Card Captor Sakura 1. The News

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This is the first time I've ever tried writing something not so full of humor. So, my writing may come out bad. This one's a T+E, S+S, T+S, Y+C and all sorts of pairing.

Disclaimer: I disclaim what I claim is that what I claim to disclaim?

__Chapter 1: The News

"Oh those card captor days………" Tomoyo murmured. She was seated on a chair facing the window. Her cyan eyes were closed. Tomoyo was thinking deeply about the happenings of the last few years. Reminiscing the past was something she did often on those days. 

For the past 10 years, she had been by Sakura's side all the time. She helped her out, she was there to give Sakura a push when she needed it, and most of all, she had strong feelings for her friend. 

Not strong as in she was deeply in love with her. Strong as in she had the longing to do everything for Sakura, to support her and to……… 

Tomoyo's eyes snapped open. She gazed at the window. It was hard to see through because it was raining hard. _I **did** have strong feelings for Sakura-chan. Strong feelings of love. Love as in someone you long to be with always…_She thought. 

(Flashback) 

_Sakura knocked lightly on Tomoyo's door. She pressed her ear against it. "Tomoyo-chan?" She said audibly. _

_There was no answer. _

_"I'm coming in." Sakura said. She twisted the doorknob. _

_From inside, Tomoyo heard the door click. She didn't care. She just stared at the window. _

_"Tomoyo-chan?" Whispered a voice. Tomoyo knew it was Sakura. The door creaked open. _

_Tomoyo was still the same. She was sitting upright on her chair while staring out the window. Sakura noticed, that every time she visited Tomoyo-chan, she would be found in her room, sitting and staring into space. _

_Sakura frowned. Her best friend wasn't herself lately. "Tomoyo-chan, it's so dark in here. Why didn't you turn on the lights?" Sakura uttered. She fumbled for the switch of the light. _

_"No. Don't bother, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo's voice droned. _

_"But.." _

_"I like it here in the dark." Inquired the lavender-haired girl. _

_Sakura was perplexed. Tomoyo had changed a lot more than she expected. Two months before her engagement to Syaoran, Tomoyo started changing. She grew distant to the group. Whenever they had activities together, Tomoyo would not join them. She would give her usual half-smile and an excuse then walk away. It became worse when there was only a week left before the wedding. Tomoyo acted overexcited. She insisted upon doing the arrangements for the wedding. Sakura thought Tomoyo was acting strange. If she ever caught Tomoyo staring off and noting it to her, Tomoyo would just smile gently and say it was nothing. _

_Sakura just stood there and watched the sad yet graceful looking figure of Tomoyo. The pale moonlight illuminated her shiny long lavender hair. She looked angelic. _

_Sakura snapped out of her reverie. She approached her best friend. _

_"Tomoyo-chan. Pls. don't be sad." Sakura managed to say cheerfully. She stood by her side, hands clasped at her back and tilting her head a little to the side. _

_Tomoyo didn't say anything. She felt Sakura's hand touch hers. "Pls. cheer up. It's not like I'm dying and leaving you. I'll be constantly calling you and sending you a letter." _

_Tomoyo didn't twitch. She was still gazing at the window. The light fell on her face. She was looking pensive. _

_It went on for minutes. Sakura's hand was still on hers. Then, Tomoyo felt a drop of water on her hand. She gasped, looking at her friend. _

_Sakura was kneeling beside her. She was looking away from Tomoyo, sobbing. _

_As if breaking out of her trance, Tomoyo placed her hand on top of Sakura's. "Don't cry, Sakura-chan." She whispered. _

_Sakura turned to face her. Even in the dark, Tomoyo could tell that her eyes were really watery now. Tomoyo let Sakura lean against her. _

_After a while, Sakura pulled away from Tomoyo. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "I'm still a child, aren't I?" Sakura said, curving her lips upward. "I haven't really changed since the last 8 years. I'm still the same crybaby Sakura." _

_"No you're not a crybaby." Tomoyo said. "Well. Yes. You still are the same. You are still the same smiling Sakura I know. The Sakura that never gives up and the Sakura that cares a lot. You're still the same Sakura-chan I've befriended 10 years ago." _

_Sakura grinned. "You may be the same Tomoyo-chan, but you've also changed a lot." _

_"How so?" _

_"Well. You barely go out with us. You've become lonely. And…" Sakura stopped. _

_Her eyes were welling up again. She cried. "I-I'll m-miss you." She said, crying. This Sakura's eyes weren't filled with the laughter; they were filled with sadness this time. _

_Tomoyo stroked Sakura's auburn hair. _

_"Stop crying. It doesn't suit you." Tomoyo hugged her. _

_Sakura dried her tears. She stood up, holding unto Tomoyo's hand still. "Whenever you have problems. Pls. don't hold it in. I'll be there for you. Syaoran and I will be leaving for Hong Kong in a week. So, I want to make the best of it…" Sakura began to walk away briskly. "Bye Tomoyo-chan." She said before the door closed. _

_Tomoyo was left alone once again. _

_~End flashback~_

_ _

Tomoyo sighed. _I was like a crazy fool. _She clenched her teeth and fists, refraining herself from bursting out her thoughts. 

Then, there was a knock, interrupting her thoughts. 

"The door's open." Tomoyo shouted. 

The door opened. In came one of her maids. "Miss Daidouji, your dinner's ready." Said the maid. She bowed and proceeded to go out of the room. 

Tomoyo got up. She pushed her chair back to its position in one corner of her room. After that, she went out of the room.

_Ring ring.._

The phone in Tomoyo's room rang. Tomoyo straightened up on her bed. She reached for the phone. 

"Moshi moshi, Daidouji residence." She automatically said, pressing her ear against the receiver. 

"Konnichiwa Tomoyo-chan." Replied a cheerful voice on the other side. Tomoyo's eyes widened.

"Sakura-chan!" She blurted out. "It's been such a long time."

"I know." Sakura said. There was some noise in the background.

"Sakura-chan, who are you talking to?" Said an unfamiliar perky voice.

"I'm talking to my best friend, Tomoyo-chan. You've seen her in my wedding right?" Sakura said. A pause. "Ni hao, Tomoyo-chan!" Cried four happy voices which Tomoyo knew belonged to Syaoran's older sisters.

Tomoyo chuckled. She imagined Sakura being pinched by Syaoran's sisters all the time. With them there, the couple wouldn't have any privacy at all.

"Oi. Let Sakura talk to her friend. I'm sure she misses her very much now." Retorted a voice. Tomoyo knew it was Syaoran. She knew all too well that he always talks in a gruffly way. But with Sakura around, he would melt easily and act even the slightest nice to his sisters.

The foursome whined and whimpered. They wanted to take over the phone.

"Girls. Syaoran's right. Let your little sister talk to her friend in private." Demanded another voice. It wasn't really demanding, but it makes you think that she was an important person. That you would follow every means to avoid annoying her. 

The voices died down. All the Li sisters were shooed away by their mother. 

"Daidouji-san, hi." Said Syaoran on the phone. 

"Konnichiwa, Li-kun. How's Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked. She twisted and untwisted the cord of the receiver.

"She's fine. We're all fine." Syaoran replied. "Here. You talk to Sakura." 

There was a pause as Tomoyo heard Syaoran handing the receiver to Sakura. 

"Tomoyo-chan. I missed you." Sakura said.

"Me too. Everything's still pretty much the same here. Kinomoto-san and your brother misses you too."

"That's good. I miss them too. By the way, guess what?"

"Hmm?"

"We met Eriol-kun yesterday."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. I'll tell you the whole story. Well, we were in this restaurant; me, Syaoran, Meilin, mother and Syaoran's sisters..."

"Oh my. You two don't go a lot by yourselves, do you?" Tomoyo interrupted.

"Um. We do. But this time, it's like a family gathering. All 8 of us went to eat dinner together. It's a very classy restaurant...."

"I wish I could videotape you two on your date!" Tomoyo squealed. She felt Sakura sweatdrop.

"Anyway. We were having dinner there. The sisters had a food fight. They made a mess there. So, mother paid for the mess which she didn't have to really because the manager refused to. Then, we went to another restaurant. This restaurant was even more classier!"

"Wow! You're so lucky, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo exclaimed. Her eyes were starry.

Sakura laughed uneasily. "We didn't have much luck in that restaurant either."

"Eh?"

Sakura paused. "You see. Syaoran-kun fed me with some of his food...."

"Oooh. That's so sweet."

"...the Li sisters grew overexcited. They started teasing us."

Tomoyo laughed. She laid down on her bed.

"They were so noisy that the other people were looking at us. They didn't bother to complain anyway. I don't understand why..."

"I see." Tomoyo knew that the Li Clan were very prominent. They were known all over Hong Kong.

"....and mother insisted that we go to another restaurant. Syaoran-kun suggested a buffet in a hotel..."

"As usual. The man knows the right choice!" Tomoyo exclaimed.

"Um yeah. Finally, it was the last straw. Syaoran's sisters didn't cause any mishap. They were contented with the buffet. But of course they couldn't stop going back to the buffet."

Both of the girls giggled. It was unbelievable that you can eat in three restaurants just in one night.

"While I was getting some food..."

"Weren't you full from eating in the other restaurants?" Tomoyo asked. 

"No. I only got one bite or two. Before the food was even served, the mishap already happened. We haven't really touched anything yet."

"That'll be a world record!" 

"Un. So, I was getting some food and I bumped into this person. Good thing my plate was empty. But I dropped it. The guy helped me up. And guess what? I bumped into Eriol! I found out that he was getting married!"

Tomoyo eyes were glassy. She weakened, almost dropping the phone receiver.

"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura said on the other line.

Tomoyo clutched the phone receiver and raised it to her ear level. "Yes?" She croaked.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Go on. Tell me what happened." _Why am I acting like this just because some guy's getting married?!_

"The person Eriol's marrying is this Chinese girl she met in England. They've known each other for a year and they're planning to get married in Hong Kong. He's inviting the rest of the gang to his wedding...are you catching this, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Yes." Tomoyo replied weakly. She was paling. _He met someone with the same mind as his?_

"Good. He wants you, Chiharu, Yamazaki, Naoko, Rika and my family to fly over to Hong Kong for his wedding."

"All of us? That'll cause a lot for the expenses!"

"Yeah. It's what Eriol wants anyway. Seeing us is better than having no one at his wedding."

"I guess so."

"I think he'll be mailing the tickets to Japan."

"Okay."

"Oi, Sakura! Have some dessert!" Yelled a voice on the other line.

"Coming, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura yelled back. And to Tomoyo, she said "Ne, Tomoyo-chan. I'll be seeing you here, okay?"

"Sure. You can count on it. I won't miss shooting my favorite star!"

"Geez Sakura. The phone bill must be very expensive now after calling 10 people in Japan. Your conversations last for like what, 30 minutes each?" Joked the same voice who yelled.

"Mou. Syaoran-kun! It's not everyday I call my family and friends, you know!" Sakura protested.

Tomoyo giggled. They were really acting like a couple now that they were married.

"Bye Tomoyo-chan."

"Bye." 

"Syaoran-kun. You better run!" Tomoyo heard Sakura say before she put down the receiver.

_This is it. _Tomoyo thought. She was holding a long white enveloped addressed to her. It was the letter she had been expecting all week.

She took a deep breath before opening it. __Silly girl. Why are you feeling nervous just because of one letter?

_But it's **Eriol-kun's** letter! _Echoed her conscience. 

She paused. She placed a hand on her chin. 

"What do I think of Eriol-kun?" She asked herself, as if expecting an answer. "Well. We haven't seen each other in a long time...."

She just shrugged and reached for a letter opener on her office desk. "Oh well. Here goes.."

Tomoyo slipped in her fingers into the envelope and took out the tickets, nothing else. Tomoyo frowned. There wasn't a letter of some sort. The only thing enclosed in the envelope were plane ticket and nothing more.

Tomoyo had a look of disappointment. It was clearly shown on her face. She sighed. Then, she scrutinized the white envelope. She realized a pink stationery was sticking out from inside the mail. She ignored it at first, thinking it was part of the envelope's design. But she couldn't help but notice that it looked strange. 

Tomoyo peeled it off. It definitely was a stationery. _He's full of surprises, as usual._

Tomoyo read the letter.

_ Dear Daidouji-san and co.,_

_ How are things there? I hope nothing changed. I reckon you already know about my engagement. I hope you'll be able to come. Sakura-san and Li-san are also waiting for you to arrive in Hong Kong. Your flight to Hong Kong is on Wednesday at 10:00 am. I'll leave the tickets in your hands, Daidouji-san. Pls. give them to the following people that I want to invite..._

Tomoyo stopped. She plopped down on the ottoman in her private office and continued reading.

_Pls. give them to the following people that I want to invite. They are; Miharu-san, Yamazaki-san, Yanagisawa-san, Terada-san...._

_"_Terada-san?" Tomoyo echoed. She almost forgot that Rika got married to Terada-sensei two years ago. "Oh yeah."

_...Yanagisawa-san, Terada-san, Tsukishiro-san, Sakura-san's otosan and oniichan and of course, you; Daidouji-san. And give my regards to them too._

The last word lingered in Tomoyo's thoughts. The way Eriol put it was like she was special. But, still, it was too formal to make her feel like it. Tomoyo read the message at the very bottom.

_PS: Daidouji-san, I hope you bring your videocam. I'm sure you'll catch lots of sweet moments between those two lovebirds._

Tomoyo chuckled. Eriol was talking about Syaoran, Sakura and their sweet moments. Her eyes flew to her video camera. It was sitting on her desk. She walked over towards it. 

Closing her eyes, she fingered it. All those memories came to her.

(Flashback)

_"Oh no. I made another mistake!" Exclaimed an 8 year old Tomoyo. She was doing her math problem and she forgot to bring an eraser._

_Tomoyo looked around. Everyone were busy doing their own math problems. She peered at the girl beside her. She was frowning over her work._

_"Having problems?" Tomoyo asked in a small voice. "Need help?"_

_The girl looked at her, her head bobbing up and down. _

_Tomoyo smiled. She thought the girl looked cute. "I'll help you." Tomoyo helped her seatmate solve the math problem._

_Satisfied, the girl held out an eraser to her. "Here. You can have it!" She said cheerfully._

_Tomoyo was surprised. She took the eraser. "Th-thank you!" She said._

_"I'm Sakura."_

_"T-tomoyo!"_

_"That eraser will be the symbol of our friendship, 'kay?"_

_"H-hai."_

_~End Flashback~_

Tomoyo picked up her video camera and shoved it into her bag. She also got the tickets and left the office.

To be continued~~~~~

So, how was it? I know it's bad. But I'll be improving it. In the meantime, let me think of what to write next. PS: Pls. don't flame me!


	2. Meetings

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Meeting

The group was standing in the waiting area. They were waiting for the people who were going to fetch them.

It wasn't really a large group. There were 8 of them. No. Actually there were 9, including a stowaway stuffed-toy. Kero hid inside Tomoyo's bag. He definitely wanted to go because he wanted to scold Sakura for leaving him.

"Get your butt in gear, Takashi! Don't you dare drop my bags!" Yelled a woman at a black-haired man. 

"Alright, alright!" Grumbled the guy. When you look up close to him, he still hasn't changed. His eyes were still two slits. His face was still the same joker's face. 

While the woman, still wore pigtails. They were longer now. She still had that tendency to shout at his childhood friend who was now her husband.

The woman, Chiharu, was carrying nothing. The man, Takashi, was carrying the load. 

Naoko, the lady with the honey-colored eyes and round sunglasses, stifled a laugh. 

"Whatcha laughin' at Naoko-chan?" Chiharu eyed her suspiciously. 

Tomoyo stepped in front. She smiled and said "You act like it's going to be your honeymoon."

"What?!" Chiharu flung her hands and turned red with embarrassment. Takashi's mouth formed an 'o' shape.

"Hmph." Said Touya curtly. His arms were crossed and he was also looking cross. "I don't know why I have to go with this bunch anyway."

"Now, now Touya. You don't have to be temperamental right now. Besides, you had the chance to not go when we were still in the Japanese airport. How come you only talked now?" Fujitaka said. He looked at his son in a not-so-serious way.

Yukito smiled. He elbowed Touya. "Oniichan misses his little sister, that's why!" He teased. Fujitaka compromised by smiling too. Touya glowered and muttered a curse under his breath.

He wondered why the people around him were so carefree. They had no care about what happens at all. He remembered teasing Sakura endlessly when she was about to leave in two weeks time. Sakura didn't like it one bit. She would stick out her tongue at her older brother. Touya did it because he knew he would miss his sister. He wished Sakura wouldn't have grow up so fast.

One week before Sakura left, Touya threatened Syaoran that if anything bad should happen to Sakura, he would never forgive him. But of course he knew the brat wouldn't allow anyone to hurt Sakura. He had proven it countless times.

Then, just last week. He heard from Daidouji about the news. That other kid who wore glasses was getting married. He had offered them to take a trip to Hong Kong because that's where he was going to get married. He wouldn't have agreed to come if it weren't for seeing his imotou.

