Chapter Three

Meet the Trouble

We have all screamed once

Torment me

Last week of September 2019 – Tomoeda, Japan

'I can hear the grasshoppers.' Tomoyo whispered.

'We're lucky there are only grasshoppers.' Sakura whispered back.

'Hm, I think Naoko-chan can tell us if there are any ghosts around here.'

'H-hoe!' Sakura shuddered at the idea of ghosts and pulled the sheets over her head. 'Don't start now, Tomoyo-chan! You know I'm scared of ghosts!'

The soft giggle from Tomoyo sounded in the room. 'Gomen, but Sakura-chan is so kawaii when she is scared!'

Slowly removing her head from under the sheets, Sakura looked straight in the camcorder from Tomoyo. 'Hoe...!'

'It's either this or telling me what's been bothering you.'

'That's mean!' Her head disappeared under the sheets once more.

Tomoyo got the standard out of her back, and settled the camcorder on it, so Sakura wouldn't got the idea that she was still filming, and could just talk. She disguised it with her clothes, and then pulled the sheets away from Sakura, so she couldn't hide anymore.

'Come on, spill it, Sakura-chan!'

'No! That's not the meaning of a slumber party!' Wining, she tried to retrieve her sheets from the victorious Tomoyo. 'Come on, it's cold! Give it back!'

But to no avail.

In the end Sakura had to give Tomoyo what she wanted and told her everything that bothered her.

'Okay, okay, I'll tell! Geez, you're such a pusher!'

Tomoyo smiled innocently, as she made it herself comfortable in the spare bed in Sakura's small room. She waited patiently, so Sakura could start whenever she wanted.

'Eto... There are more things actually.' She started. 'Of course it bothers me that Tomiko is so often on my back. It really gets to my nerves that my knees are turning bluer every day. I don't know why she lets me trip so often. Heck, I don't even know why she torments me this much. She has surpassed my own rules on that matter. I must have done something to her, but I don't know what exactly. This is more than simply bullying. I really think she hates me.'

'I don't think it's exactly like that.' Tomoyo answered slowly. 'I think she feels threatened by you. Where she comes from, the bullying probably goes way further than here. And the only reason why it isn't that way anymore, is because of you. I think she finds that hard to accept. So she brings the hole game back in this school, and she wants you down first, because you are her biggest threat.'

'Threat of what?' Sakura asked.

'Threat of taking away her throne. Without you, she will be the queen. But with you around, she knows there are some who doubt her power and will fight her until things are back to normal. And you are the symbol of those people.'

'Wow, Tomoyo-chan! You sound like you have played to many games!' Sakura joked about it, because in reality, Tomoyo's words scared her.

Tomoyo understood, and didn't continue the subject. 'So, what's more?'

'Well... I'm worried about Eriol-kun and... Li-kun. They are friends, but Li-kun seems to like Tomiko better than us. And if he befriends her, then Eriol probably has to choose between Syaoran and us. And then, that will make all of you have to choose, and then... then...'

'Then you think you will be left alone?' Tomoyo finished softly, knowing her friend all to well.

A tear dripped down her cheek and she looked away from her friend, as she nodded.

'Silly.' Tomoyo's voice gave her away. She too was about to start crying. 'There is no choosing, by no one. Li-kun is not stupid, he will never choose Tomiko over Eriol, or any of us for that matter.

Eriol told me about Li-kun. He seems to be really cold, but he is very sensitive underneath that. Something about his past, but he didn't want to explain what exactly. The truth is, Li-kun doesn't have many friends, but if he makes friends, they're friends for life. Tomiko can never be that kind of friend, so he won't befriend her.

And then, no one has to choose. And even so…' Now tears streamed freely over Tomoyo's face. '…I'll never leave you for anyone in the world, Sakura-chan!'

'Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura jumped of her bed and hugged her best friend in all times. 'I'm sorry I thought such things! I'll never leave you for anyone in the world too!'

When they had finally calmed down, the idea to come up with a plan against Tomiko was already forgotten.

October 2019 – Tomoeda, Japan

From that day forwards, Sakura and Tomoyo grew even more closer than they already were. But it didn't stop the trouble Sakura had to endure.

Tomiko would try to make her trip in front of the whole school, at least once a day. It somehow became a game between them, because Sakura would do her very best to prevent falling.

And luckily, Sakura had a glorious victory almost every time.

It only flamed Tomiko's anger, though. Everyday, Tomiko would come up with something new, so Sakura had to be on guard her entire day at school. And sometimes, Sakura couldn't prevent it, like the time when Tomiko had sabotaged Sakura's chair.

There was just one exception when Tomiko left her for who she was, and that was when Syaoran was around. For some reason, Tomiko didn't want Syaoran to know of her bad side.

