Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ For Life or Death ❯ Chapter Three : Just Coffee, Huh? ( Chapter 3 )

For Life or Death

Chapter Three : Just Coffee, Huh?

Sakura parked her car in the parking lot the coffee shop and Chinese restaurant shared. She grabbed her backpack and locked up her car; she wasn't planning on staying long, maybe just thirty minutes. She sighed and walked around the side of the Chinese restaurant; she was about ten minutes late. It wasn't surprising - she was always late. But Todd didn't know that, and he might get the impression she wasn't coming. But then again...did it really matter to her?

`Of course it matters! I need my books!' she thought, but she knew that wasn't it. There was something about this strange American; something that drew her towards him. Was it possible he possessed magic? She knew magical auras had the tendency to attract each other, but she had never really felt the pull before. She knew Syaoran had; he had told her about how his magical attraction to Yukito.

She didn't know. She honestly didn't know. She sighed and looked at the Chinese place's window. They always broadcasted news channels from China; the owner told her once it was to make their Chinese patrons feel more at home. She froze when she saw the picture on the news and quickly rushed in.

"Good evening, miss," said the host. "How many in your par-" She cut him off by shushing him. She pointed to the TV above him.

"Can you turn that up, please?" she asked. He nodded after giving her a strange look and turned the volume higher. She read the subtitles at the bottom of the screen fervently.

"As you know," said the newscaster, a pretty woman of about twenty-eight, "Li Xiao-Lang, future owner of the Li businesses world-wide, will be taking his role as head of the Li Clan soon. And that's right, ladies - he will be required to take a wife. One of our field reporters, Shi Xie, caught up with him as he was leaving one of his university courses today to ask him about the lucky woman." Sakura's eyes brightened as the screen changed to show a picture of Syaoran. He almost looked exactly the same; his hair was still the same messy chestnut color, and his eyes were still the fierce amber she remembered so well. He seemed beyond aggravated as the reporter, Shi Xie, ran up to him.

"Mr. Li! Mr. Li!" she called. "Could you give us any information on your future wife? Possibly what your looking for, or who the lucky girl is?" Sakura giggled as Syaoran stopped and turned around. One of his eyebrows was twitching, and his eyes were closed.

"You want me to tell you something?" he asked, his voice unnaturally even. Shi nodded excitedly. "All right..how about this? Leave me the hell alone! It's none of your damn business what kind of girl I like, or who I plan to marry! So leave me alone!"

"But, Mr. Li! The world wants to know!" pleaded Shi. Syaoran turned his withering glare on her; Sakura giggled at the face. She remembered when she was one of the people to always receive that glare.

"The world has no right to know!" he spat. "I could care less what the world knows! Besides, even if I already had someone in mind, I'd be insane to tell you! You paparazzi hyenas...you'd be hounding her as soon as I gave up her name! Why would I do that to anyone, especially someone I obviously cared about?! Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do!"

"You tell `em, Syao-kun!" cheered Sakura as she the image went back to the newscaster. The host looked at her curiously before smiling.

"You know Li-san, don't you?" he asked. She smiled and nodded.

"He's my best friend," she said. She then saw the time. "Hoee!! I'm so late!! Sorry for the trouble!!" She ran out of the restaurant and down to the coffee shop, which was a store or two down. She entered and saw Todd waiting at a table in a corner in the back. She walked over and sat down in the chair across from him; she dropped her bag in the empty chair next to her and sighed.

"Gomen nasai, Bruggeman-san," she said. He smiled at her as he sipped his coffee.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to make it," he said. She smiled slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I saw something on the TV at the Chinese place, so I stopped in to watch it."

"Oh? One of those stupid Chinese news programs?" he asked. He snorted in disgust. "They probably just make `em up to please their customers." Sakura glared at him.

"They do not," she said. He looked at her curiously.

"How do you know?" he asked. She smiled at him.

"Because what I was watching...I know the person the story was on, so they couldn't have made it up," she said. His smirk widened.

"You know a famous Chinese dude?" he asked.

"You could say that," she answered. He sighed in defeat and nodded; he placed some books on the table. She nodded and pulled his books out of her bag before handing them to him.

