Learning To Love and Learning From Love

A/N: Sorry for the [very] late updating. Trying to finish the last chapter of "Aishiteru" so it'll probably be a long time before the next chapter of this is out @_@. I'm just gonna start on this chapter a bit because I am damn tired of writing anymore of "Aishiteru" today. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!!! I love all of you!!! Now that I'm so lazy, I'll include a thank you list in the next chapter. Ok, so, let's get on with the show!

Disclaimer: I don't own a [thing] of Cardcaptor Sakura. *Sigh* CLAMP does.

"..." = Dialogue

'...' = Thoughts

~*~ = Scene/time change

[...] = Italicized words

Chapter 10: Inescapable From You

Syaoran gulped nervously as he closed the door behind him. No sign of Fang-Fei yet. He relaxed a bit but jumped a bit when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Syaoran? Is there something wrong?" Syaoran turned to find Meiling looking at him in concern. Syaoran looked at her uncertainly. If he told Meiling about Fang-Fei and her demand, Meiling would go ballistic. A huge cat fight would spring up between Fang-Fei and Meiling about ordering Syaoran around.

"It's nothing." Syaoran finally replied getting an uncertain look in return. "Alright." Meiling said and made a motion to start walking to school. Syaoran solemnly nodded back and the two started quietly walking down the peaceful neighborhood toward the direction of their school. Meiling wrapped her coat a bit tighter around her. The autumn chill was starting to settle in faster.

"Hey! You forgot this!" a voice behind them yelled. The two turned to find that Touya was running towards them. Meiling flustered a bit while Syaoran's eyes narrowed. When Touya reached the two, he glared back at Syaoran. "I wasn't talking to you, brat." said Touya and turned his gaze back to Meiling, his eyes softening.

"You forgot this." Touya told her, placing her lunch in her hands. "Great going Meiling. It's the fifth time this week." Syaoran remarked, looking at Meiling skeptically. Touya sent a small glare toward Syaoran but Meiling didn't exactly hear. "And when did you decide to become a nanny?" Syaoran asked, still skeptical, raising an eyebrow at Touya. Touya scowled in return.

"Who made this?" Meiling finally spoke up, staring down at the lunch. Of course her sister, herself and occasionally her mother made a lunch for her, but this time Meiling apparently forgot and her sister and mother never wrapped it like this. "Well, I did..." replied Touya, a bit flustered. He looked to Syaoran and continued. "I made yours too, brat." he mumbled in return of the smirk Syaoran was sending toward him.

"T-Thank you." Meiling simply said, shocked that he would do something like this for [her.] Touya smiled back softly. "No problem kid." he replied gently and gave a pat to Meiling's head. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to mind. "Now I've got to get ready." announced Touya and he ran back to the house. Meiling stared after his retreating back. Syaoran studied her with intense amber eyes.

"I thought you loved Hiiragizawa." Syaoran finally stated, breaking the silence that was starting to settle in. "What?" Meiling asked, finally coming back to Earth. "I said that I thought you loved Hiiragizawa." Syaoran repeated, his eyes holding a mix of amusement and slight suspicion. "Oh... well I told him that I loved him yesterday." replied Meiling, in a nonchalant tone as if it was nothing big at all. Syaoran gaped at her.

"Well... did Hiiragizawa hurt you?! I'll go beat him up for you!" Syaoran suddenly said, his eyes looking angry. Meiling just smiled weakly. "No Syaoran, Eriol didn't hurt me... he just said that I never really loved him." Syaoran scoffed and Meiling gave a warning glare at him then continued. "He said it was all a big infatuation and I'll eventually come to really love another person." she finished, looking like she was in deep thought. Syaoran glanced at her uncertainly.

"Well... do you think it could be Kinomoto?" Syaoran cautiously asked Meiling. She flustered quite a bit and looked to Syaoran. "Syaoran! He's seven years older than me! Do you actually think that I would love someone that much older than me?" she asked, still flustered and a step away from going crazy. "The other half of Clow Reed other than Hiiragizawa married someone nine years younger than himself." Syaoran pointed out, looking at Meiling.

She flustered even more. "Well... this is different." she concluded and looked to her watch. "Syaoran, I think we should get going." Meiling warned and started rapidly walking. Syaoran glanced at his watch. He looked up at Meiling's quickly retreating back, sighing. "Meiling! We're still early to school!" he shouted out after her and shook his head.

~*~

"Annual Musical Duet Contest." Sakura read out loud, staring at the flyer in her hand. Her eyes scanned the paper, occasionally pulling her coat tighter around her. She and Tomoyo had been walking to school as usual but they had found an interesting flyer lying on the ground. "Oh that thing." Tomoyo finally said after a moment of studying the flyer.

"What is it?" Sakura asked Tomoyo, her eyes glued to the flyer which had pictures of instruments and notes. "It's a contest that is held every year between elementary schools around this area. In each school, two pairs are supposed to be picked from each grade to perform in the contest, a boy and a girl." Tomoyo explained, Sakura's eyes now glued to Tomoyo. Sakura then smiled.

"I bet it would be nice contest to watch." gushed Sakura since she was fond of music. "It is a great contest to see except those boring performances." Tomoyo said, placing the flyer back on the ground where the two had found it. Sakura nodded and the two walked off to school, all thoughts of the contest soon cleared out of their mind...

~*~

"No one signed up?" Mr. Terada asked the school office lady. She sadly shook her head in return. "What am I going to do?" he asked, his voice holding a worried tone. "Fifth graders tend to be shy." the lady stated, going back to her paper work. "You'll just have to choose any pair randomly." she told him, her eye contact still on her papers.

