CardCaptor Sakura : Score

Let Bygones Be Bygones

"There's going to be very painful moments in your life that will change your entire world in a matter of minutes. These moments will change you. Let them make you stronger, smarter, kinder. But don't you go and become someone that you're not. Cry. Scream if you want to. Then you straighten out that crown and keep it moving." - Brigitte

Chapter 19

People walked in and out of the hotel with such easiness. Some were entering with bags, others were leaving as one of the employees grabbed them a taxi and helped them with their bags. Most of the people leaving though she could easily see were soccer players considering the tournament had ended for some of the teams already. If the motor coach bus arriving in front of the hotel didn't give them away their similar dress code and sport bags in their hand could have been sufficient. Everyone seemed so casual, so naturally at ease. 'Perhaps because they truly are.' She thought before sighing.  Everyone seemed fine except her.

She, on the other hand, stayed inside her car watching every movement that caught her attention. It would've been nice to be able to walk through the hotel doors casually with no care in the world but alas she knew without the need for trying that luck would not be on her side with this one. As of last night she had officially become what she in her own words called a social clown... Society called it a gossip icon. She sighed one more time. Her life was slowly becoming a nightmare. Reporters had swamped her apartment making her having to temporarily move out, appeared in one of the most important meetings of her career, and had taken over part of her office building. Her image had been hammered on social media and all for what? Was all of this worth it?

Last night had almost taken what truly mattered to her right now. In her night driven by bottles of wine the thought of leaving him had been present in her mind even if she knew deep down inside she wouldn't be able to go through with it. Nonetheless it took her several hours to get that thought out of her head by reminding herself that this was part of what she signed for when she accepted going back to him. This was only one more step she had to take in order to make this relationship work. It wasn't as if she hadn't known what she was getting into. And yet the same question kept coming to mind... Was he worth all of this? She was perfectly aware of what going back to him meant but that small fact didn't make this any easier to handle.

She took a deep breath as she saw her assistant walking back towards the car.

Suri opened the door bending down so she could see Sakura. "He's in the lobby."

Sakura nodded before getting out. There was no point in delaying this matter any longer.  

~ o ~

To be awake in early hours of the day had never been a problem for him. He had accustomed his body to do so every day to train which helped him tremendously in a day like today when their coach decided to change their routine. They were to watch film first thing in the morning, eat breakfast as a team and then practice two hours earlier than usual. His excuse had been simple... the earlier they practice the more time they would have to recuperate at night. Not that it mattered much to him since he barely slept at night but considering he had been working all this time for this particular tournament he understood his coach's reasoning. 

As soon as he reached the lobby, he walked towards the bar. Setting his backpack on the floor right next to him, he waited for one of the employees to pour him a glass of water and drank from it before setting it down on the bar. He looked at his watch and sighed. He still had forty five minutes to spare until the rest of his teammates would meet him in the lobby which also meant he had forty five minutes to think about what had plagued his mind last night. After just a couple of weeks he had another fight with Sakura over the phone.