Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Black Wings ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

Black Wings

By: Aisaki Sumi

 

Chapter Twelve

 

Painting to artists was akin to weaving stories. Each image painted by an artist reveals an emotion—a feeling of that fleeting moment too quick for untrained eyes to realize but to painters, they are a mirror reflection of people's life.

 

Every picture tells a story. It could be about a person, or a place, or it could simply be just about anything.

 

That was what Sakura liked about paintings. She enjoyed creating stories with her paint brush. Each talented stroke left upon the blank page represented a small part of the story. It gave her the feeling of superiority—being able to weave people's lives with her magical brush like the spinning wheel of fate.

 

But during instances such as this one, where inspiration and ideas were running low, Sakura found painting almost frustrating in a sense.

 

Sighing in heavy aggravation, she ruffled her hair roughly and stared down at the sketch in progress with strong dislike and dissatisfaction. Nothing was right about this particular piece.

 

She had been attempting to recapture the breathtakingly beautiful image of that moment where the red motorcycle fleeted pass the finishing line with honor and pride. It stirred the artistic genius in her. Almost like a phoenix in light, it challenged her into capturing that spectacular moment on paper.

 

Crescent shaped eyebrows furrowed in frustration as she closed the sketchbook in a snap, producing an echoing sound in her quiet , dimly lit room. She sank deeper into her chair, head slanted backward until it touched the frame of the back of the chair, eyes seeing pass the grayish looking plain ceiling with a blank mind filed with nothing but emptiness.

 

Recollecting, she vaguely remembered the events of the past two days. She hadn't left her room since Friday afternoon, right after his match ended.

The beautiful image she saw in that split second tugged at her heart so relentlessly that she even forgot to wait for Tomoyo after school by the gates so they could stroll down the cherry blossom street together.

 

Ever since then, all she did was sketching, trying her best to recreate what her eyes saw. But none of her sketches looked right, or was even close to being right. This fact irked her to no end.

 

Blinking absentmindedly at the blur of white mixed in dark gray hue and the mild shadowing of her ceiling by the uneven distribution of light Sakura let out a small sigh.

 

Perhaps she should leave this inspiration draining room and search for the lost, slowly evanescing light that acted as the guidance of her artistic ideas.

 

Reaching a decision, Sakura pushed herself off the seat with a slight bit of reluctance and indolency. She grabbed her sketchbook along with her art bag of which contained her other set of equipment and moved away from her studying desk.

 

She crossed the room swiftly in a few steps and slammed the door close carelessly. Like a water ripple in the pond, the sound slowly emanated from a single source and dissipated into the thin air moments later as if it was never there.

 

……

 

Syaoran sat by the window of their secret base, amber eyes staring at the distant cherry blossom tree, watching the leaves in freefalls as they drifted in a lazy swirl. Just like that, two weeks of school had passed by. And soon enough, the season would be arriving rapidly on wintry wings.

 

Everything in these days reminded him of a part of her, and Syaoran reflexively blamed it on hanging out with the quiet artist too much. Her pessimistic perceptive on life and everything else was beginning to rub off on him. Her philosophies, believes and feelings were expressed wordlessly through her artwork.

 

Her life was like an enigma, a maze, filled with hidden depth and locked doors, concealing the stories and secrets that no one knew of. This mere fact intrigued him so greatly that it was beyond his mind's comprehension.

 

It was almost obsessive in a sense one could argue and he could just imagine the smugly look on Eriol's face every time the other caught him sparing a fleeting glance at the quiet girl.

 

It even surprised him at first how he looked forward to lunchtime and Visual Art class everyday since she spoke her first few words to him, and how he had enjoyed being in her silent presence.

 

Their relationship hadn't progressed much however. She still ignored him most of the times, pretending that he never existed and that it was only the wind talking nonsense.

 

It always made him grin to see her grimacing at his random comments and how she would spare him a dry look every now and then when he cracked jokes about her antisocial personality and sexuality. Her reactions truly amused him to no ends.

 

The look she cast him the other day when he asked if she liked girls better than guys made all his seemingly failed attempts almost worth it.

 

Some said he was just wasting his time with a girl like her. Some even proposed that if he wanted a girlfriend that badly, he could just snap his fingers and a line of the hottest girls at their school would line up in front of him, waiting anxiously for him to set his amber eyes on them. But very few knew that he perceived those girls as nothing but bubbleheads.

