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1 Author’s Notes: Hello, everyone! ^-^ This is a story I’ve wanted to
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2 do for a while, and it actually focuses on Meiling & Syaoran. ^-^
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3 They really do make a good couple. ^,^ If Meiling had gotten Syaoran
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4 and Tomoyo had gotten Sakura, everyone would have been happy. Anyway,
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5 this story has some.. strange themes. ^-^;; Please read responsibly.
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6 ^^ This story played hell with what nouns I should use when and
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7 where, so if it looks a little sloppy, I apologize in advance. ^-^;;;
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8 If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me your
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9 thoughts. I always love to know what people think. ^-^ Please enjoy!
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10
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11
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12 The Shape of Things
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13 By Amazoness Duo
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14 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
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15
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16
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17 Transcendental silence held the world steadfastly in its grip, only
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18 a distant bird daring to interrupt the world’s peaceful slumber. The
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19 spring day was warm and lazy, as if it were trying to lull the
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20 students inside the large school building to a gentle nap. Even the
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21 wind didn’t feel like disturbing the peace and quiet. Flowers grew
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22 and trees stretched out in this quiet interim, in this silent
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23 purgatory that held the world in a sleepy stasis.
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24 A shrill bell broke all the former pristine silence as students
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25 burst out of the school doors like water bursting from a dam. Gossip
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26 and teasing quickly took the place of the lone bird in the distance.
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27 Students hurried this way and that as everyone met up with friends or
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28 went to their after-school clubs or just went home. The lazy spring
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29 day had lost its power over them with the ringing of the final bell.
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30 Boys and girls hurried about their business, none of which was more
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31 important than simply escaping the tomblike confines of the classroom
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32 they had been suffocating in.
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33 Out of this sea of chaos and confusion, walked a pretty, short
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34 haired brunette. There wasn’t anything particularly surprising about
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35 her. Not at first sight, at any rate. She could be any girl that went
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36 to that school, though if you asked anyone, they would have to tell
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37 you that there was something different about the girl. What exactly,
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38 they couldn’t quite say. Except for one girl in specific. She could
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39 answer any question imaginable about the brunette. And what made the
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40 auburn haired girl stand out at the moment was that her arms were
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41 entwined around one of the arms of a very pretty lavender haired
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42 girl. This lavender haired girl was the one that could, indeed, read
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43 the brunette like a well-written novel.
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44 Talking about the day, Sakura and Tomoyo made their way through the
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45 moving throng of students, not seeming to notice the crowd
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46 encompassing them. Stormy blue eyes sparkled in heartfelt joy as they
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47 gazed lovingly into genki emerald gems. Those eyes didn’t see the
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48 flurry of students around them, only seeing the energetic young woman
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49 by her side. And that made the hectic evening all the more enjoyable.
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50 Her free hand went to her cheek as she let out a soft sigh. Sakura’s
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51 cute voice played through her mind like beautiful music. As if
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52 sitting next to the auburn haired girl in class all day wasn’t
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53 enough, this little touch of heaven certainly made her day. The two
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54 continued along, completely oblivious to anyone around them.
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55 “So I was thinking about trying out for the soccer team, but I’m
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56 still not sure. It’s been so busy lately that I really don’t know if
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57 I could fit it in. Especially with onii-chan gone. Dad and I had to
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58 split the chores, so I haven’t had as much time after school,” Sakura
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59 continued, still holding onto Tomoyo’s arm. The pale girl leaned
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60 against her, bringing a smile to Sakura’s lips. Of course, Tomoyo
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61 would know that she hadn’t had as much time since her brother had
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62 moved out with Yukito. Tomoyo was there most of the time anyway,
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63 keeping her company as she did her chores or cooked dinner. And
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64 Tomoyo was even helping her with her cooking. It had obviously been
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65 an improvement from some of her father’s compliments about her recent
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66 dinners. She had Tomoyo to thank for that. So Tomoyo definitely knew
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67 about her lack of time after school. But it didn’t seem like such a
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68 bad thing. The pale girl was over more often than not and with Touya
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69 gone it meant that she could enjoy their time together in peace
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70 without the teasing he had given her upon finding out that she was
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71 dating Tomoyo.
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72 “That would be so cute! I’m sure Sakura-chan would be their star
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73 player. And I could go to all of your games and videotape you
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74 playing. And then you could watch them to see how you played and to
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75 get better,” Tomoyo replied, smiling sweetly at her Cardmistress.
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76 Though she knew full well that she would most likely be the one
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77 watching the videos, whether or not they could help Sakura’s game.
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78 Sighing dreamily, she tilted her head to the side, her long,
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79 currently braided hair spilling over their entwined arms. “I can see
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80 it now; Sakura-chan bolting across the field like a streak of light,
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81 looking stylish yet sporty in her team uniform. The crowd cheers as
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82 Sakura-chan gets the ball, every single detail captured forever in
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83 film by her loving koibito while her devoted fans pass out in ecstasy.”
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84 Her face a bright shade of cherry red, Sakura stared at Tomoyo
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85 before she began to sweatdrop. She had the distinct feeling as of
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86 late that Tomoyo had been trying harder to embarrass her. It had been
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87 easy for the dark haired girl to embarrass her as a child, but now
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88 that they had been dating, Sakura had grown used to some of the
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89 things Tomoyo said and what she meant by them. So lately she was
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90 certain that her pale girlfriend had been going further to bring a
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91 blush to her cheeks. “Tomoyo-chan...” she got out, a hand behind her
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92 head as she laughed weakly. "I don’t really think it would be like
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93 that.”
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94 Giggling softly, Tomoyo led the way to the waiting limousine. Her
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95 bodyguards held the doors open for the pair as they approached. She
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96 would have preferred to walk, simply to spend the warm day by
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97 Sakura’s side, but her house was a bit far for that. With Sakura’s
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98 father out for another convention and no Touya to take care of his
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99 only daughter, Tomoyo’s mother had been eager to have Sakura over.
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100 The Daidouji women were both equally thrilled to have Sakura spending
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101 the next few days. Sonomi had made sure that she could get off early
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102 that night to spend some time with her daughter and the child of her
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103 deceased love. She and Tomoyo would be making dinner for the three of
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104 them. Tomoyo was happy to see her mother enjoying Sakura’s presence
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105 nearly as much as she did, but it was nice to know that they would
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106 have some time alone as well. She already had some ideas for that.
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107 After all, it was nice to plan things out ahead of time. Sakura was
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108 impulsive, leaping into whatever happened, but Tomoyo liked things to
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109 go slowly and smoothly. Not that she didn’t love Sakura’s
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110 impulsiveness, only that she liked to temper it with her thorough
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111 planning at times. Smiling brightly at the brunette, Tomoyo replied.
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112 “I think Sakura-chan would make an adorable soccer player. I can come
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113 over and help out more if Sakura-chan would like, but I think you
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114 should have enough time for it as it is. And it would be exciting to
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115 go to all of Sakura-chan’s games.”
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116 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered softly as she rested her head on
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117 Tomoyo’s shoulder. Her cheeks flushed faintly, her eyes closing
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118 slightly as she leaned against the slightly smaller girl. A bright
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119 smile crossed her lips as they slipped into the limousine. The pale
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120 girl was always so perceptive about things. And Sakura was always
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121 glad to follow her advice. Thinking back to the little board that
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122 held her chores back home, Sakura tried to think if she would have
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123 the time to be on the soccer team even without Tomoyo’s help. Her
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124 flush grew a little brighter as the image of Tomoyo in a maid’s
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125 costume filled her mind. The last time Tomoyo had come over to help
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126 her out, she had dressed up in a cute maid’s outfit. Of her own
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127 design, as always. So maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing even if
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128 she did need her girlfriend’s help. The eccentric heiress’s costume
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129 fetish (and video fetish and just general Sakura fetish for that
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130 matter) certainly made things... interesting. “Un, I think I’ll try
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131 out for it on Thursday, then. I really do think it would be fun. I
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132 haven’t had the chance to really do anything like that since I was on
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133 the swim team last year,” Sakura said with a smile.
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134 “Sugoi!!” came Tomoyo’s reply. She would have clasped her hands
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135 together, but Sakura still held sole possession of her right arm.
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136 Instead, she began to run her pale finger’s through Sakura’s short,
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137 firey hair. “I’ll be sure to show up with a fresh videotape after
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138 classes on Thursday. I don’t want to miss a second of ‘Sakura-chan’s
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139 Soccer Advance’,” Tomoyo declared. The limousine began it’s path home
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140 while Tomoyo’s fingers made themselves at home in Sakura’s hair. She
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141 let a delicious sigh escape her lips as she felt the soft strands
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142 under her fingertips, marveling at the feeling of Sakura’s strong,
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143 athletic body pressed against her side. She smiled exquisitely,
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144 kissing Sakura’s forehead. After a second, she kissed it again, and
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145 again, all the while moving slowly lower, over her eyelids, down the
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146 bridge of her nose, sweetly caressing her cheek with kisses.
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147 Sakura blushed faintly at Tomoyo’s kisses, but didn’t move to
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148 distance herself from them. Her lavender haired best friend had such
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149 soft, sensuous lips. It felt blissful to have them against her. It
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150 was nice to know that, as always, she had Tomoyo’s love and support
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151 behind her. It made the decision to try out for the soccer team much
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152 easier for her. Blinking in confusion, the auburn haired Mistress of
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153 the Cards looked up to the mistress of her heart. “’Sakura-chan’s
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154 Soccer Advance’?” Sakura asked curiously, a thin eyebrow raising.
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155 “Of course. I like to have titles ahead of time when I can, but
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156 most of the time you can’t predict what’s going to happen, so I just
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157 wait until afterwards. So this is more of a working title. It’s
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158 because Sakura-chan will surely advance through the other girls to
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159 become the best soccer player on the team. Just like you were the
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160 best on the cheerleading team and the drama club and the swim team,”
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161 Tomoyo explained, kissing down Sakura’s left cheek as she paused.
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162 “Though I may use ‘Sakura-chan, Race for the Goal!’ I’ll have to see
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163 how it turns out,” Tomoyo said thoughtfully. The heiress smiled
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164 sweetly and tilted her head to the side at Sakura’s puzzled
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165 expression. The Cardmistress was just too pretty for her own good.
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166 Just being with her, talking to her, the lavender haired heiress
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167 could feel her love growing stronger and stronger.
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168 Sweatdropping, Sakura shifted in her seat, still holding onto
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169 Tomoyo’s arm. “Tomoyo-chan, I think you’re the only one who would
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170 think that. I really wasn’t even all that good at Drama Club.
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171 Besides, that was your idea.” Drama Club had been... difficult. With
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172 so many lines to memorize, it had been almost overwhelming for the
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173 poor auburn haired girl. She found it much easier to memorize
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174 routines or warm ups rather than to force script into her mind. But
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175 Tomoyo had helped her through it with every play she had been in that
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176 year. Sakura never saw Tomoyo memorizing her own lines, but the pale
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177 girl always seemed to know them by heart. Tomoyo had thought it would
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178 be fun to join the club together so they could both join a club that
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179 year. And even if it had been exhausting, it had also been a lot of
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180 fun at times, especially practicing her lines with the lavender
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181 haired girl.
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182 Tomoyo smiled and shook her head briefly. “No, I don’t think so.
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183 I’m sure I could find someone to agree with me. Like mother. And even
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184 if I couldn’t, I think you were the best in all of those things and
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185 more. To me, you are.” Sure, Sakura would drop her baton at times.
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186 Sure, she would miss a line or two. Sure, she sometimes forgot to
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187 stretch before swimming. But she had always tried her hardest. And
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188 Tomoyo had always found that trait to be one of Sakura’s most
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189 endearing.
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190 Blushing slightly, Sakura felt some of Tomoyo’s gorgeous lavender
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191 hair brush past her cheek as Tomoyo watched her intently, her face
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192 mere inches away. “But that’s because you love me,” Sakura whispered
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193 at last, her cheeks still tinted pink. Tomoyo’s hair smelled
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194 wonderful, and the silky strands caressed her cheek with the same
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195 gentleness of the other girl’s pale fingers.
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196 “And I always will,” Tomoyo whispered in reply. She could feel
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197 Sakura’s arms loosen around her right arm before pulling away
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198 altogether. She simply watched the beautiful brunette, smiling softly
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199 at her. She gasped softly as Sakura’s arms went around her waist, the
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200 distance between them disappearing before Tomoyo could even tell that
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201 it was gone. Motioning with her free hand for the driver to circle
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202 the block a few times before they got home, Tomoyo returned the kiss.
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203 As always, Sakura was the most potent, intoxicating drug she could
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204 think of. And Tomoyo was happy to lose herself to the affects the
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205 brunette caused in her heart.
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206
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207 Just a little behind Sakura and Tomoyo, another brunette left the
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208 school. This one, too, had a dark haired girl in their personal
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209 space. This dark haired girl was clinging to her perspective love
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210 interest like a vice. The object of her affections, however, wore a
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211 deep scowl. Syaoran frowned as he watched Sakura and Tomoyo leave
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212 school arm in arm, giggling like... like... like schoolgirls! He had
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213 only recently returned, but already things weren’t exactly turning
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214 his way. Sakura and that Daidouji girl were inseparable as of late.
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215 What with Meiling having shown up only a few days before, it made
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216 things much more difficult. Sakura seemed to be ignoring her
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217 affections, which was only made worse by the fact that Meiling was
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218 almost always there. It made it impossible for him to get to the
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219 bottom of the situation. How could he ask Sakura what was going on if
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220 his fiance was right by his side? But now he would find out what was
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221 going on. He found it strange that Sakura was heading home in a
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222 limousine. She usually rollerbladed or walked back to her home. So
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223 was she even heading back there? Why would she be going to the
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224 Daidouji girl’s house anyway? On a school night, of all nights?
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225 “So what should we do tonight, Syaoran? I was thinking that I could
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226 make some dinner and we can let Wei relax for a bit. Then it can be
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227 just you and me. And maybe some candlelight. And then...” Meiling
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228 trailed off, not noticing her fiance’s nearly constant scowl or the
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229 direction of her thoughts, too lost in her own plans for the night.
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230 “Who knows after that. Maybe we could just talk for a while. I can
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231 wear that little red dress I bought with me and you can wear that
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232 cute blue shirt that I bought you a little while back.” Her finger
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233 began trailing in circles on Syaoran’s back as they walked forward.
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234 She had been rather pissed off to find that Syaoran had disappeared
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235 back to Japan for reasons unknown, but now that she was with her
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236 beloved again, she felt her anger slipping away. Did it matter where
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237 they were as long as they were there together? Syaoran needed her to
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238 take care of him at any rate and now she was here to do it. Besides,
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239 he’d just get himself into trouble on his own.
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240 “Meiling... Come on, stop it,” Syaoran said, trying not to blush as
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241 he watched the limousine pull off. This was exactly why he had wanted
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242 to go on his own. He didn’t want to hurt Meiling. She was important
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243 to him. She was most likely his best friend. She was the only person
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244 that he really spent a lot of time with, that really knew him. He
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245 didn’t want to hurt her over his feelings for Sakura. And with how
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246 she had always made especially sure to mark Syaoran as her property,
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247 that made it much more difficult to reach Sakura. How could he when
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248 everyone at the school already knew he was Meiling’s? A sigh escaped
|
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rlm@0
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249 his lips as he watched the limo speeding into the distance. He
|
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rlm@0
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250 finally did blush as he felt Meiling’s supple body pressing tightly
|
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rlm@0
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251 into his side, his cousin and fiance trying to snag his attention.
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rlm@0
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252 Meiling had certainly blossomed in recent years, but he had a hard
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rlm@0
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253 time seeing her as anything other than the little cousin that had
|
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rlm@0
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254 always followed him around. Kneeling down both to pick up something
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rlm@0
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255 he had spotted and to get away from Meiling’s tight grip for a
|
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rlm@0
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256 second, Syaoran pulled up a small piece of paper he had seen fall
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rlm@0
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257 away from Tomoyo’s bookbag. It was a simple sketch of Sakura, but it
|
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rlm@0
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258 was stunning. It looked so real. Tomoyo’s artistic eye and years of
|
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rlm@0
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259 drawing costume designs for Sakura had apparently paid off.
|
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rlm@0
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260 “Wow... She’s good,” Meiling commented, her chin on Syaoran’s
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rlm@0
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261 shoulder. The boy blushed and tried to stand up, but she held him in
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rlm@0
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262 place with strength gained from a lot of time spent getting out her
|
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rlm@0
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263 frustration over the boy she loved while training in the martial
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rlm@0
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264 arts. “I guess Tomoyo finally decided that she couldn’t beat me in
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rlm@0
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265 singing so she should find another talent.” The black haired girl
|
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rlm@0
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266 nodded thoughtfully. “Good for her. It’s good to see her with
|
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rlm@0
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267 something to fall back on.” Smiling as she held her hands on
|
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rlm@0
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268 Syaoran’s shoulders, she finally allowed the boy to stand, her arms
|
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rlm@0
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269 wrapping around his waist as soon as he did. Yeah, it didn’t matter
|
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rlm@0
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270 if he did something silly like running back to Tomoeda. She could
|
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rlm@0
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271 forgive him. After all, she did love him. Just so long as he didn’t
|
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rlm@0
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272 do anything that stupid again.
|
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rlm@0
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273 “I have to find out what’s going on,” Syaoran said, more for his
|
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rlm@0
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274 own benefit than anyone else’s. His scowl returned as he watched the
|
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rlm@0
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275 direction Sakura had disappeared in. Just what had happened? Why
|
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rlm@0
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276 hadn’t Sakura jumped into his arms already? Why would she rather
|
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rlm@0
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277 spend her time with the Daidouji girl than with him? Had he done
|
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rlm@0
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278 something wrong? He’d find out what was going on. He was tired of
|
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rlm@0
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279 playing games. He would know before the night was through. Crumpling
|
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rlm@0
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280 up the sketch of Sakura in his fist, he stuffed it in his pocket.
|
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rlm@0
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281 Meiling blinked in confusion. “Huh? What’s going on with what?” She
|
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rlm@0
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282 stared at Syaoran for a moment, following his gaze. Why was the
|
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rlm@0
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283 Chinese boy so out of it lately? He seemed so distant, like he was
|
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rlm@0
|
284 always busy with other things. He amber eyes followed to the distant
|
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rlm@0
|
285 horizon. “Ohhh… You mean with Sakura.” The black haired girl’s eyes
|
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rlm@0
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286 narrowed as she held onto her fiance tighter. She really needed to
|
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rlm@0
|
287 put an end to this whole Sakura thing. And soon. “I’d think that
|
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rlm@0
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288 would be obvious,” she said nonchalantly. “It’s not like it came as a
|
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rlm@0
|
289 huge surprise, at any rate. I mean, Tomoyo always was pretty
|
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rlm@0
|
290 eccentric about her.”
|
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rlm@0
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291 Frowning, Syaoran turned around in Meiling’s grasp, pulling away.
|
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rlm@0
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292 “And what’s that supposed to mean?” He didn’t like the sound of this.
|
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rlm@0
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293 Or where it was going. But apparently Meiling didn’t like his tone,
|
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rlm@0
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294 because her gaze grew frosty as she crossed her arms. He tried not to
|
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rlm@0
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295 shudder at her piercing gaze, instead letting his hot anger warm him.
|
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rlm@0
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296 “It means that Tomoyo’s with Sakura now. Guess you weren’t Sakura’s
|
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rlm@0
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297 type. Not that it’s any of your concern. I am your fiance, after
|
|
rlm@0
|
298 all.” Meiling shrugged, tossing a pigtail back over her shoulder.
|
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rlm@0
|
299 Tomoyo had been in much the same situation that she had been in, so
|
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rlm@0
|
300 it hadn’t been too difficult to see who the lavender haired girl’s
|
|
rlm@0
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301 heart belonged to. Actually, by now most of the class should be able
|
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rlm@0
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302 to tell that with little or no difficulty. Upon returning and seeing
|
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rlm@0
|
303 that her counterpart seemed to have managed to capture the heart of
|
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rlm@0
|
304 the Cardmistress, Meiling had been overjoyed. If Sakura was with the
|
|
rlm@0
|
305 eccentric pale girl, then she certainly couldn’t get in the martial
|
|
rlm@0
|
306 artist’s way. Unfortunately, everyone but Syaoran seemed to be happy
|
|
rlm@0
|
307 with this turn of events.
|
|
rlm@0
|
308 “That’s a lie!” Syaoran shot out angrily. He was not about to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
309 beaten out by some... some girl! And some weak little crazy girl at
|
|
rlm@0
|
310 that. He was Li Syaoran, heir to the venerable House of Li, and a
|
|
rlm@0
|
311 powerful magician at that. That some magic-less, frail, soft spoken
|
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rlm@0
|
312 girl could beat him to the heart of the one he loved was
|
|
rlm@0
|
313 inconceivable. It just couldn’t happen. Besides, Meiling was always
|
|
rlm@0
|
314 like this. She was just trying to ruin things with Sakura so that he
|
|
rlm@0
|
315 would have to stay with her. Part of him felt ashamed for writing off
|
|
rlm@0
|
316 Meiling so quickly, but his mind couldn’t accept her words as
|
|
rlm@0
|
317 anything but vicious lies. There had to be some other reason that
|
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rlm@0
|
318 Sakura was spending so much time with the Diadouji girl instead of
|
|
rlm@0
|
319 him.
|
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rlm@0
|
320 Meiling stared at the brown haired boy incredulously. “What did you
|
|
rlm@0
|
321 say?” she asked in surprise. Her eyes narrowed in fury as she looked
|
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rlm@0
|
322 into his own amber eyes. “You did come scurrying back here to the
|
|
rlm@0
|
323 Cardmistress, didn’t you?! You were going to try and slip out right
|
|
rlm@0
|
324 under my nose just so you wouldn’t have to marry me! You’re so stuck
|
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rlm@0
|
325 on that bitch that you’ve blinded yourself to the truth. You won’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
326 let yourself see anything you don’t want to.” By now, a few of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
327 remaining students had begun to stare, but the black haired Chinese
|
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rlm@0
|
328 girl could care less about them. She was furious. No, it wasn’t just
|
|
rlm@0
|
329 that. She was hurt. Her heart had belonged to Syaoran for so long,
|
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rlm@0
|
330 had been his and his alone, but he discarded it at the first
|
|
rlm@0
|
331 opportunity. All for some naďve Japanese girl. It hurt so much to
|
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rlm@0
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332 know that the one she loved could so easily toss her aside. Tears
|
|
rlm@0
|
333 threatened to spill from her amber eyes, but her anger held them in
|
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rlm@0
|
334 check. For the time being.
