Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura and its characters are the property of CLAMP. The artwork used in the cover image is the property of zellyroll on Twitter.

Special thanks to Grand Chariot for beta reading this story.

Chapter 1: Downpour

September 2016

Tokyo is a city that thrives on culture and is abundant with individuals seeking the same opportunities and the same successes. There are large streets that all quite look the same, and there are many smaller streets that all look like one another as well. The inhabitants are also quite similar. Every morning, they complete the same routine. They walk across roads as if they were puppets in a show. Stop. Start. Look left. Go.

However on this very evening, there was an interruption to this performance of theirs. Rain dampened the streets of Tokyo and much to the dismay of Sakura Kinomoto, Tokyo is a lot harder to navigate amongst a sea of black umbrellas and mere metres of vision under a heavy downpour of rain.

Even when there was heavy rain in Tokyo, it was still buzzing with people. Sakura sighed and looked towards the dark sky that was ridden with clouds above her. Of all days there could be a storm, it had to be today.

A loud crack of thunder followed by heavy rain fell upon her. It simply wasn't fair to her. She had expected beautiful skies and lovely weather on her first day in the big city. Wiping the rain droplets off her face, Sakura dragged her feet along the pavement with a silent hope that her legs would somehow magically lead her to her apartment complex. Though, she would have no such luck. She had already spent the last of her money catching a bus to the wrong part of town and to make matters worse, she left her raincoat and umbrella back in her hometown, Tomoeda.

The dim lights of the convenience store seemed like heaven to Sakura. She rushed through the sliding doors, seeking refuge from the rain. From the top of her head to the soles of her feet, Sakura looked like she had fallen into a swimming pool. Reaching into her baby pink backpack, she grabbed an iPhone which had a very obvious crack down the middle. She had only bought the phone five months ago and it was already time to get a replacement. It didn't help that she dropped in the kitchen one time. Or maybe two times. Make that a lot of times. Sakura punched in a number that was now ingrained in her memory. This was her fifth attempt at contacting her new roommate this evening so it was no surprise when she was redirected to voicemail.

A soft, bubbly voice filled Sakura's ears, "Hello! This is Tomoyo Daidouji's phone. Sorry that I can't answer but I'll get back to you. I promise!" It was useless to try and call her again. Not only was Sakura's phone nearly dead but it was getting quite late and she had an inkling feeling that the communication lines were damaged during the storm.

Suddenly the light within the convenience store vanished and that was her cue to leave. The rain was getting heavier, the sky was getting darker and by all means, Sakura was getting tired. She glanced down at her watch and groaned. It was nearly 11:00pm and she still hadn't found her street. Maybe she should've listened to her father when he suggested to arrive earlier but it was far too late to think about that. And she was far too stubborn to tell him that.

Pulling her suitcase along the pathway, Sakura rubbed her right arm that started to ache. The monotonous action of carrying her luggage all around Tokyo was tiresome and it didn't look like she was going to stop anytime soon. There was no doubt in her mind that she was in the wrong part of town. Luxurious hotels dominated the streets left and right of her. The $180 per week contract that she signed did not match these hotels. The intricate gardens of these hotels alone conveyed that they were upwards of $600 per night.

Admitting defeat, Sakura finally decided to seek directions. The only reason why she hadn't done this earlier was her pride but nearing 11:30pm, she couldn't care less. Sakura walked towards the closest hotel and lugged her suitcase behind her. The rain was too heavy for her to make out the name of the hotel but it didn't really matter. She wasn't staying the night anyway. Pushing the rotating door, she entered the grand foyer and immediately started to shiver. For a hotel that appeared to be top of the range, it was very odd to find that it didn't have the heater on during this weather.

Despite the cold air, the interior did live up to her luxurious-hotel-grand-foyer expectations. White marble stretched across the floor in every direction that Sakura could see. To both sides of the entrance, there were several red sofas that Sakura assumed were made from leather. Small glass tables with gold fringes sat beside each of the sofas. Upon the tables and around the foyer were varying sizes of flower assortments held together by large vases with complex designs on them.

Though, the main attraction was directly in front of her. The staircase envied those that appeared in Hollywood movies. It curved around the grand foyer, leading up to the second floor. The rails were smooth, white marble with gold accents that morphed into a golden shaped dragon on the pillars. A red carpet was placed in the middle of the staircase, making it the only piece of carpet in the entire foyer.

