Disclaimer: The author does not own Card Captor Sakura or anything affiliated with it. She only has rights to the plot of the story and its AU characters.

Summary: Famous fashion designer and Daidouji Toy Company heiress, Daidouji Tomoyo, has just been dumped by her actor ex-boyfriend. What's worst, he called Tomoyo an emotional abuser in front of millions of Japanese people. To soften the blow to her reputation, Tomoyo's best friend, Kinomoto Sakura, hatched a plan for Tomoyo to appear in a new reality show "Are You The One?" and hoped that the former would make a great comeback out of it. All seemed fine at the beginning, but trouble ensues when Sakura catches Li Syaoran, the bachelor of the show's, attention instead. To make matters complicated, Sakura's resistance against his charms also deteriorate over the course of the show. Will she finally succumb to the passion that Li's kisses promise or will she stay true to her friend who has been with her since childhood?


Say That You Love Me

Chapter 12: Unexpected Nightmares; Race Against Time Part II


In response to their present crisis, Syaoran asked everyone from the hotel to gather around the lobby for a quick emergency meeting.

"Everyone, can I have your attention please?" he called over the large group of people.

Murmurs of confusion travelled through the crowd as they directed their attention to Syaoran. Among the mass was Keiko, who narrowed her eyes in Tomoyo's direction. Even with her dearest friend missing, she still managed to glue herself to Li-sama's side. She would have thought that Tomoyo would be scurrying around right about now, looking frantically for Sakura. Instead, the woman aforementioned was cozying up to the Li bachelor in Keiko's point of view.

'Well, so much for friendship and loyalty!' she scoffed.

"I thought you said you took care of Daidouji. What the hell is she still doing here then?" Itou Fumika, Keiko's friend and fellow bachelorette remarked.

"I don't know." Keiko replied back bitterly. After successfully trapping Sakura in a cabin by the woods, Keiko had felt so victorious in her scheme that she couldn't help but brag about it to her friend. Unfortunately her plan did not seem to work as Tomoyo was still close to Li Syaoran as ever. "I didn't expect this either."

From the front, Syaoran sighed as he tried to control the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, settle down. I know you are all tired and wary," Syaoran attempted to appease them. "- but please, we have a situation in our hands."

"What's going on?"

"Shouldn't we be taping already?"

"Yeah, what's with the hold up?!"

"What has happened Li-san?" the director of the show asked beside him.

Syaoran stared at the questioning faces of the crowd and silently prayed that at least one of them would be a solution to their problem.

"A young woman from our group is missing." Syaoran began and he held up a picture of Sakura that he borrowed from Tomoyo. "This is her. Her name is Kinomoto Sakura. I believe some of you are already acquainted with Kinomoto-san but most of you can identify her as the assistant of Ms. Daidouji Tomoyo."

Keiko paled when she realized what this assembly was all about. What she couldn't understand, however, was why they would be making a big deal out of Kinomoto Sakura's disappearance. It was normal for a grown woman to go off somewhere without telling anyone. So why in Kami-sama's name would Li Syaoran consider this a sudden emergency?

"Keiko, I don't like the sound of this," Fumika glanced at her friend nervously.

"Shh!" Keiko shushed her to be quiet.

"Demo (But)-"

"Keep your voice down, baka (idiot)!" Keiko said through the corner of her mouth.

Back at Syaoran's end, the latter waited patiently for the crowd to calm down. Many of them had reacted negatively to his piece of news and some had even selfishly commented that this meeting was a total waste of their time. Syaoran even heard a couple of people saying that Sakura may not even be missing at all, a possibility that he had earlier explored. What they could not seem to grasp was how truly dire the situation was.

"Kinomoto-san has disappeared for several hours now," Syaoran continued over the noise. "If anyone has seen her or has heard from her, I - we - need to know right now,"

"Keiko!" Fumika tugged the other woman's sleeve in growing anxiety.

Keiko glared at her friend and roughly pulled her arm away.

"Shut up!" she whispered irritably.

