Chapter 9

I walked at a steady pace, not sure where I was walking. But I did know one thing.

It was amazing.

It was truly amazing feeling. Maybe it might be because this was the first time I was confessed to? Or maybe it was because… well I cared. I don't know why. I just—it meant a lot to me. Like it had embedded itself into my mind and heart.

I was in central park. I'm not sure I got here… it was a good half hour away by car. But by walking? How long had I been walking for.

But the real problem was remembering who I am? Do I need to forget? What about Mei Ling? Do I give up on her? Our engagement can't exactly be forgotten…can it?

I found an empty bench, and sat down heavily on it.

I know I can't exactly talk about this with just anyone… after all. Baka-sensei is my sensei. Does that make it wrong? Mei Ling, is my fiancée by birth. Would breaking her heart be right?

"Syao-chan!!"

I sharply turned to the source to call me that, half expecting Baka-sensei to pop up. My eyes immediately caught warm brown eyes. Her eyes… they were that of my sister. And admittedly she was my favorite sister, even with her cruel sense of humor. But, that smile… it defiantly should not be there.

Now see here, I'm not afraid of her.

I cursed inwardly as I finally placed that smile and eyes to my older sister. She came running—at least that what I would make of it considering she was in front of me, pinching my cheek off. How she got there, without a single misplace hair, was beyond me.

This is the same woman that can blackmail just about anyone. This was the same woman that found it hilarious to dress me up as a nun when I was five and send me a nunnery.

I winced, as the brunette finally let go of my cheek. I rubbed it, hoping that one day feeling would return to that cheek. "Sheifa-nee-san." I managed to say in greeting.

She huffed her cheeks. "Is that how you greet your older sister?" she asked. Her eyes narrowed, yet it was her overly sweet smile was what caught the forming replying, 'yes'.

They hadn't found me until after ten days.

I gulped inaudibly as I hugged her lightly around her shoulder, "Welcome back Nee-san."

She smiled radiantly. "That's better. So, how have you been little brother?"

I shrugged, hoping to seem indifferent. "Same old…" for safety measure I added. "You know… hanging out and being well…boys."

Was that as lame as I'm thinking it was?

She smiled a coy smile, "Hmmm I see. What exactly is being a boy?"

Shit, I was so screwed. This woman could smell a lie half way across the world. "Well… like hanging out and doing… uhh… stuff."

She nodded. "Is that so?" She seemed to be drinking in everything about me. As if reading off exactly what kind of 'boy stuff' I did.

Gathering up my nerves I asked, "What are you doing back in Japan Nee-san?"

She looked into my darker eyes. "Business." She mumbled.

"So… uhh, how long will you be staying?"

She shook her head slightly. "Probably another few hours. My flight back to Netherlands is at midnight."

"Oh… that's too bad… It's been a long time since you or anyone else has been to Japan." I looked, they—being my sisters—were hardly home anymore. After their marriages, and their businesses they didn't have time. It seemed that Mother's house would forever remain like an ice palace.

After all it was well known that she's didn't get along with Mother. Well… she didn't get along well.

I heard her gasp causing me to look up to see if she was okay. Her eyes were widened a fraction, and she herself seemed frozen.

"Nee-san? Are you okay?" I said, causing her to lose her shock.

She giggled, and slowly it turned into a hearty laugh. She held her sides, barely managing to sit on the bench.

"W-what's so funny?"

This seemed to cause her to laugh harder. "Oh… Syaoran!" she laughed more barely able to breathe properly. She finally seemed to control herself, and hit herself lightly on the forehead, "Of course! Why didn't I notice before?" She gently whipped a stray tear from her eyes. "I'm so stupid."

I waited patiently for her to explain.

"Hey, don't give me that look Syao-chan. It's a girl thing."

I raised an eyebrow, "A girl thing?"

She smiled, "Well… it's a sort of a girl thing. Now come on, let's go get dinner while you tell me what exactly has been bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me."

"Oh please, and I'm the next First Lady." She rolled her eyes.

I narrowed my eyes, "You are the First Lady of Netherlands."

She wasn't exactly on great terms with Mother. At the age of twenty Sheifa had fallen in love with a foreign exchange student. She had run away… totally dismissing her own arranged engagement. Only after Mother discovered her husband's family background did she finally accept the foreigner.

Waving a dismissive hand she said, "Details, details. Who cares? Now as your older sister I want you to tell me what has been bothering you, before I have to take it out the hard way."

Now that I thought about it, I was hungry. It must have been at least two hours after the game.

I sighed, "Alright let's go."

She smiled as we stood up together, and began to walk out of the park. "The car's parked around here." She said as she led me towards a black BMW convertible.

"How's James-Nii-san?" I asked.

He was a pretty cool guy. I had met him a few times before she left. I was ten at the time; she had brought me to meet him. As a ten year old I was amazed by his light blond hair, and blue eyes that I had asked him if he was an angel. He had laughed at the time and said if I wanted him to be one, he would be one.