Touya turned away from the bunch. He pushed away his dark locks and ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Rika-chan. How did you get Terada-sensei to let you go on this trip?" Tomoyo asked the lady standing beside her.

"I just told him I would be fine and be back in two weeks. That's all." Rika answered. 

"Oh. He must be listening to you a lot then."

"Uh-huh."

Tomoyo sighed. She watched her friends. Chiharu and Takashi already got married. So did Rika and Terada-sensei. Only she was the one who still didn't have anyone in her love life. _And now it's Eriol-kun's turn too....wait. Did I just call him Eriol-kun? I don't call him so casually like that! What is wrong with me?!_

"Daidouji-san?" Said a lady wearing sunglasses. 

The whole group turned to face the lady. She had black waist-length hair that ended with a tight-bun. 

"Are you Daidouji-san?" She asked. Looking at Tomoyo.

"Yes, I am." Tomoyo said. 

The lady took off her glasses. Underneath it, you could see the clearest cerulean eyes. Tomoyo was somewhat mesmerized by those eyes. 

"Daidouji-san?" The lady glanced at Tomoyo. Tomoyo shook her thoughts away. She smiled. 

"I'm Xie Yinlan, Hiragagizawa-kun's fiancée." The lady introduced herself. She bowed politely.

"Fiancée?!" The group echoed. They were surprised.

"I'm sorry to surprise all of you." Yinlan apologized for the umpteenth time inside the van.

"That's okay, Yinlan-san." Tomoyo said. "They were just surprised because they didn't know Hiragizawa-kun was marrying such a beautiful lady."

The rest sweatdropped. The real reason they were surprised was because they didn't know Eriol was getting married. Because of the excitement, the group didn't really have time to heed Tomoyo's words.

Satisfied, Yinlan relaxed. She looked like on the verge of crying if not for Tomoyo's expertise of calming down people. "Okay, Daidouji-san." 

"Pls. Call me Tomoyo." Tomoyo insisted even though she still wasn't comfortable with it since they only met each other an hour ago.

"Hai."

"You know how to speak Japanese well."

"Hiragizawa-kun taught me." She said. "He said that he had some friends coming from Japan. I didn't expect his friends to be so...."

"...so what?" Echoed everyone. They were intense on hearing what Yinlan had to say. 

"...so few." Yinlan finished.

Everyone sweatdropped again. They just decided to keep quiet so as to avoid another rather _stupid_ conversation.

"By the way, Yinlan-san. How come Hiragizawa-san isn't here?" Inquired Tomoyo. She was sitting next to Yinlan.

"He said he had to visit another friend of his in Hong Kong."

"I guess he was talking about Li Syaoran and Li Sakura."

"The Lis?!" Yinlan's eyes grew wide. 

"What's the matter?"

"Hiragizawa-kun is an acquaintance of the Lis?"

"Not really. Hiragizawa-san only knew Li Syaoran and Kinomoto Sakura, Li Sakura now."

"Wow. I can't believe it."

"You didn't know?"

"I did. But I thought it was some other Li. But, when I heard the name Li Syaoran, I realized it was the famous Li family he was talking about."

"Well, now you know."

The rest of the ride went well. Everyone had a pleasant conversation with each other. By the time they reached their destination, Takashi got 50 lumps on his head, Naoko already told 20 of her ghost stories and they weren't able to avoid their _stupid _conversations for the 10th time. (talk about hating math but actually using it!)

They arrived at the Hong Kong University which they didn't expect to go to first. 

"Why are we here?" Tomoyo asked Yinlan as they trudged along one of the halls of the immensely large university.

"You'll see."

They stopped in front of a two-door saloon. (don't ask me about it, okay?) Yinlan pushed one door open. She entered the room. Everyone else filed in.

It was an auditorium filled with university students. They were in the middle of a ceremony. You can tell that the students were surprisingly quiet.

"What is this?" Chiharu asked. 

"PEP Talk." Yinlan responded.

Everyone facefaulted. 

Yinlan laughed and said "Just kidding." 

"Uh. Nice joke, Yinlan-san." Takashi commented. 

"Okay. I know it was a lame joke. Anyway, how can this be a PEP talk if it looked serious."

Yinlan directed them to a row of empty seats in the back. Once they settled in, they listened to the speaker.

"Why are we here?" Tomoyo whispered to Yinlan. It was following a trend that Tomoyo was always next to Yinlan.

Yinlan looked at her. Her cerulean eyes seemed to light up. She just gestured to the stage.

"..and for the guest of honor, we have Li Syaoran." The introducer said. He stepped back and made way for the guest speaker.

The students clapped. A guy in the front row stood up and made his way to the stage. Tomoyo squinted in the dark room. She recognized the lopsided walk which was much more upright now. His ruffled chestnut-brown hair and amber eyes. Most of all, the frown on his face. It was Syaoran.

"It's Li-kun!" Takashi exclaimed. Chiharu nodded. Touya scowled. Yukito lectured him for his bad manners.

The man on stage proceeded with his speech. "As all of you know..." He started.

"He's bound to get tongue-tied." Touya snorted.

"Li-kun shouldn't frown so much. It'll ruin his handsome face." Tomoyo said, shaking her head and sighing.

"That kozo?!" Came a muffled voice from Tomoyo's bag. Tomoyo punched her bag to shut off the seal guardian.

"Did you say anything?" Yinlan asked. Tomoyo shook her head uneasily.

"...the Li foundation was established since the last 10...." Syaoran's voice droned.

"So, Tomoyo-san. I've heard a lot from you." Yinlan said. "Hiragizawa-kun used to talk a lot about you and the others."

_".....the Li Clan Elders were the founders of the association. We've been involved in a lot of projects......."_

"Really? What did he say?" Tomoyo began to look interested.

_"......including the Scholarship programs for different Universities plus........"_

"He said that you were an interesting group of people and that all of you were unique."

"_.......big connections with other Associations all throughout the world........"_

"That isn't really saying much."

_"......we have raised funds for homeless children........"_

_"_I know. He's a very private person."

"......._education is very important in order for us to go on........"_

_"_He's always cooking up schemes. If it weren't for one of those things he did, that guy over there wouldn't be with the one he loves." Tomoyo said, pointing to Syaoran who was very serious in delivering his speech. 

"......_Thank you......" _Syaoran finally finished. He went down the stairs. A chorus of claps followed.

"You seem to know him a lot." Yinlan phrased. Tomoyo raised an eyebrow. She ignored Yinlan's last words. She was glad the speech was over.

Yinlan looked sideways at Tomoyo. Her face formed a frown. But Tomoyo couldn't see it in the dark.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo waved at a certain auburn-haired lady with bright emerald eyes.

Sakura was talking to Syaoran. She heard the familiar voice calling out to her. She scanned the area. Sakura saw a lady with long lavender-colored hair waving at her. Sakura's eyes brightened up even more. She ran to the familiar girl. Syaoran, befuddled, looked at Sakura. He just went after her.

"Tomoyo-chan! You're here! And otosan, oniichan, Takashi, Chiharu, Naoko, Rika and Yukito-san too!" Sakura blurted out. Letting out her thoughts right away. Sakura hugged Tomoyo tightly.

Everyone laughed except for Touya and Syaoran. He glared at Syaoran. Syaoran returned it _warmly. _His glare was even deadlier. It was like saying "Look Mr. Hotshot. I've been practicing ever since you were out of my sight. Now that you're here. I can unleash the full force of this glare of mine unto the only guy who can compete with it!" Touya's glare had a meaning too. His was "Hah! I've been waiting for this in ages! I was getting bored there for a sec. But now that you're here, my life's been thrilling!"

Sakura did the opposite on them. She gave them her sweet smile. This one had "Now now. There's no need to fight. Why can't you be friends and shake hands. I have my Clow Cards with me. I can turn the weather into a really _nice _one that rivals those heavy moods of yours." written all over it.

Syaoran and Touya gulped. They unwillingly shook hands and made a _temporary_ truce. 

"Hello everybody." Greeted a voice from behind. Everyone turned to see the very lucky man himself; Eriol.

"Hiragizawa-kun! Where were you? We had to sleep through the whole program!" Yinlan said, rushing over to her fiancé. Eriol laughed. 

"And, pray tell, how did you find them in the airport so quickly? I was expecting you even later than this." 

Yinlan pouted. "Hiragizawa-kun! How could I not recognize them right away because of your description of Tomoyo-san! You said to look for a lady with long lavender-colored hair and captivating sapphire eyes!"

Eriol laughed even more. Then, he smiled cunningly. Tomoyo was surprised. She hadn't seen Eriol laugh or smile so much at one person. _Maybe Yinlan-san really changed him. _

"And besides. You showed me that picture of them altogether in one group!" 

"Is that so?" Eriol pretended to think.

The group didn't notice that the crowd of female students in the hallway were staring and admiring the men in their group.

"Look at that guy! His smile is so charming!"

"You're right!"

"That guy with black hair's cute too!"

"Yeah! If only he would stop scowling at people..."

Touya gave the crowd his 'evil eye'.

"Oh! Oh! Look at the one talking to that girl over there, it's Li Syaoran. He's not so bad!"

The girls pointed at Syaoran who was giving his undivided attention to Sakura. Sakura said something and he smiled.

"In fact, he's better than the rest once you see him smile!"

The girls squealed.

Another student placed a hand on one of the shoulders of the crazy females. She gave them a 'tsk tsk'. 

"Li-sempai!" One of them exclaimed when they saw her.

The girl, Meilin, grinned. "You girls can't claim him anymore."

"Huh? Why?"

"He's married." Meilin winked, her blazing red eyes laughing.

"What!" The girls chorused.

"Aw Too bad!"

"I didn't know about that."

"I don't believe it!"

The girls were disappointed. 

One of the girls asked Meilin. "Who's the lucky girl, Meilin-sempai?"

Meilin pointed to the girl Syaoran was talking too. 

"She's not that beautiful!"

'I'm much better than her!"

"No. I'm better!"

The crowd of crazy females started arguing. They were deciding which one's the best. Meilin sighed. She walked away from the nosy crowd and went over to Syaoran's group.

"Meilin-chan, what's going on over there?" Sakura inquired, gesturing to the crowd of bickering girls.

"Another cat fight started by yours truly." Meilin said.

Syaoran frowned. "What is it again?"

"Girls-fighting-over-my-handsome-cousin!" Meilin teased.

Sakura stifled a laugh. 

"Don't let him get away, Sakura-chan!" Meilin teased even more. At first, she didn't want to be so casual with Sakura by calling her first name. But, she couldn't help herself say it. She decided, that, Sakura would never backstab Syaoran and love him purely. So, she finally accepted her as a relative and started calling her "Sakura-chan". Now, they were all too close to each other that they teamed up to annoy Syaoran.

Sakura couldn't hold it in. She burst out laughing. Syaoran scoffed.

"This is getting ridiculous." Syaoran muttered.

_At the Li Mansion....._

The moment they arrived and set foot on the Lis' territory, the Li sisters assaulted themselves unto the newcomers.

"Sakura-chan! How was your day!" Li Feimei eagerly asked. 

"Was Syaoran good on his speech?" Wondered Li Fuutie.

"Did you meet those friends of yours you were waiting for?" Li Shiefa inquired.

"Can I greet them?" Requested Li Fanren.

"Can we?" All four of them said together.

Sakura sweatdropped. Her new _sisters_ sure loved her dearly. They focused their attention on her a lot.

"My day was great. Syaoran was like a robot on his speech. Yes. I met up with them. You can greet them..."

"If you don't scare them!" Syaoran cut off, snickering. He passed by them.

"Di di! That's so mean of you!" The Li sisters protested. 

"Syaoran!" Yelled an angry Sakura. She clenched her fists into a tight ball and took off after Syaoran. Syaoran ran towards the house. 

The foursome smirked at the scene. "Oooh. They're gonna play with each other!" They squealed in their sharp high-pitched voices. 

"Takashi!" Cried Chiharu. She bonked Takashi on the head. 

_Thwack! _It was the 100th blow on Takashi's head.

"Stop telling lies, okay?!" Chiharu said, dragging away his husband. "If some other girl married you, you'll be too out of control. Bah! Who'll want to marry you anyway? Dear, I just _love_ you so much that I care for you!" Chiharu spilled nonsense out of her mouth as Takashi was talking his nonsense too. The Li sisters watched the scene. Too late. They let the two get away.

"No! We let them get away!" Li Shiefa shrieked.

Li Fuutie smiled. "There are others anyway. Look! There are those two guys that visited together with Sakura the last time they went here!" She said, pointing at Touya and Yukito.

"Yuki...I don't like this place. This was where those weirdo sisters of that kid harassed me!" Touya flung his hands up to exaggerate it. 

"To-ya, they're your sisters now." Yukito said blandly.

Touya shuddered. He realized he was now related to that kid's sisters. Worse, he was actually related to the kid!

Suddenly, Touya heard sharp cries coming from.......

"He's our new brother!" One of the Li sisters cried. She launched an attack on Touya. She glomped him.

"Great. Another Akizuki." Touya muttered. 

The load became heavier as three more pair of arms wrapped around Touya. 

"Even better. Four Akizukis." Touya stated. He sighed, preparing himself for the worst.

_They look so happy together. _Tomoyo thought as she felt a pang of jealousy. She watched Eriol and Yinlan stroll around the garden. 

"Do you remember our first meeting?" Eriol said softly. He was behind Yinlan.

"Yes." Yinlan answered in a singsong way. She continued walking.

"You were walking in this dark alley. Then, a group of punks cornered you."

"Not exactly my idea of romantic."

"Yeah." Eriol paused. He strayed away from the cobblestone path walk, hiding in the trees' view. "You were screaming for help. I heard you and came to your rescue....."

"I'm glad it happened. We wouldn't be together now if it weren't for that."

They fell silent. Yinlan took a whiff of the fresh air. It made her body tingle nonetheless it felt good. "Hiragizawa-kun?" 

No answer. Yinlan retraced her steps. She strayed away from the path too. She walked towards the trees."Hiragizawa-kun?" She said again. 

"For you." Said a voice.

Yinlan almost jumped. She put a hand to her heart. "Hiragizawa-kun. You startled me." She stared at the wild flower he was holding. She gingerly took it. "Thank you." Yinlan flushed. "W-we better go b-back." Yinlan was already headed toward the cobblestone path.

"Yes." Eriol said. He followed. But he stopped in his tracks. He heard a humming voice. Both the voice and the tune was familiar to him.

Eriol listened to the sound. He tried to put his mind as to where the song was coming from. Absentmindedly, Eriol lead himself to an area with a swing. Instead of a rope, the swing's support consisted of veins that were falling off from the tree above it. The tree was very thick with veins. 

There, sitting in the swing was Tomoyo. She hummed her favorite tune. Eriol looked at Tomoyo. She hadn't noticed him. She was turning her back against him.

Eriol wanted to surprise her. He came up from behind. He gave the swing a little push. Tomoyo didn't fidget. She was as calm as ever. Eriol pushed harder.

"...Yoru no sora ni matataku tooi kin no hoshi...." Tomoyo began to sang out loud but soft. She closed her cyan eyes and leaned her head against the swing's support.

_Yuube yume de miageta kotori to onaji iro_

_Nemurenu yoru ni hitori utau uta_

_Wataru kaze to issho ni_

_Omoi wo nosete tobu yo_

_Yoru no sora ni kagayaku tooi gin no tsuki_

_Yuube yume de saiteta nobara to onaji iro_

_Yasashii yoru ni hitori utau uta_

_Asu wa kimi to utaou_

_Yume no tsubasa ni notte_

_Yasashii yoru ni hitori utau uta_

_Asu wa kimi to utaou_

_Yume no tsubasa ni notte_

"You sing such a lovely song as usual, Daidouji-san." Eriol whispered into her ears. Tomoyo smiled. "Thank you, Hiragisawa-san."

To be continued~~~~~

So, how did it turn out? Lousy, I guess. I'm putting in all sorts of things and they don't work. I'm especially bad at mush,sap and romance. So, forgive me if it seemed bad. I don't know the name of the Japanese airport. My story's getting too out of hand from mixing up everybody's thoughts and giving them a spotlight! Whew. I finished two chapters in one day. Good for me.


	3. A Sweet Smile

Chapter 3

Ahahahaha! Chap. 3 is done. This one's a sleeper.

Chapter 3: A Sweet Smile

_Dinnertime at the Li Mansion..._

Everyone was enjoying their meal at Li's dining hall. 

_"_Here Takashi have a bite. Say aahh!" Chiharu prompted him to eat her food.

Takashi retorted. "No way! It might be poisoned!"

Chiharu glared at him. "What made you think so? Why would I kill my husband? I don't wanna end up being a widow! And besides, it's not your time!"

"That was so touching, Chiharu!" Takashi sniffed. "I have a similar story as that. There was this guy who was stabbed by his wife. The wife..."

"Shut up Takashi and eat!" Chiharu said, shoving the food into his mouth, including the spoon.

Meilin entered the dining hall. She was carrying a tray of strawberry cake. "Hey! Anyone want some dessert?" She offered, putting down the tray.

