The Lost Princess
A/N: Sorry for the delay… ^^
Chapter 7
"Darn!" Takashi hissed in annoyance as his head continued throbbing mercilessly. He tried to shake it away but failed miserably.
"Hey, Takashi!" the loud call from behind him intensified the throbbing in his head with an unwelcome addition of a ringing in his ears. He turned and saw Syaoran grinning sympathetically when he noticed his look.
"You look like hell." Syaoran stated casually, his brown eyes hiding the pain he was experiencing in his own head.
"I wish I could say the same to you, too." Takashi grumbled as they walked to their class together. It was already their second subject because they had overslept due to their drunken state the night before which went until the wee hours of the morning.
"I had always envied your skill in hiding your emotions." Takashi admitted after a quick glance at the weary-free, clean-faced guy.
Syaoran flashed a boyish grin, "It really is handy sometimes…"
"They're here." Chiharu whispered to the quiet and moody Sakura the moment she saw the two guys enter the room.
Sakura turned and looked at the two guys, studying them closely, a frown on her soft, red lips.
Takashi was totally tired-looking, his eyes bloodshot and his skin, pale. His dark hair was so unruly --- in a lazy kind of way while Syaoran was the total opposite. Though Syaoran's brown hair was unruly --- the windblown kind of way, his brown eyes were clear with a small tinge of amusement and he was clean-shaven, totally presentable… unlike Takashi who seemed to have woken up from a restless sleep.
"Stop frowning, Sakura." Takashi muttered his complaint softly, unable to increase the volume of his voice for fear of intensifying his developing headache. He sat on Sakura's right while Syaoran sat on his right as well. .
At this, Sakura's frown deepened but she chose to keep her mouth shut and decided to concentrate on her book again, deliberately trying to ignore the two guys.
"Speechless, princess?" Takashi taunted when he noticed her reaction. He badly wanted to have a spat with her because the liquor hadn't seemed to have taken away all of his misery.
~It's partly her fault anyway.~ he reasoned to himself, recalling his girlfriend's --- ex-girlfriend's actually --- accusation. She had accused him of liking Sakura more than just a friend. Such a ridiculous notion on his point of view, ~Darn her anyway for thinking such a foolish thing!~ he fumed silently. Yes, Sakura was indeed pretty but that doesn't mean he's interested in her as something more than just a friend. He sighed inwardly at the train of his thoughts and resurfaced to reality. He was surprised to realize that Sakura hadn't taken the bait he so dangled within her reach.
"Stupid! Stop provoking her! She's already pissed!" came Syaoran's whisper to him, his brown eyes fixed on Sakura's serious expression.
"Whatever." He finally shrugged his surrender before placing his head on his arms which was on the surface of his desk.
"'Ey, Takashi! Apologize to her!" came Syaoran's hiss the moment their practice ended. Sakura had been ignoring the both of them for a whole day already.
"What!? Why should I?" Takashi complained with creased brows, confusion evident in his eyes.
"You were unbearable yesterday." Syaoran pointed out.
"I've got reasons for behaving like that. I just broke up with my girlfriend!" came Takashi's indignance, lips in a frown.
"But it's not reason enough for being a jerk, that's what she'll tell you I bet." Syaoran grinned.
"Damn!" Takashi muttered, "Do I really have to do it?" he added.
"Yes." Was Syaoran's simple answer, "And anyway, if it were up to Sakura, it'll take her eternity before she'll talk to us… She's really stubborn for her own good." He added with an amused grin. Silence elapsed before Syaoran heard Takashi let out a huge, audible sigh.
"Okay, then." He finally decided, looking at Sakura who was a long distance from them – talking to Tomoyo.
"Uh… Tomoyo…Can I talk to Sakura for a moment?" Sakura heard Takashi's familiar voice from behind her and was surprised to note the slight hesitation in his voice.
Tomoyo gave Takashi a thorough look, brows quirked up in confused query, then diverted her gaze back to the expressionless Sakura. She gave Sakura an inquiringly look before giving in to Takashi's request and leaving.
"Uh… Sakura…" Takashi stammered the moment Tomoyo had left. Sakura tried to ignore him, rummaging through her backpack.
