AN: Hi everyone thanks for your reviews! They're very encouraging so I shall continue to update. Sorry everything's all scrunched up - many, many apologies. This is my first time putting up a fanfic so I'm still learning how things work.

I do not own CCS, wish I did, but do not - so don't sue me!

Always & Forever

Sakura woke up early the next morning with the sunshine flowing into her room. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and yawned. She wondered what the time was and looked around. She didn't get very much of a view of her room late last night because it was so dark and she was so tired. She was in a little room with a little bed, but a huge window. The room itself was a light pink (AN: hmm.how'd that happen?). There was a little dresser in front of her and a night table next to her bed. She smiled and could only think that she was living in a magical world like in the fairy tales she's read. She was so caught up in her own imagination that she didn't notice the boy with fiery amber eyes staring at her in amusement. He allowed himself to give a small smile. His eyes, normally cold, had now softened at the sight of her. (AN: Isn't that cute? Come on, admit it! It's absolutely adorable… I can't go on like this).

He realized what he was doing and scowled at himself, shaking his head. He walked towards the kitchen and sat down angrily. What is going on? He asked himself. What's gotten into you? You just meet this girl and you go all crazy for her? Did I just admit that? Snap out of it Syaoran! He walked away towards the kitchen.

"My, we aren't in a good mood, are we?" A taunting voice said. Syaoran glared at Eriol.

"Shut up Hiiragizawa," he grumbled as he fought to keep his temper under control. He didn't want to explode and have Sakura see him that way. Once again, Sakura came into his thoughts.

"Well, we're touchy this morning," Eriol continued as if he never heard him. He smirked at Syaoran's face, which was turning redder than it already was. "Do you want to know what I was wondering?" He asked politely as he sat down.

"No," Syaoran answered coldly. Once again Eriol ignored him.

"How is it, that when we arrived - you, your royal majesty, you were on top of that girl? And she didn't even know your name or who you were? And I thought you hated girls, my cute little descendent." Eriol stated as he leaned back in his chair and smiled in satisfaction at the deep red blush on Syaoran's face. This is going to be fun, he thought.

"Did you feel her power?" Syaoran asked, eager to change the subject. Eriol's face grew serious and he nodded, his sapphire eyes deep in thought. "How did she end up here? And why is she so powerful?" Syaoran continued.

"She seems familiar, yet I don't know why. It seems as if I know her or something, but that's impossible. But anyway, I think I may have an idea how she ended up here, as for her powers - I don't know," Eriol replied, "but first let's wait for the others to get up. In the meantime, how about we make some breakfast. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. You can help or you can sit there and think about the girl with emerald eyes in the other room," he commented. Syaoran got up quickly and as he brushed past Eriol toward the kitchen, he gave him a death glare. (AN: Famous death glare - I love that as well)

Sakura still sat in her bed with her arms around her knees. Her thoughts had somehow drifted to the amber-eyed boy who had saved her life yesterday. A soft smile played on her lips, then she snapped out of her daydreaming; realizing she was thinking about Syaoran and wondered if anyone had seen her. A slight blush crept across her face. She thought for a second why she would think of him, and then shook her head to clear the thought (AN: pretty dense, our Sakura). She wondered if anyone was awake. She got out of bed quietly and found herself in the kitchen listening to Syaoran and Eriol argue about how to make pancakes. She tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help but giggle and when she did, both boys turned in her direction. Syaoran looked down while Eriol smirked at him. Sakura noticed them staring at her and stopped giggling.

"Uh, ohayo," she said, "sorry, I couldn't help it, you both were very funny. You're both doing it all wrong." They just continued to stare at her. She shifted from one foot to the other. "Would you like me to make it for you?" She offered, hoping either one of them would say something. Eriol smiled suddenly at her and she felt herself relax. "Of course you can help," he told her, leading her in the kitchen. He showed her where all the ingredients were. "Let's leave her to make these on her own, we wouldn't want to get in the way, now would we?" he asked Syaoran. Syaoran, who had remained quiet the whole time, just nodded before giving Eriol another death glare. Syaoran glanced up to see Sakura observing around the kitchen, and he flushed red. Breathe.he reminded himself. Eriol pushed him out of the kitchen, leaving Sakura by herself. She sighed and got to work.

Soon the smell of pancakes woke Tomoyo and Meilin up. When everyone was seated around the table, Sakura came out with the pancakes smiling brightly at everyone. "Ohayo," she said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Sakura," Tomoyo told her. "Oh, it's the famous Kinomoto pancakes." Sakura nodded, feeling a little wave of homesickness, while everyone took his or her share and started eating. Sakura didn't touch her food until everyone started eating. She looked at each one of them eagerly, hoping her pancakes tasted good. After compliments from everyone, she looked at Syaoran. He managed to grumble, "these are good," and only then did she start eating her own, satisfied with that answer.