 

He would not deny the fact that Sakura wasn't pretty. She wasn't even close to being pretty. Always wearing an over-sized gray sweater and skirt that went past her knees, she might as well label herself as the most conserved girl at Tomoeda.

 

But there was something about her simplicity and hidden elegancy that captured his attention the first time they met.

 

You're attracted to her. He remembered Eriol's statement, kindly pointing out the fact that was obvious to everyone else except Syaoran himself.

 

I'm not. His mind stubbornly denied, growling at the fact that Eriol was being his usual manipulative self again, desperately trying to pair him up with anyone from the female population.

 

Then you're the worst liar I've ever met.

 

The soft velvety voice was harshly taunting at the same time, resonating in the silently reverberating air surrounding him.

 

Syaoran was sure that he wasn't attracted to her. Rather, he was never attracted to her but simply intrigued. As a matter of fact, he was certain that he was quite capable of distinguishing his own feelings and state of mind. And Syaoran didn't need anyone to explain his own feelings to him.

 

“Oi Syaoran, your cousin just phoned my cell and said that your mom needs to speak to you about some important family business.” The familiar gentle voice that carried an implicit mockery ringed in his ears.

 

Syaoran inclined his head a bit and turned to an angle that was enough for him to see who the intruder upon the pleasant tranquility was.

 

“Oh.” Was all Syaoran could say. He paused there for a moment, digesting the information before getting up slowly with great reluctance.

 

Nothing good would ever come out of those serious small talks with his mother. He could second-guess what she wanted to speak to him about, probably something along the lines of his behavior in public and the inappropriateness of his life style.

 

Reaching the exit, he was halted into a stop by Eriol. “Syaoran,” the other said with a definite seriousness in his tone, “next time, tell Meiling to phone your cell phone instead of mine. I know you hate that girl, but she's still your cousin and fiancé you know.”

 

Cringing at the mentioning of Meiling, Syaoran looked over his shoulder and sent Eriol a shut-up glare before stepping out of their secret base.

 

The first thing that greeted him was the brisk wind of autumn.

 

Syaoran liked the feeling of the cool and slightly crisp air blowing against his face. The smell of mustiness of the air. The dead leaves crackling softly under his sneakers. The sight of falling leaves, all painting a scene which was almost like a picture dream, vague and full of rich colors that warmed the heart.

 

Ambling over to the red motorcycle parked by the cherry blossom tree that was no longer blossoming like it once did in spring. He kicked away the leaves his in path with a type of vague awareness. Dead leaves fluttered in the air before him, dancing jovially to an unheard tune of a season's end.

 

Summer was no longer present.

 

Looking up at the pale blue sky, tinged slightly gray, he remembered the oil painting of autumn he saw in art class the other day.

 

Fuji-sensei had decided to display their artwork on the wall, placed side by side with the most famous paintings of the renaissance. While everyone else's portrayal of autumn was colorful, embraced by a sense of joy and harvesting. Sakura's painting was hauntingly beautiful.

 

It portrayed the other side of life, and Syaoran felt himself mesmerized by such rare beauty. He had never been more aware of the transition between autumn and summer than he was now.

 

Maybe Eriol was right.

 

Maybe he was attracted to her just in a way that even he couldn't recognize.

 

……

 

Sakura sauntered down the unknown streets aimlessly, searching for her lost inspiration from advertisement signs that were all too unfamiliar to her. She tried to go to the penguin park which she thought was only a part of her vaguely remembered childhood memories, but found nothing inspiring.

 

It was then she decided to take another route and explore the other side of the town that she had never been to before.

 

Sakura rarely paid attentions to where she was going, and always let her innate curiosity guide her way. It wasn't the wisest decision, and she had to learn it the hard way as she found herself lost in a dark alley.

 

Surveying her surroundings, she saw a large garbage dumpster on the side of the almost dirty side of the building. Everything was so silent that the sounds produced by her shoes against the hard concrete ground sounded exceptionally loud to her ears.

 

She could even hear her own uneven breathing and frantic heartbeats as if there was a game of ping pong taking place right inside of her chest. Gulping a little, she continued down the path, taking every single step with prudence as if her life was depending on it.

 

She nearly flipped when she heard a grunt of pain, a loud thud and followed by a loud outburst of a series of profane words that caused her to cringe as a natural response to the bluntly explicit choice of expression.

