It was a calm evening and few clouds dotted the sky. Sakura was standing out on her balcony, remembering the horrific site she had witnessed just a few days ago. She breathed in the fresh air, allowing it to fill her lungs, and then exhaled.
She looked up as Syaoran came to stand beside her and sighed.
"Syaoran…"
"What is it?" he asked.
"I'm sorry you got dragged into this." She said.
"I didn't get dragged into anything." He said. "This is possibly my fault."
"What-no! Syaoran, don't blame yourself." She said softly.
He looked away for a moment before returning to meet her eyes. "You shouldn't either."
Sakura smiled, "I know."
Syaoran lifted his hand to cup her cheek and the other to pull her into an embrace. Sakura immediately returned his hug, feeling relaxed in his hold.
"Syaoran?"
"What?"
"Could you tell me more about your family…?" Sakura asked quietly.
"I don't remember much. I was seven when they were killed."
"I'm sorry."

There was silence between them and Sakura looked up at him, "If you want to talk about it, you can." She said softly. "But you don't have to."
"The same people who killed my parents are the same people who took me and raised me to be a killer." He told her.
Sakura felt as if she could feel all of his worries and fears and his hopes through their shared contact. "Are you afraid of losing me?" she asked.
"Yes."
She smiled, "That's ok. I'm not going anywhere." She said.
"How can you say that?" he asked.
"Because I trust in you and Fai, and the guards to keep me safe." Sakura said softly. "So I know I'll be ok."

Syaoran hugged her tighter, parting a little and looking into her emerald eyes. She gazed back as he leant into her, and she closed her eyes as his lips brushed against hers. The kiss was tender and sweet and Sakura completely lost herself to him.
He finally parted and she looked up at him with soft eyes.
"We should get some rest, don't you think?" she smiled.
Syaoran tucked some pale hair behind her ear and turned to walk back inside with Sakura following him. She slipped beneath the covers and Syaoran joined her before she turned off the lamp.

Sakura woke to the sun shining through the windows and onto her face and the sound of running water from the shower. Syaoran wasn't beside her so she assumed he was occupying the bathroom and sat up, stretching her arms and legs.
The water shut off, indicating that Syaoran had finished his shower, so before he could walk out Sakura quickly stood up and walked over to her wardrobe, pulling out a fresh set of clothes for herself and changing quickly.
Syaoran stepped out of the bathroom and looked over at Sakura who was hastily running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to make it neat.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Sakura looked up to see him dressed and smiled quickly. "Nothing!" she said.
He furrowed his brows and shook his head.
Sakura slipped her feet into her delicate flats and looked out the window. She smiled and turned to Syaoran, "I'm going to go find Chii, alright?"
He nodded, watching as she bounced out the door.

He proceeded with pulling on his own shoes and left the room, heading down the hallway. He came across the hall where the few guards had been attacked and killed, all signs of blood and death gone.
"I'm surprised the princess isn't with you."
Syaoran looked up to see Fai approaching.
"She went to find Chii." Syaoran said.
Fai nodded and then noticed the disturbed look on Syaoran's face.
"Is something on your mind?" he asked.
"Sakura told me that her family was murdered…do you know what happened?" he asked.
Fai sighed, "Her parents were away on business in another country, and on the day they were meant to come back, they died."
Syaoran looked at him curiously. "You seem to have a different view of things."
Fai smiled, "You should probably head for the dining hall."
The conversation dismissed, Syaoran continued down the hall on his own.

Sakura entered the dining hall quietly, not saying a word. Her expression seemed rather sad and as she cast a quick glance at Syaoran she gave him a small smile. He wondered what she had spoken to Chii about and why it was making her so upset.
Sakura sat down in silence and started eating her meal.

Approaching Sakura who was lying beneath the biggest cherry blossom tree in the garden, Syaoran sat down beside her and stared ahead. Sakura ran her fingers over the smooth blades of grass and sighed.
"The sun feels nice." She said.
"Sakura, this morning you seemed…"
"I know." Sakura smiled. "I was acting weird."
"You're hiding something." Syaoran said bluntly.
Sakura sat up and rested her cheek on her knee, "I didn't go to see Chii. I had to see Jase, the family doctor."
Syaoran stayed quiet and Sakura released a small sigh, "I haven't told you about my illness, have I?" she asked.
"No."
"When I was a baby I was diagnosed with it-the fevers wouldn't go away and my parents were worried that I wouldn't survive. Doctor's all over the country tried everything, but Jase was from a different country with more developed medicines and technology. He offered to look after me, and the medicine he gave me stopped the fevers for a time…" she explained softly.
"Did the medicine stop working?" he asked.
"No. In fact it works just fine, but the illness is incurable. I'm stuck with it for life." She said sadly.
"Did he tell you something this morning?" Syaoran asked.
Sakura shook her head, "No…I just wasn't sure how to tell you."
"You were worried…about me?" he asked.
"A little, yes." She said softly.
Syaoran felt a little flustered and Sakura smiled cheerfully. "It's only a week until the ball. I hope everything will be ok."
"It will be fine." He said quietly.
Sakura looked to him with a warm smile. "Thank you Syaoran..." she said softly. "Would you like to go for a walk?" she asked.
"Alright." He said, standing up with her.