Sakura gulped and looked at the sneakers enclosing her feet. She definitely did not belong in here. Sakura was dressed for comfort. Her black vans were old and tattered due to years of use and after the storm tonight, they were drenched with water too. Her dark blue jeans were matched with a simple grey sweater that had a drawing of a cartoon puppy on it. By the way her hair was sticking to her cheeks and collar bones, she knew it had to be a mess as well.

Mustering up all of her courage, Sakura made her way towards the reception. She grimaced as her shoes made squeaks with every step she took on the polished marble floors. As Sakura approached the desk, she saw a girl who was probably in her early 20s sitting behind it. She felt the dread of embarrassment falling upon her again. This girl was clearly a person who valued their looks. Her jet, black straight hair was pulled into a high ponytail and her contoured cheeks were sharp and defined. She was wearing a fitted, red traditional Chinese dress which Sakura assumed to be the uniform of the hotel. A little impractical, Sakura thought, remembering how uncomfortable they were. Sakura cleared her throat trying to capture the receptionist's attention but it fell on deaf ears, almost literally. The receptionist was far too engrossed in what appeared to be a personal phone call.

"You should've seen her face when Sana entered the room wearing the same dress," she laughed, "it was priceless! I would've been so embarrassed if I was her." She stretched her hand out to inspect her red manicured nails. It was only then that she noticed Sakura was behind the desk. "Can you hold on for a bit? This won't take long."

The receptionist put the phone down and her eyes crawled up and down Sakura. With her self-consciousness taking over, Sakura pulled her arms around her stomach. It was obvious the girl was judging her.

The girl locked eyes with Sakura and gave a sweet smile, "Sorry, we're full tonight." Sakura stifled a scoff. There was no chance that this hotel was full, it was far too big to be full on a random night in September.

"There are some other hotels a couple of blocks away." she paused and glanced down at Sakura's attire again, "They might be more within your price range."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She knew she didn't exactly "fit in" at this hotel the moment she entered but she didn't expect the receptionist to be so blatant about it. Ignoring the insult, Sakura's soft voice came out, "That's not what I'm here for actually but rather–"

The receptionist interrupted almost immediately. "We're not interested in whatever you're selling, sorry." She went back to pick up the phone again but when she noticed that Sakura hadn't moved, the girl looked up again. "What do you want?"

Sakura's voice faltered, slightly annoyed at the treatment she was receiving. "I was wondering if you could give me directions to Kichijoji?" She rubbed her arms vigorously as she continued to feel the cold air.

The young receptionist looked into the distance and pursed her lips as she pondered in thought. After a couple of seconds, her eyes brightened, "That's on the other side of town," she paused again, a manicured finger on her chin, "I'd say it's at least 45 minutes by walking from here."

The girl wrote down more specific directions on a piece of paper for Sakura. Thanking the girl, Sakura made her way back to the rotating door and overheard the girl from the desk. "Be careful out there! It's the worst storm of the year apparently!" Sakura bowed towards the girl once again, thankful for her generosity. As she spun back around towards the door, she bumped into a hard chest.

"I'm so sorry." She yelped as she bent down to pick up the piece of paper with the directions.

"It's fine, you don't–"

"Oh no, your suit's all wet!" she said as she tried to dry the suit with her bare, wet hands. "I'm sure I have some tissues in my bag, wait a second." Before Sakura could open her backpack, the person she bumped into grabbed her wrist to stop her. Sakura's eyes looked up in surprise at the man standing before her. Her cheeks turned pink immediately. He was handsome in every sense of the word.

The man looked down at Sakura in amusement. Why on earth was this girl at his hotel? He wasn't a condescending person but this particular hotel was known to only host celebrities and people from wealthy and respected families. One glance at her attire would tell him that she fell into neither of those circles.

"That won't be necessary," he said with a polite smile that didn't reach his eyes. Sakura felt her face turn red and diverted her eyes immediately. "I'll be changing soon anyway. I hope I haven't disturbed your evening." He sidestepped past Sakura and proceeded to walk upstairs. Sakura stared at the retreating figure and bit her lip. If anyone deserved to be at the hotel, it was this man.

