Chapter 2: First Meeting

"Hurry, Yamazaki-san!"

"I know! I know!"

Nightfall was soon to come. Sakura tightly held her arms around Takashi's waist. They both quickly strode with his horse along the road built within the mountain valley that was just outside the capital. When they passed through the thick forest, Sakura couldn't help but feel her heart beat even faster. Each stride along the path reminded her of every moment that they get closer to where she lived. She buried her head on Takashi's back, hoping to erase her nervousness upon seeing her brother.

Takashi was slightly surprised when he felt her face sticking close to his back. "Kinomoto-san?"

"I don't hate Yukito-san…" Sakura muttered, "but why does he have to come over today?!" Sakura kept slapping Takashi on the back in her annoyance.

Takashi forced out a chuckle. "Kinomoto-san, I understand how you feel but could you please not vent out your frustrations on me? I'm trying not to get us killed on the way there after all."

"S-Sorry..." A thought suddenly popped into Sakura's head. "But didn't you like getting slapped?"

Takashi froze for a moment. "What?"

"I thought you were a masochist."

He sighed. "Where in the world are you getting those silly ideas?"

"You always looked like you enjoy it whenever Chiharu tries to punch or strangle you."

Takashi was speechless. He didn't know Sakura had always seen him that way.

"But it's okay, Yamazaki-san! I'll accept you for whoever you are even though your fetishes sometimes make you look like a pervert."

The man looked like his soul was just sucked out of him. "How very... considerate of you..."

Sakura laughed. But when she noticed that they were nearing the end of the forest trail, she suddenly remembered how close they were to getting home. She once again buried her head on Takashi's back, wishing everything would go well with her brother later on.

"Are you worried about your brother?" Sakura heard Takashi ask.

"Mm-hmm..."

"Then, I guess I'm not alone," Takashi chuckled. "I could already see myself getting strangled to death..." and his laugh had suddenly turned awkward.

Though Sakura knew Takashi was just trying to lighten the mood, she couldn't exactly laugh along with him this time.

"Sorry, Yamazaki-san," she softly muttered. "It's my fault that you're about to get in trouble."

"Hey, cheer up! Don't worry about—"

"It's all that stupid man's fault!" she accidentally slammed Takashi's back once again in her frustration. She quickly apologized after hearing him whimper a small 'ouch'. "A-Anyway... If he hadn't given me this wound, we could probably easily escape from having onii-chan find out what I really did today!"

Takashi sighed. "I don't really think that's the problem here..." It's actually her role as the Raven that had been worrying him and all the others who knew about her other persona. "Well, what do you know. We're already here," he said when they reached the end of the forest trail. They could see the Kinomoto house from the upper slope, residing along with the other farmers' cottage houses in the lush green fields.

The sky was already dark the moment they arrived at the place. All the anxiety Sakura felt on the way there had come back to her. Seeing Yukito's horse, which was tied to the wooden fence, made her nervous once again.

Before leaving the house that day, she asked permission from her brother, saying that she would be visiting Yukito along with Takashi. But now that Yukito had unexpectedly come to their home right before her, she couldn't imagine how angry her brother would be towards her.

"He's probably going to forbid me from entering the capital for a while..." she mumbled.

After Takashi had jumped off the horse, he offered his hand towards Sakura, which the latter gladly accepted to get herself down to the ground as well.

"Thanks, Yamazaki-san."

"Come on. Let's go."

Takashi was about to go ahead of Sakura to enter the house when he suddenly felt a hand pulling his shirt. He glanced before his shoulder and saw an uneasy auburn-head hiding her face beneath her long auburn hair. He thought she might have just been feeling very nervous, so he gave her a gentle pat on the head. He was going to try to walk towards the front door again when his shirt was tugged even harder.

A drop of sweat fell from his head. "Kinomoto-san, are you trying to rip my shirt off?" he asked, referring to Sakura's very strong pull on his shirt.

The girl raised her head and looked at him with a serious expression. "Yamazaki-san, you can go home now."