"That's a great idea!" he said, brightening up. "Who are you going to choose?" she asked in curiosity, finally looking up at him. Mr. Terada brought a hand up to his chin, thinking of all the people. "Well... Daidouji Tomoyo has a wonderful singing voice... and Hiiragizawa Eriol has great piano skills. I'm sure they'd make a great pair." he mused, his eyes looking upward.

He rummaged through all his students in is mind. Which one would make a great duet together? He had never heard any skills from the rest of his students so he would have to just choose two people. Li Syaoran came to his mind instantly. He was usually quiet and never showed much of himself. This would be a good experience for him. One down, one to go.

Who would make a great team with Li? He listed off all the girls in his class. Mihara? No, not a great match. Yanagisawa? No, not a great match either. Sasaki? Mr. Terada inwardly blushed. No, definitely not. Kinomoto? Perfect! She was new and would make a great match for Li. This would also be a great experience fo her. Perfect.

~*~

"And when the moon went up to the sun-" Chiharu interrupted. "Takashi, shut up." she commanded him, sighing. "But I was getting to the best part!" Takashi protested, looking at Chiharu with a puppy-dog face. She shook her head, stopping him from going on. Sakura and Syaoran sat there, amazed at his latest story. Takashi smiled inwardly. He never ceased to amaze them.

Meiling looked to Syaoran and Sakura and shook her head. 'And I thought my brother was the only gullible one.' she thought, looking at the two. Fang-Fei sat there, never really listening to Takashi's story. She was staring intently at Syaoran, wanting something really badly. And she was starting to doubt if he actually got her a teddy bear. That couldn't be it...

Syaoran could feel her expectant gaze on him. He could almost feel her eyes burning a hole through him. But he wouldn't look at her. He just pretended that he didn't know just how hardly she was staring at him, her eyes fierce and sharp. He was afraid. He was afraid that if he looked at her, the truth would spill out. He didn't get the doll for her. And for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to get it.

The students scattered to their seats as the door slid open to reveal Mr. Terada. "Good morning students." he greeted, sliding the door closed behind him and walking up to his front desk. He could feel 30 pairs of eyes glued on him, one in particular which he tried to ignore. He couldn't help but feel ashamed. How could a teacher fall in love with his own student? It was abnormal and such a... wicked thing to do. But nonetheless he had and regretted it. He took out the role sheet to mark the absent people and, for heaven sakes, get his mind off Rika Sasaki, the student he fell in love with.

While, somewhere else in the back of the classroom, Sakura happened to look towards Rika's direction. The girl she had been introduced to a bit ago had been

very mature person in Sakura's view. At first glance, it would seem like Rika was just looking toward the teacher and listening like a regular good student. On second glance, you would see her blushing.

Sakura had seen the blush and was expectantly confused by it. She stared at Rika, trying to figure out what she was blushing at. "Kinomoto?" Sakura looked over to who had called out to her. It was Eriol Hiiragizawa. "Yes?" she answered, trying to keep quiet so the teacher would hear. "What are you looking so intensely at?" he asked, an unreadable expression on his face. "Oh... nothing." Sakura answered back nervously, blushing a little at her obviousness. Eriol smiled back another unreadable smile. "Okay then." he assured, turning back to face the teacher. "Hoe?" Sakura responded.

Syaoran had heard the conversation behind him and he didn't like it. He didn't like his feelings even more. What was this feeling that was burning inside of him while he had listened to Eriol's concerns towards Sakura. It wasn't anything familiar that's for sure. Sakura, this slightly clumsy scaredy-cat, made him feel emotions he had never ever felt before. He hated the way she made him feel... and worst of all, he didn't hate [her] at all.

"Students" Mr. Terada said at last, putting away the role sheet. "We have the musical duet contest coming up." he continued, catching everyone's full attention. Some of the students were excited and the others were... well... praying that he didn't choose them.

A small smile came to Sakura's face. She would love to see who would get picked for the two duets. Then a thought crossed her mind. A slightly sad expression replaced the smile as she pictured Syaoran and Fang-Fei performing a wonderful duet. Sakura shook her head a bit. 'W-Why am I thinking about him.' she thought a bit nervously, a smile trying to overtake the frown. The result was a sad smile.

Little did she know that Eriol Hiiragizawa was watching her from the corner of his eyes. He gave out a small, sly smile. 'Looks like she's going through some confusing feelings for Li.' he thought slyly, still watching her with a careful eye. He had also been keeping a close eye on his cute little descendant. 'He has also been keeping confused feelings for her concealed as well...' Eriol observed, the smile growing just a little menacingly larger. He loved situations like these.

Mr. Terada cleared his throat. "Okay, Li and Kinomoto and Daidouji and Hiiragizawa, will you do our school the honors of performing in the musical duet contest?" Mr. Terada asked and the four gaped at him in horror. "I guess that's a yes." he assumed while everyone stared at the four who were in too much of a shock to decline his decision.

He looked down to the application in front of him and was about to write their names. "Wait!" Tomoyo yelled hurriedly, desperate to change the teacher's mind. "Yes Daidouji?" Mr. Terada asked, looking up in question to Tomoyo. "I think that you should give someone else a chance... I mean, I wouldn't want to perform but someone else might." The class blinked back at her in response.

"No Daidouji, I'm sure your perfect for the job." he assured her, positioning to write again. "B-But..." Tomoyo started helplessly, looking ready to give up and just die. "Daidouji, you're perfect for the job." he reassured a bit sternly. Tomoyo, having no choice, hung her head and gave in. Working with Hiiragizawa Eriol would literally be a nightmare in hell.