So logically, Sakura often sought for the company of Syaoran, who sat, as usual, in the library. And more often now, Tomoyo came to keep her company, because she knew very well that Syaoran hardly ever spoke.

So... in someway, Syaoran was her savior. Alright, not on purpose, but he was anyway.

'Ah! Nooo! We have PE again!' Tomoyo wined, as she read her schedule. It somehow turned out that they always had PE together for the past school years.

'And so we had for the past few weeks Tomoyo-chan.' Sakura sighed as she grabbed Tomoyo's arm and dragged her all the way to the changing rooms, near the sport field.

PE was Sakura's favorite class, as it had been on every school she ever went to. That was one of the few chances she had to move her body in all angles. Especially cheerleading made her feel good, no, alive!

As class started, Sakura could already see the boys on the other field, doing their warming up. The classes were separated from the guys, so the boys could do boys stuff, like football and baseball, and the girls could do their stuff, like cheerleading and dancing.

But when they had to do funny games or gymnastics, they often sported together. Today was one of those days, the first one this year, and after everyone finished their warming up, class really started.

Mattresses were laid out over the field, so the students wouldn't get hurt if they fell... from doing salto's.

Tomoyo groaned. 'Nooooo! I totally suck in salto's!' But then her grumpy attitude completely changed. 'Aaah! Now I can film kawaii Sakura-chan doing her triple salto's!'

'Hoe!' Sakura backed away from the overexcited Tomoyo, and accidentally bumped into someone who walked behind her. She quickly turned around seeing none other than Syaoran. 'Gomen, Li-kun!'

Syaoran choose to ignore her and walked to the group of boys waiting for the their turn to try the salto's.

Seeing him walk away, she had to suppress a blush. Why is he in this class? Isn't he a first years student? An exchange student then? Hoe, now he's going to see me stumble even more. It didn't really make sense for Sakura to have those thoughts. After all, Syaoran always ignored her, and they didn't even had one normal conversation, or any conversation at all! But still, she felt a bit embarrassed, knowing he was going to be there, the entire lesson.

'Class, today we are going to do something different. Because it's the first time that we are all sporting together this year, and we have several new students among us, we're going to do a little competition.'

The less athletic students shifted a bit, or just simply groaned. After all, they always lost.

Their PE teacher continued. 'The one who does all practices best of all, gets four tickets to the new amusement park in Tokyo, this Saturday.' The class erupted in loud squeals from excitement.

'For real?' Someone shouted, and the teacher laughed at the remark. Sometimes, it was just to easy to motivate her students. Of course, she failed to tell her class that she had won the tickets herself in another contest, but didn't have any free time this Saturday.

'Okay, students! Attention! We're going to start simple. I want you to do the handstand. The twenty who hold longest, will continue. Meaning ten are already going to stop the competition, but are still allowed to do the other exercises for practice or for fun.'

All students had to do the handstand at the same time, and their teacher would count the ones falling. The rest had to stand until they gave up.

When the whistle blew, there were already three students who failed to stand longer than a few seconds. 'Yanagisawa-san, Daidouji-san, Tikossi-san, please sit behind me.' As Naoko was troubled at failing so soon, Tomoyo happily ran to her stuff and grabbed her camcorder, making the others think she lost on purpose.

Names where called, and it didn't take long or the first ten where down. But it was a competition, so the rest kept staying upside down, trying to be the last to stand.

Soon, more started to fall, and after five minutes, only six remained, on who Sakura, Syaoran, Eriol and Chiharu were amongst.

After seven minutes, Chiharu and two other students gave up, and after ten minutes, Eriol too put his sore arms at rest on the shoulders of his beloved Tomoyo. 'They are really good.' Eriol murmured in her ear.

'Hmm, and so kawaii! Wouldn't they make a cute couple? They are both so strong!' Tomoyo didn't look once at her lover, as she kept filming the whole competition.

'You mean athletic. Sakura isn't strong, only very athletic.'

'Oh, who cares! I think they are really cute together.' Tomoyo quickly pecked Eriol on his cheek. 'And so are we, my love!' Like she knew that Eriol felt a bit left behind.

After fifteen minutes, both Sakura and Syaoran were beet red, and the teacher called it a draw, so there was still time left for the other practices.

As Sakura and Syaoran let them self sit on the ground, they looked at each other intensively. Or rather, really competitive. It was quite obvious for the rest of the class, that these to didn't want to be defeated by one another.

The next test was the Arabian, followed by the fly spring. The students who couldn't do it, left the competition. Only eleven remained in the game, of whom Eriol, Sakura, Chiharu and Syaoran were four of.