 

Thoughts of doubts and arousing fear raced through her mind at the speed of light. Her heart escalated, thudding loudly inside of her as if it wanted to leap out of her throat.

 

Maybe it wasn't too late for her to turn around and scamper away for her own safety. But a part of her wanted to stay to see what was going on. Instead of turning back right then, Sakura took another step forward and closed her distance with the source that stirred her innate curiosity.

 

Hiding herself behind the dumpster site she previously spotted, she poked out her head and took a peek while trying hard to ignore the disgusting smell of what seemed like rotten fruits. The position she was in wasn't enough to expose her to danger but was enough to provide her with a clear view of the target of her interest.

 

Three were on the floor, groaning in pain and only one was standing she noted.

 

Her emerald green eyes widened with shock as she recognized the young man standing in the center of the large opening. His unique red jacket was too bright to be ignored.

 

The breathe she inhaled in a moment ago was now caught in her throat as she continued to watch with disbelief.

 

It was then she noticed that he was holding a metallic bar. The other end was pointed at another young man lying on the ground, grunting in pain. Sakura squinted slightly to peer through the blinding lights.

 

His familiar face soon registered in her mind as the boy who raced against Syaoran the other day and lost at the end. Katou was his name she remembered, or assumed anyway since a section of the crowd was cheering loudly for him at the race.

 

However she didn't recognize the other boy who was wearing a similar jacket as Katou but speculated him to be a member of the Bloods on reasonable grounds. Gnawing at the corner of the mouth, her sweaty palm pressed hard against the cool surface of the dumpster can.

 

What were they doing? Sparring? It was the first question that popped into her head, demanding to be answered.

 

“You're a coward you know that Katou? And I thought you were better than this.” Sakura heard Syaoran sneer scornfully, those amber eyes were no longer warm and gentle as she remember, but they were colder and filled with strong distain.

 

There was a trail of blood near the corner of his lips and a bruise on his jaw Sakura noticed suddenly, feeling her own chest tightening at that sight.

 

“So what are you going to tell your little friends now? I just lost to the leader of Black Wings in an unfair three against one match, or should I say, we tried our carefully planned surprise attack on him but he still beat the crap out of us?” Syaoran taunted, mimicking him as he lowered the metallic bar until it was inches away from Katou's face.

 

His harsh, almost hateful glare pierced through Katou like a thousand pins striking a surface, leaving painful, but invisible wounds beyond. Those words hurt Katou's pride and Sakura could tell from the way his lips were twisted into that deadly, dangerous snarl, which held promises of death and something more.

 

Just then, she saw him looking pass Syaoran for a brief moment and at his companion who was lying a few meters away from him. The other gave him a nod of comprehension as an indication that he had got the message his leader was trying to pass to him through that one quick glance embedded with unsaid words.

 

“So what are you going to do now Li Syaoran? Beat me up with that metal bar and carry my dead body around to show that you have won?” Katou jeered provocatively, dark eyes glinting a hint of mockery and challenge as he suddenly grabbed onto the cool metal bar.

 

Syaoran was surprised by Katou's sudden action and loosened his grip around the metal bar for just that one split of a second. But it was enough to be a distraction that could potentially cause him everything. In this short duration, his guard was down and provided the attacker the perfect chance to strike.

 

He had failed to sense the person approaching him from his behind with a Swiss blade in hand.

 

“Behind you!” Sakura abruptly screamed on the top of her lungs in horror without realizing she had just done so. Her brain had stopped working the moment where she spotted the glimmering blade under the pale sunlight.

 

She didn't know where she mustered the courage from or how she had found her voice again. But the determination of preventing another person from getting hurt before her eyes again was strong and it generated enough force to break the chains she tied around herself, and the promises she made silently to never be involved in anything else ever again.

 

The call hauled Syaoran out of his own thoughts and his quick reflexes kicked in as he forced his body to move out of the way. The blade that aimed at his back to pierce through his heart slid along his arm instead, barely missing its target point. It was a very close call. If he hesitated another moment, the blade would have punctured his heart.

 

Blood gushed out of the wound, dying the gray concrete ground scarlet red. It mixed with the dusts of the street, altering its bright scarlet red color into something close to the color of black.

 

Sakura's jaws dropped to the ground. The sketchbook she was holding a moment ago fell loose from her grasp and landed hard onto the ground.

