CCS does not belong to me in anyway. I’m just using the characters in my story.
by Sakura aka Michelle
The walk home from the bookstore was pretty peaceful. The only sound Sakura heard was the cheerful chirping of the birds in the canopy on top of her and of course, the frequent loud thumping of Sakura’s heart which she could not soothe. She found that she was walking too closely next to Syaoran for her own good. If this continued, she might undergo a heart attack in a few minutes’ time.
Sakura tried to put some space between them by walking slightly away from him but his hands on her shoulders held her firmly beside him, preventing any futile effort to move away from him. He retaliated by putting enormous pressure on Sakura’s shoulder, causing her to wince from the slight pain, as he hissed angrily in an audible whisper, “Be still! They are still watching us!”
Sakura paled almost immediately and tripped over a loose stone on the pavement. That was when she saw some ominous shadows behind them. She shuddered as their pale yellow eyes bore into her and she felt as if her life was being sucked out of her. It was Syaoran who shook her out of her stupor and pulled her to her feet. Sakura whispered her thanks and was dragged along with renewed strength and pace.
Her house came into view then and Sakura never felt this happy before to see her house. The door opened automatically as they neared the house. Sakura stared in shock at an unfamiliar face in her house. She opened her mouth to protest but was hushed by Syaoran who pushed her roughly through the open door into her house. The stranger shut the door firmly behind them and turned to look at Sakura, who was panting from the brisk walk in exertion. Sakura turned to look inquiringly at Syaoran and was amazed to find that he was not even winded from the hurried journey to her house.
“What are you doing in my house?” Sakura asked with all her wrath directed on Syaoran who seemed indifferent to Sakura’s anger and this made her even angrier. “Can you at least answer my question?”
Syaoran ignored her and spoke to the tall woman who had opened the door for them. “Kaho, how is everything going on? Have the two of them accepted what is going on right now?”
Kaho shook her head, her waist long hair swinging about her, giving her the appearance of the perfect goddess. Sakura had to admit that this Kaho was very pretty and in addition her voice was angelic and pleasant to the ears when she replied, “Not too well but the information is sinking in slowly.”
“That’s good enough. We didn’t expect them to understand everything anyway,” Syaoran said with a chuckle. “Stay with them first while I settle some things over here. This is going to take quite some time to finish.”
Kaho smiled at Sakura warmly and took her hands into hers. “Don’t be afraid,” she told Sakura gently when Sakura arched a brow at her. “We are all here to help you. Have faith in us and believe in yourself. The answer lies within you and you just have to get rid of the barrier in order to reach it. Trust me, you can do it. The answer is within your grasp.” With another sweet smile, she turned and disappeared from the entrance, leaving a confused Sakura with Syaoran.
“What is she talking about?” Sakura asked, turning to Syaoran and expecting him to give her the answers that she wanted. She was surprised to find him staring at the place where Kaho was a few moments ago, his features unfathomable. Sakura nudged him hard in the ribs to get his attention. He did not wince in pain as she expected him to but he did turn to look at her with an incredulous expression on his face. Exasperated, she repeated her question to him again but at a higher pitch this time due to some annoyance that she found it hard to ignore.
Syaoran sighed as he leaned onto the wall and tried his best to explain to Sakura, his irritation showing through the manner in which he behaved. “There is this evil out there somewhere hoping to dominate the world but he lack an important ingredient for his plan; the Clow book. This book was said to hold immense power and its wielder can tap into this power source to make their wish come true. However, this book remains missing for ages yet unknown. Our families have been fighting this dark lord for generations but were still unable to defeat him.”
Sakura frowned, “It doesn’t explain why I am being hunted now. My family isn’t involved in this cycle of war against some dark lords.”
“I haven’t finished my explanations,” Syaoran snapped angrily and he straightened up from his position. This irked Sakura immensely for his mannerism was found to be unacceptable according to Sakura’s rules. She opened her mouth intending to throw some sarcastic remarks at him but was cut off as he continued his explanations. “Somehow, you have managed to get hold of something that the dark lord wants. It holds information of where the book could be found. The dark lord knows that you are in possession of that mystical key and he intends to take hold of that in order to source out the Clow book. That brings us here, to protect you against the assault of the dark lord and to prevent him from getting closer to his dreams.”
“The… key?” Sakura asked, unsure of what he was referring to. Then a thought flashed across her mind. Her face went ashen immediately as her hands flew to the necklace around her neck. “Don’t tell me it’s… My mother gave this necklace to me! She said that this was passed down from generation to generation to the youngest in the household! Surely the dark lord wouldn’t want something as worthless as this?”
