Chappy 2

"Wake up, monster. Breakfast is ready."

Sakura's eyes flicked open. "Coming, Onii-chan…" she said sleepily. "And I'm not a monster!"

"Sure you are" was Touya's answer. Sakura heard his footsteps fade farther and farther away as he went downstairs.

Sakura groaned as she changed into her clothes. "Onii-chan's so mean…" She spotted Kero, sound asleep in his little bed. "I'll let him sleep in today," she said. "After all, he probably didn't fall asleep until late because of the chocolate." She put on her slippers and went downstairs.

Touya set some eggs in front of her as she sat down at the kitchen table. "Otousan already left during the night on his business trip," He reminded her. "And don't forget, I'm staying late at my part-time, so you'll be all alone until nine or ten o'clock…" He cast a glance in Sakura's direction as he prepared his breakfast. "Try not to destroy the house."

She glared at him. "What makes you think I'd do that?!"

Touya smirked. "Because you're a monster."

"I am NOT a monster!!" Sakura shrieked. Touya just laughed and sat down with his own breakfast.

"Itadakimasu," they both said. They ate their eggs in silence. Finally, Touya put his plate in the sink, put his shoes on, and headed for the door. "Bye monster," he called.

"I'm not a monster!" Sakura called back, and she heard the door close. Finishing her eggs, she put her plate in the sink and began to scrub it. 'Wow, for once I'm all alone,' She thought.

"Hey Sakura-"

"Waaaah!" Sakura swirled around behind her to where the voice had come from – and ended up whacking Kero in the face with a plate. Seeing his tail hanging out from behind it, she quickly took it away. "Kero-chan, are you okay?"

"G-Guh…" said Kero, falling to the floor.

Sakura picked him up. "Sorry Kero-chan…"

Kero shook his head, shaking off the blow. "Why'd you hit me with a plate?!" he asked, annoyed.

"I… kinda forgot you existed…" Sakura said. Realizing how stupid that sounded, she added, "Onii-chan left, and I thought I was alone, and-"

"It's okay," Kero said, "The condition of my beautiful face doesn't matter... much. What matters is, you should invite that kid over if you're lonely!"

"Oh… you mean Syaoran-kun? But… I thought you hated him," Sakura said, confused.

"Well… he's okay, for a kid," Kero admitted halfheartedly. "So are you gonna invite him, or not?"

"Uh, okay! Thanks for thinking of the idea, Kero-chan!"

Kero struck a pose. "Well, I do come up with great ideas…"

While Sakura dialed Syaoran's number, Kero thought, 'Everything's going perfectly! Now, I wonder when Clow will show up…'

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. "Dang he's good," Kero muttered.

"Oh, that's the doorbell," Sakura said to Syaoran. "Um, you can just come when you're ready, okay? …Yep! Okay bye!" She hung up the phone and raced around the corner toward the door. "Coming!" she yelled.

She opened the door to reveal Eriol. "Ohayo, Sakura-san!" he said in his charming, non-Clow voice.

"Ah, o-ohayo, Eriol-kun! This is a surprise! But um… Don't you have… a different voice…?" Sakura hesitantly asked.

"Yes, but I like this voice better," Eriol said.

"B-But…" Sakura stammered, "Isn't that your… fake voice…?"

"No," Eriol said, "It's Eriol's voice. The other voice is Clow's."

"Oh, I see," Sakura said. "That's why you still use that voice at school, too… But, uh, you can come in, if you want… it might be a little messy…"

"Oh, I don't mind," Eriol said. "My house is probably messier."

"Your house? Messy?" Sakura asked, non-believing.

"Oh yes," Eriol said. "I'm quite different than you might think." He smiled as Kero rounded the corner. "Why, hello," he said grinning broadly.

Sakura turned around. "Oh, hi Kero-chan," she said, not really paying attention. "You can come in, Eriol-kun!"

"Arigatou," Eriol said politely. "May Ruby come in, too?"

Sakura cocked her head. "Eh…? Ruby…?"

"Ah, I mean, Akizuki-san," Eriol said. "Remember? She's actually Ruby Moon."

Ruby jumped down from the roof. "Ohayo kusainimaaaass!!" she sang.

Sakura stared at her ruby red hair and her big, black butterfly wings. "Ah… yeah… I think I remember, but… you're Akizuki-san?"

Upon hearing this, Eriol took out his staff and changed her to her human false form. "Yup! Nakuru Akizuki, that's me!" Ruby said. "Well, that's my fake name, anyways." She tried to look past Sakura. "Touya-kun's not in there, is he?" She giggled. "He's fun to annoy!" Her smile turned to one of mischief. "But so is Yue…"

"You can both come in!" Sakura said. "But… um… I'm expecting another visitor-" At that moment, Syaoran rounded the corner onto the street. "Ah! Ohayo, Syaoran-kuuuun!"

Syaoran's head turned toward the noise and he jogged up to the door. "Ohayo, Sakura…" His gaze jerked over to Eriol. "What are you doing here…?" he asked, obviously ticked.

Eriol just smiled. "I happened to be around and thought I'd stop by."

"Um, um… please come in, everybody!" Sakura said. "I'll get some tea ready!"

"Oh, I'll help you, Sakura-san," Eriol said.

Syaoran gritted his teeth. "You don't have to, Hiragizawa, I'll help her." He narrowed his eyes at Eriol.

Eriol shrugged. He'd already gotten a plentiful display of Syaoran's jealousy. "Suit yourself," he said. Ruby giggled.

With one last glare at Eriol, Syaoran stormed into the kitchen to help Sakura. Kero flew up to Eriol. "It won't be long, now," he said.

"Yes," Eriol said, looking from Kero to Ruby. "I have a feeling that today… we're going to have a whole lot of fun."