'Ah, Tomoyo-chan! I didn't know Eriol-kun was so good at gymnastics!' Naoko praised her boyfriend, and Tomoyo blushed prettily.

The next were the salto's, and a few of the once who already left the competition, still wanted to try it. 'The salto's will finish the competition. If you can do the most tremendous salto, you win. BUT! DO NOT, under ANY circumstance, bring your self in DANGER! You got that? Alright, the first one may go.'

It didn't take long, for Syaoran and Sakura to remain. Eriol was the last who had left the game, not thinking to be a worthy opponent for those two winners.

Because they where both so good, one would do a salto, and the other tried to copy it. Until the moment where one of them gave up, or couldn't handle it anymore. It started simple, with one salto, but more followed quickly. They both could do four salto's in one jump. And then the tricks started.

Stretched salto.

Spin salto.

Triple back.

Five salto's.

Full-in.

Twists stretched.

Four different salto's in one jump.

The students stopped practicing for themselves and settled down to look at these two show-offs. Even the students who were sitting in surrounding buildings, stopped following their classes for a moment to witness these stunts. Some of the salto's were official, some they were just making up that instant.

This continued for a long time, and Sakura was the first to show that she hadn't much energy left. Soon after, Syaoran too became tired, but both went on with one trick after another.

'Okay, you can stop! You're wearing yourself out. Let's call it a draw!' The PE teacher came in between at one of the one-minute-breaks.

Syaoran and Sakura stared at each other, trying to make a deal out of this with just looks. Somehow, they got the idea that the first to respond would have lost the game.

'Li-san! Kinomoto-san! Do I have your ATTENTION!' The teacher screeched.

'Yes, sensei!' They both yelled at the same time, terrified by the anger in the teachers voice.

'Good. With this,' She waved around with four tickets. 'I declare that Li-san AND Kinomoto-san have won this competition! And because it is a draw, I'm not splitting the tickets, but I let you go together, with two of your friends.'

When the teacher had finished the class and had left the field, most students were already changing into school uniforms. Sakura and Syaoran were still on the field, catching their breath.

'Li-kun...! -pant- You are really, really good! -pant- I had a really -pant-hard time keeping up with you!' Her breathing came in gasps, and she laid on the grass, arms stretched.

Syaoran sat on the ground, arms behind him, also breathing fast. Her compliment surprised him. He hadn't expected that from her. And he hadn't planned on returning the favor. But as he looked at her panting form, he could do nothing than admire her. He himself had trained in the martial arts since he was four years old, but she couldn't possibly have done so, because no normal human would do that. Before he realized it, the words had left his mouth. 'You have done great too. -pant-You're the first person -pant- who can keep up with me -pant-and that means something, cause I've done this a lot.'

Sakura was quiet for a moment. That is the first time he has talked more than one sentence to me. It made her cheeks burn with heat, but luckily, she wore still the red color from the lack of air. 'Thank you, Li-kun.' She murmured.

After the words had left his mouth, he realized what he had done, and regretted it. But somehow, when Sakura asked who they should bring with them to the amusement park, he could do nothing than normally answer her, like she was a friend.

They had said it at the exact same moment.

'Eriol and Tomoyo.'

They looked in each others eyes as they said that, and a smile plastered itself on both their faces.

Sakura giggled as both stood up, ready to go changing for the next classes. Together they walked to the changing rooms, although the conversation had already ended, and neither of them spoke a word.

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Syaoran changed to his school uniform, as the rest of the boys had already left the changing room to return to their classes. The smile had vanished from his face, and the glare returned again.

He was utterly surprised of himself.

He had just talked, made a conversation, which actually came close to a normal conversation, to someone he hardly knew at all. For him to do something like that, was rare, to say at the least.

Of course, it's not like he never conversed with anyone, it was just that he tried to ignore all the people that he didn't have any business with. That meant everyone besides family, friends and the Li-company.

He hardly ever saw his family anymore because of school, the group of friends he had was really small, and if he was at one of the offices of work, he was always working and giving meetings. The latter didn't really count as conversing.

The only ones he spoke normally to once in a while, was Eriol, his best friend, and Meilin, his cousin, and also a good friend of him. That reminded him, he had to call her soon, or else she would get mad at him for not contacting her at least twice a month.

But besides that, the thing that bothered him so much, was that sometimes – just sometimes! – he saw Sakura as a friend.

And that thought, was not correct.

Some kind of error in his messed up mind, or something like that.

Just a minute ago, he actually smiled at her, after he had admitted to himself that he had admired her for her athletic strength.

He never smiled at others. He never admired others.

Though he just did...

Why he normally didn't do that?

Eriol was right about one thing. It had something to do with his past. Or actually, more events from the past.

Because of the past, he had learned himself to stay away from others, to be cold towards everyone, so no one would stay close to him.

