Vacation!

Chapter One: Welcome to Corporate America

Hallo! This is the vacation fic I was talking about! It's based somewhat on my two-week trip to the sixth largest economy in the world. What am I talking about?

Why, the shining star of America!

The Gold State!

The state of adventure!

The state of insanity!

CALIFORNIA!

Beverly Hills ho!

Sakura's going to become a valley girl!

Okay, maybe not, but this is the new romantic comedy from JadeWing. And I still ::sob:: don't own it . T_T

Andiamo!

Sakura

Tomoeda's schools never, ever took normal field trips.

I mean, of course it wasn't their fault. It just always ended up that we went to where a card was.

The zoo, for instance. It would have been a nice, normal, educational trip. I would have learned a lot about elephants. It would have been fun.

But then the Power Card attacked, and I ended up in a deadly game of tug-of-war.

Then there was the trip to the coast. We never went to the coast. Ever. But we went, and nearly everyone got zapped out.

Even Syaoran.

So, anyway, Tomoeda never went on regular field trips. That point is established.

But this was over the top.

"Class, we're going to America!" Mr. Terada announced, clapping his hands together as Ms. Mitsuki stood by his side, smiling that odd little smile she always had.

There was a thud as every jaw in the class of eighth graders dropped to the floor. Literally. Including mine.

"HOE?!"

Everyone snickered as I blushed, embarrassed.

"We're going to America," he repeated. "More accurately, to California. It's the sixth largest economy in the world, and has one of the richest histories."

"But it's so far away," Rika said slowly, still in shock.

"Well, that isn't a problem," he said delightedly. "We've got plenty of funding. Now, Sakura, hand these papers out to everyone. This is a general outline of the trip."

I mutely got up and took the stack of papers, then went up and down the rows of desks, passing them out as he continued. "On the first three days, we'll be camping in Northern California. On Wednesday, we'll fly down to Los Angeles. We'll be staying on Balboa Island for a week. We rented several houses, but all of you will have to share rooms. All that week, we'll be visiting several monumental places in southern California. On Thursday of that week, we'll be driving up to San Francisco, and we'll stay there for a few days, then drive up to Oakland and fly back."

I turned down my aisle, dropping the papers on people's desks. There was Tomoyo, then my desk, then Eriol, then Syaoran. He took his from me, and our hands brushed momentarily, but I quickly sat down and studied the paper.

"So you're going, right?" Tomoyo asked animatedly.

"Of course," I replied absentmindedly. "I think we can afford the fees."

"Okay. I hope we're roommates for Balboa," she said wistfully.

"Yeah." I rested my chin on my hands, then lowered my voice. "What if something comes up while I'm gone, Tomoyo?"

"Sakura, I wanted to talk to you." Eriol sat down across me, sitting beside Tomoyo on the picnic bench as she blushed slightly.

"About what?" I asked.

He frowned. "About missing cards. Clow Reed created another set of five cards, and they were never set free. But I don't know where they are, and I think someone might have let them out."

"But would that make them a Card Captor too?" I asked, confused.

"No, the book didn't take magic to open."

"Oh no " I rubbed my head. "Will they come after me?"

"Will what come after you?" Syaoran asked, coming over and eyeing Eriol suspiciously. He still doesn't trust him

"There's five cards out there that were another set to themselves," Tomoyo explained, "and Eriol thinks they've been set out. The book they were in didn't take magic to open, so they'll just go after Sakura."

"That's just great," he said sarcastically. "What cards are they?"

"The Opposite, the Riddle, the Repeat, the Inner Monologue, and the High," Eriol said smoothly, unruffled by Syaoran's tone.

I rested my chin in my hands. "Well, what do they do?"

Eriol shrugged. "I don't know. Clow Reed didn't know either; he just made them from the existing forces left over from the Clow Cards. They're actually called the Leftover Cards."

"Leftover Cards? What kind of messed up name is that?" Mei Ling demanded, walking over. She was here for the week.

"It's the new cards I'm going to have to catch," I said wearily.

"As long as you stay away from Syaoran, and he doesn't get hurt," she said haughtily.

"Mei Ling, our engagement is off," he reminded her, trying to pry her arms away from her neck.