"Sorry about yesterday." Takashi finally blurted out when he couldn't contain his nerves any longer. There was silence. He looked at Sakura's expression and bit back a groan when he noticed that Sakura hadn't seemed to have heard him.
"Sakura?!" came his panic complaint, trying hard to ignore the thumping of his heart and the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.
"What?" came Sakura's innocent inquiry, looking up at him with a confused expression, "Are we going home already?" she added.
At this statement, the abnormal drumming of his heart dwindled into the normal rate and the uncomfortable knot in his stomach loosened. He was forgiven!
"Yup!" came his light tone, smiling genuinely for the first time that day.
"'Ey, Sakura!" she heard a hearty call the moment she, Takashi and Syaoran stepped out of the school gate. She looked around and saw Tomoyo, waving at her. She was surprised to see Tomoyo standing beside a familiar black car.
"Eriol is looking for you!" Tomoyo informed her after she had ran to their direction.
"Eriol who?" came Syaoran's suspicious inquiry, brows arched.
"Sakura's admired and my arch nemesis." Tomoyo explained off-handedly.
"An admirer?" came Takashi's tone of disbelief, "Are you sure he's got twenty-twenty vision? Man, he's badly in need of glasses." Came Takashi's addition with obvious sarcasm, smirking and looking at Sakura in disbelief.
"Shut up, Takashi! You're the one who's in need of glasses!" Tomoyo countered in defense of her friend.
"Such loyalty, Tomoyo?" Takashi's tone was one of disbelief.
"Hey. Tomoyo! Stop dawdling!" came a clear and firm voice from behind her.
"Shut up, Eriol!" Tomoyo shot back at the smirking guy before turning back to talk to Sakura.
"So, want to ride with us?" Tomoyo invited, ignoring Eriol's honking the moment he had entered the car again.
"Huh?... Uh… I think I'll pass… These two guys here still have to make up for what they did yesterday." Sakura explained, giving Tomoyo a conspiratory wink.
"Oh. I see. That's good news 'cause you won't have to endure the rudeness of that insufferable jerk." As Tomoyo spoke, she shot a deadly glance to the direction of the driver's seat in the car. Her amethyst eyes were alive with irritation and … something more? Sakura was much of a poet not to have noticed the loving fondness in Tomoyo's eyes.
~Interesting.~ she thought quietly, already seeing the developing love story of the two.
"Okay, then. See you tomorrow, guys! Bye!" she called back while running to the car, waving at them with a very sweet smile that made Sakura wonder if Tomoyo was indeed not looking forward to spending time with that specific insufferable jerk.
XXX
"Damn it, Sakura! Your secret admirer is giving me a headache. Why can't he just show himself instead of staying anonymous?" came Chiharu's annoyed complaint that Thursday afternoon. They were in the garden of Takashi's house, sitting cross-legged on the soft green grass near the fountain.
"That's simple logic, Chi. The guy is scared to show himself because he doesn't want anyone to know that he has such a bad taste in girls." Came Syaoran's a-matter-of-fact explanation which made Sakura stuck out her tongue out at him childishly.
"Syao is right. I'm sure if he shows himself, the others won't stop criticizing him for lack of good taste." The grinning Takashi put in.
"Shut up, you two!" Chiharu chided with a frown at the two guys' comments although she knew that it was only meant to annoy Sakura.
"You're not using your head! The more likely reason is that he's too shy… or he doesn't look that good." Chiharu finished quite thoughtfully.
"Yes! Why didn't I think of it before? He might be ashamed of his face." Chiharu said enthusiastically as if she had just solved the biggest problem on Earth.
"That's a real possibility, Chi, and a good one!" came Takashi's agreement, nodding thoughtfully. They heard a frustrated and audible sigh, "Guys? If you're finished discussing my personal life, can we move on to the real topic?" came Sakura's exasperated but firm tone.
"Sure, Sakura. But it's not yet finished. We'll just set it aside for a while." Chiharu told her cheerfully, all smiles.
"Thank goodness for small favors." Sakura murmured sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"Okay, let's start our meeting with the serial killer before we move on to the Reed Monarchy's case." Came Takashi business-like tone, all amusement and mirth gone from his dark eyes. It was time to get down to business and to be serious so everybody wore their serious looks.
