Many thanks for those who have read and added the story as your favourite and under alerts. Appreciate it very much as it shows that someone is actually reading (though not a lot of reviews ^_^) Anyway, this is the last update for the month until the end of February as I will be having exams. Hope you'll like this chapter!

Be My Valentine

Chapter 21

By Sakura aka Michelle

28 Jan 2012

"What are we doing here?" Syaoran asked his cousin as he pushed a stray branch of bushy leaves away from his face as he tried to peer at the Sakura's house in the distance. He felt the strain in his legs from crouching in the same position for about an hour already.

"We're waiting, of course!" Eriol replied confidently as he pushed his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose as he nodded at his words and continued to monitor the streets for any form of activities. Other than a small private car, there was nothing else that passed by them and it was not unusual at this time of the night. It was, after all, very close to mid night.

"Waiting for what?"

"I'll keep you in suspense," Eriol replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes and then returned to monitoring the roads again. "Just wait patiently."

"And how long have we been waiting already?" Syaoran asked in exasperation as he checked his watch again for the umpteenth time. He sighed inwardly at the lateness of the hour and grumbled to Eriol incessantly. "We have been waiting for at least an hour already. I could spend this one hour going through the important documents for Li Corp at home! Or even do some revision."

"No, you won't. You'll just sulk and stare into space and think about that lovely lady of yours," Eriol replied and did not miss the incredulous look on Syaoran's face. He could read his cousin's face as if it was an open book. He almost laughed at his expression but he managed to suppress it with much difficulty. "I know you too well, Syaoran."

"Whatever," came the retort and then the two of them were silent again. It was another half an hour before he heard another vehicle's engine in the darkness of the night. His eyes turned wide as a few big trucks carrying huge load of water came into his view and parked themselves a distance away from Sakura's house. "What are those?" Syaoran breathed out and blinked when he saw Tomoyo alight from the first truck.

"Here she comes," Eriol remarked as he quickly stepped out of their hiding place to meet up with Tomoyo. Syaoran watched on as the Eriol reached Tomoyo and the two of them began to talk to each other in hushed tones. It was too soft for him to hear and moreover, they were a distance away from him. His eyes narrowed when Eriol pulled Tomoyo's hands in his and patted them gently and earning himself a slight blush in the process. Something fishy was definitely going on between them but he was not interested in finding out; his main concern was to explain things to Sakura.

"What do we need those trucks for?" Syaoran whispered his question to no one in particular as Tomoyo's bodyguards came out of their trucks to line up in a neat line beside their trucks.

Eriol pulled Tomoyo over to where Syaoran remained crouching. Tomoyo immediately squatted down, her long pants posing no problems to her and she moved with ease. She was staring at him with wide eyes which seemed to appraise him from head to toe. It made him uncomfortable being subjected to such an assessment, especially if it was from someone whom he considered a stranger.

"You are Prince Li?" she asked, her voice was soft and melodic. She was hugging her knees and pushing her silky black hair behind her shoulders as she asked him the question and the picture she presented was nearly an unforgettable one. He had to admit that she was attractive and it was no wonder Eriol seemed much taken with this lady.

Syaoran nodded and extended his hand for a handshake awkwardly, considering their unique positions. "Yes, I'm Li Syaoran. And you are?"

Tomoyo accepted his handshake and gripped his hand firmly in hers. "I'm Daidouji Tomoyo, Sakura-chan's cousin."

"Dai-Daidouji? As in Daidouji from Daidouji Corp?" Syaoran asked, astonished beyond words. He did not know that Sakura was related to such a one of the biggest and famous companies in Japan.

Tomoyo released his hands abruptly and she nodded her head in reply. "Yes, the Daidouji Tomoyo from Daidouji Corp. My mother is currently the head of the company. I will only be taking over once I completed my tertiary studies."

Syaoran nodded in understanding and was slightly jealous of Tomoyo's situation. She still had plenty of time to prepare herself for her entry into the fierce battle while he had been trained harshly for his job ever since he was born, being the only male in the family.

"Daidouji-san is a very capable lady for her age," Eriol interjected with a warm smile directed at Tomoyo. "Consider it your honor that she is willing to help you, my dear cousin."

"I'm not helping him," Tomoyo protested indignantly as she swung her fiery eyes at Syaoran, looking at him with such contempt in her eyes that Syaoran actually shuddered at the sheer force of it. "I am helping my Sakura-chan. Don't think I will readily accept you even if I had to help you to help my Sakura-chan."

"And she's fiercely protective of her family," Eriol added with a lazy grin.

Not knowing what else to say, Syaoran could only nod his head in response as he waited for someone to explain to him what he was supposed to do while camping outside Sakura's house. He glanced at the closed windows of the Kinomoto house and frowned, were they thinking of asking him to climb up to the window to talk to her? It was a possibility and hence he had to prepare himself for the flight. He stood up abruptly and began stretching his muscles, stunning both Tomoyo and Eriol.

"What are you doing?" Eriol asked, the corner of his lips twitching in amusement as he looked at Syaoran.

Syaoran shot him an impatient look. "Can't you see? Stretching! I have to prepare myself if you want me to climb up to her room to talk to her."

"Interesting," Eriol mused deliberately to irritate Syaoran. "I didn't know you can climb up people's house. What a naughty pastime you have!"

Syaoran only rolled his eyes at Eriol's teasing and then promptly ignored him while continuing his stretching exercises. Fighting words with words could be tiring with Eriol and he would rather save his energy for somewhere useful such as stretching.