After that, he seemed to grow on me. And I too with Sheifa-Nee-san would sneak off to meet him. He allowed me to see things I had never before. He was almost like a father figure to me.

She started the car, "He's alright. You know the same crazy guy that thinks its fun to sneak into a concert. Or try the craziest food combinations. Like honestly, just the other day when we were coming here on the plane. He mixed a little bit of Pepsi into his chocolate pudding, saying that it gave it an extra pizzazz. Seriously, who in their right mind would believe that?" She complained.

I looked out the window, even though she complained, in her own way she had just told me that she was fine and very happy. I smiled. I was glad.

"Where are we going to eat Nee-chan?"

She paused, probably thinking, "James told me he was going to meet us at the Sushi Bazaar around eight."

I checked the digital clock in the posh car. It was seven forty-five. This was the restaurant I had first met James. Time really does pass. The game had ended around five thirty. That must have been how I got to Central park.

We pulled over at the restaurant. It was an old-feudal era building. A man dressed in a Kimono greeted us and lead us to our seats. Sheifa took off her shoes and sat down elegantly on the mat.

I had just taken off mine, when I was pulled into a friendly hug. I hugged the man back.

"Man, you've grown so much!" The blond man finally said. "You're already taller than me!" He said as he stepped back to try to look at me better.

"I was taller than you back in the middle school." I grinned, "How are you James-Nii-san?"

He chuckled, "Now that's the Syaoran I know. Glad to know you haven't been brainwashed by that Mother of yours."

"Hell no." I said as I sat across my sister, while James sat on her right.

"James." Sheifa said with a slight warning in her voice.

"What? It's true." He mumbled under the glare of his wife.

"Not five minutes in your company and you have Syaoran swearing like a goddamn sailor."

"Sweetie you just—"

"Not another word."

"Of course, darling." He finally said but shared a look of pure mischief with me.

I cleared my throat of a slight chuckle. He truly was the same, even after seven years of marriage. "How are the twins?" They had two twin sons, Shizuya also known as `Zoo' and Naoto, commonly known as 'Nate'.

James grinned widely, "Oh they're fine. Perfectly fine. In fact they find ways to bother everyone in less than three minutes." He closed his eyes but a wide smile remained on his face. "They make me so proud."

"Not exactly something to be proud of. I really don't understand where they learned to prank people." Sighed Sheifa.

I chuckled softly. "Still the same." I looked up to notice James and Shiefa share a brief look. "What?"

Shiefa cleared her throat. "So, uh… Syaoran what were you doing in Central? It's pretty far from home."

"That, well I was just walking…" I paused briefly, "I was thinking. I'm still not quiet sure how I ended up in Central." I admitted.

"What were you thinking about? It's not like you to… uhh what's the term darling?" Asked James

"…To brood on a topic so much. Usually you figure it out in less than a few minutes." Ended Sheifa with slight concern in her voice. "Does it have anything to do with that Mother of ours? I swear that woman is nothing but the ice Queen from hell."

I smiled slightly due to their concern. Should I tell them? … I suppose it couldn't hurt. After all they couldn't really tell anyone.

"You know you can count on us." Said James softly.

I thought about it for a bit more, as we sat in silence. "Well… it's… " How on earth was I supposed to explain that my teacher wanted to go out with me? "It's like… that well… Mei Ling she asked me to seriously think about our arranged engagement."

"Oh." Sheifa and James said at the same time. "And…"

"I… I don't think—more like I'm not sure if we should… It's…" I trailed of, not exactly sure where to finish

Shiefa spoke softly, "Mei Ling cares a lot about you Syaoran. She probably doesn't want to force you into anything."

"I know that." I said a little too forcefully. "It's just that… I don't think I can love her the way she wants me to love her." I paused. "She deserves to be loved… and I… I can't think of her more than a sister." I finished with a deep sigh.

James sighed, while Sheifa took hold of my hand. "Syaoran… she might get hurt if you tell her the truth… but she'll be hurt more if you don't. See, if you fall in love—which will happen. Then she'll be broken."

I looked up to see James hard eyes on me. "Mei Ling is quiet a catch. And if you can honestly say that you can't love her. Then do not lead her on. That will hurt her far more than anything else."

Sheifa nodded her head. "Xiao Lang, you know you've changed since the last time I met you. Maybe you already have a choice to make. Think about it, what makes you smile and makes you feel like you belong."

I nodded absently. Who made me happy and laugh every time I was around them. Baka-sensei. "I… think I know what to say." Really. It was so simple. How did I miss it? How come I thought about it for so long? "You know… since you two have always helped me out… could I ask you for a favor?"

James and Shiefa shared a look, "Of course. Anything."

I smiled. "If you could send Baka-sensei—"

"Baka-sensei?"

"Oh, my err… homeroom teacher. Her actual name is Sakura Kinomoto—"

James raised both eyebrows in shock, "You can't possibly be talking about the girl that became a certified Brain Surgeon at the age of eighteen, which is the sister of the only man to score more goals in his four years as a professional soccer player, Touya Kinomoto. Isn't she also daughter of the famous archeologist Fujitaka Kinomoto?"