~*~

"For today, it's a science lab experiment." the professor announced, ignoring the wave of groans that washed over the class. But Touya didn't mind. Even though the orphanage didn't teach much of anything, just basics, including science, science and chemistry came along surprisingly well for Touya. The students were amazed at his skills and even more amazed at the fact that he was raised in an orphanage and was now "adopted" and going to an actual school. This gave the girls more reason to swoon over him.

"But just for this time, pair up in partners with the person behind you." he commanded, giving into the students. He sighed and swore that he never saw a lazier bunch of teenagers. The students were expectantly happy but the small group around Touya Kinomoto were a bit disappointed, especially the girls. It wasn't that nobody else was smarter but Touya was the best chemist in class and one of the most "cutest" boys according to the girls. But no one would complain if she got Yukito Tsukishiro either.

Touya looked ahead and saw that his row paired up perfectly. That would mean he would be working with... Feimei Li. He sighed and turned around in his seat. Feimei gave back an unusually gentle smile. "Come on Kinomoto." she gently commanded, getting up out of her seat to the chemistry table. He looked at her with raised eyebrows. She usually called him by Touya. "Come on." she repeated, now more urging. Touya got up and followed her wordlessly.

They started to work silently, experimenting with the chemicals cautiously. "You know," Feimei finally said, starting a conversation. "You seem to like Meiling a lot." she finished with a sly smile. Touya's face remained the same, but his face reddened just a tiny bit. "Yeah and..." he asked a bit [too] nonchalantly. "That could happen you know." he stated, giving Feimei a look.

"Well it's obvious you like Meiling a lot more than you like Xiaolang or me." she pointed out, giving Touya a look back. This didn't affect him... much. "Well, what if she's nicer than both of you. I mean, the brat is a lot more ruder than she is." he said bitterly, imagining Syaoran's offensive glare. Feimei chuckled. "Meiling's not [that] nice, first of all. She just likes you a lot." She paused to see that Touya had gone a bit more redder. She smiled then continued. "And second of all, Xiaolang's rude to people that are rude to him." she finished, seeing that an annoyed look had crossed Touya's face.

"And Meiling doesn't care that much about many people. She usually has a mouthful of things to say to a lot of people. She doesn't talk easily around you, but it's clear how much she cares about you." Feimei said gently, softening up a large amount. Touya swallowed a bit and looked at Feimei with a cautious eye, as if sealing off all emotions as much as possible.

"What does she look at me as." he inquired, almost demandingly. Feimei looked at him almost in surprise. "Does she look at me as a brother or a father or what?" he asked again, this time shifting his gaze to the floor. She smiled again slyly. This was starting to make Touya a tad bit nervous. "I'm not really sure. Why don't we find out for ourselves." said Feimei, an evil glint entering her eye. Touya didn't like that look. And even more, he didn't get what she was saying at all.

The two worked on in silence, the sly smirk still planted on Feimei's face and the confused expression still locked on Touya's face. Then Feimei started talking again. "Meiling may seem like a tough girl on the outside, but I know she has a soft heart. And soft hearts are usually crushed with ease." she told him, looking up into his face. Touya stayed silent, working with the formulas. But Feimei knew he was listening.

"And Xiaolang and Tomoyo are very protective. If you hurt Meiling, they'll come after you. But I don't think you'll ever intend to hurt her." Feimei finished, smiling at Touya again. He stared back at her then his mouth slowly curved up into a smile. "You've got everything all wrong, but you can count on me. I won't hurt her." he informed her, reaching for a tube. Feimei smirked again. 'You'll find that you're wrong Kinomoto... you'll find that you're wrong...' she thought watching him from the corner of her eye.

~*~

The bell that signaled the end of school came too fast for Tomoyo. Way too fast. At the sound of the bell, the students jumped up and started packing their things. "Now everyone, see you in school tomorrow. Hiiragizawa and Daidouji, and Li and Kinomoto, I suggest you get started soon." he informed them, starting to pack up as well.

The four nodded hesitantly. Tomoyo gave out an exasperated sigh as she turned to Eriol. "Come on." she ordered, mumbling. He rolled his eyes. "You don't have to tell me, Daidouji." he said sarcastically, putting on his backpack. Tomoyo glared a glare that clearly said "Don't get me started." He glared back then said "We should work at my house." Tomoyo didn't say anything then the two walked out of the room.

Sakura, Syaoran, and Meiling, who just joined them, watched their retreating backs. "Ok Syaoran, Sakura, I'll see you later." said Meiling and left the room as well after a nod from Syaoran and a "Bye Meiling!" from Sakura. "So, where should we go?" Sakura asked Syaoran suggestively. He shrugged, trying to keep calm. "Well, how about your house? I want to see Big Brother... unless you don't want to..." she suggested, trailing off at the end. "No!" Syaoran suddenly burst out. Sakura looked at him with wide eyes, surprised at his sudden actions. He cleared his throat.

"I mean, it's ok to." he said more calmly this time. "Ok, I'm glad!" Sakura said, smiling her most brightest smile. Syaoran, seeing that smile immediately broke his gaze to the floor, blushing a bit. What the two didn't know was Fang-Fei was still in the classroom, watching their every move. She growled a bit under her breath and started walking up to Syaoran.

"Syaoran-" she started, but was cut off by Mr. Terada. "Ok students. I have to leave now and lock the classroom." The three nodded and left the room obediently. After they had reached the school yard in silence, Fang-Fei grabbed Syaoran's arm. "Syaoran, I need to talk to you in private." she ordered, dragging him off. Sakura watched them, with a "Hoe?" expression. "Don't worry, he'll be back." Fang-Fei assured as if she had read her thoughts.