Takashi's looked at her in surprise. "B-But what about your brother? I'm also responsible for what happened today. He asked me to watch over you—"

"Which you did," she smiled at him earnestly. "It just so happens that the girl you're asked to protect is very thick-headed. And I truly apologize for that."

"Kinomoto-san…"

"Besides, I'm planning to enter through the back door and just hide from him today," Sakura casually laughed. "So please, Yamazaki-san. Go home now and rest. You'll be going back to duty tomorrow after all, right?"

Takashi wanted to speak up and tell her that he wouldn't leave until he was assured that she would be completely fine. But the smile on Sakura's face kept telling him that she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. In the end, he decided to give in to her request.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Sakura chuckled. "Yamazaki-san, I'm not very used to hearing you talk so seriously."

Takashi smiled and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Alright… Then I'll be heading back now."

As soon as he left with his horse, Sakura quickly ran to the back of the farmhouse and sneakily entered the scullery through the back door. She searched for the basket filled with eggs and carefully slid her 'Raven' attire beneath the cloth that were holding the eggs. She then took the basket and placed it beside the fruits and vegetables on the center table. She thought that her brother definitely wouldn't think that the 'Raven' attire was in the basket when it could be easily seen by the eye.

When she was finally sure she kept the clothes hidden tactfully, she quietly sneaked into the house. Upon seeing all the lights open, she quickly ran to the upper floor, having guessed that her brother and Yukito were probably just having their chit-chat in the living room. But as soon as she opened the door to her room, she was both surprised and dismayed to see the two of them in there instead.

A young gray-haired man in a set of fine garments stood from the bed as soon as he saw her enter. "Hi Sakura-chan," the soft-voiced Yukito was the first to greet her with a smile.

Sakura blushed at the very sight of the man. "H-Hello…" It probably wasn't so bad to see his gentle face that day after all.

"Well, if it isn't kaijuu." Sakura staggered upon hearing Touya who was just standing beside the door, right behind her. "So you said you were with Yuki, huh."

The smug look on her brother's face made her forget all her worries, wanting to hit him instead. She gave him a furious look.

"We really were going to visit Yukito-san but…" Sakura slightly tilted her eyes away when she felt like her brother could see right through her, "...it just so happened he wasn't actually at home."

Touya rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

The girl flushed red, both in her embarrassment and irritation. "A-As if we would know Yukito-san would go out today! And why are you here in my room anyway?!"

"I had a feeling you would sneak through the back door and head straight into your room, so I convinced Yuki that we'd stay here instead." Her lovable brother grinned evilly. "Surprised?"

Sakura's eyes twitched. She wondered how he could ever be so accurate with his annoying guesses.

"This is still a girl's room!" She was agitated when she pulled Touya and whispered to his ear, "He could have seen my 'girl stuffs'!"

Instead of whispering back to answer, Touya clearly announced to the room what he had to say. "It's your fault for being a careless brat. What woman would leave her underwear lying all over the place?"

Sakura started to panic when Yukito could obviously hear what Touya was saying. She was frantically telling her stupid older brother to shush.

But he continued, "You should even thank Yuki for taking the initiative to pick up the mess for you."

Both Sakura and Yukito jumped at what he said. The gray-haired man was sweating heavily when the very flustered Sakura turned to look at him incredulously.

"Y-Yukito-san… You touched my under—"

"O-Of course not!" Yukito quickly defended himself, shaking his hands nonstop. He forced out a very awkward laugh. "T-Touya, could you please stop speaking non-sense to Sakura-chan?"

"Wait…" Sakura turned to her brother once again. "That wasn't true?" As soon as she saw Touya sticking his tongue out, she quickly ran out of patience and smacked her brother on the head.

Yukito laughed as he watched the two siblings having their usual everyday quarrel. But his smile soon faded when his eyes caught a slightly dark color on the girl's face.

"Sakura-chan, let me take a look at you," Yukito interrupted the two and walked towards them.

The naive girl could feel her face getting hot when Yukito suddenly cupped her face. "Y-Yukito-san?" As soon as she felt him brushing her cheek, she was alarmed to realize that what she had been hiding would soon be found out.