But because no one can live like that, he acted different in front of his family and close friends. Because he knew that they wouldn't betray him, wouldn't leave him alone. He had faith in them, and they had faith in him.

And despite all he had learned himself, he had actually let Sakura stay close to him.

Even worse... he already called her by her first name in his mind. Only in his mind, of course...

So what if others automatically called each other by their front name? He didn't, besides of his sisters and friends.

So somehow, he had seen her as a friend, or else he wouldn't call her Sakura in his mind, wouldn't admire her, and certainly wouldn't smile at her. He would never had talked normally to her.

Conclusion: he has to stop this.

For his own safety.

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Sakura smiled happily as she changed. Tomoyo had waited for her, because she wanted to know everything that had just happened on the field, while she was gone.

'He actually talked to you? NORMALLY?' Tomoyo had large, unbelieving eyes. She had never seen him talking to anyone these past weeks, besides Eriol. And back then, he had stopped talking, as soon as he noticed her. 'That's so cool! Maybe he likes you!'

Sakura stopped in mid air, as she was just trying to get the skirt from her uniform on. 'N-Nani! Tomoyo-chan, don't say such ridiculous things!' Sakura let out a fake laugh, as she continued changing and desperately tried to suppress the upcoming blush.

She wasn't blushing because Tomoyo talked about Syaoran here. No, it was because it was one of those subjects she was actually scared to talk about. She had never had a true boyfriend, and the thought was creeping her out.

Every time Tomoyo tried to set her up with some boy, she would just act like she was dense, like she didn't know that certain boy had feelings for her, and in the end, run away from him and avoid him at all costs. And that was creeping Tomoyo out, because all her work was for nothing... again!

But this time, Sakura was more scared than usual. Because she actually wanted Syaoran to be a friend of them. After Tomoyo assured her that Syaoran would never choose Tomiko's side, she wanted to befriend him again. And if Tomoyo was right, and he did like her, then there was no friendship. Because in the end, she would just run away and ignore him, as usual.

But then again, she knew that Tomoyo wasn't right about this, so she had nothing to worry about. 'Besides, Tomoyo-chan, it is not true.'

And as they walked out of the changing room, they saw Syaoran coming out of his at the same time.

He fully ignored them as he walked passed a stunned Tomoyo.

'Told you so.' Sakura just couldn't stop herself from saying that famous sentence everybody wanted to say sometimes.

'B-But... but!' Tomoyo tried to come up with something, but failed miserably.

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'Moshi moshi, Meilin here.' Came the sleepy voice of Meilin.

'What, did I call you out of bed?'

Half sleeping as Meilin was, it took her a while before she understood who was on the phone. 'Syaoran! It's you!'

'Well, duh, who else? Oooh, let me take that back. Ryu probably calls you more often than I do, right?' Syaoran sniggered as he could almost see her blush trough the mobile he was holding against his ear.

'N-No! No! Of course not! Erm... how are you doing?' She actually sounded quite panicked now.

'It's okay if he calls you, Mei-chan! I won't hurt him!' He used his favorite nickname for her, which she hated so much. '...yet.'

'Don't Mei-chan me! I know you're going to hit him if I were actually dating him. Which I'm NOT, by the way!' A deep sigh. 'I don't think he knows I like him. Every time I see him, he is to busy with work, or he is flirting with other girls! It's not fair!' The last part came out in a wail, and Syaoran winced. 'I don't think he likes me, and so I'm actually glad he never calls me.'

'So he doesn't call you then?'

'That's what I said! Geez, Syao-kun, sometimes you are way to overprotective!'

He chuckled at her nickname for him, which he didn't like at all, but was kind of funny. 'Hey, I'm almost like a brother to you, so it's my job to protect you!'

'That's right, protect me, not being overprotective.' Meilin sounded angry, but Syaoran just knew that she was smiling. 'So anyway, how's live over there? I've never been in Japan, is it pretty?'

'Hai, it is. I think it's better than Hong Kong and New York. It's way greener than it is at home. I think you like it to.'

'Hm, is that an invitation for me to come over?'

'Hehe, well, if you want to, you are always welcome. The house I bought here is not big at all, but big enough, you could even bring Ryu here if you want to.'

Meilin exploded. 'DON'T JOKE ABOUT THAT!' But then she calmed down again, after a deep sigh. 'But maybe I can come over once, I don't know yet. But tell me, how is the new school? Did you actually make friends for once?'

He chuckled, again. 'School is good. Hard work, but I can manage, I'm still on schedule anyway. And friends... I actually have a friend here. Eriol goes to the same school, didn't I tell you that yet?'

'Hm, I can't really remember, but now I know.'

