CHAPTER SIX

Before I start, I wanna say two things: #1: thank you SO MUCH to Sapphire Midnight cuz of all of her fantastic reviews! THANK YOU! And I want to say thanks also to everyone else that reviewed, I lub all of you guys!!

#2: The incomplete lyrics in this chapter, "Love Of My Life" belong to Santana, or whoever owns them. ::shrugs:: cus I sure don't.

Ok, on with the story!!

~SAKURA~

"You taught me how to love."

I taught him…to love…love…I taught him…I felt, suddenly, the tears spring up into my eyes. I refused to let them fall in front of Syaoran.

Lowering my face, I carefully sipped a spoonful of broth, hair hanging down, hiding my face.

"You taught me how to love."

I'd lost him. I'd lost Syaoran. Maybe, accused that voice in my head, the voice that was with me while I was under the Alone Card. Maybe you never had him in the first place. I do! I…I did, at least! How can you be so sure?

"Sakura?"

I couldn't face him. I didn't dare. He loved someone else, and I had to be content with that.

"Sakura."

I didn't look up.

"Sakura, look at me! What did I say?"

I couldn't speak, then he placed his hands on my shoulders, and roughly forced my face up.

Terrified, my eyes met his. He had never—

"Sakura. Damnit, don't look away!" he scowled, thrusting his face into mine. My breath caught in my throat. I couldn't look away. He didn't need to tell me.

The tears still refused to fall, and for that I was thankful, and he looked at me, with those eyes of smoldering amber, and he didn't need to say a word.

"Syaoran—" I choked out, "I'm sorry, but this is your own damn fault!" and then I did something that I didn't think I could do—I leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.

I drew away quickly, seeing the shadow passing in front of his eyes, and I turned to run away.

"Sakura, NO!" he yelled, grabbing my wrist. I froze, feeling his warm hand covering my wrist, his voice echoing in my brain. His hands…they were so gentle…but they was power in his grasp, I could feel it.

"I…don't want to let you go," he whispered.

"Syaoran, what do you—"

BAM! I jumped back, and he let go.

"SAKURA!!!!!" roared a deep, familiar voice. Keroberos flew in.

"Kero!" I squeaked, angry and abashed.

"Sakura, what did he do to you?" demanded the great creature.

"Nothing," I snapped, folding my arms. "I was fine. Syaoran has taken great care of me, and I owe him."

"Not if I can help it," muttered Kero.

"Kero!"

"Are you okay? I would have come sooner, but, I met Suppi and Nakuru, and got…distracted," said Kero sheepishly, pawing at the ground.

"Do you mind fixing my door?" asked Syaoran pointedly.

"Listen, brat, if you touched her while she was sleeping I'll—"

I reddened, and said, "Kero, that's enough! Syaoran helped me, not hurt me! You owe him a thank you—and an apology!"

Kero grumbled something underneath his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said, 'thank you for helping my mistress, Li.' And sorry," he mumbled as an afterthought. 

Li hesitated, then shrugged, and mumbled a 'your welcome'

"That's better," I said, fixing them both with what I hoped was an intimidating glare, lifting my chin slightly.

*POV Switch* *Third Person*

Eriol's left eye twitched several times, just as Tomoyo lay her head on the table.

"Damn." he said. And repeated the word several times until Tomoyo raised her eyes to the ceiling.

"We have found…nothing." she murmured, lowering her gaze, and started fiddling with the hem on her sweater. "I give up."

"Tomoyo. How about we check the library at the mansion? Or something. Or ask Yue. Or something."

"Hishirito's a bastard." Replied Tomoyo, matter-of-factly, closing her eyes. "This sucks."

[A/N: completely OOC, I know, but I'd like to picture her saying that. it's funny.]

SAKURA

Where you are that's where I wanna be

And through your eyes, all the things I wanna see

And in the night, you are my dream

you're every thing to me…

Syaoran sighed, catching my attention. "Kero," he coughed, as if hating to say his actual name, "I have pudding in the fridge, if you want it. And some video games, too, under the coffee table."

"Really?!" exclaimed Kero.

"Yeah."

"SWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEET!" he flew off, first to the fridge, and then to the living room.

I raised an eyebrow. "Since when…?" my unfinished question hung in the silence for a moment, when Syaoran muttered, "Sit, Sakura. I need to talk to you."

You're the love of my life

And the breath in my prayers

Take my hand, lead me there

"Me?" I squeaked, sinking into a chair.

"Yeah. Hishirito isn't dead."

"WHAT?" I gasped, slamming my palms on the table.

He winced slightly. "I know, just listen. I know who he is."

"So do I."

"No, Sakura, I knew him before all of this happened. I've known him since I was a child."

"What? How?"

Syaoran ran a hand through his tousled hair, and it was then I noticed the blue smudges underneath his eyes, and his exhausted expression on his face, in his eyes.  

"Hishirito," he began, meeting my gaze squarely, was my mother's bethroed first. But he is not my father. He never will be. They were supposed to marry, but my father came into the picture then. He was a much better sorcerer than Hishirito could ever be, and he was much more powerful—and he treated my mother always with respect, whereas Hishirito treated her like a clod of dirt underfoot." He took a breath and continued.

"There was a duel between Father and Hishirito, and my Father won, the prize being Mother. Hishirito flew into a rage. He loved Mother though he disrespected her often, and as much as he loved her, he hated my father with a passion ten times over. Years passed, and Hishirito never wed, just going  quietly crazy over Mother, his loathing for Father growing with each passing moment. Then my sisters were born—and Hishirito went into a mad frenzy, and he was determined to get back at Father. He waited, though. And when I was barely a month old, Hishirito slipped a potion into Father's food, a potion that can make you obey any command. Father didn't know about the potion until it was too late, and by then, Hishirito—he slit my father's throat, the bastard," Syaoran hissed, clenching his fists.

"And as my Father's life was seeping away, do you know what Hishirito did?" Syaoran went on, not waiting for an answer. "Hishirito threw my father to the wolves that lived at the foot of the mountains—there was a drought that year, and there hadn't been enough food for the wolf clan.  My father's favorite animals, the wolves killed him. When they found Father, all that was left of him were some shards…of bone and scraps of cloth. And so much blood. Blood was everywhere."

I was horrified, and I couldn't say anything at all as I watched Syaoran bitterly trace figures on the table, probably in Chinese. His voice had taken on a quiet tone that had a steel edge to it. He continued. "I've hated my name as  long as I can remember, even though my father chose it. And Hishirito hates me, because I was not his son, but my Father's. In the end, Hishirito was banished from the clan, denounced, and to this day, he can't get with in a hundred mile radius of where the clan is, the spells are so strong. But apparently, he found me, and I won't get rid of him unless…"

His unfinished sentence hung in the air, heavy and almost tangible. I could hear the tinny sounds of Kero's video game crackling through our silence, sounding harsh and strange.

I looked back at Syaoran, who had a tortured look on his face. "I'm sorry, Sakura."

What I need is you here

I can't forget when we are one

"Syaoran," I breathed. "Why? Why are you sorry?"

"To dump all of that on you. To finally see why I'm so bitter, to finally understand the whole picture."

I couldn't speak, only look at him, and wonder why I hadn't asked about his father. I'd assumed he'd died, but not in such a…gruesome and horrible way. I was thoroughly shocked. My tongue seemed to stick to my mouth, and my voice creaked out of my throat. "Syaoran, I'm s—"

"Don't." he snapped sharply, cutting me off. "Don't say you're sorry."

"I didn't mean—"

He interrupted me again. "Sakura. I know you know how it feels to lose a parent. I know that every morning you wake up, and you wonder what your life would be like…how your life would be different. And I know how it feels, when you meet some one new for the first time, and they ask about your parents…when you tell them your mother is dead, you're anticipating that automatic 'I'm so sorry'. And you HATE it."

I trembled. I knew. I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Syaoran…I wanted to say sorry that I can't do anything for you."

"No, you  can't." he said flatly, tone conveying no emotion. "And I can't do anything for you about your mother. But it's in the past. She won't come back."

I bit my lip, aware of the tears that would threaten to spill if I wasn't careful. "I know that, Syaoran. I know. But I can help you get rid of Hishirito."