Yukito was trying to rub the thick foundation off Sakura's cheek, but he stopped midway when he heard her softly whimper in pain. He promised her that he'd do it a little gentler and continued to rub her cheek until his eyes grew wide, startled to see a dark patch finally revealing itself on the girl's face.

"I recognized earlier that your face looked a bit swollen but for it to look this bad..." Yukito sounded truly worried. He solemnly looked at her in the eyes and asked, "Sakura-chan, did you—"

Sakura immediately moved away before he could finish. "T-This is nothing," she said while hiding the ugly mark with her hand. "I just accidentally hit my face on a pole. That's all."

Touya grabbed the hand that was covering the dark spot on Sakura's face and looked at her with a stern expression. "Is that really all? Or could it actually have been something else?"

Sakura looked away, wanting to avoid his eyes. "It's not what you think."

A sigh of disappointment escaped his lips. "Sakura... I think it is." The strong conviction in Touya's voice made Sakura tremble in guilt. "I'll go get a warm towel." He let go of her hand and was about to step out of the room when Sakura quickly held onto his arm.

"Onii-chan!" Sakura squeezed him tight, begging him to listen. "I'm so, so sorry... I just… I only did what I thought was right… I had to do something or the girl would have been—" she stopped midsentence when she noticed that her brother didn't seem interested to listen.

Touya neither moved nor let out a single word. He merely avoided his sister's gaze until he finally let out another sigh. "Stay here," he simply said and left to get a towel, leaving Sakura and Yukito in the room.

Sakura was trying very hard to hold back her tears. She kept rubbing her eyes to keep them from coming out. But when Yukito gently held her shoulder and showed her a caring smile, she was no longer able to hold back and burst out in tears.

Yukito took her hand and led her to sit on the bed beside him. He comforted her for a while until she looked like she was finally feeling a little better.

"I'm sorry, Yukito-san. I didn't want to worry anyone yet I still kept on doing that selfish heroic act. I'm so sorry for being such a hard-headed person." Sakura tried her best to laugh it all off. She was later surprised when Yukito suddenly held her hand. The feeling was so gentle and warm that she felt all her troubles go away in a flash.

"Do you remember when I used to live around here?" Sakura nodded at his question. "You were still so little back then. I used to be bullied by a group of boys, calling me names like 'softy' or 'crybaby'. That's when I met you and Touya, who came to save me. Whenever Touya wasn't around, you're the one who defended me in his place. Your hands were so small yet you had the courage to stand in front of me and push the bullies away. I really admired you." He squeezed her hand with both of his and smiled radiantly as he said, "You were my hero, Sakura-chan."

Sakura felt her tears starting to well up again after she heard those words. Although it was no longer new to hear anyone calling her a 'hero', it still felt warm to actually hear it directly from one of the people she loved and cared about the most. "Thank you, Yukito-san," she told him in between her sobs.

Yukito lightly laughed and gently patted her on the head. "Now, now… Don't cry. I complimented you, didn't I? Here, dry your tears with this." He took a small piece of cloth from his pocket and handed it to Sakura. "For the meantime, I'll go and check on your brother. It's been taking him some time just to get that towel," he said with a chuckle.

He later stood up and went outside the room. After closing the door behind him, he took his glasses off and sighed. He turned his head to look at Touya whose back was leaning against the wall just next to the door.

"How is she?" Touya asked.

"Well, she's probably terrified that you'd start to hate her after you walked out like that." Yukito's voice was as soft as usual but he certainly didn't sound happy. He then saw Touya holding the towel. "You should get inside and attend to her before that towel gets cold."

Touya walked past Yukito. He was about to enter the room when he abruptly stopped. "Yuki, I don't want my sister getting hurt. She's the only family I have left."

"I know." Yukito placed a hand over Touya's shoulder. "And that's why I'm here. I'm also doing my best to help you and Sakura-chan," he smiled. "Well, I should start to leave. It's already dark out but I still have to meet with someone."

"Alright. Be careful."

