Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or any of the characters and I am not reaping any financial benefit from this piece.

Natsu Chapter 3 Reunion

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"Tomoyo-chan!" cried Sakura as she saw her best friend since childhood running towards her.

Sakura ran to Tomoyo, meeting her halfway in a fierce hug of friends too long apart. They quickly deteriorated into rushed chatter about insignificant nothings, until the realization of the others presence became clear in their minds. They quickly spun around to come face to face with the satisfied grins on the faces of their boyfriends. The ecstatic sparkle in their eyes was reward enough for the men, but they were still very happy to be kissed by their own earthly goddess.

Introductions quickly followed and new friends joined with old to celebrate the happy occasion. With reactions of the girls ranging from sheer bliss like Sakura and Tomoyo, to the pounding Yamazaki got from Chiharu for keeping the secret, the reunion was far from subdued.

The only ones missing in attendance were Naoko and her boyfriend Takome Tom. Naoko went to a derby bike track where Tom was running a few practice laps.

Everyone got in their cars and started off towards the racetrack to find Naoko. Syaoran and Sakura were in a forest green Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Ming, Jia-luo, Yuan and Shan got in a black Range Rover. Syaohu and Qiou got in a Black Lexus LS 430. Tomoyo and Eriol drove there in his sliver gray Mercedes Benz SL 500, Chiharu and Yamazaki in her yellow Volkswagen Beetle.

Chang went to make temporary accommodations for his master and the others.

-

The mud was spraying every which way as the bike made a sharp turn and started off again towards the finish line. The only thing Tom could see as he turned, jumped, and bumped his way to the end of the muddy racetrack that looked like a cross-sectioned worm tunnel, was the finish line.

This was going to be his last lap of the day and he wanted it to be the best.

Ten yards…nine yards…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one. FINISH.

He had done it; it was his best time all day. In fact it was his best time ever!

As he got off his bike he was swarmed by congratulations from his some of fellow racers, shrieks of joy from his female fans and scornful stares from his rivals.

He loved it. He loved the attention from the girls most of all and he would have been happy letting them stay attached to him, but he did have a girlfriend and she did have her uses.

Granted that she wasn't ugly, but neither was she beautiful. She was pretty and she did after all have some rich and popular friends. Some of her girlfriends were however, very beautiful, especially that Sakura girl. She was always the object of lust for the hormone-crazed members of the male sex since high school. Yet, she never dated. The most popular guys would ask her out, but she would always turn them down. That had always been a strange aspect about her.

Expecting to see Naoko looking at him with a slight frown at his fans, Tom turned towards the bleachers where he had left her earlier. Instead he saw her hugging an amber haired girl and surrounded by a group of her friends and other people he didn't recognize.

This was definitely strange. Her friends didn't usually come to the track. And the brown haired girl looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her.

Tom broke away from his fans and began to walk towards Naoko, all the while mulling over the strangeness of the scene.

"Naoko?" asked Tom as he walked up to the group of people.

"Huh? Oh Tom!" said Naoko as she turned around to face her boyfriend.

"Who might I inquire is this?" said Tom with a suave smile on his face.

"It's Sakura-chan. You remember her don't you?" said Naoko.

"Sakura-chan?" asked a surprised Tom. "I thought she went to Hong Kong."

"I did," said Sakura. "We decided to come back to Japan for the summer.

"We?" asked Tom eyeing the faces and bodies of the as yet unidentified girls.

"Oh, how silly of me. You don't know them," said Sakura with a small sweatdrop. "This is Ming-chan, my roommate in Hong Kong and Jia-luo-kun her boyfriend. This is Yuan-chan and her boyfriend Shin-kun, Qiou-chan and Syaohu-kun her boyfriend. And lastly, this is Syaoran-kun, my fiancé."

Tom's confidence fell at each mention of the word boyfriend and he almost went slack jawed at the mention of Sakura returning with a boyfriend after only one term in Hong Kong, when he and the other guys couldn't even get a date with her after years of trying.

"F-fiancé?" asked a stupefied Tom.

"Yeah," was Sakura's simple response.