"Don't say it like it's a good thing, Syaoran!" she whined.

He mumbled something that sounded oddly like It is a good thing '

I stared at the sidewalk, walking out of the gate on my way out of school. How odd it was, knowing another set of cards existed. What do they do? I wondered. Will they be hard to catch?

How strong are they?

"Hey."

I looked up to see Syaoran and put on a cheery smile. "Hi!"

"What's the matter?" he asked. "You weren't looking so happy a little while ago."

I bit my lip, looking even more worried than I truly was. This better work, Tomoyo "The new cards," I confessed. "I wish I knew more about them, like how strong they are and stuff."

"You can handle them," he said firmly. "You managed to handle everything else, Sakura."

"I know, but " I paused. Good, get him interested. If you want his help, you're going to have to pretend you don't.

"But?" he asked.

"But " I visibly gulped. Okay, interest has been caught. "But I just don't know "

"Know what?"

I didn't meet his eyes, the picture of worry and awkwardness, although in all fairness this was going exactly the way I wanted it to. And I wasn't really sure if I could handle it on my own. "I don't know if if I can do it."

"Sure you can," he said reassuringly.

God, he's so sweet, I thought wistfully. At least he's trying to cheer me up. "But what if I can't?" Just say you'll help Just say you'll help

"I'll help," he offered. "I mean, I'm not that much good, but—"

"You will?" I cut him off, seemingly disbelieving. "You really will?"

"Well, if you want me too," he said awkwardly. "Like I said, I'm not that much good, but—"

YES! YES! YES! I threw my arms around him. "Thank you so much!"

"Uh, any time "

I flopped down on my bed, smug. Tomoyo had said that would work, but I hadn't been so sure. I mean, if she was supposed to be the romance expert, why hadn't she managed to hook up with Eriol yet? I've gotta ask her that sometime

"Alright, what did I miss?" Kero demanded, flitting over.

"He's going to help me with the new cards!" I said blissfully. "I'll be able to spend even more time with Syaoran!"

"I didn't know they'd added another hour to the day," Kero said confusedly. "Don't you already spend all your time with him?"

"I wish " I sighed longingly.

"That's right, you just spend all your time obsessing over that brat."

I picked up a nearby doll and chucked it at him, and he dodged it with ease. "I do not! AND HE ISN'T A BRAT!"

"And I don't even want to go into the stuff you say when you're asleep," he continued, taunting me. " Oh, Syaoran more whipped cream '"

I blushed. "NO! DAMMIT, KERO! THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

"And then there was the time where you said something about handcuffs and leather "

I got up, red-faced, and seized him by the neck before he could get away. "You're lying," I growled. "Right? I never had any of those dreams."

"Right! Lying!" he wheezed. "No dreams! No talking in your sleep! No whipped cream and orgies!"

"KERO!"

"Well, that's what you—"

That was the sound heard as he was thrown into the wall. "That's another lie, right?" I hissed as he fell.

"Okay, I made it all up," he admitted, swirly-eyed. "But "
"But what?"

"Um, nothing," he said hastily. "Tell me about this field trip you're going on."

Syaoran

I sat up early Saturday morning as the doorbell rang. What's going on?

Ding dong! Ding dong! !

What the hell?!

Grumbling, I got out of bed and went to the door, pulling it open. "What is—"

"GOOOOOOOOOOODDD !!!!!!!!!" Tomoyo shrieked, her eyes wide as she bounced into my apartment, followed by Eriol and Sakura. I became acutely aware that I was standing by the door wearing a pair of sweatpants and little else.

"Is this a bad time?" Eriol asked innocently. "Maybe you and Mei Ling want some privacy "

"WHAT?!" I yelled, blushing. "I've told you all a million times! The engagement is off, dammit! She went home! And why is everyone here?"

"Because we were all going to go down to the airport together, little descendant," Eriol said smugly.

God, I hated that smirk of his.

"And when did we' agree to this?" I asked dryly, ignoring the little descendant' comment.

For now.

He shrugged. "Whenever we did."

"I see." Running a hand through my hair, I said, "Just stay in here, and try to get Tomoyo to calm down. What did you do to her, anyway?"