|
|
rlm@0
|
335 “I’m going to find out for myself. I’ll prove that’s not how it is.
|
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rlm@0
|
336 Sakura-chan wouldn’t do that.” Syaoran was holding onto his last hope
|
|
rlm@0
|
337 now. He was trying desperately to hold onto the belief that Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
338 was lying, that it had all just been a mean spirited way of keeping
|
|
rlm@0
|
339 him with her. But doubts started to creep in to his mind little by
|
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rlm@0
|
340 little. Whirling away from his cousin, the Chinese sorcerer leapt
|
|
rlm@0
|
341 into the nearby trees. He had to find Sakura. He had to find out what
|
|
rlm@0
|
342 was happening.
|
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rlm@0
|
343 “Syaoran!! I’m not done with you yet!” Meiling called after him,
|
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rlm@0
|
344 her fists balling up as she leapt into the trees behind him. She was
|
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rlm@0
|
345 going to put an end to this once and for all. If he was going to be
|
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rlm@0
|
346 so stubborn, she’d walk into the damn room and snap some photos of
|
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rlm@0
|
347 the two girls doing who knows what just to get him to drop it. And
|
|
rlm@0
|
348 then he would never hear the end of all of this, especially making
|
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rlm@0
|
349 her travel all the way to Japan so he could try to get with someone
|
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rlm@0
|
350 else. Hmm... Perhaps there would be a slight change of plans. It sure
|
|
rlm@0
|
351 sounded a lot more worthwhile to just kill him.
|
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rlm@0
|
352
|
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rlm@0
|
353 It was dark by the time Syaoran finally reached the expansive
|
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rlm@0
|
354 Daidouji estate. He had only been there a handful of times and that
|
|
rlm@0
|
355 had been years before. The large gate enclosed a huge, elegant home
|
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rlm@0
|
356 that rivaled even the Li estate. It was ironic that such a home was
|
|
rlm@0
|
357 only for two people, a woman and her daughter. And one of them was
|
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rlm@0
|
358 rarely home to begin with. Syaoran didn’t count the maids and
|
|
rlm@0
|
359 servants as actually living there, since they weren’t a part of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
360 family proper. They had plenty of them back at his own home in China.
|
|
rlm@0
|
361 They were a symbol of one’s status, hired to maintain one’s life when
|
|
rlm@0
|
362 they were too busy with more important things to do so. Of course,
|
|
rlm@0
|
363 Wei didn’t fit this description in his mind. The man had helped to
|
|
rlm@0
|
364 raise him, had taken care of him during his time in Japan. The older
|
|
rlm@0
|
365 man had been a respected elder that he could think of warmly without
|
|
rlm@0
|
366 the same fear that his mother had instilled in him. The Chinese boy
|
|
rlm@0
|
367 wondered idly if Tomoyo had a similar surrogate guardian what with
|
|
rlm@0
|
368 her mother gone so often, but he decided that he had more important
|
|
rlm@0
|
369 things to worry about.
|
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rlm@0
|
370 Amber eyes glanced at the front gate that sealed off the vast
|
|
rlm@0
|
371 household. Going through the gate wasn’t an option. He had to get in
|
|
rlm@0
|
372 quietly, sneaking to Sakura to find out just what was going on. If he
|
|
rlm@0
|
373 just confronted them, they’d probably give him some stupid excuse.
|
|
rlm@0
|
374 The fact that he was too shy to actually demand Sakura tell him
|
|
rlm@0
|
375 didn’t cross his mind. He wouldn’t allow such thoughts to linger. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
376 was Li Syaoran, the next head of the House of Li, a sorcerer who had
|
|
rlm@0
|
377 helped... He winced a bit at that thought. Helped. He had helped
|
|
rlm@0
|
378 Sakura. He hadn’t been good enough to handle the situation on his
|
|
rlm@0
|
379 own. Letting a little anger seep into his mind helped him to focus.
|
|
rlm@0
|
380 It gave him something to hold onto. Yes, he was mad that he had come
|
|
rlm@0
|
381 back here for the sake of his love, Sakura, and had found her
|
|
rlm@0
|
382 spending all of her time with the Daidouji girl. He deserved an
|
|
rlm@0
|
383 explanation. He had spent years waiting for this time to see her
|
|
rlm@0
|
384 again, when he could again be with the Cardmistress.
|
|
rlm@0
|
385 Ducking around the side, Syaoran tried not to make a noise as he
|
|
rlm@0
|
386 heard one of Tomoyo’s bodyguards approaching. This might not be as
|
|
rlm@0
|
387 easy as he thought. But he had to find out what was going on, no
|
|
rlm@0
|
388 matter what lay in his path. ‘Sakura-chan’s determination sparkles
|
|
rlm@0
|
389 like the stars above,’ her heard from deep within his memories. Who
|
|
rlm@0
|
390 had said that? It was a soft, sweet voice. The Daidouji girl. Well,
|
|
rlm@0
|
391 he would prove that he could be just as determined as Sakura. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
392 would prove that he deserved the brunette. She would fly into his
|
|
rlm@0
|
393 arms just like he had imagined these last few years when he would lie
|
|
rlm@0
|
394 in bed, ever since he had left back to Hong Kong. He had confessed
|
|
rlm@0
|
395 his feelings to Sakura before he had left. And she had felt the same,
|
|
rlm@0
|
396 hadn’t she? She still felt that way for him, didn’t she? Panic began
|
|
rlm@0
|
397 to eat at him, but he burnt it away by drudging up more anger. A
|
|
rlm@0
|
398 scowl crossed his face as he waited for the bodyguard to leave. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
399 could hear her by the gate, obviously glancing around, dressed in a
|
|
rlm@0
|
400 black business suit, he was sure. Finally, briskly, the woman walked
|
|
rlm@0
|
401 away calling someone on her cell phone. Letting out a sigh of relief,
|
|
rlm@0
|
402 Syaoran let himself relax. But angry amber eyes burned holes into his
|
|
rlm@0
|
403 own, startling the poor boy before he could regain his composure.
|
|
rlm@0
|
404 “Meiling!!”
|
|
rlm@0
|
405 The Chinese girl clenched her fist as she glared at her misbehaving
|
|
rlm@0
|
406 fiance. “Why are we here, Syaoran? And you better have a good
|
|
rlm@0
|
407 reason.” This was Tomoyo’s house, she was fairly certain. And sense
|
|
rlm@0
|
408 she knew that Syaoran held no interest in the pale girl, she knew
|
|
rlm@0
|
409 what he was here for. Sakura. And that thought brought with it a
|
|
rlm@0
|
410 meteor shower of jealousy in the black haired girl. She was his
|
|
rlm@0
|
411 fiance, not the Cardmistress. She was the one that loved him, not
|
|
rlm@0
|
412 that dense and overly cheerful girl. She felt hurt and disappointed
|
|
rlm@0
|
413 that he would come running to her the first chance he got. Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
414 had grown closer to her in the past couple years. They spent so much
|
|
rlm@0
|
415 time together, had been spending more and more together ever since
|
|
rlm@0
|
416 Syaoran’s return to Hong Kong. They had shared several romantic times
|
|
rlm@0
|
417 together, and had even kissed. Meiling had been thrilled. It was all
|
|
rlm@0
|
418 she had ever wanted, being with the man she loved. But now he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
419 running away from that, treating her like some type of door prize.
|
|
rlm@0
|
420 She would feel cold and sad about the whole thing, but she had cried
|
|
rlm@0
|
421 for him once too often over the years, burying her head in her pillow
|
|
rlm@0
|
422 when she knew she was all alone. Now she just felt like beating some
|
|
rlm@0
|
423 sense into him and dragging him back home.
|
|
rlm@0
|
424 ‘Ko.. Kowaii...’ Syaoran thought to himself, backed against the
|
|
rlm@0
|
425 wall as Meiling’s gaze began to bore through him. ‘She’s almost as
|
|
rlm@0
|
426 frightening as mother.’ The Chinese boy quickly got himself back in
|
|
rlm@0
|
427 control, his eyes narrowing as he stepped away from the wall. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
428 shouldn’t be scared of his younger cousin. He was a man now, not just
|
|
rlm@0
|
429 some little boy. Even if Meiling was a little scary sometimes, it
|
|
rlm@0
|
430 wasn’t like she could do anything. He was the one in charge of all
|
|
rlm@0
|
431 this. He’d just have to explain that he loved Sakura and that their
|
|
rlm@0
|
432 engagement was off. Later. He’d explain it later. He looked away from
|
|
rlm@0
|
433 the black haired girl, busying himself with looking at the wall for a
|
|
rlm@0
|
434 way in. A twinge of guilt passed through him at the thought of ending
|
|
rlm@0
|
435 his engagement to Meiling. She had been there for him sense they had
|
|
rlm@0
|
436 been children, had been there for him back when he would cry after
|
|
rlm@0
|
437 meeting his mother’s cold disapproval, back before he had quit crying
|
|
rlm@0
|
438 altogether. Meiling had always been there for him, his best friend
|
|
rlm@0
|
439 and sometimes something more. She had been his first kiss, had
|
|
rlm@0
|
440 accompanied him dancing at all of the school activities back in Hong
|
|
rlm@0
|
441 Kong. She had never had a problem talking to him about anything. And
|
|
rlm@0
|
442 more over, she loved him. He knew that. It had only become more
|
|
rlm@0
|
443 apparent in recent years, growing stronger as she blossomed into
|
|
rlm@0
|
444 womanhood. And she had always been eager to shower that love upon
|
|
rlm@0
|
445 him. Sure, she frightened away all the other girls at school that
|
|
rlm@0
|
446 even looked his way, but it was sweet in its own way. He didn’t want
|
|
rlm@0
|
447 to hurt her. He never had. But he was in love with Sakura. He had
|
|
rlm@0
|
448 been for a while now. They were supposed to be together, not him and
|
|
rlm@0
|
449 Meiling.
|
|
rlm@0
|
450 “I said, ‘You better have a good explanation for this’,” Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
451 repeated, her hands on her hips as she stared at Syaoran’s back. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
452 thought she saw the boy shudder visibly at the tone of her voice and
|
|
rlm@0
|
453 allowed herself a small, quick grin. All that time around Ieran-sama
|
|
rlm@0
|
454 was paying off. Her aunt could be cold at times, especially to
|
|
rlm@0
|
455 Syaoran, but she sure seemed nicer to the girls in the family.
|
|
rlm@0
|
456 Syaoran’s older sisters were all very sweet and energetic, very
|
|
rlm@0
|
457 different from their little brother. Ieran had raised them very
|
|
rlm@0
|
458 differently from her son, the one who would one day head the Li Clan.
|
|
rlm@0
|
459 She even treated Meiling with a gentleness that she seldom afforded
|
|
rlm@0
|
460 the chestnut haired boy. Meiling didn’t hold the same fear for the
|
|
rlm@0
|
461 older woman that Syaoran did. She looked up to Ieran, the woman’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
462 beauty and grace something that she hoped she could one day have
|
|
rlm@0
|
463 herself. She had one day asked Ieran about why things were so
|
|
rlm@0
|
464 different when the older woman’s words had obviously cut into Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
465 deeply. The black haired girl respected Ieran deeply, but she
|
|
rlm@0
|
466 couldn’t stand to see the boy she loved hurting so. She had expected
|
|
rlm@0
|
467 a cold admonishment for her disrespect, but Ieran had remained silent
|
|
rlm@0
|
468 for a moment. She finally walked over to Meiling, brushing back the
|
|
rlm@0
|
469 younger girl’s black pigtails in a motherly gesture. She said that as
|
|
rlm@0
|
470 his fiance, Meiling had a right to be concerned about his wellbeing
|
|
rlm@0
|
471 like that. The head of the House of Li went on to explain that she
|
|
rlm@0
|
472 had to be hard on Syaoran, that as a boy, in Chinese culture, he
|
|
rlm@0
|
473 would be the next head of the Li Clan. She had to make him strong
|
|
rlm@0
|
474 enough to handle that. Meiling had seen what a huge burden it was for
|
|
rlm@0
|
475 Ieran and for the first time, she had actually feared for Syaoran’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
476 eventual rise to the head of the House of Li. Such a burden on the
|
|
rlm@0
|
477 man she loved... But she had quickly replied to Ieran that Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
478 would certainly be able to handle it and any other hardships that
|
|
rlm@0
|
479 came his way. Heading for the door, she had been swift to add that
|
|
rlm@0
|
480 he’d be able to handle anything because she’d be there by his side.
|
|
rlm@0
|
481 So at least she knew why he feared his mother. But that didn’t mean
|
|
rlm@0
|
482 she couldn’t use it to her advantage from time to time. Especially
|
|
rlm@0
|
483 when he was being so... difficult.
|
|
rlm@0
|
484 Ignoring Meiling, Syaoran leapt over the wall and landed as quietly
|
|
rlm@0
|
485 as he could on the other side. His black haired cousin was just
|
|
rlm@0
|
486 moments behind him. He could feel her ire growing. But he had to do
|
|
rlm@0
|
487 this. For his sake as well as Sakura’s. He needed to know what kind
|
|
rlm@0
|
488 of spell held Sakura in its grasp. Then he would ride to the rescue,
|
|
rlm@0
|
489 her prince come to save her. Then he would finally have his love. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
490 quickly darted past the neatly trimmed hedges, trying to keep his
|
|
rlm@0
|
491 presence from Tomoyo’s bodyguards. His amber eyes locked onto
|
|
rlm@0
|
492 Tomoyo’s open bedroom window. At least, he thought that was her room.
|
|
rlm@0
|
493 It had been so long ago that he couldn’t quite remember. Hoping that
|
|
rlm@0
|
494 his instincts were correct, her dashed in that direction, followed
|
|
rlm@0
|
495 closely by Meiling. The two reached the side of the house without
|
|
rlm@0
|
496 incident, trying to stay out of view. At least, Syaoran was. Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
497 stood with her hands on her hips, with that same ‘You owe me an
|
|
rlm@0
|
498 explanation’ look on her face. Syaoran scowled and waved her forward,
|
|
rlm@0
|
499 out of the line of sight of any passersby. But the Chinese girl stood
|
|
rlm@0
|
500 stubbornly where she was, her eyes never leaving him. Sighing in
|
|
rlm@0
|
501 frustration, Syaoran looked back up at her. “I’m here to see what’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
502 up with Sakura. She’s been acting strangely lately. Are you happy?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
503 Not exactly pleased, but getting her explanation regardless,
|
|
rlm@0
|
504 Meiling ducked out of the way of prying eyes. “That’s not really your
|
|
rlm@0
|
505 problem anymore, Syaoran. I’m sure if anything’s wrong with Sakura,
|
|
rlm@0
|
506 Tomoyo will be the first to know.” She noticed Syaoran twitch at her
|
|
rlm@0
|
507 words, but she didn’t feel like tiptoeing around the subject for him
|
|
rlm@0
|
508 when he obviously didn’t care how she felt about this whole thing.
|
|
rlm@0
|
509 Smoothing down her skirt, she felt the soft grass tickle her legs as
|
|
rlm@0
|
510 she sat down, next to where Syaoran was crouching. An inner sigh
|
|
rlm@0
|
511 accompanied her shoulders slumping. She should have seen this coming,
|
|
rlm@0
|
512 what with him running off to Japan so suddenly and all. Part of her
|
|
rlm@0
|
513 had known, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it. How could he leave
|
|
rlm@0
|
514 her alone like that? After all of the beautiful times they had spent
|
|
rlm@0
|
515 together? She loved him so much. Why couldn’t he see that? All she
|
|
rlm@0
|
516 wanted was to marry him, to spend eternity with him. Why wasn’t she
|
|
rlm@0
|
517 good enough for him? It was always someone else. First that white
|
|
rlm@0
|
518 haired man and now this naďve little girl. She sighed exasperatedly,
|
|
rlm@0
|
519 blinking her eyes quickly to hide the tears that threatened.
|
|
rlm@0
|
520 Gazing up to the open window, Syaoran tried to get a better view.
|
|
rlm@0
|
521 Was that the room? He couldn’t quite tell. Holding his breath, the
|
|
rlm@0
|
522 chestnut haired boy tried to listen for any sounds coming from the
|
|
rlm@0
|
523 room. He thought he heard something, but he couldn’t quite make it
|
|
rlm@0
|
524 out. It was soft, almost like mumbling. He strained harder to hear
|
|
rlm@0
|
525 who may be in the room, not wanting to stumble upon Tomoyo’s maids or
|
|
rlm@0
|
526 her bodyguards. A squeal escaped the open window, sending a bird
|
|
rlm@0
|
527 fluttering away. Syaoran sweatdropped, wondering just what was going
|
|
rlm@0
|
528 on up in the mystery room. Did Tomoyo have any pets? He couldn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
529 remember. Tomoyo had just never been important enough for him to
|
|
rlm@0
|
530 remember anything about her. He knew she was one of Sakura’s friends
|
|
rlm@0
|
531 and that she liked to do crazy things like videotape her and that she
|
|
rlm@0
|
532 tried to get him to tell Sakura his feelings, but that was about the
|
|
rlm@0
|
533 extent of his knowledge on the Daidouji girl. But she had to have a
|
|
rlm@0
|
534 pet. That squeal had given that away. Though it didn’t sound entirely
|
|
rlm@0
|
535 animalistic. Crossing his arms, Syaoran arched his head to try to
|
|
rlm@0
|
536 take in more of the window while he pondered this situation.
|
|
rlm@0
|
537 Meiling turned to look back at Syaoran, a curious look etched onto
|
|
rlm@0
|
538 her face. What had that been just now? It had sounded like a squeal,
|
|
rlm@0
|
539 but she could swear that it had been a girl’s voice. She could dimly
|
|
rlm@0
|
540 hear quiet murmurs again, but the sound didn’t reappear. Brushing
|
|
rlm@0
|
541 back a black pigtail, she waited. She wasn’t a big fan of waiting for
|
|
rlm@0
|
542 things to happen, such as her eventual wedding to Syaoran that she
|
|
rlm@0
|
543 would have been plenty happy to have had five years before, but she
|
|
rlm@0
|
544 could if the situation called to it. And besides, the scenery wasn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
545 so bad. She smiled to herself as she watched Syaoran while silence
|
|
rlm@0
|
546 surrounded them. He really was cute. A frown crossed her lips. When
|
|
rlm@0
|
547 he wasn’t being such an asshole. She really hoped he’d get over this
|
|
rlm@0
|
548 soon so she could drag him back to Hong Kong so he could marry her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
549 The sooner, the better. Her ears suddenly perked up as she heard
|
|
rlm@0
|
550 another noise. This one was much more musical, the word filled with
|
|
rlm@0
|
551 emotion as it drifted down to her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
552 “Sakura-chan!”
|
|
rlm@0
|
553 The Chinese sorcerer tensed as he heard Sakura’s name cried out.
|
|
rlm@0
|
554 “Sakura-chan...” Darting to a nearby tree, Syaoran struggled to get a
|
|
rlm@0
|
555 grip on it. Sakura was in trouble. She needed his help. He couldn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
556 hear Sakura’s voice, so it had to be something horrible for the
|
|
rlm@0
|
557 usually quiet Daidouji girl to call out her name. Images of Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
558 passed out on the floor, injured, entered his head. He forced himself
|
|
rlm@0
|
559 further up the tree. Maybe she really was under some strange spell,
|
|
rlm@0
|
560 something that was hurting her and keeping her from him. ‘I’m on my
|
|
rlm@0
|
561 way, Sakura-chan,’ he thought determinedly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
562 Meiling’s eyes shot open in realization. Moving to her legs
|
|
rlm@0
|
563 instantly, she darted to her tree-climbing fiance. She knew exactly
|
|
rlm@0
|
564 what was going on. And she wasn’t about to let her Syaoran barge in
|
|
rlm@0
|
565 on that. Gripping his ankle, Meiling tried to drag the Chinese boy
|
|
rlm@0
|
566 down from the tree. “What are you doing? Get down from there, you
|
|
rlm@0
|
567 pervert!” she yelled at him, her voice only slightly hushed. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
568 cheeks were tinted red as she heard more noises coming down from the
|
|
rlm@0
|
569 room. She certainly hadn’t expected to hear that while they were at
|
|
rlm@0
|
570 the Daidouji home. She and Syaoran hadn’t even... She blushed deeper
|
|
rlm@0
|
571 as she tried to get a better grasp on his leg, but she only succeeded
|
|
rlm@0
|
572 in pulling his shoe off. “Syaoran!!” she whispered harshly after him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
573 Struggling up to the top of the tree, Syaoran started to climb out
|
|
rlm@0
|
574 along a limb. The sounds from inside had stopped a short time before,
|
|
rlm@0
|
575 back when his shoe had fallen off. It had been silent now for a
|
|
rlm@0
|
576 minute or two. Was the Daidouji girl hurt, too? What was in there? He
|
|
rlm@0
|
577 had to get to Sakura before it was too late. He didn’t have time to
|
|
rlm@0
|
578 deal with Meiling’s jealousy issues. A surge of magic shattered
|
|
rlm@0
|
579 Syaoran’s concentration. Sakura’s magic had increased significantly
|
|
rlm@0
|
580 since he had last seen her use it. The power was just mind blowing.
|
|
rlm@0
|
581 Syaoran barely gripped onto the branch, nearly having lost his
|
|
rlm@0
|
582 balance. So Sakura was still inside. Was she fighting someone? He
|
|
rlm@0
|
583 couldn’t feel anyone else’s magic. Just one of the Sakura Cards.
