Chapter Eight:

Chapter Eight:

"What do you want?"

Syaoran didn't look happy upon opening his front door. The boy's deep brown eyes narrowed, jaw clenching as Eriol smiled kindly at him.

"I'm here to talk, my little descendant." He said simply as they stared at each other on his front step. "May I come in or would that just be too much to ask?"

Syaoran arched an eyebrow, contemplating an answer to that question. Then, with an exhalation of breath he turned away, leaving the door open for him to enter through. "All magic stays outside." He called as a warning to his guest.

Eriol entered, closing the door behind him, smile turning wry. He really didn't like him, even with all he was doing to get him together with his Card Mistress. Upon locking the door he floated into the front hallway and then smoothly entered the large living room where Syaoran had flopped himself onto the couch to seemingly die. "Bad day?"

"You could say that." Syaoran muttered into a cushion. And then he suddenly sat up, glaring as he looked over his shoulder at his supposed ancestor. "But then again, you should know that. This is practically your fault for making the stupid bet."

Eriol nodded to an armchair, he loved armchairs, with an expression of 'May I?'" When Syaoran shrugged wordlessly he sat, exhaling quite happily. "I see you still dislike me about that." He murmured, wiggling around in the chair like a small child. Once he found a comfortable spot he leaned back, crossed one leg over the other and met his fingertips into a triangle before him, looking very much like a psychiatrist.

Syaoran smirked at him and once more buried his face in the couch cushions.

Eriol sighed at him, cocking his head thoughtfully. "Tomoyo-san thinks I should talk to you." He said carelessly. "About our bet-"

"Not this again…"

"Yes." Eriol stated. "This again. Because it seems like no matter what I try, nothing seems to work."

Syaoran disagreed from his position. "Not true. You actually made me realize my position in this. And for that I do thank you. Really." He sounded genuinely grateful.

"Position?" Eriol echoed slowly.

Syaoran hesitated for a moment, inhaling deeply enough to make his back rise. "I know I'm not the best man for Sakura. I know that no matter what I do, I'll only be second to you in magic. In wisdom. Intelligence." He paused again, blinking at nothing. "In everything."

Eriol stared at him from his armchair, head tilted. Then he sighed, dropping his head into his hand. "All my words must go in through one ear out the other." He mumbled impatiently.

Syaoran shrugged, as if he no longer cared. "That was the point of this, wasn't it? To show me that you were better. To show me that no one would protect Sakura as well as you." He nodded, cheek rubbing across a cushion. "I acknowledge it." And then coldly, "Now leave."

Eriol chuckled at his animosity, which truly infuriated him. "The point of this, descendant, was to get you together with Sakura. I entered the bet to see if you would at least put your emotions to use as opposed to shoving them aside as you usually do. Are you sure you're my descendant? And a Li?"

Syaoran sat up instantly, lifting a glare at him. "Unlike you, grandfather, I care very much for Sakura. I'd rather not see her get hurt. Which brings up another good point. Was it you or wasn't it who sent the cards? The Arrow Card and the Dream Card?"

Eriol merely stared at him but his silence spoke more than words.

Syaoran nodded. "I figured." He growled. "And I suggest you stop because if you don't, I won't care how much stronger you are than I am. I will kill you."

The black-haired boy gazed at him, eyes hooded behind thin, metal-rimmed glasses. "Always a threat to me." he murmured.

Syaoran smiled darkly. "You're damn right."

Eriol stared at him for another moment, mouth drawn tight. And with a shake of his head he rose. "I can see I'm not welcome here." He stated, fixing himself to leave. "But I will say one thing."

Syaoran practically growled under his breath.

The black-haired boy stared him down, looking more like Clow Reed with that hauntingly lazy expression than ever. "It's no use getting mad at Sakura-san because she doesn't understand what it is you feel for her. She's not the idiot for not understanding. You are."

Syaoran smiled humorlessly. "Get out."

Eriol hesitated, slowly shaking his head at him. And then he turned, winding around the armchair and heading toward the doorway. "Oh, and one more thing, little descendant-"

"And stop calling me that!"

Eriol skipped right over that, ignoring anything that didn't have to do with the conversation. "Concerning the Dream Card. What did she dream about? You wanted to know, didn't you?"

"Not anymore…" Syaoran was back to talking into a couch cushion.

Eriol shook his head once more, dark eyes narrowed. "She dreamt about you. About what it would feel like to be with you, to mean more to you than she thinks she does. That's what she dreamt about." He frowned, gazing at him. "But I shouldn't have told you. Because you don't deserve her."

And with that he left, door closing quietly behind him.

"Kero-chan?"

Kero turned away from the videogame, a sweat drop rolling down the side. "Yes?" he called, feigning sweetness due to the utter demise of his character.

The door opened and Tomoyo stood in the doorway, looking mournful.

"Hi, Tomoyo-chan!" he said cheerfully before noticing the look on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly, putting the controller down and lifting off the ground to float up to her.

Tomoyo entered the room, closing the door behind herself. And she looked so sad, tears almost rising in her eyes. "I don't know what to do, Kero-chan." She whispered and she sat down on the bed, hanging her head.

Kero flew over and sat down beside her, looking up at her worriedly.

Tomoyo swallowed, hair hanging down both sides of her head and hiding her profile. She swung around her backpack and opened it, taking out a videotape. "Eriol-kun and Li-kun made a bet. To see which one could win Sakura's affection."

"Nani…?" Kero-chan almost sounded intrigued.

