Story Title: Portrait of a Cherry Blossom

Author: DarkxDiamonds

Other: So I'm already up to the twelfth chapter! Which is really amazing, since I usually just delete stories around the fifth or sixth chapter… -.-'''. So, anyway, not much to say! You may now continue…

Chapter Twelve: Sunset Confession

Tomoyo told me to do…what my heart told me to follow. But…I don't know what I should listen to… She glanced around. Funny…I thought I put it on my desk… She scrambled across the room. Where is it?

Sakura felt the edges of the paper. Got it! She wriggled out from below her bed. Whew… She walked to her desk and smoothed out the paper. But…what was it doing…under my bed? I know I left it on the desk yesterday…

She paced. Something doesn't seem right. I left it on the desk. Though…it's very unlikely that it could have been blow off…and almost impossible for it to get under my bed by itself… She stopped. So someone had to have moved it…

Tomoyo could have accidentally kicked it or something…But…Syaoran! She balked. Could he…he was in the room…when he brought me back…If…he's read it… She breathed heavily. Calm down, Sakura. It's nothing…I mean…what does it matter if he read it? He…couldn't have known…right?

She couldn't answer that, but secretly, she knew.

-- Later --

"Sakura, I need these to be washed. I'm afraid they might start to smell if they don't get done today." Meiling handed her a pile of clothes and Sakura nodded. There went the schedule. She gave a small bow and left.

She carried the tub outside and filled it with the water from the pump. Slowly, she began to lose herself in the washing. Her mind went back to Syaoran while her hands kneaded and cleaned the clothes.

[Flashback]

"Don't worry, Sakura. You'll be all right." She could feel his breathing and she wanted nothing more than to be carried like that for the rest of her life.

"Syaoran…I…" she barely whispered. Her eyes flickered shut and she fell asleep.

[End of Flashback]

She wrung the dresses dry and hurried to get them hanging on the line. Sighing, she clipped them efficiently on and dragged the tub back into the closet.

She glanced at her hands and saw the rippled grooves that the water had created. And she noticed how different they had become since she had first come to the Li house. They were work-worn and had tanned in the days she had stayed in the sun. These hands…are a maid's hands now.

But her day was done. For now. She could do whatever she felt like doing. She smiled and slowly skipped onto the porch. The sun was just fading and she gazed in wonder at the colors it shone off. Her skin seemed to glow a little more, her eyes a little happier.

She swung her legs over the end of the porch and sat down. Her hands had dried and she took off her cap and wished she could toss it into the bushes and leave behind her the evidence of being a maid. She felt like a slave…but she didn't. She had the strange freedom…but she was bound by invisible chains. She blinked, trying to get a grip on her feelings. Sighing, she squashed the cap in her lap.

A slam of the front door came behind her and she tensed. A strange difference came over the air, though, and she grew even more nervous. She could just see him looking at her in surprise, his head cocked at a small angle, his eyes bright and curious. A tremble erupted and she couldn't stop it.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" She didn't turn. "I came to watch the sunset. Why? Do you have more chores for me?" There was an edge of bitterness in her voice. He shook his head. "Of course not. I just don't usually see anyone sitting in my spot." She whirled around. "Your spot?"

He smiled and nodded, seeing he had her attention. "I sometimes sit out here. Usually early in the morning, since the rest of the day seems to be mostly work." He looked away. "But today, Meiling seems to be in a better mood…so I thought a short celebration would be alright. Do you mind?" He indicated the spot next to her.

Her cheeks instantly flushed and she turned back. "Of…of course not…" Something was wrong with her breathing. They came in short gasps…and her skin felt like it was on fire. His steps came next to her and he stooped in her position. "Let me ask you this. What do you find so interesting about a sunset?"

She stared at him. Why on earth did he ask her that? "Well…I suppose that the main reason…is the color. I doubt…anyone could copy the patterns of light…it moves far too fast to paint. And also…because somewhere else…there is another person admiring the sun…but not because it is setting. But because it is rising."

He was silent and for a while, Sakura was afraid she had somehow offended him. But he smiled and nodded. "I should have known. With your gift of art…there is also the gift of sight." She stared at him but he did not bother to explain. "So now that we're both here…did anything interesting happen today?"

She couldn't look at him. She knew it was normal for a master to ask his maid such a question and she felt a strange feeling creep over her. She shook her head and looked down at the ground. She had set up a barrier and she would not let him in. "Sakura, look at me. What's wrong?" She wanted to tell him…tell him how unhappy and hurt she was that Meiling was there. That loving him would not be right. But she couldn't…poor Meiling…

"Sakura, what on earth is wrong?" He was clearly worried now and Sakura felt the first tears dripping down. His eyes grew wide when he saw them splatter and moisten the porch. "Sakura! I command you answer me!" There was panic in his voice now.

"I…I…" Her voice wasn't working correctly. "Syaoran…Master…there is something…between us…I don't think should be there." She barely managed to whisper. Her eyes glowed faintly in wetness and sweet adoration. "I don't know if perhaps…it's just my imagination…but I don't think that everything is normal…between us."

His face didn't seem to move but his mind spun. Yes. There is something between us that shouldn't be there. Meiling. He watched her face twist into pain. "I'm so sorry…but I don't know…if I should continue working here. I feel…like I'm some sort of barrier. Meiling is your fiancé…and I can't hurt that." The faint scent of cherry blossoms filled the air and he reveled in it like a drunken man.

"Sakura…don't be silly. I don't know what on earth you're talking about…perhaps Meiling has been cruel to you lately? Or is there something else unsatisfactory in the house?" He kept his voice under control. Sakura blinked up at him in surprise. "Of course not…I just feel strange living here…with you and Meiling…" She closed her mouth, afraid that she had said too much.

"Calm down. There is nothing wrong in this house with you here. It's actually been much better…" He stopped there. "Are you alright now?" She nodded gratefully and leaned onto his shoulder. "Arigatou, Syaoran. You've really changed haven't you?"

He didn't respond, but smiled slightly. "If you think so cherry blossom…if you think so."

[A/N]: Yay! It's done! See, it's longer than, I think, all the chapters I wrote so far. O.0. Dunno. I didn't bother to count the words. ^^ Oh well. Sorry again for the hold-up (website and blog) and please review! Anyone really like CCS? Here's my site's address: tijira.net/lori