Chapter 2 Confronting Emotions

'Syaoran-kun,' was all Sakura could think as he led her through the empty school halls, "He's all right! He's still here!¡K..with me.' She didn't know where he was taking her and she didn't care as long as he was by her side.
What had happened to her? Why did she feel so strangely all of a sudden? Ever since he called her by her name¡K..everything had changed.
'Why!?' she asked herself, 'Why?' Sakura felt Syaoran's hand trembling. Did he have a horrible nightmare too? Is that why he screamed in class? So many questions!
The dream had felt so real. The pain and the sorrow were¡K..undescribable. If only the dream had continued as happily as it began¡K.she wouldn't be scarred by the knowledge of losing someone. It hurt.

'Where am I taking her?' he thought.
Somewhere where they could be alone¡K¡K¡Klike in the dream.
'No!' he shook his head. That dream would never come true. She didn't feel that way about him. But he had been so happy at the beginning¡K.so happy.
Sakura noticed that Syaoran looked troubled and that he tightened his grip on her hand as she squeezed his eyes shut. Where those tear stains on his cheeks? No, they couldn't be. Ever since the first day she met him, Sakura had never known Syaoran to cry. He just didn't.
He took her outside and didn't stop until they came to a bench a little ways from the school. He sat down and she sat next to him. Syaoran loosened his grip on her hand, afraid that she might not want to be holding his but she kept it there. The memory of the dream came back to her and she began to tremble. Syaoran winced and looked at her fragile form.
"Sakura¡K." He whispered.
She couldn't take it any longer. She flung her hands on his shoulders and buried her head in his chest while she sobbed.
"Oh, Syaoran-kun, I was so scared!"
He lifted his arm and began combing the back of her hair with his hand. His other arm hugged her close to him.
"So scared¡K.." she said again just barely above a whisper.
"Shh¡K.It's all right. It was only a dream." He closed his eyes. This felt like a dream, just being with Sakura¡K¡K¡K
"But¡K.it felt so¡K..so¡K.."
"Real?" he asked. Her eyes widened,
"How did you know?"
He sighed at the thought of the happy but at the same time horrible memory,
"I had a dream too¡K¡K."
"You did?" She found herself lying on the bench with her head resting on Syaoran's lap.
"Ah¡K" Why did this feel so right? Just being here like this? Together¡K
"What was it about?" She sighed. This felt so comfortable. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the touch of Syaoran's hands in her hair.
Syaoran didn't answer. What was it about really? He didn't even understand it himself. What did she mean when she said he had left her? He would never do that. The dream just didn't make sense. He blushed at the thought of her in the dream. So close. Almost¡K..touching. But not quite.
When Sakura found him hesitating she spoke instead.
"I'm sorry. It's none of my business."
"No!" Syaoran mentally slapped himself for yelling. Sakura laughed in her mind.
"No, it's not that. I just didn't understand it." But he wanted her to know. His face flushed before he continued, glad she wasn't facing him.
"Y-you were in my dream¡K.Sakura."
Her face got hot.
"M-me?"
"Ah. And you were crying because you said I left you."
Sakura's breath caught in her chest. Just like her dream!
"Syaoran-kun¡K"
"But I didn't understand what you meant because I¡KI would never leave you, Sakura. Not if I could help it.
The dream! It was happening!
"Syaoran¡Kkun¡K."
"Then these people came and took you away. They said they wanted your powers¡K"
Sakura couldn't help but hear a quiver in the boy's voice. He was in pain.
"Syaoran-kun¡K¡Kstop¡K."
"S-so they took out a knife. I told them not to, I did! But they¡K..they¡K..they¡K¡Kth-ey" The image played in his mind over and over again. He couldn't make it stop! His tears started to fall and Sakura felt them on her back.
"No, Syaoran. No¡K." She got up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You don't have to tell me, it's all right.
Syaoran held her arms to him with his hands and the image slowly began to disappear.
"Thank you, Sakura."
"You'll never leave me, right Syaoran-kun?"
"Never." He whispered in her ear. She smiled.
"In my dream you were taken away from me which is why I was surprised when you mentioned yours."
"Really?" he asked, overjoyed that she was dreaming about him, but saddened to know he had caused her pain.
"Really. But you're here now."
"And I'll never leave."
"I know." His dark brown hair brushed against her face while her eyelids closed.
"So," began Syaoran, "We almost had the same dream at the same time?"
Sakura blushed, "I guess."
"Wow." He breathed.
"Yeah¡K"
They stayed in each other's arms in a world of their own until the other kids came out to play.

