Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ What If ❯ Sakura and the Storm, Part 1 ( Chapter 4 )
[ A - All Readers ]
By: MagmaDragoon 
Syaoran's first day at Tomoeda Elementary.
Anime/Manga: Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.30.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.1K | Visits: 248 | Status: Completed
Syaoran's first day at Tomoeda Elementary.
Anime/Manga: Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.30.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.1K | Visits: 248 | Status: Completed
Hello dear readers!
A/N: Thank you for your reviews. Really, I loved them... Actually, I built a little shrine to them in the back of my closet and sacrificed several species of small furry animals to them. But lets not talk about that. Lets start what you really want to read. A pointless, unnecessary disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I do not own CCS! Nor have I ever owned it in any time of my life. I may own it in the future but that would involve some very expensive ninja-mercenaries and a lot of paperwork, so it's most likely that I'll stick with fan fiction... I really hate paperwork.
And some more Japanese lessons to go with the disclaimer:
Regarding honorifics, it's worth mentioning that -san is pretty much as common as mr. and mrs., -kun is really common too, -chan on the other hand, shows great intimacy with the person and can be rude if used when referring to someone in the wrong context. -sama is formality at its max.
Sensei - Honorific for teachers, professors, doctors and such.
And to top that, some repetitive information:
"Character talking"
ºCharacter thinkingº
(Me talking)
And finally...
Card Captor Sakura
Chapter 2: Sakura and the Storm
Part 1: That Weird Feeling When I’m Around Her
Tuesday, May 29th. 3:30 am
Syaoran stared at the ceiling of his new bedroom, even though it was too dark to see anything past his nose.
The bedroom wasn't as big as the one he had back in Hong Kong, but it was still considerably big, and it had a private bathroom, which he suspected was bigger than the room itself. But those were not the thoughts that were keeping him awake at that time. He had tried to close his eyes many times, but the events from that night wouldn't get off his mind. He couldn't sleep. ºThat boy... Why do I feel so weird when I'm around him? And that girl... when she smiled... what was that?º These thoughts wandered his mind throughout the whole night.
The first sun beams finally crossed his green curtains making the whole room turn into a pleasant oceanic shade of green. Syaoran pushed his torso up and stood there for a few seconds, sitting on the bed. His head hurt and he wasn't sure if it was due to the lack of sleep or to the confusion that had settled itself in his thoughts.
A knock on the door woke him up from his nightlong trance. "Good morning, Syaoran-sama. I'm sorry to disturb you, but today is your first day at school and I think you don't want to be late."
Syaoran smiled. Even though Wei was a servant of the Li clan, he and Syaoran had always had a good understanding of each other that was something between a friendship and a student-master relationship. "Thank you, Wei. I'm going to take a bath. Could you please arrange some breakfast for us?" Syaoran slowly got up and headed for the door that led from his bedroom to the bathroom.
"Yes, Syaoran-sama, but hurry up, or else you'll be late. You don't want to make a bad first impression now, do you?" Came Wei's voice through the other door.
Syaoran undressed while keeping the bathroom door open so he could keep talking to Wei. "No. By the way, do you have the school's address?" He said, turning the hot water tap on. He was sure he had already come across Tomoeda Elementary in his long walk around the district the past day, but he wasn't as sure that he could find the way on his own again.
Wei took a few seconds to think before answering. "I'm sorry. I thought you had it."
Syaoran sighed. "As if I don't have enough problems to worry about." He muttered under his breath. He didn’t have that disposition that filled him the past day and gave him energy to spend a whole day looking for a place just because he felt like it.
"What was that Syaoran-sama?"
"Nothing. I'll ask some people on the streets for the school. It can't be that hard to find it." He sank his body in the hot water and a wave of relief ran through his head. At least for the next few minutes he wouldn't have to worry about anything.
After living what had been the most thrilling and fantastical night of her life, Kinomoto Sakura had spent great part of her night explaining to her new magical roommate about some of the things that had happened in the past centuries in which he'd been asleep. She had felt great satisfaction as she showed him her video-game. The guardian seemed to be as impressed with it as she was when she saw him for the first time. Unfortunately, her moment of glory was over soon when she noticed it was hours past her bedtime.
On the next morning, if one took a quick look around the Kinomoto's residence, one would never guess the events that had taken place there the night before. That is, until the moment that the weird stuffed bear on Sakura's desk would awake and start complaining about an infernal ringing.
Sakura was sleeping heavily, completely unaware of her loud alarm clock's noise filling the room. Kerberos on the other hand was very aware and very annoyed with it.
He gently poked the girl's face. "Sakura, wake up." He whispered in her ear, careful not to scare her, but she didn't move a muscle. He poked her again, a little harder. "Sakura, you're gonna be late." After a whole minute of fruitless poking and whispering he realized he would have to try a different approach. ºI can't be too loud cause her family's going to notice me. Then the only option left is...º He placed his paws on her nose and mouth blocking Sakura's breathing completely. After five seconds or so she showed signs of life.
Sakura was sucked back in reality. She felt like she had been sleeping for centuries and still she wanted to stay in bed for many decades more. It was only when she felt a strange lack of air current in her airways that she slowly opened her eyes. The lack of air was then easily explained. There was a huge yellow monster suffocating her. "Hoee! Help me! A monster!" She punched the monster really hard but only realized her mistake when it was already too late.
Kerberos massaged the back of his head, trying to ease the pain. "Sakura, what's your problem? I was just trying to wake you up cause you..." His sentence was interrupted when he heard the doorknob turning.
Touya stuck his head through the half-open door just in time to see Kerberos faking a stuffed bear pose. ºStupid thing! Who does he think he's fooling?º Touya stared at him for a while, much to Kerbero's and Sakura's discomfort. He finally turned his attention back to Sakura ignoring her sigh of relief. "Poor monster, I knew we shouldn't have let you put this mirror in your room. It must be awful having to wake up and see yourself every morning."
