Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004

Chapter 12: Home Sweet Home

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"Tomoeda?" Sakura repeated.

Tomoyo nodded, "Sounds like a nice place to live."

"That word seems familiar…but I can't quite place my finger on it," Sakura mused.

Tomoyo shrugged, "We should probably get a hotel room."

"Yeah. C'mon," Sakura hopped back into the car, Tomoyo following her.

They drove silently in the streets of the usual afternoon buzz, and Sakura looked around the streets.

"Where do you think they have a motel here?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know," Tomoyo said, "Maybe we should ask one of these people."

"All right," Sakura pulled the car over and rolled down the window for Tomoyo, who stuck her head out.

"Excuse me!" she called to a passing group of teenagers.

They were about 17 or 18, a mix of the usual boys and girls hanging out.

"Hey there," one of the guys winked at Tomoyo, who blushed slightly.

Sakura rolled her eyes and leaned over to the side of the window, "Do you guys know any nearby motels or inns we can stay the night?"

One of the girls shrugged, "Probably not. Not that I know."

Another girl spoke up, "Wait…they could probably stay at the Yamazaki place," she suggested.

Sakura's ears perked up at the familiarity of the name.

"Yeah, they're really hospitable. They usually house people who don't have a place to stay, since there's not very many of those people," a boy added.

(A/N: I'd like to interrupt for a second. Before any of you wonder why Tomoyo doesn't recognize this place, it's because she never grew up here. Sakura and Touya did, but Tomoyo never did. Sorry. ^_^ )

"Really. How cool," Tomoyo smiled, "Can you give us directions?"

"If you give me your number," the boy who had complimented Tomoyo said.

A girl quickly slapped the boy, but Tomoyo half-smirked, "Sorry, but I'm already taken, and I'm too old for you."

"Here's some directions. It should be very easy to spot," the girl ripped off a sheet of paper from a pad and handed it to Tomoyo.

"Thanks, you guys. Bye!" Sakura called, and rolled the window back up.

"They're so cute," Tomoyo giggled.

"I know. Don't they remind you of us?" Sakura asked, "We were always out hanging around with Meiling and Toby."

Tomoyo nodded, "Yeah, I know! C'mon, this says to go straight until you pass a grocery. Then, turn right, and keep on going. We'll leave the busier area, and pass through a grove of cherry blossoms."

Tomoyo paused and grinned, "That's your name!"

Sakura smiled, "I know! Here's the grocery store…turn right?"

"Yeah. Then it says, turn left at Kingsly Street, another left at the third light, then we'll see a small brick red house," Tomoyo read.

"All right," Sakura continued driving for several minutes, and they started passing the grove of cherry blossoms.

"Aw…so pretty," Sakura admired the floating sakuras.

They drove by it much too quickly, and reached the red house.

"Do you think they'll take us in? How much do you think we'll have to pay?" Sakura asked nervously.

"I don't know," Tomoyo said truthfully, "But why don't we get out of this car and actually ask them?"

Sakura parked the car on the side of the street, and turned off the engine.

"This is such a beautiful house," Sakura acknowledged, "The old-fashioned ones. The ones I always dreamed of growing up in."

"You probably did," Tomoyo said, "I wish I grew up in a place like this with a father and mother…"

"It's an old house," Sakura quickly changed the subject; she didn't want Tomoyo to think about her mother.

"You ring the doorbell," Sakura directed Tomoyo.

Tomoyo gave Sakura a look, "You!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

"You!"

"Hi, there!" the door opened.

Sakura and Tomoyo quickly turned their heads to face a smiling man whose eyes had scrunched up into slits from his broad grin.

"Um hi," Sakura said, "Some teenagers downtown said that we could find a night to sleep here."

"Did you know that nearly 5000 years ago, in the middle east, it was the custom to house anyone and feed them without asking any questions---augh!" the man stopped mid-sentence when a woman's hand clapped over his mouth and slapped his head.

The two were the same age as Sakura and Tomoyo, judging from their looks.

She dragged the man out of sight, and came back, wiping her hands on her jeans.

She didn't look up as she said, "Sorry about that. My husband loves to make up crazy stories. He was always like that."

