CHAPTER 9

Meilien stood in front of Madison and Li looking at them like they were mad. She then turned and looked out into the park. Giving a heavy sigh she turned back around and stared at the two once more.

"You want me to do what?" Meilien said finally. Li smirked as he glanced at Madison. Madison walked over to Meilien and smiled.

"I want you to get Sakura to the Winter Dance." Madison said. Meilien looked at Madison like she was stupid. Li stood up and walked over to his cousin.

"You want me to get Sakura to come to a dance. You know how she is about dances." Meilien said. Li took his cousin by her shoulders.

"You can do it Meilien. You need to do it, for me." Meilien rolled her eyes when Li said this.

"Damn it. Fine. But you both owe me SO big its not even funny." Li hugged Meilien and thanked her over and over.

"I already bought her ticket." Li said handing over the ticket. Meilien nodded and pocketed the ticket.

"Ok, I'll call you guys with the verdict." With that Meilien walked away heading towards Sakura's house. Madison looked at Li and smiled. He smiled back but also held some doubt in his eyes.

"What if she doesn't come?" Li asked. Madison sighed and watched Meilien disappear around the corner.

"What if she does?" Madison retorted. Li stood there in silence. Thinking about the things that would happen if she did come.

Sakura sat in her room preparing herself for the final battle between her mother and herself. She loaded all the stakes that she owned into a duffel bag along with a crossbow. She started to gather her clothing that she would be wearing for that night when a knock was heard on her door.

"Yeah?" Sakura said kind of irritated. She didn't really want to be bothered while she prepared herself for this. It wasn't everyday that a child had to kill its own mother.

"Sakura there is a girl here to see you." Michael, her foster dad, said on the other side of the door. Sakura stood and walked over to the door and unlocked it. On the other side stood Michael with Meilien.

"Hey Sakura, can we talk?" Meilien asked. Sakura nodded and let Meilien enter her room. Sakura shut her door and followed Meilien to her bed where they sat.

"What's up? Something wrong?" Sakura asked pushing her duffel bag under her bed before Meilien noticed.

"No nothings wrong. I just wanted to know if you were busy tomorrow?" Meilien said choosing her words wisely. She didn't want to make this seem like a planned thing.

"Actually I do. Why?" Sakura asked. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a pair of cargo pants with a black hoodie. Sakura threw the clothes on her bed and walked over to her dresser.

"Well I was wondering if you were going to the Winter Dance?" Meilien said once again picking her words. Sakura stopped right when she was opening her dresser.

"Actually that's what I'm doing. I'm going to the dance. But for other reasons." Sakura said while she pulled out a green tank top from her dresser.

"Really? That's awesome. Maybe we can meet up and get ready together?" Meilien started. Sakura threw the tank top on the bed and walked over to Meilien.

"Meilien, I'm not dancing." Sakura said. Meilien smiled and nodded. She then got off the bed and headed for the door.

"Then maybe I'll see you there. Here, I have an extra ticket. You take it. I'll see you later Sakura." Meilien said handing Sakura the ticket. She then waved and walked out the door. Sakura took the ticket and sat it on her desk. She then finished getting things ready. After Sakura's duffel bag was ready and her clothes were set out, Sakura went into the bathroom and took a long hot bath. This could be the last she would ever get.

Meilien stepped out the door and quickly dialed the number. It surprised Meilien that Sakura was actually going to the damned dance.

"So, she is going?" Madison asked quickly. Meilien rolled her eyes and huffed loudly.

"Hi to you to Madison. Yes she's going. She was going to go even before I asked her." Meilien said waving down a taxi.

"Good. Then I will see you tomorrow. I'll let you tell Li the good news." With that the line went dead. Meilien rolled her eyes and gave the driver her address. Meilien then pulled out her cell phone once again and dialed Li's number.

"Hello?" Li said into the phone. Meilien smiled. At least she could get once polite answer.

"Hey Li. Guess what! Sakura is coming to the dance. Isn't that awesome?" Meilien said quickly.

"That's great Meilien good job. Are you stopping by?" Li asked. Meilien thought about it a moment.

"Nah I'm heading home. The big day is tomorrow so I want to be well rested." Meilien actually wanted to call Ed and see if he would go with her as a "date."

"Ok night Meilien." Li then hung up. Meilien sat there and smiled to her self. Tomorrow looked rather pleasing.

Sakura woke up the next morning. She took another shower just to loosen her muscles. Sakura then put her clothes on that she had planned to wear that night and started out with her duffel bag. When she made it to the bottom of the steps she heard her foster parents talking with someone. Sakura peeked around the corner to see the back of a head of a guy. His hair was a light brown that had a little bit of a curl on the end. Sakura tried to get a little closer when her shoes scuffed against the wooden floor. The man turned around and stared at Sakura. Sakura took a few steps back only to back into the wall. The man stood and walked over to Sakura and touched her shoulder. He smiled lightly and his eyes sparkled.

"Hi Sakura." The man said with a deep voice. Sakura slowly shook her head unable to believe who was standing in front of her.

"Dad?"