Written on March 27, 2004


I believe I have been slacking off on the story, so I decided to update almost all of my stories. I tried to edit the story to the best of my ability, which I have very little of. I just really wanna thank all of you for reviewing and supporting my story. I really appreciate it. Now, to begin...


Disclaimer: Well, isn't this nice. A disclaimer. What is a disclaimer? The diction-- *POW* I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. CLAMP and Kodansha rightfully own it. Lucky little suckers, aren't they. I need some antiseptic. Yo, Crystal! And make sure that the dude who also edits my story gets a banging too. I KNOW he's the one who hit me with the book!



[Previously]


Sakura was sound asleep as was Syaoran. The moon shone through the window's glass and cast a milky shadow over the houses across them. A cloaked figure floated at Sakura's window and let out a cold, mirthless voice.


"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You shouldn't have ignored me. Sleep well, humans, for tomorrow is your last day."

x=x=x=x=x=x


Chapter 10 of I Found A Puppy!


One Last Night


You'll just end up with the same accursed fate as my own...


Composition, script, and plotline by: the cherri ookami XP
Cursing, editing, and proofreading by: the crystal megami =P



x=x=x=x=x=x


Sakura slept soundly as Syaoran peered out at the night sky. He knew he would be leaving, but Sakura was just as naïve to keep him there.


Syaoran curled into a ball and sat in the darkness of the floor. The moon's light waned on his face and he wondered: Where do I come from? He was an orphan. Every night in the orphanage, he would wake up and get the Webster Dictionary. He always looked up the same word- orphan: (noun) a child who has lost either parents or, less commonly, one parent through death. Most often, abandoned. Also see: abandoned, orphanage, and asylum


He wondered. Where were they? They? He meant his parents, his real parents. Aki had said that they were gone. She never said they were dead. It was a sign. Someone. Just someone was out there. He needed to see some kind of sign. He wanted a sign that he had someone more than him, to hold him and to protect him.


x=x=x=x=x=x



"Aww... Not again! That's the third time! It's teaspoon, not tablespoon!"


Sakura frowned at the mess she made, learning how to cook on her own. Syaoran, on the other hand, was still asleep upstairs. She wanted to make sure that when he left, he would at least remember her by something. She plucked and egg from the carton and decided to do something she could do: bake. 'Cake is still a breakfast, right?' she wondered as she poured milk into a ceramic bowl.


She heard a chair move and turned her head. Syaoran sat, smiling, as he folded his arms and stared. "What? You are cooking right?"


"Yeah. I am. Why?"


"I dunno. You were looking at me."


"Oh. Gomen ne Syaoran-kun."

"Yeah. Okay. Were you going to make a cake?"

"Yeah. Is that bad?"

"No, not at all. You want some help?"


"I... okay."


"I'll get the ingredients and you set the tools."

"Yes captain." Sakura giggled.


>>Later


"Mix, mix, mix." Sakura hummed as she mixed the fluffy frosting

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Mix, mix, mix."

*Sigh*

"Do you have any type of fruit?"

"Yeah. We have: apple, banana, grape, orange, pomegranate, grapefruit, umm..."

"Never mind. I'll look." Syaoran looked in the refrigerator and saw a vast amount of fruit. He plucked cherries, apples, strawberries, and oranges.

"Are we making a fruit cake?"

"No. We are making a cake with fruit." He said sarcastically

"Oh. Do you think the cake is done?"

"Check." And with that, Sakura opened the oven and she shoved her hand in. Syaoran pulled it out and spoke. "Don't be stupid. Use a stick." He held a wooden barbecue stick and prodded the fluffed up cake layer. They pulled it out and Sakura smiled.

"We did it!"

"I guess we did."

"It got our minds off of the whole angel thing, right?"

"Yeah. Though, I wonder. Do you have a computer?"

"Yeah... why?"

"I thought about things last night. I wondered about err..."

"What is it? Tell me." She urged

"I thought about my family. Midako told me that I had come from a royal family. All I know is that Hong Kong is the only place I ever found myself in. I never had a home. I never felt like I were home anywhere. I want to know that feeling. It seems nice."

"It is nice. Don't worry. I will help you."