|
|
rlm@0
|
584 Sakura’s yelp caught his attention, his eyes moving up to the window.
|
|
rlm@0
|
585 His cheeks flushed a dark crimson as he saw Sakura. The brunette had
|
|
rlm@0
|
586 pink cat ears on and frilly matching stockings. Where the rest of
|
|
rlm@0
|
587 Sakura’s clothes had gone seemed to be a mystery. Near Sakura was the
|
|
rlm@0
|
588 Daidouji girl, her pale skin starkly contrasted with her long, dark
|
|
rlm@0
|
589 hair. She wore nothing, but looked no less elegant than Sakura with
|
|
rlm@0
|
590 her beautiful hair draped across her. Syaoran nearly lost his grip
|
|
rlm@0
|
591 again, leaves falling below as he scrambled for a purchase. His mind
|
|
rlm@0
|
592 tried desperately to make sense of the situation, anger and confusion
|
|
rlm@0
|
593 warring with his embarrassment. It didn’t look like they had seen
|
|
rlm@0
|
594 him. Then why had Sakura yelped? His eyes latched onto a large
|
|
rlm@0
|
595 chameleon-like animal that was running from Sakura. “What?” Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
596 got out before realizing the creature was headed right his way.
|
|
rlm@0
|
597 Bracing himself on the tree branch, he caught the animal right as it
|
|
rlm@0
|
598 leapt towards him. He struggled to hold onto the tree branch with his
|
|
rlm@0
|
599 legs, but its momentum was too great. Without time to utter a curse,
|
|
rlm@0
|
600 he found himself falling from the tree.
|
|
rlm@0
|
601 “Syaoran!” Meiling got out, her eyes wide as the boy fell. With the
|
|
rlm@0
|
602 reflexes of the trained martial artist she was, she quickly got
|
|
rlm@0
|
603 beneath her cousin. She had been about to berate him about staring
|
|
rlm@0
|
604 into the window like that when she had suddenly seen him grow very
|
|
rlm@0
|
605 serious, as if ready to pounce on an attacker. Whatever had lunged at
|
|
rlm@0
|
606 him, he still held it in his grasp. Syaoran seemed to fall in slow
|
|
rlm@0
|
607 motion, but in retrospect it all felt blindingly fast. Meiling’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
608 heart skipped a beat as she watched her beloved plunge. Her arms
|
|
rlm@0
|
609 grabbed him tightly as he finally fell into her grasp. The sudden
|
|
rlm@0
|
610 weight made her stagger backwards. Her mind was on Syaoran, and not
|
|
rlm@0
|
611 on where her feet where going. She was about to ask him if he was all
|
|
rlm@0
|
612 right before she toppled backwards onto the grass, Syaoran crumpled
|
|
rlm@0
|
613 on top of her. She felt the animal’s tale moving against her stomach
|
|
rlm@0
|
614 as the Chinese sorcerer still held it fast. Before Meiling could open
|
|
rlm@0
|
615 her mouth, she felt her whole body freeze, energy trailing through
|
|
rlm@0
|
616 it. She felt a sudden grip around her, but it didn’t feel physical.
|
|
rlm@0
|
617 It was as if someone had snagged her soul. She tried to call out to
|
|
rlm@0
|
618 Syaoran, but nothing got out of her lips.
|
|
rlm@0
|
619 And just as soon as it had begun, the strange feeling came to a
|
|
rlm@0
|
620 sudden conclusion. Meiling shifted around, disoriented by the strange
|
|
rlm@0
|
621 feeling. She could feel the animal writhing in her arms and
|
|
rlm@0
|
622 immediately let go. How did it make its way up to her? Her whole body
|
|
rlm@0
|
623 felt strange. But it didn’t hurt as much as it had a moment ago. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
624 felt as if something had broken her fall. “Syaoran!” she called out,
|
|
rlm@0
|
625 the Chinese boy quickly forcing his way to the forefront of her mind.
|
|
rlm@0
|
626 She struggled up into a sitting position when she felt him squirming
|
|
rlm@0
|
627 under her. How had they switched places? They must have rolled over
|
|
rlm@0
|
628 when that weird feeling passed through her. Her clothes suddenly felt
|
|
rlm@0
|
629 awkward on her body, every movement feeling wrong. ‘It must have been
|
|
rlm@0
|
630 the fall. I hope I didn’t hurt anything in it. But at least it was to
|
|
rlm@0
|
631 save Syaoran,’ she thought to herself. “Syaoran, are you okay?” she
|
|
rlm@0
|
632 asked gingerly, reaching out for her fiance. If he was hurt, she
|
|
rlm@0
|
633 wanted to make it all better. But her hand froze inches away from the
|
|
rlm@0
|
634 boy she had been reaching for. Amber eyes widened in surprise.
|
|
rlm@0
|
635 Sitting in front of her, wincing in pain as they sat up, she saw
|
|
rlm@0
|
636 herself. Black pigtails and amber eyes, rustled skirt showing off
|
|
rlm@0
|
637 more than Meiling would care too because of the awkward way the other
|
|
rlm@0
|
638 Meiling was sitting. Her fists whipped out like lightening bolts,
|
|
rlm@0
|
639 gripping either side of the imposter’s blouse as she pulled her
|
|
rlm@0
|
640 closer. “Where’s Syaoran!? What did you do with him?” she asked
|
|
rlm@0
|
641 angrily.
|
|
rlm@0
|
642 Syaoran struggled to think clearly amidst the pain shooting up and
|
|
rlm@0
|
643 down his body. Meiling must’ve dropped him when she’d grabbed him,
|
|
rlm@0
|
644 because it certainly hurt. He’d felt something strange when he’d
|
|
rlm@0
|
645 gripped the odd little beast, but it had quickly gone away. His body
|
|
rlm@0
|
646 still felt strange, as if it weren’t his own, but it didn’t feel like
|
|
rlm@0
|
647 there was any permanent damage. He glanced around for Meiling to try
|
|
rlm@0
|
648 and see what shape she was in, but before he got a good look he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
649 being throttled back and forth. “Wha..? Meiling, what are you tal...”
|
|
rlm@0
|
650 His voice trailed off as he saw who was shaking him. He looked up and
|
|
rlm@0
|
651 saw himself. Suddenly, everything snapped into place. The chameleon
|
|
rlm@0
|
652 like creature, the strange feeling that had coursed through him as he
|
|
rlm@0
|
653 and Meiling had been pressed against it. He’d felt that before,
|
|
rlm@0
|
654 hadn’t he? “Oh no... The Change...” Syaoran’s eyes shot back up to
|
|
rlm@0
|
655 the window. His heart began to pound in his chest as panic really did
|
|
rlm@0
|
656 grip him this time. He remembered that the Change’s magic took a day
|
|
rlm@0
|
657 to recharge. There was no way he was going to spend a day like this.
|
|
rlm@0
|
658 This was worse than being the Seal Beast. He was a girl. His cousin.
|
|
rlm@0
|
659 Mortified, Syaoran struggled to his feet. The sudden realization of
|
|
rlm@0
|
660 his new body made the lack of something between his legs a horrifying
|
|
rlm@0
|
661 feeling as he stood up. He suddenly wasn’t quite as pleased with how
|
|
rlm@0
|
662 feminine Meiling’s body had grown in recent years. He still
|
|
rlm@0
|
663 remembered when they were children, when there had been little
|
|
rlm@0
|
664 difference in that regard. Why couldn’t this have happened back then?
|
|
rlm@0
|
665 “And who might you be? Most of Tomoyo-sama’s friends use the
|
|
rlm@0
|
666 intercom at the gate,” a woman’s voice said. Syaoran and Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
667 turned to find two woman dressed entirely in black watching them. One
|
|
rlm@0
|
668 raised an eyebrow in slight amusement.
|
|
rlm@0
|
669 “Wait! You don’t understand!” Syaraon got out as he watched them
|
|
rlm@0
|
670 approach.
|
|
rlm@0
|
671
|
|
rlm@0
|
672 Tomoyo walked towards the window, her lavender hair messily falling
|
|
rlm@0
|
673 past her shoulders, some draping across her front. “What was that?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
674 She asked curiously, jumping at the sound of her own voice. Shaking
|
|
rlm@0
|
675 her head, she reached the window. “There you are. You shouldn’t run
|
|
rlm@0
|
676 away like that. I can’t go chase you like this,” the pale girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
677 admonished gently. The chameleon-like Change Card simply nodded as it
|
|
rlm@0
|
678 sat on the windowsill. “You scared me when you took off like that.
|
|
rlm@0
|
679 But you’ll be good now, right?” A smile crossed her lips when she saw
|
|
rlm@0
|
680 the Card nod. “Good. Now go back to your normal form for now. And
|
|
rlm@0
|
681 thanks.” She added the last as little more than a whisper. Sighing,
|
|
rlm@0
|
682 she watched the Card return to its pink rectangular form in front of
|
|
rlm@0
|
683 her. Holding it in her hands, she gazed out the window at the
|
|
rlm@0
|
684 countless stars above. The little pinpricks of light looked like
|
|
rlm@0
|
685 countless diamonds spilt across the night sky. She hadn’t realized
|
|
rlm@0
|
686 how late it had gotten. But then, she usually did lose track of time
|
|
rlm@0
|
687 when she was with her best friend. It was just so easy to. Those
|
|
rlm@0
|
688 beautiful, sensuous eyes, her gentle touch, her musical voice... The
|
|
rlm@0
|
689 girl sighed again, her shoulders slumping. How did she let herself
|
|
rlm@0
|
690 get talked into this? Arms wrapped around her shoulders as she felt
|
|
rlm@0
|
691 an athletic body pull against her back. A dark blush spread across
|
|
rlm@0
|
692 her cheeks and down her neck as she felt a soft kiss behind her ear.
|
|
rlm@0
|
693 “Sakura-chan is so good with the Cards. They trust you even when
|
|
rlm@0
|
694 you aren’t Sakura-chan,” the brunette commented, giggling softly. So
|
|
rlm@0
|
695 this is what it felt like to be Sakura. It was such a strange feeling
|
|
rlm@0
|
696 to be in her energetic girlfriend’s body. It was much more athletic
|
|
rlm@0
|
697 than her own, though not quite as graceful. But Tomoyo loved every
|
|
rlm@0
|
698 second of it. Not simply for the thrill of seeing Sakura in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
699 mirror, but because it was such an intimate thing to share with
|
|
rlm@0
|
700 Sakura. It was something most people could never do, that most never
|
|
rlm@0
|
701 would do. It was a clear sign of trust, to be able to switch places
|
|
rlm@0
|
702 like that, to share the other’s body. It was such a fun little thing
|
|
rlm@0
|
703 to do, to be able to delve so deeply into Sakura this way. It would
|
|
rlm@0
|
704 certainly let her test her knowledge on Sakura the next day at
|
|
rlm@0
|
705 school. Not that she'd probably put much of it to use. She’d much
|
|
rlm@0
|
706 rather follow along her beloved, even if Sakura was in her own body.
|
|
rlm@0
|
707 It certainly made things interesting. Tomoyo had wanted to try this
|
|
rlm@0
|
708 for a while, ever since she had learned that Syaoran had switched
|
|
rlm@0
|
709 with Kero so many years before. It sounded like the perfect way to
|
|
rlm@0
|
710 get even closer to Sakura, to switch bodies with her. It was like a
|
|
rlm@0
|
711 lover’s game of pretend. What better way to get closer than to
|
|
rlm@0
|
712 actually be the other? Of course, Sakura had been pretty embarrassed
|
|
rlm@0
|
713 about the idea. She still was from the blush Tomoyo could see, which
|
|
rlm@0
|
714 stood out quite clearly on her pale skin. She’d finally described it
|
|
rlm@0
|
715 as similar to the costumes, that it would be like Sakura putting on a
|
|
rlm@0
|
716 Tomoyo costume for a while. Sakura had finally agreed with some
|
|
rlm@0
|
717 gentle prodding from Tomoyo, and they now found themselves in a very
|
|
rlm@0
|
718 different way than they ever had before. Tomoyo sighed happily as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
719 hugged the pale girl in her arms, kissing behind her ear again.
|
|
rlm@0
|
720 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered in reply, blushing deeper.
|
|
rlm@0
|
721 Nonetheless, she slowly let herself relax into Tomoyo’s embrace. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
722 felt strange, but nice. Tomoyo was always so soft, almost seeming
|
|
rlm@0
|
723 delicate. It felt different to have her own body against her. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
724 athletic frame wasn’t quite as soft as Tomoyo’s, though the girl’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
725 gentle touch remained the same as it had always been. This whole
|
|
rlm@0
|
726 situation had Sakura feeling very confused. She was in Tomoyo’s body,
|
|
rlm@0
|
727 inside the pale girl in a way she had never imagined. Meanwhile,
|
|
rlm@0
|
728 Tomoyo was in her own body and with the closeness in proximity,
|
|
rlm@0
|
729 Sakura couldn’t forget that for a second. She shifted a long, pale
|
|
rlm@0
|
730 leg as she felt the frills of the stockings Tomoyo was now wearing
|
|
rlm@0
|
731 against the back of her thigh. She turned around against, Tomoyo,
|
|
rlm@0
|
732 still shocked to see her own face looking back at her. It was her own
|
|
rlm@0
|
733 face, but it looked so different. She could see Tomoyo’s warm smile
|
|
rlm@0
|
734 etched into it, her emerald eyes sparkling lovingly. She shivered at
|
|
rlm@0
|
735 the sight. Her heart skipped a beat. Seeing Tomoyo like that, even in
|
|
rlm@0
|
736 her own body, sent warm ripples through her heart. Leaning forward,
|
|
rlm@0
|
737 she kissed the newly christened brunette, feeling her own arms go
|
|
rlm@0
|
738 around Tomoyo’s waist. It felt bizarre to be kissing herself, to feel
|
|
rlm@0
|
739 short brunette hair teasing her now longer dark hair. But she could
|
|
rlm@0
|
740 feel the eccentric girl’s slow, sweet kisses. Even if the body was
|
|
rlm@0
|
741 different, that was still the same. And it slowly sent sparks through
|
|
rlm@0
|
742 Sakura as they continued to slowly kiss each other. Tomoyo melted
|
|
rlm@0
|
743 against her at the kiss, the two ending up on their knees, kissing
|
|
rlm@0
|
744 again and again on the floor. Sakura felt herself shudder again when
|
|
rlm@0
|
745 Tomoyo’s fingers began brushing through her now long, lavender hair.
|
|
rlm@0
|
746 She had always loved Tomoyo’s hair. It was always so gorgeous, no
|
|
rlm@0
|
747 matter what style Tomoyo had it in. Feeling it against her shoulders
|
|
rlm@0
|
748 and down her back, feeling Tomoyo’s hands running through it, it was
|
|
rlm@0
|
749 a very intense feeling. She had to remember to play with Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
750 hair more often when they switched back.
|
|
rlm@0
|
751 The currently brunette heiress sighed inwardly. This was even
|
|
rlm@0
|
752 better than she’d imagined. The chance to be with Sakura like this,
|
|
rlm@0
|
753 to be together so completely, to share her own body, it was all just
|
|
rlm@0
|
754 overwhelming. And Sakura still looked so cute. She still had that
|
|
rlm@0
|
755 same genki energy in her eyes, that same sweet look on her face that
|
|
rlm@0
|
756 Sakura always got when they kissed. It was heavenly. Her hands went
|
|
rlm@0
|
757 down across Sakura’s shoulders, savoring the feeling of Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
758 shivering against her hands. Kissing herself may have been strange,
|
|
rlm@0
|
759 but seeing Sakura underneath it all pushed her further and further.
|
|
rlm@0
|
760 Her tongue slowly brushed against Sakura’s as the two held each
|
|
rlm@0
|
761 other, kneeling. There was something very magical about this whole
|
|
rlm@0
|
762 thing, just seeing Sakura in her own body being enough to play with
|
|
rlm@0
|
763 the strings of Tomoyo’s heart. It was so cute to see Sakura trying to
|
|
rlm@0
|
764 get used to the longer hair, the different body. The heiress knew
|
|
rlm@0
|
765 that with Sakura’s determination, she would get it down before too
|
|
rlm@0
|
766 long. She may not make a perfect Tomoyo no matter how long she was
|
|
rlm@0
|
767 stuck in that body, but that didn’t matter. She made a perfect Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
768 even if she didn’t look like Sakura. Her toes curled up in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
769 stockings as she felt Sakura’s tongue stroking back against hers and
|
|
rlm@0
|
770 let herself sigh into the kiss. Yes, this was fantastic.
|
|
rlm@0
|
771 “Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura got out after several moments of silence. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
772 two sat together in the dark room, the starlight filtering in through
|
|
rlm@0
|
773 the open window. Sakura’s arms were still around Tomoyo’s waist,
|
|
rlm@0
|
774 curiously following the different feel of the muscles under the skin.
|
|
rlm@0
|
775 Tomoyo’s hands were still on her shoulders, her delicate touch moving
|
|
rlm@0
|
776 slowly down Sakura’s shoulders and to her back, brushing through the
|
|
rlm@0
|
777 lavender hair as she went. Sakura inhaled deeply at the feeling. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
778 always felt wonderful when Tomoyo would play with her hair, but this
|
|
rlm@0
|
779 was even better. Her fingers running through the silky strands felt
|
|
rlm@0
|
780 lovely. It was still strange to be gazing lovingly into emerald eyes
|
|
rlm@0
|
781 instead of lavender ones, but she could feel the love in them
|
|
rlm@0
|
782 directed at her with the same passion that she could always remember
|
|
rlm@0
|
783 in Tomoyo’s eyes. “Isn’t this.. a little awkward?” she asked at last.
|
|
rlm@0
|
784 She shook her head quickly, marveling at the way her long hair moved
|
|
rlm@0
|
785 with her head. Maybe she should try long hair when she was in her own
|
|
rlm@0
|
786 body again. Her mind tried to formulate what she wanted to say. Of
|
|
rlm@0
|
787 course it was awkward, but so were some of the other things they had
|
|
rlm@0
|
788 done before. Her face flushed in remembrance of some of the costumes
|
|
rlm@0
|
789 Tomoyo had made for her that only the two of them ever saw. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
790 hadn’t known Tomoyo could make something so cute out of leather.
|
|
rlm@0
|
791 Shaking her head again, Sakura fought to remain focussed on the task
|
|
rlm@0
|
792 at hand. She could tell that Tomoyo was delighting in her blush and
|
|
rlm@0
|
793 that just made her blush deeper. “Isn’t this a little too strange? I
|
|
rlm@0
|
794 love being so close to you, but you’re looking at yourself, not at me.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
795 Shaking her head, the brunette heiress dismissed the idea. So was
|
|
rlm@0
|
796 that what Sakura was worried about? Oh, her poor Cardmistress.
|
|
rlm@0
|
797 Tomoyo’s hand went to Sakura’s cheek, brushing it lightly with her
|
|
rlm@0
|
798 fingertips. She smiled softly, watching the pale Cardmistress. “Of
|
|
rlm@0
|
799 course not, Sakura-chan. I see my body, but I don’t see me. It’s not
|
|
rlm@0
|
800 like looking into the mirror. I see Sakura-chan when I look at you.
|
|
rlm@0
|
801 Not the brunette, athletic girl I’m in now, but Sakura-chan herself.
|
|
rlm@0
|
802 I see your mannerisms in everything you do. I see you in how you move
|
|
rlm@0
|
803 your hands.” Tomoyo trailed off for a second as she took one of
|
|
rlm@0
|
804 Sakura’s hands and brought it to her mouth, kissing it. “I see it in
|
|
rlm@0
|
805 your eyes.” She leaned forward, kissing Sakura’s eyelids. “I see it
|
|
rlm@0
|
806 in your cute little smile.” Tomoyo’s lips brushed Sakura’s as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
807 leaned forward, giving her a soft but sweet kiss. “I see my body, but
|
|
rlm@0
|
808 I see Sakura-chan. It’s like you’re trussed up in a new costume for
|
|
rlm@0
|
809 me. When you’re in the costumes, you look different every time. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
810 you’re always the same genki girl that I love,” Tomoyo explained,
|
|
rlm@0
|
811 keeping Sakura’s voice gentle as she spoke. She smiled at the
|
|
rlm@0
|
812 Cardmistress, her hand going back to her cheek. Sakura was gorgeous,
|
|
rlm@0
|
813 whoever she was. That’s why it had never bothered her once that she
|
|
rlm@0
|
814 had fallen in love with a girl. That wasn’t important. She had fallen
|
|
rlm@0
|
815 in love with Sakura, and little things like that didn’t matter in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
816 least. If Sakura was a boy or a girl, in her body or another, she was
|
|
rlm@0
|
817 the one that Tomoyo loved.
|
|
rlm@0
|
818 Sakura could only blush, her hand resting on top of Tomoyo’s as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
819 looked deeply into Tomoyo’s now emerald eyes. She could see it. Yes,
|
|
rlm@0
|
820 it was Tomoyo, deep in those emerald eyes. She heard her own voice
|
|
rlm@0
|
821 ringing in her ears, but those words were certainly Tomoyo’s. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
822 always said the sweetest things. It didn’t feel like such a big deal
|
|
rlm@0
|
823 anymore, even if it still felt a bit strange. Because it was still
|
|
rlm@0
|
824 Tomoyo. Shifting towards Tomoyo, Sakura captured another kiss,
|
|
rlm@0
|
825 holding onto Tomoyo in a passionate embrace. “Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
826 got out happily as the two fell back on the floor.
|
|
rlm@0
|
827
|
|
rlm@0
|
828 The gender disoriented Syaoran and Meiling quickly found themselves
|
|
rlm@0
|
829 outside of the gates of the Daidouji estate under a large and lonely
|
|
rlm@0
|
830 moon. It offered no comfort for the two cousins. Syaoran stared up at
|
|
rlm@0
|
831 the sky, sighing. He was frustrated and very embarrassed about the
|
|
rlm@0
|
832 situation, but he seemed to be taking it better than Meiling. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
833 former black haired girl was still freaking out about the whole
|
|
rlm@0
|
834 thing. He slowly got to his feet, trying to get accustomed to his now
|
|
rlm@0
|
835 female body. It was still warm out, which he was glad for. He didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
836 want to see how cold his legs would get in the little protection the
|
|
rlm@0
|
837 skirt offered. Crossing his arms, he tried to think. ‘What do we tell
|
|
rlm@0
|
838 Wei? Should we even try to tell him anything? And how am I supposed
|
|
rlm@0
|
839 to tell Sakura about all this?’ His thoughts were quickly interrupted
|
|
rlm@0
|
840 by Meiling gripping his arm tightly. He whirled around to see his own
|
|
rlm@0
|
841 face looking back at him, but the amber eyes were wild and worried.
