Disclaimer: I'm really really sorry for the very long absence err I got sick and well I have a lot of things to do and boy am I ever grateful to be free of it all (smiles)

I have to pass on thanking each and everyone who reviewed just this time err I'm really in a hurry to get back on the story already. Thanks for all the reviews though! I'm really thankful and happy that you liked it (smiles) BTW I said last time that I'll be revealing everything about Eriol at this chap but I realized that if I do that this chap will be a really long one and I mean loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong lol

Anyway, I decided to leave it for the next chap. Don't worry though, I think I have a lot of time to continue my fic again so… I'll update asap (smiles)

Well hope you'll look forward to it (smiles) and again I'm sorry for the long wait (/sry)

Enjoy reading! (smiles)

Chapter 34:

After the Storm

Eriol watched as the Souma and Daidouji remaining forces try to escape. If he'd wanted, he could easily make them disappear but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He's in a very bad mood but still he's also not in the mood to, really destroy all of their enemy's Fleets.

Eriol closed his eyes as the blizzard swirled around him. The very sound of the blizzard brings back memories from before. Just remembering it brings pain in his heart. He opened his eyes once more and looked up at the sky where thick dark clouds were still visible.

'We have the same reasons... We have the power to take revenge... We... were alone... and yet... Why...? Why do I see great difference between us? What makes you different from me? How come...? I couldn't bring myself to end this all up? Why do you seem more powerful and special than I do... Heir of Li...?' These questions raced inside his mind.

Eriol remembered the look in Syaoran's eyes when he placed the Card Mistress and the others in an invisible-ball-shaped-barrier. 'Is it because of them? How come? They were strangers to you and yet...' Eriol closed his eyes once more. The blizzard was still hovering around him.

'Does having someone... beside you really bring out your true power?' he didn't know why but suddenly a thought of the Princess of Daidouji crossed his mind. He immediately shook the image out his mind, 'Nonsense, such things were unnecessary!' he told himself and opened his eyes again.

'I will keep my word Heir of Li...'

Sakura looked at the whole place frantically, "He's not here!"

She with the others had reached the place where they last saw Syaoran and yet there was no sign of him anywhere.

Touya wasn't amused at how concern and worried his sister was about this Prince of Li. It was pissing him off. "Well I guess they disposed off his body then," he suggested.

A vein popped at Sakura's forehead as she stomped at her brother's foot.

"ITTAI!" Touya wailed.

"Don't even speak if you've got nothing good to say!" she berated at him.

"That's not the right way to talk to your brother!" Touya snapped at her.

Keroberos and Yue just watched them as a sweat dropped at their heads. Just then, both of them felt a faint aura coming from the direction of the great hall. "An aura…!" Keroberos exclaimed.

Touya and Sakura looked at them. "Where…?" Sakura exclaimed at once.

Yue pointed at the direction of the great hall and at once Sakura rushed towards the great hall.

"Oi…!" Touya called after her but she didn't seem to hear him. The three of them followed her.

Sakura focused her own spiritual energy and tried to follow the faint aura. 'Li-kun... It's you, right? You're okay, right?' she prayed silently to herself. But as she recognizes the aura she knows that the aura belong to a different source, after all, as Yue said the Li crest blocks any sense of its wearer's aura.

Sakura rushed inside the great hall and shouted, "Li-kun!" to no one in particular. She searched the whole place with her eyes and to her relief saw a familiar figure standing at the edge of the entry to the balcony. A warm feeling wrapped Sakura's very heart at the sight of Syaoran.

"Li-kun!" she called at him once again as she run to his side.

Syaoran was staring outside the balcony. He was holding the Li Treasure Box on his left hand and his sword on his right hand. 'That voice...' he thought as he heard a girl's voice called his name from behind. His whole body felt numb and his senses seemed to reach its limits. His vision blurred and as he tried to turn around to see the owner of the voice, his head started to sway and everything around him fell into darkness.

Sakura gasped as Syaoran started to fall. She was just a few feet away from him that she was just in time to prevent him from falling head onto the floor, "Li-kun!"

"Don't worry, he just lost consciousness," the voice came from Sakura's back. It was Keroberos.

Sakura looked up at him and Yue landed beside her to check up on Syaoran. "Just as we predicted, he had the Li Crest," Yue said.

Keroberos nodded his head, "The faint aura we felt might've come from the spiritual power in his sword."

Sakura looked at Syaoran's hand and saw him still holding his sword firmly with his hand.