"You mean she was actually telling me the truth about the whole brain surgeon thing?" I asked a little astonished.

"She's a genius!" James exclaimed. "I've been trying to get her to work in Netherlands for over three years!"

"Wait, how on earth did she become your teacher?" asked Sheifa.

"Oh… you know our principle is Touya Kinomoto. Apparently his mother left him the school, and this semester… his sister began to work there." I thought about it so more… "She never did say why she came back all of a sudden came back."

"Okay… still confused. What does she have anything to do with you?"

"Because she confuses me!" I exclaimed.

"What?" both Sheifa and James said.

"Ugh… it's just she finds ways to crawl under my skin. She calls me these ridiculous names, she seems to love to embarrass and frustrate me… yet she can always make me laugh… she always… just there giving me advice or showing a simpler way." I finished, shocked at my own words as my eyes widened.

Sheifa began slowly, "Syaoran… that sounds a lot like…"

"Love." James chuckled loudly, "You're in love with your teacher!"

"I'm not it love with her!" I said sharply. "I'm just… admiring her?"

Sheifa's eyes lit up dramatically, "Was that a question or a statement." She sighed, "You know there are three stages: Denial. You know not accepting anything to even do with the concept of love and creating delusions."

"Acceptance." James said, and then added, "It hits you like a train and boy, does it hit you. You just know you're in love and you can't deny it at all. You find that everything is like a cause and effect thing." He shrugged, "There is no logic that can deny it no matter how hard you try."

"And lastly acting accordingly." Sheifa paused, "I think that's the hardest because you know what you want to do… but you're not sure if you will be accepted by the other party."

I sat there in silence not knowing how to actually act. Was I supposed to accept that advice? Sure I had dreamt about Baka-sensei… but she was well Baka-sensei. I couldn't deny that I sort of liked her. But loving her? That I knew for sure… at least I wasn't right now.

I sighed, "Nee-san and Nii-san I know for certain that I'm not in love with her. I just find her company interesting and well fun. I honestly, can't say for certain that I would love her because I don't know what love is." I shook my head. Love… that was too strong of a word. "Look, I need help with something. Right now I'm going to go see Shun. I need to talk to him about some things and then I'm going to go talk to Mei Ling. I need you to send twelve orchids over to uhh… an address that I'll text you."

James and Shiefa nodded slowly. Then Shiefa said, "I hope you know what you're doing."

I smiled slowly. Did I know what I was doing? For some reason it just seemed so clear now. Everything just seemed so obvious. This was the only solution. Maybe I'd even get to see Baka-sensei shocked for once. Or maybe I will be able to see one of her smiles that seemed to just light everything up.

Unknowingly, my smile grew and my eyes softened at that thought, "Everything seems clear enough that this is the only course of action I can take with the least amount of hurt."

James and Shiefa shared a brief look and then James reached over to pat my shoulder, "Good luck Syaoran."

Sheifa's eyes seemed a little tearful, "If you ever need anything I'm only a call away."

I got up and dusted my pants, and slipped into my shoes. I grinned over towards Sheifa and James, "Thanks guys!"

I was already out the door but I could distinctly make out the Shiefa's words: "I'm proud to call him my brother."

I quickly took out my cell phone and sent Baka-sensei's address over to Sheifa's number. And then I dialed Shun's number.

Shun picked up with a, "What's up?"

I grinned, "You don't say hello do you?"

"Who's the idiot who got me into that habit?" He countered.

I laughed softly, "Yeah… I suppose you can blame me."

"… What are you so happy about?" Shun asked with a slight astonishment in his voice.

"I'm happy? Dude, look I've just solved an old problem of mine. That's besides the points though, where are you right now?"

Shun paused before answering, "I'm over at the park in front of Mei Ling's school."

"What—no never mind. I really need to talk to you… so I'm heading over right now. I'll see you in uhh… fifteen minutes." And with that I closed the cell, and hailed a taxi.

I ran over to Shun that was standing beside a large oak tree. "Hey Shun!" I called out.

He looked over to me and nodded, "What's up?"

I stopped just in front of him. My voice grew serious as I straightened up. "We need to talk. Is it okay to talk right now?"

Shun straightened up as well noting my change. "Sure… we can talk right now."

I took in a large breathe of air. "I don't want to hurt Mei Ling. That's why I'm going to end it with her." I paused briefly, "I know for certain that I can't love her the way she wants me too."

Shun's stance had tensed. I knew what was coming. But I had to take it.

"Shun… look I'm telling you the truth. I don't want to play her in any way. I care for her a lot." I closed my eyes briefly, "I want you to take care of… her."

Shun's eyes never left my face. "Alright" he said as he nodded his head. I forced myself to relax my stance. "Fine. If that's what you want. I'll take care of her." He pulled his arm back and punched me hard on my jaw, sending me a few steps back.