"I'm not a monster oniichan! I was just having a nightmare!" She threw her pillow at him but he closed the door before it could connect. "Honestly!" She folded her arms and stared at the door for a couple of seconds until she realized that she was probably late for school. Looking at her alarm clock she sighed in relief again. "Phew. Just a couple of minutes late. I still have plenty of time."
"Thanks to me that is." Kerberos muttered, but was ignored by a rushing Sakura.
The girl got up from her bed and quickly changed into her school uniform, completely ignoring Kerberos' complaining about how sleepy she was as she did all of her basic morning stuff. "Bye, Kero-chan." She said, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
'Kero-chan' looked at the door, annoyed. ºWho gave her the right to call me Kero-chan?º
Syaoran had been walking around the streets of Tomoeda for a while again. He discovered that his memory wasn't as good as he had trusted it to be. "I'm sure it was somewhere around here." He said, carefully looking around to see if there were any signs of the school. As he turned around a corner, he was relived to see a familiar place. It was the convenience store near Sakura's house. "Maybe if I start from here I can backtrack my way to the school."
"Are you lost?" A sweet voice asked him from his back. Syaoran jumped in surprise. He turned around to see himself face to face with a pair of emerald green eyes and a warm grin. The girl had a not so happy Touya beside her on his bike.
"Kinomoto-san!" Syaoran took a step back, considering his answer. He didn't want to make a fool out of himself. "It's none of your business!" He said in his defense.
Sakura seemed a bit disappointed with the boy's answer. "Well... But you're going to Tomoeda Elementary, right?" Syaoran merely nodded. Sakura brightened up again. "Good! Then you can come with us, Li-kun." Syaoran raised an eyebrow. He barely noticed as veins started popping out of Touya's head.
"Kun?" They said in unison, Syaoran with caution and Touya with anger. Then they glared at each other realizing what they had just done.
Sakura sweat dropped and let out a forced, insecure laugh. "I figured since you're staying in Japan for a while and we’re going to the same school, it would be weird to keep calling you Li-san. I mean, we could become friends. What do you say?" She smiled at the boy.
Syaoran looked at her. For the split second their eyes met he felt that weird feeling from the dream again. He felt a strange impulse to say that yes, he'd love to befriend her, but much to his relief, when he turned his face away he felt in control of himself again. "Call me whatever you want, but hurry up or were gonna be late."
Touya grabbed Syaoran by the collar. "You better have some manners when talking to my sister, brat. I warned you last night. Next time..." He was very disturbed to see that Syaoran was looking at him with a bored expression instead of the frightened one he had been expecting.
"Oniichan. He didn't do anything. I told you, that was an accident." Touya gave one more menacing look to Syaoran before letting him go. Syaoran was still staring at Touya with a look that told him 'that's all, coward?'. Sakura stepped between them facing Syaoran. "I'm sorry. Oniichan is kind of overprotective sometimes." She whispered so Touya couldn't hear. "So, Li-kun, Shall we go?"
"Right."
And so they restarted their walk with Sakura between the other two and a tense mood surrounding them. Syaoran and Touya constantly exchanged meaningful glances but none of them let out a single word.
After some minutes of walking/skating/pedaling they finally came to a halt when they reached Yukito's house. He wasn't there. "Where's Yukito-san, oniichan?"
Syaoran looked at Sakura, confused. "Yukito? You mean that boy from last night?" He tensed up at the prospect of seeing Yukito again. ºI don't want to go through that one more time.º
"Yes. He's my brother's best friend. He's really sweet, you know? He's handsome too, and he never calls me a monster and..." Sakura tried to keep talking but was interrupted by Touya's hand on her mouth.
Touya looked at Syaoran and smirked. "She is completely in love with him." Sakura blushed bright red, but that didn’t stop her from kicking Touya’s shin. The boy immediately let go of her mouth to massage it.
Syaoran sweat dropped. He hadn't seen that aggressive side of Sakura yet. She looked at him and smiled uncomfortably noticing his surprised look. "He can be too annoying sometimes." Sakura turned to face Touya and quickly changed the subject. "Oniichan! You haven't answered my question yet. Where's Yukito-san?"
"He had to go to school early today, I guess. He said he had some pending homework to finish."
Sakura sighed. "Poor Yukito-san. He's such a dedicated student."
Later, at Tomoeda Elementary.
"Wait here, Li-kun. Terada-sensei will call you in a minute." Sakura said, turning her back to the boy and heading inside the classroom.
Syaoran felt an urge to stop her, which he thought was kind of weird. He suddenly remembered the cut on Sakura's arm and was taken by concern. Without thinking, he put his hand on her shoulder, surprising himself. "How's your wound?" He looked at her left arm which was covered by her uniform's sleeve.
Sakura looked at him surprised that he cared about her wound. The fact that Syaoran quickly took his hand off her shoulder as if it was burning him showed her that he was just as surprised by his own question.
Sakura looked at her arm. "I had forgotten about it already. Last night I bandaged it, see?" She said, raising her sleeve to show the white bandages around her cut. "I think its ok now."
Syaoran smiled, unconsciously satisfied. "Good." Sakura giggled and the smile faded away from his face. "What's so funny?"
Sakura stopped giggling and grinned. "It's the first time I see you smiling for real."
Syaoran blushed, a nauseating feeling took hold of his stomach. "W-what?"
"It's just that you look better when you smile. I was beginning to think you were too grumpy." Sakura entered the classroom leaving a stunned Syaoran behind.
ºWhat was that supposed to mean?!º He thought.
Sakura closed the door behind her. "Good morning, Sakura-chan." Her friends greeted her.