 

She watched him covering his wound with his other free hand quickly to stop the bleeding, but it was no use.

 

The blood continued to rush out of the freshly cut long wound that trailed down his entire arm. The blood dyed his jacket to an even darker shade of red, soaking it entirely.

 

His sleeve was now ripped into half, exposing part of his wound. Sakura felt her heart stop beating right then as she caught a glimpse of it and realized how severe it was.

 

Katou and the other Bloods' member scrambled off the ground and took out their other weapons as well. Their plan was obvious as they proceeded carefully toward the fallen dark angel. Their blades in gripped tightly in hands, shimmering brilliantly under the shower of lights and Sakura found it hard to be just an observer.

 

Caught in the midst of this chaos, Sakura panicked, felt obligated to do something, yet had no idea of what to do exactly. But there was one thing she was resolute about and that was: there was no way would she allow herself to witness another gory scene again.

 

The surface of the earth was never meant to be bathed in scarlet red liquid and as a citizen of the earth, it was her duty to prevent such barbaric events from occurring.

 

Without thinking twice, she shut her eyes and yelled as loud as she could. “Patrolling officers!!” The yell resonated in the thick, suspenseful air, reaching the ears of the three Bloods. They jerked their head around and panicked at the sound of her call.

 

She saw them whipping their heads around, attempting to confirm it with their own eyes. Sakura held her breath nervously. Her knuckles were turning paler by the passing seconds as she prayed silently, desperately for someone to pass by.

 

It was a childish way of diverting their attention and she knew she was fooling nobody here. But that was all she could come up with at the moment and it was worth a shot.

 

Her heart nearly danced in joy as her ears picked up the almost indistinctive sirens, slowly becoming louder and more audible by the fleeting moments. It was a coincident but it was enough to fool those attackers.

 

The three Bloods jumped at the false confirmation they were looking for and grabbed their weapons before dashing for their own lives, abandoning a severely wounded Syaoran.

 

After they were gone for good, Sakura stepped out of the shadows, stumbled away from the garbage dumpster and made her way shakily to him.

 

He was sitting on the ground, hand covering his wound. The chestnut locks soaked in his own perspiration masked his pained expression. His hands were covered in blood and Sakura hastily took out a pale pink handkerchief as she bent down, knees barely touching the pool of blood formed around him.

 

He looked up right then, amber eyes boring into hers. She quickly looked away and focused her attention on his wound instead. Sakura carefully removed his bloody hand and placed her handkerchief on top of his arm while her other hands worked to rip off the white fabric of her long skirt.

 

Talented hands tied the strip of cotton fabric around his arm swiftly to prevent further blood loss. He watched her in shocked. Speechless and stunned would be two suitable adjectives to describe his current state of mind.

 

“You need to go to the hospital.” She advised, it was barely a whisper.

 

Her voice was just as timid and meek as ever, yet he could pick up the hints of firmness in her tone.

 

“I can't.”

 

Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked up at him, silently demanding. Why not?

 

“I'll be fine.” He assured her, but from the look of her eyes, he knew she wasn't convinced.

 

Sighing heavily, he explained. “The stupid doctors ask too many questions and my mother and the Li Clan…” He suddenly trailed off, becoming aware that he had just shared something very personal with her.

 

He expected her to get up and leave and walk away from his lame excuse, but she didn't. Instead, she grabbed onto his hand and pulled him off the dirty ground. “Follow me.” She instructed curtly.

 

“To where?” Perplexity and confusion were evident in his eyes as he asked hoarsely.

 

“My house.” She answered softly.

 

And Syaoran's eyes widened.

 

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A/N: certain shounen-ai fanfics I read in the Loveless Fandom makes me look down at my own work in shame. My writing is much paler in comparison and I sometimes want to laugh at my own pathetic attempt at writing good stories. So please excuse my inability in presenting this story in a more orderly fashion and through a more mature perspective. Insights into Syaoran's views on Sakura and his attraction to her; blink and you'll miss it. :)

 

The plot is just beginning to thicken, more unexpected things will come and so will the complex development of their relationship, along with a few revelations of Syaoran's past and his character. I don't like to rush into things. If you read a romance novel, it usually takes half of the book before they actually get to the romance part. Slow-paced development is required to build a solid story, or that's how I look at it anyway.

 

Reviews appreciated and no flames will be entertained.