Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP! -_-;(SOB!)

Author Notes: As recommended, I made Shao Ran's! n_n Please R&R!



Japanese and Chinese Vocabulary:



*Xen ri kuai le = happy birthday.

*Mu chin = a respective word for 'mother'.

*Wei = hallo.

*Moshi-moshi = hallo.

*Un = an informal word for 'yes'.

*Ano = um/err.

*Gomen = sorry.



Shao Ran's Birthday Party



A boy with brownish hair laid in the bed, asleep. As the sunlight reached his eyes, he woke up, yawned a little and went to the bathroom sleepily.

He looked at himself in the mirror with sleepy eyes, wondering. His hands were busy taking his toothbrush, toothpaste, and a glass of water(Wonder how he managed it without looking, ne? n_n;).

'Today I'm 13.' Shao Ran thought, looking at himself expressionlessly.

'Like anything will change.' he looked at his reflection sarcastically.

"SHAO RAN~!" a girl voice boomed in his room.

"Me. Mei Lin! What happened?!" Shao Ran asked, worried and annoyed.

"Xen ri kuai le!!" she cheered happily and hugged him tightly(in the bathroom?!).

"Hey! Get off me!" he demanded helplessly and eventually fell down.

"What do you want for breakfast?! Fried rice? Scrambled egg? Dim sum?! Anything!" Mei Lin(at last(released Shao Ran and asked with a beaming face.

"I don't feel like eating right now." he said as he stood up.

"Beside, I know you can't cook." Shao Ran added matter-of-factly.

"Oh, but I've learned how! Really!" she convinced him.

"It's okay, I'll cook later." He ended the conversation and closed the door before Mei Lin's face.

"Oh~! So rude!" she sulked and went outside her cousin's room...

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A minute later.

"Shao Ran," his mother called when he had finished bathing.

"Yes?" he answered back politely.

"Have you had your training today?" she asked emotionlessly.

"No. I'll start one right away." Shao Ran answered formally.

"." his mother went away without saying a thing...

'Does she remember?' Shao Ran wondered in dismay.

'Ever since I was born, she always acts as if there's nothing happen when I'm having my birthday.' he continued with a sad expression playing on his face.

'Does she ever care about me?' he thought sadly.

'Well, it's not the problem now, I have to practice.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

SWISH!

Shao Ran swung his sword with elegant movements, a sign that he had learned kung fu since he was still a child.

He was in a Chinese style garden. Sakura trees surrounded the spot. The pink petals gently fell from the trees, covering the garden beautifully with pink layers.

His mind raced, thinking about the time when he was still in Japan, in Tomoeda, when he was still with. Sakura.

He narrowed his eyes in sorrow. He missed her smile, her voice, her everything. He was unaware that his movements had gone wrong and a little ungraceful. Until.

"Shao Ran."

A voice Shao Ran feared the most in this world called from behind.

"Mu. Mu chin." Shao Ran said in fear.

"Your style has gone worse these days." she said with a stern voice.

"I. I'm sorry, I'm not concentrating, and." Shao Ran said, trembling.

"Shao Ran." she cut.

"Come with me. I have some things to tell you." she added and turned away, leaving Shao Ran who was still holding his sword stunned...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shao Ran stood nervously before his mother who was drinking tea silently, he was watching her, cautiously.

He was in a small room with her mother, just both of them. There was particularly nothing in that room, only one window and door, a small black table with 2 chairs beside it, which one of them was occupied by Shao Ran's mother, and a small bonsai which stood firmly on the table. Shao Ran's mother seemed drinking tea.

Her mother put the Chinese style glass onto the small table and kept silence.

Shao Ran grew more and more tense.

"Shao Ran, I know that you always do your trainings and practices. And the fact that your style's getting worse. you know I can't tolerate this." she explained.

'Oh, no, am I going to be punished?!' Shao Ran thought with sweats all over his face.

"But by looking at your mistakes, I could see that you have some problems within." she added.

'Huh? My problems? Does she mean.'

"So, do you want to tell me about your problems?" she surprisingly asked.

"P. Problems?" he asked back.

Shao Ran stood without saying anything, there was an awkward silence.

Her mother still looked expressionless.

"It's acceptable if you don't want to tell me anything. I know you always do." she finally said.