Syaoran unfortunately had no luck whatsoever; nobody from the group had stepped forward to volunteer information about Sakura's whereabouts.

"Syaoran-san," Tomoyo whimpered behind him.

Syaoran turned around and gave the bachelorette a comforting smile. In an effort to keep her worries at bay, he held out his hand for her to hold on to. Tomoyo gratefully took it without hesitation.

"Everyone please," Syaoran repeated again in a louder voice. "- we don't have much time. Kinomoto Sakura is missing and unless we find her tonight, the show will not go on."

"Chotto matte kudasai (Wait a moment). Li-san," the director suddenly cut in. "- excuse me for saying this but I don't think it's fair that we stop taping the elimination ceremony simply because we can't find one girl. She's not even part of the competition so I don't see how her absence can be of a hindrance to us."

Assenting voices were quick to agree with him.

"Excuse me?!" Tomoyo was appalled by the man's indifference to the situation. "How could you say such a thing? Sakura-chan may not be part of this show but she is still a person with rights! What if she's hurt somewhere and she needs our help?!"

The director eyed Tomoyo warily before answering her.

"I am aware of your concerns Daidouji-san, but you have to understand; everyone is working on a tight schedule here. Halting all of our activities just for a twenty-something-year-old woman whom we don't even know if she really is in trouble or not… well, it's just preposterous!" he said and then added, "I - I'm not trying to be insensitive to your friend's needs. Oh no… I would merely like to suggest, however, that we look for her after we have settled our very own matters. Who knows? Maybe by then, Kinomoto-san would have re-appeared already."

Tomoyo balled up her fists in anger. Why was everyone being so uncooperative? Damn it, a person was missing for goodness sake and here they all are acting as if it was some trivial little thing!

"What's wrong with you people?" Tomoyo looked at them in disgust.

Mei Ling chose that perfect moment to step in before an ugly confrontation could occur.

"Abe-sensei," she addressed the director with some formality and respect. "- I follow what you're saying. Believe me, I really do… it's just that… time is of the essence to us and we must find Sakura-san quickly."

"Li-san," Abe sighed. "- not you as well."

"No, it is you who do not fully comprehend the seriousness of the situation," Mei Ling stated in an even tone of voice. "A snowstorm is coming tonight Abe-sensei and with the way things look right now, Ms. Sakura's life could very well be in danger."

"Nani (What)?" Abe blinked in surprise.

"But please… if you feel that your show is more important than her existence, then don't let us detain you. However, be advised that the Li Corporation will be in no way responsible for the negative publicity that Sakura-san's disappearance might bring to your show."

"I didn't -" Abe tried to say but Mei Ling continued on.

"Just think about what everyone would say. How cruel you were especially in refusing to assist us to search for her…" she trailed off.

Back to where Fumika and Keiko were standing, the latter felt sick after hearing that a terrible weather was about to set in. She had locked Sakura in a cabin by the woods with nothing but a coat to warm her up for the night. The question was, even with the shelter over her head, would that be enough to keep her safe?

"Oh my God," Keiko whispered and turned to Fumika with a horrified expression on her face. "I… Oh God… I think I made a terrible mistake."

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SMACK! The sound echoed in an empty hallway.

Tomoyo slapped Keiko hard across the face when the young bachelorette confessed to Syaoran and his group what she had done.

"How could you!" Tomoyo cried out; fury evident in her voice.

Keiko held her stinging cheek but refused to look at Tomoyo (or anyone for that matter) in the eye. Despite the abhorrence she felt towards the other woman, she acknowledged the fact that she deserved the blow that was given to her.

"Sakura didn't do anything to you! And you don't even know her! Why? Why the hell would you do this? What the hell were you thinking?" Tomoyo was about to lunge an attack on her again but luckily, Eriol restrained her in time. "You're pathetic, you know that! Pathetic!"

In her defence, Keiko never intended for any of this to happen. She had merely wanted to spend some quality time with Li Syaoran. That was all… Really… She didn't mean to put anyone's life in danger.