The storm had only gotten worse while Sakura was inside. She probably wouldn't even be able to walk home anymore unless she wanted to die from hypothermia. Accepting her fate, she sat herself down on a bench outside the hotel. There was no way she'd go sit inside. The least she could do was save herself from further embarrassment.

Anyone that knew Syaoran Li would know that he looked a bit perplexed over the incident that had occurred at the entrance.

Why was she all wet? Who wouldn't have an umbrella in this type of storm? It was all over the news for the past week.

Patting down his suit, he entered the elevator and pressed in a code to take him to the penthouse―after all, he was the owner of the luxurious hotel.

At the young age of 28, Li had already taken over the top position of his family's hotel chain. After the sudden death of his father, Li was pushed to be CEO almost immediately. At the time of the changeover, there were many sceptics as to whether he was ready for the job. However, through blood, sweat and tears, Li proved to himself and all the doubters that he was the most suitable candidate for the position. Although young, Li is highly respected by other corporate tycoons and he frequently travels across the world to attend meetings and start up new hotels. Japan was no exception to this. While he grew up in China, his hotel in Japan had become his home as of seven years ago.

The lights in his apartment flickered on automatically when he entered the room. He threw his suit jacket onto a velvet sofa and began to unbutton his navy-blue dress shirt. As he was walking towards the bathroom to get ready for bed, the sounds of his phone ringing flooded his ears. It didn't look like he was going to bed any time soon. The caller ID was from the hotel office in London.

If there was one thing he hated about his job, it was that most people didn't understand the basic concept of different time zones.

He answered the phone and walked to his office―a familiar place where he spent many of his nights.

After an hour of conversing with managing staff in his London hotel, he pinched the bridge of his nose. Sure, it was a great feat to be successful at such a young age but that didn't come without problems. Syaoran was under constant stress to solve problems and address issues with his hotels all over the world. He barely had anytime to himself these days.

Any sleepiness he felt earlier had completely disappeared. He walked over to the window and looked at the Tokyo skyline―a perk of living in the penthouse. Before the rain started again, he decided to go for a walk to unwind after his stressful day.

Syaoran changed into simple black sweat pants, a white V-neck shirt and sneakers. He didn't want anyone to notice him. Although, he doubted that there would be anyone outside after a storm like that. He remembered the last time Tokyo had a storm this bad―there was debris all over the streets and floods throughout Tokyo making it impossible to travel anywhere.

The elevator beeped when he arrived at the ground floor. He scoped the foyer and gave a sigh of relief when there was no one to be seen except for the receptionist who seemed too busy to notice him anyway.

Pushing the rotating door, he stepped outside into the cool night. He breathed in deeply, the fresh air filling his lungs and for the first time all day, he felt at peace. The sound of silence and the smell of rain flooded his senses. It was a rare sight to see Tokyo this silent but after the storm this evening, everyone stayed indoors which meant Syaoran was alone―just how he liked it. He rubbed his eyes in a circular motion with the palms of his hands and then stretched his arms out in front of him. He began to walk down the familiar pathway that leads to the gates of the hotel. What was usually a beautiful garden with fountains and flower beds was reduced to branches and mud. He made a mental note to inform the gardeners to fix it in the morning.

As he walked down the quiet street, he noticed a slumped figure on a bench. Syaoran squinted his eyes, making out a small baby pink backpack on the lap of the person. On approaching the bench closer, he realised that it was the girl who had bumped into him earlier. Syaoran furrowed his brows. It wasn't common to see homeless people in this part of town.

He quickly dismissed that thought. A homeless person wouldn't be wearing a rose gold watch in public. Then why would she be sitting outside at 12:20am he wondered. It was quite cold - in fact, she was probably freezing from being absolutely drenched in water. Not only was it cold but it was also dark. A girl her age wasn't safe outside at this hour, especially alone.

Syaoran tapped the sleeping figure on the shoulder, trying to wake her up. When she didn't move, he grabbed her shoulder and started to shake her. Slowly coming out of her slumber, Sakura covered her mouth and yawned. After a couple of seconds, she realised where she was and groaned.

"Please don't tell me I fell asleep out here." Her voice was coated with dread. "I'm such an idiot." She gathered her luggage and looked up at Syaoran. "Hey, aren't you the man from the before?" Her eyes were searching his face trying to confirm if it was the same person.