"I'll take it." Touya got his fork and was about to take the plate when the Li sisters got it first." Hey!" 

Then, the door to the dining hall burst open. A brunette stomped in and pounced on Touya.

"Touya-kun!" The brunette, Nakuru, greeted. 

The Li sisters eyed her. Nakuru did the same.

"Who are you?!" Demanded Li Fanren.

Nakuru sneered. "I'm the first one who found my delicious Touya!" She stuck out her tongue.

The Li sisters glared at Nakuru. Nakuru glared back.

There was silence as tension filled the air. The glaring contest lasted for a minute.

Li Fuutie formed a smile on her face. "We can share, can't we?"

Nakuru smiled too. "Sure."

All four Li sisters glomped Touya. "Touya-kun!"

"What is this? The Akizuki Union?!" Touya muttered.

Sakura sniggered at the sight. "Oniichan has a fanclub!" Sakura remarked.

"Kaijuu! You're just jealous." Touya bluntly said.

Sakura forced a smile. "I am not. Oniichan's followers are so loyal, aren't they Yukito-san?"

Yukito, who was putting food in his mouth every 2.5 seconds, nodded his head in approval. 

Sakura sweatdropped. She turned to talk to Tomoyo who was sitting next to her.

"Tomoyo-chan, aren't you enjoying the food?" Sakura asked.

Tomoyo gestured to her plate. Everything was half-eaten.

Sakura looked over her plate. Her food was only half-eaten too. "I guess we're not that hungry."

"Why don't you let Kero eat it?" Tomoyo suggested. She reached for her hand bag and unzipped it. Sakura peered inside. A yellow stuffed-animal stared back at her. "Sakura! I've been waiting for this for months!" It hissed.

"Kero! I'm sorry I forgot about you!" Sakura apologized.

Kero crossed his arms and sulked. Sakura sighed. "I'll just bring you some food later, okay?" The stuffed-animal smirked and forgave Sakura.

In the midst of the madness, Li Yelan was watching everything from her seat. She never took her eyes off her guests. She motioned Syaoran to come to her. Syaoran shuffled his seat and walked over to his mother's side. "Yes, mother?" 

Li Yelan looked her son in the eye. "Your friends are a happy bunch." She stated.

Syaoran took a while to regain himself. His mother's eyes were very serious-looking. It sometimes scared him. _How does Sakura do it? She can laugh and smile in front of mother without being serious to her._

"Syaoran?"

"Uh. If you want some peace and quiet, I can make them stop. " 

"No. I like watching them. It brings me pleasure seeing the youth of today enjoying their company."

"If you say so, mother." Syaoran excused himself and went back to his meal.

"Say, Sakura-chan. How come I didn't see Hiragizawa-kun in the dining hall?" Naoko asked as Sakura directed them to the guest rooms.

"I think they went back to the hotel after sending us here." Sakura said as she turned left.

"Then, how come Akizuki-san was here?" Tomoyo wondered. She remembered the mess Nakuru and the Li sisters made.

Chiharu giggled. "I think Hiragizawa-kun and Yinlan-san want some privacy." She thought. The other girls laughed.

They stopped in a hallway. Sakura gave the ladies their own rooms to sleep in.

While Syaoran took the men to their guest rooms.

"Oi. Don't fall behind. You might get lost here." Syaoran mocked Touya. Touya glared daggers at him.

Yukito smiled. "To-ya. You've finally found someone who's like you." 

Touya snorted. It was his turn to mock Syaoran. "Don't you treat your guests nicely, Mr. Li?"

"No. Hostility rules over Hospitality when you meet an _old friend." _

Touya glowered. Both Touya and Syaoran were as obstinate as ever.

Touya looked over his shoulder. Yukito and Fujitaka were smiling at him. He averted back his gaze in front. _Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever related to him. Yukito looks more like him. _He thought.

Yinlan hooked her arm into Eriol's. Eriol brushed back Yinlan's bangs. It was a week and a half before the wedding. They looked like the happiest couple on Earth.

"Hiragizawa-kun..." Yinlan started. Eriol put a delicate finger to her soft lips. "Just call me Eriol." He said, taking her hand and kissing it.

Yinlan blushed. She jerked her hand away. "O-okay, Eriol-kun." She stammered. Eriol smiled whimsically.

All the time, the others were looking at them. Sakura began lecturing Syaoran about being romantic. Takashi started another one of his lies but Chiharu cut him off with a punch in the nose. Rika and Naoko were speechless. Touya just frowned and looked away. Yukito and Nakuru teased him and told him he was just jealous. Meilin remembered her liking for Syaoran. Tomoyo, well, Tomoyo was Tomoyo. The very moment she woke up the next day, she brought out her video camera and shot Sakura while she was sleeping. When Syaoran woke up, he saw Tomoyo and pushed her out the door saying it was not good to prowl on people. But when Tomoyo saw Yinlan and Eriol together, she stopped taping. Her desire to tape Sakura wasn't as strong as before. Tomoyo went as white as a sheet. She didn't feel good. But she wasn't going to leave her friends just because of that.

"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura glanced at her friend. 

Tomoyo broke out of her daydream and focused her attention on Sakura. "Yes?'

"Nothing."

"Sakura-chan!" Chiharu called out. The two were left behind.

"Coming!" 

_Picnic at the Park......_

"I'm so glad I suggested this picnic!" Yinlan exclaimed. She was spreading out the blanket . Sakura nodded. "It's been a while since we went out." She said.

"Hey! Let's play a game!" Meilin spoke, hands on her hips.

"Meilin! We're not kids anymore!" Syaoran snapped. He was carrying the picnic basket and he almost literally threw it at Meilin when he swung the basket.

"Watch out!"

"Sorry!"

"Well yeah, we aren't kids anymore but we can act like it once in a while."

"Meilin's right. This might be the last time we can act as kids!"

"Count me out!"

"Spoil sport!"

"Kaijuu can play. She'll never grow up anyway."

"Oniichan!"

"Ouch!"

The group debated on the issue until all of them agreed to play a game. Now, the problem was which game they'll play.

"What about hide and seek?"

"No way."

"Ah! The origin of all games. The cavemen used to play it..."

"Takashi!"

"Where'll we hide?"

"We can hide in the trees!"

"Touya-kun! When I'm 'it' I'll find you anywhere you go!"

"Akizuki get off me!"

"I'm a sprinter! No one will be able to catch me!"

"Idiot! Hide and seek is not a chasing game, well there is some running but it isn't...bla bla bla.!"

"Okay. Let's play!"

"Last one to get to that oak tree over there will be the 'it'!"

Everyone ran as fast they could to their destination. Tomoyo and Eriol didn't budge. They stood in place.

"Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun. Not coming?" Sakura asked when she saw them.

Tomoyo nodded. Her excuse was "I'm not feeling well. I want to rest."

Eriol's excuse was "I'm not good at playing hide and seek." Which was true because _Clow Reed _was much too busy to play games during his childhood.

They both gave Sakura their cunning smiles. Sakura left them. She caught up with a scowling Syaoran. When she was out of Tomoyo's sight, Tomoyo smiled inwardly. She wanted to tape her dear Sakura while she played hide and seek.

"Ah. Still the same I see." Eriol interrupted.

"You too. As sly as ever." 

"I heard you taped her while she was sleeping with her husband."

"I did."

"You never change, do you?"

"Yeah. Well, I noticed you've grown softer in that spot." Tomoyo said, touching his chest.

Eriol was surprised. But he didn't show it. "Yinlan's a sweet and charming lady."

The two people exchanged their verbal thoughts one after the other. Nobody could really outsmart the two except themselves. 

"So. How did you meet Yinlan-san?" Tomoyo inquired. She forgot about taping Sakura already. Tomoyo sat on one of the park benches near the picnic area.

Eriol answered. "She was being bullied by some street punks. I saved her." He pushed his glasses up his nose and sat beside Tomoyo.

"Quite the hero. Since when was that?"

"Last year. Yinlan kept on apologizing for involving me. She almost cried. Then, without warning, she fainted. I picked her up and brought her to my house. You should have seen the look on Ruby Moon's and Spinel's face. They went ballistic." Tomoyo laughed melodiously.

"Daidouji-san, I thought you still wanted to tape your best friend."

"I don't feel like it anymore, thanks to you."

"Was it that bad? Oh. I'm so sorry."

Tomoyo smiled her sweet smile. Her long hair flowed over her shoulder. 

"Hmm. Maybe you could be the camerawoman for my wedding." Eriol joked. Then he kind of looked sideways. He didn't want to remind her of the wedding.

Tomoyo noticed the gestures. "Why are you looking away?" She said, straight to the point. It was rare for her to be so frank and honest. She always had her subtle ways. But with Eriol around, she couldn't hide it. He was the same as her.

"Uh nothing." Eriol forcefully said. Tomoyo caught him off guard. 

Tomoyo laughed again. _He's embarrassed. **The **Eriol Hiragizawa I know never does that. _She thought.

Just then, someone surprised the two by sneaking up behind them.

"Hey, you two! Whatcha doin?" That someone said enthusiastically.

Eriol and Tomoyo spun around. 

"Naoko-chan!"

"Yanagisawa-san!" They both blurted out at the same time.

"Ssh! I'm hiding, you know!"

"How long have you been listening?"

"Just now. I heard you laughing. Why? Did I disturb you two?"

"No."

"Not at all."

_"_Hah! Oniichan couldn't find any of us!" Sakura mocked. They finished their _little _game as they returned to the picnic spot.

Touya glared. "Well, I should have been able to see kaijuu right away. But no. She can't stay put in one place. When she was a child, she used to run here and there. She broke five of our vases. Not to mention that glass photo frame on the counter." Touya's smugness has resurfaced once again. He also added. "Kaijuu must have broken a lot of porcelains in the Li's house."

"I'm not a kaijuu!" Sakura protested. She slammed her heel on Touya's foot. Touya howled in pain, resulting in a really peeved Touya.

"You know what?" Yinlan said. Everyone knew what was coming.

"....What?" The group said in unison.

"I'm tired." Yinlan finished. Everyone face faulted.

"THAT _IS_ THE REASON WHY WE CAME BACK TO THE PICNIC AREA!" Shouted a really really peeved Touya. It was loud enough to ring in your ear for a whole day.

"Oh."

By the time they finished packing up their stuff in the park, everyone was weary to the bones. Takashi was beaten up twice as much. Sakura and Syaoran were so red they looked like overripe tomatoes. And the amount of public display of affection was enough to make one sick in bed for a month. Surprisingly, Tomoyo didn't tape her beloved and precious Sakura. That was even more shocking to them.

"Tomoyo. How come you..." Sakura trailed off. She pointed at Tomoyo's video camera.

"The battery's low." Tomoyo lied. Sakura blinked. She didn't want to believe her excuse.

"Tomoyo-chan, why are you making too many excuses today?" Sakura asked. 

Tomoyo stopped in her tracks. "I'm telling the truth, Sakura." She quietly said. _You can do it, Tomoyo. You're good at concealing yourself._ Satisfied, Sakura helped the others fold the blanket (probably too big?). 

Tomoyo sighed. She was glad she got away with it. She didn't want to have to tell Sakura that she wasn't in the mood to videotape. Why? Probably because of their public display of affection? Tomoyo just didn't know why. Out of the corner of her eye, Tomoyo watched Eriol help out Yinlan. She was carrying heavy things. Eriol lent his hand and carried the stuff for her. Yinlan smiled her innocent smile. Eriol returned the smile. Tomoyo couldn't bare any longer. She took off without telling anyone. 

Yinlan saw her. Her cerulean eyes flickered. She smiled. This smile had malice in it.

"Have you seen Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked Rika when she came back. Rika shook her head. Sakura asked the next person. His reply was a shrug.

Syaoran came running to Sakura. He mouthed a 'no such luck' to her. Sakura mouthed a 'can't find her' to Syaoran.

All eleven of them met up in their usual spot. 

"Haven't found her yet." and "Didn't see her." were the usual answers. Tomoyo Daidouji had gone missing since lunch. Sakura noticed she was gone when they finished packing up. The Card Mistress was dead worried about her friend. Syaoran tried hard reassuring that Tomoyo was just fine and that she could take care of herself.

"But this is Hong Kong!" Sakura explained. "She'll get lost here!"

"Sakura-san, pls. calm down." Eriol said. He rest his hands on her shoulder. He was also trying hard to calm her down though he was very worried himself.

Sakura finally got tired. She collapsed on a park bench.

After accepting defeat by the time it was 4 pm. Half of the group went home already. Only Syaoran, Sakura, Meilin, Eriol and Yinlan were left standing in the park.

"Sakura. You better go home too." Syaoran told his wife. Sakura refused to.

Meilin paced back and forth. "I thought I saw her walk away." She said. 

"Which direction was she headed?" Sakura question right away.

"I don't know."

_Ring ring.... _( I don't know how to describe a cellular phone's sound, okay?) Syaoran's cellular phone rang. He got it out from his pocket, nearing the phone to his ear. "Yes?" He said. He listened for a few more seconds before saying 'bye' then he stuffed the cell phone back in his jeans pocket.

"I think we have to go back now." Syaoran spoke.

"What?!" Sakura cried.

"Calm down, Sakura...."

"How can I when my best friend's out there all alone! She...." Sakura panicked.

"....they found her."

"They found her?" Sakura mimicked. "Where?"

"She came home."

To Be Continued~~~~~~

There's nothing much in this chapter. I'm having so much a hard time from giving everybody a spotlight. I almost forgot giving dialogues to the other characters. Thank you for all those who reviewed. Pls. don't be disappointed in this chapter. I'm trying to think of something to make it exciting. And I'm still getting over my sugar rush from writing Yinlan's part. I don't know why. I just can't get over it. By the way, Yinlan's name comes from two colors: Gray and Blue. Such a plain name, isn't it? Anyway, I can't guarantee that the fic will turn out good because I lack writing skills. It's such a pain writing descriptions! Plus, I'm in a rush to finish it.


	4. Reality

Here

Here's chapter 4, guys. Hmm, the answer to your questions won't be in this chapter yet. So,pls. be patient. And oh, by the way. I based Yinlan's character on Mutsuki of Love Hina. Mutsuki's kind of.....dumb, clumsy and light-headed but on top of being dumb, she's kind and sweet. Yinlan is kind of like that. But she's much smarter than Mutsuki, okay! Anyway, enjoy!

And there's an S+S scene here. 

Chapter 4: Reality

"They found her?" Sakura repeated. "Where?"

"She came home."

~*~*~*~

Yinlan blinked. Her mind seemed to have been three seconds slow. "Excuse me, did you say she came home? As in came back to Japan?" She said, looking from Sakura to Eriol.

Sakura and Syaoran facefaulted. While Eriol just smiled. 

"Hoe!"

Syaoran glared at the black-haired lady. He puffed and shouted "NO, SHE DIDN'T! SHE WENT BACK TO THE HOUSE..." He bit his lip from adding the words "dimwit!" _Hmph. Stupid Hiragizawa. How can he marry such a dumb girl like her?! _

Syaoran stomped off and headed for the car, fuming. Sakura mumbled an apology to Yinlan then followed Syaoran. 

Yinlan just stood there, heartbroken (I'm so mean!!!). Her eyes welled up. She dropped to her knees, legs limp. "I-I......." Her voice trembled.

Eriol pulled her up gently. "C'mon, let's go home." He whispered as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked the dismayed Chinese woman to his car. 

~*~*~*~

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura cried happily as soon as she got out of the car. She ran up to Tomoyo and hugged her tightly like a friend she hasn't seen in years. "I got so worried! Why did you run off like that? How long have you been here? Why didn't you tell me that you were going away?" She asked two at a time.

Tomoyo chuckled. "Sakura-chan...."

Syaoran walked past them, a black cloud over his head. Meilin popped outside. She was about to greet Syaoran when she saw his expression. "Syaoran? Why the grave look?" She asked. "Did you fight with Sakura? Did she upset you or something? What? What?"

Syaoran's scowl worsened. He ignored Meilin and went in. He made long strides. Syaoran was in arrogant mode. 

Meilin pouted. She crossed her arms. "Who does he think he is? King of the Island?!......" Then she added "No, watch out for the....."  Syaoran bumped into a wall. "....wall....."

~*~*~*~

Eriol brought Yinlan to her hotel room (note: They haven't visited her family yet and I'm not putting them together in one room!). Yinlan wearily sat down on the couch. She didn't say a word ever since they left the park.

Eriol remained standing. His face, impassive but calm-looking. 

Yinlan sighed. She looked up at Eriol. "Eriol-kun........." She said, struggling to get the words out. ".....am I that.....dumb?" 

An expression of concern spread across Eriol's face. He walked towards Yinlan. Leaning forward, he placed an assuring hand on top of hers. "No, you're not dumb. You're just a very curious person, that's all. I actually find you a funny and sweet person."

