Oddities in Oak Trees

-Ten-

An excited Takashi Yamazaki climbed the school gate before jumping to the other side. He was late for his morning classes, but he just heard something juicy from the two old gossipy ladies from their neighborhood. He was going to get detention for sure, but he didn't mind that one bit. What was important was that he could relay the message to his best friend as soon as possible.

While Takashi was running towards him, his proclaiming of "Dude" getting louder and louder as he got nearer, Syaoran tried his best to nurse the current headache he had whilst walking to the main entrance of the school.

"Duuuude!"

"I heard you the first time."

"You ain't gonna believe this!"

"What?"

"Why so irritable?" the slant-eyed boy asked playfully, huge grin still in place on his face. "Well, your frown is about to turn upside-down!"

Syaoran pinched the flesh between his eyes while he closed them, aware that his headache was about to get worse. "…How's that?"

"Word on the street is…" Takashi paused for dramatic effect before whispering quite loudly, "Madame Unsei is coming to town! She's going to have an exclusive fortune-telling this afternoon near our school! You have to go with me!"

"I can't."

"Why?" He nudged his agitated friend lightheartedly, "Are you going out with Sakura again? Jeebus, yer dudettes sure like hanging out with ya!"

"…Seems that she likes hanging out with other guys too." Syaoran mumbled as he opened the door to his locker. "Let's hurry. We're late. Besides, Meiling is around so I have to go home earlier than usual today."

Takashi scrunched his nose. "Gross, you mean that cousin of yers who is in love with you? Dude, she creeps the snot out of me!"

"Not only you. She kissed me in front of Sakura the day before."

"Is that why you're so upset today?" Takashi sighed dramatically before resting his hands on Syaoran's shoulders. "Listen, all ya hafta do is talk to yer gal! Simple as that!" he then raised his hands in the air to emphasize his point.

"That's not my problem."

"What is your problem then?"

"She has a kid."

"Sakura? Or Meiling?"

"Sakura." The Chinese lad was visibly more upset as he said her name. He felt betrayed. It would be the last time he'd fall in love so quickly, he thought to himself. He had never worn his heart on his sleeve blatantly until she came along and he didn't mind it at first, but for her to not say anything about something as significant as having a child… well, he wasn't up for giving any second chances.

"Sakura told you she had a kid?"

"No, Meiling did."

"That witch can't be trusted, matey." Takashi stroked his chin before pounding a clenched fist on his palm. "Meiling's up to something, it's obvious. Sakura can't possibly have a kid! She ain't got them birthing hips for it."

"Meiling's never lied to me before. By the way, your accents are getting worse by the second."

His best buddy ignored his second statement. "Ah, but she has got a way of twisting the truth! Sakura's probably babysitting some kid and Meiling thought it was hers."

"I asked Meiling about that, and she said that the kid is a Kinomoto, like Sakura."

"Then, a baby sibling…?"

"Her mother died before the kid was born."

"Hmm… that complicates things. But you know, you shouldn't be too quick to judge." Takashi wagged a finger at a scowling Syaoran.

"What are you trying to say?"

"That your biggest fault is jumping into conclusions."

"Well, Meiling said that Sakura probably used me since my mother's… you know."

"Rich?" It was Takashi's turn to frown. Sometimes, his friend was too gullible for words. It must have something to do with his blood type, he had concluded since then. "You know, you were the one who told me to believe that not all girls are superficial. And besides, it's not like Sakura's asked youz for moolah or anything."

"I don't know if I should defend her or—…" the school bell rang, indicating that their conversation had to end.

"Well, whatever. Talk to me when you need anything. Better yet, only talk to me if you've grown some brains."

"I'm not the one failing English."

"I said: whatever. I'll pick you up after school! We've got a date with Madame Luck herself!"

"I told you I can't…"

"See ya!"

Looks like Li Syaoran had no choice.

Everything has changed.