"We better get going," Touya interrupted them as he made his way at them. "I don't think the Fleet Iain's with could hold the Lottuse's Forces that long," he added.

Sakura looked at his brother in confusion, "King Iain?"

"I'll explain later, let's go."

Yue straightened up and nodded his head. He was about to help Sakura to get Syaoran to his feet when he felt his heart started to beat irregularly. "Ugh…" he fell back to his knees.

"Yue—ugh…!" Keroberos' heart started to beat irregularly as well. Both Sakura and Touya stared at them in confusion.

"Yue-san…! Keroberos-san…!" Sakura exclaimed.

In a flash, both Keroberos' and Yue's wings wrapped itself at them and….

Sakura and Touya stared blankly at both figure that replaced Keroberos and Yue. For a moment no one spoke. Sakura and Touya blinked their eyes as if expecting that what they were seeing was some kind of an illusion but to no avail.

"Y-Yukito-san…?" she whispered under her breath at the same time Yukito's body started to fall, Touya immediately made a move to grab hold of him before he hit the floor, "Oi, Yuki!"

Sakura then turned her attention to where Keroberos was supposed to be, "And…. A Stuff Animal…?" She sweat dropped.

(A/N lol)

Little Chiharu wrapped her arms around Naoko tightly. For about half an hour now they had heard the explosions finally ceased but they were not sure what was really going on outside. "I'm scared Naoko-neechan," little Chiharu shivered with fear.

Naoko looked at Chiharu and comforted her. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine," she assured her with a smile. Naoko with the other kids were hiding at a hidden underground storage room.

The others also came at her and wrapped their arms around her, "Naoko-neechan!" they wailed. Naoko couldn't help laughing. She knows that this wasn't the right time to laugh but she thought that at least with this she could make the little ones calm down.

"Now now, it's alright. Naoko-neechan will be here to protect you okay?" she told them. She looked at the door above them, 'I hope everything's fine.'

Above the hidden storage room, the other soldiers in which Touya had told to scatter were checking every room and corner.

"Huh?" one of the soldiers saw greases on the floor that vanished midway on the floor. "Hey!" he called for the other's attention. "I think I have something here," he told them.

"What?" the others immediately gathered around him.

The soldier kneeled on his knees and listened on the floor.

"Hear anything?" another soldier asked him.

"Ssshhh," he hissed at him as he tried to listen more carefully.

Naoko heard footsteps just above them. She moved the kids closer to her as she stared dreadfully at the door above them. "Naoko-neechan…?" Chiharu started as she felt Naoko started to shiver. "Ssshhh…." Naoko hissed as she tried to calm herself.

He heard it. Movements, it may sound faint but he's sure that someone's under the floor. What else could've explained the vanishing greases on the floor?

(A/N err… ghosts? Lol)

He nodded his head and slowly straightened up. He looked at the others and signaled them to move. The others moved on each side forming a square formation on the floor and with a last nod the soldier lifted his gun and broke the floor.

Naoko's eyes grew wide as the door above them came crashing down. The little ones started screaming as three Daidouji soldiers came down.

"Nobody moves!" they heard someone shouted.

Naoko started to panic but her will to protect the little ones gave her strength to speak up. "D-Don't come any closer!" she told them.

"Hah?" the soldiers looked at them and slowly the young man who broke the door smiled at them. "Don't worry, we are not here to do you harm," he told them.

Naoko looked at them not letting her guard down, "I said—."

"Contact King Touya and tell him we found some of the servants," the young man told the others.

"Yes sir!"

Naoko hadn't let go of the kids around her as she stared at the young man. She was still looking at them suspiciously but somehow she started to feel relieved.

The young man smiled at them once again, "It's alright. You are all safe now."

A couple of hours had already passed since Sakura and the others had left the castle and to the ship. It was a bit chaotic when they arrived at the ship. The med group immediately took Syaoran to the IC room. As for Yukito, upon checking his condition they confined him to one of the rooms on the ship. And for Keroberos who turned into a stuffed animal… well, Sakura had been holding him in her arms pretending that it was really a stuffed toy to prevent further confusion with the others.

Sakura wanted to go see Syaoran's conditions but as soon as the med group checked up on her condition, she was led inside the conference room together with the other officials, Tomoyo and Touya. For the past hour Touya and the others had explained everything to her and Tomoyo. Sakura also told everyone about what happened to her and Tomoyo.

