I Am Not My Sister's Keeper
Summary: Sometimes trying to keep two people apart is the very thing that brings them together.
Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. And I probably should have said that I don't own anything affiliated with Apple, aside from my own purchasing of Apple products - I (heart) my ibook!
Last chapter:
Touya attempts to forcibly remove Syaoran from the Kinomoto residence, and is forced to come up with 'more subtle' means of extricating Syaoran from Sakura's life.
I Am Not My Sister's Keeper – Indefatigable
"Touya-kun! What happened?" Nakuru asked as she caught up with him outside the library. "Heero-kun looks like he just saw a ghost. Or something equally as scary.
"What did you do to him?" she finished as she eyed him suspiciously.
Touya ignored her and kept walking in long strides towards his bike. She raced ahead of him, blocking him from his vehicle.
"Kinomoto Touya, you answer me right this instant, or I'll . . ." she trailed off, unable to come up with a sufficient threat that she would be willing to extol upon him.
"You'll what?" Touya asked neutrally, stepping around her and straddling the bike. "I've got to see Sakura-chan. You coming?"
With a shake of her head, she positioned herself behind him, wrapping her arms around his mid-section as she always did. She knew she was the only one who could stop him from doing something stupid right now, and stop him she would. Hopefully Sakura-chan would forgive her for any acts of stupidity preceding this point as she could do nothing about those, though she was sure they had occurred.
She just hoped he hadn't done anything he would regret.
They were at the Kinomoto residence in no time at all, which was unsurprising given that Touya tended to drive with his emotions. Hoping to put Sakura in a good mood, he patiently knocked on his own front door. At least he did until heard the following:
*giggle "Syao-kun, stop."
At the sound of his imouto's voice laughing and squealing excitedly, and the information gleaned from said squeal that the gaki was in his house, Touya barged in without hesitation. He was sure that his father had rules about boys being unsupervised in the house, and he himself certainly had rules regarding that particular boy.
"Mou, Syao-kun," he heard his sister voice as he got nearer. "Stop being so mean."
"I warned you, Sakura-chan," the boy responded in a tone that sounded almost seductive in Touya's paranoid ears. "If you're not going to pay attention, then I'm going to have to punish you."
"But, Syao-kun . . ." she begged, pouting at the boy. Touya stepped into the room, waiting for them to acknowledge his presence. He was grateful to see that the pair of teens were still fully clothed and not looking particularly dishevelled. He was appalled to find them sitting side-by-side on the couch.
'Damn, gaki,' he thought icily.
"Sakura-chan, if you don't pay attention then you'll never learn, and then I'll have to go on to next grade without you just because you refused to come to terms with simultaneous equations," the boy admonished, tapping her sweetly on the nose, which only made her pout further. "Now watch carefully, because I'm not leaving you behind."
"Thank you, Sayoran-kun," she said softly as they both leaned over the coffee table to examine the equation. "I don't know where I'd be without you."
For the briefest moment, Touya's gaze actually softened at the scene. It was almost sweet, and this was probably the first time he had ever seen the pair alone together. Anyone else might have noted how different Syaoran was for Sakura, but Touya was unlikely to get that sentimental.
"Syoran-kun, I . . ." she began nervously, trailing off as he turned to meet her eye. "Syaoran, I . . . uh . . . wa-watashi . . . watashi wa su-"
"Ahem," Touya said, coughing loudly to get their attention before Sakura could finish that phrase and damn them all.(1)
"Onii-chan!" Sakura cried as she jumped to her feet, completely forgetting that she was still mad at him for being so rude to Syaoran the night before. "What are you doing here?" she asked, obviously flustered.
"What is he doing here?" Touya asked pointedly in reply, before adding darkly, "unsupervised."
"I'm helping Sakura-chan with her algebra," the brat replied stonily, the caring persona seen with Sakura only moments earlier disappearing completely and being replaced with the aloof Syaoran known to everyone but her. "And in case you've forgotten, your father invited me to stay while Wei was out of town."
Touya scoffed loudly, returning the kids haughty glance. 'Helping with her algebra my ass,' he thought viciously ignoring all evidence consistent with Syaoran's explanation, including the two Grade 11 math textbooks laying open before them and the fact that they had been talking about equations when he entered the room. In fact, he explained it all away with the words 'that devious, underhanded Li bastard', assuming that the kid has somehow arranged things that way.