"She discovered a love of coffee," Sakura explained.

"Ah." I sighed, looking around, and added, "I'm going to get dressed. Try not to break anything."

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOPS!!!!" Tomoyo screamed, running in circles around the table.

I went back to my room, feeling like I could use some coffee myself.

"So whose bright idea was it to give her a cappuccino?" I asked as we all got onto the bus, our luggage down in the storage compartment.

"His."

"Hers."

Eriol and Sakura both pointed to each other as I sighed. For the reincarnation of Clow Reed, he could be amazingly immature sometimes.

And he was evil. I had never, ever questioned that.

For instance, there were four empty seats on the bus. He naturally took the one by Tomoyo, forcing me to sit by Sakura.

See, now that was evil.

He knew I was in love with her. He knew damn well that I wouldn't want to sit with her for just that reason, because then I wouldn't be able to keep myself from looking at her.

Of course, I could have just looked at her for the rest of my life and been perfectly content.

But forcing me to sit next to her he was evil.

And just to prove it, as soon as both Sakura and Tomoyo were both looking out the window, he pulled a few spools of string out of his pocket and flashed me a smirk. I gave him my glare, sending silently to him, You try that here and nothing will keep me from killing you, my little ancestor.

Oh, but thread has so many uses, he shot back. After all, it might actually force you into making a move on my cute little daughter there.

I pointedly balled a fist. Don't make me come over there, you bastard.

Nice words to say to your ancestor, descendant.

What's that supposed to mean?

Nothing, he said smoothly. Nothing at all.

It was going to be a long, long bus ride

It wasn't until we got into the airport itself at about nine thirty that I actually found his weakness.

Well, his other weakness. Him and Tomoyo I don't even want to go into how protective he gets of her. Have you got your cell phone?' Your bodyguards are coming with you, right?' Do you want some company?' Those penguins look vicious. Be careful.'

It's enough to make me sick.

But anyway, it was when we got inside that I found his Achilles heel.

We wouldn't find out for some time. As it was, he had a hard enough experience at the metal detector.

"Sir, will you please remove all items from your pockets and go through again?" the guard asked, boredom clear in his tone.

We waited for him to drop everything in the dish and stride through again.

In the end, it took him five tries to get through. After that, he had picked up his backpack and was about to swing it on his back when barking filled the air and a dog started howling its head off, sniffing it. For a minute I thought some pet had gotten loose, until my eyes traveled up the leash attached to its collar and landed on the stony-faced police officer grimly looking down at Eriol.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, drawing alongside me. We'd both passed the detector without a hitch.

"Eriol's got something the dog likes," Yamazaki said dryly. "Did you know that—"

"YAMAZAKI!"

"Sir, come with us."

A little help here? Eriol mentally sent.

You're the reincarnation, I retorted. Besides, we don't know what all you've got in there.

"Sir." The officer raised an eyebrow. "Come with us. Now."

I couldn't hide a smirk as he resignedly followed the stony official.

"Syaoran!" Sakura slapped me lightly on the shoulder. "This isn't funny! He could be in serious trouble!"

"He can't be," Tomoyo assured her, adding nervously, "can he?"

"I don't k-know," Sakura said nervously. We all followed them and waited outside the door.

After fifteen tensely silent minutes, Eriol came out, his face placid and glass smooth, looking as congenial as usual. "Just a little misunderstanding," he said innocently.

"Did they find all of the cocaine, or just the bag you hid in the suitcase lining?" I asked semi-sarcastically.

"Neither," he replied, not missing a beat, "but I'd watch out for the dogs if I were you. They're very sensitive to what you call 'incense.'"

"Eriol, that isn't very nice!"

"Will both of you stop fighting?" Sakura scowled. "We've got a plane to catch! Come on!"

We all caught a tram to the gate, and checked in. We were waiting in the pleather/metal seats when I noticed Eriol was turning pale.

Well, paler than usual.

"Something wrong?" I asked dryly.

"What—no, nothing," he said, his voice slightly choked.

"Flight 207, Tokyo to Oakland, boarding now."

He jumped, sweat breaking out on his face.

What is going on? I scowled. The last thing we needed was a powerful sorcerer who was more on edge than if he'd drank a case of Red Bulls.

