The Rules - Revised- Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS

The Rules, Revised.

Recap:“So if I say I’m a woman, you’ll trust me?” He asked skeptically.

“Are you’re reproductive organs still on the outside?”

“Yes.”

“Then no.” She said coldly. He sighed, his idea for being there for her when she needed him or needed to vent or whatever it was that she needed to do to trust him was started to seem less appealing. Just how long, would he have to wait for her to open up to him? Weeks? Months? Years?

“Guess I’ll just have to get surgery then.” He mumbled to himself. Sakura laughed. Maybe it wouldn’t take that long after all.

Chapter Six

Sakura was walking by the pool a few weeks after Syaoran’s offering of hot chocolate. Half of her mind was on concentration, trying to walk in heels and a dress was a lot harder for her than most people. The other half of her mind was on her somewhat friendship with the Li heir. Lately all she’d been doing involved him. He was her only entertainment it seemed and she always craved his company. He believed it was because he was being unusually kind to her, someone males hadn’t shown her before and because he was the only teenager around and she had no other friends. Her father had cut her off from friends because friends were a privilege and she didn’t deserve them. She never denied that she didn’t in fact deserve them. She knew the cruel reality, she’d killed her mother that was enough of a crime to punish her for a life time, but still she craved friendship and now that someone was offering her kindness it didn’t matter if they were men it seemed. She was positive that when she’d had her fill of friendliness she’d return to her own self, the man hating one. But she was finding it harder and harder to hate Li at the moment. She sighed in frustration, she hated men! So why was she so attached to one?!

Syaoran was swimming in the pool when Sakura walked out through the sliding doors deep in thought. He watched her face change from concentrated to frustrated and back again. It was oddly amusing. She continued to walk forwards, soon she’d realize that the pool was there and turn but that didn’t mean that she had to know he was there. Smirking he silently slid into the water again and moved stealthily towards the edge that Sakura was going to be closest to, there he lurked. It took only a minute before Sakura was within reach, her eyes blinked and like he predicted she began to turn. Or she would have if Syaoran hadn’t grabbed her leg. She looked down at her leg following the hand until she saw Syaoran’s smirking features. Her mind comprehended and she tried to pull away.

“Li, don’t you dare.” She threatened.

“Too late.” He smiled. His arm tightened around her ankle and with gentle force he pulled her into the water where she landed with a splash. Syaoran swam to the furthest end away from her as she resurfaced fuming.

“Li you stupid idiot! I’m going to murder you!” She shouted. Syaoran briefly wondered about her mother’s death. If she had killed her mother she wouldn’t be able to even speak about killing whether joking or not. It would be too painful, wouldn’t it? He shook off his thoughts and swam away from his predator. He grinned when he saw her usually serious face turn into a smile.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the serious one?” He teased. “Not the ‘smiling like a fool’ one.” Sakura’s hand reached up and touched her face. It was as if she hadn’t noticed she was smiling. As if she hadn’t smiled in a long time.

“you don’t need to grope your face.” He shouted to her from the deep end. “All you’re doing it making it look contorted.” She blinked and then swam after him. He hadn’t noticed before but he sure did now, Sakura was a very, very good swimmer.

--

“Next time,” He said, “I’m tying weights to your ankle to slow you down.” He smacked his head to the side trying to get the water out of ears.

“Shouldn’t have pulled me in if you didn’t want to get hurt.” She replied. “It’s your fault.”

“you shouldn’t have looked so serious and I wouldn’t have pulled you in.” He retorted. She began to speak but stopped. He didn’t even realize what he’d said but he did now. He supposed that nobody had really truly cared about if she was serious or not. He’d seen her fake a smile a thousand times since she’d been there. He wondered if he was the only one who’d seen her upset, she seemed to be intent on keeping her pain to herself and not letting anyone else see her vulnerable. Just. Like. Him.

He sighed, “I’m going to go get changed, you should do the same.” He looked down at her soaked black and red dress. He didn’t notice before but with the dress hugging her so tightly he had no choice but to notice. Her body was beautiful. She had that rare hour glass figure and long slim legs. He already knew she was strong so he couldn’t only guess that her shape was formed by extreme work out and athletics. He also assumed that the reason for that training was to hurt people like him. People who tried to hurt her. Men.

--

After he get out of the shower and got dressed he opened her Diary again. He’d read a lot of it, jumping around from here and there but he still hadn’t learned anything particular. She hadn’t gotten to the point. It’d been a month and she still hadn’t said what it was that was bothering her. Lucky for him, Sakura had given up looking for her Diary when Wei had confessed to throwing it out when he’d cleaned her room. A Lie, but it worked.

October 31st

Halloween. This year I’m dressed up as a perfect little girl who’s a beautiful role model for all girls. Oh wait, that’s what I am everyday! I wish I could just be myself for once. I hate being Daddy’s Little Girl. The act is so tiring. I hate my dad. No one can see that of course, because if I let anyone know then I get hurt so, I made up some rules to live by.

Rule #1 If a Man Gets too Close, Walk Away

Rule #2 Never Trust a Man

Rule #3 Never Give in to Seduction and Lies

Rule #4 Don’t Let a man Learn anything about you

Rule #5 If Persistent Hurt His Ego

Rule #6 Thou Shall Not Dress Like A Slut

Rule #7 Do Not Tell a man Anything Personal

Rule #8 Do Not Date

Rule #9 Never Become Friends with a Man

Rule #10 If All Else Fails, Use Martial Arts

I’ll live by them,-- Syaoran felt like he could hear her saying these words – never again will I let a man hurt me when I don’t deserve it, never again will I allow a man to seduce me, never again will I let a man make me vulnerable.