'He has a girlfriend, Daidouji Tomoyo, and a close friend Kinomoto Sakura. They all keep me company at times, so I'm not really alone.'

Meilin sighed. 'Syaoran, are you conversing with them, or are you ignoring them again?' She sounded a bit angry and worried at the same time.

'You know very well I ignore them... Oh well, I'm trying to, but it is hard this time.'

'Really? Now you made me curious. Spill it! Every detail!'

'Hehe, I thought you wanted to know. Well, it's like this: there is this girl, Eriol's friend, the one called Sakura?'

'Hm.'

'I know her for about six weeks now, and I don't know why, but sometimes I see her as a friend, and that really bugs me. I try to ignore her, but it isn't completely working. And to make it worse, we both won in a gym competition, so we are going to a new attraction park in Tokyo, together with Eriol and his girlfriend.'

'You both won? Then she must be very athletic!' Meilin couldn't help herself, but stopping his story for a moment to state the obvious.

'She is. But this isn't helping me to ignore her. I wonder if I should let her be my friend.'

'Hm, let me think...' It was quiet for a while, as Meilin thought it all over. 'I think, knowing you, that it is better to not let her to close for the moment. Unless you believe you can trust her, that is.'

'Thank you, Meilin. I was thinking of the same. I...' I really don't want to be hurt again.

'That's why you have to know her better, before you befriend her. But Syaoran, please believe me. Not everyone is bad, not everybody is lying.' Meilin said, as she too always seemed to know what Syaoran was thinking.

'I know you think so, Meilin.'

'I know what to do! I come the next vacation, in the end of October if I'm right, and I'll check her out! If I like her, then you have to become friends with her! Deal?'

'Eh...'

'Deal then! Well, I have to go! I must catch my beauty sleep! Ja ne, Syao-kun!'

He could only mutter a quick 'Ja ne!' when he heard the dial tone, meaning she hung up.

'I don't think that's a good deal...' Syaoran muttered as he put down the phone. But nonetheless, he was feeling better now he had spoken to his cousin again.

(A/N: Now we have all seen that Syaoran can converse in a normal way XD ...)

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Six weeks since the beginning of the school year had passed, and still things weren't settled between her and Kinomoto Sakura.

It bugged her.

It irritated her.

Like hell...!

'Why...WHY doesn't she fall, every time I tell you to let her fall?' Tomiko tried to calm down, and not yell at her friends, but she hardly succeeded. Yoko, Naomi and Miki looked at the ground, fearing their friend at this moment.

'It's...! Just... and... but...!' Tomiko sighed as she obviously couldn't find her words for what she wanted to say. 'We have to think of a new plan. Did any of the water balloons hit her?'

Naomi shook her head.

'Damn, how in gods name does she see those coming? How about the disabled chair?'

Miki nodded eagerly. 'That did work!'

'Just once.' Yoko said. Miki and Yoko both had some of their classes together with Kinomoto, so they knew when something worked or not. 'The last four times, she switched the chairs with ours.'

Tomiko's face fell. 'You didn't sit down on them, did you?' She could just imagine Miki sitting down on her own prank.

'Of course not. We changed them again with some other chairs.' Yoko said, as Miki wisely didn't utter a word about that. Yoko had to save Miki twice from almost sitting on the broken chairs that Kinomoto had put under Miki's table.

'Hm... how about pushing of the stairs?' She herself had never gotten the chance to push Kinomoto from the stairs. Any stairs at all.

'I have never seen her take any of the stairs at all.' Naomi muttered.

'I did, once. But at that time, I was at the other side of the hallway.' Miki looked straight at her feet. She knew very well that she always messed up the plans to make Kinomoto's life miserable.

'I think she goes with the elevator most of the time, like she knows we are waiting by the stairs.' Yoko put a hand under her chin as she was thinking.

'Yoko-chan, that's brilliant!' Tomiko smiled broadly as she thought of her next plan. 'Kinomoto is so going down now! But we do need Rian's help on this one. Naomi, could you please tell him to meet at the school entrance at nine pm, today?'

Naomi nodded as she took off.

'That goes for you two as well. Tonight, we are going to reprogram the elevator.' Stars were shining in her eyes, as Tomiko imagined the next day which Kinomoto would never forget for the rest of her live. Short as it will be, perhaps...

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'Strange...' Sakura muttered, as she and Tomoyo walked on the third floor, on their way to the cafeteria for lunchtime.

'What is?' Tomoyo asked absentminded. She had to do something before lunch, but she couldn't remember what exactly.

'Kuromori hasn't done anything yet today. Normally she starts before the third class.'

'Hm, fifth starts in forty minutes.' Tomoyo was looking in her agenda for notes about the thing she is forgetting at the moment.