"Come on, you guys." Sakura and Tomoyo stood up, and everybody followed them. Mr. Terada handed us each a ticket as I felt a tiny flare of magic from Eriol. Maybe he's just calming himself down, I told myself, trying to actually trust him with difficulty.

"I've got 15-A, Tomoyo," Sakura called, turning around. "Is that a window seat?"

"I think it is," she replied, looking at her own. "I've got 16-A. We'll be across from each other."

I looked at mine and blanched, realizing exactly what Eriol had been up to.

15-B.

Maybe I could trade with someone there was no way in hell I'd be able to sit next to Sakura for that long

"Ticket, please?" a flat-toned attendant asked. It was too late to do anything. I handed it to her, and she tore off part of it and handed me the rest. "Enjoy your flight."

I could hardly hold on to my bag, feeling dizzy. Fourteen hours straight of being with Sakura. God had a funny sense of humor.

Sakura was already in her seat, which, sure enough, was by the window. She'd put on a pair of headphones and was drumming the back of the seat in front of her; it was fortunate it was empty. Her eyes were squeezed shut as I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling butterflies erupt in my stomach.

"Hurry up, Li," came a shaky voice from behind me.

I turned and glared at Eriol, who was looking positively green, but said nothing and dropped into my seat.

"Oh, hi!" Sakura took off her headphones, and immediately the cabin was filled with music blaring from the earpieces as everyone turned and stared at her. Seeing their looks, she shrugged innocently and asked, "What?" Turning to me, she asked, "You don't mind if I've got the window seat, right?"

"Nope," I said simply.

"What?"

"Nope."

"What?"

"No, I don't." I raised my voice a notch.

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you!"

"I don't mind," I said louder.

"What?"

"I don't mind!" I yelled.

There was silence as, for the second time, everyone turned around and stared. Sakura waved and smiled, then cheerfully said, "Okay!" then put her headphones back on.

"Having fun?"

I jumped and whirled to find Eriol sitting in the seat across the aisle, next to Tomoyo. He was smirking, despite the fact that he looked ready to throw up.

"May I have your attention please." The stewardess picked up the microphone and went through the entire speech, her voice tone not differing even once. "Thank you. I hope you enjoy your flight."

There was a rumble as the engines roared to life under us. Then, to my surprise, I heard a strange, gagging noise to my right.

Eriol had the armrest in a death grip, staring at the back of the seat in front of him with pupils dilated in fear.

Then his eyes landed on the laptop Yamazaki was using.

"The—the—the laptop," he stuttered. "T-t-turn it off!"

"What?" He turned around.

"It'll mess up the takeoff!" Eriol choked. "Turn it off!"

"It's okay," Yamazaki began.

"TURN IT OFF!" he yelled, white-faced. "JUST DO IT!"

For once, I actually saw Yamazaki's eyes open in surprise. Speechless, he shut it off, then lowered the screen and put it in his bag, then held up his hands.

We started to roll forward, then came to the straight part of the runway.

"Stop the plane," Eriol croaked. "I want to get off."

"What?" Tomoyo looked worriedly over at him.

"Stop the plane," he repeated tensely, his eye twitching.

I blinked, then realized what the problem was. He was afraid of flying.

We shot down the runway, and he almost whimpered. Whimpered. The high and mighty Eriol.

Then we left the ground, and he screamed outright.

"We're going to die, we're going to de, we're going to die," he repeated over and over, hiding his face in his hands.

"We're going to run out of fuel and crash and burn in the middle of the ocean," he said helplessly. "I don't want to die again."

Soon, we reached the cruising altitude, and the minute we weren't tilted up, he became convinced that we were falling.

I held in laughter and let Tomoyo 'console' him. If I tried to say anything, I'd be too tempted to say something that wouldn't help, like 'If we crash, they'll never find our bodies.'

"Did you know that approximately one in three planes crashes?" Yamazaki's voice carried easily from three rows up.

"YAMAZAKI!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Eriol wailed and actually burst into tears.

Tears. From Eriol.

The boy who'd nearly killed either Sakura or I repeatedly.

Sakura took off her headphones again and gaped at him. "What's the matter?"

