Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Natsu ❯ River Woes ( Chapter 5 )

It seemed like hours before the small group had selected their inner tubes and made their way down to the river.

 

Despite herself, Sakura realized that she was actually starting to get excited at the thought of this trip. For a while she had forgotten how much she actually enjoyed camping - putting aside the occasional glitches. Floating down the river had especially been a favorite of hers. Something about it was so relaxing. Perhaps because of the quality time spent with family and not having a care in the world. It certainly helped that she had called a temporary truce with her “Roman Handed” cousin. That was a great weight lifted off her shoulders. This new found relief was only slightly dampened by the suspicious eye that Touya had kept on them because of the scene he had wandered in on earlier that day. Really, she'd just been helping Syaoran with his sunscreen! It was completely innocent!

 

“So what do we do exactly when we get to the pavilion area?” Syaoran asked Sakura's father from somewhere behind her.

 

“You get out of the river and walk back to camp.”

 

That particular sentence was enough to temporarily wipe the happy smile right off Sakura's face. Dangit! She'd forgotten about that nasty little catch. Oh well, couldn't be helped.

 

“Isn't that pretty far away?” There was a bit of apprehension in Syaoran's voice.

 

“Just a couple of miles!” Nadesico piped up. “Since the river curves around our camp site it's not so bad.”

 

“Unless your shoes are wet and you're carrying a huge, black inner tube on a hot day,” Touya grouched.

 

Sakura heard Yukito laugh and say in a teasing voice, “A big guy like you is whining about a little labor?”

 

“Just wait,” Touya growled back and said something else but Sakura was distracted by then. A huge smile broke out on her face as she took in the sparkling water of the river. It was just too pretty!

 

Without another thought to the rest of the group trailing behind her, Sakura lifted the inner tube over her head and ran toward the river. Really, she was a child at heart. Who could blame her? She reached the edge of the water and came to a screeching halt. The water wasn't very deep and she could see through its relatively clear sheen to the rocks below. While she was ogling the fishies, the rest of the group walked up behind her.

 

“Do you have any idea how tempting it is to push you in?” Nadesico asked, a goofy smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

 

“I couldn't agree more,” Syaoran said and Sakura turned around to glare at them both.

 

“Do it and it will be the last thing either of you do.” Sakura sniffed and whipped back around to river. Determined not to let anything dampen her spirits, she broke out into another face-splitting grin. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

 

Sakura scrunched her toes up to make sure her flip flops stayed in place and carefully put one foot in the water… and promptly pulled it out.

 

“Cold!”

 

“You're such a wuss.” Nadesico walked past her and into the water with her tube around her midsection, apparently unfazed by the low temperature of the river. “It's not that bad.”

 

“She's right,” Syaoran said, joining her mother in the water. The rest of the group soon followed, moving slow because of the uneven rocks until Sakura was the only one left standing on the bank.

 

Belatedly, Sakura wondered when exactly Syaoran had teamed up with her mother in tormenting her. That was just what she needed - her two worst nemeses teaming up. She conveniently neglected to acknowledge that the rest of the party had abandoned her as well.

 

Sighing, Sakura put her foot back in the water and grimaced slightly. The water was cold, but not something that was too hard to get used to. Her mother was right.

 

Sakura hooked her arm around her inner tube and carefully made her way to the group. She was almost there when her left foot managed to find a particularly slick rock and flew out from under her. Sakura landed in the water with a large splash. Somehow, her butt had managed to land on a very lumpy rock and she winced in pain, letting go of her inner tube at the same time. It started to get taken by the current, but Yukito valiantly chased after it. Everyone else was too busy laughing to bother. Even then, Sakura could see the hint of a suppressed grin on his face. Traitor.

 

“I'm off to a good start,” Sakura muttered under her breath to herself before trying to stand up. Her foot started to slip again but she quickly righted it. She didn't want a repeat performance.

 

Glaring, she waded up to her family while rubbing her sore bottom. “That hurt.”

 

“At least you had something soft to land on.” Touya snorted into his hand.

 

“I'm just going to pretend like you didn't say that,” Sakura grouched while accepting her tube back from Yukito. She thanked him and then sighed. “Let's get this started.” Somehow she seriously doubted that she would be able to maintain her sunny disposition for the entirety of this journey.

 

<<<<<>>>>>

 

So much for a relaxing float down the river. According to a few locals they passed, it had been raining a lot the last month or so. This meant that the river was more full and moving a lot more rapidly. Because of this, the group had quickly been separated.