“He searches for it still. His subordinates had found it and he will soon come for it himself. He knows the power that this key holds. That is why we are here now to protect you and the key. As long as you are with us, nothing bad will befall you. You will not step out of the house without any one of us by your side. However, we shall embark on a journey to find the Clow book and to use it against the dark lord and to destroy him,” Syaoran said, his fists clenched tight. “He will pay for what he has done to us. He will.”
Sakura shifted uncomfortably in her current position and she struggled to voice out her thoughts without confusing herself further, “May I know who is going on this journey?”
Syaoran pulled Sakura into the living room, where her father Fujikata and brother Touya were sitting on the couch with a few other strangers. Her brother was glaring at them and Sakura wondered for a moment why he did so. She had her answer when she felt Syaoran’s hand tightened on her right shoulder. To her horror, she felt herself blushing deeply despite all the confusion and fear that she had experienced a few moments ago.
“Let me introduce to you my companions who are on this journey together with us,” Syaoran said, his hand never leaving Sakura’s shoulders, much to Touya’s displeasure. “We have we us Kaho. You have met her just now at the entrance. Hiiragizawa is standing guard outside the house right now but it doesn’t matter at all if you don’t know him. He’s quite useless.”
“The girl with two buns on her head is Meiling,” Syaoran continued and he dodged a cushion that came flying at him for insulting the lady’s hairstyle. “She’s my cousin and very skilled in the area of martial arts, just as I am. The four of us are sent to protect you while you try to retrieve the missing Clow book.”
Sakura blinked and thought that she had heard something wrongly. “Whom did you say is going to retrieve the Clow book?”
“All the four of us are staying with you,” Kaho answered her, sparing Syaoran the need to repeat what he had said just a few seconds ago. “Only you have the answer to where the Clow book is. You are our only hope left.
Sakura suddenly had the feeling of being trapped by the decisions that she had to make, or rather, trapped by the decision that she was forced to make. They had made it plain that they were not going to take a simple no as her answer. She looked to her other two family members for help but found nothing from them. They just stared plainly at her, waiting to hear her final answer.
“I…” She started then paused and stopped altogether, unsure of what she was going to say and afraid that she would make the wrong choice for herself. Her head was screaming in protest.
“Just take your time to make your decision,” Meiling spoke for the first time, her voice sharp in the near silence of the house. “We will be staying here with you anyway while you try to source out the missing Clow book. You will not be harmed while you are in your own house. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
Sakura bowed her head low, alarmed by the sudden sting of tears in her eyes. She answered finally after long moments even though her voice wavered, “I’ll help you to search for the Clow book but you must protect my family from harm.”
Syaoran let go of her shoulder so suddenly that Sakura peered at him out of curiosity. She was a bit disappointed that he did so and was instantly ashamed at herself for that thought. She should be worrying about her own future then be upset at Syaoran’s little actions.
“If that’s the only thing that worries you,” Syaoran said as he sank into the sofa beside his cousin. “You just have to leave it behind because we are going to stay here in this house and take turns to keep watch. Nothing that ever happens outside will miss our eyes. We will protect not only your family but you as well. Just leave everything into our care.”
Sakura nodded dumbly, not knowing how else to reply him. Her father only smiled at her sadly and nodded his head to show his support for his daughter’s wishes. Touya merely grumbled before getting up and shut himself in his own room, not willing to see this bunch of stranger intruding into his house.
“If you are worrying about our sleeping arrangements,” Meiling added suddenly, jumping to her feet excitedly. “It doesn’t matter where we sleep. We can sleep in the basement if you wouldn’t mind since there is no available guestrooms for us. We’ll make do with anywhere we can.”
Fujikata suddenly stood up and Sakura eyed him curiously. Catching her eyes, Fujikata smiled warmly and explained, “I’ll make dinner now. All of you must be hungry.”
“That sounds great!” Meiling exclaimed then added softly as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “We haven’t had anything since dinner yesterday.”
“I’ll change shift with Hiiragizawa,” Syaoran said and left the house and moments later a dark haired man came into the house looking a little haggard.
“In case you don’t know me yet, I am Hiiragizawa Eriol,” he said, his voice booming in the silence of the house. “Please call me Eriol.”
Sakura nodded and pointed to the empty couch opposite her and Eriol took it wordlessly, sinking into the comfort of the couch with a loud sigh. “May I ask you a question, Eriol?” Sakura asked, looking uneasy and was currently fidgeting in her seat. Without waiting for permission, she asked her question straightaway, “How do I find this missing Clow book when I don’t even know how it look like?”