Tomoyo nodded, staring at the video. "But Eriol-kun doesn't really want Sakura. He was just in it to bring Sakura together with Syaoran-"

"The Brat?!"

"And Syaoran doesn't think himself worthy of Sakura-chan so-"

"He's not!" Kero-chan cried but Tomoyo figured it was just to cheer her up. And so she smiled at him, sweetly.

"You know he's the best thing for her." She murmured and she looked at him with the same peaceful expression Eriol carried. "Because he loves her so much."

Kero gazed at her, looking sorrowful. And in a whisper he said, "I know…" He looked at the tape again and pointed. "So what's that?"

Tomoyo glanced at the tape once more. "This," she began, straightening and inhaling, "is proof of the bet. Proof of Syaoran's feelings toward Sakura. I caught him expressing his love for her."

Kero stared at the tape as if it were a bomb. "Why did you bring it here?" he asked faintly.

Tomoyo shook her head, eyes unseeing. "I don't know." She whispered. "I thought that maybe I could show it to her and maybe this bet would be over. She would understand and everything would be all right."

"She'll be mad." Kero-chan confided in her quietly. "She'll be mad that you all made a bet concerning her. Because she trusts all of you."

Tomoyo felt tears rise, a stinging in her nose. "I know." She uttered, blinking rapidly.

Kero-chan stared at the tape a moment longer and then sighed. "Ok, well. We won't tell her about the tape. We'll somehow convince her that the brat's the one for her so that we can end this." And he looked at her pointedly. "And we never do this again."

Tomoyo smiled faintly. "It gets worse."

Kero-chan stared at her as if she had popped another head. "That's not possible." He stated, as if it simply weren't.

Tomoyo nodded, thankful that the tears that had risen were slowly going away. "Oh, it does." She said, pouting.

"How?" he demanded.

"Sakura's in love with Yukito-san." Tomoyo stated.

Kero-chan looked at her, another sweat drop rolling down the side of his head. "Sakura-chan has a crush on Yukito-san. That's all it is."

"She wants to tell him that she loves him because she says she can't take it anymore. And she thinks all she feels for Li-kun is a crush."

"She likes the brat?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "She was gushing about him downstairs but then we got on the subject of Yukito-san and I'm just not sure anymore…"

Kero-chan looked at the TV screen again but his thoughts weren't on the game anymore "I should talk to Yue-san, you're saying." He stated knowingly.

"I'll do it if you want." Tomoyo offered.

"Yue doesn't like listening to mortals."

"Oh." Tomoyo said and then cocked her head with a frown. "That's so rude…"

A sudden knock at the door interrupted them, Tomoyo looking up quickly. Then the door flew open and Sakura came in, looking cheerfully confused. "I don't know why I knocked. It's my room." She said, eyes closing as she smiled.

Tomoyo shoved the videotape under her pillow, straightening up with a 'What tape?' look.

Sakura came around, taking hold of Tomoyo's arm and grabbing hold of Kero-chan's tail. "Come on, dinner is ready!" she announced and she pulled.

Tomoyo swiped at her backpack, dragging it, "Wait, Sakura-chan-"

But she was whisking them out of the room, shutting the door behind them firmly. "Come on! It'll get cold!"

Tomoyo looked back towards the closed door, thinking frantically.

I'll get it later, right before I leave. I'll sneak in and grab it and she won't know.

And she allowed Sakura to drag her down towards the kitchen.

Eriol took a step outside Syaoran's gate and pulled out his cell phone, dialing Tomoyo's number. It rang, and rang and he remembered that she wouldn't be home. She was probably still with Sakura-san.

He dialed her cell phone number and settled to wait as it rang.

"Yes?" she picked up, sounding the slightest bit off.

"Tomoyo-san? It's me."

"Yes, I know. What's the matter?"

"Busy?" he asked and he began to walk away from Syaoran's property, heading in the direction of Tomoyo's house.

"Just eating dinner. With Sakura-chan. Why?" she asked.

"Because we need to talk. I'm getting out of my descendant's house right now." He answered and he ducked into the street, crossing over.

"I'll be done in a few minutes. Maybe you can…come pick me up?" she suggested slowly.

Eriol blinked at that, almost tripping over his feet. "Um, all right. I'll be there soon."

Just as soon as I learn to walk again…

"Ok, I'll see you in a few." And she hung up.

He didn't know what had happened there and what had brought along the sudden awkwardness but he needed to talk to her so he really didn't care much at the moment. He just had to get to Sakura's house now.

Sakura opened the door, smiling at Eriol who stood on her doorstep. "Eriol-kun!" she said happily. "Come in!"

Eriol smiled back, sweetly. "Oh, no, thank you. I just came to pick up Tomoyo-san. We need to work on our project together even though it's due in two weeks. Better to get it out of the way than worry later."

Sakura nodded. "I understand." She said. "You two have been hanging out a lot lately together…"

Tomoyo appeared, much to Eriol's relief. "Um, yes, the project and all." She said hurriedly, slipping off the slippers and putting on her shoes. "It's getting late also so we'll only have an hour or two at most. Come, Eriol-kun!"

Eriol let her wrap her arms around one of his and waved back at Sakura as she dragged him away. "Ja ne, Sakura-san!" he called.

Sakura waved with a giggle and then closed the door. "They're so cute." She said to Kero-chan, who was stretched out on the table, stomach inflated. And she began to clear away the dishes, cleaning up. Her oni-chan would be coming home soon and she wanted to make sure dinner would still be warm for him.

She skipped off to her bedroom, intent on finishing her homework and then getting some shut-eye.