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Author's Notes: Hey minna~, are you proud of me, or are you proud of me?! I actually got an entire chapter done this early! (Never mind how short it is =P) Syaoran has finally decided to make another entrance, thanks to Jap-girl who sent me fan-mail!! It really, really feels nice to have people write to you just to say "Hi, my name is so-and-so, I think your fic is pretty good." But in Jap-girl's case, she aid it was da bomb!! XD (I don't think so, but I liked hearing it. . .^^;;) Usual thanx to all my wonderful, stupendous pre-readers and proof-readers. Angel, Kero-cha, and Lady Icecubes! Dayna-chan has a shout-out to her too, and so does Kix-chan, we became pretty good friends over the past few weeks, IMing each other and mostly talking about. . . *koff* you'll laugh, so I won't say. . .-_-;;; but newayz, I thank you all! *muahz* ^o^ P.S. Yamazaki appears in this chapter. . .just for Angel. . .she know wat I'm talking about. . .^_~ <Free Talk Session with CCS Characters!> Touya: Why do I have to be here again? Cherry: Just cause ppl love you sooo much! *glomps Touya* -^^- Touya: ~_~ you are just like Nakuru. . . Cherry: Actually, I _do_ think that's the CCS character I resemble most personality-wise. . .^^;;; Touya: And that make me just _thrilled_ to be here, with you, the over sugar-dosed girl. . . Cherry: Oi! Nakuru-chan! Nakuru: *muttering* now if I set this spring trap right in
front of the school entrance, Touya+Cherry: @_@;;; Cherry: Er. . .let us move on, shall we? <Quote of the Month>: Actually, it's quite early, so be content with the last chapter's! ^_~ sorries. . . <Disclaimer>: I know it, you know it, let's just leave it at that. ^_^ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~<Previous Chapter>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Sakura was late to class, but then she meets Fuyumi Akira in the hallway. A gorgeous exchange student from Hong Kong. He seems to like Sakura. Both their personalities are friendly, and they seem to get along okay. . . ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~<Previous Chapter>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Key: On with the fic now! =D ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~<A Date at the Dragon Cavern?>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Syaoran was walking to class. Well. . .okay, _crawling_ to class. Dragging his feet slowly, he inched through the empty hallway. Very. Very. Slowly. Then, out of nowhere, an overly cheerful voice called: "Hey, Syaoran-kun!" Someone was jogging towards Syaoran from the gym doors. Groaning inwardly, Syaoran turned reluctantly, wondering who was going to bother him now. He came face to face with. . .two curved lines. "Oh. . .morning Yamazaki-kun." Syaoran said glumly. The happy face didn't stop smiling. "I was just coming from a talk with the coach when I saw you! What's the rush, man? You're walking at the pace of a snail stampede!" he chuckled. "Speaking of snails, did you know that a long while ago, the ancient Romans would have races between two snails to decide the fate of certain selected men? Always during the time of. . ." Syaoran was already 5 feet down the hallway. "Hey! Wait up!" Yamazaki hurried to catch up with his depressed friend. "What _is_ up with you today? You look. . . somewhat down. . ." Yamazaki asked, still smiling. Syaoran graced the too-cheerful boy with a glance. "Nothing much, except that my life sucks royally…" Yamazaki nodded understandingly, propping his chin on one palm thoughtfully, he offered; "Yeah, having the love of your life be clueless about your crush on her _can_ do that to a guy. . ." His auburn-haired companion gaped at him "WHAAAT?! Where did you hear THAT?!" Yamazaki had Syaoran's attention for sure now. The boy grinned in his goofy way. "Why, everyone who went to the Tomoeda elementary _and_ high school knows, my dear Syaoran-kun! It's just sooo obvious." *Mwa hahaha! this is fun. . .no wonder Chiharu loves gossiping so much!