Sealed In Our Fate...

Chapter 3 - First Arrival, First Impression
Sakura had no choice, yet her heart is still uncomfortable seeing the guard so painful. She shut her eyes tightly and held her breath. "Here goes nothing. . ." Without a minute to spare, Sakura jumped off the boat to rescue the guard.

Finally, Meiling's attention was captured. "God, stupid girl!!!"

SPLASH!! Meiling dives into the icy cold sea to rescue Sakura and the pathetic guard. At first, she could easily swim her way to Sakura, but a sudden hit of a gigantic wave flushes Meiling about thirty feet away.

"Meiling!!!" Sakura screams while clutching the guard tightly with one of her arms.

"(gurgle gurgle) Uuugghh!!!" Meiling grunts while she viscously tries to win the battle between the storm. Flushing farther and farther away, Meiling still persistently swims through the turbulent waves.

"Hang in there, Meiling!!" Sakura screams the message to her. Before she rescues her, she pulls the guard up by the boat and pushes him up with all her strength. With the help of all other girls on the boat, the task was easily done.

Sakura turns around and see Meiling drifting further away. "Meiling! I'm coming! Hang on!!"

Sakura dives underwater and starts swimming her way through the waves. Meiling from far away could see Sakura coming, and she feels relieve since she doesn't have to struggle in water again. Even from a far view, she could see Sakura swimming to her direction at super speed, which impresses her.

In less than a minute, Sakura finally reaches near Meiling. "Here, put your hands on my shoulder and hold on tight!!" Sakura quickly shouts the instructions to Meiling, and she follows.

Trying her hardest to avoid the waves, Sakura swims through the water as fast as she can before another wave drowns them to the other direction. Meiling grips her hand tightly on Sakura's shoulder, not daring to open her eyes to see the dangerous situation she's in right now. But Sakura's stability, even while she's swimming, made Meiling feel safer than she was alone.

'Wow, she's better than I thought. . .' Meiling thought in her mind, since she had underestimated Sakura earlier in the day.

Pretty soon, Sakura finally swam back to the boat and got on safely with Meiling.

Meiling, who's wheezing through the salty air, turned to Sakura, "Wow!!! (puff puff) You were really good when we're down there!! How did you learn to swim so good?"

Sakura blushes, and replies, "I wasn't really that great. . .I just love swimming! And I get my practice from the lake behind my home every morning before I go to the market."

Sakura offers Meiling a dry towel since she's soaking wet. Meiling hesitates, but accepts. "Thank you. . ."

There were a few minutes of silence between Sakura and Meiling, while sounds of people talking was heard occasionally. Meiling starts to realize Sakura was not as bad as she thought, and decides to apologize.

"I'm sorry for being so rude to you earlier today. . . it's just my way of being cautious of who I meet. . ." Meiling bows her head as a sign of apology.

Sakura panicked. "No!! You don't have to be sorry!! I was just being annoying this morning and I annoyed you! I'm the one who's suppose to apologize!"

Meiling was surprised by her reply, and somewhat humored as well. The side of her mouth twitched, which showed the first sign of her smile. She had made a new friend.

~*~

The next few days followed quickly, and finally the shore could be seen. The afternoon sun was exceptionally bright today, reflecting its rays of the clear sea that causes a blinding flash. All the girls from the boat gathered outside to see their close landing, since they had spent a patient three-day trip on this stuffy boat. Everyone was excited for their arrival, especially Sakura, since she was always over enthusiastic on certain things.

"Wow!! We're almost there!! Yay!! Finally, I can get a job and make enough money to cure my mother's disease!!" Sakura squealed in excitement. "Hey Meiling, could you tell me what China is like?"

Meiling glared angrily at the land that's coming closer to them, and seems like she to ignored Sakura's question.

"Meiling? Are you alright? Meiling?" Sakura asked, and a concerned look appeared on her face.

Snapping back to reality, Meiling answers, "Oh, I'm sorry Sakura. What did you ask?"

"I was just wondering what China is like. . . . since you're Chinese, I thought you would know." Sakura asked again.

"Well. . . . what can I say. . . . it's really quite similar to Japan. It's just the language and the location that's different." She briefly answers, but she's still glaring at the shore, which is floating closer and closer.

Leaving Sakura blank and confused, they continued to wait patiently until they touch the land.

~*~

"Go single file!! One by one!! Don't go out of your order!!" The guard yells the instructions to all the girls.

Sakura, followed by Meiling, lined up as they were told, and stepped out of the boat. As soon as they touched the ground, Sakura immediately jumped around to show her joy. "Yay!! I finally made it to China!! Yay!!"

Meiling sweat dropped, and couldn't help but laugh at Sakura's childishness. "We better hurry and line up at the registration area before everyone else gets there!"

"Ok! Let's hurry then!" Sakura replied brightly and ran over to the registration desk. She dragged Meiling with her and grasped her hand so tight that it almost bruised it.

"Hey, Sakura! Calm down!" Meiling called, but it was useless. Sakura was too excited to be calm.