Sakura Kinomoto peered at the scenery outside of the window by her seat. Yesterday was a puzzle, that was for sure. What was more of a mystery was why Syaoran hadn't called her yet. She wasn't asking for an apology, but she really wanted to know what was going on. She deliberated on calling him each moment she would notice her phone (which was really all the time since the incident), but it was he who needed to do the talking, not her. She wouldn't know how to start, anyway.

"…moto."

"…Huh?" she looked dazedly at the direction of the voice.

"Kinomoto. Glad we finally got your attention. Please translate the first three lines found in page fifty three." Her very old professor–ancient, in the exaggerated words of a teenager—glanced at her beneath his thickly framed glasses.

"The strawberries…" she stopped midsentence, the fruit written out in hiragana on her textbook making her remember Syaoran. She shook her head to push away the thought as she continued. "The strawberries take time to ripen in December to May when…"

A concerned Tomoyo Daidouji glanced at Sakura. She knew what had happened between her and the Li boy from her constant prying. It didn't help that he was engaged from the start, but to lead her friend on like that was unacceptable.

Her stepbrother had mentioned that he did some research on Syaoran before finally agreeing to help him set himself up with a girl, and despite being the most thorough person she knew, Eriol could never dig up any information that would say that Syaoran is in a romantic relationship with anyone else. "They are not adding up…" she muttered under her breath as she tried to figure out if the girl claiming to be Syaoran's fiancé was really that or if Eriol was not exhaustive enough. "That can't be right…" she furrowed her eyebrows as she understood that Eriol Hiiragizawa wasn't someone who didn't investigate anyone meticulously.

"Whew… that was tough…" Sakura whispered to Tomoyo, who was seated behind her. "…Are you alright?" she asked the lavender-eyed girl, who was looking at her intently.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure, in springtime…"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Mm-hmm…"

Sakura pouted at her friend before swiveling around to face their teacher, like she was supposed to. She sighed as she recounted what happened the day before. The two were about to get married, as the girl Meiling had said, but why was he still persistent on showing Sakura he liked her? Was the engagement forced? It seemed like it.

No matter, Sakura thought to herself, she wouldn't be a pawn to their game anymore. She decides perhaps it's time to let go. She didn't like him that much anyway.

But on the other hand, the people who you let in to your life shouldn't be disposed of so easily, right? And the fact of the matter was: she did like Syaoran enough (even though she denies this) to kiss him. Twice. Sakura shook her head again while closing her eyes shut to erase the thought. But similar to Syaoran, the thought was incessant.

The class would prove to be a long one.

It was a good eight minutes before Takashi would apologize to Syaoran for being late. Club activities held him up, but now it was time to visit the 'Gypsy of Fortune', as Yamazaki had dubbed Madame Unsei.

"I'm really sorry!"

"It's fine, but you have to suffer a certain consequence…"

"About time you got here!" Meiling surfaced from behind the brown-haired boy, an expression of annoyance plastered on her ever-scowling face.

Takashi threw back his head, deflated. "Oh, man!"

"I told you I couldn't go, but you insisted! I warned you." Syaoran looked at him sideways. "Anyway, let's go."

The short walk from their campus to the booth was excruciating for both men. Meiling had gone shopping the whole day and so her feet were tired, leading to her string of complaints as they strode by.

"Knock it off, will ya! We're here." Takashi motioned at the stand. As expected, the line was very short on which Meiling was very thankful for.

"I want my fortune told first!" she raised her right hand up in the air.

"What! I waited so long for this! I have to be first!" Takashi was a pretty tolerable guy, but he had the patience of a brat when it came to dealing with Syaoran's female cousin. She had considered him as competition for Syaoran's attention and so had treated him poorly ever since.

"Haven't you ever heard of ladies being first?"

"If we have to jump off a plank, I'll let you use that idea."

"What did you say, you accent-confused dingbat? I can't hear you through all your choking!"

