The Testing of Li Peony
A CCS Fanfic
by SyaoranSword
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Card Captor Sakura. CLAMP and other companies I may not know of own it all. This is a fanfic and not part of the "official" storyline. The story is only meant for the enjoyment of the author and any would-be readers.
Notes: This is it, the final chapter! The only person standing in Peony's way is her mother, the most powerful sorceress in the world. It is going to be tough, but Peony knows she has to fulfill her destiny, because there is no one else who can…
~~~ (place) ~~~ = scene change
" " = dialogue
[ ] = thoughts
( ) = commentary
Chapter 11: Birthday Wishes
"Your wish shall be granted, and everything will surely be alright."
"Who are you? Could you tell me, please?" Peony asked. She couldn't make out anything more than the figure's outline in the darkness.
"You will know soon, Peony-chan. Until then, don't give up hope. Do not be afraid. I will be with you."
"But who are you?"
"Trust in your friends. They have helped you in the past, and they will help you now."
"My friends? Do you mean Bruce-kun and Jin-kun? How will they help?"
"Peony… it's time to wake up." The young girl found herself in her bed, with her mother gently shaking her. Peony sat up and rubbed her eyes as her mother told her, "You already slept for a long time. I want you to be awake and alert for your last test."
"How long did I sleep for?" Peony asked as she turned towards her clock, sitting on her nightstand. She yelped in surprise as she noticed it was almost dinnertime. The setting sun outside her window confirmed the time. "I slept that long, and I missed lunch?!"
"You must have been very tired. I am glad though that you got the rest that you needed, and dinner should give you the energy for later. Now, let's get you ready."
~~~~~~
Peony would have enjoyed dinner much more if her worrying over the last test didn't hang over her head like a cloud. She knew her mother was her final opponent, but her mother also was filling her rice bowl with the best portions from the dishes on the table. [There is no way I can hurt Okaa-san. I love her so much.] Peony didn't eat much that night before she asked to be excused. Trying to find a place to be by herself, Peony entered the training room. "Can I really do this?" she asked herself. A moment later, she answered, "I don't know what will happen, but I know it will be alright."
The door opened and Bruce and Jin stepped into the room. "I figured you would be in here." Bruce asked, "Still having second thoughts about this?"
Peony shook her head. "A little. I will do my best, because that is what my Okaa-san wants. It's going to be hard facing her alone."
"You're not alone, Peony-san. Everyone is cheering for you," Jin replied.
"And we will be with you," Bruce added.
"Right, just think of us as right beside you."
"You can do it, Peony, because it's you."
The girl felt much better after being reassured by the two boys. She gave each of them a hug as a show of her thanks, leaving Jin rather flushed.
~~~~~~
"This is it, then," Syaoran said as he stood with Sakura, caressing her cheek.
"Yeah," she responded. Their loving gazes said much more to each other than their words.
"Be careful, then."
"I will." Satisfied with her answer, Syaoran kissed her and made his way up to the skybox. Elegantly clad in her pink ceremonial robes, Sakura looked up at the clock of the modernized arena. The time, displayed in bright digits, was 10:45 PM. In fifteen minutes, Sakura would begin Peony's last test. The young woman thought back on how it wasn't too long ago when Peony was just learning about the cards.
~~~ (Flashback) ~~~
"Wow, it's so pretty! It even has Okaa-chan's name on it!" A four-year old Peony had just received her first look at the Sakura Book. Her parents had been very careful to keep it out of the little girl's reach while she was younger. There was no telling what could have happened had she accidentally summoned a card's power at her age.
Sakura thought that Peony was old enough to know that her parents could use magic, and so could she. "Yes, it is very pretty, Peony-chan. It's also a very special book. Look inside." The girl did as her mother said and gasped in surprise at the stack of pink cards inside. "Those are magic cards, Peony-chan. Right now, they belong to your Okaa-chan, but someday, they will be yours."
Syaoran, on the other hand, was wary of letting his daughter touch the cards. "Only after you learn how to use them." His memories of trying to use ofudas when he was her age made up a large part of his opinion.