Sakura glared at her friend. 'You aren't listening, are you?' No answer... 'What are you looking for, Tomoyo-chan?'

'I'm forgetting something! I know I had to do something before lunch!' Tomoyo wailed as she threw her agenda in her bag once more. They had stopped walking and stood in front of the elevator. She refused to get in before she remembered what she forgot.

'At least don't forget we are going to Tokyo tomorrow, Tomoyo-chan.' Sakura teased, but it only made Tomoyo glare at her for a moment.

'Daidouji-san, there you are.' Mizuki's voice rang trough the hallway. 'I think you are forgetting that you had an appointment with me.'

Tomoyo turned around and stared at her English teacher. 'Mizuki-sensei! I'm sorry, I totally forgot! I knew I forgot something!' Her cheeks turned red from embarrassment. She remembered now that the appointment was made even before she had returned from America.

'It's alright, Daidouji-san. Then if you could come along now, we have a lot to talk about.'

'Hai, sensei!' Tomoyo turned to Sakura, quickly excusing herself for not spending lunch with her.

Sakura pressed the lift button as she watched Tomoyo walk off with Mizuki-sensei. Once the elevator arrived, she got in and pressed the zero to go all the way down.

Sakura sighed as she leaned against the walls. She was alone this time. Normally there would be others going down at this time of the day.

That was exactly the reason she never went down the stairs. Here, in this little cabin, it was always crowded, so Kuromori and her friends couldn't do anything. Like pushing me of the stairs... She grumbled as she remembered that Rian had almost succeeded in doing so.

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Tomiko grabbed her cell phone when Kinomoto stood in position. 'Rian? Press the button in three... two... one... now!'

With a screeching sound, the elevator came to a halt, exactly between the third and second floor.

Tomiko laughed her laugh of victory. Oh, Kinomoto could have never prevented this! Damn, I'm brilliant.

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The sound of iron against iron hurt her ears.

The shock almost made her fall.

'H-Hoe!'

What happened? Why did we stop?

Sakura started to panic, but then remembered her fathers words.

Panic never helps, in any way.

So she patiently waited for the elevator to start moving again, suppressing the uneasy feeling.

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Rian walked up to Tomiko, who waited for him on the third floor. Except for those two, the floor was deserted. Lunch had already started, so everyone was downstairs, eating happily, like nothing had happened just a minute ago.

'Did it work?' Rian asked. He had just came up from the other side of the building, where the control of the elevator and electricity were stored.

'It did. She is stuck right between two floors. It would probably take a while for the others to realize it broke down, let alone stand that someone is still in it.'

'But wouldn't she simply call someone on her mobile?' Rian asked. He had made sure last night that the emergency button inside the elevator didn't work, nor the phone that was attached inside. It was even in their advantage that the elevator was soundproof. But he hadn't thought of her own mobile yet.

'Don't worry, I took care of that.' With a flip of her hand, she showed him an expensive mobile phone. It was pink and attached to a cord, hung a little plastic yellow bear with wings and a long tail. It couldn't have been from anyone else but Kinomoto Sakura.

'Lets go eat lunch. The girls are probably waiting for us.' Tomiko threw the phone in a dustbin on the way.

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The time was ticking. Ten minutes already passed, and still the elevator hadn't moved yet. Despise her fathers words, she started to feel very nervous.

Is there enough air in this thing?

In the movies she had seen, there was often lack of air.

And in the movies, the actors always pressed a red button to set of the alarm. So security people knew they were stuck. And they would come to help the actors, and within time, variable from a few minutes till a few hours, they were saved.

There was a red button in this elevator.

Why didn't I think of that before?

Sighing gladly she pressed the button.

Nothing happened.

She pressed again.

Nothing.

The display besides the button normally showed that it worked. Something like: Alarm Activated.

Something like that.

But it did nothing. It looked like someone broke it. Stupid students…!

Alright! Next plan!

The phone. Every elevator had a phone on board, for times like this. It connected directly to front desk from the building. At least, that always happened in the movies.

Removing the plate with a picture of a phone on it, she found the phone. But picking it up, she heard noting. No dial tone, no message, no one speaking.

Nothing.

She searched for something to press, a button, something!

But there was nothing.

The phone didn't work.

Just my luck... alright! Next plan!

She always had her own mobile with her. Well, ever since Tomoyo gave her one. She reached for the front section of her bag, but luck really wasn't on her side... the phone wasn't there.

Searching through every compartment of the bag, and not finding it, she held it upside down, as a final measure. She searched frantically, getting more nervous by the time.

'Nooooo!'

But it just wasn't there. Her own pink phone with the cute little bear attached to it.

'No! It's gone!' She kicked her empty schoolbag. 'I got that phone from Tomoyo-chan for my birthday! I don't want it to be gone!' Sakura wailed at the loss of her favorite phone and sat helpless on the ground.