* Yamazaki thought gleefully. Meanwhile, Syaoran was dragging his jaw on the ground while walking alongside his friend. Yamazaki became worried. "Uh. . .hey man, that cannot be _too_ healthy for your chin. . .ya know, dragging it and all. . ." Syaoran immediately snapped his mouth shut and started gasping out questions. "Wha. . .wha, you mean EVERYONE? Since when? Wait a second, how would _you_ know I like Sakura-chan anyways? Can you prove it? Well can you? Yamazaki rolled his eyes. "Well bud, I never even _mentioned_ that Sakura-chan was the one I was referring to as the love of your life. Yet." "Oh. . .you didn't? Um. . .well, eh heh heh. . ." Syaoran laughed sheepishly. "Well, okay fine! Let's say Sakura. . .um. . . _is_ the. . .er. . .one, but how does everyone know?!" He demanded again, a deep blush coloring his entire face. Yamazaki launched into one of his famous elaborate explanations. "The way you blush, the way you stammer, and the way you glare every time a guy approaches her, all signs of devotion. Ever since elementary school you've been her shadow, tagging along everywhere, protecting her from harm, etc.etc. In addition, your numerous acts of. . . mmmph! Mmph!" Syaoran kept his hand glued to his soon-to-be-ex-friend's mouth. "Shhhhh!!! Don't say that so loud!! People might hear!" Yamazaki wrenched his face from Syaoran's steely grip and rasped "Okay! okay! I get the point!" He brushed some stray locks of dark hair from his eyes. "But Syaoran-kun, Seriously. You've _got_ to make a move sometime, you can't go on like this! It's too pathetic, not like you at all!" Syaoran hung his head. "No, no, it's better this way. She doesn't even like me. . ." Yamazaki shook his head. "How would you know Syaoran? The girl is a wonderful person, however, she can be dense as a pre-schooler. She'll never know the way you feel unless you tell her it to her face!" Syaoran thought of himself confessing to Sakura. The way he'll say how much she means to him, and the look of pity she'll give him and the guilt in her eyes when she can't answer him in the same way. . .he couldn't stand it. "Never. . ." Syaoran whispered. "I don't want to be rejected. . .not by her. . ." A frustrated Yamazaki smacked himself on the forehead. "Oi! Mr. Clueless! You aren't exactly the most unpopular guy on campus either!!" And how true that was. Syaoran was voted in their high-school "Most Handsome" "Guy any girl would love to date" and other categories concerning charm (except for "Most Outgoing") His solitary personality and sexy (AN: Ack! Is that overdoing it?! ^^;;;) glare did not go unnoticed by the girls around him. Still, Syaoran started to protest. "Please, all that was just a coincidence! I'm nothing compared to Sakura! Look at her stats! Homecoming queen, "Ms. Popularity", "Most Wanted as a Girlfriend", She's perfect! I can't…" "Yes, you can!" Yamazaki cut in. "Syaoran, you are awesome in your own way too, just as Sakura-chan is. You can have a little confidence in yourself." Syaoran thought this over. "But I don't deserve her…" he lamely answered. His friend wasn't giving up. "But you sure don't want any other guy getting her do you?" he slyly asked. Syaoran growled deep in his throat. "Of course not!! I don't deserve her, but no other guy does either!" he snarled, almost startling Yamazaki. "See? And the best choice of all the guys on campus would be none other than you, Li Syaoran!" Yamazaki declared triumphantly. Syaoran subsided from his anger. "I still don't know buddy…" he sighed, shaking his head. "I know I can't have her, but I don't want any other guy having her either!" he pulled at his hair in frustration. "What am I supposed to do?!" he asked helplessly. Yamazaki smiled and slapped Syaoran on his back comfortingly. "Let yourself have a little confidence." he repeated "Think about what I said." And with that, Yamazaki cut towards the quarry outside, waving back at his friend. *Poor guy. . .* Yamazaki thought sadly. *I have my Chiharu, so I'm content. . .but the person that really needs some love in his life is Syaoran. . .* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Alone once more, Syaoran mumbled to himself "A little confidence in myself…" he looked at the floor and whispered "Maybe…" before changing directions and going to his second period class. It was too late to get to the chem lab anyways. "Just maybe…" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Meanwhile, in the chem lab, Sakura was laughing with Akira, unaware of the horrible conflict Syaoran was going through. Akira had mixed the wrong solvents together, and it had made a giant mess on the lab counter. Giggling, Sakura held up a half-empty beaker. "Well, I'm guessing that 4.2 milliliters _was_ the correct amount. . .otherwise, we wouldn't have the other half of the solution over the table!" Akira's eyes swept over the dripping surface of the counter and chuckled "I'm starting to agree with you!" then he added, "But it's all the way you look at it. You could be optimistic and say that the beaker is half _full_ instead of half _empty_!" Sakura whacked her hand against her forehead, rolling her eyes. "Oh! That's a whole lotta help!" she answered, still grinning. Akira opened his mouth again, but was silenced