After everyone was done, Sakura volunteered to do the dishes. Syaoran brought his plate along with Meilin's into the kitchen by the sink. He turned back and saw Eriol whispering something to Tomoyo and he groaned. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what was going to happen. Tomoyo came into the kitchen with her plate with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh Sakura," She said, "look, Syaoran's nice enough to help you with the dishes." She said cheerfully. Syaoran looked at Tomoyo in disbelief, then glared angrily at her, knowing that behind those innocent violet eyes were evil wickedness. She could fool anyone except him. It was bad enough with Eriol, but knowing he had a girlfriend that was just as evil just made things so much worst for him.

"Thanks Syaoran," Sakura said happily as she looked at him. He saw her happy expression and gave her another small smile. Jeez, I've smiled 4 times in two days, something is definitely wrong here, he thought.

"No problem, Kinomoto," was all he said, "you can soap and I'll rinse," he suggested.

"Syaoran, I told you to call me Sakura," She told him politely. He felt himself blush and kept his head down. They were doing fine until... Suddenly the glass Syaoran was rinsing that was full with water somehow jerked and splashed all over Sakura. "Go-gomen Sakura - I - I didn't me- mean t-," he stuttered, turning red. He knew what had happened and promised to torture Eriol for the rest of his life. She just stared at him, her eyes wide in shock at him. Suddenly she splashed him. He stared at her with his mouth open. (AN: Hehehehe, I know where this is going - do you?)

"Gomen Syaoran, I didn't mean to," she told him, her voice taunting and her eyes were laughing at him now. They stared at each other for a second, then started splashing at each like crazy, both of them laughing. Syaoran suddenly grabbed her hands and pulled her towards him. Both of them were laughing and dripping wet when they heard a cough. They turned their heads to see Eriol, Tomoyo and Meilin standing there with shocked expressions on their faces. Neither one of them have heard Syaoran really laugh out loud like that, not the serious, cold Syaoran who did nothing but train. Eriol and Tomoyo suddenly broke out in evil grins while Meilin just gave both of them an angry look.

Sakura and Syaoran realized just how close they were to each other, and Syaoran let go of Sakura's hands, which he was still holding and pushed his damp messy brown hair out of his eyes. Both him and Sakura looked around at the mess they made. Sakura spoke first.

"This is all my fault - Syaoran accidentally spilled water on me and got me a bit wet, and then I splashed back and then - this happened," she told them. "I'll clean it up, I promise." Eriol and Tomoyo smirked silently at the word accidentally. ()

"So will I," Syaoran said, feeling guilty because she had taken all the blame. Besides, it really was his fault, not hers, he might as well clean up. The other three said nothing, just turned away and went back to the fireplace. Before leaving, Tomoyo winked at Sakura and she turned red, but couldn't exactly figure out why (AN: shakes head poor Sakura, so dense). She kept her face down so Syaoran wouldn't see her. Both of them cleaned up the kitchen in silence and when they were done they joined the others, that were in a deep conversation. Tomoyo suddenly gasped, alarming everyone.

"Oh Sakura! Your clothes are all wet! Come on, I've got the perfect thing for you," she exclaimed. Everyone sweatdropped as Sakura giggled nervous. Some things never change, she thought as she followed Tomoyo.

"So, having fun?" Eriol asked. Syaoran turned red and muttered something under his breath. "Now don't get angry, my cute little descendent. This was not my fault." Syaoran just glared daggers at him.

"Like hell it isn't, Hiiragizawa," Syaoran spat out at him. Eriol just continued to look smug. Meilin remained silent, which was quite strange. Syaoran looked over at her in surprise; she was usually very protective and would be jumping all over him and Sakura by now, but she wasn't saying anything. Before he could ask her anything, Sakura and Tomoyo came back. Sakura was now wearing a pink T-shirt with brown shorts. This surprised Syaoran, Meilin and Eriol - no girl has ever worn pants in any of the kingdoms. Breathe.Syaoran reminded himself again for the second time. Sakura blushed and sat down. (AN: A lot of blushing, don't you think? Those two embarrass too easily)

"So, do you know how I got here?" She asked them quietly, not looking up. Syaoran had to tear his eyes away from her and look at Eriol.

"Actually," Eriol said, "I'm not surprised you are here. You, Sakura, have a great deal of magical power, more powerful than I could have imagined. It would be easy for you to come into this realm." Sakura gasped and stared at him in awe. She sat there in silence, staring at him. She suddenly laughed out loud, but her laugh died away.