Touya was convinced that 'doing algebra' was some kind of euphemism for something he did not want his sister engaging in, especially with him. It was probably something about finding x and marking spots. Or square roots. He was probably teaching her all about the 'rules of operations' if you know what I mean, and I wonder if you do, because I'm not even sure what I mean, but in Touya's head it meant something very, very dirty.
The brat rolled his eyes, as if reading Touya's thoughts. "Was there something you wanted, Kinomoto-san?" he asked, so polite you could almost ignore the waves of unrestrained disdain rolling off him.
"Yes," Touya answered pointedly. "I'd like to talk to my sister. Alone, as in, go away," he said slowly, in a frighteningly calm tone.
Syaoran stood, rolling his eyes again. "I'll just be in the kitchen, 'Kura-chan," he told Sakura. Touya growled at the overly familiar address as the gaki smirked past him to the kitchen as promised, only stopping once to glance back at the blushing Sakura.
"What's wrong, Touya-'nii-chan?" his sister asked sweetly, worry evident in her eyes. "Has something happened to Otou-san?" she asked, immediately jumping to the worst conclusion. "Have you and Nakuru-chan had a fight?" And then the second worst.
Nakuru stepped into the room at the sound of her name, glancing at Sakura apologetically. She still had no idea what Touya had done, but she knew that whatever it was, it couldn't be good, not if he was worked up like this.
"Nothing is wrong, Sakura-chan," he assured her, frowning and pacing as he spoke. "In fact, it's good news." He stopped suddenly, forcing himself to smile cheerfully, however, in light of its reluctance the smile looked nothing short of creepy.
"Sakura, I've found you a suitor," Touya announced proudly.
Sakura frowned, not quite understanding the meaning of his words. Nakuru gasped. "Touya . . ." she breathed softly, incredulity heavy in her voice. "Touya, you didn't . . ."
"I've set up a date for this evening," he continued, ignoring Nakuru's desperate whispers. "I'm sure you two will be very well suited."
"A date?" Sakura asked confusedly. "With who?" she added, the pitch in her voice rising indignantly.
"A very suitable gentleman," Touya answered nonchalantly, "from a good, Japanese family raised with upstanding morals. The kind of gentleman that knows not to take what isn't his."
The room was heavy with silence as he finished speaking, before Sakura suddenly started laughing awkwardly. "You're kidding, right?" she pleaded between strained laughter. "This is just one big joke. About ten seconds from now, you're both going to yell 'gotcha' and we're going to laugh about this afterwards?"
"Ishikawa Heero will be here at seven to take you out," Touya replied stonily, not budging from his position. He was determined to keep his sister away from that brat, no matter what it took. Now more than ever.
"And if I refuse?" Sakura tested, narrowing her eyes now it was clearly that he was serious.
"You will do as I say, Kinomoto Sakura," Touya answered almost icily, "I am your brother –"
"Precisely," Sakura answered, throwing her hands to her sides in stony exasperation. "My brother, Touya-nii-chan. Not Okaa-san. Not Otou-san. You can't make me do this."
"I can, and I will," Touya growled back.
"Touya," Nakuru said again, a warning tone in her voice as she moved closer to his side. As his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed, he felt Nakuru shift so that her hand rested tentatively against his forearm in a gesture intended to calm him. It was a gesture that made his stomach flip, and in the confusion of emotions, is just seemed to push him further over the edge.
"If you ever want to see that . . ." he trailed off, struggling for the right word. "That boy again you will do as I say, Sakura-chan, and you will go out with Ishikawa-san."
"No, Touya," Sakura argued back. It was the first time she had ever directly disobeyed her brother, and only went to show how much the gaki meant to her. "You have no right, Touya. No right at all."
"I'll show you what right-"
"Touya. Leave," Nakuru said suddenly, cutting in before Touya said or did something he would truly regret. Her voice was so cold and controlled Touya couldn't help but start at the sound of his name coming so icily from her lips. He stared at her, waiting for elaboration.
"I don't care where you go, Touya-kun," she continued, not even glancing in his direction, "but if you aren't out of this room in the next ten seconds, I will make you leave, Touya. And you do not want me to make you leave."
Touya nodded silently before leaving the lounge and heading up to his own bedroom to vent out his unspent anger.
Nakuru sighed shakily as he left, letting go of a breath she wasn't even aware she was holding. "Sakura-chan, forgive me," she pleaded of the card mistress. "I should have known he was planning something like this. I should have stopped him."