Yinlan smiled. Her eyes weren't sad anymore. "Thank you Eriol-kun. Tomorrow, we'll visit my parents. I'm sure they'll be glad to meet....." She yawned, raising a hand to her mouth. "....you." Yinlan stretched herself on the couch, she mounted her head on the couch's arm. "I love you, Eriol-kun." She mumbled before she completely fell asleep. 

Eriol chuckled. He pat her head and bent lower to give her a peck on her forehead. Eriol took out a warm blanket from the closet and draped it on Yinlan's body. "Love you too." He quietly said before exiting the room.

~*~*~*~

Syaoran stirred. He was slowly coming back to his conscious. He opened his eyes to see dozens of faces grinning at him.

"Yo! You're finally awake!" Said one of the faces.

"Syaoran's finally back and in the house!" Chorused four ladies who all looked alike.

Another lady, one with auburn hair, bent over and hugged him so tightly he felt his bones crack. "Syaoran!" She called out his name.

Syaoran's face twisted into a look of confusion. "Wha~? Who's Syaoran?!" 

The group laughed like crazy people. They thought for a second Syaoran came back to his own self. But when he reacted and asked who Syaoran was, they started laughing.

Syaoran cocked an eyebrow. He had no idea what just happened. 

~*~*~*~

The phone rang. Eriol answered it. 

"Hello?" He said.

"Eriol? It's me, Kaho." The caller answered. The voice was of a (excuse the term) young woman.

Eriol didn't seemed surprised. "Kaho. Haven't heard from you in a while."

"I know. I got your hotel room number from Ruby Moon. How come _he_'s with you?"

"She's staying at the Li residence. How did you know _he's _not here?"

"I just know because it's Ruby Moon's nature to be answering phone calls like this one."

Eriol laughed for a while. Then he was back to serious.

Kaho began to talk again. "Eriol. I might be flying in on time for your....." Kaho paused. "....wedding."

"That's good. I'll be glad to have you here."

"How's Sakura-chan and the others?"

"They're fine. Li-kun and Sakura-chan are enjoying each other's company very well."

"I see......Eriol.....are you sure of this?"

"Sure of what?" Eriol asked.

"I know Yinlan's nice and sweet...but you've only met her for a short time."

"Yes I am. Yinlan's..." Eriol was cut off.

"She's a stranger, Eriol!" Kaho raised her tone of voice.

Eriol didn't say anything. He waited for Kaho to regain herself.

"I'm sorry." Kaho said. (it seems like Kaho's been dumped by Eriol!)

"That's okay."

"By the way, did you meet Daidouji?"

"..yes. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing in particular." Kaho said teasingly for no reason.

"Well, goodbye then."

"Goodbye, Eriol." 

Eriol hang up. Remembering Tomoyo, he picked up the phone again and dialed the Li's number.

~*~*~*~

Sakura was in the veranda. She was deep in thought as she stared up at the night sky. 

"Need company?" Syaoran asked from behind her. Sakura faced him and smiled. Then she went back to her thoughts.

Syaoran stood beside her. "What are you thinking? "He asked, pushing back a strand of her long hair with his left hand.

"I'm counting the stars......" Sakura said. She closed her eyes. "......and thinking of my past memories. I've always thought I was so lucky. First, I've been born into this world and have grown up in a happy family...." Sakura stopped.

Syaoran inched closer to Sakura. "Go on..." He whispered, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

"Well, I met lots of friends; Tomoyo-chan and minna. Some of them were my enemies at first...and one of them is you. You tried to take the Clow Cards by force!"

Syaoran laughed. "Is that so?"

"Uh-huh. But little by little, you began to help me. You helped me when Eriol-kun came. You comforted me when Yukito-san told me he couldn't return his feelings to me.....You told me that you love me." Sakura leaned her head on Syaoran's chest.

"Know what?" Syaoran said. 

Abruptly, she opened her emerald eyes and looked at her husband. "What?" Sakura asked.

"I heard mother talking to your father. They seemed to be enjoying. I don't know what is it with your family that gives you the ability to talk directly to my mother without faltering."

Sakura gave him a 'look'. Syaoran laughed uneasily. He continued. "Anyway, mother was talking to your father. She said that he was glad that I married such _beautiful, lovely and smart _lady who happens to be the card mistress too. Fujitaka-san smiled. He said the same thing about _me._"

"Oh. Did he say that you were _beautiful, lovely and smart_ too?" Sakura said teasingly. Then, dramatically she said "Oh, my dear Syaoran is _so _bishounen! All the girls would surely fall head over heels for him. He's _so _beautiful that every move he makes is _so _feminine too!"

Syaoran glared. He dropped his embrace on Sakura and frowned at her. Sakura smiled. Her eyes gleamed like a green gemstone, an emerald. She turned her back away from him. "Ne, Syaoran. It's been a year since that day. Tomorrow's our wedding anniversary." She said, denoting eagerness in her words.

"We can go out to have dinner if you like." Syaoran suggested. 

"No. I like to do something different."

"And what would that be?"

"Let's go to the amusement park!"

"The two of us?"

"No. With the rest of the gang!"

"What?! How can we have privacy then?"

"Well, we'll go to the amusement park first then go out to dinner."

"Sounds good. But you're not bringing the others with us anymore, right?"

Sakura stuck out her tongue. "I'm not saying anything."

"C'mon, tell me!" Syaoran forced. He was on the verge of kneeling down in front of Sakura.

Sakura pretended to think. "Um, let me see. If you want it to be only the two of us, you'll have to win me every stuffed toy I see in the shooting gallery in the amusement park. Then, every ride I choose, you'll have to come with me. And.... mphhfhfh"

Syaoran closed in on Sakura and kissed her on the lips. "Whatever you say, my princess." He said.

~*~*~*~

Tomoyo was resting on the bed when the phone began to rang. Tomoyo picked up the receiver and brought it to her ear. She quickly thought of what to say. "Li residence." She came up with it after organizing her thoughts.

A male voice spoke on the other line. "Daidouji-san? Is that you?"

Tomoyo recognized the voice. It was Eriol. "Hai."

"I didn't expect you to answer the phone. Sakura-chan gave me one of their phone numbers and I didn't know she gave me the number to the phone in your room."

"Really?" Tomoyo said, surprised. True, she too, wasn't expecting him to call or was it?

"How are you? I'm glad you got there safe." 

_He was worried about me?_ Tomoyo thought. "I'm fine. How's Yinlan-san?"

"She's asleep in her room."

Silence. None of them talked.

Tomoyo was about to say something. She hesitated. 

"Yes?" Eriol asked.

"Huh?"

"You were about to say something, right?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I'm Clow Reed remember?"

_That's right._ "Um....what will happen of Suppi and Ruby Moon when you get married?" She blurted out.

"They'll probably..." Eriol paused. "..I don't know."

"That's so strange of you to act like that, Eriol, I mean Hiragizawa-san."

"Yes, I know."

"I give back what I just said before. You _did _change."

"It's because of Yinlan." He answered.

Tomoyo almost choked. She was going to say "Take care of her, okay?" when instead, she said "What makes Yinlan so different anyway?"

"She......" Eriol was speechless. It was seldom that anyone could make him so speechless in just one conversation. 

"You're out of practice Hiragizawa-san" Tomoyo noted, her voice was cracking. "Pls. take care of her, okay? Good night. I hope you can sleep well tonight, Hiragizawa-san." With those last words, Tomoyo put down the phone receiver back to its place. She turned off the lamp on her bedside table and went to sleep. Her heart was heavy cause she didn't mean to say those words to Eriol. She regretted ever picking up the phone when she fully knew it was the person she was avoiding.

Tomoyo went to sleep thinking about Sakura and Syaoran. Nothing could ever tore those two apart. They were meant to be for each other.

To be continued~~~~

Okay, so this turned out short. I'm really sorry. Next chapter will be shorter! Just kidding. Thank you again for those who reviewed. Ack! I'm giving the good parts to Yinlan. I'm so bad! I'll make up for it. As I've said before, I'm not good with descriptions and sap. I'm just trying to do my best. And about chapter 2, I should have written Sakura Cards instead of Clow Cards.


	5. Wo Ai Ni: My Devotion to You

Okay

Okay. I have done so many things wrongly. Tomoyo's eyes aren't cyan. Sakura's cards are already supposed to be Sakura Cards. Pls. forgive me for all the errors in grammar and in information and for taking too long to put the next chapter up. Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 5: Wo Ai Ni: My Devotion to You

The sound of the TV was on maximum. A yellow stuffed-bear with a lion's tail and a pair of wings was sitting on the bed. It was focusing so intensely on the TV.

"...and now we shall add icing to the top layer of the cake....." The TV blared. On the screen was a lady wearing an apron. She was applying some white and pink frosting on the three layer cake she was making. 

The supposedly inanimate thing drooled at the sight of the cake. It didn't take its dotted eyes off the cake even for one second. Its small tail switched from side to side. Bliss was the word to describe the stuffed-toy.

"Cake!" It cooed. Okay, it wasn't an 'it' anymore. The thing could move and talk like a human. It drooled just because it wanted to eat cake. It was a 'he', alive and kicking but not exactly a human or an animal.

The door opened. Sakura came in. In her hands, she was cradling another stuffed-toy. This one was black and looked like a cat. In fact, its eyes did look like a cat's. 

Sakura plopped down on the immense bed. She laughed at the day-dreaming yellow bear. "Kero-chan, you never change!"

Kero's eyes grew bigger. It flew over to Sakura. "Oh yes I did! I've become greater-looking!" It bragged, putting a paw on his chin.

Sakura tossed her head, laughing. The black stuffed-toy sitting on Sakura's lap snorted. "Baka." He simply said, uninterested. His droopy eyes were as droopy as ever.

Kero glared at the black thing, or rather, he lifted one of his eyebrows which were two line to show he was mad . "Hah! You're just jealous cause, I, the great Kerberos, Guardian Beast of the Clow Book, Protector of the Unprotected, Master of disguise, not to mention cute, am the greatest of all! Ohohohohohohoho!" Kero guffawed.

Kero's laugh was interrupted. Suppi gave his most indifferent look and said "Baka." 

"Why you...!" Kero raised a paw and created a fireball. He was going to burn Suppi. Suppi just yawned and nestled himself upon Sakura's lap. Sakura pat the guardian's head. Kero fumed. It was because of three things. One, Suppi got the best of him. Two, he was getting comfy with his mistress. Three, he wanted the cake he saw on TV.

Kero took a deep breath even though he obviously didn't have a nose. He tried to calm down. Kero made an Indian sit beside Sakura.

"Ne, Kero-chan. Spinel Sun might be living with us from now on." Sakura said quietly, stroking Suppi's head.

Kero glanced at black cat-like thing sleeping on Sakura's lap. "You're right. If that reincarnation of Clow Reed gets married to that chinese girl, Ruby Moon and Suppi will be doomed." 

_Somehow, I have a feeling this wedding won't turn out well. _Sakura thought. She looked far off and tried to set her hunches right.

~*~*~*~

Eriol got off his side of the car. He made his way to the other side and opened it for Yinlan, holding out a hand to her. Yinlan colored and smiled fondly. She stepped out of the car as gracefully as ever.

Together, they walked toward the large house that loomed before them. The house was somewhat old. Paint was chipping off and there was no sign of life around. The trees and plants were dead. They looked like they weren't watered for years. 

As the couple came nearer to the gate of the aging house, Yinlan glanced at Eriol, peering at his face. Searching for any reaction. But he was still the same calm and reserved Eriol. Eriol, noticing his fiancée looking at him, squeezed her hand. 

"What if papa and mama don't like you? " She said, her voice quivering. 

Eriol looked her in the eye. It wasn't Eriol searching her eyes. It was Yinlan searching his eyes. Eriol smiled, breaking the silence and reassuring Yinlan everything was alright.

After the silent moment, Eriol pushed open the gate and they proceeded to walk the remainder of the house.

~*~*~*~

"Papa, mama. I want you two to meet my fiancé, Eriol Hiragizawa." Yinlan said. She and Eriol stepped into what seemed to be the study. It was dark inside but they could make out the bookshelves and the work desk in the middle of the room. A fireplace was to the far end. 

There was no answer. Yinlan's voice was only carried throughout the room, echoing.

All of a sudden, the fireplace lit up. The fire blazed and crackled. Yinlan jumped back and bumped into Eriol. Eriol placed his hands on her shoulder. 

"Yinlan! You're back!" Cried a clear voice. 

Yinlan's eyes darted to the direction where the voice came from. A figure of a man stepped out of the darkness. 

"Papa!" Yinlan cried. She jumped into his arms and hugged the man tightly.

Yinlan's father, a middle-aged balding man, did the same. He hugged her back. Then, as Yinlan pulled away from him, he saw a tall guy of good-build stand before him. He had black hair and had serious but warm sapphire eyes. Even with his glasses, Yinlan's father thought him handsome.

Yinlan walked over to Eriol's side. "Papa, this is Eriol Hiragizawa, my fiancé. Eriol, this is my papa, Xie Fa Ying." 

"Pleased to meet you Xie-san." Eriol said, shaking hands with the older guy.

"Likewise." Yinlan's father replied to Eriol. Then, turning to Yinlan who was looking expectantly at him, he said, "My my. My Yinlan's already grown up and getting married. You must be feeling very lucky."

"No. It is the opposite. I'm the one who feels lucky cause I get to marry such a lovely and charming lady." Eriol said, gesturing to Yinlan. Yinlan blushed and poked Eriol's side.

As the trio chatted in the study, the door opened. A beautiful lady appeared. She looked just the same as Yinlan, except she had sandy-brown hair, sharper cerulean eyes and looked years olders than Yinlan. Her bangles dangled as she walked briskly towards Yinlan.

"Yinlan. You're finally home." She spoke in a cold manner. She saw Eriol and gave Yinlan an anticipating look. "And who is he?"

"My fiancé." Yinlan simply said.

"You're getting married? Well I'm glad for you, my dear daughter. Dear, pray, tell what his name is." 

"Eriol Hiragizawa. He's from England."

"An english name indeed." Yinlan's mother said. She circled Eriol, studying him. Her alert and sharp cerulean eyes bore into Eriol's own sapphire eyes. No one dared to talk. "He will do." She stated.

~*~*~*~

"I'm sorry I disappointed you, Eriol." Yinlan murmured in the car. She was looking away from Eriol and was staring out the window of her side.

"No, you didn't. I find your parents rather interesting. I'm glad I met your parents." Eriol said, not looking at her as he drove.

"Good. I was afraid you'd hate them. Usually, dad likes any person he meets. While mom, she's hard to please. But I was surprised she liked you."

"Is that so?"

"Uh-huh.......Eriol?"

"Yes?"

"Wo ai ni. Do you know what it means?"

"No."

"It means "I Love You". I just wanted to say I love you. Wo ai ni, Eriol!" Yinlan smiled.

"Aishiteru, Yinlan."

Yinlan looked curiously at Eriol. "What does that mean?"

"I picked it up from Japan. It means "I Love You" too."

Yinlan hid a smile. _He'll never leave me. Never ever. He loves me a lot and he won't leave me. Not if I can help it... _

~*~*~*~

Tomoyo was still in bed. She hadn't gotten up yet from the time she woke up until now. Her pillow was wet with tears. She had been crying ever since before she went to bed. But Tomoyo didn't know why she was crying. But it hurt her so much the tears just came. Tomoyo kept thinking of the same thing over and over again. She kept on asking herself the same question. _Why? Why does it hurt so much? It's hurting me so much. I feel like I'm being torn apart._

There was a slight knocking on Tomoyo's door. The knocking grew louder. "Tomoyo?" Said a voice on the other side of the door.

_Sakura. Why do you have to have everything? Why are you so lucky, always? If it weren't for me you'd be without the person you now love so much!_

_"_Tomoyo? Pls. open the door."

_Have my feelings for Sakura changed? Has she changed at all? Is she still the same gullible girl I always tease so much? Does being a Sakura Card Mistress make her aware of her responsibilities at all?_

_"_Pls. Tomoyo. I beg of you. Is there anything wrong, Tomoyo? Pls. tell me."

_Yes. She has changed. Sakura now has that sense of maturity. She's now only half as gullible as she was before. She has learned to love. But what about me?_

_"_Tomoyo-chan?"

_I'm still the same. A crazy love-struck fool. I can't take it any longer._

_"_Tomoyo, if you don't open the door, I'll have to get the keys to your room and open it up by force. I'll be right back." Sakura dropped her hold on the doorknob and hesitating, she waited for a while. She began to walk away when she heard the door open. Sakura turned to see a very frazzled Tomoyo. Her hair was unruly. Her eyes weren't as bright as before, her feet-barefoot and she was wearing her night gown, still.

Sakura's mouth fell open. "Tomoyo-chan? Is that you?"

Tomoyo's face showed nothing. Sakura attended to her friend. Holding Tomoyo by her arm, she dragged her back to her room. Sakura closed the door behind her and facing Tomoyo, she took a deep breathe.

"What happened to you? It's unlike you!" Sakura's voice trembled.

"I'm sorry. I just woke up a few minutes ago." Tomoyo said. Every word was delivered and said like it was normal.

"I don't believe you. You're not like that."