|
|
rlm@0
|
842 “Syaoran, we have to get back in there!! We need to make Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
843 change us back!” Meiling felt panicky. This wasn’t at all on her
|
|
rlm@0
|
844 plans for the day. She loved Syaoran, but that didn’t mean she wanted
|
|
rlm@0
|
845 to be him. She wanted her own body back. She wanted things to be back
|
|
rlm@0
|
846 to normal. And this certainly wasn’t helping her opinion of Sakura.
|
|
rlm@0
|
847 Not only was the girl trying to steal her boyfriend and fiance, but
|
|
rlm@0
|
848 she had also gotten them all mixed up. She could see Syaoran hesitate
|
|
rlm@0
|
849 at her urging. Balling up her fists, she leaned towards the former
|
|
rlm@0
|
850 boy. “Syaoran!!” She’d drag him back there if she had to. She didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
851 care how embarrassed he was about telling Sakura what happened, she
|
|
rlm@0
|
852 was not going to be spending the night as a boy.
|
|
rlm@0
|
853 Scowling, Syaoran shook his head. How could this happen to him? It
|
|
rlm@0
|
854 was like everything had been against him since he had returned to
|
|
rlm@0
|
855 Japan. And Meiling wasn’t exactly helping at the moment. He wasn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
856 too pleased with his new body either. “Crying isn’t going to help the
|
|
rlm@0
|
857 situation. Besides, there isn’t anything we can do tonight. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
858 Change Card’s magic takes a day to recharge.” He turned around as he
|
|
rlm@0
|
859 let that sink in, starting to walk home. It was awkward in this body,
|
|
rlm@0
|
860 but right now he just wanted some warm food and to try to ignore
|
|
rlm@0
|
861 everything until the next day came.
|
|
rlm@0
|
862 Frozen to the spot, Meiling stared after Syaoran. Her heart seized
|
|
rlm@0
|
863 up in her chest. “You mean we’re stuck this way?” she asked
|
|
rlm@0
|
864 incredulously. He simply sighed and nodded. Clenching her hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
865 tightly, she hurried off after her cousin. She didn’t like this at
|
|
rlm@0
|
866 all. It was all Syaoran’s fault for coming to Tomoyo’s house in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
867 first place. So why did she have to get punished for him? It wasn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
868 fair! She wanted to be holding on to Syaoran, not to be inside of
|
|
rlm@0
|
869 him. “Syaoran! Wait for me!” she insisted, chasing after him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
870
|
|
rlm@0
|
871 “I can’t stay...” the man said as he turned from the beautiful dark
|
|
rlm@0
|
872 haired woman. He couldn’t look her in the eye. His feelings tried
|
|
rlm@0
|
873 desperately to betray him but he held them back with all of his will.
|
|
rlm@0
|
874 They both knew he had to leave, but his heart begged him to
|
|
rlm@0
|
875 reconsider. After all they had been through, leaving felt like he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
876 cutting out a piece of himself, the most important piece. But his
|
|
rlm@0
|
877 duty lay elsewhere. He couldn’t back down on his word. No matter how
|
|
rlm@0
|
878 much he wanted to.
|
|
rlm@0
|
879 Hao Minh took several steps towards the brave, silent warrior. With
|
|
rlm@0
|
880 his stoic appearance, his feelings were a mystery to her. What she
|
|
rlm@0
|
881 did know was that it felt like she should have died back in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
882 burning village, that being rescued once again by him wasn’t worth it
|
|
rlm@0
|
883 if she couldn’t stay by his side. “I.. I could never love anyone
|
|
rlm@0
|
884 else,” she got out quietly, stopping a few feet from the soldier.
|
|
rlm@0
|
885 Closing his eyes, he knew he couldn’t face her. His heart and his
|
|
rlm@0
|
886 honor fought to the death inside of him, conflicting emotions warring
|
|
rlm@0
|
887 for control. All his life had been nothing but pain and death. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
888 could remember nothing besides the cold, expansive depths. But she
|
|
rlm@0
|
889 had pulled away the curtains and let in the light in his life,
|
|
rlm@0
|
890 chasing away the darkness that latched onto his soul. The prospect of
|
|
rlm@0
|
891 plunging once more into the darkness, lit only with swaths of
|
|
rlm@0
|
892 crimson, it filled him with hopelessness. Her sobs broke his strength
|
|
rlm@0
|
893 and he quickly turned to her. He held her close, her head on his
|
|
rlm@0
|
894 chest. No words came to mind to express his sorrow or even to help
|
|
rlm@0
|
895 ease her own, but that was all right. Because...
|
|
rlm@0
|
896
|
|
rlm@0
|
897 A knock at the door shook Wei from his writing, dragging him from
|
|
rlm@0
|
898 the long ago time he had lost himself in. The caretaker of both
|
|
rlm@0
|
899 Syaoran and Meiling Li hurried to the door, leaving his work behind
|
|
rlm@0
|
900 him. He had been a faithful servant to Syaoran’s mother, Ieran, for
|
|
rlm@0
|
901 many years now. He had known her when she had been but a child. So
|
|
rlm@0
|
902 she had trusted him with her son’s care when the boy had been sent to
|
|
rlm@0
|
903 Japan years earlier. Now that Syaoran had returned to Japan, Wei had
|
|
rlm@0
|
904 come along with Meiling to keep an eye on the young man. Ieran had
|
|
rlm@0
|
905 been angry about Syaoran’s disrespect for his engagement to Meiling,
|
|
rlm@0
|
906 but Wei could also tell that she worried about her only son. So he
|
|
rlm@0
|
907 had promised to take good care of the boy. But what with Meiling and
|
|
rlm@0
|
908 Syaoran being older this time around, he had much more time on his
|
|
rlm@0
|
909 hands. The two seemed to be fine on their own, and he often worried
|
|
rlm@0
|
910 that he was getting in the way. So he had started writing a romance
|
|
rlm@0
|
911 novel to while away the time.
|
|
rlm@0
|
912 Reaching the door, Wei opened it and stood by politely. Sure
|
|
rlm@0
|
913 enough, there were the two cousins waiting. “Miss Meiling, Master
|
|
rlm@0
|
914 Syaoran, how are you? I trust that your day was pleasant?” he asked,
|
|
rlm@0
|
915 bowing his head to the two as they entered. He waited for a response,
|
|
rlm@0
|
916 but found that none seemed to be forthcoming. He watched the two
|
|
rlm@0
|
917 teenagers looking around awkwardly. Frowning in confusion, he stepped
|
|
rlm@0
|
918 forward. “Are you both all right?” They were both acting so
|
|
rlm@0
|
919 strangely. He’d known them both from the time they had been born and
|
|
rlm@0
|
920 neither seemed to be their normal selves. And Meiling was wearing a
|
|
rlm@0
|
921 scowl that looked remarkably like Syaoran’s. It must have rubbed off
|
|
rlm@0
|
922 on her.
|
|
rlm@0
|
923 Syaoran whirled around quickly, the small tie on his uniform
|
|
rlm@0
|
924 trailing to the side as he did. He smiled quickly and nodded. “We’re
|
|
rlm@0
|
925 both fine, Wei. Today was great. Nothing big. Oh, I’m over that
|
|
rlm@0
|
926 Sakura girl now. Maybe we can head back to Hong Kong soon. Like after
|
|
rlm@0
|
927 tomorrow or something. Anyway, Meiling and I were going back to my...
|
|
rlm@0
|
928 her room. Have a good night, Wei!” The chestnut haired boy waved
|
|
rlm@0
|
929 energetically before turning and grabbing his cousin’s arm.
|
|
rlm@0
|
930 Meiling stopped dead in her tracks, eyes narrowing as she scowled.
|
|
rlm@0
|
931 Wei would have sworn that he’d seen that exact same look on Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
932 countless times before. He was impressed at how well Meiling pulled
|
|
rlm@0
|
933 it off. She did spend most of her time with him, so it made sense
|
|
rlm@0
|
934 that she would be able to know him well enough to copy his
|
|
rlm@0
|
935 mannerisms. But Meiling wasn’t concerned with Wei’s line of thought
|
|
rlm@0
|
936 at the moment. Her amber eyes were instead focused on her fiance.
|
|
rlm@0
|
937 “Since when did I say I was going back to Hong Kong? And I never said
|
|
rlm@0
|
938 anything about getting over Sakura-chan. I...” The girl trailed off
|
|
rlm@0
|
939 as her thoughts returned to earlier that evening. Her shoulders
|
|
rlm@0
|
940 slumped and her eyes closed as the image of Sakura with Tomoyo filled
|
|
rlm@0
|
941 his mind. So that’s why the Cardmistress had been spending all of her
|
|
rlm@0
|
942 time with the heiress lately. They were dating. Meiling had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
943 right in the first place. Coming to Japan had been pointless.
|
|
rlm@0
|
944 Nonplussed by the glare he had received from Meiling, Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
945 shrugged. It had been worth a shot, at any rate. Besides, maybe she
|
|
rlm@0
|
946 could convince Wei to take them back to Hong Kong while she was
|
|
rlm@0
|
947 Syaoran. Not until after they got changed back, of course. Smiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
948 wickedly, the woman inhabiting Syaoran’s body smiled. His hand moved
|
|
rlm@0
|
949 from Meiling’s arm down to her hand. “Besides, I want to hurry back
|
|
rlm@0
|
950 so that I can marry my beloved Meiling. The sooner I can get back,
|
|
rlm@0
|
951 the better.” Leaning forward, he kissed the defeated looking Meiling.
|
|
rlm@0
|
952 The kiss broke through the black haired girl’s thoughts and brought a
|
|
rlm@0
|
953 deep blush to her cheeks. It felt so strange to be kissing herself.
|
|
rlm@0
|
954 He had to keep reminding himself that he was kissing Syaoran. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
955 despite the awkwardness of the situation, it was surprisingly easy.
|
|
rlm@0
|
956 Seeing the former boy blushing so brightly was a nice touch and it
|
|
rlm@0
|
957 felt so nice to be able to kiss him again, even if he was a girl at
|
|
rlm@0
|
958 the moment. That thought ended the kiss pretty quickly. Maybe this
|
|
rlm@0
|
959 was a little more bizarre than she thought. “I just love her so
|
|
rlm@0
|
960 much,” he added with a smile. “Sleep well, Wei! See you in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
961 morning!” He knew that it wasn’t really Syaoran’s words, but it
|
|
rlm@0
|
962 helped to at least hear them for once. Taking Meiling’s arm again, he
|
|
rlm@0
|
963 hurried back towards the girl’s room that had previously been his own.
|
|
rlm@0
|
964 Watching in silence, Wei could barely contain his excitement. Ieran
|
|
rlm@0
|
965 would certainly want to hear of this sudden development! He had to
|
|
rlm@0
|
966 make plans to return to Hong Kong as soon as possible.
|
|
rlm@0
|
967
|
|
rlm@0
|
968 Meiling sighed as she closed the door to her room behind the two of
|
|
rlm@0
|
969 them. Being in Syaoran’s body was getting a little too confusing for
|
|
rlm@0
|
970 her. But still... She smiled as a hand went to her lips. It had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
971 Syaoran and Meiling kissing, even if it had been a little mixed up
|
|
rlm@0
|
972 about who was who. It would’ve been nicer had Syaoran kissed her
|
|
rlm@0
|
973 back, but it had been fun to make him blush like that. Sitting on her
|
|
rlm@0
|
974 bed, Meiling tried to smooth down her skirt only to find Syaoran’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
975 shorts instead. Her hands immediately went to her sides, her own
|
|
rlm@0
|
976 blush burning across her cheeks. No, she didn’t like being in a boy’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
977 body. She wanted to be in her own again soon. She had been a girl her
|
|
rlm@0
|
978 entire life. She had always had such strong feelings for her cousin.
|
|
rlm@0
|
979 Now she was trapped in the body of the boy she loved and it was just
|
|
rlm@0
|
980 making everything so difficult. Her eyes slowly went over to Syaoran,
|
|
rlm@0
|
981 who was still a little flushed from earlier. The former boy was
|
|
rlm@0
|
982 having trouble with the skirt, but his mind was obviously elsewhere.
|
|
rlm@0
|
983 She giggled a bit at his frustration and scooted over to help him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
984 Her hands went to his waist. It felt strange to feel her body like
|
|
rlm@0
|
985 that. At least her martial arts training kept her in good shape.
|
|
rlm@0
|
986 “Okay, stand up.” Syaoran frowned but complied with her command. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
987 pulled the skirt back down and sat Syaoran down again, smoothing it
|
|
rlm@0
|
988 out over his legs. “There. See? It’s not so difficult. But you
|
|
rlm@0
|
989 shouldn’t have to get too used to it. We should be ourselves
|
|
rlm@0
|
990 tomorrow. Then we can put this nightmare behind us.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
991 Simply nodding, Syaoran looked around Meiling’s room. It wasn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
992 that he hadn’t been there before, but he had been avoiding the room
|
|
rlm@0
|
993 since they had kissed in it the night after Meiling had arrived from
|
|
rlm@0
|
994 Hong Kong. He knew how she felt about him, but he was supposed to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
995 there for Sakura, damn it, and not an obsessive cousin. So he had
|
|
rlm@0
|
996 thought it best to try and ignore the room and the girl who slept in
|
|
rlm@0
|
997 it as much as possible, at least until he was dating Sakura again.
|
|
rlm@0
|
998 Meiling confused him. Even after all this time, she still loved him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
999 Despite his pledge of love for Sakura and despite his ignoring most
|
|
rlm@0
|
1000 of her advances again and again. She was extremely determined, not
|
|
rlm@0
|
1001 giving up on him. It was something that he had found incredibly
|
|
rlm@0
|
1002 attractive in Sakura, that determination. And aside from Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
1003 sharing that trait with Sakura, he genuinely liked spending time with
|
|
rlm@0
|
1004 Meiling. She was probably the only person that he could relax around.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1005 She made him feel good, like everything was fine. Meiling had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1006 his best friend since they had been children, and she still held up
|
|
rlm@0
|
1007 that position even as she fell in love with him. She was closer to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1008 him than anyone else could be. And it was for all of those reasons
|
|
rlm@0
|
1009 that he had tried to stay away from her. Too often, he had felt a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1010 warm feeling wrapping around his heart, his heart beating faster as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1011 they were together. Too often, he had found himself nearly lost to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1012 his beautiful cousin. And he simply couldn’t allow that of himself.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1013 Not when he was going to make the Cardmistress his bride. Not that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1014 that seemed like a possibility at all at the moment. But she was the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1015 one he loved? Right? But he didn’t feel the same conviction he had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1016 held for the past few years. It felt weaker, empty. How well had he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1017 ever known Sakura? Why had his feelings for Yukito transferred so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1018 quickly to her instead? Would he have even liked her had it not been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1019 for her power, her determination? No, he loved her. It was simple.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1020 He’d prove that he was the one for the Cardmistress, not that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1021 backstabbing Diadouji girl. She had been the one who had nursed his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1022 feelings for Sakura in the first place, had told him to tell her how
|
|
rlm@0
|
1023 he felt. But now she was the one with Sakura. How could such a weak,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1024 pathetic girl ever be enough for the powerful and determined Sakura?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1025 It was just mind boggling.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1026 Watching Syaoran closely, Meiling reached out and pushed back one
|
|
rlm@0
|
1027 of his new black pigtails behind his shoulder. It was her body, but
|
|
rlm@0
|
1028 it was so obvious that he was inside of it. That quiet, almost
|
|
rlm@0
|
1029 irritated look that he always gave shined through even in another
|
|
rlm@0
|
1030 body. But she knew what was behind all of his machismo, all of his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1031 manliness. He was shy and uncertain. He always had been, for as long
|
|
rlm@0
|
1032 as Meiling could remember him. He had never been very good at
|
|
rlm@0
|
1033 expressing his feelings. They baffled him and he tried to keep them
|
|
rlm@0
|
1034 all hidden, even from himself. Growing up in a house filled with
|
|
rlm@0
|
1035 girls and faced with his mother’s high expectations of him, Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
1036 had overcompensated in his attitude, trying to be as manly as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1037 possible to make up for the fact that he had no men to look up to, to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1038 make up for his own shyness and insecurities. That was part of why
|
|
rlm@0
|
1039 Meiling thought that he had gotten a crush on Yukito, because he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1040 a boy that he could really look up to, a boy that was sweet and kind
|
|
rlm@0
|
1041 and didn’t need to worry about how manly he was. But Syaoran wanted
|
|
rlm@0
|
1042 to be as masculine as possible, to prove that he was one in a house
|
|
rlm@0
|
1043 full of women. That he was not one of them. Most of the time, it just
|
|
rlm@0
|
1044 made him look like a jerk. At least at first glance. But Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
1045 could see under that at the boy underneath it all. And there was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1046 something almost feminine about him. Which made sense in its way,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1047 what with him being the only boy in the entire family. It was fine
|
|
rlm@0
|
1048 with her if Syaoran wanted to hide behind this tough boy image he had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1049 made up for himself. But sometimes Meiling wondered if that stood in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1050 her way. Was he so desperate to be strong on his own that he kept
|
|
rlm@0
|
1051 pushing her away? That he couldn’t let her be strong for him? She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1052 wasn’t sure, but it had begun to gnaw at her lately. It wasn’t so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1053 much that he didn’t need her, but that he didn’t want to need her. At
|
|
rlm@0
|
1054 least, she thought that it might be part of why she was having so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1055 much trouble getting him to return her feelings.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1056 “Why did you say all of those things to Wei?” Syaoran finally
|
|
rlm@0
|
1057 asked, a trace of anger in his/Meiling’s voice as he spoke. He had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1058 been lost in thought, but now he found himself once again facing the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1059 present. Looking into Meiling’s large mirror, he could see a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1060 beautiful black haired girl looking back at him. That wasn’t at all
|
|
rlm@0
|
1061 what he was supposed to see. The feminine image looking back at him
|
|
rlm@0
|
1062 just served to frustrate him even further. He felt so powerless, so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1063 trapped by this whole scenario. He couldn’t do a thing until the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1064 coming day to change back to who he was. “You had no right to say any
|
|
rlm@0
|
1065 of that. Just because you’re in my body doesn’t mean you can go
|
|
rlm@0
|
1066 around saying things like that. It’s my choice if I’m going to go
|
|
rlm@0
|
1067 after Sakura-chan or not. I’m going to decide when I go back to Hong
|
|
rlm@0
|
1068 Kong.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1069 Lowering her head, Meiling closed her eyes. Hearing Syaoran yelling
|
|
rlm@0
|
1070 at her, even in her own body, cut her deeply. She hadn’t meant to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1071 make him angry, only to use her time as Syaoran as best as she could.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1072 But her moved changed swiftly. Her hands clenched as his words played
|
|
rlm@0
|
1073 through her head over and over. Her heart suddenly dropped. “So it’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1074 all right for you to run off here to chase some other woman while I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1075 spend my whole life waiting for you? How long do I have to wait,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1076 Syaoran? If you’re going to end the engagement, just do it already!