"What? I don't have magical powers, there's no such thing!" she finally managed to choke out. Eriol sighed; he remembered how stubborn Tomoyo had been when he first told her about having magic.

"Yes, you do. I have magic and so does Syaoran, we both can sense it. The only other way to get here is by passing through a time portal called the mirror of Malorn, which was how Tomoyo got here. And the only one I know of is the one which Tomoyo went through which is in the park," he told her. He paused and looked over at Tomoyo, and Tomoyo smiled sweetly at him before starting to blush. Sakura blinked, hoe? She thought, staring from her friend to Eriol, she would definitely have to find out what was going on between Tomoyo and Eriol.

"How do I get back?" She asked, breaking the entranced look that Eriol and Tomoyo both had. Eriol remembered what he was doing and started getting focused again, but couldn't ignore the wicked smirk on Syaoran's face.

"Well, you have to go back through the mirror of Malorn. In your world, the mirrors are invisible, but in our world, you can see them. Unfortunately, there is only one mirror left in our kingdom that is known to us," he said. She brought her eyebrows together.

"What do you mean, there's only one left?" She asked curiously. "Let me explain. We," Eriol stated, meaning Syaoran, Meilin and Tomoyo and himself, "believe the person who attacked Syaoran last night was sent by someone known as the 'Dark Emperor' (AN: Sighs Yes, I realize I took that from Digimon, but I couldn't think of anything else!). He has been after the Li clan for a long time. He wants power and the Li clan has lots of it. And he is the only one who has the last mirror of Malorn." Sakura remained silent for a while.

"Can't you guys just somehow send me back or something? You've got magic."she said, her voice starting to shake. Eriol shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but we do not have that kind of power," he told her sadly. She sighed and put her head in her hands.

"Oh, this is great. The bad guy has the only mirror left in this entire place," she said, her voice a whisper, feeling tears about to fall. How am going to get home? She thought hopelessly. Everyone stared at her in sympathy. Tomoyo sat next to her and put her arms around her. (AN: Awww, poor Sakura.Syaoran! Do something! Wait - I'm writing this, aren't I?) Syaoran looked at her and felt his heart ache. He stopped for a second and before he knew what he was doing.

"Let's go then." Everyone stared at him in confusion.

"What?" Eriol asked, confused and not knowing where this would lead. Syaoran felt his face burn bright red and swallowed, but when he saw Sakura's tearful face, he continued. (AN: Awww she's his motivation!)

"Let's go. I mean, listen, this guy has been after my family and me for a very long time. I say we defeat him and then I wouldn't have to worry about him harming my family," he paused and looked at Sakura, "plus, then Sakura can go home." He stopped and stared at the four faces. No one said anything, just started blankly at him.

"Are you insane?" Meilin screeched, standing up in rage, breaking the silence. "It's not that simple Syaoran! You can't just walk up to the Dark Emperor and say, 'hi, can I kill you so you can leave my family alone and get this girl home'! He's known as one of the most dangerous and powerful dark magician in all of the kingdoms. You could get hurt - you can die!" Meilin paused for a breath, her eyes angry.

Syaoran sighed. She does have a point, he thought to himself. He realized that he only reason he actually suggested that idea was for the sake of Sakura. She obviously didn't want to stay here, she probably had a family and even a boyfriend back home, Syaoran felt a pain go through him. Still, if she wanted to go home, then he would try to get her home.

"Well." Tomoyo breathed out. She and Sakura had stayed quiet. "What are we going to do?" She asked Eriol, who was obviously smarter than all of them put together.

"Sakura does have a great amount of power," he said. "I think she should be able to stand up to the Dark Emperor and help us defeat him." He concluded. Syaoran frowned; he didn't like the idea of Sakura going up against the Dark Emperor, that wasn't part of his plan. He opened his mouth to speak but Meilin beat him.

"Wait! You're agreeing with his idea?" Meilin screamed out in fury. Eriol looked at her and saw that she was frightened. But they both knew what was going on. Eriol would do the exact same thing for Tomoyo; and Meilin would do the same thing for Syaoran. Meilin saw the look in Eriol's eyes, and slowly gave a nod showing that she understood. Eriol hesitated, sighed and then nodded. Syaoran sighed in relief, Meilin looked sadly at Syaoran and Eriol, Eriol looked curiously at his cute little descendent and Tomoyo started at Meilin. No one seemed to remember that Sakura was there, she sat up with her arms propped on her knees and her hands holding up her head; she started at one spot on the floor, her eyes full of thought.