After they had reached a corner of the building, Fang-Fei turned to look at Syaoran. "I couldn't get a very good hold of you all day." she started, looking at him straight in the eye. He stared back, listening intensely. Then it hit him. She wanted the damn bear. He didn't have it. What was he going to do? He was in big trouble. A mad Fang-Fei wasn't a very good thing to experience.

"Syaoran, I ask you now," she said, surprised to find that she was having trouble making the words come out of her mouth. "W-Where's the bear?" she finally asked with some difficulty. Syaoran gulped nervously. "F-Fang-Fei... I... wasn't able to get it..." he admitted quietly, keeping his eyes on the ground. Fang-Fei nearly exploded.

"You didn't get me one? WHY?!?!" Fang-Fei exploded, shaking Syaoran. "I was going to get you one today. I had plans yesterday." Syaoran lied. Fang-Fei let him go, a frown on her face. "And don't get too close to Kinomoto." she warned. "WHAT?!?!" Syaoran shouted, nearly damaging Fang-Fei's ear. He then took a deep breath and looked at Fang-Fei, more poised but still shaking a little.

"What the heck do you mean?" he queried, half-pretending he didn't know what she was talking about. He didn't know what meaning she implied, but he had a feeling in his heart that he knew what she was saying exactly. But he didn't let that show. "Just don't get too close to Kinomoto." she repeated, a pleading look in her eyes. Syaoran's face softened at the look in her eyes and nodded silently. But he didn't feel up to his promise. And he was feeling guilty.

"Ok Syaoran, I'll see you later." she broke the silence that was starting to take over. Syaoran solemnly nodded and saw her run off. Fang-Fei would have stayed with them, watching their every move like a hawk. But somehow, she didn't want to interfere. Not that Syaoran and Sakura had anything between them. But she felt that it was for Syaoran's good... but somehow she didn't feel that it was for hers.

~*~

Silence was ringing throughout the large music room. At least that was how it was like for Tomoyo. She gave frequent glances to Eriol to see what he was doing. Nothing. Just sitting there [thinking.] Sure as hell he was. She could tell that just by looking at the smirk that occupied his face. It was starting to drive Tomoyo crazy. After a few more minutes, she couldn't take it any more.

"Well, have you gotten any ideas yet?" she demanded harshly, looking up at Eriol coldly. His evil smirk grew a bit wider. Tomoyo didn't like that at all. "Yeah, I do." he started, the menacing smirk still on his face. How Tomoyo wanted to slap it off. "Why don't I play the piano or something then you sing." he suggested, fingering the edge of his uniform. Tomoyo didn't feel like that was all he had to say.

"And..." Tomoyo questioned, looking at him expectantly. "Well," he started, the look in his eyes getting even more evil. "You could sing a song about the person you love most..." he trailed off at that, staring at Tomoyo, smirking, but his eyes cold and harsh. Tomoyo gasped all the air she could get in. How could he be so cruel? He knew, he was probably the only one he knew. He also knew that she was very sensitive on that subject. He had to be pure ice.

"Bastard." Tomoyo whispered furiously, giving Eriol the scariest look he had ever seen. But he kept his composure. "I know just how much you love him, so why not sing to him. Sing with your beautiful little voice-" he started to taunt but before he knew it, Tomoyo was up to him, and had slapped him straight across his face. He placed his hand on the cheek she had struck, which was red and aching. He glared back at her, ready to curse her back.

"TOMOYO-CHAN!!!" a cheerful voice yelled from the doorway. Eriol and Tomoyo, surprised, turned just in time to see Nakuru practically fly to Tomoyo and throw her arms around her in a death hug. "I haven't seen you in the longest time!!! Spinel and Master Eriol had missed you!!!" she gushed, jumping all over the place. Eriol scoffed at the last comment.

"It's nice to see you too, Akizuki." Tomoyo said pleasantly, a forced smile on her face. "Tomoyo-chan! I just baked some cookies! Why don't you and Eriol have some with milk?" she asked suggestively, still bouncing energetically. "No, that's ok Akizuki. I'm not hungry." Tomoyo responded, hoping that Nakuru would accept that answer. It was a lost hope.

"Oh come on Tomoyo-chan! They're very good!" Nakuru pressed on, heading for the door. Tomoyo needn't answer. Nakuru had already gone into the kitchen to fetch some cookies for the two. Eriol glanced at Tomoyo. With Nakuru among them, they wouldn't be able to "talk" things out. After Nakuru had gone, Eriol and Tomoyo would be having a serious "talk." And it wouldn't be a nice one.

~*~

"Hoe..." Sakura gaped over the inside of the Li Mansion. From the outside, it looked big and beautiful enough. But on the inside... it was very beautiful. Old Chinese decorations filled most of it with beautiful Chinese calligraphy on old bamboo paper hanging on the walls. Different antiques were here and there and the house seemed fit for a beautiful Chinese museum.

"It's so beautiful..." Sakura breathed, her eyes trying to absorb everything at once. Syaoran couldn't help but stare at her amazed state. Her eyes were sparkling and they looked so beautiful. He quickly averted his gaze, a red hue crossing his cheeks. It was happening again. She was making him feel strange again. It was already starting to drive him nuts. With each passing day, her power on him seemed to be getting stronger.