|
|
rlm@0
|
1077 I’m tired of waiting for you, of being the door prize in case things
|
|
rlm@0
|
1078 don’t work out with Sakura. I want you to love me, but if you can’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
1079 then you need to tell me that. I won’t always be there for you to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1080 fall back on, Syaoran.” Her head came up as she looked him in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1081 eye. Tears ran down her cheeks, but her amber eyes burned furiously.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1082 “I’ll always be there to pick up the pieces when you fall, but I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1083 won’t stand for second best. You know I never could.” She scoffed,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1084 crossing her arms. “Besides, if you want Sakura so much, now’s the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1085 time to do it. Dark haired girls are her thing, after all.” Crying
|
|
rlm@0
|
1086 herself to sleep on her pillow sounded like a great idea at the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1087 moment, but she was still too pissed off to let Syaoran get away that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1088 easily. She felt sick inside, crushed by his inability to return the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1089 feelings that she held for him, by his longing for another woman when
|
|
rlm@0
|
1090 she was his fiance. “If you don’t want it, I won’t force you. I’m not
|
|
rlm@0
|
1091 going to trap myself in some loveless marriage the way my mother did.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1092 I’ll go home to Hong Kong myself and I’ll tell Ieran-sama that the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1093 engagement’s off, that I’ve given up my claims on you. Just tell me.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1094 I can get Wei to send me back on the next flight.” The fact that she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1095 was still in Syaoran’s body didn’t register to her, or that Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
1096 was sitting across from her as a girl. None of that seemed to matter.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1097 She was simply staring into Syaoran’s eyes, looking one last time for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1098 something she had searched a lifetime for. Sometimes there had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1099 peeks, little flashes of what might have been, but she could never be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1100 sure. This was all or nothing. If it wasn’t there this time, then she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1101 was through. “I won’t love anyone else. I couldn’t,” she whispered.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1102 “But I’m not your property, Syaoran.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1103 “Mei... Ling...” Syaoran watched Meiling in surprise. He had always
|
|
rlm@0
|
1104 thought that Meiling would simply be there, waiting, for all time if
|
|
rlm@0
|
1105 need be. But how could he ever ask that of her? How could she sit by
|
|
rlm@0
|
1106 while he continued to hurt her by trying to win the love of another?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1107 And he had been hurting her more and more lately. He had always been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1108 so careful about not hurting her. He had never simply thrown off her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1109 advances or told her outright to stop them. He had tried his hardest
|
|
rlm@0
|
1110 to never hurt her that way. She was too important to him. The thought
|
|
rlm@0
|
1111 of her in pain because of him was unbearable. But here he was hurting
|
|
rlm@0
|
1112 her all the same. They had grown closer in their time back in Hong
|
|
rlm@0
|
1113 Kong, but ever since he had returned to Japan, he had tried to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1114 distance himself from her as he focused on Sakura. So he had to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1115 man enough to accept this. That thought seemed a little strange as he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1116 glanced back at the mirror, at the female body that currently housed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1117 him. But that didn’t seem important. None of this seemed important
|
|
rlm@0
|
1118 any longer. Finding out Sakura was with the heiress, or that he and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1119 Meiling had switched bodies, none of it seemed all that tragic at the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1120 moment. The tragic thought was that he might lose Meiling because of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1121 this. And that frightened him. He couldn’t remember a time when she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1122 hadn’t been there for him. He had always been too proud to go to her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1123 with his problems, but she usually came to him and helped him through
|
|
rlm@0
|
1124 them anyway. It was so much more than just that. She had stood up for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1125 him in front of his mother before, something even he found almost
|
|
rlm@0
|
1126 impossible to do. She had given him the strength to face so much. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1127 loved him even though he never returned the warmth she gave him. And
|
|
rlm@0
|
1128 now he had to decide. Would he pull her closer or set her free? Would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1129 he tug the string that bound her to him, or cut it loose? He looked
|
|
rlm@0
|
1130 down at his skirt clad lap indecisively. He wasn’t good with things
|
|
rlm@0
|
1131 like this. It had taken Tomoyo quite a while just to convince him to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1132 tell Sakura how he felt. How was he supposed to handle a situation
|
|
rlm@0
|
1133 like this? “Meiling,” he said at last, slowly looking up into her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1134 tear soaked eyes. He looked directly into the face that had been his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1135 own up till a few hours before. “I can’t let you go. I don’t want you
|
|
rlm@0
|
1136 to stop being my fiance. It would be.. harder without you. I... I...”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1137 He wanted to look away, to trail off, but he forced himself to try
|
|
rlm@0
|
1138 again. His fingers clutched onto the fabric of the skirt as amber
|
|
rlm@0
|
1139 eyes met amber eyes. “I.. I need you, Meiling,” he got out at last.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1140 Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. It had been one of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1141 hardest things he had ever said, but he suddenly felt like a weight
|
|
rlm@0
|
1142 had been lifted off of his shoulders. It felt nice to finally admit
|
|
rlm@0
|
1143 that to himself and to Meiling.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1144 The currently brown haired boy looked on in astonishment. Had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1145 Syaoran actually said that he needed her? That he wanted to stay her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1146 fiance? “You really mean it?” she asked quickly, her hands on her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1147 knees. He nodded, dark hair fluttering about his back. A giddy thrill
|
|
rlm@0
|
1148 shot through Meiling, her heart swelling with joy. She had waited so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1149 long to hear that, to hear him finally accept her. So often in recent
|
|
rlm@0
|
1150 years, she had wondered if he ever would, if she would ever be able
|
|
rlm@0
|
1151 to marry the boy she loved. Her arms wrapped around him joyously as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1152 she clutched on tightly to her betrothed. It didn’t matter if he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1153 a girl at the moment or if she was currently a boy. It didn’t matter
|
|
rlm@0
|
1154 if she was looking into her own eyes as long as Syaoran was on the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1155 other side of them. Such things were of little importance to her. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1156 was in love, and that blinding light made everything else seem
|
|
rlm@0
|
1157 insignificant. Tears spilt down her cheeks as she felt his arms go
|
|
rlm@0
|
1158 around her neck. She had been on the razor’s edge just a moment
|
|
rlm@0
|
1159 before, torn apart at the thought of leaving her cousin behind.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1160 Relief flooded through her in a torrent, mixed with the delicious
|
|
rlm@0
|
1161 love that poured over her heart and soul. Hesitating for only a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1162 second, Meiling kissed Syaoran again, but this time without the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1163 concerns that had brought her earlier kiss to an early conclusion. A
|
|
rlm@0
|
1164 moment like this wouldn’t feel right without a kiss. It signified so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1165 much in that sweet meeting of lips. Meiling was delighted to feel
|
|
rlm@0
|
1166 Syaoran return the kiss this time. Though she wasn’t exactly
|
|
rlm@0
|
1167 narcissistic, Meiling had plenty of confidence in herself. And one of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1168 the things she was fairly certain of was that she was a pretty young
|
|
rlm@0
|
1169 woman. Seeing Syaoran in her body just strengthened that belief
|
|
rlm@0
|
1170 because she sure thought Syaoran looked pretty in it. She didn’t know
|
|
rlm@0
|
1171 if it was from the euphoria of the moment or if it was just a simple
|
|
rlm@0
|
1172 as being in love, but it really didn’t matter that Syaoran was a girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
1173 at the moment.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1174 Syaoran blushed as he tried to catch his breath from the kiss with
|
|
rlm@0
|
1175 Meiling. It felt so nice not to have to worry about how manly he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1176 seemed or whether or not he was in charge of things. It was such a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1177 relief to leave it in Meiling’s very capable hands. And what hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
1178 they were. Syaoran blushed a darker shade of red as Meiling’s hands
|
|
rlm@0
|
1179 trailed up and down his back, holding him close. Meiling was always
|
|
rlm@0
|
1180 so sure of what she wanted, so determined and ready to go for it. For
|
|
rlm@0
|
1181 once in his life, he didn’t feel wrong for just wanting her to lead
|
|
rlm@0
|
1182 him wherever she wanted to. He felt so free, to just give up and let
|
|
rlm@0
|
1183 it happen, to know that Meiling would handle things. Part of him
|
|
rlm@0
|
1184 almost didn’t want to go see Sakura to switch bodies the next day. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
1185 thought that he had to act certain ways as a boy, that he had to hide
|
|
rlm@0
|
1186 his own insecurities and shyness behind a picture of confidence and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1187 bravado. As a girl, he could finally let go of them. His mind drifted
|
|
rlm@0
|
1188 back to his sisters and how happy and carefree they always seemed. As
|
|
rlm@0
|
1189 a girl, he didn’t have to live up to his mother’s high demands of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1190 him. He didn’t have the entire weight of the Li Clan resting solely
|
|
rlm@0
|
1191 on his shoulders. His mother had always treated him so harshly in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1192 comparison to his sisters. It almost felt a shame that he would have
|
|
rlm@0
|
1193 to go back to all that when he regained his own body. Besides,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1194 Meiling was already so confident, so self-assured. He envied that in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1195 her, but it was also something that he loved about her. Loved? Had he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1196 just thought that? Well, yes... Yes, he did love her. This
|
|
rlm@0
|
1197 beautiful... err… handsome boy that was currently holding him,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1198 kissing him again and again. He had to admit, Meiling did make a nice
|
|
rlm@0
|
1199 boy. And he felt so peaceful in Meiling’s arms. It felt like he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1200 floating along in a crystal stream, flowing deeper and deeper.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1201 “I love you, Syaoran,” Meiling whispered breathlessly as her lips
|
|
rlm@0
|
1202 finally parted from her cousin's. This felt like a dream, a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1203 hopelessly wonderful yet admittedly bizarre dream. She just prayed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1204 that she would never have to awaken from it. It didn’t matter who
|
|
rlm@0
|
1205 Syaoran was so long as he was Syaoran and as long as he was hers. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1206 heart burned passionately for her more introverted fiance, driving
|
|
rlm@0
|
1207 her ever forward. Her hands gently followed her old body’s curves,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1208 moving over every inch of Syaoran that she could. It felt so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1209 different now. It wasn’t like when she would bathe or dress or
|
|
rlm@0
|
1210 anything. No, then it was just her body, nothing special. Now it was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1211 Syaoran, and that made all the difference in the world. She blushed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1212 as Syaoran let out a gasp, finding her hand on his now more ample
|
|
rlm@0
|
1213 chest. Looking over at him, she saw that his eyes were closed, his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1214 face red. She should stop. Who knew where this could go? She had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1215 wanting to be with Syaoran for so long that it was almost
|
|
rlm@0
|
1216 irresistible to continue. Besides, they were in each other’s bodies
|
|
rlm@0
|
1217 at the moment. She’d stop before she got too far with anything. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
1218 wasn’t like she wanted to do anything to her own body. She just...
|
|
rlm@0
|
1219 wanted to be close to him for as long as she could.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1220
|
|
rlm@0
|
1221 Wei could see the two cousins kissing in Meiling’s room through the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1222 slightly ajar door and couldn’t help but grin. Ieran had made an
|
|
rlm@0
|
1223 excellent choice in engaging the two. They really made a perfect
|
|
rlm@0
|
1224 match. He had been hoping that they would eventually work out, for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1225 both of their sakes. “They seem to be... They’re both asleep at the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1226 moment, Miss Ieran. But I’m sure they’ll love to speak with you as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1227 soon as they can. I have the tickets, so that will be very soon.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1228 Smiling, the older man shut the door the rest of the way and returned
|
|
rlm@0
|
1229 to his conversation with the head of the House of Li. He remembered
|
|
rlm@0
|
1230 when he had been that young, so he didn’t wish to disturb the two of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1231 them. It looked like Master Syaoran was feeling a bit adventurous.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1232 They would have such beautiful children. He hoped he could be around
|
|
rlm@0
|
1233 to help that generation as well. A lifetime of service to the Li
|
|
rlm@0
|
1234 family had endeared him to them very much. He was glad to see it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1235 continuing on.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1236
|
|
rlm@0
|
1237 “Master Syaoran, Miss Meiling, it’s time to wake up,” Wei called
|
|
rlm@0
|
1238 from somewhere that sounded extremely far off to the still sleepy
|
|
rlm@0
|
1239 Meiling.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1240 Shifting in bed, Meiling was surprised to find one of her arms
|
|
rlm@0
|
1241 pinned under something warm. A flush spread across her cheeks as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1242 felt the soft skin against her arm. ‘Syaoran!!’ she thought
|
|
rlm@0
|
1243 excitedly. ‘So he must have stayed with me last night.’ She rolled
|
|
rlm@0
|
1244 back on her side and hugged the sleeping form of her fiance with all
|
|
rlm@0
|
1245 of her might. “Syaoran,” she sang into his ear. “Time to wake up. We
|
|
rlm@0
|
1246 have school.” Kissing the side of his head, she felt his hair brush
|
|
rlm@0
|
1247 against her face. “You need a haircut soon,” she said, yawning. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1248 hand finally paused on Syaoran’s stomach. Something was wrong. Having
|
|
rlm@0
|
1249 grappled onto Syaoran more than a thousand times in her lifetime, she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1250 knew what it felt like to hold onto him. She was more or less an
|
|
rlm@0
|
1251 expert on the subject. And this felt.. different. “Syaoran?” Sitting
|
|
rlm@0
|
1252 up in bed, the blanket slid down past her, leaving her sitting naked
|
|
rlm@0
|
1253 in the cold air and Syaoran only half covered by it. Next to her, she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1254 saw herself, lying with the blanket around her waist and her black
|
|
rlm@0
|
1255 hair in disarray. Looking down slowly, she saw Syaoran’s body, along
|
|
rlm@0
|
1256 with something she hadn’t seen very often currently between her legs.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1257 “Syaoran!!!!” She cried out, standing up on the bed. Her eyes were
|
|
rlm@0
|
1258 wide with panic. She was still Syaoran. Which meant that Syaoran was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1259 still her. Well, in her body, at any rate. Which meant that.. What
|
|
rlm@0
|
1260 had happened last night? They had been kissing and holding each other
|
|
rlm@0
|
1261 and they had slumped back on the bed together and... She nearly
|
|
rlm@0
|
1262 toppled off the bed as the realization struck her. She had slept with
|
|
rlm@0
|
1263 Syaoran the night before. That would have been a cause for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1264 celebration under most other circumstances seeing as how she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1265 wanted to be with him for the longest time. But slowly, the night
|
|
rlm@0
|
1266 began returning to her and it wasn’t exactly what she had fantasized
|
|
rlm@0
|
1267 about. Not that it hadn’t been intense. But the fact that she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1268 slept with Syaoran as a girl suddenly had her disoriented. It was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1269 only made worse by the fact that she had been a boy at the time. What
|
|
rlm@0
|
1270 had she been thinking? ‘Those eyes,’ she thought dreamily. She shook
|
|
rlm@0
|
1271 her head instantly, trying to banish the thought. How could she have
|
|
rlm@0
|
1272 let that happen? Let alone, how could she have actually been the one
|
|
rlm@0
|
1273 to bring it about? Why the hell would she want to sleep with her own
|
|
rlm@0
|
1274 body? Why would she want to have sex as a boy? Those eyes once again
|
|
rlm@0
|
1275 came back as her answer. Because it had been Syaoran. Because she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1276 seen it in them. Because she wanted nothing more than to be with him,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1277 even if he wasn’t a he at the moment. Slumping back on the bed,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1278 Meiling stared at the roof. This was going to take a while to get
|
|
rlm@0
|
1279 over.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1280 Stirring in bed, Syaoran slowly blinked himself awake. Seconds
|
|
rlm@0
|
1281 later, a scream shook the household.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1282
|
|
rlm@0
|
1283 A playful morning breeze meandered through the still sleepy
|
|
rlm@0
|
1284 students as they all made their way towards their inevitable
|
|
rlm@0
|
1285 destination as if by drawn by the hand of Fate. The warm wind worked
|
|
rlm@0
|
1286 its gentle fingers on the tired students, easing the anxiety over the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1287 school day laid out before them. Most of the teenagers lazily made
|
|
rlm@0
|
1288 their way to the vast complex that would house their young minds for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1289 the majority of the day, stopping to wave hello to fellow students or
|
|
rlm@0
|
1290 to stop and chat with friends in an attempt to stall the awaiting
|
|
rlm@0
|
1291 judgement. But two students stood out from the crowd, not at all
|
|
rlm@0
|
1292 sedated by the early morning breeze and the still low lying sun.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1293 Syaoran and Meiling Li hurried through the crowd with single-minded
|
|
rlm@0
|
1294 intent. Meiling’s hair lay draped across her shoulders, her usual
|
|
rlm@0
|
1295 pigtails abandoned, but no one thought it wise to ask the admittedly
|
|
rlm@0
|
1296 short tempered Chinese girl about it.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1297 “Where is she?” Meiling asked anxiously, scouring the crowd for the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1298 Cardmistress but to no avail. After that morning’s little ‘surprise’,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1299 she was in no mood for games. She just wanted to end the whole thing.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1300 She wanted her own body back. She was supposed to be on the other end
|
|
rlm@0
|
1301 of things the night before, not the other way around. A slight blush
|
|
rlm@0
|
1302 crossed Meiling’s cheeks as she tried to force back the thoughts from
|
|
rlm@0
|
1303 the night before. Her almond eyes darted back to Syaoran despite
|
|
rlm@0
|
1304 their current mission. Seeing the boy she had longed to marry for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1305 most of her life in her body was a very strange sight indeed. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
1306 looked so awkward in the skirt, shifting around uneasily in it and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1307 holding it down tightly whenever any breeze would threaten to ruffle
|
|
rlm@0
|
1308 it. But there was something cute about that, seeing him as herself,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1309 long hair, skirt, and all. He looked so much more vulnerable in her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1310 body, something that the Chinese boy always tried desperately to hide
|
|
rlm@0
|
1311 beneath a rough and uncaring exterior. He had grown up with the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1312 expectations that he was supposed to be a man in a family full of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1313 women. And he didn’t know how. So he tried far too hard,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1314 overcompensating in an attempt to prove his worth. Sometimes amusing,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1315 sometimes frustrating, Meiling always stayed by his side. It wasn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
1316 his exterior she was interested in. He could be as quiet or as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1317 haughty as he wanted. It was the shy, emotionally troubled boy inside
|
|
rlm@0
|
1318 that had always captivated Meiling. And it showed through exquisitely
|
|
rlm@0
|
1319 while he was trapped in her body. Just as it had shown through the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1320 night before. Sighing, Meiling tried to force the blush away from her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1321 cheeks. But just like her search for Sakura, it proved to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1322 fruitless.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1323 Syaoran, meanwhile, was wondering how in the world he was supposed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1324 to keep his skirt down with the wind mischievously tugging at it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1325 every few seconds. What used to be a mild interest now turned
|
|
rlm@0
|
1326 irritating. Short skirts were definitely more fun to look at on
|
|
rlm@0
|
1327 others than to wear himself, he decided. He was still desperately
|
|
rlm@0
|
1328 searching for the Cardmistress, hoping that Sakura could put
|
|
rlm@0
|
1329 everything right again. And then he could try to forget all about the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1330 night before. He scowled as images and sounds flooded back from
|
|
rlm@0
|
1331 memory of his time with his fiance. Meiling’s hands all over his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1332 body, her lips gently caressing his own, her murmurs and whispers of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1333 love as they writhed together on her bed. The electrical feelings
|
|
rlm@0
|
1334 that tingled through him as Meiling’s body reacted in ways that his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1335 never could. Balling his hands into fists, he tried to fight back his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1336 embarrassment the way he always did, with anger. This was all
|
|
rlm@0
|
1337 Daidouji’s fault. Somehow. If she hadn’t lured Sakura back to her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1338 place... But then, if he hadn’t follwed them... Damn it, he didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
1339 care whose fault it was. He just wanted to get things back to normal.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1340 He certainly wasn’t supposed to be fooling around with himself like
|
|
rlm@0
|
1341 the night before. Even if it was Meiling. And even if thoughts of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1342 those sweet kisses threatened to send a shiver down his spine.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1343 Blushing and scowling in unison, Syaoran threw himself into finding
|
|
rlm@0
|
1344 Sakura.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1345 The two cousins finally spotted Sakura under a tree near the gates
|
|
rlm@0
|
1346 to the school. The brunette was joined by her lavender haired
|
|
rlm@0
|
1347 companion as usual. But oddly enough, Tomoyo looked to be the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1348 embarrassed one this time around. Sakura was smiling brightly, her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1349 hands on her cheeks as she spoke to the blushing pale girl. Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
1350 was the first to react, practically dragging Syaoran over to the two
|
|
rlm@0
|
1351 girls. She didn’t care if they were both acting flaky that morning or
|
|
rlm@0
|
1352 what they were up to. She wanted things set back to normal before
|
|
rlm@0
|
1353 anything else happened. There were already enough problems she had to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1354 handle with only the night before. If this went on any longer, who
|
|
rlm@0
|
1355 know what might happen? Noticing Syaoran’s typical scowl crossing his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1356 face as he waited, she realized that her quiet cousin wasn’t sure of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1357 how to proceed. With a sigh, Meiling decided to handle things
|
|
rlm@0
|
1358 herself. Stepping forward, she crossed her arms. “Sakura, we need to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1359 talk.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1360 Turning to face the Chinese Sorcerer and his martial artist cousin,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1361 the brunette smiled Tomoyo’s patented eerie smile. “Hello, Li-kun,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1362 Meiling-chan. Is there anything I can do for the both of you?” she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1363 asked politely, looking from one to the other. It didn’t surprise her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1364 to hear Syaoran asking to speak to her so seriously. She’d been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1365 waiting for him to ask Sakura about what was going on. Sakura was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1366 obviously his reason for returning to Japan. Sakura treated him like
|
|
rlm@0
|
1367 one of her friends, kindly and happily just like Sakura always did.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1368 But this surprised the sorcerer who had been expecting something more
|
|
rlm@0
|
1369 from the Cardmistress. Tomoyo had actually expected him to ask Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1370 earlier, but she supposed that with how long it took for him to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1371 confess his feelings for Sakura, it must take a while to ask about
|
|
rlm@0
|
1372 Sakura’s feelings. But now it appeared he was ready to ask her, and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1373 sense she was in Sakura’s body, she was the one he had come to. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1374 as she waited for his response, she began to reevaluate the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1375 situation. Why would Syaoran come to ask about the brunette’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1376 feelings with Meiling in tow? That would just be cruel to Meiling and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1377 with her temper, she wouldn’t be very happy to hear her fiance asking
|
|
rlm@0
|
1378 about Sakura’s love life. On top of that, Meiling appeared to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1379 acting strangely. She was scowling very familiarly, letting Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
1380 do the talking. She was oddly quiet, wrapped up in her thoughts. Just
|
|
rlm@0
|
1381 like someone else. Tomoyo brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1382 never once losing her smile.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1383 Meiling frowned for a moment, at a loss for words. This seemed a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1384 lot easier when she’d been running around the house in a panic,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1385 getting an odd stare from Wei when she walked out of her room wearing
|
|
rlm@0
|
1386 the girl’s uniform. Things had been very straightforward. They would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1387 find Sakura and make her change them back. But how was she supposed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1388 to say that? She suddenly felt very self-conscious, shifting around
|
|
rlm@0
|
1389 under the boy’s uniform. She was a girl trapped in a boy’s body and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1390 she somehow had to explain that. This wasn’t at all like when Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
1391 had been trapped in Kero’s body. At least that whole event had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1392 mostly painless. This time she was directly involved. “Sakura, we’ve
|
|
rlm@0
|
1393 got a problem. Last night...” She glared over at Syaoran. She’d bop
|
|
rlm@0
|
1394 him right now if she wasn’t so nervous. If he hadn’t gone after that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1395 Japanese hussy, she’d be in her own body at the moment, clinging to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1396 her cousin’s arm lovingly. Just like how Sakura was leaning happily
|
|
rlm@0
|
1397 against Tomoyo at the moment, a contented look on her face as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1398 held her chin in thought. Meiling placed her hands on her hips,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1399 frowning as she tried to describe what had happened. “You need to fix
|
|
rlm@0
|
1400 things,” she got out at last, frustrated with how difficult this was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1401 turning out.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1402 Syaoran sighed. This wasn’t turning out as well as he’d planned.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1403 Then again, he hadn’t had much time to plan anything. Upon waking up,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1404 he had found himself in a very awkward position with memories of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1405 night before returned shortly thereafter. The whole morning felt more
|
|
rlm@0
|
1406 like a haze than reality. He couldn’t even remember walking to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1407 school, having been too lost in his thoughts. The night before
|
|
rlm@0
|
1408 blurred together with images and thoughts and feelings, all
|
|
rlm@0
|
1409 compounding together until the poor boy was thoroughly confused. His
|
|
rlm@0
|
1410 feelings for Meiling burned inside of him in a way that they never
|
|
rlm@0
|
1411 had with Sakura. She didn’t have Sakura’s limitless magic, something
|
|
rlm@0
|
1412 that demanded his attention, but Meiling had a magic all her own, a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1413 will that managed to grab his attention whether or not he wanted to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1414 give it. He had grown much closer to his fiery cousin in the past few
|
|
rlm@0
|
1415 years during his time back in Hong Kong, her unswerving loyalty and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1416 beautiful presence always keeping him company through even the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1417 roughest waters. And what did he give her in return? Nothing. He had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1418 always assumed that he would return to Japan and claim Sakura, even
|
|
rlm@0
|
1419 as he and Meiling would talk in the garden under the stars back home.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1420 Though he didn’t say it, he was grateful for her presence. She was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1421 truly his best friend, the only person to really know him for who he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1422 was and not for the masculine façade he tried to hold up. Life would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1423 be too lonely without her. Even if she was rather forceful in staying
|
|
rlm@0
|
1424 with him no matter how quiet and aloof he generally was. He had had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1425 some rather doki doki, romantic moments with Meiling over the past
|
|
rlm@0
|
1426 few years, but they were always left unfinished as the Chinese boy
|
|
rlm@0
|
1427 found one way or another to get away. How many half kisses, embraces,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1428 and deep looks had they shared since his return to Hong Kong? The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1429 night before just felt like a natural conclusion to things, a long
|
|
rlm@0
|
1430 drawn out consummation of the unspoken feelings between the two.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1431 Syaoran had actually felt relieved when it was all done, glad to have
|
|
rlm@0
|
1432 finally broken the barrier that had held back his heart for so long.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1433 The small, unfinished moments they had shared beforehand had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1434 teasing him for what felt like an eternity. It was so nice to finally
|
|
rlm@0
|
1435 have it behind him, to have it out in the open. Being a girl at the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1436 time gave the whole thing a freakish spin that threatened to twist
|
|
rlm@0
|
1437 the whole thing out of perception, but he was slowly coming to grips
|
|
rlm@0
|
1438 with it. Just like how the night before felt like a forgone
|
|
rlm@0
|
1439 conclusion, so did his being a girl during it. In fact, Meiling being
|
|
rlm@0
|
1440 a boy at the time had made it easier for him. He hadn’t been so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1441 worried, so overwhelmed by what he should by doing or how he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1442 supposed to act. He hadn’t felt so pressured to be the cold, aloof
|
|
rlm@0
|
1443 man he thought he was expected to be. He had just gone along with her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1444 wishes. Meiling always was so much better at deciding things than he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1445 was anyway. The thought of the night before and Meiling herself was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1446 like warm, delicious honey coating his heart, no matter how hard he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1447 tried to deny it to himself. Meiling loved him in a way Sakura and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1448 Yukito never could, bringing out feelings in him that neither of his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1449 previous crushes had elicited.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1450 Sighing again, he scowled and crossed his arms over his now more
|
|
rlm@0
|
1451 ample chest. At least he was getting used to the girl’s clothes. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
1452 hadn’t worn girl’s clothes since he was a kid, back when his crazy
|
|
rlm@0
|
1453 older sisters had dressed him up often in their old clothes. They had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1454 all loved it, treating him like their little doll. He had complained,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1455 but he secretly loved how they would call him their little sister,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1456 giving him a taste of the love and care that had been denied him as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1457 the male heir to the Li Clan. He had been raised with the explicit
|
|
rlm@0
|
1458 purpose of becoming head of the Li Clan, groomed for that position.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1459 All the while, his sisters had been granted all the love and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1460 attention that his sometimes distant mother could afford them. They
|
|
rlm@0
|
1461 all looked so happy while he was always scowling. It hadn’t seemed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1462 fair at all. Sometimes he had envied his sisters, wishing his mother
|
|
rlm@0
|
1463 would treat him as she did his siblings. But he had grown angry and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1464 introverted, his feelings all looping back into himself. He had tried
|
|
rlm@0
|
1465 to be exactly what his mother wanted him to be, a strong man. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1466 sometimes all he wanted was for her to look at him the way she looked
|
|
rlm@0
|
1467 at his sisters...