The woman looked up, smiling apologetically, but froze, her face nearly in shock.

Tomoyo and Sakura glanced at each other.

The woman clapped a hand over her mouth, and screamed, "Takashi, come over here."

The man came over, and his scrunched up eyes opened, and if possible, widened in horror.

"Sakura….Sakura Kinomoto?" they whispered.

"Um…" Sakura traded nervous looks with Tomoyo.

"Yeah," Sakura finished uncomfortably.

"Oh my god," the woman whispered, "We all thought you were dead. You, Touya and your father."

Sakura was beginning to understand, "I'm guessing you guys knew me."

The woman nodded slowly, "Don't you know me?"

Sakura sighed, "Long story. First, can we come in?"

The woman's hospitableness came back, "Of course. Sit down. Our house isn't much. Tea?"

"Sure," Tomoyo said, and they sat down in the living room of the house.

"So you are Sakura Kinomoto?" the man asked quietly.

His grin has disappeared, and he looked dead serious.

Sakura cleared her throat, "Guilty."

"But…" the man started.

"First, who are you?" Tomoyo asked.

"Oh. I'm Takashi Yamazaki, and that's Chiharu, my wife of two years. We were both in Sakura's third grade class, along with Naoko and Rika," the man explained.

Sakura had a blank expression on her face.

"You don't remember us?" Takashi asked worriedly.

"Here's the tea!" Chiharu came back cheerfully, holding a tray with three cups of steaming water with steeped bags of leaves.

She set it down onto the coffee table, and handed Sakura and Tomoyo each a cup and took one for herself.

"Hey, what about me?" Takashi complained.

"Oh, shush. I'll give you an extra piece of pie for dessert. I didn't boil enough water. So, Sakura…how are you? How's Touya? And what's the deal with you disappearing and coming back after thirteen years?" Chiharu asked.

"As you all know, thirteen is a very unlucky number, deriving from when---" Chiharu clamped her hand over his mouth once more.

"I'm so sorry…but I can't…I don't remember you," Sakura said.

Chiharu and Takashi looked at Sakura, dumbfounded.

"You don't? What about us? You know, us wanting to be cheerleaders as soon as we got into 4th grade, and Takashi's stupid stories…you don't remember?" Chiharu asked sadly.

Sakura shook her head, "I'm sorry. It's a long story."

"We've got all night," Takashi said.

"Well…from what I've pieced together, I lost my memory the day Touya and my father lost me. My father is dead," Sakura said.

Chiharu and Takashi gasped, "Fujitaka?"

Sakura shrugged, "I guess so. I just recently found Touya, barely a month ago. I can't remember absolutely anything about my past, or before that day I got shot at."

Chiharu had her mouth gaping open, "I'm so sorry."

"We're going to help her reclaim her memory!" Takashi declared, "For it was an ancient ritual that when a person of importance had amnesia, they--"

"Shut up," Chiharu said.

"Shutting up," Takashi nodded.

"Who's she?" Takashi then asked, gesturing in Tomoyo's direction.

"I thought she told you to shut up," Sakura said amusedly, "That's Tomoyo Yuki. Or Daidouji. She was a Daidouji."

Chiharu clapped her hands in recognition, "You're that runaway daughter of that maniacal business tycoon!"

Tomoyo smiled, "More or less."

"Nice to meet you," Takashi extended his hand and shook Tomoyo's.

"So how long have you two been married?" Sakura asked.

Chiharu smiled, "Two years."

Sakura said, awed, "Wow. That was pretty quick."

"Well, we've known each other since we were babies. And now we're trying to make one---ouch!" Takashi, once more, got smacked on the head.

"Children are nice," Tomoyo said bemusedly.

Chiharu agreed, "I love children. But back to you, Sakura. I still can't believe that…after thirteen years, you suddenly reappear at my door, then you don't remember me?"

"I'm sorry," Sakura sighed, "I wish I could. Really. I never thought about it…but these last few months have been crazy. I've met so many new people, found my brother, and now you guys. It's amazing!"

"Fate has definitely intervened," Chiharu nodded.

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After dinner and much, much talking, the girls decided to settle in for the night.

"Um, where should we sleep?" Tomoyo asked, looking around.