when he heard another voice behind him. "Well, well. Mr. Fuyumi! Ms. Kinomoto! I don't seem to remember this class to be one of philosophy." Akira followed Sakura's wide eyes to a upset Sensei Matsushita. "Er. . . sensei, Akira-kun and I. . ." Sakura tried to explain, but she was cut off by Matsushita's shaking head. "Ms. Kinomoto, I'm _sure_ I don't want to hear the explanation, just. . . please, get this mess cleaned up before the end of this period." And before Akira or Sakura could utter a word, he had turned around and was heading towards his desk. Exchanging a look that clearly said; 'Ugh, we definitely screwed up' Akira and Sakura silently grabbed two rags and got to scrubbing. Soon, the second bell rang, and both of them said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Sakura spotted Syaoran in some of the classes they had together, but wasn't able to get a chance to talk to him. *He looks. . .odd. . .I wonder if something really _is_ wrong. . .* Sakura shrugged it off and went to her trig class, the thoughts of Syaoran's problems pushed to the side of her mind as confusing numbers and signs blinded her. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "Ahhhhh~ thank god _that_ class is over!" Sakura
said stretching her arms wide. "Yes, now that I've found you, let's go outside and have some food, shall we?" Tomoyo smiled pleasantly, and indicated a bento box she had pulled out of her book bag. "Yeah, let's go!" Sakura agreed eagerly and linked her arm through her friend's and skipping off to the quarry. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "Mmmmm! That was wonderful Tomoyo-chan! I wish I could eat more, but I'm stuffed! Your cooking gets better and better as you get older, _if_ that's possible!" Sakura complimented her blushing friend. Tomoyo just shyly answered "Well, if you enjoyed it, that's all I can ask for Sakura-chan." Still grinning at her friend, Sakura proposed to bring the lunch for tomorrow, to which Tomoyo-chan agreed to wholeheartedly. Their conversation drifted around life in college these days, how things got easier and harder. Deep into a conversation about a certain soap opera they were both watching, ("Trials of the Heart") a shadow was cast over the remains of their lunch. Sakura was the first to notice the newcomer. It was Syaoran. "Syaoran-kun, hi! Where were you in Chemistry? I was worried!" To Tomoyo's questioning look, she explained; "Syaoran wasn't in first period today." Syaoran just looked down and shuffled his feet nervously, "Well, I just wasn't feeling all that great, and. . ." he looked up, changing the subject. "Were you late Sakura-chan? You didn't get in trouble did you?" a worried frown crossed his brow "You wouldn't have been late if I hadn't forgotten my text-book. . .I'm very sorry." Sakura smiled comfortingly "No Syaoran, that's okay. I would have been late anyway! But sensei didn't penalize me, cause on the way to class I met. . ." A new voice broke into the conversation, "Oi! Sakura-chan!" A dark haired boy was approaching the group. Sakura's head whipped around, and her face broke into a wide smile. "Akira-kun! Hey, I was just about to tell my friends about you!" Akira pretended to be hurt. "Aww. . .you aren't telling them what a idiot I was in Chemistry, are you?" He reached the picnic blanket and stood beside a glaring Syaoran. Sakura grinned and explained to Syaoran and Tomoyo how Akira became her lab-partner for the day cause Syaoran wasn't there. Not pleasing Syaoran at all. In fact, Syaoran was almost ready to tackle the guy. *_Sakura-chan_? _Akira-kun_? Who is this guy that's so chummy with Sakura? I should have gone to class. . .* He seethed quietly, while Sakura answered Akira. "No, I didn't even get up to that part! I was gonna tell them I made a new friend today." She turned to look at both Syaoran and Akira. "Why don't the both of you sit down and join Tomoyo and me?" Both boys gratefully took a seat on the blanket. Immediately Sakura began introductions. "Akira-kun, this is my best friend Daidouji Tomoyo, and another friend of mine, Li Syaoran. Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran-kun, this is a new person I met today, Fuyumi Akira." The shy Tomoyo spoke up for the first time since the boys had showed up. "Hello Fuyumi-san, it's nice to meet you." Akira smiled at Tomoyo "Nice to meet you too Daidouji-san." He looked towards the silent Syaoran and politely said, "Nice to meet you Li-san, hey! Aren't you on the soccer team? I saw you practice on the field when I asked the coach if I could join." He was rewarded with a grunt, and a half-hearted hand shake. Syaoran was really was trying his best to be decent, because Sakura was there. Akira looked curiously at Syaoran, almost stared at him, them turned away, murmuring "So _you're_ Li Syaoran. . ." Syaoran's eyes snapped to Akira. *There might be something more to this guy. . .