Peony was excited to learn that she would have her mother's book for her very own. She picked the top card of the stack and looked at it. Her gaze moved from the picture of the beautiful woman on the front to the English lettering below. Having started to learn to read, Peony tried to annunciate one of the words. "Wi… Win… Winnndy?"
Unfortunately, Syaoran's gut feeling was right as the sudden gust that arose blew all of the cards out of the Sakura Book, through the walls, and out into the Hong Kong sky. Knowing that she had done something bad by losing all but one of her mother's cards, Peony began to cry.
"Peony-chan, please don't cry." Sakura knelt down and hugged her daughter, letting the girl's tears soak her shoulder. "You didn't know. I can't blame you for that." She then took a gentle hold of Peony's shoulders and let her look in her mother's eyes. "Besides, I can get them back."
Syaoran was thinking that they would have to go card capturing again, in Hong Kong this time, but Sakura had something else in mind. Standing up, she grasped the key around her neck and closed her eyes. Sakura glowed pink as she uttered, "Please return to me, my friends." Her husband and her daughter were both amazed as the cards came back in the same manner as they had gone. Sakura opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of the cards floating around her. "You're all here. Thank you." They filed back into their container, and Peony placed Windy on top before Sakura closed the book. "Would you like to learn how to do that, Peony-chan?" Awed by her mother's ability, Peony nodded vigorously. "I thought so," Sakura giggled at her enthusiasm. "Your lessons begin tomorrow."
~~~~~~
Now, her daughter was almost as skilled as she was. There was one more lesson for Peony to learn, and Sakura knew that her daughter would be able to do anything once she learned it. Sakura could see Peony entering the stadium with both determination and apprehension. The mother understood how her daughter must have been feeling confusion about being forced to fight and fear over a loved one being hurt.
Sakura had went through these feelings many times over while chasing the Clow Cards, reasoning with Madoushi, battling Yue, creating the Sakura Cards, defeating Eriol, and sealing the Void. Still, each time she fought, she did not know her adversary well. This was different; this was her daughter, whom she and her husband had raised for the last twelve years. Sakura wondered how Syaoran found the courage to face of against Peony, considering she looked so much like her mother. Wherever he got it from, she could really use some of it, as the clock display showed 10:55 PM. It was time to begin the setup.
The mistress of the cards turned to the stands and called out, "Cerberus, Yue, come here."
Everyone turned to Kero and Yukito as they immediately turned into their guardian forms. "Sakura, why have you called us?" Cerberus asked as he and Yue descended towards her.
"I want you to merge with the staff," she said with all seriousness.
Her guardians were surprised. After she defeated Eriol, Sakura had never made this request since, because there was no need for it. This made Yue do something he had never done before: question his mistress. "Why must you use our power along with your own against your daughter?"
Sakura held back her tears. "Please, I don't want to order you to do this. I know it doesn't seem right, but it is for the best. Do you trust me?"
Cerberus answered, "Of course, we trust you, Sakura. You are our mistress."
"And it's not that we are not willing," Yue continued, "It's our duty to do as you ask, but we did not anticipate this,"
"I will explain everything once this is over," Sakura responded. The two seemed to accept her promise as they closed their eyes and began to glow pink. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash as the guardians disappeared, and Sakura was now holding her ultimate staff. The bottom rested on the ground, while the ten-pointed star that crowned the staff was a foot above the top of Sakura's head. The wings on either side of the star made the staff even taller and also gave it an impressive wingspan. For those that had never seen this transformation, the effect was astounding.
"She is even stronger than what we were led to believe," one of the elders commented in awe.
Peony gasped at her mother's sudden increase in power and at how the new staff made her look that much more formidable. The girl continued to watch as Sakura took a fan from her silk belt and held it, with her left hand, in front of her face, concealing everything below her half-open green eyes. "Peony-chan, are you ready for your last test?"
The girl stepped towards her mother, who was glowing from the strength of the magic she possessed. "I am ready, Okaa-san."