"Good morning." She answered while taking her seat.
She was feeling really weird being there, surrounded by her friends. As far as they knew, it was just another day, nothing to really care about. And there she was, with her life just turned upside down by magic, guardian beasts and all sorts of craziness. If she were to tell anybody, people would just laugh at her or think she’s going nuts. She realized then that it wouldn’t be easy to go on with her normal life with such a huge secret. She’d have to learn to separate her usual life from the new one she’d just been presented to so she could maintain her friendships without hesitating all the time. After all, she looked at her friends and knew that she was already lying to them.
Tomoyo was already seating on the desk beside Sakura when she arrived. She had a sly grin on her face. "So Sakura-chan, How was it yesterday? Did anything weird happen?" She asked incisively. Sakura nearly fell out of her seat at Tomoyo's question.
"Hoe? What do you mean Tomoyo-chan? It was just an ordinary day." She said, looking at no particular spot through the window. Tomoyo was obviously not convinced.
"Are you sure? Cause yesterday I was going to visit you and I saw you and that boy put up quite a show with that big bird." She said rather casually. Sakura saw a satisfied smile form on Tomoyo's face and accounted that to the dumbfounded face she probably had at that moment. "I thought I should talk to you then, but then your brother arrived and..." She trailed off for a second. "Well, I thought it could wait till today." She said quickly, like someone who's just though of an excuse. Sakura didn't notice it though.
"Hoe! You saw everything?" Tomoyo nodded. Sakura sunk in her chair feeling defeated. "Guess there's no use hiding it from you now is there?"
"You owe me a lot of explanations Sakura-chan. But leave it for lunchtime cause Terada-sensei's just entered the classroom." Sakura looked at the door and saw Terada coming in.
"Good morning." He said.
"Good morning Terada-sensei." The students’ choir answered.
"Today we have a new student. He's a transfer student from Hong Kong and should be staying with us for at least the rest of the year. Let's all give him a nice welcome." He faced the door. "You can come in now."
Syaoran entered the room and instantly a wave of whispers ran through the classroom. 'He's so cute.' and 'His look is kind of creepy.' being the most repeated. Terada forced a loud cough to silence the students. "You may introduce yourself."
Syaoran wrote his name in huge letters on the blackboard. "My name is Li Syaoran. Pleased to meet you." He said, bowing.
"Let's see." Terada studied the classroom for a couple of seconds. "There's a free seat behind Kinomoto-san. Kinomoto-san, raise your hand so Li-kun can see you." Sakura raised her hand, even though she knew it wasn't necessary. Syaoran was already heading towards her. "OK, now let's begin. Did everyone do their homework?"
At lunchtime Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo were having lunch together under a cherry tree right beside the basketball courts.
"WHAT?!" Syaoran exclaimed. "How did she find out about it? Didn't we agree to keep it a secret?"
"Calm down Li-kun. We don't need the whole school to know." Sakura said forcing Syaoran to sit down. "You see, Tomoyo-chan was going to visit me yesterday and she saw us fighting The Fly card... and well, she's my best friend so we can trust her." She said, almost begging. “Besides, we should pray that nobody else saw it, cause that was a really scandalous fight we had yesterday.”
"Yes. And now you two will tell me what that bird was doing there and why were you fighting it." Tomoyo said, not as if she was ordering them, but as if that was already an established fact. Sakura looked at Syaoran with a 'Please forgive me' look.
Syaoran sighed in defeat. "OK, I'll tell you."
And so, he and Sakura went on and on, talking about Clow, the cards and Kero. In the middle of the story, Tomoyo's mouth was half open and her eyes had an innocent sparkle in them that could only be compared to the look of a child that just got the Christmas present she'd been waiting for the whole year.
When Syaoran finished talking she let out a loud squeal and hugged Sakura. "I can't believe it. Sakura-chan is now a heroine that fights against evil monsters. It's like a fairy tale."
Sakura tried to pull herself out of the girls grasp but it seemed like an impossible task. "Tomoyo-chan, it's not exactly like that..." But her words were lost in Tomoyo's dreamland.
"You can't tell this to anybody Daidouji-san. It's bad enough that you know." Syaoran's words also failed in reaching the girl.
Suddenly, Tomoyo let go of her hug and took Sakura's hands in hers staring deeply at the girls emerald eyes. "Sakura-chan! You have to tell me whenever a new card appears so I can record you capturing it in my new video camera!" Sakura sweat dropped. “I can’t let this sort of adventure go unregistered!”
"Huh, Tomoyo-chan..." She was cut off by the melody of a bell, telling them lunch time was over. "Oh. Let's go, classes are going to start." Sakura quickly ran back to the school relieved she had avoided an answer to Tomoyo's request.
Meanwhile, at Seijou High, Touya and Yukito were having their own lunch on a bench right next to the building's front door.
Touya watched as Yukito shoved enough food to feed an army in his mouth. "How can you eat that much? There's not enough room in you for all that." He said.
Yukito swallowed a big lump of food before answering. "I don't know. I just get really hungry. People always tell me that I should be thankful I'm not fat." He said and laughed joyfully at his own remark. "So, did you figure out why was Sakura acting strange last night?"
Touya nodded with a serious face, looking at his feet. "I did. She and the brat were hiding something from me after all. Something big."
Yukito looked at Touya, a bit puzzled. "You don't mean they're..."
Touya shook his head. "Don't be silly. If they were in a relationship I would have had the brat's head the same minute I found out. But right now I wouldn't dare to lay a finger on him."
"Why not?" Yukito asked. "The way you talked to him last night I thought you wouldn't even need an excuse to fight him."
Touya sighed. He knew the exact answer to that question now. "I'm sorry... But I can't tell you that. Not yet." He got up and headed back for the large front door beside them.