"I will." Yukito cleaned his glasses and wore them back. He began to walk away and was about to reach the stairs when he suddenly recalled something. "And Touya…"

"What is it?"

He looked at his friend worryingly. "You've been looking quite pale recently. I think it's about time you stop what you're doing and tell her the truth. Your body might not be able to take it anymore."

"That's not needed."

"Touya!"

The hard-headed friend shook his head. "Until I'm no longer able to hold it in," Touya gave a painful smile, "I'll protect Sakura with everything I have."

It's been more than a week since Sakura left home for the capital. Her brother didn't allow her to go out until her swollen cheek took enough time to heal properly. But after receiving a letter from the Daidouji household, she kept pestering her brother that she had to go until he finally gave up. His only condition was to swear to him that she would never do anything 'reckless' that day.

Since the bruise on her face was still clearly visible, she applied even thicker foundation just to make sure no one would notice it right away unlike in the event nights before. She even wrapped a shawl around her head to keep others from noticing her cheek.

She was riding her horse around the city until she saw the humongous and grandiose archway. And she knew that she was finally nearing the inner capital.

The walls encircling the inner capital soared high up above the ground. Those resplendent walls were even higher than the walls enclosing the entire capital itself. Stories were told that inner capital's walls used to serve as a magic barrier that protected the rich histories and treasures of the Kingdom of Tomoeda. It was said that the inner capital was the home to many of the magi, filling the place with wonders so astonishing and breathtaking. But then again, she wouldn't really know. Those were just stories, more like fairy tales, told to her after all.

Nowadays, life in the inner capital was nothing greater than grand. It wasn't as magical as she had heard. It was as if the inner capital was no more than just a way to separate the true rich from ordinary citizens. On the other hand, the outer capital couldn't exactly be described as poor. It just so happened that the inner capital looked more luxurious than the other.

As Sakura was nearing the entrance to the inner capital, she became slightly alarmed. She noticed that more guards were stationed at the archway than usual. And what was worse was that a 'friend' of hers who was usually stationed there wasn't one of those men. She feared that it might turn out to be difficult for her to enter that day.

As soon as she and Kero reached the archway, she was abruptly told to stop by one of the guards, as she had expected. Calmly, she jumped off the horse and brought down the shawl from her head, revealing her seemingly innocent face.

"Is anything the matter?" Sakura asked one of the men.

"Where is your Seal of Entitlement?" the guard roughly asked her.

"Seal of Entitlement?"

"If you don't have it then, you are not eligible to enter."

Sakura was beginning to feel the heat rising to her face. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand. I have passed through this archway many times before and never have I been searched with that Seal of Entitlement, whatever that is."

"It's a requirement," another guard said. "It was immediately implemented by the Archidux Militant after another appearance by that foolish vigilante."

Sakura was starting to understand what was going on, but she decided to pry a little more. "What vigilante are you talking about?"

"You don't know?" The guard laughed. "Are you sure you're really from around here? It's the Raven! Who else!"

"That stupid man doesn't know who he's dealing with," and another guard had entered the conversation.

"He'll definitely have a taste of hell once the Archidux catches him. Others calling him a 'hero'... How stupid can they be?"

"Let the Raven be. It's probably just one of his childish dreams to be called one." And all the guards laughed.

Sakura was trying her best to control her irritation towards the mockery being thrown at her indirectly. "If you're done chatting, may I be allowed to enter now?" she asked, purposely barging into their disgusting laughter.

One of the guards blocked her way. "Hey, what do you not understand? No seal, no going in," he stared at her with scorn in his eyes.

"I was invited by the Daidouji household." She took the letter from the purse hanging around her waist and handed it over to the guard. "I hope that would be enough to be given permission to enter."

After the guard took the letter, he lazily pretended to read what was written on it. He then tore the paper into tiny pieces right in front of her. "Like I said… No seal," he closed in to her face and smiled with conceit, "no entry."

Sakura clenched her fists and looked back at him with contempt. "You're attitude is beyond disgusting."