Sakura nodded before she flicked her left wrist. Peony gasped. Her mother's left hand now held a different fan, a fan of cards. "All I ask of you is to seal what I have in my hand before an hour has passed." Sakura closed her eyes as she let go of the cards. They floated up and spun in front of her as she intoned, "Cards, who I have called for this purpose, fulfill your duty. I, Li Sakura, your Mistress, ask you to do as I command." The star on the staff glowed white as the cards spun at a furious rate. "Release!"
The cards glowed brightly before they shot up high above the arena, where they shined together, like a star. One by one, four lights streaked back down. The first two lights seemed to vanish into the ground, but the last two impacted, throwing up clouds of dust. The fifth light stayed in the air, became dark, and spread its blackness in the shape of a dome over the stadium. Peony could still barely see through the darkness, and she looked to the stands in time to see Touya, Meiling, and Tomoyo seemingly fall unconscious. "What's happening?"
"They're asleep," Sakura answered. "This is caused by the Dark card. Those who do not have magic will be put to sleep, and even those who do may not stay awake for long. They will stay that way until you can seal it."
Some of those still awake began to panic. "The Card Mistress has gone mad!" one flustered elder declared.
"This is not how the last test was to be conducted!" another terrified elder said. Yelan did not make a comment, preferring to trust her daughter-in-law and whatever she had planned.
Bruce felt like a heavy weight had been placed on his shoulders. His eyelids were heavy and he had the urge to lie down, but he resisted as much as he could against the spell. He would do all he could to keep Peony's spirits up, and staying awake would help her cause.
Eriol laid his sleeping wife down on a bench, and Fujitaka did likewise with the others under Sakura's spell. Eriol was glad that Jin didn't seem to be affected, most likely from inherited magic, but he was concerned for Peony. "Capturing one card is troublesome enough. Capturing five cards working in concert is going to be exasperating. This will be very difficult for my cuter little descendant."
Syaoran always knew his wife was strong, but he had forgotten just how strong she could be. The fact that she was the most powerful sorceress in the world was constantly in the back of his mind, but whenever he saw her, the first thing he thought was that he loved this woman, and she loved him, too. Sometimes, Syaoran felt he didn't deserve her. Whenever he would tell her so, Sakura would giggle and respond that she didn't deserve him either. She would end the argument by cuddling and saying she couldn't be any happier. His wife was remarkable, and so was his daughter. Syaoran believed Peony could win, but she will need everything she had ever learned about the cards to do it.
The clouds of dust had dissipated, revealing two of the spirits Peony would have to seal back into their card forms. Thunder lifted its head and roared deafeningly at the concealed sky, while the Shot lifted one of its fingers, gathering energy at the tip. "Peony, look out!" Jin shouted.
His warning came just in time as Peony leapt to the side, dodging the energy blast. She looked up and saw Thunder pounce at her. Peony back-flipped from her squatting position to avoid the massive electric beast. Her skin prickled from the tiny bolts emitted when Thunder landed. Thinking quickly, she activated the Dash card to improve her evasiveness, and she also called the Shadow. [Shadow can take care of Thunder.] (Although in the manga, it was the other way around. Odd…) Peony almost couldn't see the Shadow card as it took its visible form, but she did see it rush toward Thunder to wrap it up in a neat black bundle.
With one card restrained, the girl stared down her other attacker, daring it to come after her. The Shot card obliged by becoming a flying, magenta blur that rapidly fired at the retreating Peony. The girl had everything in control, however, as she pivoted and flashed the Mirror at an incoming blast. The Shot card crumpled to the ground, and Peony ran to seal it. "Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura card!" The defeated spirit slipped back into its distinctive pink card.
