Of Lions and Dragons

Chapter 13

Disclaimer:

I'm not making any money from this… (damn copyrights) so CCS isn't mine

CCS © (LoL I'm amused!)

Author's Notes:

Wow, I'm really bad at updating on a regular basis, ne? Gomen nasai, it is summer and I'm rather lethargic and not in a writing mode. I've been drawing a lot though and if I ever decide to post my fanarts online I'll make sure to give minna the link, ne? Ok one more thing…hehehe, I kind of need as many Elders names as I can get! And please don't feel bad if I don't use one of the names you gave me…it's nothing personal, I'm just going to pick them randomly. Ok, on with the fic!

Chapter 13

Sakura snuggled up into the hollow of Syaoran's neck and planted a soft kiss there before kissing him softly and laying her head next to his on the pillow. Pure bliss was the only current suitable word to describe the emotion in them at the moment. Syaoran gently pressed his lips to Sakura's forehead and slid his arms around her slender waist. "Aishiteru Sakura."

"Aishiteru Syaoran."

And they both drifted to sleep in each other's arms.

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Golden sunlight filtered through the nearly sheer lace curtains that tossed about on the balcony's open breeze. As the golden orb slowly ascended further into the pale pink sky, the path of light washed over the hardwood floor and made its way over to a grand bed being occupied by two figures snuggled closely together. The warm sunlight slipped over the sheets and passed over the face of the built young man, tickling his face with its warm rays. He slightly stirred and opened his tawny eyes onto an innocent angel tucked in his arms. A broad smile of bliss adorned his handsome face and he gently placed a kiss onto the forehead of the young woman in his arms. "Yokatta…it wasn't a dream…"

"Syaoran…" A melodic voice whispered as she slowly began to awaken.

Syaoran turned on his side and rested his head on his hand, softly whispering, "Nani?"

Sakura blinked twice and then closed her emerald-gem-like eyes with a sigh. "Perfection."

"What is?"

The young sorceress pointed a slender finger in her love's direction and gently touched his tender lips. "You…waking up next to you."

Syaoran flashed her a genuine smile and bent his head down to her level, touching a gentle kiss to her lips. Sakura sighed and took Syaoran's face in her hands as she kissed him back. The two had only confessed their affection the previous night but they had been in love forever. The emotion, the feeling…the intense and pure love was there. Actions from then on were tender and simple gestures of undying devotion.

Sakura purred low in her throat and wrapped her hands around her beloved's neck as she kissed him more passionately than before. Syaoran's initial response was to cater to his angel's every whim as he kissed her back with equal force. Their intense and heated embrace lasted until they both pulled away from lack of air.

Sakura sat back on her heels and glanced at the handsome youth in front of her with admiration. She couldn't believe her luck! To be with him was beyond her wildest and most coveted of dreams. It was the ultimate faultlessness she had always wished for. Gazing at him she giggled inwardly at his disheveled chestnut hair—a cause of her intense advances—and her smile grew as she gazed intently into his fiery eyes, traveling down to finally marvel at the steady rising and falling of his muscular chest as he struggled to regain lost breath. With a sly smile she slowly crawled forward until she was a mere few inches from Syaoran's body. He watched her every move with keen interest, his eyes smiling at the crease and fold of the lacy sleeveless nightgown Sakura wore as she inched ever closer to him. Syaoran could feel a new feeling stirring deep within him; still unable to comprehend the source. It was something he could faintly place and all he was sure of was that he loved her and…wanted her. That was it. He wanted to do more than just hold her in his arms and kiss her; he wanted…

However his train of thought was interrupted as he slowly felt cool, slender hands being placed along his shoulders. He drew in his breath sharply and once again felt his heart rate increase. Sakura let a seductive grin flit across her face but inside she was shaking. Being with Syaoran was the most unimaginable pleasure she had ever known and she loved him more than simple words could define. She too felt a hidden emotion—or desire—surfacing as she and Syaoran grew more comfortable with their newly announced affection. She shook her head to clear any thoughts that might lead to a currently different outcome and returned her attention to the young man in front of her. Gently she traced her fingers down over his chest and to his washboard stomach, feeling the tantalizing ripple of his defined muscles slightly tremor from her sensual trail. (AN: Words can't define how much I wish I was Sakura right now ^_~ It must be nice to have a boyfriend THAT hot, ne?) Syaoran closed his eyes so as to solely concentrate on the trance Sakura was laying on him. With effortless ease she gently lowered the handsome warrior to his back and straddled his waist as her fingers ceased movement.

Syaoran smiled like a small boy and tapped his fingers impatiently against the silken sheets. "Mmmm…don't stop now Sakura…"

Sakura raised an eyebrow at the unintended double meaning behind Syaoran's latest request and lowered her head to his ear as she whispered softly, "Were you enjoying that, Syaoran?"