"I don't want you to get hurt, Sakura." he replied. "I'm sorry for acting like a jerk, but I just can't seem to get control of my emotions today."

I touched his hand lightly. "I don't blame you."

He looked at me, eyes blazing with warmth, and he took my hand, enveloping it with his two cool hands. "Sakura, I can't keep it back any more. I love you. " he said, squeezing my hands, "Sakura…I love you."

From your lips

The heavens pour out…

…With you alone I am free

-

third person

Kero paused his game to take another gulp of yogurt. Tinny arcade songs jangled as the characters were all frozen, and Kero raised the minute spoon to his mouth, just as he heard a deep voice say something.

"Sakura, I love you."

The guardian's skin prickled. The Chinese boy had confessed his feelings to Sakura, and even though he was happy for his mistress, he felt a stab of horror go through him.

"Hishirito will use her, doesn't he know that?"

-

Tomoyo sighed as she walked with Eriol down a side walk to Syaoran's apartment. They were quiet, silent really, holding hands and walking in perfect synchrony.

Eriol knew what was troubling her, and said, "Don't worry about us not being able to find anything in the Library, Tomoyo."

She shook her head. "It's not that, Eriol. I'm just worried about Sakura and Syaoran. Everyday, Syaoran becomes thinner and paler, as if he's sick—and Sakura loves him so, if he were to…to die, I think she'd die of unhappiness."

Eriol frowned. "Sick? Syaoran can't get sick, as Sakura and I can't. Unless it's a magical disease, and that's extremely rare. More likely, he's just become an insomniac, and that's hard to deal with if you have school."

Tomoyo shot him a look. "I'm serious, I think that Hishirito has something to do with his sickness."

"Do you? I mean, sure, he's a power-crazed lunatic who calls Syaoran and then hangs up, but do you think he'd go so far as to try and sicken Syaoran? And how does he know Syaoran, anyhow?"

"We'll ask Li-kun, won't we?" asked Tomoyo as they mounted the steps.

Arriving at the door, Eriol put his hand on the knob, and twisted it, slightly surprised that it was open. Pushing it all the way, he and Tomoyo stepped inside the apartment, and a curious sound met their ears.

Laughter.

The two exchanged looks, recognizing the laughter as Syaoran's and Sakura's. A smile twitching her lips, Tomoyo took out her camera and switched it on.

They crept up to the kitchen and peeked around the corner, where Sakura and Syaoran were laughing and talking—as well as cooking dinner. Tomoyo could barely hold in a "KAWAII!" as her eyes grew to the size of plates.

Sakura was giggling as she stirred something in a pot, and Syaoran was chuckling as he sliced carrots. Tomoyo bit her lip to keep from squealing as Syaoran deposited the carrots in the pot, kissing Sakura on her temple. She turned and pecked him on his nose, and he pouted.

"You're teasing me," he complained, chopping some onions.

She stuck out her lower lip. "I'm sorry, Li-kun!" And then she laughed again.

Syaoran finished cutting the onions, and turned towards Sakura, onions in hand, and Sakura gasp. "Syaoran, you're crying! I'm so sorry!" and she wrapped her arms around him, shocked to find his shoulders shaking up and down.

He made a noise, his mouth pressed in her shoulder, arms spread out, clutching chopped onions.

Then Syaoran started laughing hard. "Sakura, the onions were making my eyes water!!!"

There was a short silence from Sakura's part.

At that, Eriol burst into laughter, Tomoyo giggling helplessly as they slid to the floor, clutching their stomachs in mirth.

Sakura's eyes widened, and she and Syaoran whirled around to see their two best friends having a belly laugh on the kitchen floor.

"You—guys—are—so—kawaii!!" shrieked Tomoyo between laughs.

Sakura giggled as Syaoran sheepishly said, "You were spying on us, weren't you?" Not waiting for an answer, he dumped the onions in the pot, and Sakura started stirring again, laughing.

Hm. A fairly uneventful chapter, if it was anything at all. I hope you guys liked all the fluff, and hey, I made 'em a couple! ^.^ Now, for the next chapter…