Peony smiled as she put it with the others and walked up to the confined Thunder card. "Return to the form you meant to be in, Saku-AHHHH!!" The ground between Peony and the card she was about to seal scaled upward, becoming a sheer rock face and blocking Peony from her objective. She tried to go around only to have the ground rise wherever she ran so that she couldn't get to her target. Peony soon realized that the earth had made a dome around the Thunder card. She would have to deal with the Earth card, first, if she hoped to get inside. [This won't be hard. Earth's weakness is Wood.] She went through her set only to find, to her surprise, it wasn't there. Peony double-checked and triple-checked, hoping that she had missed it somehow, but she came up empty each time. [Oh, no. That means…] Green vines broke the ground underneath Peony, and they would have tied her down had she not dashed away in time. "Take this! Firey!" The flaming spirit streaked toward the vines to scorch them. Unfortunately, the card hit a solid rock wall that suddenly rose up instead. Falling to the ground, Firey tried to get up, only to have the wall it hit come down on top of it, flattening the card. "No, Firey!"
Peony ran toward the fallen rock slab to try and free Firey, but she was stopped by the vines. "Out of my way!" she yelled, using the Sword to chop through the obstacle. She reached the slab and called on the Power briefly to lift it off the ground. The girl breathed a sigh of relief as she picked up the Firey in its card form. It didn't look like it was badly hurt, so she put it back with the others. She turned her attention to the frustrating pair of cards she had to seal. [Ok, let's see. Earth and Wood make a devastating combination. Without the Wood, I can't seal Earth, and I tried to use Firey on Wood, but Earth protected it.] The floor shook as what looked like a giant serpent made out of rock burst out of the ground. [There has to be a way to beat them both at the same time.]
Thinking time was at a premium as the earth snake lunged at Peony, who dashed to the side. The chase continued until Peony sprinted right into the clutches of the green vines. They wrapped themselves around the girl's wrists, ankles, and neck. She was completely immobilized. [No, no! I can't fail now!] Peony struggled against her bonds as the vines raised her into the air. The girl felt the plant tightening its hold on her, making her even more desperate. Her eyes were forced shut from the pain she was experiencing. [They're choking me. I'm going to die! Someone, help me please!]
Peony suddenly felt the vines loosening around her, and before she knew it, she was falling. The girl expected to have a sore bottom in the morning, but she didn't land on the ground. Opening her eyes, she realized she had landed in Jin's arms, and Jin was the one with the sore bottom. Ignoring his pain, Jin asked, "Are you okay, Peony-chan?"
The girl rubbed her neck. "Yes. What are you doing here? You're not supposed to help me."
"It wasn't all my idea," Jin responded, "He wanted to do it, too."
Peony turned to see Bruce breathing heavily, holding a sword similar to her father's. [He must have cut me loose.] She got up from Jin's hold to give Bruce a hug in gratitude. "Thank you."
"Shouldn't you thank Jin as well? He did catch you, after all." Peony agreed and gave Jin a hug, giving his cheeks a rosy color.
"This test is invalid!" one of the elders declared. "Outside interference is not allowed!"
"Excuse me," Sakura interrupted. "I am the one giving this test, so I make the rules!" she reminded the Elders. "Now, it is true that there should be no interference, but if you remember, I asked Yue and Cerberus to assist me. I think it is only fair to let Peony-chan also have two helpers," she finished while smiling at her daughter. "And we already have volunteers. So, I see no violation." Sakura pointed her staff at the trio. "Continue, and remember to watch the clock, Peony-chan."
The girl had forgotten about the time limit, and when she looked up at the clock, it read 11:50 PM. [Only ten minutes left! And I still have four cards to seal.]
"We'll deal with the distractions," Bruce told her.
Jin turned his father's key, which he had been given before he rushed out to help, into the sun staff. "I believe in you. You are strong, Peony-chan. I know you are!"
[Is Jin the one that's been in my dreams? Maybe… but first I have to seal those cards, and Jin-kun believes in me!] With newfound confidence, Peony gripped her staff and began to think. Bruce sliced any plants that got too close, and Jin blasted away at the earth snake. The girl used Fly to get a different point of view. [Which card can defeat both Earth and Wood?] Peony searched through the cards she had until she stopped at one in particular. Her eyes widened. [This might work!] Wasting no time, she shouted the card's name, "Sand!"