Sakura

Syaoran could count all the rules he’d broken. Rule Number 1, he’d gotten close to her many times a few days ago she’d even hugged him. Rule Number 4, Syaoran had made it his business to learn anything he possibly could about her. He’d spent hours in his mothers office persuading her to tell him everything and anything about their house guest. Rule Number 7 she’d broken herself. How many times had he walked in on her crying and she’d let something slip in a mumble? He looked at the rules again. He’d hoped that he’d broken through Rule Number 9 ‘Never Become Friends with a Man’. He desperately wanted to become friends with her, desperately wanted to be someone she could lean on, desperately wanted to be someone she could fall in love with. He felt that if he could bring her to love him then he would be worthy of anyone’s love. If she loved him he’d be content beyond content he’d be unbearably happy. As thoughts of love wandered through his mind his heart swelled, he wanted her. No one else mattered. He’d spent this last month consumed by her. He’d wanted her more than he’d wanted anything in his life. More than he’d wanted to see his father after his death, more than he’d wanted a friend when he’d been all alone, more than he’d wanted food when he was hungry.

He opened the Diary to the last entries written. The first was a complaint of confusion and hatred towards himself when she’d first arrived. He of course assumed that the words ‘he may actually kill me’ as an over exaggeration. But he couldn’t escape just how many times she’d spoken about her father’s intent on killing her or hurting her. At one point she’d written ‘And I’m away from Dad. He can’t abuse me for a little while’ He blinked back his confusion as he finished the entry. The only other entry he hadn’t read was from the night before she’d come.

June 11th

I don’t know what to do. Life seems to be trying to destroy me one bruise at a time, what happens when he breaks my arm again? What excuse will I have to use this time? What am I going to do when Touya calls. I can’t continue to lie to him, he’ll be done University soon. Is he going to come back? Will he save me if he does? Do I want him to? What if he gets hurt? I’d never forgive myself. I love him, the only man I have and will ever love. My brother. My poor brother. –there had been a break in the page -- Seems things are taking a new turn. She wrote, I’m going to the Li’s tomorrow morning, I’m sure their design (my father and Mrs. Li) is for me to marry the heir to the Li throne and unite my family with hers. I will resist though, I do not like men, they are so … I don’t even have a word to describe what I think of them. Stupid mongrels. It’s getting late though, if I’m not up on time father will be angry. Goodnight, precious, only friend.

Sakura.

He couldn’t run from the influence her father had on her. He was in practically every entry and he seemed to bring both fear and admiration from his daughter. She loved him because he was her father but appeared to be frightened of him. He began to think that maybe, just maybe her words were true. Maybe her father was abusive, that would certainly explain why she hated men so much. He’d assumed it was because of an ex boyfriend, but this would be much more deeply implanted into her. Immediately he got up and ran to his mother study, time for another talk.

--

Syaoran entered his mother office and sat down in a chair he’d once only used when he was being forced to speak, he now used the chair more often than he had in his lifetime.

“what is it you’ve come to speak to me about this time?” His mother asked, “Another question about Sakura I assume.”

“What was her brother’s name.” He asked.

“Oh, I believe it was Touya.” Yelan said thoughtfully, “He hasn’t been mentioned in a while. Away in University I believe.”

“Where was he at the time of the murder?” He shot questions at her.

“Summer camp.” She replied, he brought up the murder frequently. Both of them were still trying to solve the crime.

“I think I finally understand.” Syaoran whispered. “I think I know what happened.” Yelan sat up straight in her chair.

“Tell me then.” She half asked.

“I think… Sakura’s father murdered Nadeshiko.” He announced. “I think her brother, Touya, was away at camp and Sakura was probably outside and her father thought it was a perfect time to murder her. I think Sakura’s father called the police to try and cover up his murder and blamed it on Sakura. I think he made up a cover story and forced it so hard into Sakura’s mind that she now believes it true.”

“That would explain why she doesn’t remember.” Whispered Yelan, “do you have any proof?”

“I…” He hesitated in telling her. “I’ve been reading Sakura’s Diary.” There he said it, he confessed.

“The one Wei supposedly threw out while cleaning a room he never cleans?” Yelan asked.

“The one I stole after she punched me in the gut.” He replied. “What Wei said was just a cover story.”

“Ah.” She said, “ I see. So you’ve been dipping into her Diary each night and that’s how you’ve been coming up with all these questions.”

“Her father has a very strong influence on her. Every single entry he’s been mentioned in it, she created Rules to keep herself separated from men. In the last entries I recently read she spoke of him abusing her. As Brief as it was she mentioned it, I can’t deny any longer that he might actually be abusive. There has to be a reason why she fears him, there has to be a reason why she hates men. I think he’s the reason she’s afraid.” He explained.

“I have no doubts that he may have been abusive. With your information it makes sense. Nadeshiko died on the day she was going to tell me everything. Sakura doesn’t remember the murder only that her mother died. She hadn’t seen the body or the blood of her mother that’s why she’s not having flashbacks. The idea has been in her head since infancy, it’s possible that she didn’t really murder Nadeshiko but that she was as you said just the cover story.” Yelan looked thoughtful.

“I think it’s time I confronted Sakura.” Syaoran announced. “tonight.” Yelan nodded.

“Yes, I think the time has come.”

--

“Sakura,” Syaoran called as she entered his room. “We need to talk.”