"Oh, we have the guest bedroom set out for you. It only has one king sized bed, so you two have to share," Chiharu said apologetically.

"Oh, it's all right," Sakura answered, "That's fine."

Tomoyo and Sakura headed to the bedroom, but they realized they had no clothes to change into, nor a toothbrush or anything else.

"Damn it," Tomoyo swore under her breath.

Sakura looked at her, surprised; Tomoyo usually never cursed.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"We don't have any of our stuff," Tomoyo said plainly.

Sakura nodded, "I know. Should we go out to the drugstore and get some stuff?"

Tomoyo shrugged, "Yeah. Let's go tell Chiharu and Takashi. They seem so nice…you're so lucky to have them as friends."

Sakura answered, "Well…not really, I can't remember them, which sucks. But anyways, let's go."

The two girls headed out and looked at the clock, which read 8.

"Chiharu?" Sakura called.

"Yeah?" Chiharu came out of her room and asked, "What do you need?"

"We just realized we don't have any of our stuff, so we're going to go out to the drugstore to buy some stuff. You want to come? You could give us a hand with the directions," Sakura said.

Chiharu grinned, "Sure."

Five minutes later, all three girls and Takashi (he insisted on coming along), were in the Corolla, driving towards downtown.

The sun had already set, and in the darkness, there were people hanging out in the sidewalks, illuminated by the light posts.

"There's the drugstore. Just park the car and put some change into the meters," Chiharu directed.

Sakura easily parallel parked the car on the side of the street and turned off the engine.

They entered the drugstore, and immediately Tomoyo and Sakura headed over to the hygiene section.

"Here's a basket," Chiharu handed Sakura and shopping basket.

They found toothbrushes and put it into the basket, and went over to pick out some brushes for their hair when Tomoyo's cell phone rang.

Tomoyo reached into her bag and got out her cell phone which was buzzing.

She flicked it open and asked, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me, Meiling!" a voice said.

"Oh hi, Meiling. Are you home?" Tomoyo asked.

Meiling responded, "Um…no. Where are you?"

"In Tomoeda. We're staying out of the apartment tonight, just in case," Tomoyo explained.

"Oh good, I'm not going to be home either---oh god, Hanako, that tickles!" Meiling exclaimed over the phone.

Tomoyo made a face, "You're with Hanako? On duty or off?"

Tomoyo knew Meiling well enough that she had blushed, "Off. I'm staying over at his house tonight, is that okay?"

Tomoyo said dryly, "I can't stop you, can I?"

Sakura grabbed the phone out of Tomoyo's hand and said into the phone, "Remember all those videos we watched in junior high about STDs!! You don't want to catch--"

Tomoyo snatched the phone back and said, "What she means is to be careful."

Meiling laughed, "We're just filing some patients folders over at his house."

Tomoyo grinned, "You know how filing folders can turn you on. The way those papers just rustle around."

Meiling laughed, "All right, all right. I promise, I won't do anything 'dangerous'. Gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right, bye." Tomoyo hung up and looked towards Sakura expectantly.

They both shrugged at the same time, and turned back to the brushes.

The girls quickly bought the necessities, brushes, toothbrushes, and other personal care items.

"We need to buy some clothes," Sakura said to Chiharu, "Do you know any clothing shops that might still be open?"

Chiharu snapped her fingers, "Naoko and Rika! We can go to their shop!"

Takashi nodded eagerly, "Yeah!"

Sakura raised her eyebrows, "Naoko and Rika?"

Chiharu pulled at Sakura, "More of your friends. First let's go to the check stand, then drive over to their store."

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Twenty minutes later….

Sakura, Tomoyo, Chiharu and Takashi got out of the car they had parked on the sidewalk, and walked towards a brightly lit store.

It had a glass display window that showed mannequins wearing the latest styles.

They entered the quiet store and Sakura was immediately greeted by a smiling girl with a round face and even rounder glasses with shoulder length straight hair, "Welcome to Tomoeda's prime fashion spot, ABC Fashion!"

"Hey, Chiharu and Yamazaki! Who are these people?" a girl was sitting at the counter where she was flipping through a fashion magazine.

She had fluffy curly hair that reached her shoulders, and she had a smiling, kind face, reminded Sakura of the mothers on baby food commercials.