The sorcerer replied with a nod, "Hai…very much so…"

"Then you won't mind if I…quicken the pace a bit, ne?"

"Mm hm…sounds fine to me…" Syaoran managed to mumble.

A sly smirk gradually turned the corners of Sakura's mouth and she placed her fingers on Syaoran's bare chest once more as she resumed her pleasurable caresses. Syaoran smiled, oblivious to Sakura's future intentions. Her fingers became rapid across his chest and stomach; this in turn caused ocher eyes to snap open in obvious shock and Syaoran to gaze up apprehensively to his love. "Onegai Sakura, don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"That." Syaoran grasped Sakura's hands in his own and she looked down to him innocently. Suddenly she wrestled her hands from his grasp and resumed her tickling attack. Syaoran couldn't help it. His stoic exterior broke down and instead a dam burst, letting loose a current of laughter that seemed to never end.

Footsteps—rather thundering footsteps—sounded down the hallway and slowly made their way to the room of the supposedly sleeping Card Mistress.

Both teens were ignorant of the approach and continued. Sakura trailed her fingers over and over Syaoran's "tickle spots", her soft giggles mixed with his deep laughter and melded harmonically. In a flash, Syaoran grabbed both of his angel's mischievous hands and swapped positions so that she was underneath him with her arms pinned above her head. Syaoran smirked devilishly. "Hmmm…this seems to be familiar…"

Sakura squirmed with all her might and sighed in defeat. "Mou! Let me up Syaoran!"

"Iie…because the last time we were in this position…my feelings for you were unclear…now they are clear, very clear." Syaoran bent his head down and placed him mouth close to Sakura's ear as she shivered pleasantly. "Aishiteru…" And he pressed his lips to hers in a fierce kiss, her response coming instantaneously.

"Little One? Are you up yet?" A knock placed on the door brought the teens out of passion and into realization. They looked at each other shocked before Syaoran leapt from the bed and muttered a curse under his breath.

 "Chotou matte yo!" Sakura called to the door as she hastily ushered Syaoran out onto the balcony. He protested as she turned to go inside and kissed her hard, her first instinct to kiss him back.

"Kinomoto-san? Daijobu desu ka?" Four high-pitched voices inquired.

Sakura removed her mouth from Syaoran's lips and adjusted her hair and nightgown before the visitors suspected something wasn't quiet 'peachy' in the Li Clan Residence. "Hai, hai!"

The Card Mistress opened the door a crack to find herself looking at four feminine figures all bearing a slight resemblance to Syaoran. "Nani?"

All four Li Sisters chorused in unison. "OHAYO!"

Sakura winced from their volume and meekly answered. "Ohayo."

Feimei glanced around the room behind Sakura. "Ore? I could've sworn I heard you talking to someone."

Placing a hand behind her head and giggling nervously Sakura replied, "Hehehe…iie no one here but me!"

Sheifa grinned slyly. "It almost sounded like Little Brother's voice, ne Fuutie?"

The next Li Sister nodded. "Hai."

"Demo…" Sakura twirled the lace hem of her nightgown tensely. "N-now why would Syaoran be in my bedroom at dawn?"

Fanren tapped Sakura gently on the nose and smiled. "I don't know Sakura—may we call you Sakura-chan?—you tell us."

Sakura stood speechless and fumbled for appropriate words.

Sheifa noted her obvious discomfort and clapped her hands together. "Ne, Sakura-chan, would you like to come with us to the market?"

"Oh! She'll just love it there!" Feimei nodded, small stars appearing in her eyes.

Sakura placed a finger to her chin. "Ano…I don't know…"

Fanren placed her hand away from her to examine a nail and said nonchalantly. "Well, Little Brother will be going…"

"Hai!" Sakura answered quickly and regretted her hasty answer as four pairs of eyes fixed themselves on her.

Fuutie placed her fingers in v and winked at Sakura. "Yosha, Sakura-chan just get dressed and come downstairs when you are ready, ne?"

"Hai."

"Oh and if you happen to see Little Brother, onegai give him our plans."

"Hai!"

The quadruplet of sisters smiled warmly and skipped happily down the hallway muttering random things. "So strange…Little Brother wasn't in his room this morning….?"

Sakura closed the door behind her and discharged a sigh of relief. Padding over to the balcony she drew back the curtains only to be rapidly pulled into Syaoran's waiting arms. "Gomen ne, Sakura."

"Doushite?" Sakura glanced bewildered up to Syaoran with her head cocked to the side.

"Making you face my fanatical sisters."

Sakura giggled and planted butterfly kisses on Syaoran's lips as she spoke in between kisses. "I…think…they're…getting…suspicious…"

"Let them be."