She was here now for twenty minutes. Still twenty minutes to go, before lunch was over and the students would use the lift again.

In twenty minutes, maybe someone will hear me, if I yell hard enough...!

Tired, she rested herself on the floor. This was going to take a while.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

'Yamazaki! Stop telling lies, and stop stealing my lunch!' Chiharu yelled, as she desperately tried to keep her lunch away from him, and hit him on the head at the same time.

'Oh, come on, Chi-chan! Just one bite!' Yamazaki wailed, but he let her hit his head anyway.

The things they do for love... Rika thought as she watched the two of them squabble for some attention from each other. Naoko sat beside her, and watched the two with amusement.

'Rika-chan?'

Rika turned in her seat to see Eriol standing behind her. 'Hai, Eriol-kun?'

'Do you know where Tomoyo-chan and Sakura-chan are?' Eriol had that look in his eyes, which obviously meant: I miss my girlfriend!

Rika smiled politely. 'I have no idea, I actually thought they were with you.'

Eriol frowned, immediately worrying for his love... oh yeah, and for Sakura of course!

Naoko stopped looking at the fighting friends and turned around as well. 'They are probably having lunch together. I noticed they have been closer these past days.'

Eriol gaped at her with unbelieving eyes. 'They wouldn't…'

'N-No, no! I don't mean it like that! After all, Tomoyo-chan already got you!' Naoko stammered. Geez... did he actually believe Tomoyo would cheat on him with Sakura? Boys... sometimes, I wonder with what part of their body they are thinking...

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Is lunch over?

She didn't here any students, any footsteps.

It's already been forty-five minutes...

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Sighs...

'What's taking this stupid thing so long?' A student barks at the elevator, while repeatedly pushes the button, at which the elevator is supposed to get down.

More students are gathering now, along with some of the teachers.

'Maybe it's broke?' Someone muttered.

'Ah, but I'm to lazy to take the stairs!'

Laughing...

'It can't be broke. It's a new system.' One of the teachers said. 'If it is, it automatically sends a message to the mechanics, so they can fix it immediately. And, the alarm light outside,' The teacher pointed to a display at the top of the elevator. '... will activate automatically.'

'Since when do we have a new system?' Someone muttered.

'Since you students broke the last one to often.' Terada-sensei said as he neared the group waiting for the elevator. 'Now, come on, you can take the stairs for once. I'm sure there is just some bored student keeping the doors open on a higher level.'

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Sakura sat down, breathing heavily. She had just screamed for the last ten minutes. But no one answered.

And she still didn't here anyone.

What is this thing? Soundproof?

She cursed and banged her fist one last time on the wall behind her. Damn!

She was really getting scared now. What if no one finds me? What if no one notices I'm gone?

What if the movies are true and the air runs out?

Sakura hugged her knees as she was sitting in one of the corners. An hour had passed, and she had still no idea if the others had noticed that the elevator broke down.

This is not going to work! I'm going mad if this is going to continue!

She wasn't one of the taller ones, among all students, so when she thought about going through that trapdoor in the ceiling, she simply couldn't reach it.

Not giving up, she stuck herself between the two walls, working herself to the ceiling. After a lot of effort, she reached the trapdoor and managed to get it open. It took her awhile, but when she finally climbed on top of the elevator, she found herself in a pitch black shaft. Fear struck her at once, and she quickly escaped to the rather save surroundings of the elevator again. In there burned at least a light.

She slammed the trapdoor shut, because she was secretly quite scared of certain things that lived in a shaft.

Sure, she knew they didn't exist. Ghost weren't real… but the thought of them frightened her, making her forget they aren't real.

So in the end, Sakura just sat there on the floor, awaiting the time she had left, before someone would get her out of here.

Just as she calmed down again, the lights flickered, and eventually died out completely.

Fear struck her again.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Chiharu stared outside, wondering off in thoughts.

Sakura hadn't come to this class, and she just remembered how boring things were without her friend around.

The teacher babbled about some uninteresting subject, and Chiharu just couldn't bring herself to listen.

Mou…Sakura-chan! If I find you, you're going to pay for leaving me here alone!

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'Hey, has any of you seen Sakura-chan?' Tomoyo looked around in her group of friends. She just met them outside of school, where they normally waited for each other when school had ended.

'Maybe she was called in early for her job?' Rika opted.

Chiharu frowned hearing this. 'I don't know. I haven't seen her since fourth class, she skipped lunch and all of our classes after that.'

'The last time a saw her, was right before lunch, on the third floor.' Tomoyo said, the worry present in her voice. 'Has anyone seen her after that?'