But before Tom could question any further he was interrupted by the taunting voice that could only belong to Kusami Anderson.

"Nice run Tom," said Anderson, purposely leaving off the kun.

"Thanks Andy," said Tom in the same tone and leaving off the same three letters.

"Sakura-chan," said Andy as he turned his attention from Tom to the heavenly beauty behind him. "I'm glad to see that you're back in Tokyo."

"Kusami-san," said Sakura with a small smile.

"Please call me Andy-kun, no need to be so formal amongst friends," said Anderson as he bent and gave Sakura a kiss on her hand.

This made Syaoran bristle and he would have decked Anderson if not for the loving smile Sakura sent him.

Anderson noticed the brief exchange and turned to Syaoran. At first he didn't recognize the boy, but upon closer examination he found that Syaoran's face looked incredibly familiar.

"Li-san." said Anderson as realization dawned on him. "It's been far too long."

"Not long enough."

"How are things in Hong Kong?" asked Anderson, trying to hide his annoyance at the appearance of the once school superstar.

"Fine."

"What are you doing here?" said Anderson, dropping all pretense of civility.

"Just vacationing with my fiancé," said Syaoran with a grin. And to add effect he took Sakura's hand in his as he moved to stand beside her.

"Oh, I see," said Anderson. The look in his eyes told volumes of the shock and anger in him at the news that Sakura had been taken by his rival from high school.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay," said Anderson curtly, then turned and left.

The grin on Syaoran's face turned into one of satisfaction at being able to rile Anderson.

"Mou, that was mean," said Sakura with a slight giggle and a playful swat on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't hit so hard," said Syaoran with a genuine smile.

A black Toyota Avalon pulled into the parking lot as the group started up again with small talk of the simple things of life. A man wearing a simple gray-blue v-neck shirt, black micro fiber slacks and black oxfords stepped out of the front passenger side and walked towards the group of teens.

He walked up behind Syaoran, stopped and gently tapped him on the left shoulder.

Syaoran turned and gave a slight inclination of his head. The stranger lent in and whispered a short message in Syaoran's ear.

The man turned and walked back to his car after the message was delivered.

"Chang says that everything is ready," said Syaoran as he began to walk back to his car. "Let's go."

With that the group began to break up and walk back to their cars.

"Let's go with them," said Naoko as she pulled Tom towards his Honda S2000.

The line of cars began to leave the lot one after the other, each following the lead of the Avalon.

After driving for about an hour, they arrived at the entrance to the parking garage of a five-story apartment building. The garage door opened to admit the vehicles. The attendant at the front door gave the cars their parking assignments.

Everyone got on the elevators and headed upstairs to check out the living arrangements. There were five apartments on each floor and Chang had rented the 2 top floors. Four of the apartments on the top floor were reserved for Syaoran and his visiting friends. The other six apartments had been set aside Just to make sure that they wouldn't be disturbed.

All the apartments were similar in size and furnishings. Each had two bedrooms, a large living room, a medium sized kitchen and dining room, a large bathroom, and two connected balconies outside the sliding glass window of each bedroom. Living rooms were appointed with a large screen projection TV with DVD player, VCR, and surround sound stereo system. Leather corner sofa, glass top coffee table and a pine bookcase with matching desk accompanied the electronics.

A red wood dining set adorned each of the dining rooms. The kitchens all had marble countertops, an electric range with a dual speed range hood over it. The refrigerator was fully stocked with food and drinks.

Each of the bedrooms had a queen-size bed in the center, a large walk-in closet and a chest of drawers. The balcony outside the bedrooms had a pair of reclining patio chairs and a small table. Both bedrooms were connected directly to the bathroom, which was equipped with a large shower stall, and all the regular amenities with marble tiling.

Each of the couples were given a room, with Ming and a very nervous Jia-luo in one, Yuan and Shin in the next, Qiou and Syaohu in the third, and our favorite pair of love birds in the fourth. Everyone's luggage had already been delivered to his or her rooms, and they immediately set about their unpacking, all the while with Syaohu and Syaoran both keeping a watchful eye on the object of their niece's affections.

