AUTHOR NOTE: Yay! i have finally published my first story. Please do review. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Flames not so much. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. But I do own this story.

UNLIKELY

CHAPTER 1: Meeting

She stared the plump man sitting across the table. Her fingers were crossed in her lap under the table out of his sight. Please she thought. Please. Please. Please. This was the movement she had been waiting for all her life. She tried to keep her expressions calm but try as she might she couldn't help the anticipatory smile that kept making its way to her lips.

Ryu Tanaka took a sip of water and patted his mouth dry before he spoke. "You have talent Sakura. I have seen your paintings and I must say I'm very impressed," he said looking at her thoughtfully. "A talent like this shouldn't go unnoticed."

She took a slow breath. "So," she started tentatively, "Will you be my agent Ryu-san?"

At his affirmative reply her face broke out in a smile. She beamed at the plump man and the returned her smile.

"I'm going to do everything I can to get your paintings on display at Canvas," he said.

She clenched her hands in her lap to stop herself from lunging across the table and hug the life out of him. Instead she gave him her best smile, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

He suddenly leaned forward placing his elbows on the table. "But I do have a condition," he said his expression turning serious and se cautiously mirrored his expression. "I want that painting of yours. Freedom. That's what you call it right?"

She laughed, "Yes. Of course. It's all yours Ryu-san!" remembering a painting she had made. She recalled him gazing at the tiny birds in the painting for full five minutes before telling her that it was his favorite.

She made a mental note to remember to gift wrap it.

"Very well then," he said leaning back happily, "We have a deal!"

The smile never left her face. Today was the best day of her life.

...

Fifteen minutes later Sakura stood outside the restaurant after bidding goodbye to Ryu. She was giddy with happiness. Resisting the urge to twirl around in the busy street she walked to a nearby park and sat down on a bench. The credit went to Tomoyo of course. She being the perfect cousin was the one who introduced her to Ryu Tanaka. She was a fashion designer and she knew all the right crowd. She had all the perfect connections. Tomoyo told her that Ryu was a famous agent who had a lot of connections in the world of art. And now he had promised her that he would get her work displayed at Canvas. She squealed softly clasping her hands together.

Canvas was one of the most famous art galleries in Japan. Many known artists had got their first break there. The best part was that it was right here in Tokyo; about ten minutes walk from her house. She loved getting lost in those colorful corridors during weekends. She had always wished for one of her own paintings to be displayed alongside the works of other veteran artists.

Sakura pulled out her cell phone from her purse and speed dialed her cousin. Tomoyo deserved a huge thanks.

Seconds later Tomoyo picked up with a cheerful hey. She didn't even wait for a reply before continuing, "How did it go?"

Sakura smiled. "You know I love you, right Tomoyo?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I love you too," Tomoyo replied swiftly. Her voice was impatient, "Now tell me how-" she paused realizing where the sudden declaration of love was coming from.

Sakura grinned sensing her cousin's excitement.

"Oh my God…" Tomoyo breathed out slowly. "Ryu-san said yes? That's great! Did you fix a date for the exhibition?"

"No," Sakura shook her head even though she knew that Tomoyo couldn't see her. "It's too early for all that. Ryu-san said that there would be a lot of paperwork and also a meeting with Shiro Yamanaka…" She tailed off sighing with happiness.

"Shiro Yamanaka? You mean the manager of Canvas?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yup! The one and only!" Sakura replied. She placed her arm against the armrest and leaned against it tapping her fingers against the wood.

She smiled as Tomoyo continued to gush about how great everything was and dutifully added her most sincere thanks when Tomoyo paused to catch her breath.

Tomoyo simply waved it off before starting on her favorite topic. "So what did you wear?" She had helped solve Sakura's dilemma that morning over wearing formals or casuals for the meeting. They had agreed on something formal.

"That white formal dress. We bought it almost two months ago remember?" Sakura answered as she smoothed out a crease.

"Oh yeah! That one! Good choice!" Tomoyo chirped, "Hold on a sec," she sighed when someone on her end called her. Sakura heard her ask something to that person and get a reply in return and then Tomoyo spoke to her again.

"I have to go now. With the fashion show in two weeks everyone here is going crazy," she sighed.

"That's alright. We can talk later," Sakura said.

Tomoyo smiled. "Okay bye. Ja ne!" she said before she hung up.

Sakura placed her cell phone back in her purse. She took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air as she got up and walked to the café across the street. She felt like having a cappuccino on her way back home.

She waited for her order to be processed. She smiled at the girl behind the counter as she paid for her drink and grabbed her big plastic cup. She turned and unexpectedly bumped straight into someone.

She heard him curse but she was too busy checking the damage to her dress. She hissed in despair when she saw the dark stain of his black coffee on the white material that was now turning transparent.

"Are you blind? Watch where you are going," he said sharply.

Sakura wasn't going to create a scene but this guy was provoking her. Her eyes flashed at his rudeness. She looked up to glare at him.

"Excuse me?" she asked keeping her voice controlled, "I should be saying that to you!"

"You spilt your drink on my coat," he said angrily pointing to his grey coat stained with half of her cappuccino.

"And you spilt your coffee on my dress," she said her anger starting to show in her voice. "It's white!" she added angrily.

But he only raised an eyebrow, "So?"

Her anger spiked at his response. "So it's transparent!" she responded in frustration.

This time he raised both his eyebrows and looked at her from head to toe. Then he smirked. "Well then you ought to thank me for making you at least a little appealing," he drawled, "Coz you are pretty much hideous as it is," he finished waving his hand at her.