What was once solid ground became a whirlpool of sand. The boys hurriedly jumped onto the wall that separated the stands from the arena floor, as did Sakura. They watched as the Earth card thrashed about, trying to find something to serve as a foundation. The Wood helplessly got sucked into the vortex as did Thunder, still in its shadow ball prison. Eventually, the gigantic rock serpent was sucked down as well. "Return to the forms you were meant to be in, Sakura cards!" The whirlpool ceased, reverting to the arena floor as Peony caught the five cards that flew into her hands.
"Yes, she did it!" Bruce exulted.
Jin was a little more reserved. "Way to go, Peony-chan!" On second thought, he wasn't reserved at all. Their celebration was cut short as Peony's wings suddenly disappeared. Jin caught Peony and fell on his butt for the second time that night. "What's wrong?"
"I've used more cards than I ever have before in such a short time. Give me a minute."
"You don't have a minute," Bruce sharply replied, "Look at the time." She did and saw it was 11:57 PM. "You have to seal the last card now!"
All of the action had taken a lot out of the girl. She needed the boys for support to even stand up. Peony had the Light card in her hand, but her staff felt too heavy to lift anymore. "All I need to do is call Light, and it will be over."
"No, you can't," Jin objected. "You can't even stand without our help. How can you expect to summon Light by yourself?"
Peony stubbornly replied, "I have to try."
Jin sighed. "Bruce, help me lift her arms. We need to give her all our power to have a chance." Her muscles burned in protest, but Peony ignored it as best she could. She needed to finish her test. She could rest as much as she wanted afterward.
Unknown to Jin, Bruce was almost ready to collapse as well. Trying to stay awake and protecting Peony had drained him. He didn't know how much help he would be now, but he would do all he could for his second cousin. "Alright then." Her arms were up, and the staff was raised. "Do it, Peony!"
With what little strength she had left in her body, Peony yelled out, "Light!" The card glowed brightly and began to dissipate the darkness around them, but the darkness wasn't completely lifted. Light and Dark were pushing against each other in a stalemate. Bruce let go of Peony's arm, and fell forward. "No, Bruce-kun!" At this point, he had succumbed to the spell and to his fatigue.
"He will stay asleep, just like the others, until you seal Dark," Sakura told her.
Peony looked upward at the two opposing forces, neither gaining any ground. "Light should be able to defeat Dark. We just don't have any more power to give."
Jin moved behind Peony to raise both of her arms. He moved his head over her shoulder so when they shared a sidelong glance, they saw each other's eyes. "Don't give up hope, Peony!"
"Hope… hope! That's it, Jin-kun!" Peony brought out the Hope card. "All we need is a little Hope!" The card bathed Peony in a rejuvenating glow, which helped her power the Light card to victory over the darkness.
She was about to seal Dark when everything became white in Peony's vision, and she didn't feel Jin behind her anymore. In fact, she could see nothing but white all around her. "Where am I? Where is everyone?"
She turned around and saw a beautiful woman in a flowing mauve dress. The woman had incredibly pale skin, violet hair that reached down to her back, unusual purple eyes, and a tiara with a yellow star on her head. In her hands was a pink-frosted cake with a single lighted candle in the middle. Peony didn't understand the extraordinary sight in front of her, but the woman simply smiled and said, "Happy birthday, Peony-chan."
Suddenly, it dawned on the girl. "You're the one who has been in my dreams!"
"Yes, I am the one."
"Now, could you tell me who you are, please?"
The woman laughed softly. "Shouldn't it be obvious, little mistress? What have I told you in almost every dream you've had?"
Peony thought for a second before she said, "Your wish shall be granted, and everything will surely be alright."
"Correct. I am wearing a star, and I am holding a birthday cake. So, I must be…"
"The Wish card?! But there is no Wish card!"
"You are right. There is no Sakura card called Wish. I was created by you, Peony-chan, on your fifth birthday, so I am the first Peony card. You wished with all your might for something dear to you, and I was the result. I existed in your heart, waiting for the moment when I could be released. That moment is today, exactly seven years later. That's how long it has taken for me to be able to fulfill your wish."