"Aha! So that's what happened to my hotrod `zines!" he said as he took the stack. She nodded as she took her linguistics books. Todd put his books in his bag and looked back at her.

"So...about this Chinese person," he started. Sakura looked up at him. "Is he the reason you couldn't call this a date?" Sakura sighed and took out her wallet. She opened it up to a picture that was obviously old, and was fading at the edges. On the picture were 12-year-old Sakura and Syaoran; it had been taken right before he returned to Hong Kong. In the picture, Sakura was adjusting the skirt to another outrageous costume Tomoyo had her try on; Syaoran was wearing what looked like a matching costume, only for a guy, and was shouting something at the person taking the picture. Both were blushing. In the background, Meirin and Kero were pointing at them and laughing. She handed the picture to Todd and pointed to Syaoran.

"That's who was on the TV," she said. "His name is Li Xiao-Lang, but we all knew him as Li Syaoran. He came to Japan when we were all in the fifth grade; he had transferred into our class. We were good friends, and..." Sakura stopped herself. She took a deep breath and looked at the picture; she didn't see Todd watching her closely. "I loved him. But he had to go back home, so he could finish his training; he's s'pposed to be the next leader of the Li Clan. He promised he'd write, but he never did. I haven't heard from him in so long...I just wanted to hear his voice again. That's why I stopped in the restaurant." Todd gave her a sympathetic look.

"Are you waiting for him?" he asked. She nodded.

"He told me he'd come back; he promised me," she said. She smiled slightly, but he could still see the pain evident on her beautiful face. "He promised to come back as soon as his training was complete."

"But he never wrote?" asked Todd. She sighed and took the picture back.

"Can we please not talk about this anymore?" she asked. He nodded and smiled at her.

"I'm sorry if I made you think of things you'd rather forget," he said. She smiled weakly and shrugged.

"It's not your fault," she said. "I'm the baka who's spent six years waiting for someone who hasn't even had the decency to write."

"You're not a baka," said Todd; he smiled at her. "If anything, this Li's the baka for passing up the chance at a girl like you. Talk about a baka..."

Sakura couldn't help but smile, despite the churning feeling in her gut. What was it about this guy that made her open up like this? Why did she tell him about Syaoran, and how had he gotten her to talk about her love in such an unfavorable light? She didn't know, and she wasn't sure if she really wanted to; she wanted Syaoran back, but he wasn't coming.

`Iie!' she thought desperately. `How could you think something like that?! Syaoran-kun is coming back! He...'

Somewhere in her mind, in a small part of herself that she refused to admit existed, it clicked. He had never written. He had blown off that reporter to keep up his image, not because he was protecting her. He wasn't going to come back, and she had been wasting her life. Her rational side clawed at her, pleading with her to dismiss this preposterous thoughts, but they couldn't be silenced. She had waited for so long...he wasn't coming back. He hadn't even called, or written, or visited, or anything! Why would he come back for someone he probably didn't even care about anymore?

"Gomen nasai," she said after a few moments of silence. She looked up at him with a bright smile; she wasn't about to let her dour mood ruin his evening. "I'm gonna go get a drink, and when I come back I promise I'll be better company!" He smirked as she walked away.

"I'll hold you to that," he called; she laughed at him, and his smirk melted into a smile. She had a nice laugh.

The next time Todd looked at the clock, the red surface read 9:02 PM. The shop was almost empty, and the workers had started sweeping the floors. He looked at Sakura as she finished her story and found himself smiling again. He didn't remember the last time a girl had made him smile so much; there was something special about Sakura, but he couldn't place his finger on it. He watched her look at the clock and emit a startled "Hoe?!?!"

"Nani?" he asked. She pointed to the clock.

"We've been here so long! Tomoyo-chan's going to be so worried!" she cried. She looked at him and smiled slightly. "Gomen nasai, Bruggeman-san, but I have to go!" She stood and began to organize her books. He walked over and looked at her open bag; he slid a folded piece of paper into it before placing his hands in his pockets.

"Onegai, Sakura-san," he said. "Call me Todd." She smiled and nodded.