"Confused? You're the one who's confused, missy! You're not even engaged to Syaoran in reality! You're delusional!"

Meiling shoved a peeved Takashi as soon as she heard what he last said. "Take back what you said!"

"I don't twist truths like you do, so I can't!"

"You there!" an elderly woman's voice interrupted the two's word sparring. It was Madame Unsei. Syaoran looked around him before realizing she was talking directly to him.

"Y-yes?"

"Come here."

Syaoran glanced around him again before hesitantly going to the fortune-teller, confused. "Wha…"

"Come in." she grinned at him nicely, her gray eyes filled with sparkle as she gestured for him to sit. Her wrinkles hung loosely on her translucent skin, the purple scarf wrapped around her neck failing to conceal her old age. "Please, be comfortable."

Syaoran nodded in return, the mystic's ghastly appearance making him cautious but the smile the aged lady gave him was reassuring enough. "I-I'm Li Syaoran, it's nice to meet you."

"Yes, yes, Syaoran. Names aren't very important, but it's nice to meet you as well." She shuffled the card with her ring-laden hands. Her fingers, the Chinese lad noted, were painted with bright red polish. "It's getting less cold, isn't it?" she asked pleasantly before she laid out the cards in front of Syaoran. "Get ten cards."

"Um… okay…" he noticed just then that his hands were trembling as he reached out to do as he was told.

The older female flipped each card he took as she placed them before her in such a way that they formed a cross shape. "Hmm… as expected, very interesting. You must be a special young chap."

"I-I'm pretty ordinary." He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. He bowed his head slightly to show his appreciation.

"Don't say such nonsense. Now, let's see what you have in store here." She cleared her throat before pointing at the first card she overturned. "It says here that you are experiencing new events in your life, and that they started out very good until," she tapped the second card, "this happened."

"Umm… by 'this', what does that mean?" Did the astrologer know about Meiling and Sakura? Syaoran widened his eyes with interest. Perhaps the cards could tell him what he had to do at that point.

"A hindrance."

"Hindrance?"

"Yes. This third one over here says that one of the people you hold dear to you is deceiving you."

He furrowed his eyebrows. He wasn't a believer in anything supernatural, but the old woman was accurate so far. "May I know who is deceiving me?"

"The one from a different land… someone who just visited," she gestured at a card that had eight wooden wands falling from the sky.

"Meiling…" he let his shoulders drop. She never did lie to him before, why would she begin now? "I don't believe that."

"Pardon?"

Syaoran raised his gaze from the table to the medium's eyes, a look of defiance etched on his face. "I don't believe that she would trick me or anything of the sort. She may be a cunning person when she wants to be, but I trust her."

The elder chuckled at what he said, gathering the cards leisurely as she did so. "Ah, young people... they always believe what they want to."

"Excuse me." Syaoran bowed at her before drawing back the curtain of the stall. He was met by an excited Takashi and a fidgety Meiling.

"Is it my turn yet?" Takashi asked, evidently ecstatic that he might be next in line.

Syaoran studied Meiling before he nodded at his friend. "We'll be going now."

"What? Why's that?"

"I guess… I'm not much for 'unsei' after all." It was a play on the fortune-teller's name and the Japanese word for fortune. "Let's go, Meiling, if that's okay." He beamed at his cousin. She couldn't have loved him more then.

As they rode his bicycle home, her arms around his waist, she spoke unsurely. "I… eavesdropped on you. I couldn't help it." She wasn't much for apologizing, and she wasn't going to start then even though she purposefully heard something she shouldn't have. "Why did you defend me?"

His messy hair effortlessly blown by the wind into different directions, he thought for a while. "I guess it's because… well, you are my cousin, after all."

"Yes, but…"

"I've decided to talk to mother about it."

"About what?" She pouted at her relative. "I thought you trusted me about Sakura."

"I do, but I'm sure she's the one who told you that Sakura has a…" he trailed off. He was still saddened by the situation.