"Why do you care so much for me?!" Tomoyo shouted, full of anger. "I can take care of myself!"

"Cause I've seen you act like that a year ago!" Sakura shot back. "I'm just repaying the things you have done for me!"

"I DON'T CARE IF YOU DO REPAY THEM! IT'LL NEVER BE THE SAME!"

Sakura's face fell. She fought every urge to just bury herself in one corner and cry. "Tomoyo, when I realized you helped me a lot, I wanted to do the same. But, I can be of no use now. You rejected my offering a hand to you. It's just like spurning me." Sakura's voice became more and more soft and gentle.

Tomoyo weakened. She collapsed on the carpeted floor. "P-please. I n-need to thi-think" Tomoyo whispered, her voice cracked.

Sakura nodded. She left Tomoyo alone in her room.

~*~*~*~

"I don't think it's a good idea to leave Tomoyo alone here while all of us are having fun out there." Sakura said as she combed her long auburn hair in front of her dresser.

"Why is that?" Syaoran asked. He was practicing with his sword.

"This morning, around 10:30, I came to her room. She wouldn't open it. When she did, she looked so untidy. She was still wearing her night gown. I dragged her to her room and talked to her. She started yelling at me. I yelled back and......"

"And what?" Syaoran dropped his sword and went by his wife's side.

"I told her what I wanted to tell her since the last few months."

"That's good. I think she just needs time to think. She'll cool off after dinner."

"So we're not going out anymore?" Sakura asked, looking up at Syaoran.

"We can do it anytime right?"

"Of course. Thank you for understanding me."

"I've known you for long time, you know." Syaoran smirked. Sakura could see him by looking at the mirror.

Sakura smiled. She got up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Would you care for a massage?"

"No way! It's too dangerous!"

Sakura glared. She fingered her deck of Sakura cards lying on the dresser and flashed a card in front of Syaoran. Syaoran took the hint and laughed uneasily.

~*~*~*~

_"No! Leave me alone! I don't want any of your help! I want my mother!" Cried a little girl. She was covered in soot and was screaming and yelling that she didn't need anyone. "You will pay for killing my family! I'll succeed in taking my revenge on you. It shall be repeated on and on up to a new generation. I won't stop not until I've sought revenge,........."_

Tomoyo woke up from her dream. She bolted up on her bed, panting. It was raining hard. The rain pitter-pattered against the window. It woke Tomoyo up. "What a weird dream."

Tomoyo peeled off her thick layer of blankets. She stood on her feet. Shoving her feet into her slippers, she went out of the room to get a drink.

~*~*~*~

Tomoyo took several attempts to find the right place- the Kitchen. She wanted to get a drink quick because her throat was already drying up from thirst. She stumbled upon things here and there. Luckily, she didn't break anything.

Finally, she found her way to the kitchen. The kitchen was quite big. Tomoyo's new feat was to find the right refrigerator. But, Tomoyo was used to it. Her house also had a kitchen half as big as the Li's.

"Up so late?" Said a voice from behind her. Tomoyo knew all too well who it was.

Regaining her composure, she straightened up from her crouching position. "Hiragizawa-san. It's a surprise to you here." Tomoyo felt strange when she said that. Her words didn't seem to agree with her heart. Her heart was telling her to get away from him.

"Well. We were invited to dinner here and you weren't with us. Sakura said you were resting in your room. So, you didn't know about our arrival."

"Then, why are you still here?" Tomoyo asked without thinking. She suddenly remembered their conversation on the phone and regretted seeing him now.

"It started raining hard. We were forced to stay the night here."

The two didn't say anything. If they were to speak up, it would be covered up by the drip-dripping of the strong rain. 

"I heard you were in a bad condition."

Tomoyo laughed. But it lacked enthusiasm.

"Tell me. Why are you taking it in so much?"

"Taking in what so much?" Tomoyo frowned. She knew right away Eriol would bring that topic up.

"Our conversation last night."

Tomoyo paled. She won't be able to get out of this situation now.

to be continued~~~~

Yeah yeah. I know it seems boring. But, I need inspiration first. It'll take me awhile to cook up a brainstorm. So, ciao for now. Tell me if it's getting worse or better. And oh yeah, from the way I'm writing the story now, I think I've taken in too much Pride and Prejudice. I've been reading it a lot lately. I'm really sorry for writing such a bad chapter. I need some sleep now. I'll either rewrite it if it's bad or I can just do better in the next chapter. Pls. tell me.


	6. Feeling Herself

Okay

Okay, this is it guys. May I present to you, CHAPTER 7! Sorry it took so long. Thanks to everyone who just reviewed this fanfic. I really appreciate it. Okay, I have a proposition for you readers out there. If I get more reviews, I might get the next chapter out faster than you can even blink. So, deal?

P.S: If there were anything that confused you, this will half-answer your questions-

1. I've observed both Eriol's and Tomoyo's eyes. I think they're both sapphire, so I'll describe both their eyes as sapphire. Yinlan's too. But her eyes are bright and brilliant. Tomoyo and Eriol's eyes are kind of darker and they're deep blue.

2. Yeah yeah, I know Yinlan's been doing lots of leering, staring, glancing and (ehem) evil-smiling. But it's part of the story. You'll understand more as we progress, my fellow readers.

3. Fujitaka's coming simply because Eriol has offered him to get a chance to see his family.

4. The dream sequences that'll take place somewhere in the upcoming chapters will be very jumbled up. 

5. I'm making a big deal out of the S+S point because I'm bearing with the fact that I've created a monster who'll destroy Eriol's life! Really, I can't bear writing Yinlan and Eriol's lovey-dovey parts.

6. In one of my chapters, I wrote that Tomoyo had cyan eyes. Well, they're not.

Chapter 7: Feeling Herself 

Tomoyo's already white face paled in the dark. She weakened and clutched hard the glass of water she was holding. She started to back away but she bumped into the kitchen counter. "I.....what are you talking about?" She yelped. Her eyes were twice as wide. While, Eriol, he was the opposite of Tomoyo. His face was straight and his lips, a tight line. "You know what I'm talking about." His eyes seem to say.

Gathering courage, Tomoyo took a deep breath. "I didn't mean it, really. I'm sorry....."She said in the most stable way she can. "I guess I wasn't myself." Tomoyo laughed nervously. Her high-pitched, melodious laugh echoed throughout the spacious kitchen.

Eriol still froze in his spot, staring at the delicate woman across from him. It was hard to figure him out. Nothing in the world could know what he was thinking. Nothing. Not unless he says it himself. 

Tomoyo was the same too. At times, she would laugh alone and people would look dumbly at her. Whatever was lingering in that mind of hers was difficult to tell. When Tomoyo had something to say, she would usually make strange remarks, which were not understandable. 

Crazy as it sounds; only persons like Tomoyo and Eriol can understand each other. The way they communicate was proof of it. 

By just staring at Eriol's eyes, Tomoyo already knew what he meant. But, right this moment, Tomoyo's _psychic_ power were failing. Eriol's heart was like as hard as rock, hard as a rock and dead serious. Tomoyo could tell that, even though his expression was gentle.

It was a staring contest. A hawk eyeing a........dove, maybe. They didn't move until someone came into the kitchen and turned on the kitchen lights. A half-asleep Yinlan appeared by the door.

"Eriol, why are you here?" She asked, not noticing the other person with him. Then, her gaze averted and her eyes found a surprised Tomoyo. Yinlan made a slight frown, that slowly turned into a wide smile. The smile wasn't exactly warm, according to Tomoyo's woman's intuition. 

"Why, hello To-mo-yo-san." She phrased. Tomoyo acknowledged by half-bowing and half-mumbling "Good evening" to the Chinese lady. Yinlan didn't say anything again until she got her drink from the fridge. 

"So, what were you two doing?" She said through her drink. She put down her juice and looked from Eriol to Tomoyo.

"Nothing." Tomoyo answered. Eriol looked far-off someplace.

"Eriol, what were you two doing?" Yinlan raised her voice, ignoring Tomoyo. She peered at Eriol with beady eyes, as if expecting something.

Eriol focused his attention on her. "It's like what Daidouji-san said...nothing. Nothing at all. We were just chatting, if that's what you want to know."

Yinlan's wrinkle furrowed. She strode cursorily to his side and gripped his arm. "Are you mad at me? Pls. don't get mad. Sorry for being so snoopy." She burrowed her head into Eriol's arm.

Eriol smiled. "No, I'm not mad at all." 

"Really?" Yinlan's eyes lit and she looked up at the man.

"Really." Eriol said firmly as he stroke Yinlan's shiny, black hair and looked down adoringly at her. Through the hole between Eriol's arm and Yinlan's sea of hair, Tomoyo saw Yinlan's small face. She saw it. Tomoyo saw Yinlan leer at her. It was the same look she had been giving Tomoyo since they met.

~*~*~*~*~

Recalling last night's events was the first thing that came back to Tomoyo's mind the moment she woke up the next morning. She remembered it clearly.

_Tomoyo didn't stay long. She quickly said "good night" to the two and left them alone. When she was out of their sight, she made a turn and went outside the Lis' garden. _

_So many things were bothering her. First, she wasn't sure whether to be happy or angry for Sakura anymore. Second, she didn't know if Eriol would ever talk to her again after what just happened. Third, she was confused. Why did Yinlan look at her like that? Was she a threat? What had she done? Tomoyo didn't know anymore or any less. _

_The night breeze didn't help her at all. She may feel cool, alright. But, inside, her head was far from clear. Sleep wasn't useful either. She tossed and turned in her bed. Never had she experienced so many problems all at once. The old Tomoyo didn't think of her problems all at the same time. _

Now, she had a bad headache. But Tomoyo decided not to stay in bed to waste the whole day. Her goal today was to chase away her troubles and forget about them. Or better yet, solve them right away. 

A knock on the door interrupted Tomoyo's thoughts, but it was fine with her. She half-expected Sakura to be standing behind that door. Her decision was to apologize to her dear friend that very instant, _if_ it _was_ her.

".......Hiragizawa-san." Tomoyo murmured. She grew still, unable to move. She didn't know how to act as she saw Eriol standing in front of her when she opened the door.

"Good morning, Daidouji-san." Said Eriol. He bowed politely.

"C-come in."

"No thanks. I just came to tell you that Yinlan and I are leaving now."

"Oh."

Eriol saw this sign of disappointment and added "But we'll be seeing each other again later."

"How so?" Tomoyo asked, still a little afraid to speak up. She took this time to study Eriol's facial expression. 

"Sakura and her friends including you are going to the amusement park this afternoon."

"Hmm." Tomoyo replied. She was still studying Eriol. His eyes were...........confused? No. Not confused. It was more like his sapphire eyes didn't know where to fix its stare. _What are his eyes searching for?_ _He looks okay....but his eyes aren't._

"So, see you later." Tomoyo heard Eriol's indistinct voice. Tomoyo just nodded, she went back to her room and unknowingly closed the door. Tomoyo let out a sigh of relief. Eriol had just talked to her! 

"But what was wrong with him?" Tomoyo wondered aloud. She sat down and was deep in her thoughts. She twined and untwined locks of her hair.

"Why do I think so much about him?" Tomoyo asked herself, twining another lock of lavender hair. "When did this thing start anyway?" She asked again, this time untwining the same lock of hair. "Since, he made contact with us again after all these years maybe?" _...twine...._ "Why do I feel so at ease with him?" _...untwine..._ "Well, because he's funny, witty and......" _...twine..._ "...and because he's like me?" _...untwine..._ "Why do I get mad at him at times?" ...twine... "Is it because I'm jealous?" _...untwine....... "_Because of Yinlan?" _...twine...knock knock knock....._

Tomoyo gasped. She was surprised when she heard someone knocking again on the door. Tomoyo got up and opened the door slightly ajar.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Called out a familiar voice. At hearing this, Tomoyo immediately pulled the door open all the way and seeing the very familiar face of her friend, hugged Sakura tightly. "Sakura-chan! I missed you!"

"To-mo-yo, I-can't-breathe!" Sakura groaned in a strained voice. Tomoyo was hugging her so tightly, she couldn't pull away from her. But she was also glad she couldn't pull away. She missed her best friend too. Tomoyo seemed to be back to her old self. "I'm so sorry for yelling at you yesterday. I wasn't myself. I'm so glad you came to my room. I really wanted to apologize right away to you the moment I woke up." Tomoyo said in between sobs. 

"T-to-m-mo-yooo......pls. don't cry!" Sakura croaked. She was having the hardest time in her life right now. Sakura couldn't breathe! 

"I know. It's just that...I was childish."

"Noooooo.......y-you'rree n-no-nooott!" 

"Sakura, I hope you'll have a happy life."

"Th-thanks. T-tom-to-mo-yooo, I ha-have a-aa sm-small fa-fa-favor t-to a-assskkk..."

"What is it, Sakura? I'll do anything for you!"

Sakura, feeling sick, was struggling to get any whiff of air. "W-wwiilll y-ya ple-please le-let mmm-mee ggg-gooo?"

Tomoyo realized what she was doing and released her hold on Sakura. "Oh, I'm really sorry Sakura." Tomoyo, then, laughed like crazy. Sakura joined in. They both laughed continuously until Syaoran came pounding on the door.

"What's going on here?" Syaoran inquired as he popped his head out of the door.

"Nothing." They both said and they made their way out of the room. While Syaoran was left behind. He just shrugged to himself, muttering "Women...you can't understand one, you can't understand the rest."

~*~*~*~

"Ooh, I'm so excited! We get to go to the amusement park after all!" Chiharu exclaimed.

Takashi looked at her. One of his eyes sort of popped open. "The only other time you said that line was when you were going to your first day in prep school!" He remarked.

Chiharu glared at Takashi. She pulled a mallet out of thin air and was about to ram it on Takashi's head when luckily, their group was calling over to them from a distance. "Coming!" Chiharu and Takashi caught up with them. 

"Look over there, you guys!" Sakura pointed at two blurs waving at them from a ticket booth. "It's Eriol-kun and Yinlan-chan!" Sakura informed their group of 7. The older people didn't come with them. Those _older_ people included Touya, Nakuru, the Li sisters and Yukito. Syaoran was glad when he found that out. But Touya wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of leaving Syaoran with his kaijuu. 

"Hah. A perfect match. Kaijuu and gaki, sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g!..." Touya sang just before they left the mansion. Justice did him good. Sakura gave him the ol' heel-slammin'. She still felt it inappropriate for people to be teasing her like that. She_ was _a married woman after all.

"Sakura-chan, Li-san, minna-san!" Yinlan yelled to them. She ran over to the group and ardently welcomed them with open arms. "Sakura-chan! I'm getting the hang of this amusement park. C'mon, I'll show you some of the rides I've been to! I bet you'll even ride some with me. Eriol-kun here, doesn't even want to come with me to any ride." 

"I really don't go on these rides, Yinlan. Sorry." Eriol reasoned. 

"Oh well. Someday, I'll have to force you to, then."

"You do that if you can."

Yinlan giggled. "That's what I like about your attitude. You're so ingenious!" 

Sakura and Yinlan began walking together. They were chatting in their own world now. Chiharu and Takashi both went to play in the game booths. Naoko and Rika got interested in one of rides and made their way to that ride without a moment's hesitation. Everyone were in pairs except for Tomoyo, Eriol, Meilin and Syaoran. The four followed behind Yinlan and Sakura. They were looking at a yellow-winged bear that came right out of Sakura's purse. It was sulking and scowling. Syaoran and Meilin stuck their tongues out at Kero. Kero did the same. He put out a paw and formed round ball of fire. Syaoran reached into his pocket and waved an ofuda mockingly at the small thing they call "guardian". Sakura and Yinlan didn't notice this "little argumentation" and were busy trying to think of things to say to each other, even though Sakura's purse was jingling up and down an awful lot. 

Kero was shooting a few fireballs at Syaoran. Syaoran just dodged them and he used his sword and ofudas to kill the bear off. "Kozo can't catch me, nyah nyah!" Kero sang in a whisper in his Osaka dialect loud enough to be heard by a fuming Syaoran. Syaoran gritted his teeth and hissed "You're nothing but a yellow stuffed-animal who can't do anything right!" The result was pissed-off bear cracking his um uh...knuckle paws? Kero clambered out of the purse and was going to transform. He didn't care if people saw him right now and right there....

"Baka." Said a voice coming from inside the purse. Kero fluttered over to the bag and looked through the mouth of the purse. Two big droopy eyes stared back. "Baka." The pair of eyes said again. 

"Suppi!" Thundered Kero. The loud noise attracted lots of attention. People stared at Sakura's group. Everyone had their own reactions. Yinlan was awestruck. Sakura was glaring at her purse. Syaoran was smirking. Meilin was doing the same thing as Syaoran. Eriol and Tomoyo were, well, they were quiet. Maybe they were amused.

~*~*~*~

"I can't believe you two would cause such a mess!" Snapped a very angry and enraged Sakura. She looked disapprovingly at Kero and Syaoran. Kero was whistling and Syaoran was looking down. "Kero, people could've seen you! You should be more careful!" She clucked her tongue and buried her head in her hands. After a while, she went back to scolding the two. "And you, Li Syaoran! Shame on you for starting that fight!"