Peony gasped, "You mean…"
The Wish held the cake in front of Peony. "Now blow out the candle… for your next wish to come true in seven years." The girl closed her eyes, made her wish, and blew out the candle. When she opened her eyes, she was back in the stadium, and Jin was still holding her arms. Peony had one last thing to do. Raising her staff, she said, "Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura card!" The star-filled night sky was visible once again, as Jin let go of her, and she caught the Light and Dark cards in her hand. The test was over, but was she in time? The clock read 12:01 AM. Peony's heart sank. "I didn't make it."
Sakura walked over to her daughter and knelt down beside her. She was surprised when Peony cried into her shoulder. "Peony-chan, why are you crying?" she whispered.
"I failed, Okaa-san. I didn't make it."
Sakura rubbed her daughter's back comfortingly. "What if I said that you did make it?" Peony pulled her back and looked at her mother in shock. Sakura smiled, "I said you had an hour to seal the cards, and it was 11:01 when I released them. You made it just in time." Peony hugged her mother fiercely and cried again, with joy this time.
Bruce slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Looking up, he knew that Peony had succeeded, and Jin was as red as ever. He could imagine what happened after he fell asleep and decided not to rag Jin about it. Peony gave him a big hug, upon seeing him awake.
Everyone else who had been asleep woke up, and noting how late it was, everyone decided to get even more sleep, for tomorrow was a big day.
~~~~~~
The next morning, all of the players had assembled once again in the Li clan meeting hall, to settle the controversial happenings of the previous night. The elders argued that it was not conclusive that Peony had sealed the last card before the time was up and that Sakura did not administer the test she said she would. Syaoran accused them of being biased against his daughter and said she had demonstrated she was more than capable for the leadership.
"I am interested in what Peony thinks about this matter," Yelan said. "Even if she is my granddaughter, it is only fair for her to have a say."
The girl stepped forward, under the scrutiny of the elders, her family, and her friends. Taking a deep breath before speaking, she announced to everyone, "I have passed every test I have been given, so I am entitled to succeed to my father, but I won't." Peony expected the surprised looks and gasps. She continued, "My parents didn't have a son, so as their heir, I was expected to be the next leader. The original reason I went through this was to see if I was worthy, which I am. The reason I don't want to fill the role is because that would limit my future. Today, I am twelve years old, and the only friends I have are in this room. If you would allow me, I would like to go to school instead of having a private tutor. That way, I will expand my horizons and see what it is like outside the grounds, more often."
"We will consider that topic at another time. The question now is if you will not succeed your father, who will?" the head elder asked.
"My little brother," Peony answered without hesitation.
All eyes seemed to shift their focus from Peony to Sakura. Syaoran, in particular, was staring at his wife in amazement. "Sakura?!"
"Well… now that she mentions it," Sakura said as she put a hand to her stomach protectively, "I have been feeling a little different, lately."
What happened next could only be described as predictable chaos. Peony quietly slipped out of the building, since she wasn't the focus anymore. She breathed in the warm spring air, and looked up at the bright blue sky. Everything had turned out all right. Bruce and Jin joined her outside, preferring to be with her than the adults. "I'm happy for you, Peony," Bruce said. "But does this mean you went through all that for nothing?"
Peony shook her head. "No, I learned a lot about myself. I can't do everything, and I am not alone as long as I have my friends."
Bruce nodded. "I think Jin has something he wants to tell you," he said, gently elbowing the other boy in the ribs. Jin nodded weakly in response. "I'll let you two have some privacy. See you at the party," he waved as he walked out of sight.
Peony turned to Jin, her bright green eyes looking at him intently. "What did you want to tell me?"
The boy fought the blush that wanted to show itself on his face. He did his best to look her straight in the eye as he said, "What I wanted to say was… I love you."
Peony giggled. "Awww, that 's sweet of you, Jin-kun."