"T-Touya..." Yukito's eyes followed Touya as he disappeared inside the school building.
Touya walked aimlessly through the corridors until the bell rung. The answer to Yukito's question couldn't be told, not only because it would lead to a secret Yukito was not ready to find out, but also because it hurt his pride to say those words out loud.
ºBecause right now he's the only one that can protect her.º
After school period was over, Sakura and Tomoyo were leaving the class with Syaoran following right behind them.
"Kinomoto-san, Li-kun, can I have a word with you two?" Sakura and Syaoran halted. They turned around and were glad to see that the sensei was smiling rather than scolding them.
"Sure, Terada-sensei." They answered.
All the students left the classroom and soon Sakura and Syaoran were the only ones left. Tomoyo was left standing right outside, waiting for Sakura.
Terada sat on his desk and signaled for the other two to sit down. "Li-kun, I noticed you had some trouble in the Japanese Language class." He said.
"Well, I have no problem with talking, but when it comes to writing..." He trailed off.
"You're having difficulties with our writing." Terada completed for him.
Syaoran nodded. "I guess I'm still kind of adjusting." He answered, wondering where that conversation was taking him, and what did Sakura have to do with it.
Terada looked at Sakura, who also seemed oblivious to her purpose there, and then back at Syaoran. "I've also noticed that you and Kinomoto-san are already acquainted, after all, I didn't really see you talking to anyone but her today."
Syaoran hesitated a little but nodded. "You can say that." He hadn't really bothered to make any friends. ºAnd she's the one who kept talking to me during classes.º He thought. It didn't take much more time for him to understand what Terada was trying to say.
Terada turned to Sakura, ready to speak and confirm Syaoran's suspicions. "Kinomoto-san, I usually don't ask this of my students, but since he's a foreign student I can make an exception. Could you help Li-kun with his Japanese Language homeworks? Since you have excellent grades in Japanese I suppose you would be of great help to him."
Sakura looked at Syaoran expecting to see any hints to his opinion on the matter, but he wasn't looking at her so she decided to speak aloud. "Is it okay with you Li-kun?" She asked sweetly.
Syaoran tensed up for a second. He felt a deep desire to say yes for the second time that day. He knew that if he said yes he would be able to spend more time in her presence and, for some reason he couldn't understand, he felt as if it was the right thing to do. He widened his eyes as that thought crossed his mind. ºI don't need to be around her! Why would I need to be around her?º He looked at Sakura's eyes and those feelings from his dream came back to him again. That irrational desire to protect her and the anger at her aggressors. He found himself lost in that though, arguing with himself whether he wanted her help or not.
"Li-kun!" Syaoran realized he'd been thinking too much and Sakura was still waiting for an answer. But now instead of her sweet smile she had a concerned face and was waving her hand in front of Syaoran's eyes. "Are you ok? You kind of dazed off..."
Syaoran jumped back, blushing, and tried to find something to say. He opted for pretending nothing had happened and just answered Sakura's question. "I don't mind you helping me if that's what you mean." He said, doing his best to keep a cool face while paying an unusually big attention to a particular leaf on the cherry tree just outside the window.
Sakura thought it would be best to ignore the weird episode too and went instantly back to her cheerful self. She clasped her hands together and nodded satisfied with Syaoran's answer. "Great. Then it's settled." She faced Terada. "Is that all, Terada-sensei?" The teacher nodded. "OK then. Bye."
"Bye." he answered following the couple outside the room.
Sakura left the room and was immediately pressed against the wall by Tomoyo's curious eyes. "Sakura-chan, what did Terada-sensei want with you and Li-kun?"
Syaoran answered for Sakura, not looking at either of them. He actually made a point to show he didn't really care for the words leaving his lips and walked away from them as he talked. "He asked Kinomoto-san to help me with my homework, since my Japanese is still not that good." He said.
Tomoyo looked inquisitively at Sakura. The girl nodded, confirming Syaoran’s story.
Sakura and Tomoyo walked after Syaoran, but the boy began taking larger steps and seemed to be making an effort to stay at least twenty feet ahead of them. Sakura who, unlike Tomoyo, was completely clueless to the fact that Syaoran was doing that on purpose walked closer to him at a speed that would force him to run if he wanted to keep his distance. "Li-kun, we should check the days I can visit you, or you can visit me, so we can do homework together."
Syaoran sighed. He didn't feel like talking to anybody, especially Sakura. He had too much on his mind and needed time alone. "Let's see. On Wednesdays and Fridays I have soccer training, I'm available on the rest of the week." He said while opening his locker.
Sakura opened her locker too. "I have cheerleading practice on Mondays and Fridays, so that leaves us with Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends." She said, raising one finger of her closed left hand as she mentioned each day.
Syaoran slammed his locker shut and jumped back a bit in fake surprise to pretend it was an accident. He faced Sakura again and the words started leaving his mouth. "Yeah. We can go to my house today if you want to." He nearly slapped his mouth in an attempt to shut it as he spoke. ºWhy do I keep saying these stupid things? And why do I feel as if I actually want to say them?º
Sakura closed her locker. "Sure, that would be... huh? Where's Tomoyo-chan?" She looked around but found nobody.
Meanwhile, in a limousine just outside the school gates.
Tomoyo watched the school get smaller as the limousine accelerated. She smiled to herself.
ºThose two forgot completely about me as they talked.º She giggled. ºI would be offended if that didn't mean those two really have something between them. Even Li-kun who seems so grumpy was all nervous when Sakura got close. He obviously has a thing for her.º
Her smile widened. ºIf Sakura and Syaoran actually started going out it would be amazing. Two heroes in love. It really is like a fairy tale.º She laughed at her own silly thoughts but couldn't stop thinking about them for the next minutes.
