Chapter 7

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Completing Half of a Hole – Part two

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Previously...

Sakura wandered slowly behind Syaoran, who was also walking in a slow speed, as if he was taking a walk and looking at the scenery. As the path lead on, the forest opened up and a lake appeared in front of them. The moon was high up in the cloudy sky, playing hide and seek with the world. Syaoran stopped, and turn around to face Sakura, who simply raised an eyebrow and said nothing. Another cloud came by, and covered the moon, causing the world to dimmer with it. In the dark, Syaoran's expression was impossible to see, all was dark... all expect for his amber eyes that shone...

-

"Syaoran..." Sakura felt unease. Why is Syaoran looking at her like that? And why is he taking her here? Questions filled Sakura's head as she looked into Syaoran's amber eyes.

Amber meets emerald, and the two wolves held lock, both trying to see what other was thinking.

Those once fierce amber eyes were now looking softly at Sakura, and at the same time, Sakura found herself getting lost in them. Emotions swirl in those eyes -so many of them- some that Sakura know, and some she doesn't. So many times before had Syaoran looked at her like that, and never once had she understood what it meant.

At the same time, Syaoran was lost in his own thoughts as well. The mysterious wolf's words keep coming up in his head. Was his feeling towards Sakura love of a sister, or of a mate? Syaoran does not know. He had always thought that his caring for Sakura was of a sister's but now... something might have changed... or, it was never that way in the beginning... Their live was set, when the amber had met emerald...

Looking at Sakura's emerald eyes remind Syaoran of the first time they met. They were both little, back then. Those times were his most happy times, the times spent with her, and her family. Sakura reminded him that he was once as innocent as her, and he could never be, as much as he wanted to. He was the unwanted, rejected by all, only because of the wolf blood in him. Yet Sakura, on the other hand, was what every two-legger would want, for she is a dog from a pure blood line, and is tame... or at lease, thought to be tamer because she has no wolf blood in her. The old wounds of the deaths of his father and mother, his sisters, and Nadesiko was never healed... and now it was hurting more then ever.

"When I was captured, a stranger wolf came to the cave I was in and talked to me..." Syaoran started in a soft voice. "He had asked me about us..." Syaoran's voice trailed off into a whisper.

Sakura blinked. What is Syaoran trying to say? He is acting rather... strange. "What did he asked?" Out of curiosity, Sakura asked Syaoran.

"He... asked about what my feelings towards you is, are you only a sister to me, or are there something else... and afterwards, when I thought it through, I realised…" Sakura's heart skipped a beat. "That... I... love you." His words were so faint, but Sakura heard it clearly.

Her eyes widened. For what it seems like ages, Sakura stared at the handsome amber-eyed wolf before her. Hundred of thoughts streamed through her mind, yet none of them made any sense to her. Sakura stood motionless, as if lighting had struck her where she is standing. What was her feeling towards Syaoran?

Syaoran cleared his throat, "Sorry." He mumbled. "If this is troubling you, forget it. Just pretend as if nothing ever happened tonight. Just forget what I said."

"No, no..." Sakura blurted out hastily. "It's just... sudden... so sudden, that I don't know what to reply you with... I don't even know my feelings towards you are... Syaoran, let me think this through, and reply you... when I am ready, please?"

Syaoran nodded gravely, turned around, and started walking. Without saying anything, Sakura followed. She doesn't need to ask where they are going, because she knows that they are heading back to den of the Li Clan. Sakura doesn't know why she was so sure about it, but somehow, without words, she just know, know him as well as the back of her paw.

Both were so deep in their own thoughts, that none of them realised the hurried birds flying away, and the ceasing sound of the forest...

---

Syaoran cursed under his breath. When he and Sakura had realised that they were being caught up and followed, they were being ambushed. And now, they are being surrounded by a large number of wolves.

"My dear sister, I think, either you didn't put enough of Silver-Clover into the water, or you forgot to put some into other water sources." Syaoran said lazily, looking at the wolves that surrounded them. He and Sakura are standing side to side, but facing different directions. Sakura shrugged.

"My dear brother, I prefer the first thought... it sounds nicer." She paused, "just in case Meiling will use that to tease me, I'll choose the first excuse." Syaoran chuckled.