It was late afternoon and the sun was already setting by the time they headed back to the castle. Sakura was exhausted so Syaoran was carrying her back while she slept. As he walked in silence, his mind wondered back to what Fai had said earlier about Sakura's parents, which lead him to wonder about the real reason Sakura's parents had died. If she wanted the truth, she might not be able to accept it.
"What's the time…?" Sakura mumbled.
"Time for your maid to start panicking." Syaoran replied dully.
"When did you start making jokes?" Sakura asked tiredly.
"Sorry."
"No-it's ok, express yourself." Sakura smiled into his shoulder.
Syaoran stopped and let her down so she could walk. "Thank you for carrying me." Sakura said.
He gave her a small smile and Sakura slipped her hand into his while they walked up the stairs and through the doors.

Dinner was peaceful. Sakura spent her time after dinner occupying the lounge room and looking through and old photo album she had found earlier in the day. Syaoran walked in and spotted her looking at the moving figures in the photos and was curious.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
Sakura looked up and smiled. "Come sit," she said.
He walked around and sat beside her on the soft couch, looking at the photographs. They were of her when she was younger, a documentation of her life from when she was born.
The page was open on a page of a little toddler in a white dress with a big smile on her face and her big green eyes staring up at the camera.
"How old were you?" Syaoran asked.
"Hmm…About three and a half, I think. I wonder if it says here…?" She mumbled as she scanned the page. "Mum didn't write it here-she must have forgotten to." She laughed.
She turned the page, revealing a few more photographs. Sakura smiled at the memories and showed Syaoran a photo of herself when she was five. She looked really unimpressed in her pale yellow dress and formal shoes.
"This was my fifth birthday. We held a ball and I really didn't want to go-I was terrified of the adults." She laughed.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"I eventually warmed up to the crowd…I didn't like it, but it was alright." She replied with a small shrug. "Hmm…what else is in here…?"
She turned the page again, revealing to him the next lot of photographs and slowly turning the pages into her teen years. The final photograph was of Sakura and her parents, taken when she had turned twenty. She ran her fingers across the photograph's surface with a sombre expression, and then a soft and gentle smile made its way across her face.
"I wish they were here," she said, "I wish you could meet them."
Syaoran looked to Sakura and then she looked up. "I guess you never got a chance to do anything like this, did you?" she asked.
Syaoran shook his head, "No."
"Let's take a photo together then!" Sakura smiled.
Syaoran looked at her with confusion, "What?"
"It will be fun! We'll take one tomorrow, ok?"
"Ok, I guess…" he replied.
Sakura's smile brightened. "Great!"

It was sunny as usual the next day, and as Sakura sat besides Syaoran at the edge of the pond she couldn't help but giggle. He seemed a bit awkward and not really sure what to do as he sat there feeling self conscious (as Sakura had described it earlier), when she figured out what was wrong. Chii had begrudgingly agreed to take a couple of photo's for Sakura, and she lifted the camera to her eye.
"Alright-smile you two! I better get a picture with Sakura later…" she mumbled.
Before Chii could take the photo, Sakura wrapped her arms around Syaoran's shoulders and quickly pecked him on the cheek. Chii managed to catch the moment perfectly.
Sakura smiled and rested her head against his shoulder as Chii took the next photograph.
"I'll go have these printed for you." She said with a sigh.
"Wait, Chii-go find Fai; we'll take one with the four of us." Sakura said.
"Alright!" Chii beamed and ran up to the castle, pulling Fai down to the pond and setting up the camera's timer.
"Why are we doing this?" Fai asked.
"Because it's good to do these things." Sakura smiled.
Chii jumped in besides Sakura and hugged her friend while Fai sat besides Chii looking rather placid. The camera took the photo and then Chii picked it up and headed back to the castle with it.
"How are you feeling?" Fai asked Sakura.
"I'm ok. How are the other soldiers?"
"Shaken, but ready." Fai replied.
Sakura nodded and then turned her attention back to Syaoran. "Let's head back inside. We'll be able to see the photo's in a few hours." She smiled.
"Ok," Syaoran replied.
Sakura pulled him back up to the castle and inside, and Fai followed.

They were quiet as they sat in the lounge room together. Sakura was going over a few letters, trying not to cringe, and put them away before looking up. She noticed Syaoran seemed a little distracted as he looked at his phone, and she smiled.
"Is something the matter?" She asked.
"No." He replied.
Sakura walked over and sat beside him. "Did you get a message?" she asked casually.
He turned his phone over in his hand and then put it down. "Yeah."
"Who from?" she asked.
"Yuui."
Sakura's breath caught in her throat. She'd heard that name before-could it be?
No, that was impossible.
"Who is that?" she asked instead.
"He basically raised and trained me." Syaoran replied.
"You must care for him." Sakura smiled.
Syaoran looked away, "I don't know."
She leant her head against his shoulder, "What did he say?"
"Not to do anything stupid, basically."
"He's worried about you." Sakura told him.
"Worried about me?"
"That's how it sounds to me. So, do your best not to get hurt, ok?"
Syaoran stayed silent for a moment, pondering over her words. He'd never known anyone to care about others back at that organisation. He wondered if maybe Sakura was right, but he decided not to think about it too much.