She was immediately slapped hard on the face, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Lowlife!" The other guards grabbed his arms, stopping him from attacking the girl. "Who do you think you are to talk back to someone like me?!"

"Someone like you?"

The guards were all frozen to their feet as soon as they saw a member of the famous household that was feared by those who knew their ties with the royal family.

"Li-sama!" the guard who slapped Sakura stuttered. His body trembled as he felt the intimidating aura emanating from the fearsome look in Syaoran's deep amber eyes. "T-This girl! She was—"

"Slapped by you? Yeah, I know," the young man scoffed. He walked over to Sakura and knelt down to her aid. "Can you stand?" he kindly asked, and the girl nodded in response. He took both her hands and assisted her in getting back on her feet.

Syaoran noticed how sore the girl's face looked. "This is how you treat a woman?" he shouted at the guard who yelped in reply. When he saw the torn pieces of paper on the ground, he stared back at the guard and asked, "What is this?"

"It's a letter," Sakura replied instead. She looked down as she was trying to avoid the furious glare from the guard. "I'm supposed to meet my friend but, well, you've seen what happened."

"I see," Syaoran rubbed his chin, as if he was deep in thought. "Well, your friend would definitely be sad if you didn't get there now, wouldn't he?"

"Uhm, yes?" It was unbeknownst to Sakura where he was getting at.

Syaoran smiled carefreely. "Shall I accompany you then?"

Both Sakura and the group of guards were surprised at what he said. But the guard who had hurt Sakura was the most affected of them all.

"Li-sama! I must object!" the guard quickly countered. "That girl is not allowed to enter under the orders of the Archidux Militant!"

"If I remember correctly, the Li family only serves the word of the King." Syaoran turned to the guard and spoke coldly, "Tell me... Is the Archidux—Lord Yue—my king?"

The guard stood speechless. He brought his head down, his face trembling in fear and humiliation.

"I thought so," Syaoran belittled. He turned back to Sakura and smiled assuringly. "Shall we go now?"

"Y-Yes…"

Sakura was assisted by Syaoran as she climbed onto the horse. The young man then held onto the horse's halter as he led them through the archway, finally entering the inner capital. But before they could get any farther, Syaoran stopped abruptly.

"And just so you'd know," he turned to look back at the guards, his eyes unsmiling, "this girl is my woman. So don't even think about laying a hand on her again."

The guards were shocked at the words left by the young Li. Sakura was, of course, the most surprised of them all but she decided to keep quiet about it for the meantime.

As they were getting further away from the entrance, Sakura wondered why the guards looked so helpless in her savior's presence. She was about to look back at the guards far behind them when she was stopped by the young man.

"Don't look back," Syaoran told her. "Just pretend that everything's going smoothly. That man who seems to despise you will probably remember your face. So don't look back and give him the chance to remember you even more."

"Y-Yes!" She took her shawl and wrapped it back around her head before shyly bowing to him. "And, uhm… Thank you for helping me back there, Sir… uhm… Sir..." Sakura was expecting him to at least turn to her and give her his name, which she happened to have forgotten. When she noticed that the man wasn't looking back nor paying much mind to her, she sadly drooped her head and kept quiet.

The silence lingering around them longed for several minutes until the man finally decided to speak up.

"How's your face?" were the first few words that came out of his lips after a while. His back was still facing her as he continued to lead the way.

"S-Sorry?" Sakura looked puzzled and worried at the same time. She was frantically worrying deep inside if he was referring to the bruise on her face which she covered with makeup.

"Your face… He slapped you didn't he? It looked really sore when I saw you back there." He suddenly stopped walking and finally turned to her. "Are you alright?"

"O-Oh! That!" Sakura started laughing awkwardly when she realized she was worrying for nothing. But even more so, she couldn't stop her cheeks from blushing when she saw the worried look on his face. "That was nothing," she brushed off, feeling giddily embarrassed. "I'm fine, really!"

"Is that so?" Syaoran didn't look very convinced.

"I'm really, really fine! Honest! But I gotta admit… That man sure does know how to land a smack on the face. He's no match for me, though!" Sakura confidently showed off her pretend-muscles.