"Um…this is Tomoyo Daidouji--" Chiharu started to explain, but Tomoyo cut her off and said, "Tomoyo Yuki."

"And Sakura Kinomoto."

The two girls snapped their heads up, and stared at Sakura suddenly, making her flush.

"Hi?" Sakura managed to say weakly.

"Sakura? Oh my god, it IS SAKURA!!!!" the girl with the glasses ran towards her and engulfed her into a hug.

"Oh my gosh," the other girl sitting on the counter said quietly.

She set her magazine on her lap (the latest edition of Vogue), and jumped off the counter softly, making the magazine fall onto the floor.

The girl came over and hugged Sakura, also.

Sakura was embarrassed by all the attention, and she looked towards Takashi, who seemed unaffected by the reunion, and was staring in fascination at some leopard skin bras and matching thongs.

"Wait," Chiharu interrupted, "There's one major thing you need to know."

Sakura nodded in agreement, "Major."

"What is it?" the two girls stepped back.

"I can't remember any of you," Sakura breathed, "I'm sorry."

The one with the glasses looked confused, "You mean you have amnesia?"

"Thirteen years ago, Mr. Kinomoto got killed and Sakura and Touya were separated, with Sakura having a memory loss. They reunited a short while ago," Chiharu summarized.

"Oh," the other girl nodded, and smiled.

She stuck out her hand and said, "Hi. I'm Rika Sasaki."

"Hi," Sakura said, "I'm Sakura Kinomoto."

"Nice to meet you," the other girl butted in, "I'm sorry about your loss. My name's Naoko Yanagisawa."

"Hi, Naoko. And don't worry about my father, he's long dead," Sakura joked lightly.

Naoko smiled timidly, "All right. So you came here to shop?"

Sakura and Tomoyo nodded, "We need enough clothes to last us a night and a day."

"You came to the perfect place. We have undergarments," Rika swept her arms to the side to show the racks of bras and panties, making the girls turn their heads to see Takashi, who had picked up a thong and was stretching it out curiously.

"Takashi!" Chiharu stomped over and grabbed the article out of his hands, smacked his head and dragged him by the ear to wait in the car.

"All right. We'll start there," Sakura said.

She and Tomoyo headed over there and bought two of plain pink and blue cotton panties and bras, a pair of tan dog-print pajamas, and started walking towards the clothing section for a change of clothes.

Naoko went to the accessory section to straighten up some fallen headbands, and Rika resumed her position on the counter and picked up her magazine.

When she picked it up, it opened directly to a full page of a modestly smiling auburn haired, green eyed beauty wearing a simple peasant top and jeans, made by Armani Exchange.

"Oh my gosh, my eyes must be deceiving me, Sakura is this you?" Rika held up the magazine and shouted to Sakura.

Sakura turned her head from the shirts she had been eying and glanced at Rika.

"Oh, hey, that really is me!" Sakura walked over to Rika and took the magazine, "I didn't think they'd be really putting me into the magazine."

"God, Sakura. You're so lucky," Naoko said wistfully, "I'd die to have my face in a world renown magazine like that."

"I'm just doing it for the money," Sakura shrugged, "it's not like I'll get famous or anything."

"Still," Naoko said thoughtfully.

"Well, back to shopping," Sakura pointed back to the racks.

Fifteen minutes later, Rika scanned all of the tags and rung up the total, "Fifty dollars and twenty three cents."

Sakura took out some cash and laid it down on the counter while Naoko wrapped the clothes in tissue paper and put them into a paper bag with the label, 'ABC Fashion'.

"Thanks," Sakura took the bags.

"So I guess I'll see you around?" Naoko asked hopefully.

Sakura nodded, "Definitely. And I love these clothes! This is a great shop you guys opened up."

Rika shrugged, "It's just our job."

Sakura nodded again and said, "Do you guys have e-mail or cell phones I can call?"

"Ooh, I'll give you my celly," Naoko said.

She took a pen from a small cup on the counter and uncapped it.

In her cute roundish handwriting, she wrote down her cell phone number on a small scrap of paper.

"Here," Naoko passed the pen to Rika, who accepted the paper and pen and also scribbled her home and cell phone numbers down.