|
|
rlm@0
|
1468 Tomoyo brushed away some of the brunette hair from her face,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1469 studying the two cousins with her now jade eyes. Having a penchant
|
|
rlm@0
|
1470 for trying new hairstyles, she didn’t let being in Sakura’s body stop
|
|
rlm@0
|
1471 her. The short auburn hair was done up in two short pigtails, little
|
|
rlm@0
|
1472 lacy ribbons interspersed all through her hair. She had done Sakura’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1473 now long, dark hair on the way to school in the limousine as well,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1474 giving her longer pigtails so they would match. It was still a bit
|
|
rlm@0
|
1475 different for her to be in her love’s body, but she was enjoying
|
|
rlm@0
|
1476 every single second of it, thrilling at the smallest details like
|
|
rlm@0
|
1477 watching the muscles under soft skin as she moved Sakura’s legs. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
1478 was so incredibly different to watch Sakura from outside. Now she saw
|
|
rlm@0
|
1479 Sakura the same way that the Cardmistress saw herself and it was a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1480 fascinating experience. And seeing Sakura trying to get used to her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1481 old body was just so incredibly adorable! The way she moved, the way
|
|
rlm@0
|
1482 she talked, it was all so cute. Tomoyo’s body wasn’t as athletic as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1483 Sakura’s, but the Cardmistress continued to move with an almost
|
|
rlm@0
|
1484 blinding amount of energy, always letting her genki spirit shine
|
|
rlm@0
|
1485 through. Hearing Sakura use her voice and watching Sakura moving
|
|
rlm@0
|
1486 around so enthusiastically was better than seeing Sakura in any
|
|
rlm@0
|
1487 simple costume. It was like she had put Sakura in a Tomoyo costume
|
|
rlm@0
|
1488 and let her run free. Tomoyo was still trying to videotape as much of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1489 Sakura as possible, wanting to capture it all for posterity and her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1490 own viewing pleasure later on.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1491 Thoughts flowed serenely in Tomoyo’s head as she listened to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1492 Syaoran, watching the two cousins as she rested against Sakura. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1493 answer to the puzzle she found herself looking at was just on the tip
|
|
rlm@0
|
1494 of her tongue, the picture almost making sense for her. Something
|
|
rlm@0
|
1495 finally clicked into place while she saw Meiling’s long hair flutter
|
|
rlm@0
|
1496 in the wind. Smiling sweetly, she turned to the Chinese boy, his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1497 hands still on his hips. “What can I do to help, Meiling-chan?” she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1498 asked the boy curiously, though she had a fair idea what that would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1499 be. The boy’s eyes went wide and then closed in relief. Tomoyo felt
|
|
rlm@0
|
1500 Sakura shift against her, long lavender hair teasing her face when
|
|
rlm@0
|
1501 the Cardmistress moved.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1502 Breathing a sigh of relief, Meiling’s eyes fluttered open. This
|
|
rlm@0
|
1503 whole thing would be over soon enough and she could forget all about
|
|
rlm@0
|
1504 it. But did she want to? She had given her love to Syaoran and for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1505 once her fiance had accepted it. Well, that hardly mattered. First
|
|
rlm@0
|
1506 things first, after all. She grinned from ear to ear at Sakura’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1507 words. Things would be back to normal soon. “We need you to change us
|
|
rlm@0
|
1508 back. Now.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1509 Sakura looked from Meiling to Syaoran and back, dark hair obscuring
|
|
rlm@0
|
1510 her vision for a moment before she moved a pigtail to the side. What
|
|
rlm@0
|
1511 had just transpired? Did Tomoyo really say that Syaoran was Meiling?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1512 Then that meant... “Syaoran-kun?” Sakura asked, turning to the dark
|
|
rlm@0
|
1513 haired girl. Syaoran looked miserable, but he nodded. “Hoe...” The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1514 Cardmistress nearly felt dizzy. As if things weren’t usually
|
|
rlm@0
|
1515 confusion enough, now everyone appeared to be someone that they
|
|
rlm@0
|
1516 weren’t. What next? Chiharu telling all kinds of crazy stories while
|
|
rlm@0
|
1517 Yamazaki got frustrated and said she was lying? Syaoran being Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
1518 was certainly a little more bizarre than when the boy had switched
|
|
rlm@0
|
1519 places with Kero. How was he handling being a girl? Sakura was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1520 curious to ask, but now didn’t feel like the appropriate time. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1521 followed Meiling’s gaze to Tomoyo. So they still thought that Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
1522 was her. “Ano... I’m Sakura-chan,” she said hastily, sweatdropping.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1523 She felt both of the Li’s eyes turning to her and immediately
|
|
rlm@0
|
1524 regretted saying anything. She probably should have waited for a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1525 better opportunity to explain things. Oh well. Too late for that now.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1526 “Sakura-chan?” Syaoran asked in confusion. So that’s what had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1527 happened with the Change Card... Sakura must have been using it on
|
|
rlm@0
|
1528 herself and Tomoyo. His shoulders slumped as his mind went back to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1529 what he had seen in Tomoyo’s window. He felt a flash of anger at
|
|
rlm@0
|
1530 that, but he tried to focus on the important part of the situation,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1531 getting the whole thing sorted out. “So you got switched with
|
|
rlm@0
|
1532 Daidouji-san, Sakura-chan? How did that happen?” He nearly bit out
|
|
rlm@0
|
1533 the last part, anger building up at Sakura’s choice in Tomoyo over
|
|
rlm@0
|
1534 him. That, however, was short lived. As soon as it was out of his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1535 mouth, Meiling’s elbow connected with his ribs none too gently, her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1536 currently brown eyes shooting him a glance. Scowling again, he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1537 crossed his arms and waited.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1538 Pale cheeks turned a dark shade of scarlet as Sakura struggled for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1539 a reply. She could remember the events that had led up to her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1540 switching places with Tomoyo in crystal clarity, but she didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
1541 exactly want to share the explanation. She could remember Tomoyo and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1542 stockings and video cameras and lace and kisses and warm skin and...
|
|
rlm@0
|
1543 No, she definitely didn’t think an exact recollection of the night’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1544 events was called for. Luckily, Tomoyo came to her rescue, not
|
|
rlm@0
|
1545 seeming at all fazed by the mention of the night before.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1546 “Sakura-chan was staying at my house last night because her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1547 father’s out of town at a conference,” Tomoyo stated with a smile.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1548 Her gentle voice didn’t betray her as her thoughts replayed her time
|
|
rlm@0
|
1549 with Sakura in vivid detail. “We finished our homework early and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1550 decided to play a game. I thought it would be fun to trade places
|
|
rlm@0
|
1551 with Sakura-chan for a while, so she used her magic,” the heiress
|
|
rlm@0
|
1552 explained, head tilted to the side. She wasn’t technically lying.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1553 What she said was all true. It just lacked some of the meatier
|
|
rlm@0
|
1554 details that led up to their switching places. “The Change Card
|
|
rlm@0
|
1555 switched us and then hopped out the window for a moment.” Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
1556 turned to Sakura and smiled brilliantly, holding onto a blushing
|
|
rlm@0
|
1557 Sakura. “Isn’t Sakura-chan gorgeous even when she’s in another body?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1558 Sakura-chan can pull off any look!” Noting the even more embarrassed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1559 look on Sakura’s face, Tomoyo smiled happily, though she didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
1560 release Sakura from her embrace. “How did the Change get a hold of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1561 the two of you?” she asked curiously. She already had a pretty good
|
|
rlm@0
|
1562 idea of what on her own. Syaoran must have followed them, Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
1563 giving chase. Syaoran must have been somewhere very near the house
|
|
rlm@0
|
1564 when the Change jumped out the window because it had come back to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1565 Sakura rather quickly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1566 Meiling stepped forward and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We
|
|
rlm@0
|
1567 just need to fix this right now. I don’t care if you two want to run
|
|
rlm@0
|
1568 around like this, but Syaoran and I would kindly like to have our own
|
|
rlm@0
|
1569 bodies back. I just want this whole nightmare to be over with.” That
|
|
rlm@0
|
1570 wasn’t exactly true, as Meiling couldn’t honestly say it was a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1571 nightmare. But nevertheless, she longed to return to her own body.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1572 Looking down nervously, Sakura placed a hand behind her and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1573 laughed. It was a nervous laugh, but she hoped they wouldn’t catch
|
|
rlm@0
|
1574 on. From the looks on their faces, it appeared that they had. “Hoe...
|
|
rlm@0
|
1575 I can’t,” she mumbled.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1576 “What?” Syaoran asked. He tried to catch Sakura’s now stormy blue
|
|
rlm@0
|
1577 eyes, but Tomoyo was obviously distracting her, keeping her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1578 attention. His heart seemed to be pounding in slow motion, panic
|
|
rlm@0
|
1579 struggling within his brain. But it wasn’t time for that yet. He had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1580 to know what was going on. Maybe he had misunderstood. “What do you
|
|
rlm@0
|
1581 mean?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1582 “I can’t change everyone back yet,” Sakura began, taking a deep
|
|
rlm@0
|
1583 breath before looking up. She smiled weakly, her hand still behind
|
|
rlm@0
|
1584 her head. She scratched through her long, lavender hair as she tried
|
|
rlm@0
|
1585 to go on. “The Change Card needs a day to recharge when I use it. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
1586 takes a lot for it to switch the souls of two people.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1587 “But it’s already been a day. Almost,” Syaoran added quickly,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1588 waiting for Sakura to continue.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1589 “Un. But that’s when it’s only changing two people. This time, it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1590 switched all four of us. And I was using a lot of magic at the time
|
|
rlm@0
|
1591 because I was… excited about the whole thing.” Her cheeks burned as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1592 she fought for words. She had been in a very excited state of mind at
|
|
rlm@0
|
1593 the time she had used the Card, so her magic had come pouring forth
|
|
rlm@0
|
1594 in vast quantities. “So it’s going to take longer for it to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1595 recharge,” she finished quietly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1596 “What?!?” Meiling’s eyes went wide as she stared at the pale girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
1597 that was now the Cardmistress. Her hopes for a speedy resolution to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1598 the situation were now dashed beyond recognition. “You mean we’re
|
|
rlm@0
|
1599 stuck this way? For how long?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1600 The world spun around Syaoran as he replayed Sakura’s words. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1601 logic was sound. Even if logic could be a funny thing when applied to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1602 magic. This was much, much worse than getting stuck in the body of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1603 the Seal Beast. He was stuck in the body of the girl who loved him,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1604 his own cousin, and he somehow had to deal with it for however long
|
|
rlm@0
|
1605 it took the Card to recharge. Did Fate think he hadn’t been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1606 humiliated enough by finding out that some weak girl was the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1607 Cardcaptor, that she held the limitless power of his great ancestor?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1608 Was his role as her sidekick simply not enough of a slap in the face
|
|
rlm@0
|
1609 to the heir to the Li Clan?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1610 Sakura smiled, trying to put a brighter slant on the situation.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1611 This just meant they’d all have to spend a little time in different
|
|
rlm@0
|
1612 bodies. And besides, she was getting used to Tomoyo’s body. It was so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1613 much prettier than her own, a gorgeous look that always left her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1614 breathless when she was in Tomoyo’s presence. A few more days as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1615 Tomoyo didn’t feel like such a bad thing. Then again, Syaoran and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1616 Meiling didn’t seem to be as happy about the situation. She and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1617 Tomoyo had been exploring what it was like to be in the others body,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1618 almost treating it like a game. How were Syaoran and Meiling handling
|
|
rlm@0
|
1619 it? Her smile faltered a bit as she spoke up. “The Change Card
|
|
rlm@0
|
1620 probably needs another day or two to recharge before I can use it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1621 again. Maybe a little longer. I did use a lot of magic with it.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1622 Syaoran and Meiling both looked devastated by the news, shock
|
|
rlm@0
|
1623 registering on Syaoran’s face while mute horror etched itself onto
|
|
rlm@0
|
1624 Meiling. Sakura sighed, brushing more lavender hair from her eyes.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1625 Sometimes being a magical girl was not what it was cracked up to be.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1626 “So what do we do in the meantime? Are we just stuck this way? I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1627 don’t want to be a boy!!” Meiling slumped to her knees on the grass
|
|
rlm@0
|
1628 miserably. Students stared oddly for her comment, but she wasn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
1629 paying them any attention.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1630 “We just have to wait for the Change Card to recharge. It’s not
|
|
rlm@0
|
1631 like we’re stuck this way. Besides, there’s no other option, so we
|
|
rlm@0
|
1632 have to wait,” Syaoran explained, crossing his arms. To his surprise,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1633 he felt cool relief spread through him. The thought that they
|
|
rlm@0
|
1634 wouldn’t be changing back right away was a soothing one. Like finding
|
|
rlm@0
|
1635 out a dentist appointment was cancelled or postponed, he was glad to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1636 know they wouldn’t be going through with it. He couldn’t quite
|
|
rlm@0
|
1637 understand it, but he didn’t want to be in his own body again, at
|
|
rlm@0
|
1638 least for the moment. Playing dress up with his sisters came to mind,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1639 but this felt much stronger. Back then there was the knowledge that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1640 they were simply playing, that he wasn’t a girl like his sisters. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1641 now... He felt free in Meiling’s body. He was free from his mother’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1642 coldness and the responsibilities that had been thrust on him simply
|
|
rlm@0
|
1643 for the mistake of his being born as a boy. Fanren, his oldest
|
|
rlm@0
|
1644 sister, would make a better head of the Li Clan than he would anyway.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1645 Syaoran didn’t even mind Meiling being in his own body. He had always
|
|
rlm@0
|
1646 had an interest in boys, especially when he had met Yukito, and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1647 Meiling made an excellent boy in his mind, even if she was rather
|
|
rlm@0
|
1648 feminine for one. So maybe it wasn’t all that bad. Maybe they
|
|
rlm@0
|
1649 wouldn’t have to Change back for a few days. Heck, maybe even a week.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1650 A sigh escaped Syaoran’s lips, his worry dissipating. He would have
|
|
rlm@0
|
1651 been more concerned about his feelings regarding the whole matter,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1652 but he simply didn’t feel like dealing with them at the moment.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1653 “And in the meantime, we can try to get to know the one we love
|
|
rlm@0
|
1654 better while we’re in their place,” Tomoyo said happily. She was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1655 already enjoying sharing this with Sakura, and it could easily help
|
|
rlm@0
|
1656 Syaoran and Meiling to grow closer if they were stuck as each other.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1657 Getting back to her feet, Meiling scoffed. “I already know my
|
|
rlm@0
|
1658 Syaoran just fine. I don’t need to know him any better.” She grabbed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1659 Syaoran’s arm, yanking her cousin close by and holding onto him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1660 Syaoran sighed as Meiling manhandled him. He really did need to get
|
|
rlm@0
|
1661 used to that. She’d been doing it since they were little kids and she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1662 didn’t seem to be in any hurry to stop.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1663 “I’ll tell you when the Change Card recharges. Then we can all meet
|
|
rlm@0
|
1664 at the park and I can switch us all back,” Sakura said hopefully. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
1665 was weird but a little fun to be Tomoyo, but she was starting to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1666 worry. If the Change Card didn’t recharge soon, she’d miss the soccer
|
|
rlm@0
|
1667 tryouts. And with all of Tomoyo’s encouragement, she was really
|
|
rlm@0
|
1668 looking forward to trying out for the team. She could always try out
|
|
rlm@0
|
1669 as Tomoyo, but it just didn’t feel right to be throwing her fragile
|
|
rlm@0
|
1670 friend out on a soccer field. It was like putting a piece of fine
|
|
rlm@0
|
1671 china on the edge of a building. Delicately beautiful things should
|
|
rlm@0
|
1672 be held reverently, not in the way of flying soccer balls. So she’d
|
|
rlm@0
|
1673 just have to hope she could fix things in time. With Tomoyo as her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1674 personal cheerleader, she knew she could get on the soccer team. Now
|
|
rlm@0
|
1675 it was all up to whether or not the Card would be ready in time.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1676 The bell rang shrilly, giving the students a sense of urgency as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1677 people began rushing to class. “All right. We’ll meet back when the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1678 Card’s ready.” Nodding, Syaoran hurried off with Meiling, leaving the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1679 Cardmistress and the heiress. At least something was solved, even if
|
|
rlm@0
|
1680 it would take a few days. But inside, he still couldn’t explain his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1681 feelings. Struggling with his inner turmoil, Meiling dragged him off
|
|
rlm@0
|
1682 towards class.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1683
|
|
rlm@0
|
1684 “I never should have let you do that for me, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1685 reiterated for what had to be the hundredth time as she held onto her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1686 injured girlfriend. Tomoyo rubbed her back as she murmured her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1687 apologies over and over again. Sakura had always felt a strong urge
|
|
rlm@0
|
1688 to protect her best friend from harm, saving her above all of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1689 others back in Hong Kong one time and asking Tomoyo to stop coming
|
|
rlm@0
|
1690 along when she was capturing Cards for fear that Tomoyo would get
|
|
rlm@0
|
1691 hurt another time. And so she always kicked herself when, despite her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1692 efforts, Tomoyo sometimes got hurt or in trouble. But the gentle
|
|
rlm@0
|
1693 heiress always soothed away her worries before too long.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1694 Shifting on her crutches, Tomoyo continued to caress Sakura’s back.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1695 Sakura was still in her pale body while she was still enshrined in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1696 Sakura’s athletic body. Unfortunately, athletic body or not, Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
1697 simply wasn’t athlete material. The sweet, soft-spoken girl was much
|
|
rlm@0
|
1698 more at ease singing or sewing than she was out running. So even with
|
|
rlm@0
|
1699 Sakura’s swift form, she had managed to sprain her ankle during
|
|
rlm@0
|
1700 soccer tryouts. “I’m sorry that I hurt Sakura-chan’s cute body,”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1701 Tomoyo whispered in reply as she returned her needy girlfriend’s warm
|
|
rlm@0
|
1702 embrace. Sakura needed plenty of love and attention, which Tomoyo was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1703 more than happy to supply. She would do anything for the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1704 Cardmistress, after all. Which is how she had ended up with a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1705 sprained ankle in the first place. They hadn’t been able to change
|
|
rlm@0
|
1706 back before the soccer tryouts that Sakura had so eagerly
|
|
rlm@0
|
1707 anticipated. Sakura had been disappointed that she couldn’t tryout
|
|
rlm@0
|
1708 for the team. Wanting to help her darling Sakura, Tomoyo had tried
|
|
rlm@0
|
1709 out for the soccer team herself while in Sakura's body. As she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1710 discovered, however, watching soccer and playing soccer were two
|
|
rlm@0
|
1711 completely different things. Not much sooner had she showed up on the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1712 field than she had slipped on the soccer ball, landing awkwardly on
|
|
rlm@0
|
1713 her ankle. One doctor’s visit and plenty of concern from an
|
|
rlm@0
|
1714 overprotective parent later, Tomoyo was hobbling around on crutches
|
|
rlm@0
|
1715 with support from her sweet Sakura.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1716 “Poor Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura lamented, helping Tomoyo onto her bed.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1717 She had blamed herself for Tomoyo’s injury, as she often did when
|
|
rlm@0
|
1718 something bad would happen to Tomoyo. Somehow she felt that she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1719 should be able to protect Tomoyo from everything, that she alone
|
|
rlm@0
|
1720 could keep her safe from all the pain and troubles in the world.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1721 Sometimes she wasn’t as successful as other times. This was one of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1722 them. Even though it seemed like she was looking in a mirror, Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1723 could still see Tomoyo’s ever-present smile on her lips. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1724 currently pale girl found herself relaxing as Tomoyo’s gestures
|
|
rlm@0
|
1725 slowly began to affect her. Her gentle fingers rubbing her back, her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1726 soft voice, her soothing smile; they all managed to numb the worry
|
|
rlm@0
|
1727 that ate at her. Brushing dark hair from her eyes that she still
|
|
rlm@0
|
1728 wasn’t completely used to, Sakura sat down next to her eccentric
|
|
rlm@0
|
1729 friend. The bed shifted as Tomoyo made her way behind Sakura. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1730 Cardmistress was about to ask the other girl what she was up to when
|
|
rlm@0
|
1731 she felt Tomoyo’s hands in her currently long hair, stroking back the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1732 long silken hair in her gentle hands. Feeling Tomoyo’s fingers
|
|
rlm@0
|
1733 through her hair, Sakura held her breath for a long moment as her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1734 heart pounded in her chest. Tomoyo had such long, beautiful hair. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1735 own was usually so much shorter. But it felt so nice to have Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
1736 focusing so intently on her hair. The heiress always spent so much
|
|
rlm@0
|
1737 attention on her and she always came up with such beautiful styles
|
|
rlm@0
|
1738 for her own hair. So it was nice for Sakura to have Tomoyo trying out
|
|
rlm@0
|
1739 those styles on her. Just like seeing herself in Tomoyo’s gorgeous
|
|
rlm@0
|
1740 costume designs, it was stunning to see what Tomoyo could do with her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1741 hair. She had never been able to do much with her own hair, but
|
|
rlm@0
|
1742 Tomoyo’s was like an art form.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1743 Slowly letting Sakura’s hair out of the high ponytail she had put
|
|
rlm@0
|
1744 it into earlier, Tomoyo let the lavender hair cascade through her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1745 fingers. She could make out a faint blush on Sakura’s pale cheeks and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1746 felt a blush spreading across her own. “Sakura-chan is so gorgeous,”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1747 she whispered in awe, letting her fingers roam through Sakura’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1748 silken locks. And it was true. Even in Tomoyo’s body, Sakura was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1749 still so deliciously herself. She pulled it off beautifully, like an
|
|
rlm@0
|
1750 elegant costume, Sakura’s cute and energetic charm sparkling out from
|
|
rlm@0
|
1751 underneath it. Sakura was always the most crucial part of her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1752 costumes. She was what truly made them shine. And so Sakura did the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1753 same with her body. Tomoyo always loved dressing up her genki friend,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1754 trying out all sorts of styles on her with different costumes and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1755 things. And so she was loving the moment, being able to try new
|
|
rlm@0
|
1756 hairstyles out on Sakura. She enjoyed trying new hairstyles herself,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1757 but it was so much more fun for her to try them out on her precious
|
|
rlm@0
|
1758 Sakura, to see how they fit the Mistress of the Cards. Sakura was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1759 like a life size doll for her to dress up and style. And it made
|
|
rlm@0
|
1760 perfect sense to dress up the girl she loved, to see her in such
|
|
rlm@0
|
1761 dazzling clothes and costumes. Because she loved her. Who better to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1762 dress up than the one you love, to see them in all manner of designs?