Meiling observed Syaoran before letting go of him as soon as they arrived at the Li household. "Yeah, you go talk to her."

"Will you come along?" he smiled at Meiling brightly again, betraying the sorrow he felt at the moment. "You're going to snoop again, anyway."

She took no offense to the statement as she tagged along, greeting her aunt with a bow as soon as they got to her home office.

"What brings you both here?" Yelan asked as she looked up from the papers she was signing. "I have a meeting in twelve minutes so make it choppy."

"Is it true that Sakura has a child?" Syaoran truly wished it wasn't.

Yelan sighed in an exasperated manner before looking at her watch. "Yes, it is correct that she has a child she's taking care of."

He paused for a while, opening his mouth every now and then as he would think that he could form words, but in the end he couldn't. It was true in the end. He got his hopes up for nothing. It took a while before he muttered an "I see" and bolted out of the door.

Meiling snickered smugly before raising an eyebrow in triumph. "I told you so."

"…I never did doubt you; I just... hoped it wouldn't be real."

His cousin looked at him a longer time before excusing herself to go to dinner. "You should come too."

"…Right."

"Well… I'll see you later."

"…Right."

She stared at him again before he excused himself. He had a lot to process tonight.

"I'm home!" Sakura Kinomoto called out to the always-busy household. Since Hiro Kinomoto had been around, things have remained pretty busy. "Hello, Hiro," she kissed the toddler on the forehead. The child had light brown hair and large copper eyes that lit up upon seeing Sakura.

"Well, you're home early this time." An older man with dark hair and an athletic build spoke. "We've been waiting too long. Cook dinner already!"

Sakura stuck out her tongue at the guy. "You're one demanding brother, Touya."

"Of course, it's so you'll be a good wife someday that's why I always command you to cook and clean."

"That's not fair!"

"Besides, you're younger so…"

"Ma!" the youngster raised his arms to Sakura, signaling that he wanted to be held by her. "I wish Hiro would stay this little forever," the girl with green eyes said, an earnest disposition emanating from her. She truly loved the kid.

"It's been quick, hasn't it? Hiro's two years old now." Touya allowed Hiro to go to Sakura at the moment, carefully handing him out. "He's not mine, but I really have taken a liking to him."

"At this rate, Hiro's everybody's. His dad is never home."

"So is ours."

"Dad is always out of town anyway." Sakura swayed from left to right to humor the youngest of the three.

Touya observed the two before speaking. "You know, you shouldn't let Hiro call you his mom all the time. Once his real mom comes home, they both might get bummed out. Also, the kid'll just be confused."

"Yes, well, our aunt and uncle never visit him, anyway. They're just as busy as dad is."

"That's true." He looked at his younger sister sideways before continuing, "Cook. Now."

"Fine, fine." She smiled in return as she carried Hiro to his wooden crib.

Meiling entered his 'Spaceship', gingerly letting herself in. "How are you?"

He didn't answer as he stared at nothing in particular. He proceeded to sit on his bed, forcefully stopping himself from pacing back and forth. He really didn't know how to be someone Sakura could miss. She still hadn't called. He never imagined that they would end up that way.

Syaoran thought of her name, and how it would be the only thing ringing in his mind for which he felt would be endlessly. He could still imagine her warmth. He missed her.

"…Don't worry too much about it." She approached him, seating herself beside the melancholic lad. "She isn't even worth it." She rested her head on his shoulder.

Once upon a time, Meiling truly believed that Syaoran wasn't capable of loving anyone. She couldn't feel anything as she mistook that she knew him the most. Perhaps people really do grow out of who they once were. She glanced at the phone in his hand. He was as transparent as ever, at least. She came closer as she embraced him. "I'll be here for you… forever and always."

She meant it; 'forever and always'. She won't have anyone break his heart. Not even the one he loved most.

A/N: Thank you for the words of encouragement to continue 'Oddities' :) New chapters will be written and posted soon.