Konnichiwa minna-san!

I am appreciative about the reviews I got and the reviewers. Although I thought my last chapter was very good, I now feel a bit ashamed of it and confused. Eriol sounds like a computer? Really. Hmm… I guess I made him too OOC. And no, there were no computers back then but Eriol just knows this stuff from observing and experience. But… I am going to say this once and only once. I don't want to have to repeat myself (LOL!). If you don't like my story, then don't read my story. You shouldn't waste your time writing flames and just plain hating me. I don't want to waste my time reading those flames, so they will be deleted. That's a waste of your time and my time, right? It's your choice. Simple as that.

Now that we got all that stuff cleared up, let's go on to the real reason you're reading this: S+S romance.

Well here you go! Enjoy!

Someone Like You

Chapter 4: A Cherry Blossom Day Part II (First Date)

By: Starfire Star

Syaoran stared wide-eyed at the girl, enchanted by her dazzling emerald eyes. Sakura and Tomoyo didn't see him yet.

"Damn, I have to admit that girl is pretty," Syaoran admitted to himself.

He walked closer to the girls, feeling his heart beating and nervousness and tension starting to build up.

"Um… excuse me," Syaoran coughed as he reached Sakura and Tomoyo.

Sakura and Tomoyo stared at him, opened-mouthed, not knowing what to say. They certainly did not know that Prince Syaoran Li, Prince of the Li Clan, was at the castle.

"Uh… uh… konnichiwa," Sakura's voice trembled. She and Tomoyo sat up from the swings and bowed.

"Konnichiwa. One of you is the princess, right?" his eyes darting back and forth between Sakura and Tomoyo.

"Um… I-I," Sakura stuttered. She glanced at Tomoyo, not knowing what to say.

Tomoyo stared at Sakura hard, and then took a step forward. "Why, yes, Prince Syaoran, may I introduce Princess Sa- Meiling," she corrected.

Sakura, too, stepped forward to curtsey to Syaoran. "Pleased to meet you, Prince Syaoran," she blushed heavily.

"Um, your- I mean, Prince Syaoran, will you excuse Tomoyo and I for just a sec? We won't be long," Sakura smiled nervously. She pulled Tomoyo aside.

"Tomoyo-chan! Why did you just tell me to introduce myself as Meiling?" Sakura whispered.

"Well, this is your chance to act like the person you deserve to be!" Tomoyo whispered excitedly as Sakura gave her an anxious look.

"We could get in trouble over this, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura replied anxiously. "We could get banished from the kingdom!"

"Oh Sakura, take risks! And besides, no one will notice. I'll make sure of that!" Tomoyo grinned.

Sakura glanced over at Syaoran, who was waiting with a blank expression on his face.

"I… guess it's ok," Sakura finally said, reluctantly.

The two girls strode over to Syaoran, who glanced at them expectantly.

"Gomen nasai, Prince Syaoran," Sakura said. "Me and Tomoyo just had to… sort some stuff out."

"That's fine," Syaoran said with a curt nod.

"Well… I'll leave you two alone," Tomoyo winked at Sakura and gave a little wave as she walked away.

"Uh… why don't we sit down so we could… talk," Syaoran suggested.

"Sure," Sakura replied. She gingerly sat herself down on the swing, careful not to let her dress drag.

"So… Princess Meiling… what stuff do you like doing?" Syaoran asked, then thought to himself, 'what a dumb question! I shouldn't have asked that! Now she's going to think I'm stupid!'

But Sakura smiled as if nothing was stupid or wrong. She merely answered in a cheerful voice, "Well, I like singing, dancing, cooking, and just… helping people."

Syaoran raised an eyebrow as he swung back and forth on the swing, softly and gently. He didn't think those were the type of things a princess liked doing, except for the singing and dancing part.

There was an awkward pause. Sakura stared at her hands before asking, "How about you?"

"I, uh," Syaoran stuttered as her ran his hands through his dark, chocolate-brown hair. "I like the usual stuff. Sword fighting, Kung Fu (A/N: Did they even have Kung Fu back then? Answer this question and I'll update faster than before! D), practicing kendo, etc."

"So basically anything that involves fighting," Sakura laughed as her bright emerald eyes shone in the sunlight.

"Right," Syaoran blushed.

The spring breeze started to pick up, and petals from the Cherry Blossom trees flew gently down, swirling in the wind.

"Wow! Look at the cherry blossom tree petals! They're so beautiful!" Sakura exclaimed as she quickly stood up from the swing, and almost falling in the process.

"Are you okay?" Syaoran asked as he remained in his seat.

"Uh… yeah. Sure," Sakura smiled sheepishly. "But I have a better way to view the cherry blossom trees and their petals!"

Sakura quickly ran to the nearest large cherry blossom tree and started to climb it carefully, so not to fall or anything.

Sakura reached the top, settled herself on one of the strong branches, and shouted down to Syaoran, "Hey! Come up here! It's prettier than ever!"