|
|
rlm@0
|
1763 Sakura was lovelier than any doll could hope to be, so it would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1764 simply be a shame if she weren’t dressed prettily. All of Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1765 designs were for Sakura, her lovely, spirited doll. Now she got to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1766 play with her hair, a new thing for Tomoyo. Sakura’s hair was a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1767 little too short for her to do much with, but now it was perfect. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1768 could try out all of her hairstyles and more on the pretty
|
|
rlm@0
|
1769 Cardmistress. Sighing contentedly, Tomoyo rested against Sakura. “I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1770 love my Sakura-chan.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1771 Blushing deeper at Tomoyo’s touch and her words, Sakura shifted on
|
|
rlm@0
|
1772 the bed, feeling Tomoyo’s head on her shoulder as the heiress hugged
|
|
rlm@0
|
1773 her from behind. Sakura relaxed against her, hands resting on
|
|
rlm@0
|
1774 Tomoyo’s arms that were still encircling her waist. It was so strange
|
|
rlm@0
|
1775 to have everything switched around, but when they were all alone, not
|
|
rlm@0
|
1776 much had changed. It was just her and Tomoyo. Sure, she saw green
|
|
rlm@0
|
1777 eyes and auburn hair when she gazed at her lover instead of stormy
|
|
rlm@0
|
1778 blue eyes and lavender hair, but that was really a minute thing
|
|
rlm@0
|
1779 overall. It was still Tomoyo. And it was easy to forget that anything
|
|
rlm@0
|
1780 was different at all when they kissed, aside from Tomoyo’s fingers in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1781 her now longer hair. “Hanyaan...” What had started out as an
|
|
rlm@0
|
1782 extremely bizarre thing now barely mattered to the Cardmistress.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1783 Sure, she wanted her own body back. But it wasn’t all that important
|
|
rlm@0
|
1784 to her when she did. As usual, Tomoyo’s idea turned out rather well
|
|
rlm@0
|
1785 in the end. Which was nice what with how... experimental the heiress
|
|
rlm@0
|
1786 could be. A crimson blush crept down to her shoulders as she thought
|
|
rlm@0
|
1787 back through a number of other incidents that had turned out
|
|
rlm@0
|
1788 similarly. For being so quiet and gentle, Tomoyo was certainly
|
|
rlm@0
|
1789 eccentric and ready to try new things. Well, as long as said new
|
|
rlm@0
|
1790 things involved Sakura in some way, shape, or form. “Hoe..?” Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1791 turned back to face her girlfriend when she felt Tomoyo’s arms pull
|
|
rlm@0
|
1792 away from her, but only managed to get a face full of hair. Shaking
|
|
rlm@0
|
1793 her head to get the lavender strands away from her eyes, she tried to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1794 see what the heiress was doing only to find fingers once again at
|
|
rlm@0
|
1795 home in her hair. Sakura quickly looked forward again, feeling Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
1796 carefully braiding the dark hair. Tomoyo sure had some interesting
|
|
rlm@0
|
1797 tastes, but Sakura was very happy to be one of them. “Aren’t I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1798 supposed to be taking care of you, Tomoyo-chan? You’re the one who
|
|
rlm@0
|
1799 got hurt.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1800 “Sakura-chan is taking care of Tomoyo-chan. One way or another,”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1801 Tomoyo replied, smiling as she held up Sakura’s long, dark hair for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1802 inspection. It brushed past her own auburn hair, tickling past her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1803 forehead. “All I could want is to have you here with me, Sakura-chan.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1804 I can’t move around much because of my ankle, so I’m just happy to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1805 have you close by. And it does give me the chance to play with your
|
|
rlm@0
|
1806 hair, so maybe it was a good thing.” She gave Sakura a soft kiss on
|
|
rlm@0
|
1807 the neck, secretly delighting at the darker blush that spread across
|
|
rlm@0
|
1808 Sakura’s pale skin. If she was going to sprain her ankle, this was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1809 certainly the way to go about recuperating. So close to Sakura,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1810 braiding her hair, could she be any closer to heaven? Holding the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1811 soft hair against her nose, she inhaled the wonderful scent of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1812 lavenders.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1813 “I still feel bad that you got hurt for me,” Sakura said with a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1814 sigh, her shoulder slumping. The image of Tomoyo holding onto her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1815 ankle once again felt her mind. Sakura had felt helpless as she ran
|
|
rlm@0
|
1816 to her, stuck in a much slower body than her old one. There had to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1817 some way to make it up to Tomoyo. The beautiful heiress had gotten
|
|
rlm@0
|
1818 hurt while trying to help her join the soccer team. Even if she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1819 failed, it was a very sweet thought. The least Sakura could do was to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1820 repay the favor. Somehow. Her eyes lit up as she sat up straight
|
|
rlm@0
|
1821 against Tomoyo again. “Sense you’re stuck in bed, I can try on some
|
|
rlm@0
|
1822 of those costumes you’ve finished lately. I can model them for you
|
|
rlm@0
|
1823 while you videotape.” Being videotaped in different costumes wasn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
1824 exactly her favorite thing in the world. It was always so
|
|
rlm@0
|
1825 embarrassing. And some of Tomoyo’s designs had become a little more
|
|
rlm@0
|
1826 grown up in recent years. But the way Tomoyo looked when she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1827 videotaped her or watched her in the costumes was enough to send
|
|
rlm@0
|
1828 Sakura’s heart fluttering. She was the full focus of Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1829 attention, the only thing in her world. So even if it was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1830 embarrassing, it was something she would always do for Tomoyo.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1831 “Oooph!!” Sakura felt Tomoyo’s now stronger arms squeeze her tightly
|
|
rlm@0
|
1832 in a warm hug. Apparently the other girl liked her idea.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1833 “Sugoi! I don’t have to leave the bed to videotape, so I can
|
|
rlm@0
|
1834 capture all of Sakura from here. That would be perfect, Sakura-chan.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1835 And I get to see you in a whole new light.” Tomoyo sighed happily, a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1836 hand on her cheek and stars in her eyes. She had thought that the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1837 costumes would have to wait until they changed back, but this
|
|
rlm@0
|
1838 afforded the perfect opportunity to get plenty of videotape she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1839 wouldn’t otherwise have. “You’ll have to try on the costumes again
|
|
rlm@0
|
1840 when you’re back to your old body so I can compare both videos of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1841 you,” Tomoyo said excitedly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1842 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura sweatdropped. Tomoyo had a lot of costumes
|
|
rlm@0
|
1843 she would need to wear. This would take a while. And it would all be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1844 on video for Tomoyo’s later perusal. Sakura was about to continue,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1845 but Tomoyo’s soft lips on her own silenced her. Kissing back, Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1846 decided she’d wear whatever Tomoyo wanted.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1847
|
|
rlm@0
|
1848 “This isn’t fair!” Meiling said angrily as she and Syaoran got out
|
|
rlm@0
|
1849 of the limousine that had picked them up at the airport. “We need to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1850 get back, Syaoran!” If anyone found it strange that the boy was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1851 calling his cousin by his name, they didn’t say anything. But Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
1852 didn’t care. She pushed short brown hair out of her eyes as she got
|
|
rlm@0
|
1853 out of the limousine. Ahead of them lay the impressive Li household.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1854 Meiling lived with her parents elsewhere, but she spent much of her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1855 time there with Syaoran. It was usually a pleasant sight, but now it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1856 looked so ominous and foreboding. She didn’t want to admit it, but
|
|
rlm@0
|
1857 she was afraid. Afraid of what would happen and of how long she would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1858 be stuck in her cousin’s body. Nothing was certain any longer and she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1859 wasn’t taking it very well. She felt an icy pit in her stomach,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1860 uncertainty and worry trying to drag her down. She fought it off with
|
|
rlm@0
|
1861 difficulty, hurrying towards the house. “We have to tell Ieran-sama
|
|
rlm@0
|
1862 what happened so we can go back.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1863 Upon returning home from school, Meiling and Syaoran had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1864 shocked to find everything neatly packed up. Wei had explained to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1865 them that he had told Ieran of their growing feelings for each other
|
|
rlm@0
|
1866 and that the Li matriarch had decided to have them return home
|
|
rlm@0
|
1867 immediately. After all, if Syaoran was no longer after Sakura then
|
|
rlm@0
|
1868 there was no reason for them to remain. The two cousins had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1869 mortified, but there had been nothing they could do as they rapidly
|
|
rlm@0
|
1870 got shuttled off towards far away Hong Kong. The past few hours were
|
|
rlm@0
|
1871 little more than a blur as they made their way back home. All because
|
|
rlm@0
|
1872 of Meiling’s pretending that Syaoran was in love with her earlier.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1873 Now they were stranded far away from their chance to return to their
|
|
rlm@0
|
1874 own bodies, stuck as each other and about to meet with Syaoran’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1875 expectant mother. And neither cousin was overly eager to tell her the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1876 bad news. As Syaoran had come to realize quite a long time ago, his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1877 mother could be an extremely imposing figure.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1878 “Syaoran! Meiling!” An energetic figure met the two at the door,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1879 waving brightly. “I was wondering when you two would finally get
|
|
rlm@0
|
1880 back. Fuutie will have to stop using your closet to hold her extra
|
|
rlm@0
|
1881 clothes, Syaoran. Everyone’s so excited to know your both back.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1882 Mother already has a banquet planned in your honor. It’s going to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1883 a huge affair. Everyone will be attending. That’s where Shiefa is
|
|
rlm@0
|
1884 right now.” Fanren gave Syaoran a warm hug as the girl reached the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1885 top of the stairs, believing that her brother was Meiling. Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1886 brother wasn’t much for emotional displays, so she didn’t bother
|
|
rlm@0
|
1887 ruffling him up for once, but her younger cousin usually didn’t mind.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1888 Which is why she found it odd that the girl she was hugging tensed up
|
|
rlm@0
|
1889 in her grasp, the same way Syaoran usually did when she’d hug him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1890 Deciding it didn’t matter, Fanren grinned. “So you finally dragged my
|
|
rlm@0
|
1891 little brother back home, eh, Meiling? I can’t wait to hear how you
|
|
rlm@0
|
1892 did that. Mother’s already planning the wedding. She was so pleased
|
|
rlm@0
|
1893 to hear that you two were finally ready to start a life together.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1894 She held the younger girl at arms length, still smiling. “And you
|
|
rlm@0
|
1895 must be absolutely thrilled. You’ve wanted this for years. Oh, I
|
|
rlm@0
|
1896 can’t believe my little brother’s getting married before me! It’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1897 just not fair.” The eldest of the Li children laughed. “But I’m sure
|
|
rlm@0
|
1898 it will be beautiful. You’ll make a wonderful bride, Meiling.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1899 Unsure of what to say, Syaoran could only nod as he watched his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1900 sister. Fanren never treated him like this normally. She treated him
|
|
rlm@0
|
1901 differently. Like a boy. No, a man. The distant, aloof man that he
|
|
rlm@0
|
1902 had always tried to be. It was for the sake of the Li Clan. His
|
|
rlm@0
|
1903 mother had always treated him like that and his sisters had slowly
|
|
rlm@0
|
1904 grown to treat him the same. Because that was how he acted. But now
|
|
rlm@0
|
1905 Fanren was being as expressive and loving as she usually was around
|
|
rlm@0
|
1906 others. It felt... nice. It felt very nice to be held by his big
|
|
rlm@0
|
1907 sister, to see her smiling so warmly at him. Blinking back a stinging
|
|
rlm@0
|
1908 sensation in his eyes, Syaoran hugged his older sister again.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1909 “...Thanks, Fanren.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1910 “Anytime, sweetie. You always were like another little sister. Now
|
|
rlm@0
|
1911 you will be.” Fanren smiled sweetly as she wiped away the tears from
|
|
rlm@0
|
1912 the edges of Syaoran’s eyes. The scowl that had been on his face
|
|
rlm@0
|
1913 faded away, replaced by a look of reverence. He had always seen
|
|
rlm@0
|
1914 Fanren’s emotional displays to be pointless, childish, and weak. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1915 now he had to reconsider. Could it be that he was just jealous, that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1916 he was spiteful that he was left out while his sister’s grew up to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1917 so happy and emotional? He wasn’t sure.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1918 Meiling, in the meantime, was still not very pleased with the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1919 situation she found herself in. Syaoran was still blushing from the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1920 mention of marriage. If the boy wasn’t scowling, he was blushing.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1921 Sometimes Meiling wondered if he had any other expressions. Sighing,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1922 she hurried inside past Fanren. She had to speak to Ieran. The Li
|
|
rlm@0
|
1923 family matriarch had to hear what was going on before it was too
|
|
rlm@0
|
1924 late. She wanted to be the one in the wedding dress, damn it! She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1925 wanted to marry Syaoran with all of her heart, but she really would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1926 rather marry him in her own body. Her eyes darted around the vast
|
|
rlm@0
|
1927 interior of the Li household, trying to discern where Syaoran’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1928 mother may be.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1929 Finally noticing Meiling disappearing into the house, Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
1930 pulled away from Fanren and hurried after her, scowling. “Meiling!
|
|
rlm@0
|
1931 Wait!” Meiling was much more impulsive than he himself was. And being
|
|
rlm@0
|
1932 impulsive wasn’t always a good thing. Especially around his mother.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1933 “We need to wait until she asks for us. I’m sure she’ll want to see
|
|
rlm@0
|
1934 us soon.” He had to admit that he was a trifle concerned about seeing
|
|
rlm@0
|
1935 her. How was he supposed to explain this to her? He was supposed to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1936 be the strongest mage in the Li Clan and yet he had accidentally
|
|
rlm@0
|
1937 gotten switched with his fiancee. He could only imagine how angry she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1938 would be. A shudder ran through his spine at the thought. She was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1939 always calm, never letting her anger shatter her placid exterior. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1940 it was quite evident when she was mad. And he had been at the center
|
|
rlm@0
|
1941 of her cold, cutting scrutiny enough to fear her. Disappointing her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1942 had never been an option in his life. Which is why it had taken all
|
|
rlm@0
|
1943 of his will to sneak off to Japan to see Sakura again when Ieran
|
|
rlm@0
|
1944 wanted him to marry Meiling. So she wouldn’t be pleased about that to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1945 say the least. And finding out that he wasn’t ready to marry Meiling,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1946 that it had all been a misunderstanding, and that he had in fact
|
|
rlm@0
|
1947 gotten stuck in her body would not smooth things over with the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1948 matriarch.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1949 “I don’t want to wait. She needs to know now. She’s a strong
|
|
rlm@0
|
1950 sorceress. She’ll understand. And then we can go back to Japan, fix
|
|
rlm@0
|
1951 this up, come back and get married. Hopefully by the end of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1952 week.” Meiling continued down the hallway, ignoring Syaoran’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1953 frustrated sigh. She wasn’t in the mood to worry about such trivial
|
|
rlm@0
|
1954 things. Her mind was set. She had her game plan. Now all she had to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1955 do was find... Ieran’s study seemed to beckon to the two of them, the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1956 door left slightly ajar. Meiling hurried to it, ducking into the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1957 room. Syaoran paused for a moment before following. Meiling glanced
|
|
rlm@0
|
1958 around the room, her lungs releasing a breath that she hadn’t even
|
|
rlm@0
|
1959 known she was holding when she spotted the beautiful head of the Li
|
|
rlm@0
|
1960 Clan at the other end of the study. “Ieran-sama!”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1961 “Please forgive us, mother. We didn’t mean to intrude. We’ll wait
|
|
rlm@0
|
1962 in the parlor until you wish to see us,” Syaoran said quickly, bowing
|
|
rlm@0
|
1963 low before grabbing Meiling’s arm. As if things weren’t bad enough,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1964 Meiling seemed intent on angering his mother. He could only guess
|
|
rlm@0
|
1965 where that would go. Vivid images popped into his mind, none of them
|
|
rlm@0
|
1966 good. He pulled again on Meiling’s arm, but the girl in his body
|
|
rlm@0
|
1967 simply pulled away from his grasp, stepping towards Ieran.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1968 “Ieran-sama, I’m sorry for being so forward, but I have to talk to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1969 you. I’m not Syaoran. I’m Meiling.” Gesturing back towards Syaoran,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1970 Meiling continued. “That’s Syaoran.” She could feel her heart
|
|
rlm@0
|
1971 lighten, a weight lifting off of her. At least that was out of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1972 way. Ieran would know what to do. She always did.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1973 Syaoran, on the other hand, felt an icy hand clamp onto his heart,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1974 clutching deep inside of him. His head slumped as he waited for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1975 Ieran’s harsh words. They would come, he was sure. Of course,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1976 sometimes it was worse when she would greet him with only silence.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1977 All he could do for now was wait. She would know doubt be angry at
|
|
rlm@0
|
1978 him for his mistake, for causing so much trouble for the Li Clan.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1979 Watching the two cousins contemplatively, Ieran thought for a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1980 moment. “Is this true?” she asked the dark haired girl. Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
1981 nodded in response, long hair draping past her face. The older woman
|
|
rlm@0
|
1982 nodded, rolling this information over in her head. “I thought that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1983 something of the sort had happened. I could feel Syaoran’s magic in
|
|
rlm@0
|
1984 Meiling’s body, whereas Syaoran’s body currently has no magic.” She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1985 paused, letting an uneasy silence reign over the room. The two
|
|
rlm@0
|
1986 shifted uncomfortably as they waited for her to continue. She simply
|
|
rlm@0
|
1987 raised an eyebrow and continued to watch the gender switched cousins.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1988 Syaoran’s head was still lowered like a sad puppy, obviously
|
|
rlm@0
|
1989 expecting some sort of negative reaction on her part. Her daughters
|
|
rlm@0
|
1990 were all much happier, none of them nearly as afraid of her as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1991 Syaoran was. But it was necessary. She had raised Syaoran to fill his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1992 role. He was to be the head of the family. He had to grow up to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1993 strong, to be the pillar of the family. So she had raised him very
|
|
rlm@0
|
1994 differently from his sisters. It was his duty as the male heir. Just
|
|
rlm@0
|
1995 as it had been her duty to assume the role as head of the Li Clan,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1996 not having any male siblings herself. She knew how difficult it was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1997 and she had tried to raise him accordingly. And also to fulfill his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1998 duties to the Li Clan by becoming as strong a mage as he could to aid
|
|
rlm@0
|
1999 the true Cardcaptor, and later the Cardmistress. She had known early
|
|
rlm@0
|
2000 on that he would not be the Cardcaptor, nor could he handle the
|
|
rlm@0
|
2001 situation on his own. The most he could hope to do would be to help.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2002 But she had instilled in him a lust for power, to force him to be as
|
|
rlm@0
|
2003 strong as he could be when the Cardcaptor needed him. At times like
|
|
rlm@0
|
2004 this, seeing Syaoran cower before her, it was a sad sight. But it was
|
|
rlm@0
|
2005 necessary. She couldn’t allow herself to regret it. Regrets only
|
|
rlm@0
|
2006 mired one in the past. “I think I’ll set the wedding in two months.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2007 That should be a nice enough time to get everything ready. I would
|
|
rlm@0
|
2008 wait longer, but I really don’t think that will be necessary.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2009 Meiling and Syaoran both looked up in surprise. “What? Wait, Ieran-
|
|
rlm@0
|
2010 sama, we need to go back to Japan soon so we can switch back to our
|
|
rlm@0
|
2011 old bodies. We don’t have time to worry about a wedding,” Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
2012 argued. “Yet,” she added quickly. Oh, a wedding sounded absolutely
|
|
rlm@0
|
2013 lovely. But she had more immediate concerns.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2014 “And I never agreed to marry Meiling. Wei heard Meiling talking and
|
|
rlm@0
|
2015 thought that she was me,” Syaoran shot in, stepping up next to
|
|
rlm@0
|
2016 Meiling. He immediately regretted the words as he saw Meiling wince.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2017 He didn’t mean to hurt her. And he hadn’t meant it like that. He...