Mindful of the intense stares directed to her boyfriend, Ming decided to have a little fun with them and took every opportunity to stay close to a fidgety Jia-luo. Yuan, Shin, Tomoyo and Eriol couldn't help but chuckle at the exasperated expressions on the cousins' faces, while Qiou and Sakura could only sigh and sweatdrop at the overprotective attitudes of their loves. Chang merely shook his head at the scene as the other four teens held clueless expressions.

Eventually everyone was settled in and decided that they were too tired to cook dinner and decided to eat out.

The group decided to go out for some Italian food and found a nice little restaurant nearby.

They ordered fried calamari, pasta primavera, linguini Alfredo, and just about everything else on the menu. The food was good, but the company was better. Everyone caught up on the things they missed, Sakura told them about her brief stay with Liz and her being picked up by Syaoran.

After dinner everyone headed out to a local dance club where everyone had a great time dancing and having fun. Yamazaki spent a lot of time telling stories and Chiharu kept pounding him with her mallet. Jia-luo and Ming danced most of the time, while Qiou tried to keep Syaohu from butting in.

Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Eriol spent the time dancing. Yuan and Shin stayed at the table and talked to Naoko, while Tom…"mingled".

Couples began to head home around midnight. Chiharu and Yamazaki were the first to leave, followed by Naoko and Tom. Eriol and Tomoyo left around 1 A.M.

Around 1:30, Syaoran and the others headed back to the apartments. By 2 everyone was sound asleep, all except for our favorite couple.

-

Minute creaks could be heard from the floorboards as the figure on the futon tossed and turned in an attempt to fall asleep. Logically speaking this should not be happening. He had been awake since around 5 A.M. and he had been awake for 22 hours, being awake for this long would normally make him fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but sleep just wouldn't come to him this night.

He finally settled for lying on his side, facing the clear night sky outside his balcony. The stars were shining brightly as they reminded him of past nights spent in Japan. Nights that he spent with Sakura.

Granted, they weren't on the best of relations, but the time spent was still very worthwhile. It was during those times that he first fell in love with her.

Slowly Syaoran got up and walked to the sliding glass door. He slid it aside and stepped out into a cool evening breeze. The night-lights of Tomoeda held his gaze as if taking him back in time. Back to a time when his most serious worry was making sure that he and his friends were not seriously hurt by the Clow cards, unlike now, with the responsibilities of being a clan leader making his life a living hell.

But it was one he could bear as long as he had Sakura.

He reminisced about their adventures with the Clow cards as he leaned on the railing.

The night air filled his lungs with a refreshing sensation as he looked out across the place he had once called home. A few minutes later he heard another door slide open and as he turned to look to where he knew Sakura was standing he was struck by an ethereal view of an angel.

There was a soft glow coming from the full moon that cast a soft glow about her. The shiny pink silk of her nightgown gave enough of a reflection to make her literally radiate with heavenly light.

She gave him a gentle loving smile as she moved to stand beside him.

"Couldn't sleep," said Sakura as she leaned against Syaoran.

It was both a statement and a question to which he gave a slight nod.

"Why?" asked Sakura as Syaoran pulled her into his arms.

The question was a simple one, but it was one that he didn't really have the answer to. He didn't know why he couldn't sleep. He was tired yet he just couldn't fall asleep.

"Dunno," said Syaoran as he breathed in the sweet aroma of Sakura's hair.

"Me neither," said Sakura before she drifted off to sleep.

A few minutes later Syaoran looked down to find his angel asleep in his arms. The small contented smile on her face brought a warm feeling to his heart and he soon found himself drifting.

So he gently lifted her into his arms and carried her back to his room. He laid her down on his bed and turned to close the glass door.

As he turned he could smell the faint sweet scent of cherry blossoms waft through his room. The aroma imprinted itself on his mind as he settled down next to his ying fa.

Soon after he too found himself in the realm of dreams contentedly holding the love of his life, while in the back of his subconscious he worried about the upcoming events of the following day.

To be continued…

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AN: .