 

It first started when Yukito got taken by the current. Touya chased after him, sending Sakura and Syaoran a look that Sakura took to mean he didn't trust them but it was okay since they were still with her parents. Touya and Yukito didn't (or weren't able to) wait up for the rest of the group, so six became four.

 

Sakura seriously debated pushing her mother onto some sharp rocks. “Come ON, Sakura! Stop getting your butt stuck on rocks!” Nadesico squealed like a small child, getting pushed along by the water easily. When she reached her husband, she stood up to wait on the other two.

 

“Oh, yes, because I'm doing it on purpose!” Sakura shouted back and tried to push off a large rock with her foot to unstick herself. All she managed to do was flip around in time to have Syaoran's inner tube come crashing into hers. The tube smacked into her leg pretty hard, but on the bright side, she wasn't stuck anymore.

 

“Sorry,” Syaoran said but the grin on his face made her seriously doubt his sincerity.

 

“Well, at least I'm free no-” She didn't even finish that sentence before her tube got stuck on another rock. Nadesico's laughter was loud and obnoxious, but Syaoran reached up and latched an arm around Sakura's tube and dragged her with him.

 

Together, the two bounced off the rocks, getting jarred frequently. Not entirely enjoying the new bumpy ride, Sakura said, “You can let go now.”

 

“You'll get stuck again!” Syaoran refused over the crash of water on rocks. Sakura was annoyed to realize he had a point. There was hardly a rock in the river that she hadn't managed to get snagged on up until that point. Before Touya disappeared, he suggested that it was perhaps because the weight of her butt was making her sink more that the rest of them.

 

They almost made it to the fork in the river where her parents were waiting for them when Sakura realized that they were veering toward the right and not the left. It was all part of the same river and would merge once again, but the right side was the more violent ride until the merge.

 

“Syaoran, what are you doing? Go to the left! THE LEFT!”

 

“I can't!” Syaoran yelled back, sounded a little out of breath. “The current is pulling me this way!”

 

“Then let go of my tube!” Sakura shrieked, and tried tugging on his fingers. It was a no go.

 

“It'll be fun!” Syaoran shouted back towards her, but he didn't sound completely sure.

 

“Wait for me!” Nadesico cried, trying to get over to the right side and sit in her inner tube. She and Fujitaka had just gotten situated when Nadesico's inner tube got stuck on a rock. Sakura barely had enough time to catch her mother's eye and stick her tongue out before the river went around a bend and they were out of sight.

 

And then it was just the two of them.

 

For the longest time Sakura didn't even get an opportunity to give this particular fact a thought because the pair of them was being bounced from rock to rock in true pinball fashion. Through all of the jarring, Syaoran didn't let go of her tube. Noticing the strain that he was under (even in her terror induced mind) Sakura reached out and grabbed his wrist to help him out. Their eyes met and the corner of Syaoran's mouth twitched up slightly.

 

And then both of them were sent asses over elbows with a splash.

 

Distantly, Sakura thought she heard something rip, but she was more concerned about getting her bearings. The water wasn't very deep so she didn't have to worry about drowning, but the current was fast. Syaoran and Sakura watched belatedly as their inner tubes floated down the river without them.

 

“Damn,” Syaoran said, and stood up. Sakura realized that she was still holding onto his wrist and made to let go. Instead, Syaoran slid his arm until his left hand was tightly clamped in her right. “Be careful,” he said, and helped her up. Still, he didn't let go. Sakura tried to catch his eye, but it wasn't happening.

 

“I guess we better chase those,” Syaoran said at length and tugged her forward.

 

<<<<<>>>>>

 

It was thirty minutes later and no luck.

 

“How far ahead do you think they are?” Sakura whined. “I don't want to pay for a stupid inner tube with my money.”

“We'll find them,” Syaoran said, even managing to sound a tad optimistic.

 

“Yes, but will they still float?” Sakura grouched and then slipped. For. The. MILLIONTH. TIME.

 

“AARGH!”

 

At least Syaoran managed to catch her that time. That didn't stop her flip flop from coming off her foot and trying to escape though. “No!” Sakura cried and took after it at a dead run. She was actually pretty impressed with herself for being able to catch it and was about to inform Syaoran as much when she noticed that he was doubled over, laughing.

 

“And just what is so funny?” Sakura snapped, irritated.