"Come on." Syaoran reluctantly said, watching her returning to reality. She turned to Syaoran with a dazzling smile. "Ok!" she agreed cheerfully, making Syaoran avert his gaze for a second time, making his blush turn even more crimson. "Hoe?" Sakura said, now turning confused and a tad bit concerned. "Li, are you alright?" she asked worriedly, trying to look at him. Syaoran nodded and started walking towards the room they would be working in. Sakura followed silently, still worried and confused by his strange actions.

"So you decided to work here?" Meiling asked, walking towards them. "Yeah." Sakura answered, flashing her million dollar smile. Even if the smile was directed toward Meiling, Syaoran had been watching her. It captivated him and he couldn't keep his eyes off her smile. Sakura, who noticed that he was staring turned to him and flashed the same smile towards him. That sent all the blood flowing to his cheeks at lightning speed. Unsurprisingly, he blushed crimson.

Unfortunately for him, Meiling had been watching the whole scene. An amused smile crossed her face as she glanced at her brother. Syaoran, who had noticed her impish smile, started to panic. 'What if she noticed my strange behavior? What if she's getting strange thoughts? Dammit.' Syaoran thought in a rush all the while eyeing Meiling suspiciously. She smiled back a half innocent and half not-innocent-at-all smile. Syaoran knew which half took over. After all, she was his own sister.

The trio walked throughout the halls of the Li Mansion for a few moments. During those few moments, Sakura looked all around. The new surrounding she had been the past week or so had been a utopia compared to the barely livable life of the orphanage. It was almost like she had died and went to heaven. At the orphanage, she had been treated literally like shit. All the children had been. Even though it bothered Touya a lot, to the point where he would take Sakura and escape, Sakura didn't mind the mistreatment that much. She was having a stressful life. The caretakers must have had even more stress with having all these children, especially problem children, to take care of.

"W-We can work in here." Syaoran's voice interrupted Sakura's thoughts. Even though Sakura had heard from various classmates that Syaoran had a heart of ice, Meiling and Tomoyo denied that. They had said that under Syaoran's icy exterior, he had a warm heart. Sakura had seen that as well and she found herself unwillingly attracted to him. She found herself staring at him at times and, for heaven's sake, blushing as well. She also seemed to have occasional stuttering problems towards him.

"O-Ok." she responded as cheerfully as possible but, to her horror, found herself stuttering again. "Ok, I'll leave you two to work. I'll be seeing you later." said Meiling cheerfully, giving a week to Syaoran. Fortunately, he was the only one who saw it. He glared icily at Meiling and Sakura blushed just a tiny bit. 'Oh no, not again. It's so hard to control these blushes.' Sakura thought to herself in horror one again. Meiling gave another mischievous and cheerful smile at the two and walked off.

The two took a seat on the sofa that was fortunately provided in the big room, their cheeks at a high temperature. They had a hard time keeping themselves from going crazy around the other when other people were around, but they would have an even harder time now that the other was the only person to talk to. They sat in silence for a few minutes, wondering about what to say. Someone finally spoke.

"So... do you have any musical talent?" Syaoran asked, trying to work up a conversation. "Well... I can sing..." Sakura trailed off, not sure about her answer. "I'm sure it would sound really nice." Syaoran said automatically then covered his mouth, embarrassed. Sakura blushed hotly and glanced at the ground in an attempt to cover her embarrassment.

"T-Thank you." she said quietly and looked up at Syaoran, giving a shy smile. "A-Anyways, we should compose a song to sing together..." Syaoran trailed off after saying a sentence that was pretty difficult for him. Where had that come from? He rarely gave compliments to people and this girl that wasn't even supposed to a very big person in his life was making him feel strange emotions [and] make him render completely powerless to her?

Sakura nodded in agreement, still acting awkward from the previous outburst. "So... who'll get the parts?" Sakura decided to ask, attempting to break the tense silence. Syaoran looked up into Sakura's emerald eyes. "Well... what do you want to do?" he asked in a rough voice, trying to cover up his weakness towards her and trying to blush to no avail. "I don't know..." Sakura answered, fingering the edge of the sofa gently. Syaoran sighed. This will take some time.

~*~

Meiling entered the living room and started to chuckle. Her brother was actually softening up to a girl. She wondered if he was falling in love. He hadn't before... neither had Meiling truly... and she wasn't so sure about Tomoyo... but for Syaoran, falling in love was supposed to be the impossible. Even though Meiling hated Fang-Fei, she was still her cousin and she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

She settled down on the couch and opened her backpack. She sighed as she pulled out her math book from the stack of books in her backpack. The lesson had been a difficult one today. Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Eriol for sure had gotten it, not so sure about Sakura and Fang-Fei, but she hadn't understood any of it. She opened the math book and placed it in front of her with a piece of paper out as well. She took out a pencil and an eraser and stared at her assignment in front of her. This was impossible.

She gave another sigh and reread the directions over and over. After a few moments of trying to figure out at least one part, she let her head drop and bang the table. "This is hard." she mumbled, her voice a bit muffled. She lifted her head and stared at the blank sheet of paper in front of her. "This is hard. I'll never be able to get it." she whined to herself, looking the algebra over. (A/N: I had a tad bit of trouble with algebra the first time I learned it... @_@)

Touya who had happened to pass by the room heard Meiling's obvious cry for help. He peeked in and saw her sitting on a chair in the living room, a table pulled up to her and her homework spread out in front of her. It seemed to him that she was having trouble with her homework. He smiled in spite of himself. He didn't know why, but the girl had a strange effect over him. He was almost scared that it might be...

