My relationship with Sakura began as hate. I despised the girl chosen by Cerberus to collect the Clow Cards. I am a direct descendant of Clow Reed and it was my duty to keep the cards within the family. To find out that my competition was a clumsy girl was an insult. I sought to be better then her; I wanted to collect all of the cards and bring honor to the Li clan. During each confrontation with the cards it was more than just the card captors against the cards; it was a battle between me, Sakura, and the cards. Each time I would win a card I felt triumphant and had to gloat a little. I mean, sometimes she was just plain clueless and had no idea what she was doing. Who in the world would think to use Windy againg Thunder? I can't blame her though, she did only have Cerberus as her guardian and only "teacher," that plush toy had nothing on me.
However, our rivalry eventually brought us closer. Since we spent so much time chasing after the cards it was inevitable that we wuld get to know one another. It was then that I saw that there was something about Sakura that made her worthy to be the new Master of the Cards; her devotion and willingness to help others. She cares so much about her friends and family that she would do anything for them. That is why even though I was humiliated when I failed Yue's challenge, I knew Sakura deserved to be called the new Master of the Cards.
It was shortly after all of the Clow Cards had been collected that I came to realize that I cared for Sakura; I cared for her more than in just a friendly manner. The confusion over my feelings towards Yukito became clear upon talking to Yue. He explained that because I am a descendant of Clow Reed, I was attracted to the powers of the Moon that came from Yukito/Yue. It didn't take me long after that talk to realize that I had feelings for Sakura; she plagued my thoughts throughout the day. One look, one smile from her was enough to send the heat creeping to my face and make me all flustered. I was sure that my feeling for her would be made known through that embarrasing display, but Sakura had always been a bit unobservant when it came to things like that. Or it could have been the fact that she was too preoccupied with her own feelings towards Yukito.
Tomoyo, on the other hand, was much more aware of the people around her, especially the people close to Sakura. She was the first to call me out on my feelings towards Sakura and I was very thankful to have someone know and understand my situation. Tomoyo loved Sakura beyond belief; she worshiped the ground Sakura walked on. However, it was more of a sisterly love, they had grown up together and just like their mothers, they had been inseperable.
Tomoyo was able to help me out when I thought I could not handle my feelings. When Eriol came to Tomoeda I grew incredibly jelouse of his ablity to interact so freely with Sakura; he was always around her and offering to help her with anything she needed. Tomoyo gave me a pep talk and encouraged me to keep up hope and remain close to Sakura. And that's what I did; I became Sakura's best guy friend but with the full intention of someday becoming more.
Sakura, Tomoyo, and I did everything together. I even went to a freaking Teddy Bear Exhibit once because she loves teddy bears and was really excited to about lame…no guy wants to spend the afternoon looking at stuffed bears. What I did take from that day was that it was was the first time I called Sakura by her first name and she began calling me Syaoran.
As far as friends go, I'd say I was a pretty damn good friend. I was there through all of Sakura's harships when it came to transforming the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards and she would be so exhausted that I had to carry her sometimes. I was there when she cried on the swing sets as she told me her confession to Yukito about her true feelings for him and it broke my heart to hear her voice them but it hurt more to see her cry over his kind rejection. I couldn't think about my hurt feelings when she was in so much pain so I just held her while she cried over another man.
After that night on the swing set something changed in Sakura. She closed off part of her self and while most people did not notice the magnitude of the change, Tomoyo and I did. After she defeated all of Eriol's challenges and solidifyed her role as Master of the Sakura Cards there was not much to do in terms of magical adventures.
Years passes with relatively no incidents in our small town. We left elementary school and went to middle school, the gang stuck together all the time. Going into high school Sakura, Tomoyo, and I were the most popular kids in school. Thanks to Tomoyo's sense of fashion we were always up to date with the trends of Japan's fashion industry and the rest of the students were envious of our good looks. Sakura and Tomoyo were easily the best looking girls in our grade and could even outdo a few of the upperclassmen. I had always been told that I was a good looking kid by my sisters and eventually by my female peers and it seemed that my looks had gotten better with time.
Recently, Sakura had begun to come back to her old happy and carefree self. Whereas before her smiles used to be forced, now they were genuine and radiant. We spent most of our time together and lately it had been more of just Sakura and myself since Tomoyo had begun an internship at a film school. Sakura and I would go on walks around our beloved Penguin Park or sometimes just chill at my place since I lived alone with Wei and I didn't like to deal with her annoying brother when I went over to her place; that guy never liked me.
Needless to say, her complete happiness was short lived when Touya and Yukito came out with their relationship and decided that they were going to move in together. Sakura did not take the news too well. I came home from a late night soccer practice at the high school to find her sitting on my front porch. Sakura was wearing one of her cute little dresses and had her knees pulled up to her chest. She looked up and I saw her puffy red eyes still wet with tears. I ran to her and she threw her arms around me, sobbing against my chest.
"Syaoran…can I stay with you for a little bit?" she whispered into my shirt.
"Please? I need your help." She pleaded.
"Yeah, come on in."
We entered the house and I lead her to the couch while I went into the kitchen to make some tea. When I came back, she took her mug and took a small sip before she broke down in tears again.
"Sakura what's wrong?"
"Oh Syaoran, I thought I was completely over my crush for Yukito but I guess I wasn't prepared to let him go. I mean I knew that I wasn't his #1 person but in my heart there was still a small part of me that believed somehow it would all work out with him. I never felt anything more than respect and friendship towards Yue but when it comes to Yukito I can't control what I feel. And then today my big brother comes home with Yukito and tells me and my father that he and Yukito have been in love for a long time and that they want to move in together into Yukito's house. And get this, my father wasn't even mad or surprised! He said he had known for some time and that he was happy Touya had decided to be open about it. Throughout the whole thing I had to pretend to be happy for them and inside I was just falling apart and it hurt so much and I didn't know what to do. Finally I though about how years ago you were the one to comfort me when I first told Yukito and I know its kinda selfish of me to ask you to be here for me but I can't go to anyone else and I just need some time away from home and I don't want to be alone and …and…" she was ranting and I knew how nervous and upset she must be.
"It's okay Sakura, I'm glad that you trust me enough to come and talk to me"
"Thanks Syaoran. Hey do you mind if I take a short nap? It's been a long day and I'm kinda tired."
"Yeah go ahead, you can sleep in the guest bedroom." We left the living room and I lead her into the the guest room across the hall from my room. "Get some rest Sakura. Oh and if you need anything just let me know. I want you to know that you can stay here for as long as you need to."
"Thank you Syaoran, you're amazing." She said as she climbed into the middle of the bed.
I left the guest room and walked into my room. It was late afternoon but it looked much darker out due to the storm clouds rolling into town. There wasn't much to do this Friday evening so opted to pick up a book and read. As I lay in my bed trying to concentrate on the words of the book I couldn't help but be distracted by thoughts of Sakura. Would she ever get over this? What can I do to help her forget her feelings for Yukito? Should I step up and tell her how much I care about her? I ended up falling asleep with these thoughts in cycling through my head.
Next thing I know, I'm awakened by a the sound of thunder and the splattering of rain across my window. The storm must of finally reached Tomoeda and it looks to be a bad one. Shit, Sakura hates thunder, I should go check if she's okay. I go to sit up when I notice an arm thrown across my torso. I look to my right and see Sakura.
It's Sakura. In her cute little dress. Laying on my bed. Her arm across my stomach and her body curled towards mine. A crash of lighting illuminates her face and I see a crease on her brow that lets me know she's afraid. I lay back down and hold her close to me hoping that my love for her will somehow help her.