--------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
A/N: And that’s another one for the records. Once again, I hope you enjoyed it. Don’t be shy about saying what you thought of it. I won’t be offended if you think it sucks too. Go ahead and say whatever’s going through your mind, but say something!
Thanks, bye!
A/N: Thank you for your reviews. Really, I loved them... Actually, I built a little shrine to them in the back of my closet and sacrificed several species of small furry animals to them. But lets not talk about that. Lets start what you really want to read. A pointless, unnecessary disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I do not own CCS! Nor have I ever owned it in any time of my life. I may own it in the future but that would involve some very expensive ninja-mercenaries and a lot of paperwork, so it's most likely that I'll stick with fan fiction... I really hate paperwork.
And some more Japanese lessons to go with the disclaimer:
Regarding honorifics, it's worth mentioning that -san is pretty much as common as mr. and mrs., -kun is really common too, -chan on the other hand, shows great intimacy with the person and can be rude if used when referring to someone in the wrong context. -sama is formality at its max.
Sensei - Honorific for teachers, professors, doctors and such.
And to top that, some repetitive information:
"Character talking"
ºCharacter thinkingº
(Me talking)
And finally...
Card Captor Sakura
Chapter 2: Sakura and the Storm
Part 1: That Weird Feeling When I’m Around Her
Tuesday, May 29th. 3:30 am
Syaoran stared at the ceiling of his new bedroom, even though it was too dark to see anything past his nose.
The bedroom wasn't as big as the one he had back in Hong Kong, but it was still considerably big, and it had a private bathroom, which he suspected was bigger than the room itself. But those were not the thoughts that were keeping him awake at that time. He had tried to close his eyes many times, but the events from that night wouldn't get off his mind. He couldn't sleep. ºThat boy... Why do I feel so weird when I'm around him? And that girl... when she smiled... what was that?º These thoughts wandered his mind throughout the whole night.
The first sun beams finally crossed his green curtains making the whole room turn into a pleasant oceanic shade of green. Syaoran pushed his torso up and stood there for a few seconds, sitting on the bed. His head hurt and he wasn't sure if it was due to the lack of sleep or to the confusion that had settled itself in his thoughts.
A knock on the door woke him up from his nightlong trance. "Good morning, Syaoran-sama. I'm sorry to disturb you, but today is your first day at school and I think you don't want to be late."
Syaoran smiled. Even though Wei was a servant of the Li clan, he and Syaoran had always had a good understanding of each other that was something between a friendship and a student-master relationship. "Thank you, Wei. I'm going to take a bath. Could you please arrange some breakfast for us?" Syaoran slowly got up and headed for the door that led from his bedroom to the bathroom.
"Yes, Syaoran-sama, but hurry up, or else you'll be late. You don't want to make a bad first impression now, do you?" Came Wei's voice through the other door.
Syaoran undressed while keeping the bathroom door open so he could keep talking to Wei. "No. By the way, do you have the school's address?" He said, turning the hot water tap on. He was sure he had already come across Tomoeda Elementary in his long walk around the district the past day, but he wasn't as sure that he could find the way on his own again.
Wei took a few seconds to think before answering. "I'm sorry. I thought you had it."
Syaoran sighed. "As if I don't have enough problems to worry about." He muttered under his breath. He didn’t have that disposition that filled him the past day and gave him energy to spend a whole day looking for a place just because he felt like it.
"What was that Syaoran-sama?"
"Nothing. I'll ask some people on the streets for the school. It can't be that hard to find it." He sank his body in the hot water and a wave of relief ran through his head. At least for the next few minutes he wouldn't have to worry about anything.
After living what had been the most thrilling and fantastical night of her life, Kinomoto Sakura had spent great part of her night explaining to her new magical roommate about some of the things that had happened in the past centuries in which he'd been asleep. She had felt great satisfaction as she showed him her video-game. The guardian seemed to be as impressed with it as she was when she saw him for the first time. Unfortunately, her moment of glory was over soon when she noticed it was hours past her bedtime.
On the next morning, if one took a quick look around the Kinomoto's residence, one would never guess the events that had taken place there the night before. That is, until the moment that the weird stuffed bear on Sakura's desk would awake and start complaining about an infernal ringing.
Sakura was sleeping heavily, completely unaware of her loud alarm clock's noise filling the room. Kerberos on the other hand was very aware and very annoyed with it.
He gently poked the girl's face. "Sakura, wake up." He whispered in her ear, careful not to scare her, but she didn't move a muscle. He poked her again, a little harder. "Sakura, you're gonna be late." After a whole minute of fruitless poking and whispering he realized he would have to try a different approach. ºI can't be too loud cause her family's going to notice me. Then the only option left is...º He placed his paws on her nose and mouth blocking Sakura's breathing completely. After five seconds or so she showed signs of life.
Sakura was sucked back in reality. She felt like she had been sleeping for centuries and still she wanted to stay in bed for many decades more. It was only when she felt a strange lack of air current in her airways that she slowly opened her eyes. The lack of air was then easily explained. There was a huge yellow monster suffocating her. "Hoee! Help me! A monster!" She punched the monster really hard but only realized her mistake when it was already too late.
Kerberos massaged the back of his head, trying to ease the pain. "Sakura, what's your problem? I was just trying to wake you up cause you..." His sentence was interrupted when he heard the doorknob turning.
Touya stuck his head through the half-open door just in time to see Kerberos faking a stuffed bear pose. ºStupid thing! Who does he think he's fooling?º Touya stared at him for a while, much to Kerbero's and Sakura's discomfort. He finally turned his attention back to Sakura ignoring her sigh of relief. "Poor monster, I knew we shouldn't have let you put this mirror in your room. It must be awful having to wake up and see yourself every morning."