Beside the weeping Tomoyo, Syaoran struggled to keep himself calm as his worst fears had been confirmed. Sakura was indeed out there in the snowstorm by herself. She had been out there for hours and none of them had realized it until now. 'Kami-sama (Dear God),' he prayed, '- let her be alright.'

"Doko ja (Where is she)?" Syaoran asked Keiko in a barely patient tone.

He couldn't help but feel disgusted with Keiko's petty attitude and he would have done something about it had it not been for his growing concern for Sakura's safety. Just this morning, he had been teaching her how to skate. Now, they didn't even know where the bloody hell she was. How on earth had it come down to this…

In front of Syaoran, Keiko shook her head and refused to say any more as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Kitazawa-san!" Syaoran attempted to contain his nerves but failed to do so. Reaching out, he grabbed Keiko by the shoulders and began to shake her vigorously, "You have to tell me where she is! TELL ME!"

"I… I - I don't remember!" Keiko stammered and she finally burst into tears. At the moment, she truthfully could not recall which cabin she had locked Sakura in. "I led her to some shack in the woods, but I - gasp - I can't r-remember which one."

"Damn it!" Syaoran cursed. "Try! It's a big forest Keiko and there are ten unused sheds scattered around there! Which one did you bring Sakura in?"

"I - I told you! I don't remember!" Keiko sobbed. "I don't remember! And I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Think about the things you passed along the way. Anything that would jog your memory. Please!" Syaoran pleaded.

Keiko covered her mouth and let out a strangled scream. There were just too many questions and the harder she tried to think of the answer, the more blank her mind went. Why couldn't she remember such a simple thing?! It was a cabin somewhere in the woods. But which one was it? My God, they all looked alike… Why did they all look alike!

"I'm sorry!" Keiko cried as she held onto Syaoran's arm for support. "I… I…"

She was so angry earlier on when she saw Li Syaoran and Daidouji Tomoyo together. All she could think about then was getting Daidouji out of the picture. Unfortunately, not only had her plan not succeeded… What was worst, someone else's life could very well end tonight because of her.

"There w-were a l-lot of trees," Keiko gasped for breath. "- and I - I passed by a c-c-cliff on the way."

"Anything else?" Syaoran prodded on, hoping to get more relevant information on Sakura's whereabouts. "How about the cabin? What did it look like?"

"It was… It was old," she choked out. "There was a latch. From the outside… It was… It was made out of wood."

Syaoran tried to remember which cabin she was referring to. He was momentarily distracted however when he looked up and saw Mei Ling approach their group with a very troubled expression on her face. Immediately, he detached himself from Keiko.

"What's wrong?" he asked his cousin.

"I've called the rescue team," Mei Ling began and she rubbed her eyes in frustration. "Unfortunately, because of the heavy snowstorm, they won't be here for another thirty minutes."

"Nani?!"

Mei Ling had expected Syaoran's reaction so she went on to explain the gravity of their situation.

"Going up to this chalet, well… the roads are blocked with fifty centimetres of snow. It'll take them some time to plough it."

"How about the helicopters?" Eriol asked from the side. He was still trying to comfort the crying Tomoyo in his arms.

Mei Ling shook her head in response. "There's zero visibility out there. It will be too dangerous to fly them."

Syaoran ran a hand through his hair in clear agitation. This was a disaster! Now what?

"We can't afford to wait," he said. "If we do, we may be too late."

Mei Ling stared at her cousin hard. "So what are you suggesting? Are you going to look for Sakura-san yourself?"

"Yes… There's no other way Mei Ling. I have to go out there and search for her now." Syaoran said. "I was planning on going with the rescue team anyway so it'll be alright. Besides, I know this place better than anyone."

"No, you can't! I'm not letting you go out there Xiao Lang!" Mei Ling protested. "It's too dangerous!"

"I agree with Mei Ling on this," Eriol added.

Syaoran groaned. They were wasting time here arguing while Sakura's life hanged on a balance.

