Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ The Receptionist ❯ Meeting Thrice ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Goodness, this took forever for me to crank out. Sorry about that! I promise I'll try harder to get one out sooner next time! For now, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own CCS, so don't sue.

After all these years, Syaoran Li had done the seemingly impossible twice in one evening. He had managed to gather both of his parents in the living room, and was somehow getting them to actually listen for once in his life. The sad fact of the matter was that this conversation was almost guaranteed to end with yelling and Syaoran storming out. He glanced at the door where a suitcase was waiting for him when the inevitable occurred. Despite the situation that made this family meeting necessary, the lonely boy inside of him was feeling very giddy from the attention he was finally getting. It was so surreal that Syaoran felt as though the very fabric of reality should have unraveled by now. His parents were so awkward around each other, never really bothering to get to know one another before or during their arranged marriage.

“Mother. Father.” Syaoran spoke, glancing at each respected parent. "Please try to understand my reasons for what I am about to say." His parents looked confused. "I'm calling this engagement off."

Silence, and then, "how can you be so ungrateful?" Chao Fu slammed his fist down upon the table, making the other occupants of the room jump at his fury. Syaoran's mother, displayed her disappointment clearly, making her china doll face unpleasant to look at. Chao Fu stared at his son with new found anger burning in his eyes. "The Elders went through all this trouble to find you an acceptable bride, and yet you refuse to accept their honorable choice?"

"So, I'm ungrateful for a choice I did not choose nor want in the first place, father? Did the Elders ever stop to ask what I wanted? No, instead they made all the decisions. Maybe I would have liked the 'honor' of choosing my own bride. Someone I could love."

"And who would that be, Syaoran?" Yelan snapped, the suddenness of it slightly starting her son. "That Japanese girl? Syaoran, my son," her features softened a little, "it was an adorable little high school romance, but that's all it can be and you have to accept reality. You are the future leader of the Li clan. She is from a household of a different class. Her mother is evidently a bad influence with the way she moves from one rich man to the next. A gold digger! The Elders believe that she could be using her daughter like a puppet, and you could be falling into a trap which will drag this family down with you. That we cannot have."

Yelan stood and moved toward her son, who no looked very distraught, in hopes of comforting him. Syaoran, however, moved further away from her as if her touch was poisonous. His eyes flickered with madness as he said in an eerily calm voice, "Aya is not some fucking gold digger, mother. She's the only person in my life who has ever truly cared for me, and is the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I refuse to be like you two, trapped in a loveless marriage for the sake of the bloody clan. That is why I can't believe what you have said, and why I am leaving for Japan this evening."

Then as if nothing had occurred, Syaoran turned and briskly walked out of the room, leaving his parents stunned by his bold words. Just as he was about to open the front door he looked back to see his parents hovering just outside the living room door. Yelan was looking thoroughly distressed, but Chao Fu was a mixed brew of dark emotions -anger, disappointment, and even a hint of betrayal. "You do this," he threatened, "than don't even come back. You think you can handle that?"

"I'll take my chances." Syaoran replied with an icy tone. As he turned to leave, his father grabbed him by the elbow.

"Will she really be waiting for you, Syaoran?" He whispered.

"Go to hell." Syaoran wrenched his arm free from his father's grasp and stormed out the door and out of their lives forever.

Planes had to be one of Syaoran's least favorite things. Nothing was worse than being stuck in a stuffy, cramped environment with no escape for many hours. Particularly when the man next to you had an extremely loud snore and a bad case of body odor. It didn't help that airlines were notorious for showing bad in-flight movies, and sleeping wasn't an option due to the uncomfortable seats. While Syaoran hated flying all-around, red eyes were his least favorite. And yet, due to his last minute booking, Syaoran was left with no choice but to take the exceedingly early morning flight to Tokyo. Surprisingly, the flight was anything but empty. Syaoran felt lucky to have even been able to get a seat on this flight, seeing as there was hardly one open. As he was coming back from the lavatory he came across a young woman who looked oddly familiar. She had long black hair and plum colored eyes. She was dressed in extremely fashionable, and very expensive looking, clothes. She wore a gray suit jacket-style shrug with dark green buttons, an off-white shirt, and a knee-length dark green skirt. She was busy immersing herself in a Vogue Nippon fashion magazine article that, after looking a little closer, Syaoran could see must have been written by her seeing as her picture was on the page. He glanced at her name on the page, and then he realized why she was so recognizable.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you Tomoyo Daidoujii?" He asked, even though the article she was holding was more than enough proof.

She looked up at him with a small smile on her lips. "Yes, that's me. Do you need something?"