He walked into the room and stopped in front of Meiling. "Hey, had a good day at school?" he asked casually, glancing at her homework. Algebra. Meiling gave a small start and immediately looked up. In an instant, blood rushed to her cheeks and her heart rate rose. "Y-Yeah!" she responded quickly and immediately looked down towards her homework. She didn't want to go through that experience again.

"I'll help you." Touya offered as he watched Meiling struggle with her math homework. "No, that's okay! I'm usually good at math... it's just that these problems are hard." Meiling insisted and Touya smiled at her, making her go weak in the knees. "Well, I'll help you on these." he said and Meiling didn't argue. He kneeled down onto one knee and picked up her pencil. He immediately started explaining the problems.

As he spoke, Meiling stared on. He was a very kind person. If you looked at first glance, his eyes would look dark, cold, and pretty empty. You would immediately think that he was a cold person as well. But as Meiling looked into his eyes, she found warmth in them. He looked and acted pretty cold, but he was indeed a warm person. Meiling felt herself falling maybe just a bit more.

"Hey? Are you listening?" Touya suddenly asked as he caught her staring at him. She, now broken out of her thoughts, realized this. Her face burned and she looked down once again. "Not really... can you explain it one more time?" she asked, now a bit scared that she might have made him mad. She cautiously looked up and saw him smiling at her. She blushed again and even was a bit confused. "Sure." he answered and proceeded to explain once more. She watched him in a bit of a surprise and slowly smiled as well. He was a kind soul indeed.

~*~

The two enemies sat in silence in the big music room, a big plate of cookies with two glasses of milk in front of them. Eriol eyed Tomoyo as he opened his mouth and started talking. "Daidouji, you're supposed to be singing something that's important to you. Isn't he?" Eriol asked coldly, making Tomoyo glare at him. She opened her mouth.

"Hiiragizawa, I have a lot more other things that are important to me. Not just Syaoran." she responded, the glare still lingering on her face. Beginnings of a smirk played on Eriol's face. "Isn't he very important to you?" he asked slyly, being cautious not to make her [too] mad. "Or are you just going to make it difficult to work together?" he continued, his features hardening, glaring at her even more icily. Then she nearly blew up.

"Hey, it's not like I want to work with you!" Tomoyo shouted angrily at Eriol. He glared back venom. "Don't start with me Daidouji." he warned ominously. "I'm not, Hiiragizawa! It's [you] who's trying to start with [me!]" Tomoyo screamed loudly, now standing up, facing Eriol directly. He gave her a look that plainly said "Oh, I'm so scared." Tomoyo was just about to slap him again when she realized she should control herself. She breathed deep breaths and sat backdown, but still glaring at Eriol. He smirked back triumph.

A few moments of tense silence passed, a hot glare on Tomoyo's face and a cold smirk lingering on Eriol's. Tomoyo finally spoke. "Ok, here's how we'll do it." she began, a new air of importance settling in. "State your plans, oh high one." Eriol mocked, the look on his face growing colder. Tomoyo just glared even more. She couldn't believe what a jerky bastard he was being right now. Nonetheless, she continued.

"You can write the music and I'll make up the lyrics or visa versa." she suggested, avoiding eye contact with him. She hated the coldness that entered her veins when those icy blue eyes met her own. She didn't like the way they glared at her, and she didn't like the way his mouth curled into a cruel smirk at her. Yet... she felt unwillingly attracted to the thought of him. Not in a good way, but he distracted her mind. And she didn't like that either.

"That's a great idea!" Eriol exclaimed in a bright manner, surprising Tomoyo tremendously. For once, she had thought that he was trying to be nice. With immense dejection, she discovered she was wrong. "One of the few great ideas in your life!" he continued, his smile and enthusiasm growing mock, cold, and cruel. Tomoyo's eyes narrowed. She wasn't an idiot. She knew where he was heading.

"I mean, it's a [much] better idea than falling in love with your best friend and watch him from a distance, staggering in pain, saying 'I'm perfectly happy' and 'it'll be all right' like an idiot." he ejected toward her icily, his voice full of mockery. Now, that was the last straw for Tomoyo. She immediately stood up and faced him, hatred filling her eyes.

Eriol's smirk remained even though the glare that had taken over her eyes looked downright frightening. "Leave. Syaoran. Out. Of. This." she spat out, emphasizing every word. He opened his mouth to counter. "Oh, but [of course] you wouldn't leave him out of your life. That would just be too [heart-breaking.]" he said yet again mockingly. Anger flared in Tomoyo's eyes. She tried to control herself but just couldn't find the ability to as her hand came in contact with Eriol's cheek with hard force as well.

Eriol stood there, resisting the urge to rub the pain off his cheek. He couldn't give in to Tomoyo. His sworn enemy. The one that hated him like heck for [no reason at all.] All he did was bug the hell out of his cute little descendant and make him slightly look like an idiot. He never had done [anything] to Daidouji Tomoyo. He came to two conclusions: she was extremely devoted, or she had a problem and just naturally hated him. He chose the latter and decided to hate her back naturally. After he had decided this, he found that being sworn enemies with Tomoyo caused her to stick to his mind.

He stood there coolly, still smirking. He didn't know that he himself was [this] stubborn. Tomoyo fumed, still glaring venom at him. They stayed that way for a few more minutes. Then Tomoyo decided to speak up. Enough was enough. "So you want to play that way Hiiragizawa? Then I won't play at all." she said, grabbing her jacket and backpack. Unknown to her due to her flaming anger, a book had fell out of her backpack.