"I'll be fine," he assured them. "I'm going to take the bodyguards with me. They know the way around here as well Mei Ling. Have you forgotten that they've thoroughly scouted the place two weeks before we came here?"

"Yes but not in this type of weather!" she exclaimed.

Syaoran frowned at his two cousins. Now they chose to be uncooperative?

"I'll risk it!" he bit out with a resounding finality.

Eriol sighed. He could tell that Syaoran was acting upon impulse. Why is it that when this Kinomoto Sakura was around, his cousin was unable to think straight?

"If you're going out there then I'm going with you." Eriol told him.

"Me too!" Mei Ling said.

"No! You two stay put!" Syaoran stopped the both of them. "I need the two of you here to do some damage control."

"But Xiao Lang -"

"I mean it!" Syaoran growled. "Eriol, try to pacify the crew of Studio 24. Don't mention to them about what Kitazawa-san had done. Her father's an influential man and I don't want to bring politics into this mess. Anyone else who knows about it, make sure they stay quiet."

"But -"

"Eriol!" Syaoran finally snapped and as a result, the other man reluctantly nodded his head.

"Fine, fine. I got it."

"Mei Ling," Syaoran turned to her. "- I need you to make sure that the hotel staff accommodates all the bachelorettes. Keep them calm and relaxed."

"I'll do that, demo (but) Xiao Lang," Mei Ling wrung her hands nervously. "- do you even know where to look?"

"If my hunch is correct, Sakura's in the northern part of the woods. The three sheds there have wooden latches on them. The rest are with metallic locks. I just hope to God that she stayed in one place. When the rescue team arrives, page me. I'll be bringing the walkie-talkies. Tell them to start searching the other areas first. There's a small possibility that I'm wrong." Syaoran instructed.

Mei Ling was silent for a moment before she too conceded to her cousin's requests.

"Alright. Consider it done."

Syaoran was about to leave to get ready when this time, Tomoyo hand shot out and quickly grabbed his arm.

"I don't care what you say, I-I'm coming with you!" she said.

Syaoran closed his eyes. "Tomoyo-san…"

"Sakura is my friend. I got her into this mess so I'm getting her out." Tomoyo told him firmly.

Syaoran sighed and he did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He embraced Tomoyo in his arms.

"I know you're worried about Sakura but please listen to me. I can't let you come with me." At these words, Tomoyo struggled to push him away but Syaoran held her tighter. "It's just as Mei Ling said, it will be too dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt. If anything were to happen to you, Sakura will never forgive me."

"But I want to look for her!!!" Tomoyo insisted.

"I'll never forgive myself if anything were to happen to you as well. Please Tomoyo-san. Trust me on this. I'll find her. I'll come back with Sakura." he whispered in her ear.

For a minute, Tomoyo stood still but you could hear her sniffles every now and then.

"Promise me," she suddenly cried out. "Promise me that you'll bring her back. I want Sakura-chan back."

Syaoran kissed the top of her forehead gently.

"I swear to you. I will…" he said before releasing her.

Tomoyo watched as Syaoran walked away from their and she prayed with all her might not only for Sakura's safe return but also for his.

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Syaoran struggled to get through the snowy grounds alone and he felt the cold blizzard air slapping him across the face. He had already sent his bodyguards to search for Sakura in the eastern, western, and southern part of the forest, but his gut told him to stay where he was.

"Kinomoto!!! Kinomoto, where are you?" Syaoran yelled on top of his lungs.

From Keiko's descriptions, he had been so sure of Sakura's location earlier but having gone through the three cabins in the northern part of the woods and finding no sight of her there increased Syaoran's fear. However, he did come upon something interesting. One of the shacks he last visited had a broken window and blood dripping from the glass pane. Syaoran half-hoped that the blood was not from Sakura but at the same time, he wished that it were as that would mean she was close to the area.

"KINOMOTO! DO YOU HEAR ME? WHERE ARE YOU?"

Syaoran had been searching for Sakura for about an hour now and he seriously felt like giving up. The terrible weather was not helping his dissolution and he was about to lose all hope when he suddenly tripped on something hidden underneath the snow.