"I'm not a monster oniichan! I was just having a nightmare!" She threw her pillow at him but he closed the door before it could connect. "Honestly!" She folded her arms and stared at the door for a couple of seconds until she realized that she was probably late for school. Looking at her alarm clock she sighed in relief again. "Phew. Just a couple of minutes late. I still have plenty of time."
"Thanks to me that is." Kerberos muttered, but was ignored by a rushing Sakura.
The girl got up from her bed and quickly changed into her school uniform, completely ignoring Kerberos' complaining about how sleepy she was as she did all of her basic morning stuff. "Bye, Kero-chan." She said, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
'Kero-chan' looked at the door, annoyed. ºWho gave her the right to call me Kero-chan?º
Syaoran had been walking around the streets of Tomoeda for a while again. He discovered that his memory wasn't as good as he had trusted it to be. "I'm sure it was somewhere around here." He said, carefully looking around to see if there were any signs of the school. As he turned around a corner, he was relived to see a familiar place. It was the convenience store near Sakura's house. "Maybe if I start from here I can backtrack my way to the school."
"Are you lost?" A sweet voice asked him from his back. Syaoran jumped in surprise. He turned around to see himself face to face with a pair of emerald green eyes and a warm grin. The girl had a not so happy Touya beside her on his bike.
"Kinomoto-san!" Syaoran took a step back, considering his answer. He didn't want to make a fool out of himself. "It's none of your business!" He said in his defense.
Sakura seemed a bit disappointed with the boy's answer. "Well... But you're going to Tomoeda Elementary, right?" Syaoran merely nodded. Sakura brightened up again. "Good! Then you can come with us, Li-kun." Syaoran raised an eyebrow. He barely noticed as veins started popping out of Touya's head.
"Kun?" They said in unison, Syaoran with caution and Touya with anger. Then they glared at each other realizing what they had just done.
Sakura sweat dropped and let out a forced, insecure laugh. "I figured since you're staying in Japan for a while and we’re going to the same school, it would be weird to keep calling you Li-san. I mean, we could become friends. What do you say?" She smiled at the boy.
Syaoran looked at her. For the split second their eyes met he felt that weird feeling from the dream again. He felt a strange impulse to say that yes, he'd love to befriend her, but much to his relief, when he turned his face away he felt in control of himself again. "Call me whatever you want, but hurry up or were gonna be late."
Touya grabbed Syaoran by the collar. "You better have some manners when talking to my sister, brat. I warned you last night. Next time..." He was very disturbed to see that Syaoran was looking at him with a bored expression instead of the frightened one he had been expecting.
"Oniichan. He didn't do anything. I told you, that was an accident." Touya gave one more menacing look to Syaoran before letting him go. Syaoran was still staring at Touya with a look that told him 'that's all, coward?'. Sakura stepped between them facing Syaoran. "I'm sorry. Oniichan is kind of overprotective sometimes." She whispered so Touya couldn't hear. "So, Li-kun, Shall we go?"
"Right."
And so they restarted their walk with Sakura between the other two and a tense mood surrounding them. Syaoran and Touya constantly exchanged meaningful glances but none of them let out a single word.
After some minutes of walking/skating/pedaling they finally came to a halt when they reached Yukito's house. He wasn't there. "Where's Yukito-san, oniichan?"
Syaoran looked at Sakura, confused. "Yukito? You mean that boy from last night?" He tensed up at the prospect of seeing Yukito again. ºI don't want to go through that one more time.º
"Yes. He's my brother's best friend. He's really sweet, you know? He's handsome too, and he never calls me a monster and..." Sakura tried to keep talking but was interrupted by Touya's hand on her mouth.
Touya looked at Syaoran and smirked. "She is completely in love with him." Sakura blushed bright red, but that didn’t stop her from kicking Touya’s shin. The boy immediately let go of her mouth to massage it.
Syaoran sweat dropped. He hadn't seen that aggressive side of Sakura yet. She looked at him and smiled uncomfortably noticing his surprised look. "He can be too annoying sometimes." Sakura turned to face Touya and quickly changed the subject. "Oniichan! You haven't answered my question yet. Where's Yukito-san?"
"He had to go to school early today, I guess. He said he had some pending homework to finish."
Sakura sighed. "Poor Yukito-san. He's such a dedicated student."
Later, at Tomoeda Elementary.
"Wait here, Li-kun. Terada-sensei will call you in a minute." Sakura said, turning her back to the boy and heading inside the classroom.
Syaoran felt an urge to stop her, which he thought was kind of weird. He suddenly remembered the cut on Sakura's arm and was taken by concern. Without thinking, he put his hand on her shoulder, surprising himself. "How's your wound?" He looked at her left arm which was covered by her uniform's sleeve.
Sakura looked at him surprised that he cared about her wound. The fact that Syaoran quickly took his hand off her shoulder as if it was burning him showed her that he was just as surprised by his own question.
Sakura looked at her arm. "I had forgotten about it already. Last night I bandaged it, see?" She said, raising her sleeve to show the white bandages around her cut. "I think its ok now."
Syaoran smiled, unconsciously satisfied. "Good." Sakura giggled and the smile faded away from his face. "What's so funny?"
Sakura stopped giggling and grinned. "It's the first time I see you smiling for real."
Syaoran blushed, a nauseating feeling took hold of his stomach. "W-what?"
"It's just that you look better when you smile. I was beginning to think you were too grumpy." Sakura entered the classroom leaving a stunned Syaoran behind.
ºWhat was that supposed to mean?!º He thought.
Sakura closed the door behind her. "Good morning, Sakura-chan." Her friends greeted her.
"Good morning." She answered while taking her seat.
