Disclainmer: I don't own

Sorry it took so long. I've got a lot of things to do because of my school and that. Not to mention the dreaded homework! Anyways, I'm pretty sure you guys don't want to listen to my babbling so here's the chapter. Currently un-beta since my beta ran off, and my backup beta didn't respond. I wonder what happened...


Chapter 2

Startling Announcement

What the court saw when the heirs appeared was beauty. Absolute beauty. Two girls, strikingly beautiful, clad in pink and violet, while two boys, as handsome as the girls, dressed in white and black. Each one had their own beauty as they walked between the throngs of people to where the Queen sat.

The Li heir. Amber eyes, chocolate-colored hair. All traits of the Li clan. Those made up for their attitudes.

The Kinomoto daughter. Auburn hair from her father. Emerald eyes from her deceased mother. Nadeshiko had been a kind, loving woman to everyone. They all hoped her baby would be the same.

The Hiiragaziwa son. His line, his entire family, was wiped out when he was 3 in a massacre. He alone survived. Midnight blue hair, azure eyes. If he didn't get any children, those genes would be gone from the world.

The most stunning of all, the Daidouji princess. Amethyst hair, which length could rival the Queen's and lavender eyes. People that have seen her have commented that she was the most beautiful girl to ever walk the earth. Her looks and personality made her loved by everyone.

But this was the court. Underneath all the glamour were lies, treachery, and evil. These 4 had never experienced all of those in one place. All of those things were ready to crush them.


Tomoyo gulped mentally as she was escorted to her seat by Eriol. Partly because of everyone staring at them. Their thoughts were probably mega-surprised, or equally astonished. She remembered their first encounter, which had started their lifetime hate of each other…
All the families were at the Middle Province. The heirs were either 2 or 3. It was supposed to be a break from all the trouble. For two, it would be a break for life.

The heirs had been sent up for bed. They all were almost asleep on their feet when a scream pierced the air. That woke them up. Eriol, being the fastest, was their first. The sight scarred him for life.

Blood was everywhere. His mother and father were on the ground, bleeding. The heads had stepped out for only a moment, leaving the then husband of Sonomi, Ren Daidouji, and Mr. and Mrs. Hiiragaziwa alone. Ren had murdered them. He had first cut off their heads and then brutally tear their bodies apart.

"Finally. They're gone." Ren had said when they found him. "I had to. You didn't understand!"

The kids stared in horror. The heads came back, hearing the scream. Everything else was a blur.

The doctors had tried all they could to save them. But they were dead. Enough said. Yelan Li then became the guardian of 3-year-old Eriol, the last Hiiragizawa and head of the line.

Sonomi divorcing Ren.

The court sentencing him to death.

Eriol hating Tomoyo because her father killed his parents. He didn't care that she had nothing to do with it. She was his daughter. That was enough.

Tomoyo hating Eriol because his parents caused her father to die. She didn't care about how their murder had changed him. Just that his dead parents caused her father's death. She had never been close to Ren, but he was her father. You can only have one real dad in your life right?

That had started the long and hateful relationship between them.


They got to their seats perfectly fine, without any disturbances. Unless you count some muttering, a baby crying in the background, which is totally natural for events like these. Unless, of course, you know a baby that likes dressing up in a suit and dancing for hours-on-end. You don't? Told ya.

Yelan rose and of course everyone bowed down, except the heirs. Just looking at her, you could see why she was Queen. Her naturally commanding air, striking black hair, and powers. Though, in her time, she was the only choice. Fujitaka had been in mourning for Nadeshiko, Sonomi's husband was kiss by death, and the Hiiragizawa heads had been killed. So she was the only choice left.

"Now, after a few minutes, I have an announcement," said Yelan. "A very important one."

The silence was deafening.

Yelan sighed. Were people that dumb these days? "It means you can dance."

"Oh," muttered some extremely dense people.

Music started and pairs started dancing. Some younger people were standing off to the side, watching the older people with distaste. Teens would never dance with people old enough to be your grandparents doing the chicken dance. Yikes. Someone needs dancing lessons.

Syaoran noticed Yelan staring, more like glaring, at him and nodded her head to Sakura. He gulped visibly. He knew what his mother wanted. A dance with the person he hated, or thought he hated, most. Sakura Kinomoto.