One of the enemy wolves stood out from the circle. "Both of you are being surrounded and yet you two are still joking around?" he growled.

Syaoran and Sakura shared a quick glance to each other. Then they spoke in unison. "We surrender."

The enemy wolves were speechless.

---

So Syaoran and Sakura are back to the Han Clan's caves again, but this time, both were in different caves, though probably one at the north side of the Han Clan area, and another one at the south side. Either way, they're back there.

Sakura prowled endlessly in her cave. She is not worried about being trapped and caged by the Han Clan, what she is thinking now is related to Syaoran.

Sure, being caged by the enemy is a scary thing. But Sakura was sure that by now Tomoyo, Eriol and Meiling would have realised that she is gone, and would have known that she had come to the Han Clan to seek Syaoran out. And that, leads a way out, for they would definitely come to save her, or other wise seek out Syaoran. That was one of the reasons that she and Syaoran had surrendered so quick, without a battle or a fight. In the quick glance they shared, they understood each other's plan, without communication through words. It was as if they were mates. That thought struck Sakura, hard. Mates, in the wolf language, were like partners, like husbands and wives. 

The night grows darker, and Sakura was alone in the cave... confused.

---

What Sakura had guessed was right... Tomoyo, Eriol and Meiling did realise that she was gone.

"She must have gone to search for Syaoran." Tomoyo said softly. The others nodded in agreement.

"We need to find her, and the faster the better." Once again, the other two wolves nodded in agreement.

"Where though?"

Silence...

"Where Syaoran fell into the water?" a hopeful suggestion.

"I doubt."

"Yeah..."

"Along the river where Syaoran fell into the water?" another hopeful yet useless suggestion.

"I doubt."

"Yeah..."

"The end of the river where Syaoran fell into the water?" totally useless.

"..." two pairs of eyes glaring at the he-wolf...

A smile of innocence was returned...

"Eriol, would you please think up something useful?!" an angry shout was heard.

"Hey, I was only trying to cease the tension..." Eriol protested in a small whining voice.

"Well, no-one is tensed." Meiling growled.

"Ah... but you are." Tomoyo pointed out.

"Shut up, I'll have your opinion when I said so. And who's side are you are anyway, mine or Eriol's?" Meiling retorted.

"Hey! I'm not in the argument between you and Eriol! Don't pull me into the water with you!"

And that is how the argument between the three wolves started... Saving their leader? Already forgotten along somewhere back there.

---

She was dreaming... scenes played before her eyes like a movie. These were scenes when she was a pup, with her mother and father, and with Syaoran.

One scene caught her eyes in particular...

-- Flashback --

The puppy Sakura was walking around, seeking for Syaoran. The voices of her mother and father talking caught her ears. Unnoticed by all, Sakura stood silently and listened to the conversation.

"Syaoran and Sakura sure have become close." Her mother was saying.

"Yeah..." her father replied, "Who would have thought that our little one can help Syaoran to open his heart!"

"Taking about that, I just realised, these two have a special bond between them... it like as if they are made for one another, don't you agree?"

Her father only smiled sadly.

Her mother signed. "I know what you mean... their relationship are not simple... it was not of a brother and sister in the first place, it was of something more strong... it was of love. The two might not know yet, for they are still young... they only know that they care fir each other because they are brothers and sisters."

"Yes, but that is not what I am worried about." Fujitaka hesitated. "What I am worried about is the wolf blood in Syaoran; after all, he is half wolf..." seeing that Nadeshiko was going to say something, Fujitaka hurried on. "I am not worried about the blood line; you being the pure bread had caused you to have this weak body... What I am worried about is that... wolves are of the wild, who can make sure that Syaoran won't return to the forest? And will he come back after he went to the forest and found the clan he belongs?"

Those words little Sakura didn't understand all, but little as she is, she understood the message; one day Syaoran will leave this place. Quickly, she scrambled away.

That afternoon, when Sakura met up with Syaoran again, she made a promise with him.

"You will always be there for me, won't you?"

Syaoran laughed. He licked Sakura's nose and replied, "Yes, Sakura. I will always be there for you when you need me."

"Promise?" Sakura's emerald eyes were serious.

"I promise." Syaoran replied, amber eyes serious as well.