"Wow, the Tomoyo Daidoujii of Daidoujii Inc. It is an honor to meet you Daidoujii-san, my name is Syaoran Li. My sisters are huge fans of your designs." He shook her hand, but as his thoughts landed on his sisters his smile faltered a little. He would never be able to see them again, and as much as he had always hated his sisters obsessing over him, he realized that he was going to miss that most of all. However, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. If he knew his sisters than he knew they would find a way to keep in contact despite the current situation. Hopefully at least.

"Li-san?" Tomoyo's voice brought Syaoran back to the real world and he quickly replaced his depressing look with a smile.

"Sorry, just got kind of distracted by my thoughts. Is this seat taken?" He pointed to the obviously empty seat next to her.

"Um... No."

"Do you mind if I take it? It's just that the guy I'm next to is louder than a million bombs going off, and I may just snap if I am forced to sit there any longer."

"Go right ahead." Tomoyo smiled at him. "It'd be lovely to have company."

"Thank you so much!" He sunk into the seat next to the petite woman. "So, I take it that you were in Hong Kong for Fashion Week?"

"Mm. It comes with the territory, and sometimes socializing with other designers can get so blah, but I do enjoy the runway shows. However, Li-san, you are obviously not Japanese, but you don't seem like just a tourist, so I have to wonder what your deal is. What brings you to my country?"

Syaoran released a little sigh. "I guess I have some... Business to attend to."

"And this 'business', I'm guessing, involves a woman. Men are so easy to read!" Tomoyo said with her trademark evil laughter. "I would know, my boyfriend is the same."

"Maybe you're right, but I suppose I'll have to ponder that another time, because I am beat. It was nice chatting with you, Daidoujii-san."

"Same to you, Li-san."

Syaoran shut his eyes and within minutes he had fallen into a light slumber. During his sleep he dreamed of Aya. She was across a large grassy area from him, but the sun was so bright he could hardly make her out. He took a few steps toward her and then noticed she was dressed in a formal looking white dress, a wedding dress. He called out her name, but she did not turn around. He then saw a figure standing next to her, a mystery groom. He too did not turn around when Syaoran called out. He took off running toward Aya, yelling her name over and over, but to no avail. No matter how fast or far he ran, he never got any closer to her, and no matter how loud he yelled, she never turned around.

"Li-san, we've arrived at the airport." Syaoran awoke to the sounds of Tomoyo's excited voice. "Hurry and get your stuff, I think the flight attendants are getting a little impatient."

"Mmyeah." He replied with a enormous yawn. Syaoran stood and stretched before gathering his belongings and entering the airport. The place was buzzing with people, almost all of them speaking Japanese, so it took Syaoran a few moments to adjust to this new atmosphere. He had always believed that the arrivals area of airports were some of the happiest places on Earth. Families, friends, and even lovers were reuniting with hugs, kisses, and smiles all around him. After all, who had ever seen someone look sad at the arrival of a loved one? Syaoran felt his heart constrict as one thought was reinforced in his mind; he had to find Aya.

"Li-san! Over here! There is someone I would like to introduce you to." Syaoran glanced to where the excited Tomoyo was eagerly dragging him. He ended up coming face-to-face with a young woman dressed in very fashionable office clothes. She had chestnut colored hair that reached just past her shoulders and a pretty face, but what really got Syaoran were her eyes. She had the most beautiful green eyes that Syaoran had ever seen, so full of life and joy. Tomoyo noticed his subtlety stunned look and giggled. "Li-san, this is my best friend, Sakura Kinomoto. She was my first model and now she has some hotshot job at Vogue Nippon here in Tokyo."

"Tomoyo-chan, that's quite an overstatement!" Sakura said, a small blush forming on her cheeks. "When we were kids she would make clothes and force me to wear them. As for the Vogue job, I'm really only a secretary. Ah, but where are my manners? Pleased to meet you, Li-san!" She hastily bowed and Syaoran slowly returned the gesture.

"Its an honor, Kinomoto-san." He let a gentle smile grace his features as he spoke. There was silence for a few moments as no one had much to say, but then Tomoyo came to the rescue.

"Sakura-chan, we'd better go. Li-san has a lot of important business that he needs to attend to." Sakura nodded and both girls said their good byes to the young man.

"Goodbye, Daidoujii-san. Kinomoto-san, it was nice meeting you. Have a good one." As the two girls wandered off into the crowd he took one last look at Sakura. She was very beautiful, and he couldn't help but feel a little sad that he would most likely never see her again. However, he quickly shook that thought from his mind, he wasn't here to meet girls. He only had one woman to find, the one woman for him for all time, and she was somewhere in this god forsaken city. He was going to find her. He must find her.