"No," she said suddenly, breaking the silence that surrounded them. They looked at her; she hadn't said anything to them about this whole idea. "I know what you're doing and it's not going to happen," she told them. Syaoran stared at her in shock while Tomoyo shook her head as if she knew this would happen all along.

"W - what?" Syaoran asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't want anyone to get hurt on my account," she told him firmly. They stared at each other for a moment. "I'm not going to let all my friends get hurt just so I can get back home." She had figured out his main and only reason for doing this. Meilin saw the embarrassed look on Syaoran's face and realized she had to do something to cover it up so Sakura wouldn't find out what was really going on.

"And what makes you think we're doing this for you?" She asked Sakura, who looked taken back. She started stuttering something but Meilin cut her off. "Didn't you hear Syaoran? He wants to protect his family and his clan. He just mentioned you would be able to go home and you go right away and assume he's doing this all for you." Everyone stated at Meilin with wide eyes and hanging mouths except for Sakura who was blushing a bright red.

"G-gomen ne," Sakura gasped, "I really didn't mean to -"

"Ii desu, Sakura," Syaoran told her. She looked up at him but he wasn't looking at her. She couldn't ignore the way the sunlight reflected off of his messy hair as he sat on the couch. He knew she was watching him and although he told himself not to, he turned his head and his liquid amber eyes met bright emerald eyes. He blushed and looked away. Sakura looked at him in confusion and wondered why he had gone red. He didn't seem to have sunburn or anything, or he didn't seem sick. Maybe there was something in her hair. Eriol interrupted her thoughts.

"Well, if we're going to do this, we may as well prepare a plan," he said and everyone nodded in agreement. Tomoyo saw the nervous look on Sakura's face.

"Don't worry Sakura," Tomoyo told her softly so no one would hear. "Just think of this as an adventure, you'll have fun."

"Hooooe," Sakura muttered gloomily as Tomoyo laughed. All day they planned what they were going to do and only stopped once to have lunch. Syaoran would tell his family he was going to another kingdom and they would leave tomorrow night. They would carry their luggage because they would be traveling on their own and by foot. They would first go through Sherblue woods, then take a ship across the Tenshi Lake where they would stay at Prince Yukito's palace for a night or two before continuing with their journey.

Sakura squeaked when she heard they would have to past by "Ghostle" and everyone looked at her while Tomoyo giggled. Eriol and Syaoran exchanged confused glances as Sakura gave them a nervous giggle. "Uh, there aren't any ghosts there, are there?" She asked carefully. Same old Sakura, Tomoyo thought happily. "Actually," Eriol started, "there are - "

"Aren't," Syaoran blurted out, once again his friends stared at him in surprise. He gave his friend a 'what?' look. (AN: More like a I-couldn't- help-it-look) "There aren't any ghosts." Sakura sighed in relief.

"Good," she said.

"But there are dragons and fairies," Meilin said. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Really?" She asked. Meilin nodded so did Tomoyo. "Will we run into any?"

"Most likely," Eriol told her, "but with the way I chose we take, we should be nowhere near them," he added in quickly seeing he alarmed look. "But.don't forget we might just met one." he told her, scaring her for a bit. She looked around and giggled nervously again.

"That's enough Hiiragizawa," Syaoran said firmly, his face gone back to being emotional and his eyes were cold. Sakura gave him a grateful smile but his face didn't change. She frowned; wondering if she had did or said something wrong. She suddenly thought of something.

"Um, aren't you guys suppose to be back at the castle or something? I mean, isn't your family going to wonder where you are?" She asked them. Meilin nodded.

"She's right, we better get back," Meilin said. They looked at Sakura and wondered what they were going to do with her. "She could always come back with us," Meilin suggested for Syaoran's sake. Tomoyo thought about this for a second.

"I don't see why we can't. We can just say she's a friend," Tomoyo said, "except your clothes would have to change again. Girls don't wear shorts here, or pants for that matter, but we could just find you a long skirt or something, all the girls wear long skirts and dresses and I have one that would fit you perfectly." For once no one sweat-dropped but instead nodded in agreement. Sakura was about to protest when Syaoran cut in.

"Ok then Daidouji," he turned to her, "you and Sakura will come afterwards with her dressed properly. In the meantime, Hiiragizawa, Meilin and myself will go back to the castle where I will inform my mother that you're having a guest over." Everyone agreed and soon afterwards the three left the cottage.

AN: Well… that was tiring! For a lazy person I must say, I'm doing a pretty good job. What'd you think, what'd you think? I know! Review and tell me! Thankssss