"It's ok, Nakuru-chan," Sakura answered, dropping down to the couch. "You're not responsible for his actions."
"Then forgive him," she pleaded instead, affection evident in her tone. "All he wants is to protect his imouto-chan, and he thinks he's doing the right thing."
Sakura nodded, laughing harshly at what that meant. "That's what makes this so awful," she said softly. "He honestly believes that what he's doing is for the best, and be damned the consequences." Touya had been protecting her since birth, determined to keep her from the evils of this world. And right now it meant keeping her from the most important person in her life.
"He's never going to accept him, is he?" she asked suddenly, tears filling her emerald eyes with the sad realization. "'Nii-chan's always going to hate him."
"Sakura-chan, don't say that," Nakuru answered softly, sitting down beside the teenage girl and wrapping her in a comforting embrace. "He'll come around eventually," she offered helpfully. "You know how hard-headed he can be. He's just being stupid right now, but he'll get it in the end."
"He won't," Sakura answered. "I might as well just give up. What hope can I have when even my own brother is against me?"
"Sakura-chan, I can fix this," Nakuru promised, "I'll make him see sense, somehow. Just don't give up yet. Not when you're so close to telling your most important person how much he means to you."
"But, Nakuru-chan –" Sakura began to protest, until she was cut off by a gentle voice calling her name.
"Sakura?" Syaoran questioned as he re-entered the room only to see the two young women huddled together on the couch. The two looked terribly distraught. He silently cursed Kinomoto-san for causing his precious Ying Fa such pain.
Nakuru got up quickly, nodding at Syaoran as she left. She knew Sakura-chan was in good hands now.
"'Kura-chan? What's wrong?" he asked softly as went to her side, immediately wrapping her securely in his arms. "Please don't cry," he beseeched her in the most endearing way, "You know I can't stand to see you cry."
"Why do you care?" she asked back, the fight with her brother leaving her feeling insecure and pitiful. She didn't feel worthy of Syaoran's sympathy, not when she was at her worst like this, and wished he would just leave her alone in her self-loathing. "Why do you care if I cry? Or if I pass math? Or if I'm late to class? I just don't get you!"
The corners of his lips quirked into a tiny smile, and he gazed at her with the most tender look she had ever seen in her life.
"Sakura, can't you see?" he asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his steadfast gaze. "I am in love with you, Kinomoto Sakura. Wo ai ni, Ying Fa," he whispered as he lightly brushed his lips to her cheek.(2)
"Wo ai ni, Xiao Lang," she replied shyly, glancing up at him through her lashes. "Watashi wa suki desu," she added with more confidence after a moment to catch her breath.(1)
He smiled at her confession, an almost wolfish grin pulling onto his usually impassive face. "So that's what you've been trying to say all this time, my little cheery blossom," he teased, watching her face flush with colour. "You are my most important person, Sakura-chan," he added, not wanting to be outdone, before catching her off guard by catching her lips with his own.
It was a sweet first kiss, neither of them really sure what they were supposed to be doing, but it conveyed all the emotions that had been kept secret for much too long. And for a moment in time it was just the two of them, each wrapped in the presence of their most important person, and all that entailed.
As the two pulled away, three small words left their lips simultaneously, cementing the moment forever in their minds:
"I love you."
~ to be continued ~
Nice fluffy chapter that one, well aside from Touya being . . . well . . . Touya. Looking at this chapter, hopefully you can see why it has to be TxN, and that's basically because she's the only one who would actually tell him off. Yukito, Kaho, and Tomoyo are so obliging it's scary (especially Tomoyo with her whole 'as long as the person I love is happy' philosophy - I imagine TomoyoxSakura must be difficult to write, because it would be inconsistent with Tomoyo's personality for her to actually pursue Sakura, and Sakura is too dense to take any steps in that direction without prompting). Clearly Nakuru has no qualms with displeasing Touya, and given how aggressively she was willing to pursue him, it wouldn't be much of a step to have her yell at him.
Notes:
The title for this chapter - being a rather archaic word - is synonymous with unrelenting, but I'm going with an 'in' theme here so bear with it.
(1) watashi wa suki desu = I love you/You are my favourite/most important person. See second movie.
(2) Wo ai ni, Ying Fa = I love you, Sakura. (Mandarin – don't ask)
Next chapter:
"That's it," she muttered. "You will cancel whatever plans you made with Ishikawa-san right this instant, and you will take Li-kun out to dinner."