"What the -"

Syaoran's eyes widened when he saw an odd pink material sticking out from the white covered ground. It couldn't be, could it?

'Please God, let it be her…' he prayed silently as he frantically dug through the snow. A few moments later, Syaoran was extremely happy to find Sakura's face from underneath the cold blanket.

"Yokatta (Thank God)," he breathed as he stroked her face. However, upon touching her neck, Syaoran's heart stopped in fear when he couldn't feel her pulse.

'Oh no. No, no, no… Don't do this,'

Taking off his gloves, Syaoran placed two of his fingers just under her nose. He was horrified to say the least when he found that Sakura was not breathing.

"Shit!" Syaoran cursed out loud and he slapped Sakura's cheek lightly. "Wake up, Sakura, Come on, wake up."

Unfortunately, the action did not rouse Sakura from her lifeless state and Syaoran sat her upright and gently moved the wet strands of hair from her face.

"Kami-sama, I beg of you… Let her be alright," Syaoran prayed as he laid her body down on the ground and tilted her head upwards. Left with no other choice but to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, he pinched her nose shut and pressed his warm lips on Sakura's icy cold ones.

"Breathe," he prayed as he breathed in two long and slow breaths in her mouth. "- just breathe."

When Sakura remained motionless, Syaoran carefully took her jacket off and moved on to begin chest compressions. Setting his hands in position, he pressed down and counted. One, two, three…

"- fourteen, fifteen," he said before breathing into her again.

The first three attempts brought no response whatsoever and by this point, Syaoran was frantic inside. He wasn't too late, was he?

'Sakura, come back… Don't you dare do this to us. Don't you dare.'

"One, two, three, four, five," Syaoran pumped her chest for the fourth time. "… twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen."

'Sakura, breathe! Breathe!' he thought as he proceeded to give her more air. 'Damn it, breathe!'

When he pulled away, Syaoran was dismayed that his efforts appeared to be unsuccessful. Sakura neither moved from her spot nor made any sound.

"Sakura," he whispered achingly, and it sounded as though he was begging for her to fight as well. For the first time in years, Syaoran felt so utterly helpless in the situation. If only he had gotten there sooner… Perhaps even a minute or two could've made a difference…

He reached forth to touch her cheek when unexpectedly, Sakura opened her eyes and began to cough out loud.

"Oh God, Sakura," he called out in shock and in a moment of happiness, he took her by his arms and gave her a relieved kiss.

"Thank you God, thank you!" he said in a breathless voice.

Sakura wheezed and gazed up at Syaoran deliriously. What on earth happened to her? Where on earth was she? Why was Li right there? Li -

"Syaoran -" she spoke his name weakly.

"You're going to be okay," he told her as he attempted to stand her up. "- you're going to be just fine."

As Sakura tried to move from her spot, pain shot up through her ankle and she cried out loud.

"What? What's the matter?" he stared at her in alarm.

"M-My foot," Sakura winced as she held onto her leg. "- it hurts. It… It hurts so bad. I c-can't move it."

Syaoran bent down and saw that her foot was indeed in a slightly awkward position.

"I've got an idea," he said as placed her hands around his neck. "Hold on tight."

Before Sakura's mind could register what was going on, Syaoran lifted her body up into his arms.

"W-Wait-" she protested in a feeble voice.

In response, Syaoran gave her a smile and held her closer to him.

"Just hold on okay," he said.

His priority right now was to find a way back to the hotel so Sakura could seek some medical attention. Truth to be told, he had never before felt so grateful to God up until this moment. It was a very lucky thing that he found Sakura and an even more fortunate matter that she had managed to survive this ordeal. Inwardly, Syaoran could not stop thanking the heavens above.

'Thank you. Oh God, thank you.'

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew in their direction and Syaoran shielded Sakura away from the snow with his body. Despite her vulnerability at the moment, Sakura stiffened in his arms. This was the first time that a man other than her own father embraced her so protectively.

Syaoran sensed her body going rigid and he immediately apologized for it.