Syaoran eventually laughed at her incredulous muscular strength, making her blush even more. He swept a tear from his eye and smiled. "Alright, alright. I believe you."

Sakura felt relieved when she saw that he actually knew how to smile and laugh like that. Her first impression of him was that he was a fearsome and influential person whom no one would want to get involved with. Yet even if that was the case, there was some sort of air around him telling her that he was actually a kind person deep inside.

"Do you admire me that much even if we just met?"

The girl snapped out of her thoughts. "Excuse me?"

"It's just that I noticed you've been staring at me for too long," he chuckled.

Sakura laughed lightly at her realization. "Was I really?"

"Yes, really."

A sudden strong gust of wind caught the two unattended. The shawl around Sakura's hair loosened and because it was made of thin fabric, it was easily carried away by the wind. Sakura attempted to climb off the horse and get the shawl herself when Syaoran stopped her and offered to get it instead.

"Got it!" he exclaimed as soon as he caught the shawl that was flying in the air. When he turned back around, his eyes were suddenly caught off-guard by a beautiful scenery.

At that time, the rays of the sun touched the girl's long auburn hair that danced along with the strong wind. The branches of the abundant trees, left and right of the streets, swayed along as if they were rejoicing at her very presence. For some reason, he felt his heart warming up at the very sight; but not until he began to pay full attention to the color of the girl's hair.

"Auburn..." Syaoran whispered to himself, like he was recalling something. He soon walked back to her and returned her shawl.

Sakura gladly thanked him. She decided to tie the shawl around her waist instead since the wind still kept blowing. "Wow, it's pretty windy today, huh?"

But instead of commenting back, Syaoran kept a serious gaze at her and asked, "Hey… Have we actually met before?"

Sakura was slightly taken aback. "Not that I remember… Why'd you suddenly ask?"

"It's just that I—"

"Sakuraaaa-chaaaan!"

The two jumped at the sound of a woman's voice yelling Sakura's name from afar. Sakura was searching for the direction of the voice until she saw a familiar carriage heading towards them. To her surprise, her friend popped her head out of the carriage's window and waved a hand at her.

"You know her?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura shyly scratched her cheek. "Y-Yeah… She's the friend I'm supposed to visit."

"And all this time, I assumed you were meeting a man." He sighed, seemingly of relief. "Well, that's good news."

Sakura looked a bit confused. "What's so good about that?" But instead of giving her a reply, Syaoran merely gave her an innocent yet suggestive smile, confusing her even more.

As soon as the carriage caught up to them, Sakura quickly got off her horse and went to greet her long-time friend. The girl with long and wavy jet-black hair immediately went off her carriage as well and jumped at her best friend, giving her a tight embrace.

"Oh, Sakura-chan! I'm soooo glad you're alright!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "I thought the guards would kick you out! Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine, Tomo-chan," Sakura smiled. "But how did you know I just got here?"

"I got word from one of our maids that she saw you being harassed by those goons! So I thought to get there as soon as possible! I had really forgotten about the seal. I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay now. Don't worry about it."

It was only until then when Tomoyo noticed the man standing behind Sakura. She bowed her head to him and smiled. "Li-kun, I didn't know you two knew each other."

Syaoran shrugged. "I was just passing by when I saw your friend in trouble. Thought I'd lend her a bit of help."

"Ohhh?" Tomoyo was in awe. She turned to Sakura. "Isn't that nice, Sakura-chan? You finally found yourself a knight in shining armor! Just like what you wished for!"

Sakura turned completely red. When she saw how Syaoran tried to contain his laugh, she felt even more embarrassed. "T-This isn't like that!" She quickly bowed to Syaoran for a number of times. "Please forget what she said!"

"What do you mean? You always told me how you dreamt that your dream knight had brown—"

Sakura quickly covered Tomoyo's lips. "My, my! What are you saying? You're so silly, Tomo-chan!" she laughed awkwardly. She turned back to Syaoran and bowed one last time. "Thanks again for saving me! Is there anything I can do to repay your kindness?" her upbeat voice made her look obviously sheepish.