Eriol opened his mouth to answer her but Kaho was quicker and she answered Sakura’s question on Eriol’s behalf, “The answer is already in your mind; you just have to look deep in your heart and you’ll find the answer there, just within grasp.”
Eriol ruffled his hair and stifled a yawn, “You’ll know it when you see it. You will be able to sense the book.”
“Will Syaoran be all right on his own outside the house?” Sakura asked worriedly, glancing outside of the window and hoping to catch a glimpse of the young man.
“He will be fine,” Eriol replied nonchalantly and shrugged when he caught the sharp look Meiling was giving him. “He likes to do things on his own. Just leave him be.”
The aroma of the night’s dinner floated into the living room and rumblings of stomachs could be heard as the newcomers blushed deeply, embarrassed that their stomach would betray them at this moment and putting them in a spot. Sakura laughed and ushered them to the dining room as she knew dinner would be ready in just a few minutes. Indeed, Fujikata’s call could be heard in exactly three minutes later but all of them were already waiting anxiously in the dinning room.
They ate their dinner in silence. Touya refused to come out of his room and claimed that these newcomers would bring them nothing but trouble and refused to associate with them. Only Meiling seemed to be the only one who was cheerful with all these arrangements. Even the graceful Kaho looked worried to Sakura and she found herself wanting to ask her if anything was on her mind but she caught herself before she actually opened her mouth to ask.
Kaho and Eriol retreated to the basement once dinner was over. Meiling lingered around to help out with the cleaning of the dishes with Sakura. Fujikata has retired to his study where he had to prepare for the next day’s report and presentation.
“Will Syaoran really be fine outside at this time?” Sakura asked Meiling worriedly as she wiped the dishes free of water. “He hasn’t taken his dinner...”
Meiling laughed and waved her hands in the air, “If he has something important to do, he can even forget that he has to sleep. Don’t worry; he’ll be fine.”
Sakura nodded her head and she glanced at the dinning table, where Syaoran’s share of food was kept. She then told Meiling, “I’ll leave the cleaning up to you. I wish to bring Syaoran his dinner, after all I am the reason that all of you came.”
Meiling nodded and snickered, “You are worried about him, aren’t you?” She laughed when she spotted Sakura blushing to the roots. “I don’t blame you for that; my cousin is very attractive indeed.”
Sakura continued to blush as she meekly exited the kitchen and brought the food outside. The air was cool outside the house and Sakura could not help but to shiver in the cold. She could not spot Syaoran as first for he was nowhere to be seen. She almost dropped the plate of food in her hands when he suddenly came up behind her, looking livid.
“What are you doing outside at this hour?” Syaoran asked angrily, grasping her shoulders in a strong grip that Sakura winced in pain but he did not let go. “Why are you outside of the house? I told you to stay inside, remember?”
“I remember,” Sakura managed to croak out while she struggled to free from his strong grasp. “I just want to bring you your dinner.”
“Dinner?” Syaoran asked, looking down at the plate of food that Sakura was holding in her hands. “I did not say I want any dinner.”
“I just want to express my thanks for your presence at my house,” Sakura explained. “I am the reason that you need to be here. I hope that you will take this dinner while you continue to keep watch.”
Syaoran let go of her and stepped back into the shadows without taking a backward glace at her. “Take the dinner back; I am not having it,” he ordered. He was about to climb up onto a thick branch of a tree near her house when he heard feminine footsteps behind him. He whirled around and came face to face with a determined Sakura. “What do you want? I told you to go back to your house!”
“Dinner,” Sakura explained. “I want you to have these food to fill your stomach. I wouldn’t be able to rest until I know you are properly taken care of.”
Syaoran counted to ten to curb his anger before allowing himself to talk to this stubborn lady. “I’ll take the dinner but you must go back into the house immediately,” Syaoran said as he reached for the plate in her hands. He froze when she smiled at him brilliantly as she nodded eagerly, his breath taken away suddenly and he found himself incapable of moving or speaking.
“Enjoy your dinner! I’ll come by to collect the plate later,” Sakura said and ran back into the house as quickly as possible.
Syaoran stood rooted to the spot as he watched Sakura run back into the house, the plate of dinner in his hands. He was confused by what he was feeling but he shrugged this feeling home and jumped up onto the branch with the dinner still in his hands. He stared at the plate of dinner, which consisted of spaghetti and some mushrooms, and the image of a smiling Sakura came into his mind. He shook his head again and found himself smiling. She is an unbelievable lady, Syaoran thought truthfully as he munched on his dinner that Sakura had brought him. That was when he remembered what Sakura had said. “Should have told her to stay in the house again,” he muttered to himself but with a smile as he leaned back into the comfort of the tree trunk.
To be continued...