"It was fine 'til that stuffed-toy shriek like a girl when it saw the other black stuffed-toy!" Syaoran objected. 

Kero mouth dropped. "Excuse me? 'It'? 'Shriek like a girl?' I wasn't shrieking like a girl! I'm not even human! And I'm not an it!" Kero crossed his paws and sat crossed-legged in the air. Syaoran, likewise. Except, he wasn't floating in the air.

Sakura wasn't in any better condition, she threw up her hands in frustration. A finger tapped her shoulder. "Um, Sakura-chan. Are you fine?" 

"Never better. " Sakura said sarcastically . "Let's go eat Yinlan. I'm gonna leave these two alone."

"Two? Who's the other guy?"

"Uh, my mistake. I was just referring to Syaoran himself."

"Oh okay." Yinlan placed her arm across Sakura's shoulder and they went to the coffee shop. Syaoran didn't like the way Yinlan was getting too chummy with Sakura.

"Oh, you're just jealous. She's focusing on somebody else and not you, am I right?" Kero said from behind him. 

Syaoran scratched his head. "I guess so." He replied.

"I feel that too sometimes." 

Syaoran raised an eyebrow.

"In my situation with Clow Reed and Yue."

"Are you _gay_?" Syaoran asked in the most straightforward way.

Kero was taken aback. How can stuffed-toys be gay? "No, I'm not!" 

The debate went on. Neither of the two won at all because Sakura came back after a minute of leaving them. Syaoran begged from head to foot that Sakura forgive her. Sakura just tossed her head up high and 'humph' all the time. But she finally melted when Syaoran made a side trip to the nearest game booth to win Sakura a big rabbit.

"Like it?" Was the first words Syaoran blurted out when he burst into the warmly lit shop called the "Nine 0' Clock Coffee Shop". 

"Syaoran, how nice of you to do all of that just for me." Sakura said smilingly as Syaoran sat next to the others in the medium-sized coffee shop. She took the toy and made it sit on a high stool beside her.

The coffee shop wasn't a coffee shop at all. It not only served tea, coffee and cake, it also served breakfast, lunch and dinner. And it looked like Kero wanted to try the whole menu. He drooled over the menu and Sakura had to exchange two wet menus again and again. The same waiter who brought them the menu didn't seem too good by the time they had exchanged for the fifth time. 

"It's our pet, you see. It likes to drool a lot." Sakura grinned from ear to ear at the waiter wearing a light pink collar-shirt with "The Nine 0' Clock Coffee Shop" printed on it in bright red letters. The waiter just dismissed his ridiculous ideas and served the food without asking any further about the "drooling pet".

Everyone enjoyed their meal at the long counter. Kero and Suppi, of course, had to wait. Kero's head, mainly, was swimming with thoughts of delicious food. He was thinking of apple pies, custard cream cakes, cotton candies, Hershey's chocolates, shaved ice etc. He didn't care anymore if Suppi called him an idiot, imbecile, stupid toy and more.

Yinlan wondered about the drooling animal. She asked Sakura where it was. Sakura had to make lots of excuses. But fortunately, Eriol was there to cover it up. Yinlan soon lost interest about it. She turned to the other person next to her. "Tomoyo-san, how's your food?" 

"It's good." Tomoyo answered as she forked her baked macaroni. She was careful not to have eye contact with her, because, from what she knew, Yinlan was holding some grudge on her. _But she was friendly enough when we met earlier. She talks to me every once in a while. That's normal. _Tomoyo brought the fork with the macaroni to her mouth.

"Mine's good too." Yinlan took a slurp of her spaghetti and wiped her mouth. She peered at Tomoyo closely. Tomoyo tried not to notice her. But she gave in.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" 

"You have dirt on your cheek." Yinlan simply stated, grinning. Her cerulean eyes were laughing.

"Oh, is that so?" Tomoyo pulled out a piece of tissue from the napkin holder and her hand almost reached up her face to wipe off the dirt when Yinlan did it herself. She whisked it away with a finger that brushed her cheek so gently. Tomoyo's heart jumped. She was startled. "Thanks." Tomoyo half-heartedly said.

"Hey, no sweat." Yinlan turned away to talk to Eriol. Tomoyo fingered the spot that Yinlan touched. Somehow, her touch felt cold. It was icy cold. She glanced at Yinlan. For a moment, her eyes were icy blue. then, they were back to the same clear, blue color it had.

~*~*~*~

The amusement park satisfied everyone. Chiharu and Takashi had gone through almost all of the prizes in the game booth except for one small stuffed-toy that looked a lot like a Kero imitation. Chiharu really wanted it.

Meilin went all the way, dragging her cousin all over the place. She made try him all the rides. Mostly, they were those daring rides that he didn't have the guts to go on to. One of them was the "Loop-the-Loop", a thirty-foot long rollercoaster with deadly loops, twists and turns. Unluckily for Syaoran, he _hated_ rollercoasters. And so far, he thought the "Loop-the-Loop" was the worst of them all. As soon as his feet reached solid ground, those feet ran quickly for the Comfort Room.

Kero amused himself with tons of candies. He also got the impression of shoving candy into Suppi's mouth too. It didn't turn out well. The picture was a disaster. Kero was chasing a little, black panther on a sugar rush. That panther was eating every merchandise in every food stand.

Sakura was spending her time with Yinlan. They were talking endlessly about everything. It was like they were twins. Tomoyo was almost heartbroken when she saw the two get along so well. But she just held it in and tried to act as calm as possible. 

Having Eriol for company wasn't much good either. They walked side by side. He wasn't talking to her and she was glad it was that way. They just ambled along the stands and made comments that people would usually "ooh and aah" in. 

"Yinlan-san is somewhat like Sakura-chan in a way, isn't she?" Tomoyo asked, observing Yinlan and talking for the first time in thirty minutes.

Eriol had a shadow of doubt and took the time before he answered. "In a way, yes. But they're still two very different individuals. Yinlan is slow to catch on sometimes. Sakura is ignorant. They're the same in that aspect. But Yinlan is full of uncertainty. She doesn't know whether to do this or to do that. While Sakura-chan may be unsure. But once she sets her heart out on something, she'll do what it takes to fight for it. I've seen her act like that years ago."

"Still full of wisdom and wise words eh? I thought you've changed."

"Yes I'm still Clow Reed's reincarnation. But I'm also Eriol Hiragizawa."

"I do believe you're missing my point."

"What point is that?"

"Well, first, I don't know you that well anymore. I can't tell what you're thinking any longer. The way you acted last night was different from the way you acted this morning. Put aside the fact that you're acting different now. It's as if there's three or four of you."

Eriol chuckled. "So you're saying Clow Reed has a split personality?"

"Uh..." Realizing what she just said, Tomoyo felt herself laughing uncontrollably as she put a hand over her mouth. Eriol 

struggled to hold back his laugh.

Tomoyo finally got out her talking voice after five minutes of laughter. "Okay. So I'm making such a big fuss about this stuff." She said, looking at Eriol. Eriol complied by looking back at her.

Tomoyo eyes grew wide. She looked hard into Eriol's eyes. His eyes were kind of watery. Pools of blue drowned in his eyes. He's being regretful? Why are his eyes always out of place? He doesn't look like on the verge of crying. Nah. Men don't cry so easily like that.

Eriol's countenance was just as normal as any ordinary person at that time. But when you reach the point of staring him in the eye. They weren't right anymore. His eyes didn't look sad at first glance. But if you took a little closer look, his eyes were crying inside. It was the only thing to describe it. The tears didn't gush out, they were trapped in the very inside of his eyes. They weren't overflowing, they were just there.

Tomoyo couldn't believe her equally blue eyes. "Hiragizawa-san, your eyes..." She cried.

"Why? What's wrong with them?" Eriol went about as if nothing was happening. He continued walking until Tomoyo was already far behind.

Tomoyo, befuddled, didn't know what to make out of her situation. She was rooted to the ground. "Why?" was the only thing she could utter when her throat went dry.

to be continued......

So, how was it? The only way I can do better is for my reviews to go up......nah! Just kidding. But it'll sure be nice if you people **did** review it.


	7. Under Her Spell

Chapter 7 and still running

Chapter 7 and still running. Thanks to all of those who reviewed. 

p.s: May the souls of those in the you-know-what tragedy rest in peace.

Chapter 7:Under her Spell

Touya was standing outdoors, arms crossed. He was waiting for the latecomers to arrive home. "Come on, Sakura. Where are you?" A shadow moved behind him and he acknowledged the person who came to him. "Yuki," Touya said softly.

Yukito gave him a knowing look. "Touya, don't worry. They'll be back sooner than you expect." 

Touya didn't answer. Then, he opened his mouth to speak. "I don't trust that gaki until now. But I have no choice because Sakura trusts her and I'm now RELATED to the guy. It's not like I've been deprived of the right to be the one to protect her. It's his obligation to watch over kaijuu now."

Yukito listened to him quietly and smiled. "If you say so, oniichan," He teased before leaving Touya alone again.

Touya ignored Yukito and looked back to the gates of the Li Mansion. He saw a yellow light flash by the gate and he knew it was Sakura arriving. The gates made a creaking sound. They were being opened. Not sooner, a van drove on and made it's grand entrance. Sakura jumped out of the van, followed by Tomoyo and the rest.

"You're late," Touya snarled. The words of the moment were 'stern' and 'cross'.

Sakura looked up to the person who awaited her. "It's not even 9:30 pm." Sakura said. Touya's face twisted in anger. Sakura glared at her older brother. Syaoran stepped in front. "What's your problem anyway?!" He gruffly said.

"Nothing," Touya muttered. He turned back and went into the house.

Tomoyo walked up to Sakura's side. "He's probably tired."

Sakura sighed. "Yeah, you may be right."

"He'll be fine in the morning, Sakura." Syaoran reassured, though he wasn't sure he should have said that. " It's no use standing here. Let's get inside now," He ushered Sakura to the house. The others followed.

Mystery

Tomoyo rubbed the back of her neck as she ambled to her room. She was stressed from all the activities that were done that day, not to mention Eriol's strange reaction earlier.

"Tomoyo-san," a voice called out. Tomoyo looked over her shoulder. "Oh, hi Yinlan-san." Tomoyo wearily said. 

Yinlan grinned. Tomoyo noticed she was holding a white coat. "You left it," Yinlan said, handing the coat to her.

"Oh. I must have forgotten it. Thank you for giving it to me."

"Uh-huh. Good thing I saw it in the back seat. We were about to leave when I found it."

_Everything seems so unnatural. We're being too polite to each other._ Tomoyo thought. She studied the lady from across her. _What do I know about her that makes her count as a friend? Well, she friendly, nice, cheerful...almost like Sakura. But I don't feel a good aura from her. She's a good person, but....somehow she's hiding something. Her blue eyes are hiding something._

Tomoyo stared closely at Yinlan, stared at her moving lips. They were moving up and down, slowly, slowly, until they seemed to have frozen. Yinlan's eyes glowed, her cerulean eyes swallowed Tomoyo up. Tomoyo's mouth hung open. She was being pulled to Yinlan's pulsating eyes.

Yinlan raised her hands in front of her, beckoning Tomoyo to come, to be one with her-Tomoyo's eyes were like the eyes of a zombie........

"Yes. Did you say something?" Yinlan asked. Tomoyo shook herself and snapped back to reality. "Huh?"

"I was asking if you were saying something."

"Um, no. I wasn't saying.....I didn't, no! I mean, no. I didn't say anything."

"Okay," Yinlan exchanged good-byes with Tomoyo and walked back the other way. Tomoyo stood glued to the floor. "What just happened to me back there?" She croaked.

I Dreamt of You

_Everything was gloomy in the room. The air was gloomy, the music being played by an old music recorder was gloomy and so was the mistress of the house. The mistress of the old large house was sitting on the velvety carpet of the floor in a large room and leaning against one part of the wall, dripping blood. She had a dazed look in her blurry eyes, a far-off dazed look. Hands on her temple. Her black hair was unkempt and was already covering her face._

_"I'm all alone," the girl whispered. "Mother, father. They left me. I'm all alone...." The pain went unnoticed. A screech coming from the music recorder made the disheveled girl flinch. The sad music stopped._

_Silence. The air carried nothing but loneliness in them. Tick-tock, tick-tock.....the grandfather clock in the corner of the room sounded, a moment ago unheard._

_Laughter broke the long silence. The girl was laughing like mad. "I hear you, mother."_

_Dong..dong...dong...dong...the grandfather clock struck midnight. Suddenly, the recorder played again. The gloomy music was back. The girl stopped laughing. Her lips formed a curve and her eyes gleamed....._

"Tomoyo, Tomoyo-chan, wake up!" Cried someone. That someone was looking down on Tomoyo from her bed. It was Sakura. She peered at the lady sleeping peacefully. "Tomoyo-chan," Sakura shook her lightly.

Tomoyo stirred. She whimpered softly. Sakura sat on her bed and waited for Tomoyo to get up. Tomoyo slowly opened both eyes, blinking them in one's own good time. "Yinlan-san?" She murmured, trying to make out the figure looking down on her.

The figure laughed. The voice was light and cheery. "No, silly! It's me, Sakura." 

Tomoyo smiled. "Sakura-chan, I didn't recognize you."

"Now, why would you think Yinlan would enter your room? She's not even here."

"Oh nothing," Tomoyo pushed herself upright on the soft bed, head still groggy. She stretched her arms. "Why did you come to my room?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yinlan-chan called me earlier. She said she wants us to visit her house, somewhere not so far."

Tomoyo was already up on her feet. She took her brush from the dresser and started combing her lavender hair. "Really? What time?" 

"4:00 maybe. We're staying overnight there," Sakura looked thoughtfully at Tomoyo.

Tomoyo put down her brush and turned. "All of us? That'll be a big party?"

Sakura looked sideways. 

Tomoyo sat by Sakura's side on the bed. "Something the matter?" 

Her best friend bit her lip and slowly nodded. 

"Tell me."

"Remember my argument with oniichan? Well, this morning, I found out oniichan, otosan, Yukito, Chiharu, Yamazaki, Rika and Naoko have already gone back to Japan. Terada-sensei needed Rika at home. So she had to go back. Naoko decided to go with Rika. Chiharu felt homesick and since Rika and the others were going, Chiharu and Yamazaki went as well. Otosan had an important trip to make in a short notice. He immediately wanted to prepare for the trip. Well, if he's leaving for a trip, who'll take care of the house? Oniichan, of course. He went to the airport with otosan and Yukito. That means all 7 of them left together. But oniichan, I haven't apologized to him...."

Tomoyo took Sakura's hand and patted it. "He'll get over it," she said.

Sakura smiled sadly. "Maybe," she got up. "You better get ready now." 

Tomoyo winked at her best friend. Sakura gave her a quick smile. She went out of the room.

The Trip to the House

"Where's Meilin?" Sakura asked. They were crammed up in Syaoran's mini-van, driving towards Yinlan's residence. 

" She called to say she couldn't make it. She said that her finals weren't supposed to be in a month, but her professor announced that it was moved and scheduled on an earlier date. So, she has to cram for her exams now," Syaoran said, keeping an eye back on the road.

"Too bad."

"Yeah."

Tomoyo studied their group. It wasn't the usual one. There were only 3 of them, plus Nakuru and two stowaways, Spinel and Kero. Both of the little guys were put in Sakura's small luggage. Tomoyo chuckled. She thought about what might be happening inside the bag. 

Nakuru was looking gloomy in her personal corner of the van. She kept on frowning and grumbled. "This isn't fun. My delicious Touya isn't here," she complained. "Just when those four Lis aren't here, my Touya's not here too. Aww. Too bad." 

Ever since Nakuru met the four Li sisters, she had marked them as competition. Everywhere Touya went, they were lurking around. Nakuru agreed with them, at times. But mostly, she didn't like sharing her Touya. 

Syaoran snorted. "I'm actually glad he's not here," he said.

"Syaoran! Watch where you're driving!" Sakura snapped.

Syaoran looked in front and saw that he almost hit a road sign that was in the middle of the road. "Sorry," he mumbled and stopping the van, he let out his breath.

Tomoyo leaned out the car window. "Now, why would a road sign be put there?"

Syaoran shrugged. "What did it say anyway?"

Nakuru opened the car window and poked her head out. She squinted her eyes. "It says 'Turn left. Xie Property right ahead. Please drive with caution'," she read.

"I guess that means we're near," Sakura thought out loud.

Syaoran twisted his head and stared at the people at the back. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" 

~*~*~*~

The sight of the old, dilapidated house made Syaoran whistle. The van was parked just a few feet from the gate. The group got out of the car and were now witnessing the house with their very own eyes.

The looks of the house sparked Tomoyo's interest. She pulled out her camcorder and shot the view of the house.

"It looks so obsolete," Nakuru remarked, examining the house from top to bottom.

Sakura quivered. She scuffled behind Syaoran. "Hoe! It's like a haunted house!" 