"If I had wanted you to climb up, why would I bother bringing all those big water trucks here in the middle of the night when everyone else is already sleeping?" Tomoyo asked and he was rendered speechless again. He did not have a ready answer to that.

"Well, somebody is supposed to tell me what I am supposed to do," Syaoran replied in exasperation. "When nobody said anything, I naturally assumed what I am supposed to do – to climb up to her window."

"Silly, do you think Sakura-chan is willing to talk to you face to face after you have hurt her with your deceitful lies? I wouldn't be happy to see you in my room if I were Sakura-chan."

"Then what is it that the two of you have planned?"

Eriol and Tomoyo looked at each other with a big and evil grin on their faces that sent shivers down Syaoran's spine.

It doesn't look like it's going to be a good idea!

Sakura had difficulty sleeping at night. She was tossing and turning for over an hour but yet she was not feeling sleepy at all; her eyes were wide open and alert. People had recommended counting sheep to aid in sleeping but the more she counted the more alert and frustrated she was. Sighing aloud in her room, she snuggled deeper into her bed and tried to make herself comfortable.

She checked the time on her clock by the small bedside cupboard on her right and groaned. It was almost one in the morning! It was not as if she had anything on but still, sleep was important and she did not want to start a brand new day on the bad side of the bed.

A slight sharp knock sounded on her window and she froze to listen to it more carefully thinking that she had made up the sound in her mind. Her eyes widened when she was rewarded with a similar sound a second time. She got out of her bed immediately and went to her windows to peer through the drawn curtains. At first, there was nothing unusual outside her windows and she pulled her curtains away and opened her windows so that she could peer out into the streets. Perhaps there were some mischievous pranksters who were trying to disturb her sleep.

Sakura looked down and was stunned by the vision of Syaoran standing beside the lamp post just outside the tall brick walls surrounding her house. She blinked again to make sure that it was not just a dream and alas, he was still there! Then she remembered that he had lied to her and she swiftly shut her windows tightly and drew her curtains back, bent on ignoring him even though her heart was beating much faster in her chest.

"What is he doing here?" Sakura breathed out in a whisper. She turned and took another small peek and let out another gasp. "He's still there!"

"Hey Sakura! Let me explain!" Syaoran shouted and Sakura winced inwardly. His voice was loud and undoubtedly he would wake her brother and her neighbors up in no time. She waited breathlessly for the heavy footsteps outside her bedroom door, expecting her brother to burst into her room to demand what was going on. He never came, much to Sakura's relief.

Sakura lingered by her windows a little longer than she would have liked before dragging her feet back into her bed, where she would undoubtedly remain awake throughout the lonely night. To make matter even worse, her thoughts would be haunted by Syaoran.

A little while later, it began to rain and Sakura could hear the raindrops pelting against her windowpanes like angry seemed like a heavy rain and her thoughts flew back to Syaoran again. Was he still outside her house in this bad weather? It would remain a question to her until she could see it for herself.

Should I? Sakura wondered and worry began to cloud her mind.

Flipping the covers from her in haste, Sakura scrambled to her window and her eyes searched for Syaoran's presence immediately and gasped in alarm when he remained standing there, already soaked to the bone. He was shivering slightly as he leaned against the lamp post. It was a pitiful sight to Sakura and she suddenly longed to pull him inside the house so that he could get warm.

But then, if he hadn't lied to me, he wouldn't put himself in this situation now. Come to think of it, it was his own fault! Sakura's inner devil thought and she recoiled from the window with a slight frown. She should leave him alone for now. If he could not tolerate it, he could just go away and she would not care even the least.

She took a few hesitant steps towards her bed and then stopped to turn back to stare at her windows, an internal war raging within her mind between going out to him and staying in the house.

What should she do?

"It doesn't seem to be working," Syaoran grumbled and gritted his chattering teeth against the cold. If he had known that taking part in Eriol's and Tomoyo's plan meant standing in the rain for hours, he would have worn something much warmer than the thin shirt that he was currently wearing. He glared at the couple who was huddled together comfortably under an umbrella but they seemed to have ignored him totally on purpose.

"Make sure to spray the surrounding trees too," Tomoyo directed her bodyguards who were manning the water trucks. "Otherwise, Sakura-chan would notice the strangeness of the rain."

"And more on my cousin, if you don't mind it, otherwise he'll dry up very soon!" Eriol added with a smirk.

"She's not responding to me," Syaoran said through his clenched teeth. "How much longer will it be before the water runs out?"

Tomoyo waved a hand nonchalantly in front of her as if dismissing his concerns. "Don't worry about the water. We have enough backup to last the whole night as long as you don't collapse from pneumonia in the middle of our secret operation."

"Patience is a virtue, cousin," Eriol chirped and was hushed by Tomoyo.

"Be quiet! Or else you will blow our cover when Sakura-chan hears our voices!"

"I doubt she can hear anything in this rain," Eriol commented as he surveyed his surroundings. "This is definitely a heavy rain."

"Quiet!" Tomoyo gasped urgently and scooted back against Eriol to put more distance between them and Syaoran when she saw the front door of Sakura's house open. Syaoran, who had also noticed it, stood up rigidly and waited for Sakura to come out.

"It's show time!" Eriol whispered with a slow grin.

It's show time! And with it another cliffhanger. (hides from angry readers)

Opps! Hehe..

Will Sakura forgive Syaoran? Come back in March to read. Meanwhile, please don't forget my existence. T_T I can still be found at my website and twitter (mikiao)

Do review. Thanks!