 

“You're - bathing - suit!” Syaoran wheezed. Sakura glanced down at herself. Everything seemed fine.

 

“What's wrong with it?”

 

“The butt!” Syaoran gasped and grabbed at a stitch in his side. Good to know that her misfortune was enough to brighten his whole day.

 

Dreading what she was going to see, Sakura craned her neck to get a look at her backside… and got a lot more of her backside than she bargained for. “Eek!” She shrieked in a very girly fashion and flopped down in the water so no one could see. “There's a hole in my swimsuit!” That small movement seemed to make the rip even bigger.

 

“No joke!” Syaoran chuckled while approaching. Sakura glared up at him balefully.

 

“When did that happen?” Sakura asked herself out loud and the vague memory of material being ripped came to mind. “Oh my GOD!” She wanted to drown herself. “You mean I've been walking around like this for thirty minutes?”

 

“Come to think of it,” Syaoran said, scratching his chin. “I thought we were getting more stares than usual.” And he burst out into fresh peals of laughter.

 

Trying to ignore this new slight on her already bruised ego, Sakura pointed downstream with as much vehemence as she could muster. “March!”

 

“Huh?” Syaoran asked, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

 

“I'm not going to let you walk behind me with this view the whole way! You walk first!”

 

“Okay,” Syaoran agreed, but shook his head at her in pity. “But what are you going to do when we come across more people?” Even if she managed to cover it with her hands, it was obvious.

 

“I'll worry about that when I have to.” Sakura was already dreading the moment because she was fresh out of ideas.

 

<<<<<>>>>>

 

It was sooner rather than later.

 

“What am I going to do, Syaoran?” Sakura whined, feeling panic overtake her. They had made it to a part in the river that was calm and deep so people liked to hang out there. Sakura wouldn't have been surprised if there were more than 200 people.

 

It seemed like Syaoran was having as hard a time coming up with ideas as she was. “The water is kinda deep. Maybe you can just make sure your butt never leaves the water?”

 

“Thank you Doctor Bob,” Sakura grouched, but sunk down in the water all the same. She felt like an idiot doing a squat walk while Syaoran stood tall. The whole experience wasn't helped by the stares she was getting and the smirk on Syaoran's face.

 

“Hey! Did you two lose your inner tubes?” A voice called out to them and Sakura's ears perked up hopefully.

 

“We sure did!” Sakura said, and did a hobbled turn to face the pale boy with dark hair who was walking towards him, dragging a couple inner tubes behind him. Recognition sparked on his features when he looked at her companion.

 

“Hey, Syaoran! Small world, isn't it?”

 

Sakura turned her face up to see the sour look on her cousin's face. “Unbearably so.”

 

“Aww, don't be like that,” The boy said and gave Sakura a conspiratorial grin and wink. “He's just upset that I beat him at basketball one on one.”

 

“It was only one time!” Syaoran barked.

 

“So you two know each other?” Sakura asked, deeply amused at Syaoran's defensiveness.

 

“Oh yes,” The boy answered, smiling like a Cheshire cat. “I'm Eriol Hiirigizawa. Syaoran and I have been in school together since Junior High. I guess you could say we're old friends.”

 

“Or not,” Syaoran scoffed.

 

The boy, Eriol, lifted his hand to cover his mouth from Syaoran's view and whispered. “He's being a sore loser. It's his own fault thought. He thought the only sport I'm good at is tennis and he was wrong.”

 

“It was just luck!” Syaoran retorted, but was ignored.

 

“I play tennis too,” Sakura offered, grinning up at the boy that was able to get under Syaoran's skin so easily.

 

“Really?” Eriol tilted his head to the side and grinned. “Come to think of it, you do look a bit familiar. I must have seen you when our schools played against each other.”

 

“Probably. I'm Sakura Kinomoto.” Sakura extended her hand up towards Eriol and he shook it firmly.

 

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura.” His smile had a mischievous look behind it that made her heart momentarily skip a beat - fact which greatly unsettled her.

 

“Ahem.” Syaoran cleared his throat. “I'm still here.”

 

“Of course you are!” Eriol said and let Sakura's hand slide out of his own. “So how do you two know each other?”

 

“We're cousins,” Sakura answered, because it didn't seem like Syaoran was going to. “We're camping with my family, but we seem to have lost them on this relaxing journey down the river.”