It was not after another hour that Sakura was able to check up on Yukito and Syaoran. Sakura gaped at Yukito's face. She was inside the room where Yukito was confined and still she couldn't believe what happened. "Yukito-san…." she murmured under her breath. She looked down in her arms and stared at the sleeping stuff animal. 'Guardians of the Cards huh?' she thought. She closed her eyes and once again, the scene where Yue and Keroberos changed form crossed her mind. She sighed and opened her eyes to look at Yukito once more.

Tomoyo watched her in silence. She had been by Sakura's side ever since she and Touya arrived. She was also informed about Keroberos, well Sakura and Touya had left the Yue and Keroberos story, out with the officials at least. Tomoyo wanted to talk to Sakura about all that had happened but she decided to keep quiet for a while until Sakura decided to talk.

A thought of a young man with messy chocolate brown hair crossed Sakura's mind as she stared blankly at Yukito's face. 'What's wrong with me?' she asked herself. 'Their already treating him and I'm sure he'd be alright but why am I feeling uncomfortable?' she thought. Tomoyo didn't mean to but she found herself reading Sakura's thoughts. She studied her and couldn't help smiling with her naivety, 'Oh Sakura-chan….'

'I should be feeling happy now that I'm able to look after Yukito-san, right?' Sakura didn't understand why but the more she thought of it, the more she realized that she sounded as if she's trying to convince herself that she's happy even though in reality she was…. 'What…? I was what? Oh Sakura! What's wrong with you!' she sweats dropped at herself as she sighed. 'Great, now I'm starting to talk to myself,' she thought. She looked at Yukito once again, 'Who am I kidding?'

Tomoyo couldn't hold it any longer and she started to giggle.

"Hoe?" distracted, Sakura turned to look at Tomoyo, and as if by cue she gasped and… "HOOOOEEEEEEEE!" she shrieked but she immediately clapped a hand to her mouth and checking on to Yukito then at Keroberos if she had awakened them. She sighed when she found them still asleep.

Tomoyo laughed softly at Sakura's face as she started to blush.

Sakura looked at Tomoyo's direction and asked shyly, "Did you… well…."

Tomoyo smiled at her nodded her head slowly. Sakura blushed some more.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it," Tomoyo apologized. Sakura straightened up at beamed at her. She shook her head, "Its okay."

Tomoyo turned her attention at Yukito's direction. She made her way towards the chair beside the bed and sat. She looked back at Sakura and smiled. She reached her hands towards her and said, "I'll look after them for you."

Sakura felt her cheeks burn but she took a deep breath and beamed at her, "Arigato." Somehow she felt as if something really heavy had been lifted within her heart. Okay, so maybe it's not bad to be true to yourself sometimes. She walked towards Tomoyo's spot and carefully handed Keroberos to her.

Sakura was already half-way through the door when Tomoyo called her.

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura halted and looked back at Tomoyo.

Tomoyo smiled at her warmly, "He's in room 207."

"Hoe?" Sakura wondered if it's possible for anyone to blush so many times in just one day, not to mention in a few minutes.

Tomoyo just gave her a meaningful smile and Sakura smiled back. She nodded her head and left.

Chiharu slowly opened her eyes. She felt as if she had bumped her head on something really hard. Her body also felt awkwardly numb and she was feeling dizzy about something that she couldn't recall now. 'Where… where am I?' she wondered. Very slowly her vision focused and as her sight vision cleared she realized she was inside a dark and unfamiliar room. She immediately sat upright and stared at her surrounding, "Wha…."

"No need to fret, Chiharu-sama," a voice came at her left side. Chiharu turned her head just in time to see Eriol coming in.

"Eriol-kun!" she exclaimed. The dizziness she felt slowly faded at the sight of him. Just like a warm light, a warm sentiment enveloped the dark sentiments Chiharu had in her heart after seeing Eriol. Just then all the memories of the earlier event came back to her and she started to feel frightened. "Eriol-kun…. Why— why did you—."

"I suggest that we leave that matter later, right now you have to rest," Eriol interrupted her.

Chiharu stared at him hard, "But Eriol-kun—."

"Chiharu-sama, I know I am not in the position to give any judgment regarding your actions earlier for I do not know what really happened but at least I could say this… Remember that you are the Princess of Lottuse," Eriol ignored her. "Those people were intruders, and you being friendly with them, is not acceptable. Your actions could've resulted to your kingdom's destruction, do you understand that?" he went on.