Syaoran hesitated, and then reluctantly followed. "Are you sure this is safe?" Syaoran asked as he began to climb the tree with a bit of a struggle.

"Of course! I've done this millions of times! When I have the time, of course!" Sakura grinned, then realized her mistake.

"What do you mean?" Syaoran said with a bit of a grunt as he continued to struggle with climbing the tree. "Princesses and Princes usually have a lot of free time. That's why I hate being the Prince. I mostly have nothing to do for most of the day, except for sleeping," Syaoran added.

"Well…" Sakura considered telling him that she really wasn't Princess Meiling. But it was too late now. Besides, Syaoran would probably get mad. And she was in no position of giving up a new "friend" (A/N: lol hint hint!).

"Never mind," Sakura's cheeks turned bright pink. "Hurry!"

Syaoran finally reached the top and drew out a sigh of relief.

Sakura smiled with happiness. "Come sit next to me," Sakura grinned. "I have a better view."

Syaoran awkwardly shifted closer to her. He couldn't believe this girl was so friendly to him, and he couldn't believe that he was friendly back. He usually was cold and heartless to them. He didn't normally like those girls in the village who always followed him around, like his fan club, but this girl was different… not just different because he was getting married to her, but different…

Syaoran shook his head. 'This girl will probably reveal her true colours next time we meet (Syaoran couldn't bear to say the word "date")… she'll act all prissy and bitchy. But maybe she really is one of those girls like in the village…' Syaoran thought to himself. He decided to stop thinking about it, fore it made him confused. He just decided to enjoy the view.

He and Sakura gazed at the cherry blossom petals silently for a while…

'Hey, I could get used to this,' Syaoran thought to himself. 'Just silence…'

'It sure is great to just do this once in a while,' Sakura told herself. 'Just taking a break from doing chores, dishes, and waiting on Meiling's every hand and foot…'

The sun slowly started setting on the horizon, making it look like a bright gleaming orange. Sakura sighed.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sakura stared dreamily at the setting sun.

"Yeah sure is— ahh!" Syaoran exclaimed. He had raised his hands to stretch, which put him off balance, causing him to almost fall back.

Sakura gasped. Syaoran reached forward to grab something so he wouldn't fall…. And what else did he grab but Sakura's hand.

It was like something had stopped time. They stared at Sakura's hand, Syaoran still holding it, them both blushing like ripe tomatoes. Then time suddenly resumed and sent Sakura and Syaoran falling to the ground.

And whaddaya have but another coincidence… Sakura landing on top of Syaoran and a big… THUD!

"Owwwww," Sakura moaned as she struggled to get up.

"Yeah, I know it hurts, but will you mind getting off of me?" Syaoran complained.

"Oh… sorry," Sakura apologized as she quickly got up, brushing grass off the dress. Syaoran, too, got up and brushed himself off.

Just then, Tomoyo appeared through the bushes and motioned to Sakura to Sakura to come there. Tomoyo looked over her shoulder anxiously and nervously, as if something was chasing her.

Sakura ran to her, nearly tripping over her dress in the process, as Syaoran looked at her in bewilderment.

"Tomoyo?" Sakura asked. "What's wrong?"

"The guards are coming over here! They heard the commotion that you and Syaoran made," Tomoyo replied urgently, looking over Sakura's shoulder at Syaoran.

"Oh… no…" Sakura shook her head, her eyes growing wider. "We will be in so much trouble…"

"And… there's a kinda cute guy coming over here, too. With dark, midnight-blue hair and glasses," Tomoyo added. "But there's just enough time for us to escape! So say goodbye to Syaoran! It's almost night!"

Sakura hurried over to Syaoran.

"Uh, Syaoran, I'm really really sorry, but I have to go. I had a great time though," Sakura apologized as she bowed. "Konbawa!"

Syaoran just stared at her, confused, as he thought to himself, 'Huh… there's something I don't like about her… even though she acted nice and everything…'

Sakura hurried over to Tomoyo, who was waiting near the front gate.

Just then they heard the guards yelling as they ran away.

"Hey? Who's there? What happened?" the guards shouted as they looked around frantically.

Sakura and Tomoyo disappeared up the spiral staircase just as the guards tore themselves through the bushes and landed with a thud, right on top of each other. A midnight-blue head poked through the bushes and glanced at Syaoran.

"Syaoran? Where have u been? I've been looking for you all over the place!" Eriol called.

Syaoran jerked his head in their direction.

"Huh? What? Oh, sorry," Syaoran apologized as he walked towards his best friend.

"It's all right, guys. It's under control," Eriol told the guards, who stood up, scratching their heads.

"All right… if you're so sure…" they headed towards the castle.

"So, hey, what were you doing?" Eriol asked with a smirk.

"I was with the Princess… talking," Syaoran answered with a shrug. "She's okay… I guess."

