Chapter 5: The Kiss

The glowing light around Sakura grew brighter as the ephemeral birds and butterflies circled around her and then spiraled up into the treetops.

"Atta girl!" shouted Kero. "Can't you hear the thunder? Silent is weakening."

Sakura raised the staff once more. "Shiiiing! Release the seal! Return to the form you were destined to be Clow Card!"

In the same instant that all the swirling colors and birds and butterflies settled back down into the vines on Sakura's blouse, a small white card fluttered to the ground at her feet. The obnoxiously loud heckler popped onto his chair again with a dazed look on his face, and the lead singer's voice once again filled the air. The crowd started roaring its approval, and the songbirds up above the group's heads starting chirping wildly.

"Ooooh! You did it! And I got it all on the camcorder," squealed Tomoyo as she threw her arms around her friend.

"Way to go Sakura! I knew you could do it," Kero buzzed above their heads. "Now let's go get some modern-yaki!"

"Kero," she cried, "I can't believe you're still thinking about food." Sakura slowly turned her head around to see that Syaoran had already disappeared. "Well, we may as well head back to see the band. I'll get you some okonomiyaki in a minute Kero. First I want to go see if the gang's all still there."

"Just so long as you don't forget," huffed Kero as he settled into the bag.

As the trio headed down toward the stage, Kurage started playing Sakura's favorite love song. The swaying crowd was so thick that the girls were pushed apart until Tomoyo disappeared around a corner. Still being pushed, Sakura found herself face to face with Li Syaoran as he leaned up against a tree. The lead singer's voice ran through Sakura's head, "You think you know me well, but you don't know me…" Just then the crowd surged and Sakura was pressed up against Syaoran. Her face turned bright pink as she looked up into those honey-filled eyes. He stared intently at her with the trace of a smile playing across his lips.

He's laughing at me! I am so embarrassed. I'm going to just die, die, die! She gritted her teeth and said, "I am sorry Li Syaoran, but they're all pushing me." The last few notes of the song played out, and Sakura closed her eyes to hide the tears that were gathering under her lashes. She tried not to think about how Syaoran's chest felt underneath his shirt or about how hard her heart was pounding.

Then, almost before she knew what was happening, Sakura felt a warm, light touch on her lips, like the caress of a butterfly's wings. Her eyes popped open in surprise just as the crowd shifted again, and she was pushed away from him so quickly that she couldn't even catch a glimpse of his face before he was out of sight.