"Ok, Todd-kun," she said. He smiled and waved as she left.

"See ya' later!" he called. He walked over to his bag and began organizing his things. He didn't know what epiphany had made her open up so much, but he was glad for it. Maybe...just maybe he still had a chance with her.

o

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It was near a quarter to ten when she entered the room she shared with Tomoyo. Tomoyo was sitting at her desk, sketching up something for one of her design courses; Sakura was scared to check what the outfit looked like. She walked over to her bed and plopped her bag down on top of it. Tomoyo looked up and frowned; Sakura was rummaging through her dresser, looking for something to wear. Kero was asleep in the drawer beneath the drawer Sakura was rummaging through; his new box of pocky was next to his bed. Tomoyo turned her chair around and looked at her.

"You're back late, Sakura-chan," she said. Sakura looked up at her as she changed into her PJs. She sighed and nodded; she buttoned up the front of the shirt.

"We lost track of time," she said. "Todd-kun's a very interesting person. Did you know he used to live in Pennsylvania before moving here?" Tomoyo gave her a worried look.

"Sakura-chan, I don't think you should see him again. I don't like him," she said. Sakura laughed and shook her head.

"It's nothing, Tomoyo-chan! How many times must I tell you that?" she asked. She walked over to her bag and opened the zipper; she saw a piece of folded paper inside and looked at it curiously before taking it out. She unfolded it to see a note from Todd hastily scribbled onto the paper.

`Cherry Blossom - be ready tomorrow at six PM,' she read. `What is this? What's he doing?'

"What's that, Sakura-chan?" asked Tomoyo as she spotted the note. Sakura passed it to her absent-mindedly as she placed her backpack next to her desk. She pulled back her covers and crawled underneath them. She didn't look at Syaoran Bear; after her earlier epiphany, she didn't think she could.

"Sakura-chan..." Tomoyo started quietly. Sakura looked over at her; she was staring at the note. "You're not going to go, are you?" Sakura sighed and looked out their second-story window. She didn't know how to answer her friend; she wanted to go - she wanted to see Todd again - but she knew Tomoyo would worry. How could she explain that they were just friends?

"Tomoyo-chan, I...I don't know," she finally said. She stared at a couple in the courtyard; they seemed to be so in love, as they walked along holding hands and sneaking in chaste kisses. She wanted to feel like that again; she wanted Syaoran back, and she wanted them to be that couple in the courtyard. She blinked back the tears that had begun to form in her eyes. She buried her head in her pillow to hide the mounting tears from Tomoyo before answering. "I think I might."

"Sakura-chan, I don't think you should," she said. "This Bruggeman is not good news!" Sakura smiled at her friends concern; Tomoyo would never understand. She had Eriol, and he had made it quite clear he didn't plan on returning to England any time soon. She, on the other hand, had no one; this wasn't entirely true, but it felt like it. Syaoran was so far away, and he wasn't writing at all. He didn't even show an interest in staying with her; how else was she to feel?

"I think you're wrong about him, Tomoyo-chan," she said after a few moments had passed. "There's something about him; something I can't explain, but something I know isn't that bad. I want to be his friend, Tomoyo-chan." Tomoyo sighed and looked at her.

"He's trying to ruin things between you and Li-kun," she said; she rubbed her temples to soothe the headache she felt growing between them. Sakura couldn't continue this discussion. She turned her light off and buried herself under the blankets.

"Li-kun ruined things between us a long time ago," she said in a cold voice. Tomoyo didn't press the subject any further; something was bothering Sakura, and she knew it involved Syaoran. She sighed and looked back to her sketch.

`Please, Li-kun,' she thought desperately, `please come back soon. Sakura-chan needs you, now more than ever...'

tsuzuku...

. . : : dictionary : : . .

onegai - please

a.n.: You guys wanna know something funny? For the part in the beginning where Sakura saw Syaoran on the tv...I was seriously considering have him go "I'M GAY!" to get the reporter to leave him alone....heh heh... Anyway, surprise! Double-update! Yay! +3 See y'all next update!

~ tN!!