant protecting her from the pain he saw from her and those around her. But it seemed that maybe he was wrong. Maybe Sakura didn't need someone to protect her. Maybe he had just said it because he just wanted to get close to her. He could see her strength. It was the real thing. Nothing could change that. When things started, he liked her a lot as a friend and didn't mind letting other people think that he was in love with her. He would do anything for her as a friend. The only thing now is that…he had fallen in love with her.

It was a painful admission but he truly had fallen in love with her. When he kissed her at the station and told her that he was seriously going to court her, it was the spur of the moment kind of thing to be honest. He told himself to do that because he saw her with Shaoran and it seemed that Shaoran couldn't get the idea that Sakura was avoiding him and that staying near him was hurting her. It was the only thing he knew how to get her away from him. He tried to shake things out of his mind.

After awhile, the doctor came back in. He checked up on Shaoran and then on Sakura. He then smiled at her as he turned off the machine. "He's doing much better now. All we have to do now is wait until he regains consciousness." He said. Sakura nodded as she sat back up.

As the doctor left, Wei, Rika and Sakura went over to Shaoran's side. Sakura stood next to him at the bed. She swallowed a little hard as she looked upon him. Shaoran was always a strong person so it was a little unnerving for Sakura to see him that way. She bit her lip. She had never had a hard time talking to Shaoran before. She couldn't understand why she was being so tongue-tied now.

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then started to say, "Wake up, Shaoran. You can't go on like this. You have to survive this, you hear me. It's not like you to just stay down when you are hit." She paused and looked down.

She then smiled a little and said, "Remember when we were kids, I was seven and you were eight, and I tripped and fell when we were running? The other kids started laughing at me but you didn't. You just smirked and held out your hand. I scratched my knee really bad and I started to cry. You told me that it wasn't that bad and that you get that all the time and you never cry. You took out your handkerchief and tied it around my knee. You gave me a piggyback and brought me to Wei-san. He made it better, do you remember that?"

"I'm not going to start laughing at you, if that is what you are thinking but I am going to extend my hand to you and help you up. I can't make it all better but I am here to remind you that it's not really that bad and it's going to be ok. You are not going to die from this, Shaoran. I remember clearly what you told me when my mom died and we had to move back here to Japan from Hong Kong…you said you are not going to die easily because you are strong and you will be strong for your family just like your father wanted. You swore that in front of his grave so you better not forget."

Sakura then took out something from her pocket. She held it out and smiled. It was a small golden dragon that Wei recognized. "Before I left for Japan, I was really sad. You gave me this golden dragon. You said that your dad told you that it's for luck and you said that I should have it. You also said that we will always be friends. You asked me once where this is and I told you that through the years, I've lost it."

Sakura almost laughed as she continued, "How could I ever lose this when I've always kept it close to me? I know how much this means to you because your father gave it before he died. You gave it to me to make me feel safe and to remind me that I am not alone. I think it's time that I return it to its rightful owner. It has gotten me through the toughest times. I was even holding it during the embassy incident. This time, let it be your guide, the way your father wanted."

Sakura then placed it in Shaoran's hand and held it tight. She was surprised when she felt Shaoran squeeze her hand a little. She quickly looked up. He was beginning to stir.

"Shaoran…" Sakura said.

"I knew it…" He said weakly.

"What?" Sakura asked. "

That you're such a terrible liar…why do you think I never asked again about it? It's not because I knew it was lost…I knew you kept it…" He answered.

Sakura smiled. "Do you have any idea how worried you made everybody? Rika-san was really worried and so was Wei-san." She looked at Rika and smiled.

Shaoran was about to say something but Sakura looked at him and said, "Oh yeah…I've also called Aunt Yelan. She's on the next flight out. Now, be nice, ok? She hasn't seen you in a long time and this happened so chill. Don't freak if she's a little…high strung. I'll try and call her and tell her that you are awake. Consider yourself lucky that it's only your mom coming. Your sisters wanted to come, even Meiling, but Aunt Yelan didn't allow them."

"Sakura…I…" Shaoran started but Sakura hushed him and smiled.

"Save your strength. Believe me…you're going to need it. I have a feeling that by now the Li elders have already been informed and may have their messages all prepared."

Shaoran grinned a little and said, "Thanks for the dragon. It looks like I'll be needing it." Sakura smiled.

"I guess I better be going, Shaoran. I can't stay long. 'tou-chan and 'nii-chan might get worried. They haven't settled back down after you know. And your mom also asked me to meet her at the airport later so I asked Wei-san to look after you." Sakura said as she started to step back.

Eriol, Tomoyo and Ryu then stepped forward. They wished Shaoran to get better soon.

They all prepared to leave. Before Sakura left, she said, "Oh yeah…before I forget…Ambassador Philip DeCuis asked me to extend a message. He said thank you for saving his life. He also said that he nor France will never forget it. He will always remember Japan's youth." Shaoran looked at her and smiled a little. He then nodded. Sakura smiled back and left.

Outside of the room, Sakura closed the door. "You could have stayed there, you know. He is your best friend and a childhood friend. There's nothing wrong with that." Ryu said.

Sakura turned to him and gave him a sad smile. "There are things that are better left alone rather than staying in close contact. Now that I know that he's on his way to recovery, I don't need to be at his side constantly. Things are already complicated so I don't want to complicate it further." Sakura answered.

"Sakura, is there something that you are not telling us?" Eriol asked.

Sakura smiled a little and said, "There are a lot of things that I choose not to tell anyone. It's just a matter of asking the right questions and at the right time."

Eriol laid an arm around her shoulder and said, "Alright then. Does the secret you hold so deep worth avoiding your best friend the way you, even now that he had just had an accident?"

Sakura smiled again and replied, "Yes. But before anything else, let me just say that whatever it is, I plan on telling Shaoran about it. It just isn't the right time yet. It's going to take a while."

"Will you guys just chill? I know what I'm doing and besides, I'm a little weakened after they got some blood. I didn't want him to see that. He might get worried and he doesn't need that. He will need all the strength he has to get better." Sakura then proceeded on to say.

(to be continued…)

I can feel the end coming…well that's because the end is almost there. It's getting near already. Thanks for reading this far and for those who sent in their reviews (you guys know who you are so thanks). Please do continue to review. It will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Michiko