Tomoyo stood with Sakura in the washroom during recess and helped her friend clean up her tear-streaked face.
"Thank you, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura smiled weakly. The girl just smiled in return.
"Sakura-chan, did something happen yesterday? After the Teddy Bear Show I mean."
Sakura looked down and blushed. She found it strange that it meant more to her now than it did at the time. Yes, something did happen then. Syaoran had held her close and changed her, forever.
A little voice in the back of her mind asked "why," making her sad because she stiff had no answer. Why was it so hard to answer a simple little word?
"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo put a hand on Sakura's shoulder.
"Tomoyo-chan, I¡K.don't know." How could she tell her something that she didn't even understand? Then Sakura had a thought. Maybe Tomoyo could help!
"Tomoyo-chan," she looked up at her smiling friend, "I don't know but I want to. Syaoran-kun's so different all of a sudden. Have you noticed?"
Tomoyo smiled as Sakura called him by his first name, "Yes."
"I don't know what to think. What about you?"
"I think he cares for someone very deeply, Sakura-chan." She said happily. Sakura's cheeks went pink. She remembered how sweet Syaoran had been in her dream. But wait! Wasn't he acting the same way now?
"Hoeeee¡K¡K" Sakura felt her temperature rise.
They walked back outside and met their three friends. Tomoyo chatted happily with them and Sakura smiled subconciously. But her mind was elsewhere. She began walking away from them and for a minute they looked at her curiously.
"Let's leave her alone. She's had a rough day." Rikka told them.
"Yeah¡K" They said sadly but let her be.
Saklura wandered off to the empty side of the school grounds.
"Such a beautiful day¡K." She whispered to herself. Why did Syaoran have such an effect on her now, she wondered. Just the thought of his name sent sparks through her veins. It never had before¡K..
She made up her mind. One way or another she was going to find out why she felt the way she did.

Syaoran left the bench, walked a ways and climbed up on of the trees around the back of the school. He didn't feel like playing kickball today. He was so shaken up that he wouldn't have been able to if he tried.
Things had changed so much so fast.
He sat on one of the lower branches and looked around.
The way Sakura held him just now felt so much different than yesterday.
He pulled his knees to his chest.
And the way she whispered in his ear was like heaven.
"Sakura¡K..what have you done to me?"
He never dreamed that the girl he met as his rival would change him this way. Ever since the first day he came to Tomoeda he'd had an instinctive need to protect her
but at that time he'd been too hard headed to know the reason why. Over the past year she'd broken away his emotional shell bit by bit with her smiles and kind words until he realized that he was in love with her. He always had been. But his "feelings" for Yukito had gotten in the way. Syaoran cringed at the thought. How could he ever think that he had feelings for Yukito?
He thought back to the day when he first realized that he liked the pretty,
auburn-haired girl.
"I'm such an idiot!" He had yelled at himself. He'd treated her like dirt everyday and now he couldn't think how she would ever return the feelings he had for her. Back then he couldn't understand why his face began to flush every time he saw her. But now he did. His feelings of anger toward her subsided, being overpowered by feelings of love.
Syaoran looked around again and stopped.
'What? She came back?'

