Title: Masquerade

Chapter: The Mask Fits

Author: Kitten at Heart

Updated: July 13, 2005

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS nor do I have the money to buy it. CLAMP is all mighty and I love them and respect them. Don't take my money! Starting September first…I will become a poor college student!

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A man with messy auburn hair groaned as yet, another person stood up at the lectern to make a speech. This was the fifth old man clad in an old, dusty tuxedo to stand up to declare that the Li clan will bring peace to the world. He placed his elbows on the table and propped his head up with his hands. He was so bored of hearing these senile men talk. Couldn't one just tell everyone that the Li clan is headed towards disaster? That would bring some real excitement. But every man wanted to get on his good side. Every man wanted to be noticed by the Li clan. To be noticed, you had to be noticed by the Li clan leader or be approved by all of the Li clan elders. That would never happen.

"…and by doing so, the Li clan will bring peace and prosperity throughout the entire world!" the old man concluded as he got a standing ovation by everyone in the banquet hall except for one. The Li clan leader himself. Instead, he yawned and looked at his watch.

"Umm…" whispered another old man on the stage, "The Li clan leader…has decided, umm, not to speak tonight. H-he believes, umm, that this banquet is…not for him but…for the people at…umm…here." A few claps were heard but mostly some muttering on the man's poor public speaking skills.

A sly smile stretched across the young man's face. He loved that excuse. Why speak when you can give an excuse that you were kind and did not want to be the spotlight…but you always are. His eyes drifted around the room. To his left sat his wife, flirting with the waiter like always. To his right, sat his old-but wise- mother. She always knew what was going on with his life, without ever hearing about it. To his mother's right sat his cousin, Meiling. She wore an evil grin like every other night. Probably thinking of a devious plan to win his heart. She loved him. But she loved money more. Behind him stood Hiiragizawa Eriol the usual mischievous grin on his face. The young man sighed. Was anything in his life going to be unpredictable?

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After another hour of speeches by old men, Eriol tapped on Kagura's shoulder. Kagura smiled sweetly and hugged Syaoran's arm for show. Yet, her husband ignored her sweet and loving affection. Syaoran stared blankly into the crowd as his wife placed her lips by his ear.

"Hun…I need to use the little girl's room…" she whispered seductively, "…if this ends before I am back…I will meet you back home…" She heard her husband grunt as she stood up. She dragged her fingernails across his back before departing. She linked arms with Eriol and seductively walked off.

Once out of earshot from any passerby, Kagura growled, "God, I hate that man. I flirt with every other person and they are at least flattered." She then squeezed Eriol's muscular arm. "She is ready then? She had better look somewhat like me. Just enough to fool everyone. We cannot go around cloning perfect looks, now can we?"

"Yes Mistress," Eriol sighed, "She is ready. I left her in good hands." He took her up stairwells, through small hallways, and down some stairwells. He finally knocked on a door labeled 219. "Antecedent," he mumbled towards the door. A girl with gray hair opened the door. She grinned at the two and gave a tiny 'oh ho ho' before urging them to come in.

"She is perfect Hiiragizawa-san! Just perfect! I used all the pictures I could find of the Mistress so I could get the most accurate look!" She clapped her hands together and her eyes began to shine. "But now that the mistress is here, I could make the last adjustments, if needed! Come see!" she begged as she led the pair into another room.

"Eriol…who is this?" the Mistress asked distastefully.

"Ah. This is the girl's best friend. She actually does fashion designing and makeovers for a living, surprisingly. She…snuck in actually and threatened with death if anyone got close to the girl," Eriol groaned.

"And you could not get rid of her?"

"She was very scary, Mistress…"

"Here she is!" she squealed. She took a young woman by the shoulders and pushed her towards Eriol and the Mistress. The young woman struggled to grin and then bowed deeply.

"My name is Kinomoto Sakura," she squeaked. She then faced the Mistress. "I am very happy to meet you in person."

Kagura studied the young woman. Eriol was indeed right. She looked a lot like her. The girl she met at the door cut her hair just right. Her soft auburn hair was short in the back but flowed to her shoulders in the front. She even had Kagura's trademark stray bang that always managed to flip up into the air. Her eyes were emerald, in a Japanese eye shape.

"Give me a smile, girl. I need to check your teeth," Kagura ordered. Sakura complied. "Very nice…very nice. Did you have braces as a girl?"

"No mam."

"Well Eriol. I say you did a fine job in finding a girl." She then turned to the girl who greeted them at the door. "And your name?"

"Daidouji Tomoyo, Mistress."

"Well, Daidouji, you did a fine job in making her look almost exactly like me…and the dress! I didn't think I had a spare!"

"It was no trouble! I have Sakura-chan model all my clothes and I had one designed almost like yours already! I did a few alterations and your body guard got these shoes for me!" Her eyes began to sparkle once again. "I had so much fun! Once I scared off all your employees, it was a piece of cake!"

"Perfect! Just…put some more mascara on the girl, would you? I need to talk to Hiiragizawa for a minute." Kagura then pushed Eriol in the next room and shut the door. "Are you insane?"

"What is it, my Mistress?"

"I cannot use that girl! She is positively too fat! Do I look fat?" Kagura growled. "She has to be at least 115 pounds! (52 kilos)"

"And you are…"

"I am 112 thank you! (50.8)" Kagura huffed. "I guess this is all we have, don't we? At least we only have to use her for less than a minute. I don't think many people will notice 'my' sudden weight gain!"