"You don't have to be scared, you know. I'm here," Syaoran reassured.

Sakura jerked away, put her hands on her hips and glared at Syaoran. "Who says I'm scared? I just said it looks like a haunted house. That doesn't mean I'm scared, does it?"

Syaoran put his hands up in defense. "Um, no."

They walked on. The two continued opposing each other and Nakuru was thinking about her Touya. Tomoyo was far behind, video-taping the house and Sakura until they got to the front door.

Welcoming the Visitors

It could have been a picture in a horror film as Sakura expected it to be. The door was answered by an old man with a lump of gray for a hair. This old man introduced himself as Yinlan's father. " Hello. I'm Xie Fa Ying, Yinlan's old man, "he warmly said. 

Yinlan's father lead them to a big library. It was big enough but it still couldn't compare to the Lis' own library. The man made Sakura and the others wait for at least 15 minutes. They were left alone in the library. Tomoyo trained her camcorder on the dozens of books on the rows of shelves. After a few minutes, the door of the library opened. Eriol greeted them. He talked of pleasant things about the house: exploring the corridors, reading the books in the library etc. Sakura listened intensely just in case Eriol brought up anything spooky about the big house. 

Tomoyo stopped recording. She couldn't focus anymore. She listened to Eriol. He seemed fine. Nakuru was peeking at Sakura's bag and smirking at the contents of it, two stuffed-toys. 

"....they have lots of antiques here. You might be interested in some of them...." Suddenly, the heavy brass door opened again. Yinlan stepped in with an unknown woman next to her. Yinlan smiled at her visitors, but the woman didn't. She just bowed.

"Sakura-chan, Syaoran-san, Tomoyo-san and Akizuki-san, this is my mother, Xie Shi Lan," Yinlan said, gesturing to the unfamiliar woman. The woman was almost a copy of Yinlan except she had sandy-brown hair. She stepped forward and bowed once more. Syaoran and Sakura curtsied. 

Eriol made way for the two ladies. Yinlan's mother was pleased. Xie Shi Lan's eyes floated to Syaoran and Sakura. She spoke. "You must be the only son of the famous Li Yelan and the woman must be your wife."

Syaoran nodded.

"Come, we shall have our dinner."

~*~*~*~

Tomoyo excused herself. She wasn't feeling well. As she ambled out of the room, she felt Yinlan's mother eyeing her. Something to Tomoyo not to turn back. She was about to go up to her room but changed her mind when she was out of the dining hall. She decided to familiarize herself with the house. 

The halls were full of portraits. Each portrait hung had a drawing of a young girl. She had dark hair and cerulean eyes. It took a while before Tomoyo understood that the young girl looked vaguely like Yinlan. In a way, it was. But still, it wasn't.

Tomoyo paused in front of a very large frame. There it was, the same little girl. In the picture, she was seated on a golden throne. The girl wore a beautiful blue satin dress matched with blue ribbons on the girl's hair. 

Tomoyo admired the dress, inspiring her to design a similar dress for her Sakura. She wanted to video-tape the portrait, but remembering she left it in the library, she sighed. 

A finger tapped her on the shoulder. Tomoyo gasped. She turned around and saw Eriol. 

"Yinlan was worried, so I followed you," he said.

Tomoyo stared at him. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you looking at this picture."

Tomoyo blushed, embarrassed. "Well, it looks so lovely and awe-inspiring," She blurted out.

Eriol laughed. Tomoyo turned another shade of red. It was strange to see the very reserved Tomoyo Daidouji blush.

"There I was, searching for a certain person, and I find her marveling at a girl in blue."

"Don't you find it picturesque?" Tomoyo asked.

Eriol stood beside Tomoyo. He lifted his gaze to the painting. "She's so innocent in this picture," he commented.

"Who?" 

Tomoyo's ears perked up at what Eriol said next. His voice sounded distant. "Someone you and I know," Eriol said mysteriously. Then, "Come on, they're waiting in the library. You don't want to be left alone here, do you?" He began turning back. Tomoyo lingered for a little longer, gazing at the painting before catching up to Eriol.

to be continued.....

Okay. So, you folks must be wonderin' why the van's back. It was used in chapter 2 and now it's back. Here's the answer to yer questions. The van belongs to Syaoran. They used his van to pick up the new arrivals in the airport. 


	8. Whirling Winds

Chapter 8: Whirling Winds

Sakura and Syaoran couldn't believe what they heard. The moment Fa-Ying mentioned the name "Reed", both of his listeners perked up. They started paying more attention to the conversation. But Fa-Ying, Yinlan's father, only said the name once and not another word of it. The couple couldn't get anything else out anymore. And that was three hours ago, in the dining hall. They were now in the library. By that time, both of them gave up knowing about it. They took seats beside Yinlan's papa in the library and he sparked another conversation.

"Hoe!" Sakura exclaimed at one point. Syaoran became interested and acted like a five-year old boy again. He stared intensely at the elderly man. Fa-Ying was talking about the History of the Xies. For a while, Sakura and Syaoran didn't look like a couple. They were like two obedient kids delighted to her wonderful stories from an old guy.

Nakuru couldn't stand them. She told herself not to burst and decided to take the 'puppies' out for a walk. She snatched the bag containing the two guardians and practically went through the door.

Shilan, Yinlan's mother, flipped her sandy-brown hair and rose from her seat, "I need my beauty sleep now," she said eloquently. Her husband stopped. He nodded at his wife. Shilan held her head up high and turned her heels towards the doorway. She walked with such elegance and grace just like a cat's.

Sakura was awed. "Shilan-sama really is ladylike." Fa-Ying just chuckled, "I'm seeing one myself right this instant," he said, smiling mysteriously. He looked at Syaoran and Syaoran kind of savvied because at that moment, he turned bright red like a tomato. 

Sakura was muddled, "What do you mean, FaYing-sama?"

Yinlan, who was standing in the distance, didn't take part. She was waiting for Eriol. He hadn't come back since dinner. Tomoyo had gone too. 

Fa-Ying glanced at his daughter and stopped teasing Sakura, "What's the matter, dear?" he asked.

"Nothing," Yinlan quickly smiled, "I was thinking..." she paused, opened her mouth to speak, closed it, then opened it. She couldn't say what she wanted to say. But she was saved from going further because the door creaked and Eriol finally appeared.

Yinlan ran to Eriol like a master's pet, "Where have you been?"

"You don't have to worry too much.." Eriol started.

Yinlan threw her arms around Eriol, "You don't have to explain."

Tomoyo left the two alone and approached Sakura. She wanted to talk to her best friend. Yet, Sakura was busy listening to Fa-Ying. Tomoyo willed herself to turn in for the night. She picked up the case of her videocam.

"I feel tired. I think I'm gonna go up right this moment," she mumbled wearily.

Before Tomoyo could get a step further, Yinlan blocked her way. 

"Let me lead you the way," she offered in her nicest tone. 

"Oh no, you don't have to. I can manage."

"Please do let me," Yinlan gestured towards the door.

Eriol felt the impulse to talk, "I can take her to her room," he blurted out. He didn't know why he said that. It overwhelmed him.

Tomoyo shook her head, "Really, I can find my way."

Yinlan had a strange glint in her eyes. She plastered a sickeningly sweet smile on her white face, "Eriol-kun. Why don't you show her to her room?" she said.

Tomoyo didn't have the chance to protest because Yinlan shoved Eriol forward. He pulled the door open for Tomoyo and they got out. Nobody else seemed to have noticed them. 

"It's awfully dark here at night, especially when there's a storm. Take care not to scare yourself, Tomoyo-san," Yinlan said in a very low voice, a sinister smile forming from the tips of her red lips.

They were silent as the grave as they moved slowly. Tomoyo looked behind her. She watched Eriol moving along lazily. It wasn't normal. 

"Hiragizawa-san..." Tomoyo said abruptly, slowing down even more. Eriol sluggishly turned his head up to look at Tomoyo, "Yes?" he said weakly. 

Tomoyo took a deep breathe, "Hiragizawa-san," she began, "I really am thankful for this but you can go back to the library now. I'm not forcing you or anything, really." 

Eriol held Tomoyo's gaze. He suddenly turned sober, "No one's forcing me to do what I want to do. I just wanted to talk to you like the old times," Tomoyo's dark purple eyes tore away from Eriol's sapphire eyes, "Or maybe you're really avoiding me," Eriol vented out for the first time what seemed to be anger. 

The seriousness the sapphire-eyed man had disappeared. He realized what he had done, "I wanted to see you. We haven't seen each other in such a long time. I---"

"Don't," Tomoyo interrupted. She dried her tears, then, she smiled. But this smile wasn't something happy, "You're a big boy now, Hiragizawa-san, and getting married, if you haven't forgotten that. Congratulations," Those words came out of her mouth like a mechanical robot's. Tomoyo saw how foolish she was to say it.

Tomoyo felt like ending it all, "I can go alone now. Thank you," _Why did I say that? _Every step backward, Tomoyo felt a pang inside her, "Let's just act like nothing happened, okay?" _Am I really the one saying these things?_ "Good night, Hiragizawa-san," _No...no...It's not that...I can't act like nothing happened! _

Eriol nodded, "Good night." 

Too late. Tomoyo was already breaking her heart enough.

_"Good night." _ It was fresh in Tomoyo's mind. She woke up early the next morning and it hit her right in the face, "Good...night," she whispered the same, last words she heard from Eriol since last night. 

Tomoyo awakened to find out that Eriol had gone someplace and won't be back for a while. This caused the wedding to be delayed. 

_But, he might not be coming back anymore._ Tomoyo thought. She felt it when Eriol said 'good night' to her. It felt to her more like 'goodbye', ".......forever," Tomoyo said out loud.

"Huh? What did you say Tomoyo-chan?" asked Sakura, who was sitting next to her at the long dining table. 

"Nothing," Tomoyo answered quickly. She pretended to be very hungry, taking the sandwich from her plate and biting big into it, "Hmm, this is good. Try it, Sakura," Tomoyo made a thumbs-up.

Sakura laughed, "No thanks. I'll save it for Kero and Suppi. By the way, where are they?"

"Nakuru left them in the library. She said they needed to get out of the bag before Kero can suffer from a fit of anger," Tomoyo expected Sakura to take the message and get Kero and Suppi out because who knows what damage Kero might cause when he gets stuck with Spinel. 

Sakura shrugged. _Don't ask me._

Tomoyo rose up from her seat. The chair screeched against the floor. Everyone looked up but turned back to their breakfasts.

"I'm going to check on them, okay?" Tomoyo whispered to Sakura.

The library was empty. The only sound heard was the clicking of Tomoyo's heels on the shiny floor. 

"Kero-chan? Spinel-san?" Tomoyo called out. No answer. 

Ooofff. Tomoyo heard a faint thud coming from somewhere. Her eyes flew to a plastic bag propped against a leg of one table in the corner. 

_Of course, _Tomoyo thought._ They're still in the bag._ She came towards the bag and hovered over it. She found two red stuffed-toys. One taking hold of the other's neck. 

Tomoyo lifted the yellow one by the tail, "There you two are," she said cheerily.

Kero, the yellow one, pulled his tail and glared at the other stuffed-toy. The other one, a cat-eyed, purplish, stuffed toy with a pair of butterfly wings, was airborne and staring Kero down. 

Kero huffed, "Suppi!" he jabbed a paw in front of the purple thing.

"It's strangely becoming, you know. You better stop doing it," Suppi snorted. He yawned and put a paw to his mouth, bored.

"Why you---"

Tomoyo tried to tempt Kero, "I have some food here with me," she took out from her pocket, a sandwich wrapped in foil. 

Kero ogled. He fluttered to Tomoyo's side, dropping his temper.

"Here," Tomoyo divided it and gave Kero the half, which he was obliged to take. "Spinel Sun? Want the other half?" 

"No thanks," Suppi shook his head. He elevated higher, muttering to himself.

After a few minutes of watching Kero's silly antics and Suppi's sarcastic remarks, Tomoyo felt restless. She got up on her feet and walked to the door. 

She looked back at Kero and Suppi, "are you two coming or not?"

"Oof woos!" Kero said through a mouthful of bread, coming towards Tomoyo. Suppi snorted but followed too. 

Still holding the plastic with the two guardians in them, Tomoyo explored more of the house. She stared at all the portraits hanging on the walls one-by-one. Most were landscapes. Some were abstract designs. But the really eye-catching ones were the paintings of the girl with the black hair.

Tomoyo stopped by the same picture she saw last night. She memorized every detail vividly; the dark color of the girl's hair; the clear cerulean eyes; the blue satin dress that reached the floor; the light-blue ribbons hanging from both sides of her hair.....and the smiling face? Funny how Tomoyo didn't remember the girl smiling at all. She remembered her face was very solemn the last time she saw it. 

Oh well.

"Nice drawing," Kero remarked, poking his head out of the bag.

"I saw this last night. It's really absorbing, don't you think?" Tomoyo said.

"Uh-huh. Wish they made a drawing of me as big as that!"

Tomoyo giggled. She imagined a round yellow thing with two dots on it for a picture.

Suppi rose his head out of the bag when he heard Kero. He snorted once more. Kero shirked him by looking up again at the picture. 

"Say," he said, "Isn't that the Yinlan-girl?" 

"It might be her," Tomoyo inaudibly uttered. 

Kero's nose perked up. He sniffed the air. "I smell something," he said, leaving his refuge.

Tomoyo glanced at Kero. His nose was leading him someplace and Tomoyo didn't want Yinlan or her parents to see a winged-bear who's hungry for food. It would take some explaining to do.

"Kero-chan!" Tomoyo hissed, running after him.

"Hmph. I guess some can't control their nose and their hunger," Suppi ridiculed.

Kero paused in front of a door down the corridor. He rapped on the door, trying to get in. Tomoyo caught up. "Kero-chan? Why did you take off like that?" then, seeing the door and the anxious Kero trying to get in, "Oh. You want me to open the door for you?" 

Kero stumbled in. His eyes darted back and forth. Where was that fragrant smell coming from? Where? 

The room was big, covered with velvet carpeting. It was bare except for a desk in the far left. There was an old music recorder sitting on a stand. The curtains were hanging down. It made the room dark even though it was still morning.

Kero noticed a simmering cup on the desk. "I knew it! It was mint tea! The smell was so strong that I really had to find it." He flew to it. 

Tomoyo shut the door close behind her. She put down the plastic bag and approached Kero. "You shouldn't drink that. It must be somebody else's," she warned. 

Suppi levitated and said his share of sarcasm. "Yeah, it might be _poison_. You don't want to die early, do you?"

Kero recoiled and shuddered at the thought of it. 

Tomoyo laughed. Suppi enjoyed the scare he gave Kero and tried giving him a larger dose. "And if you die, you won't even have the chance to catch this year's annual baking contest." 

Kero gulped a big lump. He stared worriedly between the simmering mint tea and his life on stake. 

Tomoyo ignored the two. She looked around her. Somehow, it was like a distant memory in her mind. A still picture. Crying. She remembered someone crying in that very same room. But who?

Click. 

Someone was coming in. The doorknob turned. Tomoyo tensed. Her eyes followed the doorknob. _Must hide. _Tomoyo's mind registered.

"Quick! In here," Tomoyo stretched the plastic bag wide open. Suppi dove in but Kero was still thinking about the tea.

Tomoyo seized Kero by the tail and thrust him into the bag. She shuffled behind the desk, going under it. 

No sound. Then, footsteps. Tomoyo could see from her place, the heels of a woman. 

The woman stopped just a few inches near Tomoyo. There was a sound of flipping. The woman was probably scanning something from a book. She circled around the desk. Tomoyo moved back to the farthest end of the desk. She could see the long skirt of the woman. She recognized the flowery pattern. Yinlan! Yinlan pulled a drawer open. She rummaged through it. The closest drawer was opened next. What was she looking for? Yinlan pulled out the next drawer. A paper fluttered away. It landed a few feet from Tomoyo. 

Tomoyo hugged the plastic bag tight. She shut her eyes close and prayed for dear life that Yinlan wouldn't see her. She could see Yinlan bend over to pick up the paper. Yinlan paused, glancing up. A blast of cold wind. There was a window wide open. Yinlan frowned. Tomoyo watched Yinlan pick up her feet and walk to the window to close it. 

"That's strange. I thought I closed this window earlier," Yinlan said.

Tomoyo stole her chance to sneak away. She tiptoed quietly and slipped out of the room. 

"Where have you been, Tomoyo-chan? I looked everywhere for you!" Sakura clasped Tomoyo's hand the moment she came into the dining hall.

"I couldn't find Kero-chan and Spinel-san right away." Tomoyo lied. She smiled, but glimpsing Sakura's face, she frowned. "What's the matter? Did something bad happen?"

Sakura shook her head. "Nothing. It's just that the wedding was called off."

Tomoyo's eyes widened. Did she hear right? Called off? She wanted to know if she did hear right? "C-called off? A-are you sure?" Is it really true? Oh please tell me, Sakura. 