Eriol couldn't help but let his eyes pop open. She was giving in? Already? She turned to leave. He hesitated at first, but opened his mouth to speak. "Daidouji." he called out to her. She stopped and turned back, her amethyst orbs looking icy. "What?" she ejected coldly. "I'll write the music." he told her as simple as that. No traces of mockery or coldness. Just plain offering. Her eyes grew a little bit bigger and her mouth formed an "o" in surprise. No, she couldn't soften.

"Then I'll write the lyrics once you compose the music." she told him, turning around, trying to inject as much coldness into her voice as possible. Unfortunately for her, it didn't work quite as well as she hoped. "Sure." Eriol said as she made her way to the door. "Sweet dreams." he called out after her, his voice not coming out the way he had wanted it to. But close enough.

Tomoyo nearly stopped in her tracks. He was mocking her [again.] After making her mad enough to slap him for a countless number of times. How could he be such a bastard? But there was a way he had said it. Almost soft with no traces of hateful expressions in it. He sounded so sweet when he had said it. His voice full of kindness and for once he almost didn't sound like... an enemy. It sounded so gentle... I hated it. The part I hated about it most was the fact I wanted to hear it again.

~*~

"How dare you..." Sonomi whispered dangerously under her breath. She glared with such passion that Eriol would have been able to tell where Tomoyo had gotten those unobvious glaring skills. The man in front of her smiled cheerfully. This pissed her off tremendously. "I said I would come back for you and Tomoyo, Sonomi." he softly said, love flowing from his voice. Sonomi almost softened. [Almost] softened.

She kept her cold composure and opened her mouth to speak. "So you decided to show up now when Tomoyo is already 11 years old?" Sonomi asked coldly, glaring at her ex-husband/husband. He smiled again. "Eleven years is enough time Sonomi." he told her, walking towards her. Sonomi stepped back cautiously."Don't get near me!" she shot back violently. She ignored the curious stares she was receiving from the maids of the house. This was embarrassing, but it had to be done.

"Tomoyo will be glad that I had come back." said he, keeping his cheerful air. Sonomi's mouth formed a cold smirk. "She'll be glad for someone who left her for 11 years? I don't think so." Sonomi shot again, thinking that she had got him this time. Her confidence fell, finding out that she was wrong. He just continued to smile and walked up to her.

"If that's what you want Sonomi, then I'll make you happy. Please tell Tomoyo that I'm back to the family." Sonomi scoffed. He ignored that with a good nature and continued. "I [will] make your heart mine Sonomi." he said with a sly smile and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. Sonomi froze at that. It actually felt... right. She shook off the feeling and pulled away.

He was still smiling as he headed towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow Sonomi." he paused then continued. "And Tomoyo as well." After one last, charming smile, he was off, supposedly staying in a hotel nearby. Sonomi scoffed again. How dare intrude their lives like that? He knew nothing about their lives. Then it hit Sonomi. She had forgotten to tell him about Sakura...

All of a sudden, she realized that she had been standing there, thinking like an idiot. The servants were all around, staring at her in curiosity. She blushed heavily and cleared her throat. "Everyone, get back to work." she commanded and headed towards her room to do some work. But she knew she wouldn't be able to. Too many things were on her mind. And all because of that damned moron.

~*~

"Then I'll give the music to you as soon as I compose it." Sakura informed Syaoran as she started to head out the door. Syaoran nodded blankly, self-conscious and blushing like hell. Sakura sent another one of her million dollar smiles towards him. Naturally, he blushed and looked away. Earlier, they had decided to sing a duet. Sakura would be composing the music and Syaoran would write the lyrics. As they planned their act, Syaoran found himself more and more unable to take his eyes and, for heaven's sake, his mind off her. Sakura had found the feeling mutual. Of course, none said a thing about this.

Sakura stepped out the door and Syaoran stood inside, looking at Sakura. Her eyes warmed up, her smile was still there but a lot softer, and a light blush covered her cheeks. "Li, I want to thank you for today." she said, her eyes directed toward the ground. Syaoran looked away, flushed. "For what?" he asked, confused and a bit embarrassed. She giggled innocently. He liked the sound of her giggle and the light of her smile. They were both happy signs and they matched Sakura perfectly.

"You're a really kind person and you, Tomoyo, and Meiling didn't have to be kind to me at all. I just want to thank you all for making me feel welcome to the new surrounding. See, I didn't have many kind people surrounding me at the orphanage other than Big Brother and I think I've been blessed with great friends although you really didn't have to." Sakura explained, warmth and sincerity in her words. Syaoran blushed and looked away again.

"Y-You're a k-kind person too... and we didn't have much choice but to return kindness... but... I haven't been that kind to you." Syaoran pointed out, confused with her point of view. She giggled again. "I know that you are a person that likes to hide your true feelings. You try to hide your kindness but that's not easy. It shows and I know that you're a wonderful person." Sakura told him, the blush on her cheeks growing a shade darker. Syaoran's blush darkened just the same.

"I-I see..." he said, a bit embarrassed about what she said. A moment of comforting silence passed by. "Well, I've got to go now." Sakura informed him as she straightened up. "G-Good night." she managed to say softly as she walked off into the night. Syaoran stood there, staring after her retreating back. "G-Good night!" he called out after her in a hurry. She smiled to herself. Syaoran truly had a kind heart. Unknown to her, Syaoran had stared after her with a small smile and had whispered a small "Sweet dreams..."

She walked on in the slightly chilly night. She pulled her jacket around her a bit tighter and thought about the afternoon she had today. It certainly was a great day although a lot of it was blushing and stuttering. She couldn't help but think about earlier when her brother had come in on them and started a glaring contest with Syaoran. Naturally, she had let out a "Hoe?"