Sakura didn't have a clue where she was going. A warm and comforting aura was leading her on and she followed it willingly. She watched her shoes as they made the grass lay flat beneath them. One foot in from of the other continuing on and on in a seemingly never ending path. Then they stopped. She gave her feet a confused look as if asking them where they had taken her.
'Snap out of it, Sakura,' she said to herself, 'your shoes can't talk.' She looked around. Where was the aura coming from? There was no one here. Her head looked up and she smiled.
"Syaoran-kun," she whispered. There he was with his head to his knees.
'All alone.' She thought. True, he had never been known as a really social person but he didn't deserve to be without someone to talk to. She had Tomoyo to go to whenever she was feeling down. But who was there for Syaoran? Sakura's heart went out to him. Why should he have to be all by himself when she was here? She stared at the boy and she saw herself sitting up there with him, with her head on his shoulder, while they whispered silently. Sakura was completely lost in her daydream. They were so happy just being¡K.together. She saw cherry blossoms dancing all around them while they smiled at eachother.
This was happiness. This is what it was supposed to be like. Supposed to feel like. He put his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear. When she saw herself smile at this her cheeks got warm. Is this what they looked like together? The image was so perfect and yet so hard to describe. If only it could always be like that.
"Sakura?" She heard someone ask in a soft and gentle voice. She blinked a few times and saw Syaoran's warm amber eyes staring into hers. Sakura blushed furiously. How long had she been standing there?
"Sy-Syaoran-kun? C-can I come up there with you?"
Syaraon almost fell off the tree. His heart started to pound.
"You want to sit with me?"
"Un!" She took his hand and he helped her up. Syaoran became flustered at being so close to her again. She asked to sit with him of her own free will!
"S-so¡K¡Kwhy did you want to come up here?" He looked down at his feet.
"You were all alone. And no one should have to be alone, Syaoran-kun." She blushed slightly, "Especially you¡K"
He looked up. What did she mean by that?
Sakura fumbled over her words and looked the opposite direction.
"A-and¡K..I¡K..I wanted¡K¡K..I wanted to be with you¡K..Syaoran-kun."
Syaoran's body went limp. What did she say? She was sitting up her because she wanted to be with him? That wasn't possible. He must be dreaming.
"Th-thank you¡K¡K.for sitting with me."
"Hmm?"
"I've been so mean and rude to you ever since I came to Japan. I said so many unforgivable things. I - I thought you hated being around me." He mumbled, finally telling her what had been on his mind.
Sakura's eyes glazed with tears full of sympathy. She leaned over to him and put her small hand over his.
Syaoran sat up in shock and looked straight into her glistening eyes. She smiled at him making his heart beat faster.
"Don't ever think that again, Syaoran-kun." She whispered to him.
"I won't." He replied not being able to pull away from her gaze. Sakura finally gave in and rested her head on his shoulder. Then she hugged his arm to herself.
"Good." She said closing her eyes.
Syaoran couldn't think straight. The feel of her arms around his was making him dizzy and as he breathed he could smell the sweet scent of her hair. What had he done to deserve this angel sitting next to him?
"Sakura," he paused not quite sure how to explain what he was thinking. But there wasn't any other way to say it than, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" She asked confused.
"For everything I ever said that might have hurt you in anyway."
Sakura couldn't believe it. He was apologizing to her. She never expected to hear anything so kind from him. Her heart gave a little jump.
"Thank you, Syaoran-kun. I forgive you."
His eyebrows rose up high. She¡K¡Kforgave him? For everything? Then his face softened and he smiled. He didn't have to worry anymore.
Syaoran closed his eyes, brought his arm around her shoulder and relaxed to the feel of Sakura's heart beating against his arm. Now he was at peace.
The school bell eventually rang and Sakura opened her eyes.
"I guess it's time to go back in!"
"Uh huh." He answered. Syaoran jumped off the tree and helped her down. Then they ran back to school,hand in hand, to Sakura's joyful laughter.

Having just got home from school, Syaoran lay down on his bed and sighed happily.
"I think I'm the happiest person alive." He closed his eyes and saw Sakura's merry face enlightened by her bright green eyes. The sight of her made him smile and his stomach got butterflies. After everything he said to her, every name he called her¡K.she had forgiven him. It was so unbelievable he hadn't been able to think during the rest of school. It was a good thing that they only read for the last few hours because all he could do was stare at Sakura and remember the feel of her head so close to his. He could read those books later tonight. Right now he just wanted to bask in the remembrance of her.
Her touching his hand. Her laying in his lap. Her head on his shoulders. Her staring up at him. Her hugging him for joy. Her holding his hand. Her calling his name. Her hair on his cheek. Her eyes looking into his with their faces just inches apart.
Each memory was stored safely away in a place he would never forget them. Sakura was his life. She was the only one who had ever made him feel happy. Growing up his like had been filled with training and becoming stronger. So when he came to Japan he didn't know how to care for anybody. Sakura taught him how.
"Sakura ¡K if only I could tell you how much you mean to me¡K.."
Syaoran had dreams about telling her and he always woke up determined that he would say it that day.
But when he walked in the classroom and saw her smiling face he lost his confidence. He couldn't do it. He couldn't risk the chance that her eyes would loose their sparkle and that she might never speak to him again. He couldn't.
He thought night after night of a way he could say it so she might not be too shocked but nothing ever came to him.
He sighed,
"Will I ever be able to tell her?" He tried not to think about it. They'd grown so close over the past few days, maybe he didn't even care if she knew right now. If Sakura never touched him again because she did he wouldn't be able to live with himself.
He sat up in his bed and looked at the handmade bear on his desk. Who did he really have in mind when he made it anyway?
Syaoran picked it up and saw Sakura's eyes full of laughter.
"That's right," he murmured, "I should give this to her."

"I'm home!" Sakura called as she walked in the door. Touya was already in the kitchen making dinner.
"Oi, Kaijuu!"
"I'm not a kaijuu, onii-chan." She replied flatly as she made her way up the stairs.
'That's strange¡K.' Thought her brother.

'Today was the worst and the best day of my life at the same time,' she said to herself, 'that's really weird.' Sakura remembered the way it felt when she sat with Sayoran and the way he touched her hair.
"No. Today was definitely the best day." She decided.
She skipped to her room and put her hand on the door.
'I hope Kero-chan doesn't get suspicious.' She smiled to herself.
Sakura turned the doorknob.
Her eyes went wide.
A flood of horrible images rushed into her mind as she collapsed against the half open door and onto the floor.