"Sorry," he muttered as he continued on with their trek.

It didn't take a few minutes before Syaoran realized that there was no way he could get back to the hotel in this type of weather. The snowstorm escalated to frightening heights and he strained hard just to look at his surroundings.

'Could this get any worse?' he thought.

Finally, upon seeing one of the cabins he had searched earlier, Syaoran made up his mind and quickly wandered over to it.

"Hold on, we're almost there!' he called out to Sakura.

In return, the young woman only buried herself deeper into his warmth, hoping against hope that they would get out of this storm soon. Even though she had regained her consciousness, Sakura was still feeling out of it from the entire experience.

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When Sakura opened her eyes once again, she no longer felt wet nor cold. Instead, she felt like a heavy pile of bricks had been buried on top of her. Blinking away the dizziness that she felt, she tried to sit up right and realized that her body had been covered by several thick, warm blankets.

"How are you feeling?" a voice asked from the fireplace.

Sakura tried to adjust her eyes to see who was speaking to her. Imagine her shock when she saw Li Syaoran, bare-chested and standing right in front of her.

"You! What are you doing here?" Sakura gaped in confusion. Somehow, seeing him like this felt like déjà vu.

Instead of answering her, Syaoran remained quiet as his eyes travelled from her face and then downward. When he finally entered the cabin, he realized that both Sakura and himself were drenched from being outside too long. And rather than suffer from pneumonia, Syaoran immediately dispensed both of their clothing to be hung dry by the fire. At the time, he didn't think much about the nearly naked Sakura other than her health, but now that his concerns have been put to ease, he couldn't help but stare at her body.

"I think you should cover yourself up," he motioned his head towards the fallen blanket around her waist.

Sakura gazed down and she realized that her top had been taken off. She was reduced to nothing but her bra and underwear.

"AHHH! HENTAI (PERVERT)!!!" she screamed out while trying to hide her blushing self under the blankets.

Syaoran frowned and he moved towards the couch she was resting upon.

"There's no point in being embarrassed. I've already seen it," he said as he tugged on the covers.

From the other side, Sakura held onto the corners hard, wishing with all her might that this was simply all a nightmare.

"This is harassment! What the hell did you do to me?!" she shouted, though her voice was muffled by the thick layer above her.

"I didn't do anything. Now will you relax?" Syaoran said impatiently.

"How can I relax when I am in a room, alone, with a sexual predator?!" Sakura fought hard to remain under the blanket. Unfortunately for her, Syaoran was stronger than she was and he was able to throw the material away from her. "Hey! Don't you -"

Syaoran trapped her body with his and Sakura blushed when she saw that his face was in near proximity with hers.

"I can see that you've regained your senses and I must say that I like it much better than how you were a few minutes ago," he remarked.

Sakura could feel his hot breath on her cheek and she stared mutely up at him. Unlike his usually unruly look, his hair was drenched with water and flattened straight. And his pupils… Sakura could see just a hint of ruby in those amber eyes. Upon this close range, Li Syaoran looked even more handsome than ever before and Sakura felt her heart thumping across her chest.

"What? Cat got your tongue?"

Sakura snapped out of her reverie and she pushed Syaoran away from her.

"What happened?" she asked as she picked up the blanket from the floor and covered herself up with it. "What did you do to me?"

Syaoran sighed and he stood up to grab a tin cup from a nearby table.

"Here," he handed her the cup and Sakura smelled the aroma of coffee from it. "- it's safe. I didn't poison it."

Sakura grabbed the mug (actually, she was really thirsty) and was quick to drink from it. Her eyes widened the moment the liquid touched her tongue and she immediately spat the contents out.

"EURGH!" she hacked. "That stuff is vile! What is that?"

"Coffee," Syaoran replied. "- at least that's what I think it is when I brewed it."

"That, sir, was most definitely not coffee!" Sakura said, still coughing from the aftertaste.

Syaoran shrugged and he gently placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

"At least your fever is down," he said.