Sakura pocketed the scrap and gave Naoko a huge hug, "I'm glad I met you."

"Me too, Sakura," Naoko returned the hug.

Sakura went to Rika and also gave her a hug, and Tomoyo tried to shake her hand with Naoko, "Nice to meet you--"

"Aw, don't be so stiff. We're friends too!" Naoko exclaimed and reached over to give Tomoyo a bear hug.

Tomoyo giggled, "All right."

"It's time for us to go," Sakura said, "I'll call you guys and we should get together for coffee or something!"

Rika nodded, "Of course. And maybe if we go to the city, we'll stop by your house!"

"Okay. See ya!" Sakura waved a goodbye with Tomoyo to the two people, and headed out, accompanied by Takashi and Chiharu.

They got into the car and Sakura revved up the engine, and she drove once more to the Yamazaki house.

"So…do you know what happened to the house I lived in?" Sakura asked curiously.

Takashi and Chiharu exchanged looks, "Well…you probably studied government. If a will isn't written out stating who gets your property, then…"

"It goes to the government," Sakura nodded, "That sucks."

"Well, the people living there are really nice," Chiharu said, "But…"

She exchanged another look with Takashi, "We think they still might have your stuff in the city storage. I mean, they usually hold that stuff for a long time just in case someone comes back to claim it."

"Can we go check it out?" Sakura asked eagerly.

Takashi shook his head, "Maybe tomorrow. The storage places are closed by now."

"Oh," Sakura said disappointedly, "I guess tomorrow."

"Sorry," Chiharu apologized, "But tomorrow, I promise!"

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Sakura spat out the toothpaste and filled a small plastic cup up with water.

She put the water into her mouth and quickly gargled, and spat out the gross stuff.

Tomoyo and her had changed into their pajamas, and they got into the king sized bed, Sakura on the left side and Tomoyo on the other.

Sakura flicked off the light and closed her eyes, ready to go to sleep, when Tomoyo's voice interuppted her.

"So are you going to go to the storage place tomorrow?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura nodded, "Yeah. I really hope they have my stuff…"

Tomoyo's voice cracked, "Yeah."

Sakura sat up and turned the light back on, "Tomoyo, what's wrong?"

Tomoyo shook her head, "Nothing…it's stupid."

"Nothing's stupid, Tomoyo," Sakura said.

"It's just that…oh, forget it. Once I say it I'm going to sound like a jerk," Tomoyo said.

"Just spit it out, Tomoyo. Please? I can help you?" Sakura pleaded.

"All right. It's just that…ever since the past couple of weeks, I've been feeling sort of left out. And jealous," Tomoyo whispered the last word.

"What? Why?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"I mean, Meiling's caught up with her own new job, dating Hanako and having fun. You're a model, you have these great friends over here, a wonderful family and Touya. And I just feel like plain old Tomoyo. You even changed your last name back to Kinomoto…and I feel like I'm rooted in the same spot while you and Meiling are moving on," Tomoyo explained.

Sakura reached over and gave Tomoyo a hug, "Come on. You're lucky, too. I would kill to have a great boyfriend like Eriol. And even though you're the same, Tomoyo, that's what I love about you. I can always depend on you to stabilize me."

"But what if I don't want to? What if I want to change, get wild and come back home at three? But I can't. I have to be the nurturer in the family, the one to clean up everything after the mess," Tomoyo burst out exasperatedly.

"This is about your mother, isn't it?" Sakura asked softly.

Tomoyo nodded unhappily, "Yeah."

"Damn her," Sakura said, "What should we do?"

Tomoyo sighed, "I don't know. I guess Eriol and Syaoran could keep us company, just in case."

"Yeah. First thing tomorrow morning, we'll call them and ask them to be our escorts," Sakura said.

Tomoyo nodded again, "Okay."

Sakura reached over and turned the light back off and laid down.

She was silent for several minutes but whispered, "Tomoyo?"

"Mm?" Tomoyo mumbled.

"Change isn't always the best. And I'll try to be the mother next time. And I love you."

"Okay…" Tomoyo drifted off into sleep, and Sakura smiled contentedly.