Sakura ceased her tender kisses and looked up to Syaoran with wonderment as a devious smirk adorned his lips and his fiery eyes alighted with mischief.  "No one…not anyone's suspicion…nor anything else for that matter, is keeping me from you." And he kissed her passionately as the sun rose higher into the first light of day.

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Tomoyo grumbled loudly as a tapping commenced to increase on her cheek. "Mou…Eriol it's too early, go back to sleep." She placed the pillow over her head and never opened her eyes.

Eriol stopped drying his face in the adjacent washroom and carefully adjusted his glasses. "Tomoyo darling, I'm in here."

The amethyst-eyed artist shot up in her bed and almost catapulted the small mystery figure across the room before her senses returned and she caught the tiny cat-like animal in her hands.

"Kero-chan!"

The infinitesimal golden guardian nodded and rubbed his head. "Hai…" he rubbed his head again. "Itai."

Eriol smiled as he sat down next to Tomoyo and Kero on the bed. "Ohayo Kerberos, did my Tomoyo hurt you terribly?"

Tomoyo protested with a slight mumble and Kero placed a paw under his chin. "Well now that you mention it…."

"Kero-chan!"

"Hai, hai…never mind." Kero still looked thoughtful for a moment and Eriol looked to him suspiciously.

"What were you doing in our bedroom at dawn anyway?"

Kero glanced to Eriol out of the corner of his eye. "Ore? Oh…" He shrugged. "I couldn't find Sakura."

Tomoyo and Eriol face faulted and Kero sighed exasperatedly. "I figured if I didn't know where she was that…" He closed his eyes and smiled. "You would know where she was!"

Tomoyo flipped a few violet curls away from her face and blinked. "Oh my…now that I think about it, I don't know where she is either."

"Me either…" Eriol agreed. "The last place we left her was with…"

"My cute Little Descendant."

"Li-kun."

"The Kozou."

They all stated their name variations for Syaoran and all three sported varying expressions on the situation. Eriol smirked, perfectly aware of some of the things that could occur should the two teen Card Captors be left alone with one another. Tomoyo grinned slyly, her deviant little mind concocting some of the same things as Eriol's. Her smile soon turned to a pout as she realized all the "S+S moments" she would be missing. Kero's expression was quiet different. His left eye twitched and a small red vein began to throb on his temple. "I swear…if that Kozou—"

Kero was soon interrupted as a sudden rapping sounded upon the door.
 "Hai, come on in."

The door opened to reveal a raven-haired ruby-eyed young woman holding a small dragon by the nape of his neck.

Tomoyo brightened and motioned for her friend to enter the room. "Meiling-chan, ohayo!"

Meiling pouted and threw Rhyu to the bed with snort. "Iie…it's not a good morning. Not when you have claws scratching you awake."

Rhyu spun to face Meiling and pointed one of the fore accused claws at her. "Well if you weren't such sound sleeper, maybe your snoring wouldn't keep you from waking up!"

"I do NOT snore!!!"

"Do to!"

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Do not!"

Meiling and Rhyu both emitted low growls and Tomoyo and Eriol sweat dropped as lightning sparked in between the two. Kero just rolled around on the bed with laughter.

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Farther off, in one of the mansions many courtyards, an elegant woman stood secluded behind the foliage. Tall lush trees loomed all around her and in the small clearing she occupied there existed only two other things; a small ivory altar and above the altar a fountain emitting a flow of pure water. She closed her eyes and waved her hands back and forth in a mysterious and graceful rhythm. Stepping up to the altar she began to chant and continued to wave a spell with her hands. From the ground an unseen zephyr swirled about Li Yelan, fluttering her ceremonial robes and twisting up around her body as it tossed her long ebony locks around her pale face. As the last incantation was whispered her small crystal like eyes snapped open and she looked to the altar in apprehension. From both sides of the altar two orbs began to slowly move towards one another. One was a deep green, the other a vibrant, warm pink. The luminescent spheres drifted toward one another before they collided and in a flash of brilliant light glowed with a pure illumination. Yelan lowered her hands from where she had shielded her eyes and quickly averted her gaze to the fountain's now perfectly still water. Not a ripple could be discerned, not a fault in the glass like surface. Gradually an image began to appear and Yelan placed two graceful fingers against the rim of the fountain. Her scarlet lips broke their stoic line and broadened into a relieved smile as two young people began to appear in the pool's faultless surface. The image began to waver and the Li Clan matriarch waved her hand to obliterate any evidence of her predictive enchantment. Raising her eyes to the mansion, her gaze softened. "The intricacy of destinies intertwined…they will succeed in every endeavor."