* Syaoran thought. But he couldn't feel any bad vibes from him. Akira's aura, Syaoran was half-disappointed to notice, a pleasant deep true-blue, no signs of dishonesty. Ignorant of the 'slight' tension between the two guys, Sakura grinned happily, while Tomoyo had several sweat-drops down the back of her head. Unaware of the scrutiny Syaoran was giving Akira, Sakura held up the extra layer of the bento box that hadn't even been touched. 4 neat rows of California rolls, decorated with cucumbers and carrots lay there. "Why don't the two of you have some lunch? Tomoyo and I already ate." Syaoran wrenched his eyes away from the newest annoyance in his life. "Oh, no thanks." Both boys answered in unison. Syaoran bore a hole through Akira with his glare this time. "Oh, please do, they would just go to waste if no one ate them." Tomoyo urged. And Sakura quickly agreed. But the last thing on Tomoyo's mind was sushi. *Oh-hohohoho! This is becoming interesting! Dear Sakura-chan meets a charming, handsome friend! He obviously likes her. . .who wouldn't? The fight for the fair damsel has become even harder for Knight Syaoran! How romantic. . .* Sighing under her breath happily, she thought of a new design for Sakura, including visions of 15 petticoats, and yards of laces, fashioning a medieval-style dress, fit for a queen. *I must take a note of that. . .with luck, Sakura will be included in a drama-production soon. . .I'll be making the outfit for her of course!* While this was going on in Tomoyo's mind, Sakura had fallen in conversation with Akira about. . .food. "My favorite foods all concern eggs in them, like omelets. Chicken fried rice is always good too!" Akira said trying to contemplate all his best enjoyed dishes. "Same here! I like mostly everything, except for strange stuffs, like konnyaku, I hate that so much!" Sakura said, wrinkling her nose. Akira's eyes lit up. "Hey! There's a restaurant that I just discovered it down the street from campus, it's called "Dragon Cavern". Rumor has it that they serve the best fried rice this side of Tokyo!" Sakura's eyes lit up identically to Akira's. "Really?! I _have_ to go there sometime!" Akira pondered this for a moment. "Well, I'm going there tonight for dinner, you're more than welcome to join me." Sakura cocked her head to one side deep in thought. "Hmm, I don't have any tests or quizzes that I know of. . .and homework is simple enough. . . sure! I'd love to go with you, Akira-kun!" Akira grinned broadly, while Syaoran's jaw hit the ground with a dull thunk for the second time this day. "Good, I won't have to eat a lonely meal then, good food is meant to be shared!" Sakura chuckled, "Right!" Akira offered Tomoyo and Syaoran also, to which both declined politely. *I wish I could tag along. . .but this isn't grade school, Sakura-chan'll think I'm rude for tagging along. . .* A miserable Syaoran thought. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* After some time, Akira glanced at his watch, and started to get up. "Oh boy, almost time for break to end. Thank you for letting me join you minna, and I'll see you at the front entrance of the campus office at 7:00 tonight Sakura-chan!" Sakura answered, "Alright, I'll be there!" and bid Akira goodbye. "It was a pleasure to meet you Daidouji-san. And you too, Li-san." Akira added. The two girls smiled and waved, while Syaoran just brooded. Smiling back at them, Akira disappeared into the nearby building. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Now, Sakura faced two friends. One smiling like she knew something Sakura didn't know and the other scowling like a kid that was told he had to clean his room. 20 times. "Hoe?" *And I thought that was a rather pleasant meeting." Syaoran suddenly pushed himself up and dusted his pants off. "I should be going now, I'm glad to hear you didn't get in trouble." Sakura nodded, then called out; "Wait Syaoran-kun!" Syaoran, who was about to leave, spun around. "Yes?" he said in a strangely hopeful voice. "Thank you, for worrying." Sakura said, looking earnestly into Syaoran's eyes. "Oh. . . um. . .there's really nothing to exactly thank me for and. . . er. . ." Syaoran started, starting to stammer and blush. Tomoyo interrupted, thinking; *These two are never gonna get anywhere like this, and with Fuyumi-san in the way now. . .