Dashing as fast as lightning, Sakura and Meiling arrived in the registration area in no time, which they turned out to be the people in line.

"Name?" The chubby-looking guard that's sitting in the booth asked.

"Sakura Kinomoto and Meiling Li!" Sakura immediately replied.

The chubby guard skimmed through the document with his chubby fingers, and found Sakura and Meiling's names.

"Ok. . .your age?"

"We're both 16!" Sakura quickly answered again. Meiling just stood speechless behind Sakura, since she had nothing to say anyway.

"Mmmm. . . . .your information matches. Report to the front gate of the palace two days from today. Further instructions will be given then. . . . . Next!" The guard concluded his words.

Sakura's excitement disappeared suddenly while Meiling dragged her away from the long line-up. "Hey, where did all your energy go?" Meiling asked after.

"I thought I could see the palace right away. But now I have to wait for two days later. . ." Sakura frowned.

"God, Sakura. China is not as good as you think it is. . ." Meiling started.

"What? Why??" Sakura piped up.

Meiling immediately ended her topic. "Uhh. . . never mind. You'll find out for yourself two days later."

Sakura was confused. "Ok. . . I guess. . ."

Sakura and Meiling decided to walk around and find a suitable place for themselves to stay for two nights. While they're walking down the busy market, a Japanese restaurant located at the corner suddenly attracts Sakura's attention. She turns to Meiling, "Hey! Why don't we have lunch at that restaurant over there!"

Meiling shrugged, "I don't care. . ." Sakura didn't let Meiling finish as she immediately pull Meiling through the entrance of the restaurant.

"Welcome, young ladies. Please take a seat!" A young man came over and guides them over to an empty table. Sakura and Meiling seated themselves comfortably while and other person came to their table.

"May I please take your orders?" An old lady wearing a kimono asked politely.

"A dish of onigiri please!" Sakura cheerfully ordered. The old woman bowed her head then disappeared inside the kitchen.

"I guess you must have missed Japan already," Meiling commented.

Sakura hate to admit it, but it was true. She's homesick already after only three days. "Yeah. . .I guess so. . . . . I wonder how everyone is doing, especially mother. . ."

Meiling sighed, "I bet they must be fine right now. If I was your mother, I would be really proud of you."

Sakura showed a smile on her face. "Thank you, Meiling. You're a really great friend!!"

Meiling felt warmth in her heart. 'Sakura Kinomoto. . . . . she's the first one to be so nice to me. I thought I'd never have another friend after what I've done. . . . . .'

"Coming, a bowl of onigiri!!" The same old woman who took their orders came to their table and dropped off the bowl of food.

"Yay!! I'm so hungry!" Sakura dived into the bowl and picked out a big, round piece of riceball. "Oishi!!!" She cried in delight as she took a big bite.

Meiling smiled, and also grabbed a rice ball for herself. But suddenly, she was distracted by a loud riot at the entrance.

Entering the restaurant was a tall, young man with chestnut colored hair and dark brown eyes. Beside him were two other tall and muscular men, who acted like a bodyguard. The chestnut-colored-hair young man barged in and started yelling at the owner of the restaurant. "Hey!! I've came all the way here to eat, and you're telling me that there's no table that's free??? I won't tolerate this stupid act!!"

The restaurant owner was a short and weak little man, and obviously he was startled by young man's loud scream. "I. . .I'm. . . . s-sorry. . . .s- sir. . . . but y-you'll h-have to w-wait for the n-next table. . . ."

"WHAT!!!! NEVER!!! NEVER DOES ANYONE GIVE ME ORDERS!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND??" The young man screamed louder.

His voice was so loud that it caught everyone's attention, and it caused the short little restaurant owner to collapse on the floor with fear.

The young man walked over him and chuckled, "Useless peasants. . ." He walked across the restaurant, and eventually came across Sakura and Meiling's table.

"Hmmm. . . I like this table. . . . MOVE!!" The young man ordered Sakura and Meiling.

"Hey!! We were here first! Go and wait for the next table!!" Sakura courageously argued with him, which startled the young man as well.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to??" The young man raised an eyebrow and glared at Sakura.

"I don't give a damn about who you are!" Sakura yelled back at him right in his face.

The young man was angered by Sakura's remark, and his hand formed into a fist. "Why you. . ."

Meiling immediately pulled Sakura out of the scene, and she interrupted. "Excuse me, but we have to go now. Here, take this table if you want. . ." Without letting him reply, Meiling had already grabbed Sakura's hand and raced out of the restaurant.

Then ran and ran and ran, until they hit a dead end, they finally stopped. "(Puff Puff) Why did you drag me out?? I was going to teach that guy a lesson!" Sakura demanded an answer from Meiling.

Meiling took a long, deep breath, and replied, "You don't want to mess with him. . ."

"But why though?? I though you were strong enough to take them on!" Sakura argued.

"Just trust me, don't do anything stupid. . ." Meiling warned, and her eye narrowed. "He's more than what he seems to be like. . ."



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