Her eyes blazed. She gave him a honeyed smile and emptied the rest of the contents of her cup on his coat. "Now we are even," she said her eyes twinkling at his livid expression. She stepped aside and walked out.

...

Nothing could ruin Sakura's mood today. Not even that unfortunate encounter with that rude guy. Yes it did dampen her mood a bit but now, as she was stood on the doorstep waiting for her father or brother to open the door, her good mood was back. The incident was completely forgotten.

So when her brother finally opened the door, she squealed and flung herself at him giving him a bear hug. He laughed and pulled away slightly to look at her.

"Ryu-san agreed, didn't he?" he asked. Her bright smile answered his question. Ruffling her hair proudly he led her in.

She walked in the house. Kaho was standing at the door of the living room holding her baby. Sakura smiled widely as Kaho congratulated her and she hugged her tightly effectively squashing the tiny baby between them.

The little girl cried out in protest and Sakura pulled away laughing. "Hey plum!" she said affectionately and bend forward to plant a kiss on her soft hair. Her niece rewarded her with a toothless smile.

"Come here Inori!" she said and she scooped up her niece from Kaho's arms and held her high up and twirled around slowly. The nine month old giggled enjoying the view from high up. "That's my pretty girl," Sakura laughed, "That's my Ino!" She made baby sounds and Ino replied back in her own baby language.

Sakura continued to speak her tongue till she caught her father's eye. Fujitaka was signaling her to lower her voice as he was talking on the phone. She smiled apologetically and lowered her voice as she continued to play with the toddler.

She wished that her father would finish talking quickly so that she could give him the good news. Minutes later her wish was granted. Fujitaka smiled at her proudly when she told him and said that he was going to make something special for dinner tonight.

When Sakura had changed, she came down to help her father and Kaho to make dinner. Her father only cooked on special occasions and it was always a treat because Fujitaka was a very good cook.

Fujitaka told her to dice up some onions while he stirred a pot filled with thick soup. Chicken soup. Her favorite. She managed a smile in spite of her watery eyes. When she was done with the onions she started on the carrot.

She looked up when her father called her. "It was the Li's I was talking to when you came," he told her.

"Oh!" she said. Her hand, which held the knife, paused in midair. Her eyes widened as she looked into Fujitaka's warm brown eyes. Suddenly she felt very shy. She evaded her eyes, finding the carrots more interesting. A faint blush colored her cheeks. Kaho looked up her eyes teasing.

"Did they say when they were coming to visit?" Sakura asked slowly.

"Yes," Fujitaka said amused at the rapid change in her demeanor. "They are coming day after tomorrow for dinner."

"Okay," she said softly carefully avoiding Kaho's eyes. She knew that Kaho would start teasing the movement she looked up. Fujitaka said no more after that so she allowed her mind to wander off.

The Li's were old family friends who used to stay in Hong Kong. They had moved to Japan about a month ago. They were the owners of the Li industries and as expected were filthy rich.

The head of their family, Li Yelan and her mother had been good friends since high school. She had four daughters and a son. Her niece also stayed with them. The son Li Syaoran and the niece Li Meilin handled all the industries.

It was to this Li Syaoran that she was going to be engaged. That was the reason they were coming for dinner; to fix the engagement.

Nadeshiko and Yelan had promised each other a long time ago that they would get their children married. Well, provided the children were ready.

Sakura remembered when Fujitaka had called a family meeting about a week ago. Family meetings were rare and were reserved for the most important things. When everyone had assembled, Fujitaka had told them a bit about the Li family.

Fujitaka then had asked Sakura if she wanted to get engaged to Syaoran. She wanted to protest but her father had told her to hear him out first. He had then told them about the promise between Nadeshiko and Yelan.

He had assured her that she wouldn't be forced to marry him if she didn't want to. She only had to meet him a few times. If she didn't like him then she had every right to say no. Her father went on to explain that it was not possible in Touya's case as he had been dating Kaho since high school and they were planning to get married soon. But she had been single and so her father had asked her.

Sakura had only agreed as it had been her mother's wish. A couple of meetings wouldn't hurt anyway. She had never really met anyone from the Li family but she remembered her mother telling her about them years ago. However, Fujitaka had met Syaoran and had told her that he was quiet a gentleman. He hoped her father's judgment was true.

She jumped when Touya tapped her on the shoulder. "What?" she asked him startled. "Get the plates kaiju," he said as he walked out carrying spoons.

"Shut up Touya!" she shot back. He grinned at her response.

...

Sakura switched off her bedroom lights and crawled under her thick blanket. She couldn't stop thinking about the meeting day after tomorrow. That would be Tuesday. She was really nervous. She stared up at the ceiling trying to imagine how this Li Syaoran looked like. Would he be tall, dark and handsome?

She giggled as she conjured up an image of a handsome knight standing beside a white horse. Prince charming didn't exist she reminded herself. Sighing she turned to look at her mother's framed photo surrounded by her stuffed toys on her bedside table.

She could make out a faint image in the dark. "Good night mum," she whispered. She imagined her mother smiling back at her as she drifted off to sleep dreaming of knights, paintings and a big cup of black coffee.

...

Syaoran cursed as he opened the door to his penthouse. He tossed his keys and bag on the couch and moved to stand directly under the light to examine his coat. His eyes registered the big brown stain and he swore under his breath. This was his favorite coat and now it was damaged beyond repair.

"Stupid girl," he muttered.

R&R

-Unaya