When Syaoran stepped out into the sunshine the surreal feeling of being alone in a foreign land sunk in deeper. He flagged a taxi down and pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket before getting in. "Could you take me to this address?" He handed the folded sheet to the scruffy looking cab driver who only grunted in response. As he rode through the city, Syaoran was in awe from how amazing it was. As much as his father traveled to Tokyo, he had never once thought to take his son with him. Probably would have thought he would only get in the way. Still, Syaoran was glad he was able to see this city by himself, with his father it would never have been as enjoyable.

The apartment building Syaoran would be living in wasn't the greatest looking place, but it was a step above an eyesore at least. He knocked on the superintendent's door, hoping he wasn't sleeping or out of the house. When the door opened, Syaoran didn't see anyone at first, but then he looked down into a pair of pale blue eyes. The eyes belonged to a small seven-year-old boy with dark brown hair that was going in every direction, and this kid looked pissed. Syaoran didn't understand what he had done to make this kid so sullen with him. "What do you want?" The kid growled. "If you're selling something, my grandpa said to say we don't want any!"

"I'm here to ask about the sublet apartment for rent?" Syaoran wasn't too sure about what he was getting into with these people. "But if-"

"Grandpa! Some guy is here about a place!" The kid shouted as he disappeared somewhere into the apartment.

Syaoran waited a few moments for any sign of life before the door was flung open wildly by a very stout man. He was about a foot and a half shorter than Syaoran with an amply round belly and a long grey beard that snaked it's way down to the middle of his torso. He wore soda-bottle glasses which made his eyes look almost non-existent, overalls, and a ribbed tank top with mystery stains on them. The man was quite a sight to take in to say the least. "Ya want to rent one of my places, eh?" The superintendent spoke with a voice made gruff from too many years of smoking. "What's ya name, sonny?"

"Uh... Syaoran Li, Sir?" This man scared Syaoran a little. He wondered if he had ever been in the military.

"You dun sound too sure of yerself, sonny. Got any felonies?" The old man raised his eyebrow, which in turn only made him look even more mental.

"No, Sir."

"Good, I ain't too keen on felons, and I ain't gonna let any felon in my building. That's for sure. So, you want to rent one of my sublets, huh? I outta warn you, my places ain't any five star accommodations."

"I don't mind, really, Sir."

"Good, good. Follow me then." He beckoned Syaoran to follow. "You from China, then? I'm pretty good at telling who is a China man. Fought them during World War II, I did. Are you all still Communists over there?"

"Well-"

"Aw, well, I like ya kid, even if you are a Commie. So, ya know, I think I'll give you a discount on yer place there. My way of congratulating you on taking control and escaping from the oppressive regime who wants to control yer every move. Here's yer key, and my name is Gengo Takamura, but it's Sir or The Captain to you. Let me be the first to welcome you to Japan and to Akemi Apartments!" The Captain abruptly shoved the key into Syaoran's hands and then took the elevator back down to the first floor, leaving him a little confused at the man's state of mind.

Syaoran found it a little odd that these apartments were called the Akemi Apartments. Akemi meaning "bright and beautiful", and his apartment was hardly either. The few windows he had were only about five feet from the building behind this one, so it was unlikely that he would get fresh air, much less sun from them. As for the beautiful part, the walls were all an off-white and the furniture looked as if it was from the sixties. It was all clean, at least, if a little lumpy from years of use. However, it was going to be the new home-sweet-home for a while, and it was affordable and hygenic, so Syaoran wasn't complaining. In the next few weeks he would come to know a few things about his neighbors. Such as, the lady next door whose baby would cry every night unless she played him the song "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra. Needless to say, Syaoran officially hated that song by the end of the second week. His neighbor above him had very heavy footsteps, he guessed, and there was a couple spots where when the man stepped, it caused some of the spackle from the ceiling to crumble. However, Syaoran didn't let any of it bother him too much.

What did bother him was the fact that he had been here almost four weeks now and he felt as though he had been all over this city searching, but yet there was still no sign of Aya. He began to worry that maybe she and her mother had moved to another part of Japan, which would make his search pretty much impossible. Syaoran knew he could hire someone to find her for him, but that could still take months, and it wouldn't be cheap. With the cost of food and rent on top of a private eye's fees, his funds wouldn't last much longer. Thus, his job hunt began, and that was how he ended up sitting at his kitchen table with almost every Tokyo newspaper in front of him. He searched through, looking for any jobs that paid well enough and he'd be able to do, but the pickings were slim. A few hours into his inquiry, he decided he needed a good cup of coffee.