Everyone shook their head. 'Maybe we should call her, to see if everything is still alright.' Eriol put his arm around Tomoyo's waist in silent comfort.

Tomoyo nodded as she grabbed her mobile and dialed Sakura's number. After a while, she sighed. 'Nothing…'

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Syaoran was leaving his class late, after the teacher wanted to talk him for a moment, about some new assignments. He didn't really mind that he got more work everyday. If he wanted, he could finish it for the next month this weekend. But then again, he didn't really want that.

When he headed for the elevator, he remembered the other students in the library, muttering curses about the students who were keeping the elevator open on other floors, so others couldn't come in.

He pressed the button. It should work now, since most student already got home at this hour. But after two minutes, the doors still didn't open. He sighed as he headed for the stairs.

Music made him stop, as he was just about to step down the first stair. It sounded like the ring tone of a mobile. The strange thing was, there was no one around, but him, and the sound came from… the dustbin beside him.

He sighed as he readied himself to search around in the garbage of the dustbin. Taking of the lid, he was lucky to see the screen light of the mobile at the top, so he wouldn't have to dig in the mess.

He pulled the mobile out, examining it. The ringing had already stopped. It was pink, with a funny bear attached to it.

Pink…you would think it belonged to Sakura…

He made a face at the wrong color, and flipped the phone open, to call back on the last number that had called this phone. The display read: Tomoyo Mob.

Eh…? So it really is Sakura's?

He pressed the 'call' button, and waited for the answer.

'Sakura-chan! Thank god you're finally picking up! We were so worried!' Syaoran held the mobile away from his ear, wincing at the worried, but very loud voice of Tomoyo.

'Eh, Daidouji, I'm Li, Kinomoto isn't here.'

'Eh? But then how do you get her mobile?' Tomoyo sounded really frantic now.

'When you called, I found it in a dustbin on the third floor.' Syaoran just hoped they wouldn't think he was searching in those for fun.

'NANI! Wait there, we're coming up!' And with that, Tomoyo hung up the phone, without waiting for an answer.

A minute later, Tomoyo came running up the stairs, followed by Eriol, Chiharu, Yamazaki, Rika and Naoko. Ted had already gone home. Tomoyo had a wild look in her eyes, as if she knew something had happened with Sakura.

Syaoran pointed at the dustbin besides the elevator. 'It lay in there.'

Tomoyo looked in the dustbin, like she expected Sakura to sit in there, and then kicked it over. 'Where is she!' She kicked the poor dustbin again, covering the third floor in dirt.

'When have you seen her last time, Syaoran?' Eriol asked him softly, while the others tried to calm Tomoyo down, who was ranting and wailing at the same time. 'I bet Kuromori did this! Where is she! What has she done to my Sakura-chan!'

'Let me think… that would have been somewhere around second class. Haven't really left the library today.' Syaoran muttered, looking at the elevator, which still hadn't come up, although he had pressed the button about 5 minutes ago. 'Where is she last seen?'

'Eh… I think Tomoyo saw her last. Wait, lat me ask her.' Eriol walked over to Tomoyo and hugged her, which immediately calmed her down. 'Tomoyo-chan, we are trying to figure out where she is, so if you could stop flipping and help thinking. Now where did you see her last?'

Tomoyo relaxed in his arms and muttered a soft apology. 'I saw her last, well…' She looked around, like she only noticed now where she was. '… right here. I think we were about to go down with the elevator, when Mizuki-sensei remembered me of an appointment. So Sakura must have gone down alone.'

'But… the elevator is broken.' Syaoran said. Tomoyo and he realized at the same time what that could mean, and they ran to the elevator. Tomoyo frantically pushed the button, as Syaoran looked through the little window, only seeing a dark shaft, and the vague forms of the wires.

'SAKURA-CHAN!' Tomoyo yelled again, hoping to get a reaction.

Eriol was not panicking yet and he gave orders. 'Rika, Naoko, try to find the mechanics. Yamazaki, Chiharu, try to find someone that knows more of these things, a teacher or someone like that. If you have news, call us immediately!'

Naoko and Rika took off as fast as they could, both going separate ways. Chiharu waited for a moment. 'Tomoyo-chan, this is a new elevator, because the last one broke so often and… well, it is soundproof.' Eriol sweat dropped at the thought, and Tomoyo gave up yelling and instead cursed the elevator.

'Why would they do that?' Eriol asked. He knew that Chiharu was in the student council, so she probably knew these kind of things.

'Well, last year, some of the student used the elevator for their pranks, and that caused some to think there were ghost inside, so when they replaced it, they made it soundproof, so if there were ghosts, they couldn't be heard.'

Eriol sighed at the explanation. Some people…

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And that's it for now. Next chapter is coming soon.