Sakura's eyes told Tomoyo that she wasn't lying. "At first, I thought it was just a joke. You know the time when you left the table? There was a phone call for Yinlan. Yinlan took the extension line in the library. We didn't expect her to come back crying and sobbing. Her eyes were so red. She couldn't spit the news out. I gave her a glass of water and after calming down, she told us. Eriol-kun isn't coming back anymore, she said. We all looked at each other dumbly. What did she mean by that? But Yinlan didn't have the chance to tell us more because she fainted on the floor. Syaoran and Xie-san had to carry her up to her room."

Tomoyo felt confused. Who was the woman who came into that room she went into? Wasn't it Yinlan? It couldn't have been. If she was brought up to her room, she would be staying there. 

"When did you say it happened?" Tomoyo asked slowly, afraid of the answer.

"I already told you, while you were away," Sakura said, "oh, and that reminds me, Syaoran and I are going back tonight. Akizuki-san has already gone back this morning. Do you want to come with us, Tomoyo-chan?"

"O-of course.." Tomoyo choked.

"Ah. I thought that you'd want to keep Yinlan-chan company. She seems closer to you than me."

"I don't know, Sakura. I don't want to bother her."

"No. What she needs is someone to support her at this time. You stay, okay?"

Tomoyo looked sideways. She wasn't sure. I don't really want to stay around her. Why would I sacrifice myself now? Sakura can...Tomoyo softened at Sakura's sincere smile. "....Okay." Tomoyo sighed. She had just lost to one of her weaknesses.

Sakura smiled again, satisfied. "That's a good friend."

"Sakura-chan."

"Yes?"

"I don't think Hiragizawa-san meant it."

Sakura stared at Tomoyo as if she killed someone, "maybe he did mean it."

to be continued~~~

So, whaddya guys think? Please review. Oh please oh please!


	9. On My Own

Reunion 

Chapter 9: On My Own

kurikurei's nook: *BIG SIGH* I sure have not yet updated for such a long time. Thank you for all the reviews. You're welcome, Fireblaze. I actually spend more time reviewing other people's work than getting my own. I've been so busy. Oh well. I'm going to make a big comeback this chapter. Nothing too extravagant. You would not be expecting this one to be a long chapter, but I'll surely clear things up. I need not say the usual disclaimer because we all know what it is supposed to contain. So, shall I get on with it?

On second thought, all elements of Card Captor Sakura belong to CLAMP , except for Yinlan and her family.

~~~

Things have gone wrong. Feelings were getting so hard to tell, fathoming would do no good at all. Tomoyo just let matters be. She was to stay there as Sakura ordered/requested her to. No more questions. Just do it.

_Yet, why did I, Daidouji Tomoyo, the usual encourager and lady friend of Li Syaoran, the always reliable best person of Li Sakura and the ever calm equal...no, the ever calm....what of Hiragizawa Eriol?_ Tomoyo stopped at this. She left her sentence hanging.

What whirlwind came and go to stir such a disturbance like this? Her mind tried to sort out those jumble of pictures. But where to start?

Tomoyo's eyes traveled here and there in the room. It fell on the bureau mirror. _Yes. I have to fix my hair first. _Tomoyo's hand fingered the brush lying on the desk. She ran it through her long lavender hair. _Next, check your dress Tomoyo. _Tomoyo smoothed her pleated skirts. _Now, I can think deeply._

It started with that phone call from Sakura, did it?... Sakura told her about this unexpected thing- Eriol was tying the knot... with a Chinese. Then Tomoyo met the Chinese. She was too gentle for words to describe her, as innocent as Sakura but...she seems to have a motive. Despite this, Tomoyo made friends with her. Her own two eyes saw how precious this woman was to Eriol. But surprisingly, when Tomoyo knew Eriol was a sensitive man, that man comes calling off the wedding. Yinlan cried.

What mixed-up emotions were present then?

Regret?

Hesitation?

Abandonment?

Loneliness? 

What? What?

Tomoyo sighed. She needed to get out. She was suffocating.

"Must find my own self somewhere in this confusing puzzle..."

Tomoyo swept along the halls. She never cared where she was going. Tomoyo turned left, right, straight, passing through numerous halls, forgetting where she came from. Somehow, she didn't want to see Sakura off.

_She tells me to stay by the side of a person I have not yet been familiar with instead of spending time with her. _Tomoyo thought. _A lot of good it sure does when you have a weakness for your best friend. _

"It's like she's selling you off on somebody," Tomoyo said, voice carrying out through the empty halls. _Might as well not face her. _

Abandonment...

She found her surroundings familiar. It was the same corridor with the portraits. She rounded a corner. _Yes. Here it is._ Came up to the often encountered picture.

"I'm back," she whispered as a mother would to her offspring. "I'm staring at you again." Louder, she said," know what? I feel like I've seen you somewhere."

Tomoyo brought the picture to her mind, every spot. Like there was a computer software inside of her sending the message relayed to each of the senses, then printed out, frozen...timeless. One more step and Tomoyo was placing her hand on the portrait, after all it wasn't framed. The picture, no, the girl, was so much alive to her touch. 

_Blue satin dress, blue ribbons, cerulean eyes, dark luscious hair..._"...with a sad look in her face," Tomoyo observed. " So you're suffering now. I know why. He has left you, right? And you don't like it." A curve started from the tips of her mouth. "I understand very well."

Loneliness...

Then, Tomoyo laughed. "It is quite ironic how I am opening up to a mere drawing resembling the mistress of this house rather than speak about it to Sakura-chan."

_Fools do that, I guess._

A tiny rumble came from Tomoyo's insides, bringing her proof of hunger. She made up her mind to go down to the kitchen and fix herself some breakfast. But the probability of her best friend being there gave her second thoughts. And just as she expected it, there Sakura was, looking up to her with a big smile that combined all the smiles she had given Tomoyo for the past few days.

"G-good morning...Sakura," Tomoyo said, uncertain. Her eyes would not meet Sakura's.

"Mornin' Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura chirped. The smell of toasted bread was in the air. 

Tomoyo warily sat down on one of the metal chairs next to the kitchen table. "Where's Li-san?"

"Oh, he'll be down in a while. Want toast?"

Tomoyo nodded. She watched her friend pop two slices of bread into the toaster. They did not talk for a short time until the ting of the toaster. Sakura took out the toast and laid them on a plate. She carried it to the table.

"Tomoyo-chan," Sakura began," I feel so bad about what happened last night. Yinlan-chan must be still crying over it."

Tomoyo stared straight at her. "_Don't worry_, I'll be here while she's grieving. You _did_ insist that I stay here." 

Sakura mouth fell open, shocked. An awkward silence ensued between them.

"D-did I r-really tell you to?" Sakura managed to mumble. 

Tomoyo was as firm as a taut rope. "Oh sure. Your wish is my command."

Sakura could not believe what she was seeing. Her friend was being cold to her for no reason. All she wanted to do was relate her feelings to a person who could understand her, yet this person shut her out.

At that moment, Syaoran came in. "Hey Sakura! Your clothes are still not yet packed. When do you plan to leave anyway?" 

"Why Syaoran, of course I'm packing my things. I'll do it right this instant!" Sakura's voice cracked as she faked an insincere smile. She gracelessly rose from her and almost rammed Syaoran on the way out.

Syaoran had a muddled expression on his face. "What's with her?" he asked Tomoyo, pointing a thumb back at the way Sakura came out. 

"Nothing," was the only answer from Tomoyo. She glanced down at her breakfast, guilty for venting out her anger on Sakura. She never intended for things to turn out that way. It was like some force was driving her to be unfeeling._ I'll just mend things between us later. _

"Will you pass me the butter?"

~~~~~

Kero was grumbling while he kept throwing glares at the little black panther who was yawning at one end of the room. The panther was unconcerned as to whatever Kero thought of him. 

"I'm going to throw him into a snake pit blazing with fire and if he's still alive after that I'll feed him to the lions..." Kero muttered under his breathe, creating twisted fantasies in his own world.

The little black panther, known as Spinel, with a clownish pet name of Suppi given by Nakuru, cared little if Kero wanted him impaled with a machete, bolo or kris. He wasn't capable of doing it anyway. The machete would be too heavy to handle.

Click! The door swung open. Sakura came in, sagging and deep in thought.

"Sakura, what's wrong!" Kero questioned her mistress, fluttering right away to her side. He was hoping Sakura would bring her cookies when she came back but instead, she was empty-handed and looking miserable.

"She...why..did...anything...wrong...what...," Sakura said in indistinct speech.

Suppi hovered a few inches beside Kero. "I think she's having trouble with somebody."

"You think?! Of course I can see that!" Kero shouted. Then, remembering who his concern was supposed to be, he turned back to Sakura.

Sakura neatly packed all her belongings without uttering a single word. Kero did not make an effort to console Sakura anymore because she would not talk at all. He went back to tormenting Suppi in his dreams.

Sakura perched on a stool in front of the mirror. "Kero-chan," she called out to the guardian. Kero heard her and came quickly.

"Sakura?"

Sakura gazed at a faraway sight. "There's no wedding happening."

"I know. That Chinese must be in her room, shedding tears for Clow Reed's reincarnation."

"Tomoyo-chan's staying in this place for a while."

Kero grasped what Sakura meant him to do. "I'll watch over her."

Sakura smiled a half-hearted smile. "Thank you," she said, standing up. 

"Why are you doing this, Sakura?" Kero asked before Sakura was about to leave.

"I'm being apprehensive, that's all," answered Sakura carefully.

Kero brooded over this and something else occured to him. "What about Suppi?"

"He'll be your companion here aside from Tomoyo-chan."

This made Kero sulk a lot while Suppi was still as nonchalant as before.

~~~~~

"Are you sure about all this? Leaving Kero with Daidouji-san?" Syaoran looked questioningly at his wife, Sakura. 

Sakura sighed and repeated what she had been telling him a lot. "Yes. Please refrain from asking me too many times."

"Okay, I get it. But why does Tomoyo want to remain in this house?"

Hesitation...

This was the dreaded part Sakura had been avoiding. But she knew what to say. "Tomoyo-chan's a person who cares for many people, like Yinlan for example. She doesn't want to leave her in sorrow." _You know what I mean. Tomoyo helped you with your feelings for me. _

"That's true," Syaoran grunted as he opened the front door struggling with the luggage. Sakura followed after him. 

Syaoran dropped them a short distance from the van. He wiped his forehead, relieved that his task was almost done. "Say, Sakura...have you said goodbye to the Xies yet?" he said.

"Yinlan or her parents?" 

Syaoran heaved the luggage into the back of the van. "The whole family in particular."

"Well, Yinlan's parents, I couldn't find. While Yinlan herself, I knocked on her door and was about to tell her we were going now but I heard a sobbing voice coming from her room. Yinlan-chan must have still been crying and didn't hear my knocking. Surprisingly, she opened the door just as I was almost down the hall. 'Oh. You're going back to the Li Mansion today, aren't you?' she spoke. I said yes. I saw her face. They were normal, no sign of tears or mourning." Sakura paused, "I thought hearing her crying was all in my imagination and so I didn't bring it up while exchanging last words with her."

"It's a good thing you didn't remind Xie-san of yesterday's events because meddling with other people's business is not nice," Syaoran remarked.

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Sakura. _Is Tomoyo-chan meddling with Yinlan-chan then? _Sakura had the notion to look up at the window of the room which she had guessed Tomoyo occupied. She saw a whirl of lavender hair turn away from her. 

_Tomoyo. _Sakura assumed Tomoyo was still too upset to even show herself to her. 

Syaoran was waiting patiently however soon lost it. Sakura had been musing a lot. "Sakura, let's go."

~~~~~

From her bedroom window, Tomoyo watched her best friend climb into the van, leaving her behind. She had seen Sakura glimpse up at her and it made Tomoyo look away. Partings like that weren't pleasure-giving.

Tomoyo inched back from the window, sitting on the edge of the bed. Kero plopped down beside her. He was about to pat Tomoyo on the shoulder and reassure the woman but Tomoyo cut him off. "You don't have to play nanny with me."

Kero withdrew his paw. A sarcastic snort emitted from Suppi, who was leisurely floating above him. The yellow bear ignored this.

Tomoyo buried her head in her hands. _The whirlwind came and muddled my world. I'm changing into a person I never knew. Soon, I won't even recognize myself. I'm losing my trust in Sakura, confiding instead to a picture. _Tomoyo moaned quietly, head still buried in her hands. She almost felt the tears welling up in her eyes but chose not to let them out. She tended herself on the bed's headboard, now tucking her hands under her thighs and balling tightly, whilst eventually falling into a deep, deep slumber after tiring her brain from thinking. Tomoyo loosened her position, falling on her side. 

~~~~~

The door to the library creaked open. She was waiting. Tomoyo stepped in to meet her. "Come," said the lady, waving Tomoyo to the hearth. The fireplace was lit, creating a soft, soothing ambiance. Tomoyo smelled the scent of fresh firewood wafting. It made her feel safe and secure. She walked to the lady's side.

"Sit, Tomoyo-san," commanded the lady. Tomoyo did as told. She stared at the red flames dancing peacefully. 

"It's so warm here," Tomoyo murmured.

Calmness...

"Yes." 

Tomoyo closed her eyes, feeling the warmth and breathing in the scent of the wood. She became at ease. "I want to forget my worries even for a while. It's been one thing after another. What's happening here? Tell me." she found herself saying.

Her companion didn't respond to her question. Tomoyo listened to the shuffle of feet going away. She heard a clinking of glass, then the sound of pouring liquid. A new aroma filled the library, the familiar smell of mint tea. The lady was bringing it to Tomoyo.

"Here, take this," the woman offered as the shuffle of feet came back to the hearth. 

Tomoyo opened one eye to see the woman standing over her. She opened the other eye to squint at the figure. Even though the fire cast a radiant flush over her, somehow her face was unseen. Tomoyo put out both hands to receive the cup of tea. The woman dropped on her knees and sat next to her. Tomoyo still tried perceiving her appearance. All she could see was the mellow shape of a woman illuminated in dim red light from the fireplace, she realized. And the fact that this woman seemed older than her.

It was no use talking to a red blur. So Tomoyo just looked straight at the blazing fire. "Do I know you?"

The red blur countered her. "Do you know me, you ask."

Tomoyo considered this. She raised the cup to her mouth to sip tea, breathing in the minty scent. The firewood crackled as the time ticked. "I think so," she finally answered. For just a short moment, Tomoyo felt the mysterious lady smile. She wasn't sure. 

"How is he?" asked the unclear image.

Tomoyo frowned, tilting her head to one side at the woman and showing she didn't understand the question. "How's who?"

Like before, the answer was indirect. "He must be a handsome young man now, growing in wisdom and learning more about the world. However, I think his sense of humor is still not those of other people," the lady illuminated in dim light told her, somewhat chuckling at the thought.

Surprisingly, the red blur reached out to Tomoyo. It almost made her think that the blazing fire was going to consume her. But then, the woman was only placing her glowing hands on Tomoyo's shoulder. Tomoyo expected her hold to hurt, instead, it was comforting.

"There's danger in this unknown place and you are all alone," said the unclear image. "Yet do not despair for help will come. The evil will reveal itself soon enough so strengthen your heart. You are not weak." The woman held her for some time. Then, she got up, or rather, the shape became straight. The lady strode toward the door, one whole form constantly splitting in two as she walked. "Goodbye," she whispered, closing the door behind her. Tomoyo was left alone.

~~~~~

Tomoyo's body ached all over from sleeping in such an awkward position. She woke up with a stiff neck, a severe headache and her sides hurt. The lavender-haired woman propped herself up into a sitting position, touching heavily carpeted floor. Tomoyo felt icky with sweat. She sensed that she wasn't in her room. The place was dark and sealed off, with no windows. It took a while to adjust to the surroundings. Tomoyo saw the dark outline of bookshelves, a ladder and a desk. 

"I must have wandered off during the night and ended up in the library," Tomoyo thought aloud. "But how?...owww..." Tomoyo groaned, putting a hand to her head. The headache was terrible. "Was I sleep-walking?" Tomoyo asked herself, wanting to understand why she came to be in there. 

All of a sudden, Tomoyo had a flashback of last night. She came to the library...because someone was waiting for her...a woman. The woman was a blurry, red....dash of light....she talked to Tomoyo...gave her tea......soothed her....and then she warned her- _"There's danger in this unknown place and you are all alone, yet do not despair for help will come. The evil will reveal itself soon enough so strengthen your heart. You are not weak," the image said. _

Tomoyo, on instinct, glanced around, as if expecting the mysterious person to be standing in one corner. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. Tomoyo was half-disappointed and half-relieved. She padded out of the library and went up to her room.

"Daidouji! Where have you been?!" Kero pounced on Tomoyo as soon as she came in.

"Hmph. Either Daidouji-san woke up too early or you're slacking off again," Suppi commented. 

Kero scowled.

Tomoyo smiled apologetically to the two and sauntered towards the bathroom, leaving the two to get at the best of each other as usual. She needed to ponder the meaning of her dream.

to be continued~~

Please review it and tell me what you think. Thank you ._. !


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Card Captor Sakura