"The Princess? But I thou—" Eriol stopped and then thought to himself, 'what? Syaoran met the Princess? But Kaho said that the Princess and her parents were off visiting relatives to talk about wedding plans… does that mean the Princess arrived early? Probably. I did see baggage at the front gates… yeah the Royal family probably changed their minds and decided to visit family members after Princess Meiling had a chance to meet Syaoran…' (A/N: THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE RAE CLAN FAMILY ACTUALLY DID CHANGE THEIR MINDS. THIS IS MERELY WHAT ERIOL THINKS!)

Instead Eriol smirked and said, "then what was all the big commotion? Were you and the Princess getting down to business already?"

"Ahhhh shut up! Eriol, you're a sick minded perv!" Syaoran narrowed his eyes and put on a furious glare.

"Heh, so did it happen?" Eriol laughed.

"Eriol, shut up! Nothing happened! Let's just go home!" Syaoran stomped away furiously towards the entrance, as Eriol followed him, laughing as he said, "Whatever you say."

Meanwhile, with Sakura and Tomoyo…

Sakura and Tomoyo rushed back into Meiling's room, the dress covered with dirty stains.

"Oh, no… this dress looks like a goner," Sakura moaned as she took off the dress and changed into her everyday rags.

"Don't worry," Tomoyo said, her eyes shining with happiness. "So Sakura, what happened with you and the Prince?"

"Nothing…" Sakura said with a sigh as she folded the dress neatly and carried it in her arms as she walked towards the basement/bathroom, which was where they did the laundry.

"Did you and Prince Syaoran hit it off?" Tomoyo said with a smile.

"Well… it seemed kinda awkward at first, but he loosened up after awhile," Sakura admitted. "It wasn't much of a date, anyway."

"This is going to be great!" Tomoyo said happily. "You're finally going to have the life you always deserved."

"Well, not really," Sakura said. "Pretending to be Meiling isn't always going to make me feel happy."

"Sakura-chan… you're not happy?" Tomoyo said as her smile softly faded from her face, and her amethyst eyes slowly drooped.

"Well… to be honest with you… no. I can't do this, Tomoyo; I can't pretend to be Meiling. As much as I dislike her, I don't want to deceive her. And I don't want to make her dislike me any more. Besides, I will probably get banished from the kingdom! As much as I like Syaoran…I can't," Sakura said sadly as she drew out a little sigh and opened the door to the basement/bathroom.

"Oh… Sakura, I'm sorry. Why don't you just tell Syaoran that you're not Meiling?" Tomoyo suggested. "Never mind. I'm so stupid. Knowing Meiling, she'll have a BF (Bitch Fit lol from White Chicks!) over the whole thing!

"I can't… for some reason. I want to tell him, but I can't…" Sakura suddenly exclaimed, dropping the dress into the hugest and the biggest tub full of soapy water you will ever see.

"Well…" Tomoyo began, then turned her head to look at the spot where the dress had been dropped, "might as well let that dress soak in the water for awhile. Then u can scrub later."

"Um… yeah. Sakura… not that you have to do it or anything… but can you keep pretending to be Meiling?" Tomoyo said with a pleading glance.

"Why?" Sakura said, her eyes narrowed. It was not like Sakura to be suspicious of someone, especially her best friend.

"Because well… maybe it will have a good side. Maybe Meiling will be grateful that you pretended to be her. Maybe she'll think of you as a… substitute?" Tomoyo said hopefully.

"And what will happen to Syaoran?" Sakura said, with her head tilted.

"Well… I dunno but we'll get to that later. Can you do it, please?" Tomoyo pleaded.

"I feel like we've had this conversation a million times. But I guess I should… because part of me doesn't want to tell Syaoran I'm a phoney, anyway, and you won't keep trying to persuade me to do it," Sakura joked with a grin. "Yeah, I'll keep pretending."

"Arigatou!" Tomoyo smiled as they both walked out of the basement/bathroom, and, for Sakura, back into her normal, everyday servant life.

A/N: ((Gets pelted by snowballs from reviewers)) Ahhhh! Well, you got me! I am sooo sorry for not updating sooner! Really, I am! I feel so guilty now. But my New Year's Resolution for this year was to update more frequently, so I'm trying! Because I feel guilty, I'll give each of the reviewers a Cupcake! ((Hands cupcake to reviewers)) Mmmm… chocolate! LOL! Syaoran's favourite food! So I'll try to update sooner, 'kay? I'm not joking or anything this time (not that I was before!)

((Runs away while reviewers eat cupcakes))

Reviewers- Hey! COME BACK HERE YOU!

Me ((Laughing Hysterically))- MUAHAHA! YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT TILL NEXT CHAPPIE!

((Reviewers drop cupcakes and run after me))

Me- HEY! DON'T WASTE FOOD!

Lol that's all for now peeps, ta-ta!

Next Chappie: Eriol and Tomoyo… if romance blossoming for those two also?

Ja Ne! (LOL I'll give RAMEN next time!)

Starfire Star aka Reika-chan