|
|
rlm@0
|
2018 loved Meiling? Yes... Yes, he did. But he wanted his mother to know
|
|
rlm@0
|
2019 that he hadn’t decided on this yet.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2020 “I forbid it. You are not going back to Japan. You will not return
|
|
rlm@0
|
2021 to your old bodies. We will leave things like this,” Ieran stated
|
|
rlm@0
|
2022 calmly. She could see the two react in shock, but kept up her cold
|
|
rlm@0
|
2023 composure. Their reaction was of no concern for her. She was simply
|
|
rlm@0
|
2024 doing what was best for the Li Clan. And she had quickly realized how
|
|
rlm@0
|
2025 this would benefit them. It was her decision to make. It may not be
|
|
rlm@0
|
2026 what they would choose, but it hardly mattered. Things would be nicer
|
|
rlm@0
|
2027 if they agreed, but you couldn’t always have things run perfectly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2028 This bit of luck actually quelled quite a number of her worries about
|
|
rlm@0
|
2029 the future of the venerable House of Li.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2030 Syaoran was left speechless as he watched his mother. She wasn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
2031 angry with him. She was actually pleased with the situation. Why
|
|
rlm@0
|
2032 would she want things to turn out this way? What was going on? So he
|
|
rlm@0
|
2033 was stuck this way? Forever? He suddenly felt dizzy, as if he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
2034 spinning at a blinding rate. His fate seemed sealed with her words.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2035 He would spend the rest of his life as Meiling. He would see Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
2036 in his body from now on. He felt angry and sad and... elated? He
|
|
rlm@0
|
2037 couldn’t deny that he once again felt relieved. His mind flashed back
|
|
rlm@0
|
2038 to Fanren, to his bright and cheerful sisters, to the warm manner
|
|
rlm@0
|
2039 that his mother showed them and kept from him. No!! He didn’t want
|
|
rlm@0
|
2040 any of that. He was Li Syaoran, powerful sorcerer and the next head
|
|
rlm@0
|
2041 of the House of Li. And he was not a girl! He would not spend the
|
|
rlm@0
|
2042 rest of his life trapped in a girl’s body, in the body of his fiancee.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2043 “What? But... Ieran-sama, why?” Meiling asked, near panic in her
|
|
rlm@0
|
2044 voice. Her hopes were once again slipping away from her, this time
|
|
rlm@0
|
2045 waving goodbye for what could be an eternity. This didn’t make any
|
|
rlm@0
|
2046 sense. She had thought that Ieran would be eager to have this sorted
|
|
rlm@0
|
2047 out, but instead the matriarch wanted to leave things as they were.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2048 Meiling could see her wedding dress flying off into the distance. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
2049 shook her head, balling up her fists as she looked pleadingly at
|
|
rlm@0
|
2050 Syaoran’s mother. “Why are you doing this?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2051 Ieran allowed a small smile to cross her lips as she looked at
|
|
rlm@0
|
2052 Meiling. The girl was extremely strong willed. In some ways, Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
2053 reminded her of herself at that age. “Very well. Though my reasons do
|
|
rlm@0
|
2054 no concern you, I will concede that to you.” She stood up, walking to
|
|
rlm@0
|
2055 the two cousins. She placed her hands on Meiling’s shoulders, looking
|
|
rlm@0
|
2056 the girl in her son’s body in the eyes. “Meiling, you have the
|
|
rlm@0
|
2057 strength to hold the Li Clan together. You have the will it takes to
|
|
rlm@0
|
2058 be the head of the House of Li. I believe that if anyone can handle
|
|
rlm@0
|
2059 whatever tragedies face our clan in the future, it will be you. You
|
|
rlm@0
|
2060 do not give up, you are willing to go the distance to achieve your
|
|
rlm@0
|
2061 goals. You are a bit impetuous, but I’m hoping that will mellow with
|
|
rlm@0
|
2062 age. That is one of the reasons why I set you as Syaoran’s fiancee.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2063 You and he are the best match for each other. I have seen that. Which
|
|
rlm@0
|
2064 is why I wish that Syaoran had listened to my decision rather than
|
|
rlm@0
|
2065 looking for someone not half as well suited to him.” She gave Syaoran
|
|
rlm@0
|
2066 a quick glance before looking back to Meiling. “You are the one I
|
|
rlm@0
|
2067 would choose to head the Li Clan. But Syaoran is the male heir, so it
|
|
rlm@0
|
2068 is his duty, not yours. This way, you can head the Li Clan after
|
|
rlm@0
|
2069 all.” She turned from Meiling, stepping in front of Syaoran. Her son
|
|
rlm@0
|
2070 kept his eyes averted for some time before she tilted his chin up to
|
|
rlm@0
|
2071 see his eyes. To his surprise, she smiled gently at him. “Syaoran,
|
|
rlm@0
|
2072 I’m afraid that you weren’t suited to many of the tasks I gave you.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2073 In some ways, I wonder why you weren’t born as a girl to begin with.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2074 I think a lot of this could have been avoided had that happened. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
2075 we do not choose how we are born, so we must all play with the hand
|
|
rlm@0
|
2076 we are dealt. You are shy and emotional, even if your emotions are
|
|
rlm@0
|
2077 all twisted inside of you as you repress them. But I must take the
|
|
rlm@0
|
2078 blame for that. I have pushed you to be something that you are not.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2079 Now we have the chance to remedy that. Your heart is like that of a
|
|
rlm@0
|
2080 girl who has striven to be the boy she cannot be. I think you may
|
|
rlm@0
|
2081 have turned out much like your sisters had things gone another way.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2082 But regrets will get us nowhere. I wish to leave things as they are
|
|
rlm@0
|
2083 because I believe it is best for the Li Clan. Even in your
|
|
rlm@0
|
2084 relationship with Meiling, she is dominant in it over you. You are
|
|
rlm@0
|
2085 too shy and unsure, though you pretend to be otherwise. Which is why
|
|
rlm@0
|
2086 I wonder why you ever assumed you could handle the Cardmistress, who
|
|
rlm@0
|
2087 can also be very shy and unsure. But all of this points to this being
|
|
rlm@0
|
2088 the best possible solution. You get to be my daughter as you should
|
|
rlm@0
|
2089 have been while Meiling will be my successor as she rightfully should
|
|
rlm@0
|
2090 be.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2091 Meiling’s mind reeled as Ieran’s words spun round and around
|
|
rlm@0
|
2092 through her thoughts. ‘She wants me to be the next head of the Li
|
|
rlm@0
|
2093 Clan? But how can I? I always thought I’d marry Syaoran, but I never
|
|
rlm@0
|
2094 thought that I’d have the weight of the Li Clan on my shoulders. I
|
|
rlm@0
|
2095 thought that would be Syaoran’s responsibility.’ Her mind was too
|
|
rlm@0
|
2096 consumed with these new revelations to realize what else was going
|
|
rlm@0
|
2097 on. She was still trying to understand the full extent of Ieran’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
2098 words.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2099 “I... I...” Syaoran struggled for words, choking back the tears
|
|
rlm@0
|
2100 that threatened. He wasn’t weak. He was strong. His mother was wrong
|
|
rlm@0
|
2101 about Meiling being the right head of the Li Clan. He was the one.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2102 How could he get replaced again? By another girl? First Sakura and
|
|
rlm@0
|
2103 now Meiling. And what did she mean about him being a girl? No, he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
2104 a man. Just like he’d always grown up to be. But... Ieran was smiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
2105 at him. Warmly. It was so different from the cold looks she usually
|
|
rlm@0
|
2106 gave him. It was the motherly smile she would bestow upon his
|
|
rlm@0
|
2107 sisters, the love that she seldom gave him. “Mother...” he got out
|
|
rlm@0
|
2108 weakly. The older woman held him as he trembled. He could be like his
|
|
rlm@0
|
2109 sisters... He could stop worrying, stop holding everything inside. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
2110 could stop trying so hard to be strong and unemotional. Tears burned
|
|
rlm@0
|
2111 in his vision as visions of he eternally cheerful, flighty sisters
|
|
rlm@0
|
2112 danced through his head along with the warmth his mother would show
|
|
rlm@0
|
2113 them. But... But he couldn’t... No, he was Li Syaoran... Li Syaoran.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2114 Slowly pulling away from his mother, Syaoran quickly wiped away his
|
|
rlm@0
|
2115 tears, composing himself. He knew who he was. His mother was wrong.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2116 He would be the head of the House of Li. He would be the man he was.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2117 “Mother, please let us go back to Japan. I promise you that I’ll
|
|
rlm@0
|
2118 marry Meiling as soon as I get back, just like you’ve wanted for me,”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2119 he vowed. He knew that it wasn’t much of a deal, that Ieran could
|
|
rlm@0
|
2120 probably find a way to force him to marry Meiling anyway, but he
|
|
rlm@0
|
2121 hoped it would be enough. He had to get back, to end this.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2122 Ieran sighed inwardly, but didn’t let anything show through.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2123 “Meiling, do you wish the same? If you both wish to return to Japan,
|
|
rlm@0
|
2124 I won’t stop you.” She couldn’t help but let her disapproval of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
2125 idea drift through, but there was no use forcing the both of them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2126 Nodding quickly, Meiling took Syaoran’s hand. “Yes, Ieran-sama. We
|
|
rlm@0
|
2127 want to go back to Japan to get our own bodies back. And then I want
|
|
rlm@0
|
2128 to marry Syaoran.” Her eyes went over to her cousin, hopes somehow
|
|
rlm@0
|
2129 returning to her. She almost felt giddy, though she tried not to let
|
|
rlm@0
|
2130 it get the best of her. Not only could she be herself again, but she
|
|
rlm@0
|
2131 could have Syaoran at that. She couldn’t think of a happier ending.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2132 She squeezed Syaoran’s hand in her own and was surprised to feel him
|
|
rlm@0
|
2133 squeeze back.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2134 “All right,” Ieran conceded, turning from the two. It looked like
|
|
rlm@0
|
2135 the Li Clan’s problems wouldn’t be solved so easily after all. But at
|
|
rlm@0
|
2136 least she could have the marriage problem dealt with. “But I want you
|
|
rlm@0
|
2137 to stay for a week or two. Everyone’s looking forward to the banquet
|
|
rlm@0
|
2138 and I want to speak with you both a bit before you return.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2139 “Thank you, Ieran-sama!” Meiling felt relief flood through her
|
|
rlm@0
|
2140 body. Ieran simply nodded in reply, dismissing the two of them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2141 Anxiously awaiting both a return to her own body and her impending
|
|
rlm@0
|
2142 marriage to Syaoran, she quickly dragged her cousin out of the study.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2143
|
|
rlm@0
|
2144 It took some time, but Syaoran and Meiling had finally returned to
|
|
rlm@0
|
2145 Japan once more, for what Syaoran had promised would be the last
|
|
rlm@0
|
2146 time. They would only be there for a short time, to get themselves
|
|
rlm@0
|
2147 changed back by Cardmistress Sakura. With several weeks having passed
|
|
rlm@0
|
2148 from the time the Change Card had been used, it had recharged back to
|
|
rlm@0
|
2149 it’s full power long before the cousins had returned to Tomoeda. They
|
|
rlm@0
|
2150 had all met outside of Tomoyo’s house, where it had all began in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
2151 first place to finally put an end to the long nightmare.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2152 “Are we almost ready?” Meiling asked impatiently, her arms crossed.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2153 She was eager to have her own body back, to be a girl again. It had
|
|
rlm@0
|
2154 been almost impossible to last the past few weeks with the knowledge
|
|
rlm@0
|
2155 that she would soon be in her own body again. She wasn’t the most
|
|
rlm@0
|
2156 patient individual, but somehow she survived. But she seriously
|
|
rlm@0
|
2157 doubted she could last another few seconds.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2158 “Un, just about,” Sakura said happily. Sakura and Tomoyo were both
|
|
rlm@0
|
2159 in their normal bodies, if the two could be called normal. Tomoyo was
|
|
rlm@0
|
2160 recording Sakura who was decked out in a flashy feather design
|
|
rlm@0
|
2161 costume. Why such an elaborate setup was needed for the Cards,
|
|
rlm@0
|
2162 Meiling couldn’t fathom. Tomoyo tried to explain that the
|
|
rlm@0
|
2163 Cardmistress had to be professional and that she had to take it all
|
|
rlm@0
|
2164 down for posterity.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2165 “Perfect, Sakura-chan. You look so cute! Sakura-chan makes such a
|
|
rlm@0
|
2166 beautiful magical girl,” Tomoyo said with a sweet yearning in her
|
|
rlm@0
|
2167 voice as she zoomed in on the Cardmistress. Sakura blushed at her
|
|
rlm@0
|
2168 comments, but modeled for the video camera nonetheless. Tomoyo only
|
|
rlm@0
|
2169 swooned further, videotaping every inch of her magical girlfriend.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2170 “Sakura-chan is both gorgeous and cool in her costume, a flurry of
|
|
rlm@0
|
2171 feathers. The Card will certainly heed Sakura-chan’s call.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2172 “Can we please just get this over with?” Syaoran growled irritably.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2173 He had already been sick that morning and he wasn’t feeling all that
|
|
rlm@0
|
2174 well now. He wanted to switch bodies and have this whole even behind
|
|
rlm@0
|
2175 him. He felt a tinge of sadness that he’d lose the chance that his
|
|
rlm@0
|
2176 mother had mentioned, but he forcibly pushed it out of his mind. This
|
|
rlm@0
|
2177 would be over soon enough.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2178 “Oh, right!” Sakura sweatdropped. Looking forward with her
|
|
rlm@0
|
2179 determined emerald eyes, the Mistress of the Cards through a pink
|
|
rlm@0
|
2180 Card on the air, letting it spin for a moment before hitting it with
|
|
rlm@0
|
2181 her staff. “Change! Put these two back to the way they should be!”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2182 the brunette called out, magic swirling around her. She could see
|
|
rlm@0
|
2183 Tomoyo moving to the side to get a better shot out of the corner of
|
|
rlm@0
|
2184 her eye and smiled a bit, waving her fingers at her eccentric best
|
|
rlm@0
|
2185 friend.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2186 The Change leapt out of the Card, jumping towards the embracing
|
|
rlm@0
|
2187 Syaoran and Meiling. They both braced for the Sakura Card as it
|
|
rlm@0
|
2188 headed towards them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2189 “Wait!!” Tomoyo called out, halting even the Sakura Cards advance. A
|
|
rlm@0
|
2190 confused pair of jade eyes and two angry sets of amber and brown eyes
|
|
rlm@0
|
2191 shot her way.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2192 “What is it this time? Do you need more film or something?” Meiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
2193 asked in frustration. Why couldn’t they just get this over with? She
|
|
rlm@0
|
2194 didn’t want to wait another second.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2195 “I think that it would be a lot more touching if the two of you
|
|
rlm@0
|
2196 weren’t just embracing as the Change affects you. You both learned
|
|
rlm@0
|
2197 quite a bit throughout all this and with the wedding approaching, you
|
|
rlm@0
|
2198 both have to be very excited. It would be much more romantic and
|
|
rlm@0
|
2199 meaningful if you were kissing when you change back. Then you will
|
|
rlm@0
|
2200 shift from one side of the kiss to the other, returning to your old
|
|
rlm@0
|
2201 body but still joined,” Tomoyo explained with a smile. She pulled up
|
|
rlm@0
|
2202 her camcorder to see the two, adjusting the picture. Having a flare
|
|
rlm@0
|
2203 for the aesthetic, it just seemed to fit much better on tape that way.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2204 “What?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2205 “Tomoyo-chan does have a point,” Sakura said with a giggle,
|
|
rlm@0
|
2206 motioning for the Change to stay still for a moment.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2207 Meiling looked back to Syaoran, still holding onto her fiancee. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
2208 sighed as they held each other. It did seem to make enough sense,
|
|
rlm@0
|
2209 Meiling reasoned. Licking her lips, she leaned forward slowly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2210 Syaoran blushed as she touched her lips against his. The two began to
|
|
rlm@0
|
2211 kiss softly, growing more passionate as they forgot about the Change
|
|
rlm@0
|
2212 Card and their audience.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2213 Looking back to the Change Card, Sakura smiled and gave a nod. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
2214 chameleon-looking Sakura Card sped towards the kissing couple,
|
|
rlm@0
|
2215 pressing into their legs as it’s magic lit up the area around them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2216 Magic coalesced around the two, a small sun covering them with
|
|
rlm@0
|
2217 blinding intensity. And then, just as suddenly, it was gone. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
2218 Change Card reappeared in Sakura’s hand.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2219 Syaoran felt Meiling’s lips against his own as they kissed, holding
|
|
rlm@0
|
2220 each other. The kiss dragged on as he finally felt the magic around
|
|
rlm@0
|
2221 him. It gripped him like it did the last time, maintaining its hold
|
|
rlm@0
|
2222 for a second before pulling away. He could still feel the kiss, their
|
|
rlm@0
|
2223 lips never leaving the other even as Sakura’s magic overtook them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2224 Relieved, Syaoran kissed Meiling deeper, in a passionate kiss that
|
|
rlm@0
|
2225 let out all of the worry and tension that had built up inside of him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2226 He could feel their tongues dancing as their victory kiss continued.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2227 Meiling’s hands shifted down his sides. He made a soft gasp into
|
|
rlm@0
|
2228 their kiss as he felt her hand on his breast, feeling the fingers
|
|
rlm@0
|
2229 through the blouse and bra. His arms went around her as their lips
|
|
rlm@0
|
2230 met again and again. His hand slipped down her back as he.. Wait..
|
|
rlm@0
|
2231 His eyes shot open in terror. His hands went to Meiling’s still flat
|
|
rlm@0
|
2232 chest. “What the hell?” Pulling away, he gazed at Meiling, still in
|
|
rlm@0
|
2233 his body. “What happened?” He asked frantically, whirling towards the
|
|
rlm@0
|
2234 Mistress of the Cards.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2235 Shrugging helplessly, Sakura looked down at the Card. “I don’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
2236 know. It should be charged by now. I know I used enough magic. And
|
|
rlm@0
|
2237 the Change seems to be doing fine. I don’t know what could have gone
|
|
rlm@0
|
2238 wrong.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2239 Kero nodded thoughtfully. The Seal beast had his arms crossed, his
|
|
rlm@0
|
2240 brow furrowed. “The Change can’t work it’s magic if someone’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
2241 pregnant. It might accidentally switch the baby’s soul, too, so it’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
2242 too dangerous.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
2243 Syaoran’s eyes were the size of saucers. Meiling was blushing a
|
|
rlm@0
|
2244 cherry red while Sakura sweatdropped and Tomoyo looked on with a
|
|
rlm@0
|
2245 smile. Syaoran looked down at his female body, still too in shock to
|
|
rlm@0
|
2246 utter a word. “I’m... pregnant?!” His mind was still having trouble
|
|
rlm@0
|
2247 registering the thought. ‘Pregnant?’ he thought, staring down. His
|
|
rlm@0
|
2248 first night with Meiling in each other’s bodies raced to the front of
|
|
rlm@0
|
2249 his mind. He’d gotten pregnant from Meiling...
|
|
rlm@0
|
2250 “Congratulations, Li-kun! Meiling-chan!” Tomoyo said cheerfully, a
|
|
rlm@0
|
2251 hand on her cheek. She seemed to find the situation a lovely one
|
|
rlm@0
|
2252 indeed. Her camcorder panned from one of the cousins to the other,
|
|
rlm@0
|
2253 trying to get both of their reactions for the tape in case they
|
|
rlm@0
|
2254 wanted one later.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2255 “Seems so, kiddo,” Kero replied, grinning from ear to ear. “And ya
|
|
rlm@0
|
2256 should stop yelling like that. It can’t be good for the baby.” As if
|
|
rlm@0
|
2257 it hadn’t been good enough to hear that Syaoran had switched bodies
|
|
rlm@0
|
2258 with Meiling, this was icing on Kero’s cake.
|
|
rlm@0
|
2259 “Syaoran...” Meiling got out, still too embarrassed to say anything
|
|
rlm@0
|
2260 else. She watched as Syaoran fainted dead away. |