"Thank you Sakura. Let's finish the cake now."

Syaoran cut fruits and stacked them on the cake. In the end, it looked pretty good. It was kind of lopsided, but other than that it was okay. They decided to eat the cake and search on the Internet about Syaoran's family. So, they cut the cake and went to the computer. Li family they typed as they searched on FamilyTree.com (I have no idea if this place exists, but whatever.) A few matches came up, but an article chunk caught their eyes.


By: Yusaku Yuusai (1989)
It has been over a month since the disappearance of the Heads of the Li Clan. It has been said that it was a certain case of Hit and run, but other sources say that they were killed. All that is known is that the heir, Li Syaoran, is alive and with a local babysitter. Many envy Miss Aki Kusa, for she has the power to control the Li Clan, when she reaches the age 30.


We are proud to have an archived recording of their last conversation before the family disappearance. Click here.


Syaoran's heart pounded slightly as he clicked the link. The recorder came up and played the tape.


Reporter: Well, I think this is a good time for an interview, ne? I mean, you have just gotten your new son.
Mrs. Li: Well, yes. We are so happy.
Mr. Li: We are very proud to hand our son the great responsibility of the Clan.
Reporter: You say that you are leaving for a while.
Mrs. Li: Yes. That is true. We are leaving for serious business, but our child will be with a responsible caretaker for the time being.



Syaoran thought to himself, 'What the hell are they talking about? Are they referring to that witch?! Bah.' He paused the recording and exited the site. He felt too distraught already. It seemed to Sakura that Syaoran was in shock. He was gonna die and his parents abandoned him.


"Oh, my. Do you think that they are lost or something?" Sakura quivered


"Who cares? They left me and that is good enough to tell me that they don't care about me." Syaoran stated coldly.


"That can't be true. They said..." she began


"No. They don't care and that's all there is to it. If they actually cared, they wouldn't go off on their stupid business trip and stay with me. It's as if they wouldn't care what'd happen to me." He argued, his head bowed in the shadows.


"Don't be like that. I'm sure that any self-respecting parent wouldn't just leave their child."


"Well, how'd I know if they were self-respecting? I never met em."


"Well, if they really aren't dead, I want to help you find them."


"Please, don't. You've done so much already. I don't want you to get involved in this."

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"Bah, there ain't nothing to do anymore."


*RING*


"Talk ta me."


"Ms. Midako..."


"Damn it, stop calling me that. What the heck do ya want from me? Just leave me alone!"


"Why are you so hostile, Miss Midako?"


"Shut up! I don't want to kill him. I am not an assassin. Anyways, isn't heaven supposed to be a nice gentle place? I mean, how would it look, heaven is killing people? It would not bode well with the news around here, ne?" she explained, looking for the right loop hole to jump in.


"You may be right, but... you are wrong. We have the Spider Weaver."


"The wah?"


"The spider weaver, stupid. She spins threads of life. If we cut that boy's thread, he'll drop dead. And, we can make up some kind of cover story... And we know that nobody would believe you."


"You bastard." She cursed.


"No, no. I am a woman and I do have a father."


"Shut it, idiot!"


"Well, we've calculated the possibilities and it shows in our statistics that there are 3 alternatives. You kill him, our messenger kills him or we cut his thread and he dies. Though, the sad part is that either way you put it, he WILL die... So, yeah."


*Click*


"Midako, you damn wretch! Enishi, call Anji. That boy dies TODAY or I kill him myself!!!"
*Click*


*Beep, beep, beep, beep...* [End of phone call]

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Sakura looked out the window and saw a snowball hit. The she saw more. She wondered... was it safe to go to sleep? Syaoran could leave and go into hiding, lie dead on the floor while she slept, or fight them off without her knowing. She felt terrified to close her eyes, but she knew she had to get some sleep.


"I don't want you to get involved in this." she remembered.

As she flashed back, the stairs creaked. She turned to see nothing. She grabbed a pillow and tossed it into the hall. *Poof* "What happened?" said a voice.

"Oh, my. Sorry, Syaoran-kun."

"Yeah. I got it."

"Where were you going so late at night?"