"I. I didn't mean to be impolite." Shao Ran said as she watched her mother raised and went away from the room.

'Sorry, Mother, I couldn't tell anyone about my problems.' he thought while looking outside the window solemnly.

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"Shao Ran! Aren't you supposed to be happy on your birthday?! Come ON!" Mei Lin pouted at Shao Ran for the hundredth time.

It was night already, and Mei Lin and Shao Ran were in the kitchen, discussing about Shao Ran's birthday party.

"Mei Lin. I told you I'm not in mood for partying!" he sighed while looking at the poor decorations and sighed even more when he noticed how messy the kitchen was(because Mei Lin cooked there! n_n;)

"Don't be like that! After what I've done to make this!"

Mei Lin showed a not-so-good-looking cake with blue-and-white creams on top of it(which was put on hurriedly till it looked messy. (-_-;) The word 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAO RAN' was written in big bold letters with chocolate pasta, and red '13' candles was put on top of the cake.

Shao Ran already thought that he would surely get stomachache by only *look* at it...

RRRRRRIIIIIING!!

Suddenly the phone rang.

"I'll get that." Shao Ran said and hurried to get the phone.

"Wei?" he greeted.

"Um. Moshi-moshi? Could I talk to Shao Ran, please?"

Shao Ran knew that too-familiar sound.

"Sa. Sakura?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Shao Ran-kun?! Hoe~! I'm glad I didn't dial the wrong number again!" she said in relief.

"D. Dialed the wrong number. *again*?" Shao Ran asked as if he didn't believe his ears.

"Un! I talked to a person who speaks Chinese before this. and I don't understand." she confessed innocently.

Shao Ran smiled at the thought of Sakura talking awkwardly to a stranger...

"Ano. why do you call me?" he asked.

"Ah, right! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" she exclaimed happily.

Shao Ran stunned at a moment.

"You. call me just to say that?!" he asked in surprise.

"Well, I just realized that today is your birthday and I don't think it will make it on time if I sent you a mail, so."

"You really don't have to." he said, shaking his head.

"Gomen. Do I bother you?" Sakura asked sadly.

"NO! You're not, really." he particularly shouted.

"Oh, um. good then." Sakura said with a large sweat drop.

Awkward silence.

"Well, I think that's all." said Sakura.

"Oh, Okay." he replied shortly.

Another awkward silence. -_-;

"Well, goodbye." Sakura said.

"." Shao Ran didn't say a thing.

"Sakura," he suddenly said when Sakura was about to put the phone(still on her ear! n_n)

"Yes?"

"I." he stopped.

"I missed you." he finally said with a blushed face.

Sakura kept silence at the statement.

"Me too." she then answered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Who is that?" Mei Lin asked suspiciously.

"Sakura." he answered shortly.

"Oh! That's so nice of her, calling from Japan!" she squealed.

"What did she say?!" she demanded.

"She just called to say happy birthday." Shao Ran replied.

"Wow, she's still so innocent." she commented.

Shao Ran smiled as an answer.

"Oh, just remember! Your mother left this for you!" Mei Lin said, revealing a brown box tied with strings.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Probably going out for a meeting with the other Li clan," Mei Lin answered doubtfully.

"Hm." Shao Ran wondered.

Shao Ran undid the strings easily and opened the box.

"Wow! That looks awesome!" Mei Lin exclaimed in joy.

Inside the box, laid a beautiful sculpture with the carving of a golden dragon with Chinese writings beside it. Red string tied a knot on top of it. It seemed like it was made of gold.

"Look! There's a letter inside it!" Mei Lin pointed the base of the box.

Shao Ran took and read it, a respective smile suddenly played on his face.

"What is it, Shao Ran?" Mei Lin asked curiously.

Shao Ran folded the paper and went away, still smiling.

"Shao Ran! Oh~! I hate that attitude of his!" Mei Lin complained to herself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'Thanks. Mother.' he thought as he saw the letter again in his room.

In the paper, she wrote: "One of your father's belongings."

'For not forgetting my birthday.'





~*THE END*~

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Well, it's supposed to be 'Happy *Belated* Birthday' to Shao Ran! #n_n# Sorry, it's a month late. But, hey! It's still on 13th! Anyway, please R&R! Thanks! ^0^

~JK-Chan. #n_n#