 

Eriol laughed and nodded. “I know what you mean. I'm here with my family too but my parents have managed to disappear and my sister, Nakuru, is over there.” He jerked his head in the direction of a tall girl with long brown hair in a cute bikini and chatting up a couple of guys.

 

“Looks like she's having fun.” Sakura grinned.

 

“Seems that way.” Eriol smiled back.

 

Syaoran scowled.

 

“Do you mind if I ask you something, Sakura?” Eriol finally said, at length.

 

“What?”

 

“Why are you just sitting in the water like that?”

 

Sakura flushed, remembering her predicament. “That's… ah, well… you see…” Sakura looked up at Syaoran, but he didn't offer up any explanation. “I ripped my bathing suit,” Sakura finally blurted out.

 

Eriol chuckled, but Sakura gave him points for not outright laughing in her face. “I see. Well, that's no good, is it?”

 

“Nope. And there's still a long ways to go,” Sakura said, and got depressed as she said it.

 

“Well, maybe I can do something to help you,” Eriol said helpfully, and pushed the inner tubes into Syaoran's care. “Here. I'll be right back.” Sakura watched as he waded his way back to shore.

 

“He seems nice,” Sakura said, after Syaoran's silence began to wear on her. Syaoran made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat. Eriol returned a second later, carrying a t-shirt.

 

“Here.” He handed it to Sakura. “You can tie it around your waist or something.”

 

“Thanks!” Sakura said, and took the shirt gratefully. “But how will I get it back to you?”

 

Eriol thought about it for a second before answering. “Are you going to the dance at the pavilion tomorrow night?” Sakura nodded. “You can just give it to me then.”

 

“Well, thanks a bunch!” Sakura said again, while fastening the shirt around her waist in a kind of skirt (under the water of course). “We'll see you tomorrow then!”

 

“Bye!” Eriol replied. “It was good seeing you again Syaoran!” Syaoran waved and nodded in acknowledgment before turning his attention back to Sakura. He handed her one of the inner tubes.

 

“Let's get this show on the road, shall we?”

 

Sakura groaned. “Do we have to?”

 

<<<<<>>>>>

 

“Where did the river go?” Sakura cried as she looked at the dry rocks that went on forever. Around them, people were walking and carrying their tubes.

 

Syaoran rolled his eyes heavenward. “This is just a dry patch. I'm sure the river will start up again a little ways forward.”

 

“Yea, duh, but this is a long dry `patch',” Sakura said, just to be petulant. “It's going to take us forever to walk over all of this!”

“I know how to make it go faster.”

 

Sakura turned her face towards her cousin, hopefully. “Really?”

 

“Yup.” And with that, Syaoran snatched the t-shirt that Eriol lent Sakura and took off at a dead run.

 

Sakura stood there in shock for about a minute. Realizing that her butt was a shot to the world now, she hiked up her inner tube so it was covering up her wardrobe malfunction and took off after her cousin, letting out a war cry as she did.

 

Needless to say, the two of them got a lot of stares.

 

<<<<<>>>>>

 

“I'm tired!” Sakura whined, hanging halfway on and halfway off her tube. Her feet were kicking in the depths of the water uselessly.

 

“Well, at least it's not a dry patch,” Syaoran said wryly, coming up beside her. He gave his tube a push and then swam after it.

 

“No kidding.” Not only was the water too deep for them to touch the bottom, there wasn't much of a current either. To move forward, the pair had been forced to get off their tubes and push. Sakura made to catch up with him and finally said, “Stop!”

 

Syaoran doubled around and came back up to her. “What's wrong?”

“I'm seriously tired, I think I'm getting sunburned despite all the sunscreen I put on, I have to pee, and I am taking a BREAK.” She flopped her head on her tube pathetically.

 

Syaoran snorted. “Wimp.”

 

“Eat me.”

 

Syaoran gave a mock surprised look. “Sakura, we're in a public place. I can't do that to you! Besides, I thought we were on a truce!”

 

Sakura glared at him. “You know that's not what I meant. Stop sexually harassing me.”

 

“You were the one who said it. I think that means you were the one who was sexually harassing ME,” Syaoran jeered.

 

Sakura was too tired to care. “Whatever. Have me arrested. They'll at least take me to civilization.”

 

“Oh you poor thing,” Syaoran patted her back with a laugh. “Just get on your tube and I'll push you for a while.”

 

“Really?” Sakura's head perked up, but she was almost afraid to get her hopes up on the chance that he was teasing her.

