Disclaimer: I do not own them. I do own Tanako Kyoichi, though.

Chapter Dedication: To Mm-chan! Thankies for always being the first to review, thus putting me in a good mood! =^.^= I won't eat you yet! *lol*

BEYOND ALL WORDS

Chapter Six Indifference and Jealousy

hitokiri_tomoe

Syaoran led Sakura in. Despite her earlier hesitation, Sakura was now glad she came along. They sat on a booth near the window and a waitress took their orders. Sakura wrote hers on a sheet of paper she brought with her.

"Won't anata no oniichan look for you?"

Sakura wrote down her answer. 'Don't worry. I wrote him a note before we left.'

The waitress arrived with their orders and they ate in silence for awhile.

Sakura wrote something. 'Li-san, why are you doing this?'

Syaoran just smiled. "I'm doing a favor for a tomodachi… Kinomoto-san?"

Sakura's eyes had been showing conflicting emotions, but then they calmed and fixed on Syaoran. "I, uhhh, want you to call me Syaoran from now on. Is that alright?"

Sakura nodded with a smile, but wrote nothing. Syaoran sighed inwardly. 'She hugs me, but she doesn't want me to get close to her.'

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Meanwhile, Meilin was walking home, now alone, and she decided to get some coffee to calm her nerves. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying. She was nearing the coffee shop when she saw Syaoran.

'Should I go in and risk a confrontation?'

She still stood undecided when she saw him laugh. And then she saw the girl. Her decision made for her, she flew down the street, her tears overfilling her ruby eyes.

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It was later that night in the Kinomoto Residence. Sakura was reading a book when there was a light tap and Yukito entered the room.

"So how was it?"

'How was what?'

"Your—er—watchamacallem with Li-san?"

Sakura's face was indifferent. 'It was okay. Syaoran-kun took me to a café.'

At the mention of "Syaoran-kun," Yukito raised an eyebrow.

"Syaoran-kun?" he said mischievously. "And what does he call you now? Sakura-chan?"

He gave a sinsongy lilt to the name.

'Of course not, oniichan. He calls me Kinomoto-san, the way he does you.'

He looked at her in an exasperated manner. "You did it again! Someone offers to get close to you, and you close off on him! What is wrong with you, Sakura-chan?"

She kept quiet, averting her eyes and staring out the window instead.

"Sakura, you have to snap out of it. You have to let go of the past, you have to—"

"Yukito! Sakura!" an older woman's voice called out.

"Hai, oba-san" Yukito shouted down, then turned to Sakura. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. He wanted to kick himself. 'Brilliant! You made her remember again.'

Without another word, he left her room.

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In the Li Mansion, Syaoran was about to eat his dinner.

"Where is Meilin, Wei?" he asked an older man who was his trusted servant.

"She's in her room, Syaoran-sama, and wishes not to be disturbed, I gather."

"You gather?" Syaoran raised an eyebrow.

Wei coughed slightly before answering. "I believe I heard crying sounds from her room."

Syaoran swore and raced up the stairs to Meilin's room. Sure enough, loud sobbing sounds could be heard outside her door. He knocked softly. The sobbing continued without an answer. He knocked again, louder this time.

"Meilin-chan, open up. This is Syaoran." He said in a loud but gentle voice. The sobbing stopped for a second but continued again. "If you don't open this door, I am going to break it down!"

Again, silence, and then the door opened, revealing a wet-faced Meilin.

"Leave me alone," she said sullenly, making a motion of closing the door but Syaoran blocked it with his foot.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."

Meilin looked outraged and pushed Syaoran away and loudly slammed the door. "Why don't you ask your girlfriend?!!"

Syaoran was puzzled. "Meilin, what do you mean? I don't have a girlfriend!"

But Meilin was far from being mollified.

"That! That girl with the brown hair!" and then he heard her burst into tears.

Syaoran couldn't say anything. 'She thinks Kinomoto-san is my girlfriend?'

An unbidden smile came to his lips but he quickly wiped it away, feeling guilty.

Meilin's voice was shrill and littered with sobs. "You can't say anything? You love her, don't you? Say it!!!"

'Maybe,' Syaoran thought to himself, then to Meilin: "I'm going down and having my dinner. If you can be reasonable, please join me. If not, I'll have Wei bring up your dinner."

Five minutes later Wei went up the stairs with a tray of food in his hands

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To be continued...