She was feeling really weird being there, surrounded by her friends. As far as they knew, it was just another day, nothing to really care about. And there she was, with her life just turned upside down by magic, guardian beasts and all sorts of craziness. If she were to tell anybody, people would just laugh at her or think she’s going nuts. She realized then that it wouldn’t be easy to go on with her normal life with such a huge secret. She’d have to learn to separate her usual life from the new one she’d just been presented to so she could maintain her friendships without hesitating all the time. After all, she looked at her friends and knew that she was already lying to them.
Tomoyo was already seating on the desk beside Sakura when she arrived. She had a sly grin on her face. "So Sakura-chan, How was it yesterday? Did anything weird happen?" She asked incisively. Sakura nearly fell out of her seat at Tomoyo's question.
"Hoe? What do you mean Tomoyo-chan? It was just an ordinary day." She said, looking at no particular spot through the window. Tomoyo was obviously not convinced.
"Are you sure? Cause yesterday I was going to visit you and I saw you and that boy put up quite a show with that big bird." She said rather casually. Sakura saw a satisfied smile form on Tomoyo's face and accounted that to the dumbfounded face she probably had at that moment. "I thought I should talk to you then, but then your brother arrived and..." She trailed off for a second. "Well, I thought it could wait till today." She said quickly, like someone who's just though of an excuse. Sakura didn't notice it though.
"Hoe! You saw everything?" Tomoyo nodded. Sakura sunk in her chair feeling defeated. "Guess there's no use hiding it from you now is there?"
"You owe me a lot of explanations Sakura-chan. But leave it for lunchtime cause Terada-sensei's just entered the classroom." Sakura looked at the door and saw Terada coming in.
"Good morning." He said.
"Good morning Terada-sensei." The students’ choir answered.
"Today we have a new student. He's a transfer student from Hong Kong and should be staying with us for at least the rest of the year. Let's all give him a nice welcome." He faced the door. "You can come in now."
Syaoran entered the room and instantly a wave of whispers ran through the classroom. 'He's so cute.' and 'His look is kind of creepy.' being the most repeated. Terada forced a loud cough to silence the students. "You may introduce yourself."
Syaoran wrote his name in huge letters on the blackboard. "My name is Li Syaoran. Pleased to meet you." He said, bowing.
"Let's see." Terada studied the classroom for a couple of seconds. "There's a free seat behind Kinomoto-san. Kinomoto-san, raise your hand so Li-kun can see you." Sakura raised her hand, even though she knew it wasn't necessary. Syaoran was already heading towards her. "OK, now let's begin. Did everyone do their homework?"
At lunchtime Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo were having lunch together under a cherry tree right beside the basketball courts.
"WHAT?!" Syaoran exclaimed. "How did she find out about it? Didn't we agree to keep it a secret?"
"Calm down Li-kun. We don't need the whole school to know." Sakura said forcing Syaoran to sit down. "You see, Tomoyo-chan was going to visit me yesterday and she saw us fighting The Fly card... and well, she's my best friend so we can trust her." She said, almost begging. “Besides, we should pray that nobody else saw it, cause that was a really scandalous fight we had yesterday.”
"Yes. And now you two will tell me what that bird was doing there and why were you fighting it." Tomoyo said, not as if she was ordering them, but as if that was already an established fact. Sakura looked at Syaoran with a 'Please forgive me' look.
Syaoran sighed in defeat. "OK, I'll tell you."
And so, he and Sakura went on and on, talking about Clow, the cards and Kero. In the middle of the story, Tomoyo's mouth was half open and her eyes had an innocent sparkle in them that could only be compared to the look of a child that just got the Christmas present she'd been waiting for the whole year.
When Syaoran finished talking she let out a loud squeal and hugged Sakura. "I can't believe it. Sakura-chan is now a heroine that fights against evil monsters. It's like a fairy tale."
Sakura tried to pull herself out of the girls grasp but it seemed like an impossible task. "Tomoyo-chan, it's not exactly like that..." But her words were lost in Tomoyo's dreamland.
"You can't tell this to anybody Daidouji-san. It's bad enough that you know." Syaoran's words also failed in reaching the girl.
Suddenly, Tomoyo let go of her hug and took Sakura's hands in hers staring deeply at the girls emerald eyes. "Sakura-chan! You have to tell me whenever a new card appears so I can record you capturing it in my new video camera!" Sakura sweat dropped. “I can’t let this sort of adventure go unregistered!”
"Huh, Tomoyo-chan..." She was cut off by the melody of a bell, telling them lunch time was over. "Oh. Let's go, classes are going to start." Sakura quickly ran back to the school relieved she had avoided an answer to Tomoyo's request.
Meanwhile, at Seijou High, Touya and Yukito were having their own lunch on a bench right next to the building's front door.
Touya watched as Yukito shoved enough food to feed an army in his mouth. "How can you eat that much? There's not enough room in you for all that." He said.
Yukito swallowed a big lump of food before answering. "I don't know. I just get really hungry. People always tell me that I should be thankful I'm not fat." He said and laughed joyfully at his own remark. "So, did you figure out why was Sakura acting strange last night?"
Touya nodded with a serious face, looking at his feet. "I did. She and the brat were hiding something from me after all. Something big."
Yukito looked at Touya, a bit puzzled. "You don't mean they're..."
Touya shook his head. "Don't be silly. If they were in a relationship I would have had the brat's head the same minute I found out. But right now I wouldn't dare to lay a finger on him."
"Why not?" Yukito asked. "The way you talked to him last night I thought you wouldn't even need an excuse to fight him."
Touya sighed. He knew the exact answer to that question now. "I'm sorry... But I can't tell you that. Not yet." He got up and headed back for the large front door beside them.
"T-Touya..." Yukito's eyes followed Touya as he disappeared inside the school building.
Touya walked aimlessly through the corridors until the bell rung. The answer to Yukito's question couldn't be told, not only because it would lead to a secret Yukito was not ready to find out, but also because it hurt his pride to say those words out loud.