* "Why don't you just say 'You're welcome' Li-kun?" Tomoyo offered kindly. Syaoran looked at Tomoyo for a minute, then turned back to Sakura. "You're welcome Sakura-chan." Sakura beamed at him happily. A smile spread on Syaoran's face, and soon the two were smiling at each other, forgetting the world for a moment. And Tomoyo was there with her V8, to capture every second of it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "Well, it'll be soon time to strike my dear. . ." A voice that could send chills up anyone's back purred. A low voice answered; "Yes, soon. We must plan our attack carefully, this is too important to risk." Delightedly, the woman laughed, a harsh laugh. "So new at this, yet so clever. Are you excited?" The male turned, "Excited? Yes, I guess that's the word to describe it." However, his companion wasn't listening anymore. She was too busy thinking of the glorious fight she was about to win. After a long silence, the women spoke once more. "But first, to get our hands on the Cards for the new evil to take form in, we must rid ourselves of that Card Mistress." She hissed, spitting the words as if they tasted foul. "How do you plan to do that?" the man asked. "Simple, I'll attack something precious to her. . .she'll come to us on her own two feet." She giggled again, not a childish sound when made from her lips. The young man beside her shuddered unconsciously. Suddenly, he was writhing and gasping while he doubled over. His eyes cleared and focused. He glared with repulsion in his eyes, "What are you doing to me?" he whispered. "Stop this now. I don't want to hurt anyone, you witch! I will never carry out your evil deeds for you! Ever!" he was shouting now. The women turned and shot a piercing look at him, "Tsk tsk, are we trying to break out again?" she clucked. Touching his forehead with the long staff she always carried, she muttered a spell; "Dark powers gather now, take over this human, to use as your form. Consume this body of flesh and blood with abhorrence and hatred. Hear me Dark Forces. . . she didn't stop until a blood-red glow penetrated the man, the emblem of the demon blazing on his forehead. The young man doubled over once more in pain. His dark bangs falling over his eyes. When he looked up, his eyes were diluted, darker than they were a second ago. The color of mercury. "I'm back." The women laid down her staff beside her. "Good, those incantations can take out a lot of energy sometimes." She stroked the crest of evil still engraved on his brow. "I can't seem to figure out why you fight it so much, so much potential, yet so unwilling. . ." The young boy looked away from her, silent. Unfazed, the female went on. "Well, nonetheless, I'll have to teach you the joys of blood-lust soon, my dear." Her laughter rang out in the sky over the college grounds. Some students looked up at the sky and wondered why they felt so chilled, when the forecast had said it would be a sunny day. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~To Be Continued. . .*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Bleaghhh. . .yeah, I know, bad chapter huh? Sorries. . .there's all this stuff I already planned for later, but to _get_ to the point in the story to put them in is not easy! XP So, do ya know what the evil plan is? They evil ppl are gonna steal the Clow Cards (Now Sakura Cards) for the new evil to form inside it. So the Clow Cards themselves will be evil. Therefore, giving the evil ppl the power of the elements, which is not a good thing. . .^_^ Pretty stupid, ne? Gomen, don't have a lotta time to think about the evil plot and stuff. Another thing, could you tell what I was trying to have the guy do? The evil lady has control over the guy, he's like a ordinary (good) person, until the evil lady brainwashed him with that spell of hers. . .I think it was kinda hard to tell the way I wrote it. . .all confusing and stuff. So, that's the facts, Evil Lady wants Clow Cards to be evil, so she can control them, and Evil Guy is. . .not so evil, just sometimes, when his alternate personality (the demon) takes over him. But hey, has anyone figured out a secret of the Not-so-evil-guy? It's in there, there's something you might have noticed that's a little fishy. . .If you think you figured it out already, E-mail me, I'll send you some rare pic of CCS! I'll work harder next chapter, I promise!! ^^;;; And ppl,
don't flame me for sending Sakura off on a date with Akira. .
.T-T I don't wanna either, but I need to have it as some sorta
marking of an event. . .*sweatdrop* you dunno what I'm talking
about do you?…………….thought so. . .Besides,
it ain't a real date-date. Just a. . .date.
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