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"Bye," Sakura tenderly hugged Chiharu.

"Oh, Sakura, I'll miss you like crazy. You too, Tomoyo," Chiharu said to Tomoyo.

Tomoyo smiled bashfully, "It was nice to meet you, too."

"Bye, Takashi!" Sakura said to Takashi, who was smiling despite his sadness that Sakura and Tomoyo were leaving.

"Keep in touch, okay? I gave you our house and cell phone numbers, so give us a ring whenever. We all have to get together for coffee one day," Chiharu said.

"I promise," Sakura said.

"Here's the directions to the city storage. I'm not sure if they'll allow you to take any of the stuff, but I'm sure they'll let you look at it," Takashi handed Sakura a slip of paper.

"Thanks. I owe you both big time," Sakura said.

Chiharu waved it off, "It was nothing. Have a safe trip!"

Sakura nodded and Tomoyo led the way back to the car.

They drove out of the driveway of the quaint house and headed towards the inner city parts where Takashi had told them the storage place was.

Sakura drove silently to the gates of the public storage and rolled down her window to speak to the attendant in the booth.

"Hi, my name is Sakura Kinomoto," Sakura began, "I haven't been here in over thirteen years, but my family used to live here. Fujitaka and Touya Kinomoto. And I was told that I could look at my stuff?"

The man inside the booth squinted at Sakura, "All right. But you're not allowed to take anything unless you show us some identification and proof that you're related to the Kinomotos."

Sakura nodded, "I'll come by next time."

The man pressed a button and the gate opened up, and he said, "Storage garage number thirty nine."

Sakura drove the car inside, and Tomoyo pointed, "That way. Numbers 30 through 40."

Sakura steadily took the car to number 39, and stopped it.

She wasn't surprised when the garage automatically opened (it was controlled by that man, who was watching her through video cameras).

When the metal door finished rolling up, Sakura stared in shock at her belongings.

The garage was filled up to the ceiling with boxes, most of them messily packed and overflowing, a dresser and couch here and a bed there.

"Wow, Sakura," Tomoyo said, voicing pretty much Sakura's thoughts.

"Help me open some of these boxes," Sakura's voice shook slightly.

They stepped into the garage and they both grabbed a box, and once the opened it, it revealed tons of fat photo albums.

"Look, they're labeled," Tomoyo showed Sakura, who nodded.

She opened the first one and Sakura breathed in sharply.

There were her baby picture…the first one she had ever seen in her life.

Tears came to Sakura's eyes as she flipped through the pages of the plastic album, seeing repetitive photos of a small baby dressed in pink, with tiny wisps of brown hairs.

There were different people with her, one of them was a young, sullen boy who glared at the camera.

"Touya," Sakura smiled at the picture, "There he is."

"Oh my gosh, look at these. These are spectacular, look at the way they took these. It must've been a great camera," Tomoyo showed Sakura a different album, with hundred of pictures of a model.

"That's my mom," Sakura breathed in awe, "These are a lot of pictures. Touya told me that Father changed her picture in the living room everyday."

Tears started rolling down her cheeks, "I miss him. I miss both of them."

Tomoyo hugged Sakura supportively, "I know you do."

"I just wish I could remember them…it's horrible not remembering anything. There's Father. Touya was right, he looks like a professor," Sakura said.

Sakura sniffed and glanced at Tomoyo, "Do you think we can- sneak some of these photos out?" she whispered the last part.

Tomoyo nodded, "Just stuff them in your shirt."

Sakura found the best four photos, one was a photo of her parent's wedding, the other was a family portrait of four of them (before Nadeshiko died), one was when Sakura was eight years old in a cheerleading Halloween costume, and the last was the picture of Sakura when she was baby, with Touya glaring at the camera.

(A/N: I've noticed that in several fanfictions, many authors state that Nadeshiko died during Sakura's birth (or right afterwards…how could you die in the middle of it? O.o ). Anyways, I'd just like to say that Nadeshiko died when Sakura was two, of leukemia. Or so my sources say. ^_^ )

Sakura neatly placed them under her shirt and placed her hand on her stomach as she walked out.

"Let's go," Sakura said.

As they backed out of the area, the garage door rolled down automatically, and Sakura nodded at the man in the gate booth as she left.