ºBecause right now he's the only one that can protect her.º
After school period was over, Sakura and Tomoyo were leaving the class with Syaoran following right behind them.
"Kinomoto-san, Li-kun, can I have a word with you two?" Sakura and Syaoran halted. They turned around and were glad to see that the sensei was smiling rather than scolding them.
"Sure, Terada-sensei." They answered.
All the students left the classroom and soon Sakura and Syaoran were the only ones left. Tomoyo was left standing right outside, waiting for Sakura.
Terada sat on his desk and signaled for the other two to sit down. "Li-kun, I noticed you had some trouble in the Japanese Language class." He said.
"Well, I have no problem with talking, but when it comes to writing..." He trailed off.
"You're having difficulties with our writing." Terada completed for him.
Syaoran nodded. "I guess I'm still kind of adjusting." He answered, wondering where that conversation was taking him, and what did Sakura have to do with it.
Terada looked at Sakura, who also seemed oblivious to her purpose there, and then back at Syaoran. "I've also noticed that you and Kinomoto-san are already acquainted, after all, I didn't really see you talking to anyone but her today."
Syaoran hesitated a little but nodded. "You can say that." He hadn't really bothered to make any friends. ºAnd she's the one who kept talking to me during classes.º He thought. It didn't take much more time for him to understand what Terada was trying to say.
Terada turned to Sakura, ready to speak and confirm Syaoran's suspicions. "Kinomoto-san, I usually don't ask this of my students, but since he's a foreign student I can make an exception. Could you help Li-kun with his Japanese Language homeworks? Since you have excellent grades in Japanese I suppose you would be of great help to him."
Sakura looked at Syaoran expecting to see any hints to his opinion on the matter, but he wasn't looking at her so she decided to speak aloud. "Is it okay with you Li-kun?" She asked sweetly.
Syaoran tensed up for a second. He felt a deep desire to say yes for the second time that day. He knew that if he said yes he would be able to spend more time in her presence and, for some reason he couldn't understand, he felt as if it was the right thing to do. He widened his eyes as that thought crossed his mind. ºI don't need to be around her! Why would I need to be around her?º He looked at Sakura's eyes and those feelings from his dream came back to him again. That irrational desire to protect her and the anger at her aggressors. He found himself lost in that though, arguing with himself whether he wanted her help or not.
"Li-kun!" Syaoran realized he'd been thinking too much and Sakura was still waiting for an answer. But now instead of her sweet smile she had a concerned face and was waving her hand in front of Syaoran's eyes. "Are you ok? You kind of dazed off..."
Syaoran jumped back, blushing, and tried to find something to say. He opted for pretending nothing had happened and just answered Sakura's question. "I don't mind you helping me if that's what you mean." He said, doing his best to keep a cool face while paying an unusually big attention to a particular leaf on the cherry tree just outside the window.
Sakura thought it would be best to ignore the weird episode too and went instantly back to her cheerful self. She clasped her hands together and nodded satisfied with Syaoran's answer. "Great. Then it's settled." She faced Terada. "Is that all, Terada-sensei?" The teacher nodded. "OK then. Bye."
"Bye." he answered following the couple outside the room.
Sakura left the room and was immediately pressed against the wall by Tomoyo's curious eyes. "Sakura-chan, what did Terada-sensei want with you and Li-kun?"
Syaoran answered for Sakura, not looking at either of them. He actually made a point to show he didn't really care for the words leaving his lips and walked away from them as he talked. "He asked Kinomoto-san to help me with my homework, since my Japanese is still not that good." He said.
Tomoyo looked inquisitively at Sakura. The girl nodded, confirming Syaoran’s story.
Sakura and Tomoyo walked after Syaoran, but the boy began taking larger steps and seemed to be making an effort to stay at least twenty feet ahead of them. Sakura who, unlike Tomoyo, was completely clueless to the fact that Syaoran was doing that on purpose walked closer to him at a speed that would force him to run if he wanted to keep his distance. "Li-kun, we should check the days I can visit you, or you can visit me, so we can do homework together."
Syaoran sighed. He didn't feel like talking to anybody, especially Sakura. He had too much on his mind and needed time alone. "Let's see. On Wednesdays and Fridays I have soccer training, I'm available on the rest of the week." He said while opening his locker.
Sakura opened her locker too. "I have cheerleading practice on Mondays and Fridays, so that leaves us with Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends." She said, raising one finger of her closed left hand as she mentioned each day.
Syaoran slammed his locker shut and jumped back a bit in fake surprise to pretend it was an accident. He faced Sakura again and the words started leaving his mouth. "Yeah. We can go to my house today if you want to." He nearly slapped his mouth in an attempt to shut it as he spoke. ºWhy do I keep saying these stupid things? And why do I feel as if I actually want to say them?º
Sakura closed her locker. "Sure, that would be... huh? Where's Tomoyo-chan?" She looked around but found nobody.
Meanwhile, in a limousine just outside the school gates.
Tomoyo watched the school get smaller as the limousine accelerated. She smiled to herself.
ºThose two forgot completely about me as they talked.º She giggled. ºI would be offended if that didn't mean those two really have something between them. Even Li-kun who seems so grumpy was all nervous when Sakura got close. He obviously has a thing for her.º
Her smile widened. ºIf Sakura and Syaoran actually started going out it would be amazing. Two heroes in love. It really is like a fairy tale.º She laughed at her own silly thoughts but couldn't stop thinking about them for the next minutes.
--------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
A/N: And that’s another one for the records. Once again, I hope you enjoyed it. Don’t be shy about saying what you thought of it. I won’t be offended if you think it sucks too. Go ahead and say whatever’s going through your mind, but say something!
Thanks, bye!