Sakura looked up at him in confusion and saw the relieved expression on his face. Are sexual predators normally this caring for their victims?

"What happened?" she questioned Syaoran again. This time, however, there was no hostility in her tone.

"You passed out in the snowstorm. You were missing for many hours and Tomoyo-san was beside herself," Syaoran told her.

Sakura cocked her head to the side as she eyed the Li bachelor in bewilderment. Slowly, the events of the day were coming back to her. Some were still a bit of a puzzle more than others, but she did recall a nervous Syaoran looming over her when he found her in the snow. 'You were worried about me too,' she thought and the notion made her warm and fuzzy inside.

"Are we stuck here?" Sakura motioned to the cabin that they took refuge in.

"For now. Just for a little while." Syaoran said and he looked at the window every now and then. "I paged back to the hotel, telling everyone that you've been found. Unfortunately, the rescue team won't be able to secure us until the snow storm subsides. It shouldn't take long though."

"I see…"

So, it was just the two of them there, alone. Sakura couldn't help but feel self-conscious about the sudden turn in the situation.

"You know," Syaoran began, his back turned away from Sakura and completely concealed his face. "- I thought I lost you tonight."

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered guiltily. She hated being a burden to anyone.

Syaoran only shook his head and he continued on.

"I didn't know what being scared meant until I heard about your disappearance. I wished so hard that it weren't true. But when it was confirmed, I thought I was going to go crazy," Syaoran paused. "When I did find you, I… I thought I didn't make it in time. I thought I was too late. And it was at that moment that I realized just how weak I truly was."

Sakura looked down at her blanket, unsure of how to respond to this confession. Syaoran noticed her silence and calmly approached her.

"Tonight, I also came to a conclusion about something," he knelt down by the couch and took her hand in his. Sakura was too stunned to pull away from his grasp. "I am well aware that I don't know you that well… That we've just met a month ago… But you must have noticed… You must have! That there is something between us… An attraction of some sort… And I -"

Syaoran moved closer, and Sakura parted her lips and closed her eyes. As she did so, a sudden vision of Tomoyo smiling came flying through her mind.

"No," Sakura breathed and she abruptly turned away from Syaoran. "- this is wrong. You're wrong."

Syaoran was surprised by her sudden rejection. He thought she had felt the same way. Clearly, he assumed wrong. Trying to conceal the disappointment he felt, Syaoran pasted on a cheerful grin on his face.

"I guess it can't be helped," he slowly released her hand and Sakura felt as though the warmth was stolen away from her. "I'm sorry for putting you in such an awkward position. Please forget everything I said."

When Syaoran stood up and walked away from her, Sakura rolled over to her side. Once she was sure that he was off in a far distance, that he could no longer see her face, Sakura shut her eyes and felt tears rolling down her cheek. At that particular moment, she wished for nothing more than to go back out there in the storm. Perhaps, the cold air would numb the stabbing pains she felt in her heart.


End of Chapter 12

Authors Note: I was so happy to hear the reviews I received from last chapter. As an author, I couldn't be any more grateful to have wonderful readers like you. I hope that you all will continue to give me feedback on this story. I am very appreciative of any comments that I receive. Once again, thank you so much and I hope to hear from you once again.

As far as this story goes, we have finally come to the more important events (with a lot of crying of course). Syaoran most definitely knows that he likes Sakura. And Sakura, well judging from her reaction in the end, feels the same way too. But like I said before, it is Tomoyo in the competition and not Sakura. At this point, Tomoyo hasn't fallen completely for Syaoran. She likes him but there are no deep romantic feelings yet, and I stress the word "yet."

Next chapter will be the return of one or possibly two characters we haven't seen in a long time, and sparks will fly. You'll find out what happens to Keiko as well and we get the second meeting of Eriol and Sakura. Wonder how that will go… I have to apologize earlier in advance though that the chapter may come out late. I have four deadlines in February and they're all spread along with major tests for my courses over the month. I will try my hardest to update early but I cannot make any promises.

Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed reading Chapter 12. See you all soon.