"No, I don't think you understand. I'm not talking about a family kind of love or a friend kind of love. I love you with the kind of love that a boy has for a girl." Peony took a few seconds to digest what Jin just said. "That's all I wanted to say. It's alright if you don't feel the same way, as long as we can still be friends."
"Jin-kun… you love me? You really love me?" He nodded, and she glomped him in reply. "I should have known. All those times you encouraged me and gave me hope, it was because you loved me. I love you, too, Jin-kun!"
~~~~~~
The night after Peony's birthday party, everyone that had come to visit was leaving. Meiling and Bruce were headed back to Beijing, and Fujitaka, Touya, and Yukito were returning to Tomoeda. As the adults said their good-byes, Peony, Bruce, and Jin huddled together. Bruce faced his two friends and placed both his hands on a shoulder of both of them. "I'm glad for you two. Take care of yourselves, and I'll beat you senseless, Jin, if you hurt her in any way."
Jin sweatdropped at the threat, but Peony voiced her displeasure. "Bruce-kun!"
"Just kidding. I'm sure he'll be good to you. Keep in mind though that I will be back to check on how you are treating my second cousin," Bruce said with a look aimed at the boy.
Jin timidly responded, "Peony-chan will be fine."
"She had better be, or else." Bruce gave Jin a couple hard pats in the back before he had to follow his mother, Meiling, to the security checkpoint. He waved farewell to his friends after he passed through and was out of sight.
~~~~~~
Some time passed after the testing of Li Peony was finished. Peony was allowed to go to school, where she made many new friends. Jin was apparently a late bloomer. He soon showed evidence that he had his parents' penchant for slyness. Peony and Jin also started to date, much to the chagrin of Peony's father. He didn't have much time to intimidate his daughter's boyfriend anymore though because of the newest addition to his family…
Syaoran smiled as he held his son and the bottle his son was drinking from. He didn't think he would get the chance to do this again. Li Dai Lang was the splitting image of his father, complete with the amber eyes and the brown hair. It fitted him to have the nickname of 'big wolf'. "I always wanted a son." Syaoran looked to his left, where Sakura was sitting. "Now I have two."
His wife giggled as she fed Li Juung Lang, 'medium wolf', from another bottle. "They're so cute, just like you were."
"Just like I was? You mean I'm not cute now?"
"I meant at your age, Syaoran. But now that you mention it, watching you feeding your baby boy is quite cute."
Syaoran chuckled. "I would say the same of you, except for the fact that you're cute all the time." Both their sons finished their milk, and both parents put a child over a shoulder to burp them. "I never imagined that we would be doing this on our fifteenth wedding anniversary."
"Neither did I. I was so sad when I thought we couldn't have any more children." The twins burped simultaneously, causing their parents to smile. "Now we have three wonderful kids."
"Speaking of kids, where is Peony? She's supposed to baby-sit for us while we go out and celebrate." As he finished speaking, there was a knocking at the door. Syaoran opened it to find Jin. Trying to look as fearsome as he could while holding his baby in one arm, he coldly said, "What are you doing here?"
Jin had his father's enigmatic smile on as he said, "I'm here to take Peony-chan on a date, Li-san."
"You must be mistaken," Syaoran began, "Peony is babysitting tonight."
"Oh no, I forgot!" Syaoran and Jin turned to the top of the staircase, where Peony had her hand over her mouth.
Sakura looked up to her daughter. "Peony-chan, did you and Jin agree on a date for tonight? You did tell us you would take care of Dai and Juung."
"I know. I'm so sorry! I guess we'll have to go out another night, Jin," she said as she descended the stairs.
Jin was about to reply, but they were all surprised when someone behind him spoke. "Never fear, for Eriol and Tomoyo are here!" Jin's parents had arrived from seemingly out of nowhere.
"And why are you here?" Syaoran asked them with one eye twitching.
Eriol chuckled. "Why to give everyone what they want. Jin told us he had a date tonight."
"But today is also yours and Sakura-chan's fifteenth anniversary. We immediately saw a problem." Tomoyo whipped out her camcorder and began taping Sakura with Juung in her arms.