Grabbing a jacket, he ventured out into the sun to find a Starbucks just down the street from his building. Expensive, but still coffee, which he desperately needed to make it through his job search. He entered the small shop and was disappointed to find a very long line. Yet, he managed to make it through eventually, and was happy when he was finally getting his caffeine fix. Distracted with the consumption of a delicious milkshake coffee drink, Syaoran did not watch where he was going until he ran straight into someone spilling his drink all over the both of them.

"Ah... I wanted that." He cursed under his breath. Then his mind registered that he had indeed ran into a person. "I am so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going!"

"It's alright. I wasn't either." She looked up and surprise was clearly displayed upon her face as she recognized him. "Li-san?"

Syaoran could remember those green eyes anywhere. "Kinomoto-san! Oh, crap, all the coffee ended up on you. I am truly sorry, I totally ruined your clothes."

"Nah, I was getting kind of tired of these old things anyway." Sakura lied, she had only bought that outfit a few days ago. "But I'd better go home and change now, my lunch hour's just about up and I can't be late to work. It was nice seeing you again, Li-san."

Syaoran waved to Sakura as she walked away. "You too, Kinomoto-san." He felt a fluttery feeling inside him, but refused to acknowledge it.

Syaoran's job search had returned little results so far, and with only one paper left, he was feeling little hope of finding employment today. Still, he crossed his fingers and opened it to the classified section. He scanned the pages until his eyes caught something that sparked interest in him. Help Wanted. Receptionist for Vogue Nippon main offices in Downtown Tokyo. Full Benefits. Full time. Good pay. No experience necessary. Call 555-3467. Vogue was where Sakura worked, and that meant that if he could get this job, Syaoran would at least know someone. Not to mention that he was sure that Vogue would pay him pretty well, at least for a Receptionist. As he dialed the number, Syaoran realized that this job would have been looked down upon by the Li clan as unfitting for the future leader, which made him want it even more.

"So, the interview will be tomorrow at two thirty? Okay. Okay, thanks. Bye." Syaoran beamed as he got off the phone, feeling as though this job was already in the bag.

Syaoran went to sleep that night feeling better than ever, but the following morning he woke to find that he was extremely nervous. He had never been interviewed for anything in his life and he felt fear of the unknown. He kept rationalizing to himself the whole morning that he would be fine and it would probably be very easy, but it didn't ease his anxiety. That afternoon he took a cab to the Vogue building and when he came face to face with the massive structure, he felt his stomach do flip-flops. It was quite warm outside, but the lobby was air-conditioned, which helped a little. Syaoran approached the receptionist's desk where a young woman was writing something down. "Excuse me, miss. I'm here for a two thirty interview."

The woman looked up and smiled at Syaoran. "So, you're one of the people who's vying for my position. The room you're looking for is on the seventh floor. When you exit the elevator go straight until you get to the last door on the left." She smiled one more time as Syaoran thanked her.

The hallway turned out to be a very long one, and as Syaoran's mind wandered from one subject to the next he couldn't keep his brain from thinking about the one girl he knew worked in this building, Sakura, and how odd it would be if he would happen to run into her while he was here. Or how odd it would be if he worked here and never once saw her. Perhaps Syaoran shouldn't have been so lost in his thoughts, and instead looking where he was going, because the next thing he knew was he was flat on his back.

"Ow." He heard a young woman say quietly. "Oh! Li-san! Are you hurt?" The voice had belonged to Sakura Kinomoto, who was now leaning over him with a worried expression upon her delicate face.

Syaoran grinned at her worry over him. "I'm a-okay, Kinomoto-san, but I have to say, we should really consider finding a new way to meet."

She laughed. "I'll second that motion." She stood and then helped pull Syaoran to his feet. "I have to wonder, though, what brings you here today?"

"A job interview for the receptionist position. I have some extra costs that I'm going to run into in the future and, well, money just doesn't grow on trees."

"It should though." Sakura said with mock anger on her face. "But a job interview, eh? I guess you're not just a tourist then. Oh my, I shouldn't hold you up any longer! Good luck with the interview, and don't sweat it. I'm sure you'll do fine." She winked and started toward the elevator. When she was a few feet away she turned back around. "Oh, and Li-san? Please call me Sakura, since I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other."

"Okay, but only if you call me Syaoran." Sakura nodded with a smile and left him there in the empty hallway. A half-hour later Syaoran realized that Sakura was right when she said they would be seeing more of each other, seeing as he was now the new receptionist of Vogue Nippon in Tokyo.


To Be Continued...




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I really hope that doesn't turn out to be too boring of a chapter. I guess I'm still kind of setting up the story. Don't worry, I have very interesting ideas for what is going to happen in future chapters, but I'm just going to be evil and not even hint about it. Heheh.

Sorry about any bad grammer and such. I really need a beta reader, because I hate proofreading! I only use a spellchecker!

- Rizu-san