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Eriol rubbed his now throbbing headache and grabbed a fistful of cobalt locks as he threatened to tear them out by the roots listening to two of his companions' constant bickering. Tomoyo tried with all of her might to break the minor squabble but to no avail. Finally she stopped short in the middle of the hallway and brought two large objects from behind her back, bringing them down on the arguing figures' heads. (AN: Just imagine Tomoyo in chibi mode bringing out two humongous whapping sticks and whacking Meiling and Rhyu)

"ITAI!" Meiling and Rhyu growled in unison…then realizing they just exclaimed the same thing faced away from each other with their arms—or claws—crossed across their chests.

"Meiling-chan, onegai, can you just tell us where we are going?" Tomoyo pleaded.

Meiling raised an eyebrow. "You want to find Syaoran and Kinomoto-san, ne?"

"Hai demo…I don't see how picking fights with dragons is exactly helping us in that department."

The raven haired young woman began to protest and then pointed to a door up ahead. "Kore! This is Syaoran's room!" She ran a short ways down the hallway and knocked softly. Receiving no reply she pushed the door open into an empty room lacking an occupant. Tomoyo and Eriol appeared in the doorway and Rhyu alighted softly on Meiling's shoulder.

"Ore? Where is Xiao Lang?"

"Not here I guess…" Meiling replied quietly.

Meiling reentered the hallway and Tomoyo and Eriol looked to her curiously.

"Nani? Where's Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked confused.

"He was always the first one up; he might be off training in the courtyard or something…"

Eriol looked around the vast hallway. "Does anyone know where Sakura's room is?"

Meiling grinned. "Knowing the conversation that occurred last night between Aunt Yelan and Syaoran…" She closed her eyes and spun in a half circle. "Kinomoto-san should be behind that door."

Tomoyo scrambled for the door and hurriedly pushed it open, the remaining trio falling to the hardwood floor anime style as the violet-eyed teen searched frantically around the room. "Sakura-chan! Where are you? I have the most kawaii outfit for you to try on before we go down for breakfast, ne?"

"Oi! Oi! I'm still here you know!" Kero protested as he emerged from his spot under Tomoyo's hair where he had been formerly dozing. (AN: If you ever noticed, Kero-chan has a habit of occupying Tomoyo's hair) Kero rubbed his eyes sleepily and hovered in front of the perplexed young artist. "What are we doing in this room anyway?"

Tomoyo looked back and forth. "This is supposed to be Sakura-chan's room, demo—Meiling-chan…are you sure this is the right room?"

"Hai…" Meiling replied from her rather awkward position on the ground.

Kero fluttered over to the rumpled sheets and scratched his head. "It seems that she must've definitely been here demo…" Kero sweat dropped and he laughed. "Sakura is NEVER up before dawn intentionally." He sighed as a warm breeze passed over him and turned his attention to the window. "Ore? The balcony doors are open…" (AN: Ah, my deviance is overtaking)

As Tomoyo began searching in places Sakura would obviously never be and Eriol, Meiling, and Rhyu attempted to raise themselves off the floor, Kero glided over to the curtains and drew them back…

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AN: I'm not sure but doesn't 'kore' mean 'this'? Whew that was longer than most of my normal chapters and rather uneventful but I wanted to update before my reviewers start coming after me with whapping sticks. Also I just thought of something… (*sweat drop*) The CCS gang is probably a bit too old to be calling each other 'chan', ne? But think of it this way, they still act a bit like children and they all know each other pretty well by now. Sakura and Tomoyo have been best friends since childhood so we can just say the name stuck. Not to mention, these two want to be friends with everyone and that's why they refer to Meiling in that way too. Ok minna has to do me a huge favor! ONEGAI, ONEGAI, ONEGAI REVIEW! I have been rather melancholy lately and I love hearing positive feedback from minna and I want to break the 200 marker! I would really, really, appreciate and I need to know if this story is worth continuing, ne? Arigatou!

Little Sakura: *Wipes forehead* Whew! That took me a while. *head shoots up as someone enters the room*

Little Syaoran: *blush* (ok here's my dream guy in chibi mode, ne? lol I'm kinda hyper right now) O-oi…

Little Sakura: *smile brightens* Little Syaoran! When did you get here?!

Little Syaoran: *blush* A little while ago…I came to…

Little Sakura: To what? (asking ever so innocently)

Little Syaoran: *more blush* To wish you good luck.

Little Sakura: *blush* Hontou? A-arigatou…

Little Syaoran: Ganbatte ne… *turns with a blush and leaves*

Little Sakura: *giggles with a blush and jerks her thumb in the direction Little Syaoran had been* He's…*sigh and more giggles as she faces the reviewers who are scared out of their wits by the hyper Little Sakura* He's really sugoi, ne?!!!

LoL gomen ne about that, I'm really hyper today and I am in total CCS mode!

Don't forget to review minna, ne?

Ja!

~*Little Sakura*~