"So we came to give a solution. We watch the kids, and the rest of you have a good time. Simple."
"Sorry, but no," Syaoran answered. "I know you want to help Peony, but she already told both me and Sakura she would watch her brothers. It is her responsibility to follow through on her promises."
"Then I will help her keep that promise," Jin declared. Syaoran turned to deliver another scowl to his daughter's beau. "If it is alright, I will help baby-sit."
"Thank you, Jin-kun," Peony responded with a hug, aggravating her father even more. "You're so kind."
Tomoyo turned her camera lens on the teenaged couple. "So, it all works out. I don't think we're needed here anymore, Eriol."
"How true," he sighed, "Well, a happy fifteenth anniversary to you my cute little descendant and to you Sakura-san."
"Don't stay too late, Jin," his mother cautioned, "And no teasing Kero-chan."
As if summoned by his name, the tiny guardian flew downstairs and used his cute, little arms to poke Jin in the nose. "That's right! What you did the last time you were here was just too cruel for words!"
"Kero, getting tricked into eating cabbage-flavored pudding is hardly what I call cruel," Sakura said. "But still, there had better not be anything along the lines of the…" she shuddered, "'G- G- Ghost… in the refrigerator' incident or the 'Jell-O in the bathtub' incident."
"Don't remind me," Syaoran groaned. "That's why I don't like having him here. He is even worse than his father."
"The apple does not fall far from the tree," Eriol smirked after quoting the saying. "Jin will be on his best behavior. After all, he will be busy coming to Peony's aid."
Sakura took Dai Lang from Syaoran and set both of their sons down in a playpen. "Be good for your big sister, you two. Your father and I will be back soon."
She turned around to find Tomoyo pointing the camera at her. "Did you exchange anniversary presents, yet?"
"We planned on doing that tonight, when we would have a little privacy," Syaoran answered with a barb.
"We could do it now, Syaoran. I'm sure it would make Tomoyo-chan happy." Syaoran looked at his wife in surprise, but she had on the look that could make him die of guilt. With no other choice, he took the steps two at a time to quickly retrieve her present from their room. Sakura took out a rectangular box wrapped in cherry blossom gift-wrap from her purse just before her husband rushed down the stairs with another box in solid green gift-wrap of the same size. They looked at each other's gifts. "Syaoran…"
"The fifteenth is the crystal anniversary. Did you…?" Syaoran didn't finish the question. The gifts were exchanged, and after opening them, both husband and wife held a crystal replica of their younger selves, wearing the outfits from their battle with the Void card. The couple embraced as they whispered "Thank you"s and "You're welcome"s to each other.
With the mushy moment recorded for posterity, Eriol guided Tomoyo out. Sakura and Syaoran left as well, after Peony's father gave one last glower to the boy his daughter loved. Kero flew back upstairs after muttering something about not wanting to be ripped in half by the twins. Peony and Jin waved goodbye to their respective parents and sat close to each other while they watched Dai and Juung. The boys raised their arms, signaling that they wanted to be picked up.
"Which one is which again?" Jin asked as he lifted one of them out.
"Somehow my parents can tell the difference. All I know is that both my brothers don't like you at all. If I had known little brothers were like this, I might have reconsidered wishing for one." Peony laughed as the boy Jin carried grabbed Jin's nose and gave it a yank.
"Itai! Just like their father. Oh, well. I'm glad there is at least one person in your family who likes me."
"There's two: me and my Okaa-san, so you don't need to worry. We can be together forever, if we want to." Peony smiled as her brother pulled on Jin's ear. The girl hoped that one day she and Jin would have the kind of relationship her parents enjoyed. [Only six more years…]
END
The series is complete after 18 months, 11 chapters, and 60 pages. For those that have stuck with me all the way through, a very big thank you from this humble author. There's still plenty of other writing I want to do, so I'm leaving any possibility of a sequel available for anyone who would like to do it. The only thing I ask for is to drop me a line if you do. Until the next fic… all comments and criticisms are welcome and appreciated.