1 Chapter 7

Syaoran stood uncomfortably in Sakura's dimly lit bedroom. He looked around at all her stuffed animals that sat on her bed and lined her shelves. Suddenly he thought of Kero. He must still be asleep, thought Syaoran. He suddenly realized that he was still holding his sword. He self-consciously turned it back into a black orb.

"Have a seat," said Sakura, gesturing to the chair by her desk. He sat stiffly, nervous. She sat on her bed, smiling at him a little, making him blush.

"Tell me what happened," Sakura demanded. "Tell me everything from the very beginning."

Syaoran smiled inwardly at the stubborn look of determination on Sakura's face. Then he noticed the fear in her sweet emerald eyes. His heart melted within him. How can I tell her? he thought. She'll be so scared... No, he realized. She's strong enough. She deserves to know. Besides... He smiled to himself again. She won't let me leave until I tell her everything.

Finally, he sighed, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. He leaned forward. "All right," he mused. She watched him intently.

"I woke up about..." He glanced at Sakura's clock. "...maybe half an hour ago. I sensed that something was going to happen to you." He blushed a little, took a deep breath, and continued. "I ran here as fast as I could... I couldn't see anything. I was afraid that it was in your room, so I climbed your tree..."

"You were afraid that what was in my room?" Sakura asked nervously.

Syaoran hesitated. "You'll never believe me..."

She put her hands on her hips. He almost laughed. She's so adorable... "Try me."

He sighed. "There was... a dragon... trying to get into your room."

She looked shocked. "You're kidding, right?"

He shook his head. "I was surprised too. I thought that dragons went extinct thousands of years ago... But anyway... it started cutting through the glass in your window with one of its claws..." He pointed at the almost-complete circle in her window. She gasped. "I summoned lightning and scared it away... for now."

Sakura was shaking. Syaoran wanted so badly to go to her, hold her in his arms, tell her everything would be all right... He shook his head to clear the thoughts away.

"Why would... a dragon... be after me?" asked Sakura finally after a long pause, tucking her shining auburn hair behind her ear.

"Well... I learned a lot about dragons when I was young. It was part of my training back home, to know about all kinds of magical creatures.

"Like I said, dragons have supposedly been extinct for thousands of years." He smiled wryly. "Apparently not. Anyway, most dragons are at least fifteen or twenty feet long. The one I saw couldn't have been much longer than three feet. It must be a baby."

Sakura nodded. "Okay... So the dragon that's after me is a baby... If it was by itself, it must not have any parents."

Suddenly it clicked in Syaoran's head. "It makes perfect sense," he said, standing up.

"What does?" Sakura asked, confused.

"The dragon must have hatched alone. Maybe it was a lone egg, laid back when dragons still existed here in Japan, but it never hatched until now."

"Why would it hatch now?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran shook his head and started pacing. "I don't know. Maybe the increase in the magical energy in the area, now what you've gotten so much stronger, was enough to make it hatch."

"So I made it hatch," Sakura murmured. "Does it know that?"

"Probably not," he replied. "But it knows how to find food."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Normally, baby dragons feed on their parents' magic until they're old enough to generate their own. But since there's no other dragons..."

Understanding suddenly dawned on Sakura's face. "It's trying to feed off of my magic."

Syaoran nodded. "But it doesn't work right. Since you're not a dragon, you don't know how to feed it. All it knows is that you have a lot of magic." Syaoran sighed, troubled. He stopped pacing and looked straight into Sakura's eyes. "I'm going to be totally honest with you, Sakura. This dragon is driven by hunger. It will probably try anything it can to get your magic. Anything."

Sakura hugged her knees. "That poor dragon," she said softly, sadness on her face and in her voice. "I wish I could do something to help it."

Syaoran smiled. He had actually thought that she would be afraid for herself. He should have known better. She was, instead, worried about the dragon that was after her. That's what I love about her- how sweet she is, never worried about herself, always looking out for others.

Then his smile faded. What he had told Sakura was finally sinking in. It will probably try anything it can to get your magic. Anything.

"Sakura?" he said quietly.

She looked at him. "Yes?"

"I..." He hesitated. "I want to stay with you... as much as I can... to make sure you stay safe."

She smiled warmly. "I'd like that."

Syaoran blushed, smiling shyly. Then he grew serious. "But how will I do that?"

"Well..." said Sakura thoughtfully. "As long as I'm at home, Kero can protect me." Syaoran nodded. "You're with me at school... I guess you can walk me to and from school since Touya leaves before me now that he has an extra class before school."

Syaoran smiled. "If we're walking, you can't be late," he teased.

Sakura blushed. "I won't be. Anyway, anyplace else I go, I'll make sure you're with me, okay?"

Syaoran nodded. "Just make sure and call me if anything happens and I'm not there, okay?"

"Okay," replied Sakura. "And you can call me anytime you sense anything."

"Sounds like a plan," said Syaoran, smiling. But then he thought of something. "What about nights like tonight?" he asked, concerned again.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"Sakura, even now Kero isn't awake. If I hadn't been able to get here as fast as I did... If the dragon had tried sooner to break into your room..." He shuddered at the thought.

Sakura thought for a moment. "Well, the only thing I can think of is if someone was always awake, keeping an eye on me." She looked worried. "But everyone needs to sleep..."

"Well, Touya can watch you sometimes, right?"

"Well, yeah, but like I said, he needs to sleep."

"Don't worry about it. We'll make up a schedule, so as soon as he goes to bed, I'll be here."

Sakura frowned. "Are you sure? Won't you be tired?"

"It doesn't matter," he said quietly. "You're much more important to me than that." Then realizing that he had said that out loud, Syaoran blushed.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you so much, Syaoran. I don't know how I could every repay you." She stood up, went to him, and hugged him.

Syaoran blushed furiously. Sakura, you just did.

They both sat on the edge of Sakura's bed, first talking about the details of their plan, then about anything and everything they could think of. Neither one noticed the sky getting lighter outside of Sakura's window.

Suddenly, as they were laughing about a story Syaoran had told from when he was young, Sakura's door opened. Touya stuck his head in the room. Syaoran froze.

"Hey, squirt. Breakfast is-" Suddenly, he saw Syaoran on her bed. His eyes narrowed dangerously. Syaoran could see him seething.

"You..." Touya growled. "What... in the world... ARE YOU DING IN MY SISTER'S ROOM!" he yelled, furious, fire burning brightly in his eyes as he stepped threateningly toward Syaoran.

Suddenly Syaoran remembered how to move. In the blink of an eye he shot off of Sakura's bed, opened the window, and half-jumped, half-climbed out. He nearly fell to the ground in his rush to escape Touya's wrath. He quickly scrambled down the tree and ran as fast as he could down the street and around the corner to meet Sakura as she walked to school. His heart was pounding. He leaned heavily against a fence, the morning sunlight shining gently on his face. I have got to be more careful, he thought. Then he looked up at the cherry tree next to the road and smiled. Anything for my cherry blossom.

Author's note: Thanks so much for the reviews! You guys are sooo sweet. And yes, they do encourage me to keep going, so keep it up! I was on a roll- this is byfar my longest chapter! I think it turned out pretty well. ^_^ I hope you like it! Ja ne!