He stood up and walked to Sakura, all the while pushing a hand through his already messy hair. He wasn't prepared, mentally or physically. His dancing was ok, but he was a boy. A boy about to dance with a beautiful girl. You could just hear Eriol snickering, behind his hand of course.

"You want to dance?"

Sakura glanced up at the boy before her. And gaped. She had heard wrong surely. Syaoran couldn't have ask her to just dance. No, he couldn't, he shouldn't. He hated her, she hated him. Let's say their relationship is as complicated as Eriol's and Tomoyo's. Hmmm...naw, their relationship is ok.


Sakura was nine and Syaoran ten when that incident happened. The incident wasn't that serious really. Just a look, take, and run thing. The 'taken' item being Sakura's favorite necklace that her mother, Nadeshiko, had given her shortly before she died. Needless to say, Syaoran, bring the little, but cute, troublemaker he was, took it. Though he had no idea of what to do with it once it was in his hands.

Syaoran was lazing about in the gardens, when Sakura ran in out of breath.

"There you are! Give me back my necklace right now or I swear I will..." she ran off as Syaoran threw the necklace to her.

"Whatever. It's ugly anyways and I didn't even have any use for it." Syaoran walked out the gardens, leaving Sakura to examine her precious necklace.

Stealing a necklace and giving it back was a petty thing to hate someone over right? Wrong. Syaoran had unknowingly broken the jeweled sakura petal that was on the necklace. Sakura had touched it and there! Broken into smithereens, gone into oblivion, past the point of no rec-you catch my drift.

So from that day on, Sakura hated Syaoran and he back just for her hating him. But that's the outside image. Maybe in the inside is a whole entire different feeling.


"Sure," said Sakura, knowing that if he turned him down, people would think that she think that Syaoran wasn't good enough, then people would think that said boy wasn't good and would probably revolt, resulting in the downfall of the Li's. So, for Yelan's sake, she accepted.

She took his hand and they walked to the dance floor, not knowing two pairs of eyes quietly observing them.

"Why are you eyeing my dear cousin, Hiiragizawa?" asked Tomoyo coldly to Eriol.

"Au contraire, I'm looking at my cousin, Daidouji," retorted Eriol as he kept his eyes locked on the pair dancing.

"That still means my cousin is in your line of view," said Tomoyo.

"You broke my necklace!"

"I didn't do it intentionally!"

"Yes you did!"

"Looks like their fighting," commented Eriol as he gazed at the couple that was supposed to be dancing but rather, fighting.

"Pretty obvious," scoffed Tomoyo.

"I didn't-SLAP!"

"Ouch," said Tomoyo as she and Eriol winced when Sakura's hand came in contact with Syaoran's cheek, then the latter's head flew to the side, a nice rosy-looking five-fingered handprint appearing on his cheek while the said girl was holding her hand, eyes wide and not believing what she just did. You could already hear the rumors and gossip flying around, people planning on going on their laptops and cells to IM, email, or call people that didn't come and tell them the story, that THE Sakura had plummeted THE Syaoran. Ok, maybe they exaggerate a little bit.

"We need to keep their minds off that," muttered Eriol to Tomoyo as they kept looking on.

"With what?" Tomoyo said eager to keep her precious little cherry blossom out of any trouble that might come her way.

"Care for a dance?" Eriol held out his hand.

"I'm doing this for Sakura, not because I like you," replied Tomoyo as she rose gracefully from her seat.

"Don't I know it," Eriol murmured as they walked to the middle of the dance floor. Since most people were watching Sakura and Syaoran, they didn't notice the couple that was supposed to be hating each other, dancing together. Of course, the only motive behind them dancing was so that people could take their eyes off Sakura and Syaoran. Or maybe there is another motive behind it?

So when people noticed them, they did a double take to see if it was really Eriol and Tomoyo dancing together.

Then they got shocked into a state of open-mouthness.

And then came the gasps of horror and surprise.

"So are they finally getting together?" asked Chiharu to Yamazaki.

"Who knows? There was once a saying that the person you hate is the person you really lo-" Yamazaki was, unfortunately, cut off by Chiharu hitting him on the head. But we all know the saying right?

"Oh my gosh! Tomoyo's dancing with Eriol!" squealed Sakura.

"Can't you be anymore louder?" whined Syaoran as Sakura turned her back on him for that comment.