-- Another Flashback --

This time, the Sakura she (she meaning the Sakura in Reality) saw was older... and Sakura (in reality) realised with a jerk that it was the night before her mother died.

Her mother was talking to her, and they were in front of the fireplace. Her father and Syaoran were somewhere else, not in the room at all.

"Sakura, my dear, do you know why I am always so weak?" Her mother asked her. Sakura shook her head in reply. Seeing her answer replied, Nadeshiko continued, "It was because the owner of my mother and father wanted pure bread dogs, so they made dogs in the same family breed. My father and mother… were sisters and brothers, and thus, my body was weak ever since I was born... and the same things happened to all the dogs with parents of the same blood had the same fate."

Sakura looked at her mother in disbelieve. She put her head underneath her mother's, and nudged it lightly. "I'm sorry." She said, voice soft.

Her mother shook her head. "Daughter, the reason that I had told you this is because I know I don't have many more days to live."

"Does... does father know about it?" The question silenced Nadeshiko, after a while, she nodded her head slowly. For a while, both of them sat silently, "Why!?" Sakura jumped up from where she sat with a yell of frustration.

Her mother only smiled sadly at her. "Sakura, I want you to understand something... or if you don't understand it, just remember it... you'll understand it someday."

Sakura lowered her head. "Yes mother."

"You care for your family because of the blood ties, but one day, you will meet some one that you care for because of who they are. It might not be a dog, it might be a wolf. But either way, he will be the one you love. It is not a simple relationship that you two will have, and it is not friendship that you two will share. The relationship between you and him will be something stronger then friendship, it is called love."

At that time, Sakura didn't understand it at all, but now, being the one watches, she understood it perfectly.

And she also understood something else.

---

Deep in the night... shadows creep through the bushes.

---

A high pitch scream was heard. Wolves ran towards where the sound came from- Sakura's cave. What they saw when they arrived clearly surprised them... for Sakura was the one screaming, and was edging at the end of the cave.

"What happened?" a wolf with a higher position asked. The guarding wolves shook their heads, confused as others.

"We only heard her screaming, but we don't know what happened." One answered.

The wolf with the higher position nodded his head. "I understand. I shall go and ask the prisoner myself." He walked into the cave, and asked, "Hey you, why did you scream?"

"I have a name!" Sakura retorted. "It's Sakura."

"Whatever, I only want to know why you screamed."

The fiery in her voice died out. "I... saw a ghost..." All the wolves' jaws dropped. The she-dog was fierce when fighting them, yet she is afraid of ghosts?

The wolf with the higher position growled. "What? You only screamed because of that?"

"Hey~! I'm afraid of ghosts! What do ya think?" the fiery was back in her voice.

---

Outside of the cave on the other side of the Han territory, three shadows ran swiftly. With two loud thuds, the guarding wolves of the cave hit the earth with great force.

"Who goes there?" Syaoran shouted from the inside the cave.

"Shh... it's us, Eriol and Meiling."

"Eriol? Meiling? How come you guys are here?" Syaoran's voice was filled with surprise.

"We'll get you out, try to be as quiet as possible."

As confused as he is, Syaoran followed their instructions. In no time, he was out of the cave. "So... er... what is happening?" when they are out and hiding safely in the bush outside, Syaoran asked in a low voice.

"Well, as soon as we realised that Sakura is gone, we thought she might have came to the Han clan." Eriol started to explain. "So we decided to rescue Sakura... but when we saw her just then, she told us that you are alive... so we came to rescue you first."

Syaoran nodded, "What is the plan right now?"

"None." A simple and clean answer. And useless, I may add.

"What force did you bring with you?"

"The whole Li clan warriors."

Silence. "What were you guys thinking of when planning to save Sakura?" Syaoran growled.

"None..."

Hearing this, Syaoran nearly fainted. He has to think up a plan, and fast. "Where are all the warriors?"

"They are outside, waiting."

"Okay, we'll put an ambush on them... it is the middle of the night now, and the clouds are thick. By the way, what was that scream that I heard?" Syaoran couldn't help his curiosity to ask.