"He doesn't like flying," I said, unable to keep a trace of laughter out of my voice.

"Oh."

"Dude, are we seriously flying?" A yellow form shot out of Sakura's back, his voice raised. "DUDE! SCHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTT!!!!!!!"

Sakura blanched, hissing, "Kero?!"

People were about to turn around and stare at him, and there was no way Sakura could use the Erase card on a plane full of people.

"Syaoran, distract them for me!" she said hurriedly, unbuckling her belt and standing, ready to go after him.

I did the first thing that came to mind.

Which, coincidentally, was to pull out a scroll and use the wind magic.

The cabin shook violently, but not enough to knock us off course. It was like bad turbulence; nothing more.

By the time the wind struck, Sakura had caught Kero and was scrambling back. The sudden impact made her stumble—and sprawl over my lap.

I blushed furiously, but she had gotten back to her feet within seconds, and the shaking stopped.

Across the aisle, there was a horrendous noise as Eriol made good use of one of the barf bags.

Inwardly smirking, I leaned back against the chair. Maybe this flight wouldn't be so bad, after all.

[AN: See? I've told you all a million times! SYAORAN IS EVIL! !!!!!!!]

After a little while, Sakura took pity on him—I sure as hell didn't, but she did—and secretly used the Sleep Card. The spirit didn't even appear; the only indication it had worked was that there were a few blue sparkles, and he fell asleep.

I sighed. My best source of entertainment was gone.

The hours ticked by, and I could feel my legs cramping up. I read a book, while Sakura still listened to her CD player, drumming her fists on the armrests and any available surface.

The sunset came and passed as Eriol snored loudly, drawing laughter from the people around us.

Until he didn't stop.

Three straight hours of SGNAAAAK, and I was ready to crack. My ears were ringing and I had one of the biggest headaches known to man.

"That's it," I muttered. Pulling out my handkerchief, I stuffed it into his open mouth and relished the silence. Several people applauded. Sakura blinked, then went back to her drumming, her knuckles red.

Soon, it was about nine o'clock. Most of the people had fallen asleep, and I was feeling tired myself. Sakura was still happily drumming away, her fists lobster-red.

Then, something happened. She pressed a button on the CD player, took her headphones off, and put them away, then leaned back and closed her eyes.

I blinked once, then twice.

She wasn't drumming.

Instead, she was sitting still.

I was tempted to feel her forehead and see if she had a temperature. That was not normal.

But then her breathing slowed, and I realized she'd been tired and fallen asleep.

Blushing, I went back to my book, but I couldn't focus on the words. They didn't come together like normal; my mind didn't focus on the letters like it should have been. Instead, it was focusing on Sakura.

My face was getting warmer and warmer as I tried to think of something—anything—else.

Then Sakura brought her knees up on the cushion and leaned on me, still asleep.

I could have sworn that my face was going to burst into flames, it was so hot.

I drew in a shaky breath, then put down my book, closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep myself. There was an electronic buzz nearby, however, that was bothering me I scowled, pried my eyes open, and instinctively looked over at Tomoyo.

There it was.

The machine of Satan.

The round, glassy, black eye stared at me, unblinking.

I glared at her, mouthing 'Turn it off!'

She stared, horrified at me, mouthing back, 'Off?'

I gave her my glare, and she frowned, then pressed a button on it and the light vanished.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes, leaning back against the seat.

My eyes snapped open as she hurriedly turned it off again. Pointedly pulling out one of the magic scrolls, I looked pointedly at her, then put it away and tried, for the third time, to get some sleep.

I could have sworn, before I lost all consciousness, I heard a whispered "KAWAAAAIIIIIIIIII!!"

When we staggered into the airport at 1:30 am our time and 5:30 am theirs, I was more than ready to find a nice hotel and sleep for the next three days straight.

Then I looked around. Almost every square inch was covered in bright, colorful advertisements.

Eriol drew alongside me, looking haggard. "Welcome to Corporate America," he said dryly.

Okay, so how was that for a first chapter? It gets fairly interesting after this, the cards start attacking, and the first one is well, I can't really tell you, cuz that would be cheating. But the next chapter's funny! ^_~