"Whatever loser," she said, with emphasis on the 'loser.'

"Whatever yourself baby," he said back, with emphasis on the 'baby.'

"They finally stopped bickering," remarked Tomoyo as she looked over Eriol's shoulder at Syaoran and Sakura.

"Seems so," answered Eriol vaguely.

"Dance is done, you can let go now," said Tomoyo as she pulled apart from Eriol.

"You're right," he said with an evil smile. "It's done."

"Can I have the heirs up here?" shouted Yelan over the noise. "We have something important to talk about."

'Wonder what this is about,' mused Tomoyo as she went to wear Yelan was with the rest of the heirs.

After positioning them next to her, Sakura and Syaoran to her left, and Tomoyo and Eriol to her right, she raised her hand to call for silence.

"As you all know, I had an announcement. This is time for the announcement." Yelan took a deep breath, knowing what she said next would cause chaos. "As of today, Kinomoto Sakura and Li Syaoran are engaged."

Gasps came from everyone in the crowd. They couldn't believe what had just came out of Yelan's mouth. Sakura and Syaoran were getting married?! If two of the kids of the four most important families were engaged…

"Daidouji Tomoyo and Hiiragizawa Eriol will be here on engaged also."

Tomoyo blinked, once, twice. What she had just heard was wrong right? Or what she had just heard was right and she was just thinking that the right was wrong and wrong was right. Her head ached because she was thinking so much.


Syaoran slammed his fist onto the table. "WHY ARE WE ENGAGAED TO EACH OTHER?!"

The day after the ball, the heads', their kids, and other various relatives had met up in the meeting room to discuss their 'engagements' or as Eriol put it, 'something that I and everyone else don't want any part in.' They had all sat down according to family. Sonomi and Tomoyo had been placed at the head; Eriol at the opposite end; Sakura, Fujitaka, and Touya on Tomoyo's right; with Syaoran, Yelan, and his four sisters: Fanran, Feimei, Fuutie, and Shiefa.

"That's the question on everyone's, at least mine's and yours, mind, my cute little descendant," remarked Eriol dryly.

"Straying from the point. WHY?!" snarled Sakura.

All the heads' faces remained poker straight. "Why?" asked Fujitaka.

"Why did we get engaged?!" roared Syaoran.

"Now Syaoran, don't yell at your future wife's father," teased Fanran.

"Whatever."

"Don't be like that."

"I'll be whatever way I wanna be."

"Don't you guys want to know why?" interrupted Yelan from her kids' squabbling.

"YES!"

"Just because." Sonomi answered with a smile.

"So…" Tomoyo reflected on the little tidbit of information. "We're engaged 'just because'?"

"Yes, just because," said Fujitaka.

Tomoyo groaned. Why, oh why, had she been born in this family? She was nice, polite, and pretty so god-knows-why she had to be born in this family. She could have been the average-looking daughter of a family of three with average money, but no, she had to be born in high society, almost royalty, and beautiful. Whoever said that money couldn't buy happiness? Tomoyo would applaud the person if she ever met them.

"That doesn't explain anything!" whined Sakura in a child-like tone.

"Stop acting like a baby, baby," sneered Syaoran.

"Back at cha loser," retorted Sakura.

"See? You two are already acting like a married couple," giggled Feimei.

"And they already have pet nicknames too," said Shiefa.

Syaoran slumped on the table. "Why? Why was I born in this family? I've always been good."

"I believe that," muttered Touya dryly as he glared at his sister's fiancé.

"What?" snapped Syaoran when he noticed Touya's 'glare,' to put it lightly.

Tomoyo found that it was quite amusing watching Syaoran and Touya having death staring battle at each other, for no apparent reason. So intent were they, they didn't even notice when Syaoran's four sisters started drawing on them. Oh, look at that doodle! It's so pretty.

"Anyways, you guys are dismissed," ordered Yelan. She pointed her fan at the door. "Go."

"That was short," they heard someone mutter as they filed out, single file.

"I wouldn't even call that a meeting."

"So true."

Yelan sighed as the door slammed close. "We have to tell them soon, don't we?"

"It would be cruel not to," smiled Fujitaka sadly.

"Anyways. Have you've seen what's been brewing in the Middle Province lately? It seems as though the Morimoto clan is stirring up. They want the throne, at any costs," said Sonomi darkly.