"I am sorry for letting you down again, Mistress" Eriol stated in monotone.

"You better. You are lucky that only my husband can let you go. I would have fired you when you used that Chinese girl with that horrible wig. I don't buy your sappy story that you have to 'feed your children since your wife died years ago'. Jeeze. Everyone uses that excuse," Kagura hissed as she stomped off. "I will be leaving now. The banquet should be over." Kagura then left the room and stomped down the hallway. Eriol solemnly rejoined the girls in the next room.

"What was that?" Tomoyo asked, "I heard the Mistress screaming in the other room."

"Oh, it was nothing. She saw a spider." Eriol sighed and added, "she did tell me that her double needs to have pearls. She is known for them at times."

"Right!" Tomoyo chirped as she rummaged through her emergency makeover bag. Out of the blue, Tomoyo heard a hushed giggle. She looked up to see a woman, whom she has not seen before, standing at the open doorway. Her mischievous eyes were ruby red and her silky black hair was placed in two buns.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here, Hiiragizawa?" she cooed in a low voice. She stepped over to where Sakura was standing and she placed her left hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Another double for the Mistress of the clan?"

"Yes, Meiling," Eriol muttered.

"You have really outdone yourself this time. She is a spitting image of the Mistress." Meiling then used her fingernails to trace an outline of Sakura's face. "But…her attitude is all wrong." Meiling mentioned Sakura's constant trembling and lip biting.

"But Miss Meiling, you are being quite scary," Eriol pointed out.

"Ah, yes. But Kagura would not mind one bit. In fact, she would think I am flirting with her," Meiling growled, "You see miss…if you are going to be Kagura for even a mere minute, you have to act like her. That means flirt with anyone and everyone. That also means that you must act like everyone is flirting with you as well. Be strong. She thinks too much of herself."

"I-I cannot possibly do that miss!" Sakura squeaked. She was still uncomfortable by the fact that this strange woman was placing her hands all over her body. "They have told me that I am only walking to the limo for her. I-"

"Actually, Miss Kinomoto," Eriol interrupted, "She has a point. You are going to need to act like her for that mere minute. People will notice if all of a sudden, the Mistress of the Li clan is suddenly slouching and hiding from cameras."

"C-Cameras!" Sakura squeaked. Goodness, she thought, I cannot possibly go out in front of cameras! What if someone recognizes me? What if I don't smile right and I am placed on the cover of every tabloid? Or what if I trip! Everyone knows I am a total klutz! And to be a klutz when I am supposed to be the Mistress of the Li clan? When the real Mistress finds out that I tripped while being her, my head is going to come off! I don't want my head to come off! My head is fine right where it is!

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo yelled, "Sakura-chan, you have not tripped yet!"

"Oh…did I say that out loud?" Sakura mumbled.

"No, I just can read you like a book."

"Enough chit chat ladies," Eriol declared as he took hold of Sakura's arm, "It is time to go."

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"Remember. Smile and wave. That is all you have to do," Eriol reminded Sakura as he pushed her towards the front doors. "Act confident. You are Li Kagura."

"Right. Li…Kagura." She took a deep breath and plastered a cheesy grin onto her face.

"Um…that will have to do," Eriol grumbled as he opened the doors for her.

Immediately, Sakura heard the roar of fans waiting on the sides of the red carpet. They acted like she was the biggest music star in China. Cameras almost blinded her and her cheesy smile. She slowly took cautious steps onto the carpet. She suddenly saw a line of little girls, still in their school uniforms. It had to be close to eleven at night and they were watching Sakura with hopeful eyes. "There she is!" she heard them say along with excited giggles and comments. Sakura stared at them for a while and her smile slowly changed into a natural smile filled with kindness. She then stood tall, reminding herself that she was the Mistress of the Li clan. She waved to the little girls (earning squeals from all of them) and various screaming fans. She whisked down the carpet feeling like a brand new person. She giggled at the cameramen when they wanted her to pose. Finally at the end of the carpet, she turned around and blew a kiss to the crowd (like the Mistress does). The camera flashes blinded her at that moment so it took her a few moments to recover. When she turned back around, Eriol held the limo door open for her as she climbed into the car.

"That was wonderful Miss Kinomoto!" Eriol congratulated, "I admit, I was a little worried. But you pulled it off! The crowd loved you! And that wink…I didn't tell you that she did that every time!" Eriol seemed very ecstatic for a guard. "Do you realize how much money I will earn because of you?"

"Um…thanks?" Sakura squeaked. She was just happy that this nightmare was over with. Eriol gave her a tiny smile.

"Let's get you home, Miss Kinomoto," Eriol announced as the lights from the city framed the windows of the limo. "And…in order to get your check…"

'Oh no! What do I have to do now? Please don't tell me that I have to give myself up to anyone! That would be horrible! Oh no! What if this man…wants me? That is disgusting!' Sakura started to inch away from Eriol. 'His hands will not touch my body.'

"…could I get you friend's number?"

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Ha! Finished! Sorry about that. It has been a while huh? June 2? This is what I was up to: Graduation from high school, various graduation parties, my college orientation, a Leadership camp at my college (fun stuff), vacation (in which I had to write a 6 page essay during the relaxationess because the leadership is technically a class so we had to write a paper for a grade), and lastly…work. I am almost working full time at Target to earn some cash for college.

As this story goes, Sakura and Syaoran WILL meet next chapter…I hope! Hehe! Remember…reviews equals updates...and not brain farts…