"Well, the scream you heard is actually Sakura." Hearing this, Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "When she saw as, she thought that we were ghosts... and she screamed, though it was not the one that you heard. The one you heard was a second scream... after seeing that What-she-thought-was-ghost was actually us, she told us that you are alive and told us to save you first, and she will scream again to keep the attention. Oh, by the way, she said to tell you to go on with whatever you are planning, don't worry about her. And then she said something about she can't die because you haven't complete the promise you made to her."

Syaoran chuckled lightly. "She is still afraid of ghosts..." a memory came into his head.

"You this daring little thing, aren't you afraid of anything?" Syaoran said after he caught his breath.

"Yes, you know that I am afraid of sprits and ghosts." Sakura retorted. "But you will always be there for me, won't you?"

Syaoran laughed. He licked Sakura's noise and replied, "Yes, Sakura. I will always be there for you when you need me."

"Promise?" Sakura's big emerald eyes were serious.

"I promise." Syaoran replied, amber eyes serious as well.

He had made a promise to her, yet he had broken it... he wasn't there when Nadeshiko died; he had ran away from it all. And yet she didn't blame him, she still treated him the same as she did when they were small...

Eriol's words pulled Syaoran back to reality. "Did anything happen to you and Sakura? You two all looked funny- I mean, not very normal when other's name was mentioned."

"Er... no, nothing happened... let's get on with the attack." Syaoran said hastily and ran towards where the Li warriors were. He might look calm, but he mind was a jumble of mess. What Eriol had said confused him. What could it mean?

Just before the fight was about to begin, Eriol came up to Syaoran. "Even if you have dog blood in you, we will still think you as our leader. We support you because of who you are, not because of the wolf blood in you." Without waiting for a reply, Eriol went off.

---

The ambush was a big success. The Han clan didn't except the Li clan to come and attack at night- for all they know, the Li clan still thinks that their leader is dead. Under the agreement of no crossing each other, the Han clan retreated to their old territory, and the Li's are back to their own ways.

Everything was fine... all expect for one.

Sakura and Syaoran acted normally (or so they thought) towards each other, but Syaoran never had his answer back, and neither did he had the courage to ask. He might be a fearless leader, but he was afraid of what he might hear from Sakura. He knows that he is a mongrel dog with wolf blood, and Sakura is a pure bred dog, with a difference like this, how can she love him? Sakura, on the other hand, was simply too shy to say how she feels about Syaoran. Seeing this, the others can do nothing. After all, their problem can only solved by themselves... they might stuff it up if they try to help.

---

It was a sunny afternoon, Syaoran sat on the edge of the river, his paws playing around with the water. His sharp ears picked up a sound from behind, and he pretended that he did not know. Suddenly, a white and soft body jumped onto him. 

"Syaoran!" a yelp was heard. Clearly, it was Sakura.

"Sa... Sakura?" Syaoran blushed deeply.

"Syaoran, what are you doing over here?" Sakura, still on Syaoran's back, asked. "I was looking for you."

"Why were you looking for me?"

Sakura blushed. "Because..." she got off Syaoran's back. "I... want to tell you something."

"I'm all ears."

"I... want to... give you an answer." Mumble mumble... that's more of what it sound like, but Syaoran heard it. His heart skipped a beat. "I... love you."

"But... Sakura, you don't mind about the wolf blood in me? After all, I am a mongrel dog with wolf blood."

Sakura chuckled. "Why would I mind? I love you because you are Syaoran. Mother was a dog with pure blood, but she led a sad life. I love you, Syaoran."

Syaoran was overtaken by surprise and joy. For a whole minute, he stood there, letting the words sink into his head. "I love you too, Sakura." Gently, he nudged the neck of Sakura's, and Sakura licked Syaoran's nose in reply.

Suddenly, Syaoran stopped, "Get out, all of you!" He shouted to the bush. From the bush behind the couple, the whole Li clan walked out, all with sheepish expressions. Under the death glare of Syaoran's they all quickly found an excuse and ran.

The ending that is not the ending, but the Beginning.

-Syaoyue 13th of December

A/N: Yeah~~~!!!! I finished!!! I was actually surprised that I can finish this story, because I was kinda making it up as I go... . but all the same, I FINISHED IT!!! Hum... one day, I might come back and do an extra chapter... one day...

Now I', gonna to make a CCS/D.N.Angel crossover... or a Yami no Matsuei fanfic... or even a Fruits Basket one!