"What were you doing so late at night?" he retorted

"I was thinking... and you didn't answer my question."

"I was going to..." he paused, bowing his head solemnly. "Err..." "Leave?" she inserted.

He raised his head to see tears in her eyes. "You don't understand, do you?" "Understand what? I think I have everything I need to know already! You just want to act like a big hero and if you die, you know it's me who'll be crying at your funeral! Why can't you just stop protecting people and protect yourself?!" she shouted


"I don't care if I die or not. I don't want to be any kind of hero, and I know I don't want to see you cry." he whispered. "I owe you for taking me in. I owe Midako for protecting me, and risking her wings. I owe my friends from the Uragiru for helping me escape. I owe a whole lot of people. I just can't repay them all."

"Who said you had to pay them back?" she muttered, wiping her tears. "We all don't want you hurt, and we simply care for you. We don't want you dead."


"I guess you have a point, but you don't know what it's like. You feel like you are the cause of everyone's trouble. Each and every one of you could get killed for protecting me, and then it'll be me at the funeral. You'll have guilt on you forever. It's just enough to... well... kill you." he ended, smiling nervously.


"As impossible as it seems, we won't let anyone get hurt." She promised


"We should get to..."



*CRASH*


"Huh?" they said in unison


"You're going down, ya little brat!!!! Muahahaha!"


"Who are you?" Sakura yelled fiercely, still feeling shaky


"Oh, it's just me." Midako said as she giggled at the whole in the wall. "Oh, my. Did I do that?"


"No, no. That hole has just been there by accident." Syaoran said sarcastically. "You idiot! You scared the heck out of me!"


"Didn't mean to." Midako muttered. =P "I gave your friends the best of my artillery. I just hope that they don't screw up. Anyways, I just wanted to see if you were on guard."


"You can trust me... umm... ma'am." Sakura started, but was interrupted by Midako's weeping.


"Thank you, Sakura-sama. You called me ma'am. Hold up. That's like saying I'm old! But, isn't old a good thing? But what if she meant it as a bad thing..."


"Erm, onne-chan?" Syaoran interjected. "Do you mind?"


"Yeah, I do. Nah. Just kidding. Anyway, I just want you to be on guard. Sakura-sama, watch him." She paused and whispered in her ear. "I suggest you stay awake as long as you can. There's no doubt in MY mind that he'll run away."


"Okay."


"Good. Need to go. I'm gonna play Poker and Gin Rummy with the Mishichi syndicate leader."


"Hold on. I thought you said you were going to be fired?"


"Yeah, so? That's not gonna stop me from missing my game." And she was off.


"What an idiot."


x=x=x=x=x=x



>>Later that night


Sakura's mind was a flutter with Midako's words. There's no doubt in MY mind that he'll run away. 'I wonder if she meant that.' She thought sadly, imagining the thought of Syaoran's grave. She shook her head ravenously and tried to stay awake. Stay awake. Said a subconscious voice. Stay awake or he'll die.


(Note: This is eye motion. >_)


*Flicker*


*Flicker, flicker*


*Flap, flap*


*Open*


*Close*


Sakura slept on the bed soundly as Syaoran crept into the room. He stroked Sakura's silky cheek and tucked her in. He smiled wryly and opened the window. He crept out and locked the window.


"I can't be with you anymore... you'll just end up with the same accursed fate as my own. Please understand... It has to be goodbye. I know you can find someone who is worth your love... someone capable of keeping you safe. You wouldn't want your love spent on a freak like me anyway." he could've sworn he felt a tear run down... and he spoke his last words.


"Aishiteru... Sakura... forget me."

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Oh, my. Ran outta time, did we? Well, so sad. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. If you didn't, it's fine. Don't review. I don't care. And once again, thank you to my faithful reviewers and comrades for your support of IFAP!

HEY! Don't leave. I'm not done! Here's the preview of the next chapter.

CHAPTER 11: The Bloodline Battle

"With my life, I have done nothing but cause grief. Midako had no right to be sent to hell. Sakura should not die. Kill me if you like, but I know you couldn't do that to your own son." he yelled as he charged forward.

Well, that's all I can give ya. ^_^

[[[Now, you can leave.]]]