"I'll have to come back and get all of our stuff," Sakura mumbled to herself.

"Sakura? We're almost out of gas. How about we stop to put some in, and we can call Eriol or Syaoran to escort us back?" Tomoyo suggested.

"Perfect," Sakura spun the steering wheel into a gasoline station, and took out the pictures from her shirt and laid them on the dashboard.

"You call them with your cell," Sakura said, "I'll put in the gas."

As Sakura paid money and took out the nozzle, Tomoyo speed-dialed Eriol's cellular phone number.

"Eriol's not picking up," Tomoyo said when she heard his voice message, "I'll call Syaoran."

Sakura nodded absentmindedly to Tomoyo, who quickly dialed Syaoran.

"Hello, Syaoran? Hi. Um, right now we're in Tomoeda, and we were wondering if you could come here and help us out a little."

"Why?" Syaoran asked. He was in the dungeon cell with Mr. X.

"Well, last time we tried to go anywhere, some of my mother's thugs attacked us. My mom wants to kidnap me. And since you're good at martial arts and all, couldn't you protect us?" Tomoyo asked.

"Oh, all right. Why don't we meet at the exit of highway 98? The donut and gas station over there. It's going to take me too long to drive all the way to Tomoeda," Syaoran said.

"All right. See you in about two hours," Tomoyo flipped her cell phone closed.

"Was that Syaoran?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. We're going to meet at the donut and gas station off route 98," Tomoyo explained.

"All righty. Let's go," Sakura said.

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Syaoran closed his cell phone and turned to Mr. X, who was patiently sitting on the cot.

"I'm going to call Touya and have him guard you," Syaoran said.

He muttered under his breath, "Though it doesn't seem like anyone's going to be coming for you. I wonder if they got the ransom note."

"Hey Touya?" Syaoran asked into the cell phone, "Hurry up and come down here. I have some business to attend to."

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Syaoran came over into the car, and Tomoyo got out to let Syaoran sit in the front passenger seat.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Syaoran asked Sakura.

"Just keep an eye out for any strange people. We were at the Garden Café and these men started advancing towards us, as if they were going to beat us up. Thanks to your self defense lessons, and Meiling, we managed to escape," Sakura retold the story.

Syaoran nodded, "All right. I won't ask any more questions."

"Thanks," Tomoyo looked relieved.

"First, we'll go home," Sakura said, "I'm beat out."

Sakura turned back onto the highway, and Syaoran asked curiously, "Where did you guys sleep last night?"

"Tomoeda. It turned out that Touya and I used to live there with our father," Sakura pointed towards the pictures on the dashboard, which Syaoran picked up.

He flipped through them, pausing at the baby picture with Touya.

"Touya looks exactly the same," Syaoran chuckled.

Sakura grinned, "Of course."

They quickly drove over to the apartment, and carefully parked the car in the garage.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Syaoran said.

Sakura nervously swallowed as she looked around.

"But look discreet," Syaoran added.

They made it safely into the building and started up the steps.

Tomoyo asked, "I wonder if Meiling's here."

"I don't think so. I think she's still with Hanako," Sakura said.

Syaoran rose his eyebrows, "Still with Hanako?"

"She spent the night at his house," Tomoyo explained.

She paused, "I don't think they did anything."

"He better not have," Syaoran cracked his knuckles menacingly, "She's still my little cousin."

Sakura giggled, "She's lucky."

"Maybe so," Syaoran shrugged.

They came to the door and Sakura turned it, expecting it to be locked.

It wasn't.

"Didn't we lock the door?" Sakura asked Tomoyo.

"I think so," Tomoyo said.

She twisted the doorknob and opened the door.

The house was a mess.

"Oh my god," Sakura whispered.

She rushed into the apartment with Tomoyo, who gasped at the broken glass, items scattered around the floor, drawers open and roughly dug through.
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End of chapter 12. Next chapter, "Investigations and Some Action."

A/N: Yay! We're done with this chapter! Next one will be up on the 17th (Armed Forces Day, btw. ^_^). Just to let you know, I'm practically finished with the last chapter…this series will be ending around the middle of June. Thanks for review, so REVIEW!