He didn't reply immediately. He looked as if he was deep in his own thoughts. Sakura tapped him on the shoulder to grab his attention. While waiting for his reply, Sakura got a better look of the man's face. His unruly, chestnut brown hair was wet with strands hanging over his eyes. He had thick eyebrows that were furrowed with a mix of curiosity and concern, his glowing amber eyes were mesmerising yet empty. He had his arms crossed, covering a brand label on his white V-neck shirt.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he smiled apologetically and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, that was me earlier," he paused for a moment, looking questionably at her face, "if you don't mind me asking, why were you sleeping out here?"

"Well," she hesitated, "it's kind of a long story."

He glanced down at his watch and looked up at her face again. "I'm in no rush to be anywhere." He sat down beside her, "So tell me this long story of yours."

"Okay so this is my first time in Tokyo if you couldn't tell." He figured as much. He knew she wasn't homeless and there was no other reason for her to be in this area of town unless she was lost. "And when I arrived, I decided to explore a bit but when it started getting dark, I caught a bus to what I thought was my street." She was fiddling with her hands as if she was nervous to tell him what happened next. "Next thing I know, I ended up in this street and it was pouring so I asked for some directions in the hotel where I walked into you earlier." She pointed back towards the gates of the hotel. "When I came outside again, it was raining so heavily that I had to stay under this shelter until it stopped and," she paused and looked at him with a sheepish grin, "I guess I fell asleep."

"Honestly, I was expecting a longer story," he said bluntly.

"I didn't really want to explain myself to you," she replied, "it was embarrassing enough getting your suit all wet."

"Why didn't you just call a taxi at the airport?" he asked.

"I used all of my money shopping actually," she laughed, "and the bus fare too."

"So how do you plan on getting home now?"

Sakura pondered on this question for a couple of seconds. "I hadn't thought about that. I was planning to walk home once the rain had stopped but I guess that wouldn't be the best idea now. I guess I could…"

He interrupted her babbling. "Wait here."

Syaoran walked back towards the hotel and Sakura stayed put on the bench. She twiddled with her nails that were covered in chipped, peach nail polish. She hadn't had the time to put a new coat on before she left Tomoeda nor did she have the money to get a manicure like the receptionist. Sakura wondered how much receptionists get paid and whether it was more than her new job in Tokyo. She doubted it but there was a slight possibility considering how fancy this hotel was. Her train of thought stopped when she heard the footsteps of the man coming back to the bench.

He held a key card in front of her face. "It's not safe for you to go home now. So you can stay in this room for tonight." Sakura stared at him for a couple of seconds. "It's not my room," he quickly added, sensing her confusion.

"I can't accept this," she spluttered out. "I have no idea how much it cost you but it's far more than I can afford to pay you back." Sakura wanted to cry. After the day she had, the kindness that this man showed her was overwhelming.

Syaoran was caught off guard by the sudden tears. "Hey, look at me." His eyes were pleading. The last thing he wanted to end his day with was a girl crying all over him.

"Please don't cry. The hotel owed me a complimentary night so you can use it okay?" he said reassuringly.

"I won't be able to pay you back anytime soon. Money is really tight right now for me you see…"

"Don't worry about that," he said but even knowing her for 20 minutes, he knew this wouldn't be enough to stop her worrying. "Look, think of it as a pay-it-forward type of deal."

"Pay-it-forward?" she questioned.

"The next time you see someone struggling, you can help them out like I did with you now." He grinned down at her, hoping it was enough to convince her.

She wiped the few tears off her cheeks with the back of her hands. "Okay." She looked at him with gleaming, emerald eyes. "I'll try my best!"

"Now please do me a favour and clean yourself up. Get some rest too. You look miserable." Sakura's face went bright red and she quickly picked up her luggage.

"Thank you so much. Really," she mumbled before running off to the entrance of the hotel. Syaoran smiled to himself. At least he could make someone's day a little bit better.

Sakura reached the rotating doors a little out of breath. Lifting her hand up to push the door, she realised she hadn't even asked the man for his name.

Turning around, she yelled, "Sorry, but what was your–"

She stopped when she didn't see anyone in her line of sight. She'd probably bump into him in the morning anyway.

Turning back around, she entered the hotel. It wasn't the time to worry about his name now. She was far too exhausted to think about anything other than a hot shower and a nice warm bed.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know if there are any mistakes. Feedback and comments are welcome.