Syaoran laughed softly at her blushing face. "You don't have to worry about that. Just think of it as an act of duty from a knight in shining armor." He laughed once again when he saw her stunned reaction. "Well, I should get going now. Take care, the both of you." He bowed to the two women and left for the other direction.

The auburn-head gazed longingly as she watched his back moving farther away into the distance. When Tomoyo saw the look on her friend's face, she smiled to herself thinking how interesting things might turn out in the next events to come.

She then tapped Sakura on the shoulder. "Shall we get going now as well?" Her friend nodded to her with a smile. "Let's take a ride together in the carriage."

"But what about my horse?"

"No worries! My attendant will take care of it."

"Oh, alright."

Later, as the two were sitting on the carriage, Tomoyo decided that it was about time for her to bring up what she had been itching to tell Sakura the moment they saw each other a while back.

"I heard the Raven showed up again after quite some time. Didn't your brother do something about your costume before?"

"Well, uhm, about that…" Sakura rubbed her arms as she was trying to think of a way to explain herself. "I used something else to cover up. I tried to hide it but I was still caught by onii-chan anyway," she chuckled.

"Is that because he saw what was hidden beneath your make-up?"

Sakura's eyes widened. She quickly covered her cheek. "Is it obvious?" she asked worryingly.

Tomoyo shook her head. "That was just a guess," she laughed. "You did well in covering it up today. But I wonder how many more you can hide…" The smile on Tomoyo's face faded. "What if the dangers you face become too difficult in the future? I'm really worried about you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura wanted to speak up and comfort her friend, but she later realized that it would be useless when she knew she couldn't promise to protect herself. Her head slumped down as she clenched her dress. She felt slightly angry at herself for making so many people worry about her, and she knew that she couldn't help it.

"Anyhow, let's not think of that for today," Tomoyo showed her a bright smile. She didn't want Sakura to feel any lonelier. "The very reason I asked you to come today is because I want to show you a gown!"

"Gown?" Sakura's eyebrow rose. "What for?"

Tomoyo chuckled. She held her friend's hands together and smiled. "It's for you, silly!"

Sakura felt a bit overjoyed but confused at the same time. "For me? But what's the occasion?"

"The prince will be celebrating his birthday in the next two weeks, and my family's invited to attend. We've been making some of his garments after all."

"Okay… But what has that got to do with me?"

"Okaa-san won't be able to attend because of business matters so I immediately thought that you could take her place! The invitation was meant for two guests and I thought of no one else but you to invite as well." Tomoyo sounded as giddy as ever. "It will be fun, Sakura-chan! Besides, I've always wanted to see you dressed in a gown. I'm sure many men will fall for you at first sight!"

"I-I don't know… Onii-chan doesn't like me going near the royal family, or even here in the inner capital, to be honest."

"Don't worry! I already talked to Yukito-san about it and he'll take care of your brother for us," Tomoyo sounded like she already had everything planned from the very beginning. But when she saw that Sakura still didn't look very convinced, she thought to bring up someone else into the conversation that just might stir her up a bit. "I wonder if Li-kun will be there."

And just as she had expected, she saw Sakura's eyes gleam immediately. "Will he?"

"Who knows?" Tomoyo innocently smiled.

Sakura fidgeted with her fingers. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try the dress."

Tomoyo laughed softly. Although Sakura may be the strong-willed Raven that everyone knew to be, she was still the same simple-minded country girl whom Tomoyo had always adored since they were kids.

"But Sakura-chan, just a word of advice."

"What is it?"

"It's about Li-kun. He…" Tomoyo looked around, trying to find the right words to explain to her friend. "He may be a nice guy but you still need to be a little wary of him."

Sakura felt a bit uneasy with the sudden serious tone from Tomoyo's voice. "And why is that?"

"The Li household… They're the royal family's greatest asset."

Sakura became completely stunned.

"And if you're not allowed to get close to the prince, I doubt your brother would be happy to find out you're acquainted with the Lis."