She didn't get what her brother had against Syaoran. She remembered that they had been like that before but she couldn't figure out why. After her thoughts lingered on her brother's big dislike for Syaoran, they went immediately to Syaoran. She shook her head. "You can't be thinking about him... or else..." she said to herself quietly, not wanting to finish the sentence. "A-Anyways... he's already engaged..." she reminded herself and then she got into a depressed state once more. Why did life and love have to be so complicated and unfair?

~*~

"God, that girl is impossible!" Eriol exclaimed as he went into the music room to clean up the food that still sat at the table. They hadn't eaten a single thing on the plate. Then something caught his eye. It was a small book. He hadn't seen it anywhere before and he picked it up to examine it. It was Tomoyo's. 'Oh God.' he thought and set it down. He wouldn't be so low as to read it... would he? Well... maybe just one page.

He picked it up and found that there was a lock on it with no key around. Easy, he just had to use magic. But he hesitated. This wasn't right. But Tomoyo was one of the most unpredictable people he had ever met. He could just read the latest one and then that's it. Just to see what was in Tomoyo's mind. If she thought about Syaoran as much as she let on. He smiled cruelly to himself, but it dissolved. He felt guilty and almost [sorry] towards Tomoyo. This wasn't right at all. He shook his head. Enough of this.

He raised his hand over the lock and it unlocked with a click. He slipped it out of the small lock hole and opened the book with caution and some hesitation. He turned to the latest entry and looked at the date. It had been written yesterday. His eyes scanned down to the beginning of the entry. He started reading. The contents of the entry were absorbed into his eyes rapidly:

[Dear Diary,

Daidouji Tomoyo here as usual. Diary, it seems as though my feelings for Syaoran hurt more everyday. First of all, he's engaged to a girl he doesn't even really love. She loves him dearly though. Then Kinomoto Sakura came. She is a wonderful, kind, and not to mention, kawaii girl. She seems to have some attraction to Syaoran and vice versa. I'm happy for him... but... it's smashing my heart to pieces. And to make matters worse, Hiiragizawa had come back.]

Eriol winced as he read that part. Nonetheless, he continued.

[He's a conceited, cold, and especially mocking boy. He teases Syaoran for no apparent reason and that just makes me angry. He doesn't understand why I'm so devoted to Syaoran, but I love Syaoran will all my heart. If anyone has a problem with Syaoran, they have a problem with me. If they have a problem with my devotion to Syaoran, they have a problem with my love. Syaoran is one of the most important people of my life and I would do anything for him. But... Diary... last night, I fell into deep depression about Syaoran's interest towards Sakura. I had cried on a bench at the park and Hiiragizawa had come by. And he had actually listened to my heartaches. I had thought that things could have been getting better between us. I had embarrassingly fell asleep there in my ocean of worries. He had been kind enough to take me home and hide my reason for being there. I had thought that our hatred maybe had changed. Reluctantly, I decided to give him a thanks and an apology. But when I got to him, he had told me to forget about the whole thing. That had made me very angry and I may even had felt a bit sad. I still am angry now Diary and tired of today's pains. I just hope nothing gets me to have to spend more time with that idiot, Hiiragizawa. Now I am tired. I will write to you later. Just wish me sweet dreams.

Love, Daidouji Tomoyo]

Eriol let the diary down and sat down in deep thought. Now he finally understood how she felt. He now felt like a horrible jerk, a good-for-nothing bastard. Now his heart ached for Tomoyo and he wished he didn't read it. He regretted all the times he had teased her love for Syaoran. After all, she was just loving someone. He regretted today. He regretted yesterday. He regretted every moment he ever had with Daidouji Tomoyo.

After sitting there for a while, he stood up and put away the untouched food. He picked up the diary and went up the stairs to his room without a word to Nakuru or Spinel. They probably had thought that this was extremely strange behavior for him. Later that night, he lied awake in bed, not able to stop thinking about a diary entry, his cruel actions, and a miserable, amethyst-eyed girl. After an hour of trying to forget those things, he opened his mouth to let out a small "Damn."

~End of Chapter

A/N: I know the ending was extremely weird. *Sigh* by the time I get this out, it'll probably be next week and you people probably won't be able to review. ;_; But it's ok. Anyways, I hope I wrote this chapter out pretty well. I probably didn't. Nonetheless, it's the longest chapter so far. Eriol's getting a bit soft, hehe. But I don't think the E+T is coming out very well... anyways, here are the previews:

[Tomoyo eyed Eriol suspiciously. No cold remarks, not anything. "Come on Daidouji. I think I have something in mind about the music." he said to her, leading her to the music room once again. Tomoyo stayed behind. Her eyes narrowed at Eriol. Something wasn't right...]

["Something's just in her... the kindness... I don't know, but something just pulls me toward her..." Syaoran trailed off then looked at Tomoyo. She forced a smile and tried to keep the tears in. "I'm happy for you Syaoran..." she whispered weakly.]

[He stood there in front of her and leaned down slowly. Meiling didn't know how to react. She just stood there, frozen, watching him continue to lean down. She then slowly closed her eyes and braced herself...]

[Tomoyo ran in the bitter hard rain. She couldn't believe her father was back. After all this time... She wiped away the tears that had been running down her cheek. Sobs escaped her throat as she continued running no matter how tired she was. Then she collided with somebody. "I'm sorry." she sobbed and looked up into the face of the person she collided with. She gasped and her eyes widened.]

End of Previews

A/N: Ok, ok, don't kill me people. Ok, ok, so I hope you enjoyed! 'Til next chapter! Ja ne!