"According to the newspapers, the guy the girls dated was ruled out of the list of suspects because of the lack of evidence." Takashi continued, shuffling through the documents infront of him.
"And there's no lead yet." Chiharu added quietly.
"Yes, that's right. I think the culprit is lying low because the cops are hot on his trail. But we don't know his state of mind and we can't read it. He might be planning his next target as of this moment or he might already be laying a trap." Takashi finished. Silence followed as the four fell to a deep thinking.
"And from the results of the information we've gathered from the victims' immediate families, the accusation is clearly pointed at the same guy they'd dated before their disappearances and deaths." Takashi finished, brows creased in concentration.
"But the guy is squeaky clean." This piece of fact was inserted by a thoughtful Chiharu.
"Too squeaky clean." Sakura commented with a thoughtful frown. Takashi nodded to this then turned to the quiet Syaoran, "What do you think, Syao?"
"Sakura is right. He's too clean that it looks so suspicious." Syaoran stated with hesitation.
"Are you implying that this guy is the guilty one?" Takashi asked carefully.
"Anything is possible, Takashi." Was Syao's quiet reply but he met Takashi's dark gaze with his level brown ones.
"So, what do you propose we do?" Takashi inquired, looking at the thoughtful and serious faces of his friends.
"We need to get near that guy and investigate. And we go undercover if the need arise." Chiharu proposed, a hand raised politely.
"Right." Agreed Sakura, "I would even willingly become his pawn as long as we catch him red-handed."
Syaoran glanced at Sakura fleetingly and hesitated before agreeing, "Okay."
"So, all in agreement to the proposal?" Takashi asked. All nodded their assent.
"Okay, next is the Reed case." Announced Takashi.
"His majesty invited us to the palace this coming summer and we'll stay there the whole season. The reason for this is for us to be trained with self-defense and so that we can work together with his hired professionals." Takashi explained carefully, noting each of his friend's reactions. Chiharu's eyes shone with excitement while Sakura's emerald eyes had darkened quite dangerously. Syaoran's hazel eyes, on the other hand, were shut, allowing no emotions to leak. This worried Takashi because when Syaoran wore that look, it meant that he was thinking of something very important that he didn't want anyone to interfere with and that look always made anyone feel intimidated.
"How do we get there?" Chiharu's eager inquiry broke the unnoticed silence that had followed Takashi's explanation.
"A limousine will collect us from our homes to the palace the day after our last class day." Takashi answered the inquiry, looking at Chiharu.
"I won't be able to join you on that day, guys." Came Syaoran's statement.
The three others turned to his direction in confusion and inquiry. He gave them a tight and apologetic smile.
"My parents want me to spend the first week of summer with them. You know we don't see each other often… but don't worry, I'll just meet you there." Came his assurance.
"Okay, then. Any more questions?" Takashi looked at each of them.
"What are we to do at the palace again?" Sakura's tone was edgy as she asked for clarification.
"On our first week there, we'll be taught how to ride or use a horse. Then, trained to use crossbows, lances, spears and many other weapons before we can join the professionals in the field work. His majesty had warned me that it's quite dangerous and that he'll understand if we'll quit." Came his long enumeration.
"How dangerous?" Sakura's voice was odd as she asked the question but no one noticed.
Takashi hesitated them met Syaoran's hazel eyes. At Syaoran's nod, he sighed, "A number of professionals had already been brutally murdered."
"That explains the training." Sakura murmured quietly.
"Are you still not scared enough to back out?" came Takashi's wary inquiry, eyeing the two girls.
"No." came Sakura's firm reply, stubbornly meeting Syaoran's level gaze, challenging him to contradict.
"It'll be okay, I'm sure." Came Chiharu's bold announcement.
"Guys, why don't you just---" Syaoran was unable to finish because Sakura cut him with a firm, "No."
Sakura know full well that Syaoran was going to suggest that they drop the case. It was not for fear of his own life but for fear of her and Chiharu's lives.
~Damn him for being so stubbornly protective.~ she thought furiously, glancing at Syaoran who met her glare with a steady and unaffected look.
"Suit yourself." Sakura heard hidden frustration in his rough tone and caught a glimpse of what? Helplessness and fear? In his hazel eyes before the shutters fell down and closed the window to his soul.