Chiharu fell silent. Eriol watched her as she lowered her gaze and stared at her hands. She was aware of what Eriol had said but still she couldn't believe that someone like, the Princess of Daidouji or the Card Mistress be a threat, and about the Heir of Li…. She closed her eyes.

"I will give you time to think about what you've done earlier," Eriol told her and without any word, he started making his way through the door.

Chiharu heard the door closed. She lifted her head and looked at the door at the left side. She closed her eyes once again and she felt even more miserable and lost.

Inside the Commander's Room, Touya and his attendants were inside. He was busily checking each of the report his men had submitted.

Touya was reading the report about the Lottuse's servants that his men met back at the castle. He nodded slowly and looked back at the captain. "We can't take chances. I'll look through this matter once we arrived at the Kingdom. Right now, I want you to keep an eye on them. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Your Highness," the captain answered and saluted.

Touya nodded his head and the soldier left the room. He leaned on his chair and looked at his attendant standing at his right, "How's Yukito's condition?"

"He's still unconscious but they said he'll be alright," the attendant answered politely.

Touya nodded his head, "That's good." He turned his attention back at reading the other reports.

"Uhmm…. Your Highness," the attendant started.

"Hmm?" Touya asked without looking.

"We were informed five minutes ago about the Heir of Li's condition," he told him.

"And?" Touya asked once again without looking.

"They said he's severely wounded and that he hasn't shown any signs of recovery."

"What!"

Sakura stared at Syaoran as he lay unconscious on the bed. Upon seeing the facilities inside, Sakura was sure that he's still in a critical condition, "Li-kun…."

She felt her heart ache inside her chest. She doesn't understand quite well why she was feeling this but seeing Syaoran in this state brought tears in her eyes.

"Lady Sakura?" a voice from behind spoke.

Sakura turned to see a young lady in white holding the Li Treasure box and an orb.

"I believed this are his possessions," she smiled at her and handed the box and the orb to her.

Sakura smiled and nodded, "Arigato."

The young lady smiled once again and left.

Sakura turned back at Syaoran's direction. She held the treasure box and the orb close to her, "Li-kun…." She closed her eyes and lowered her head, 'If only I'd arrived sooner.' Slowly, the hot tears she had been holding back, streamed down her cheeks.

Touya hurried his way at Syaoran's room. He was being accompanied by Doctor Louise. Touya's already having a headache with all the casualty report he received from Iain's Fleet and other matter and now this. He gritted his teeth. As soon as Touya reached Syaoran's room, he almost knocked the door down as he entered.

"Damn it. I can't believe someone's actually stupid enough to get his self beaten up like this," Touya was saying.

Sakura heard everything. She spun around and glared at her brother, "Li-kun is not stupid!"

Touya stopped dead on his track and looked at her sister. At first he was stupefied but when she saw the tears in her eyes he got really irritated, "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Please Your Highness keep your—."

"You don't know what happened so don't speak of Li-kun like that!" Sakura ignored her brother's question. That made Touya even more irritated, "I asked you what you are doing here kaijuu!"

"Please Your Highness, Lady Sakura the patient is—."

"I am not a kaijuu!" Sakura berated as she stomped her feet at her brother's shin. "ITTAI!" Touya bellowed.

'What the….'

"Not a kaijuu eh? Look at how you're acting and tell me if you're really not a kaijuu," Touya yelled at her.

'Too noisy….'

"I am not! If you hadn't called me 'kaijuu' I wouldn't even do that!" Sakura retorted.

'Shut up….'

"Well if you just answered my question I wouldn't have called you that! Although you're 'really a kaijuu' and there's nothing I can do about that fact!"

'Shut up already….'

"What did you said? What's wrong about me being here? And what are you saying about me being a kaijuu a 'fact'?"

'I said…'

"Please Your Highness, Lady Sakura calm down or you'll—."

Sakura and Touya both looked at the Dr. Louise and shouted, "SHUT UP!"

The three of them froze. Touya and Sakura stared at each other. What was that? Was it their imagination? No…. They're sure of it. They weren't the only one who shouted.

Very slowly, the three of them turned to look at Syaoran's direction.

Syaoran, still feeling really dazed was already up and glaring at them.

(A/N yare…. yare…. Lol)

(A/N how's that? Lol anyway I'll update again soon and rest assured that I'll be revealing Eriol's secret on the next chapter (smiles)

Hmmm it might turn out to have a second part too I'm not really sure…

BTW if you wanted to be informed when I'll be updating another chap or if you have questions just e-mail me (smiles) its XP

Thanks again! And RR please thank you very much (smiles)