 

“Yes, really.”

 

Sakura giggled happily and dragged her exhausted carcass back on her inner tube, with a little help from Syaoran (“Watch your hands, buddy!”).

 

It wasn't long before they had settled into a contented routine. Sakura kept one hand on Syaoran's empty inner tube and Syaoran swam around behind her, giving her a push every now and then.

 

“I feel a little bad making you do this,” Sakura revealed, but made no move to get off her throne.

 

“Just enjoy it while it lasts,” Syaoran replied and gave her another shove.

 

“True. Your bouts of kindness are just so few and far in between.”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

They settled back into silence, so Sakura just relaxed. Once her twice, Sakura felt Syaoran poke her in the butt. Though she was confused, she didn't say anything. When it happened a third time, she finally mentioned it.

 

“Will you stop that?”

 

“Stop what?”

 

“Poking me in the ass.”

 

Silence.

 

“Sakura, I'm not anywhere near your ass.”

 

Sakura looked back at Syaoran, confused. Just as he put his hands up in the `I surrender' pose, she felt it again… HARD.

 

“AIEK!” It was the ugliest noise she thought she had ever made, but she was unconcerned with that at the moment. Without an ounce of grace, she flipped off the tube and back into the water so that she could better protect her bum. “There's something in the water and it think it bit me!”

 

Syaoran started chuckling. “I think there may be some fish in here.”

 

“I think it bit my butt!” Sakura shrieked again, in case he missed that the first time.

 

“I guess it just couldn't resist such a big meal,” Syaoran said and earned a splash in the face. Sakura's anger at that remark didn't last long, as the color drained from her face.

 

“Ow! I think it's biting my ankle now!” She shrieked and gave her inner tube a mighty push. Without another word, she took off after it, moving way faster than she ever had.

 

“So much for being tired, huh?” Syaoran called after her. She didn't even dignify that with a response.

 

<<<<<>>>>>

 

“I can't believe we made it out alive,” Sakura said, heaving her body out of the water and onto the shore of the pavilion.

 

“Neither can I, Fish Bait.” Syaoran snickered, using her new nickname.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Now what?” Syaoran asked.

 

“We walk.”

 

“Swell.”

 

<<<<<>>>>>

 

“I thought your mother said the camp wasn't that far.”

 

Sakura heaved a big sigh and switched her scalding inner tube to her other arm. The evening sun glared down on them, unforgiving. “She lied.”

 

“Seems that way.”

 

They fell into silence, only broken by one of them sighing or grunting.

 

“Okay, I need a break,” Sakura finally said and leaned against a wooden post that was holding up a fence running the length of the road. “I think my flip flops are giving me blisters.”

 

“Mine too,” Syaoran said and leaned next to her. “How long do you think we've been walking?”

 

“I don't have a clue.”

 

Syaoran slouched down a little further, his arm brushing against Sakura's. She felt a little thrill of excitement travel up to her shoulder before mentally squashing it. Stupid hormones.

 

It was then that the two of them noticed a truck coming up the road from the direction they came from. Both watched in envy of the wheels as it passed by. And then they saw the back.

 

“Bye!” Nadesico called out to them and waved from where she and Fujitaka were perched in the back of the truck. At the last minute, she stuck her tongue out at Sakura. The truck disappeared from view, leaving the stunned teens with their mouths agape.

 

“They hitchhiked so they wouldn't have to walk this, didn't they?” Syaoran asked, breaking the silence.

 

“It seems that way,” Sakura replied, not even sure how she managed to get the words out. “And they LEFT US.”

 

Oh, it was GAME ON.

 

<<<<<>>>>>

 

After what felt like a million years (not to mention the part where they got lost) Sakura and Syaoran finally made it back to the campsite.

 

Sakura half skipped/limped up to their spot, Syaoran hot on her heels. No one else was around to be seen, not that that was any big surprise. They were probably hiding because they knew when she got a hold of them they were DEAD.

 

“I never thought I would be so glad to see my midget tent!”

 

Sakura launched herself at her small, temporary home with every intent of grabbing her shower supplies and a change of clothes but she stopped cold when she managed to unzip the front door.

 

Ants. There were ants EVERYWHERE. They were crawling all over her sleeping back and pillow, in her bag, and over her blankets. Sakura stared in shock until she felt Syaoran come up behind her. So slowly she could have sworn her neck creak, she turned her head to look at him and said one word:

 

“Figures.”