"We can't let them have it," Yelan murmured. "The throne has been in these four families for three centuries. We can't let it go now."

"That's a whole different matter." Fujitaka closed his eyes and opened them again. "Fei Wang Reed has made his move. Our move must be made soon."

"By marrying them to each other," started Sonomi.

"Their magic will get stronger," finished Yelan.

"Why did he have to use them as tests? They just found out they had another baby on the way too," said Sonomi, tears in her eyes. "They were supposed to live long and die old."

Yelan wrapped in arm across her shoulders. "We don't know why."

"We do know one thing. He's still out there and he's targeting Tomoyo."


"So…"

"Did I have to be engaged to you?!"

That erupted from Tomoyo. Consequently, everyone that had left the meeting has left Tomoyo and Eriol together, in the same room, in the same house, in the same province. Which was never good for this couple.

"It's not like I like it either," replied Eriol coldly.

"Hmph," Tomoyo stuck up her nose at him. She noticed a pretty ring lying innocently on a table. "Oh, pretty!"

'What a nuisance…' Eriol thought just as Tomoyo lunged to get the ring. As she was stretching out her arm to get it, her foot tripped over a non-existent thing, which sent her crashing down if Eriol hadn't caught her and the ring in his hand.

"Oof!" muttered Tomoyo as her face connected with a solid chest. She inhaled, breathing in the smell of roses and oak. Usually not a very common mix, but it was elegant and almost cold, fit for someone like Eriol.

Eriol also let out an 'Oof!' as his back connected with the floor. Consequently, Tomoyo landed on top of him. She propped herself up with one arm and stared down at him. Time seemed to freeze. Tomoyo on top of Eriol, Eriol on top of Tomoyo. They locked eyes, not really seeing anything, but still able to see each other. Did they ever notice the position they were in? if someone walked right in, right then, they would have assumed they had an intimate relationship unlike the image the two had built up the pass years. They heard a door open.

"Does somebody know where-oh sorry!" said the person, who turned out to be Eriol's and Syaoran's cousin. Li Meiling, who had walked in on their private little 'moment.'

"Oh, what do we have here?" said Meiling with a devilish smile on her face as she observed the position the two were in. Hastily, they scrambled off of each other, looking in opposite directions, while whistling songs that whistled by them, sounded extremely off tune. "Ouch, stop with the whistling, all right?"

"Whatever you say Mei-chan," responded Tomoyo, using her pet nickname for Meiling when they were younger. Even though she had a bad relationship with Syaoran and Eriol, she was perfectly fine with Meiling.

Eriol stopped also, pausing to put his hands in his pockets and paste his famous, creepy-ish smile on his face, as he strolled out the door, past Tomoyo and Meiling and into somebody's chest.

"Not again," he muttered as he stepped back, rubbing his nose, as he saw who he bumped into. It was Touya, who had his famous glares on his face and crossed arms.

"What were you doing with Tomoyo in there?" he demanded crossly.

"Doing what?" answered Eriol blankly.

"I think you know," Touya said.

"Seriously what?" asked Eriol, face perfectly innocent as if he had no clue.

"You know what I mean," whispered Touya as he leaned down and poked him in the chest. "Be careful about what you do and where you do it."

"Aye aye sir!" Eriol said playfully, saluting him as he went away.

Touya glared at him as he walked off. He could already feel Tomoyo's glare and Meiling's playful stare on his back. He was not gonna get away unscarred.

"What was that?!" screeched Tomoyo as she leapt on Touya, figuratively of course.

"Uh…," stammered Touya. "Just…protecting your innocence. Yeah that's it!"

"Who would believe that?" said Tomoyo hotly as she crossed her arms in a fashion similar to Touya's just moments before.

"I do," piped up Meiling, smiling with a glint in her eye.

"You're you, that's why," dismissed Tomoyo as she continued arguing with her older cousin.

Meiling inwardly smiled as she walked away. Oh, she couldn't wait to tell everybody of the position Tomoyo and Eriol had just been caught in minutes before. It would make headlines! But first to spread it.

Too bad for the 'loving' couple, they had school next day.


Woo-hoo! I was able to get this done since I was feeling hyper. So thank my brother! Also, reviews help a lot too!

Love me, hate me,

Kris