A/N: Wha!!!! Thank you for the reviews! I always get more than expected and it makes me very happy!!! Thank you!!!!

Chapter Five!

In the dark, Sakura laid on her bed preparing to sleep. She turned around to find a better position, and noticed Kero fidgeting at the corner of his diminutive bed. She smiled.

"Kero?" she whispered.

Kero looked up from his blanket at her. "Yep?"

"Are you asleep?"

Kero sweat dropped. "I dunno, Sakura, what do you think?"

Sakura chuckled at her silliness. "I can't sleep...."

"Why not?"

"I dunno...."

"You're thinking about too many things.... just clear your mind and you'll be asleep before you know it." Kero replied with a smirk.

Sakura gave a weak smile. "Kero... you were right...... I wish I was still alive...... just so love can play a part in my life..... but now..... it is too late.......I hate it when stuff bears are right."

Kero gave Sakura a small grin, and replied, "I'll give you love.... I mean... you're not exactly alive..... but you are kind of...... and I can love you, as long as you love me back......... which means cupcakes everyday...."

Sakura laughed, and nodded. "Night Kero...."

*Yawn* "Night Sakura."

* ~ * ~ * ~ Noon * ~ * ~ * ~

*Ding Dong*

"The brat is here!!!!!" Kero bellowed as he stared through the curtain of his kitchen window.

Sakura smiled brightly. She ran upstairs, grabbed her jacket before rushing back downstairs to open the door. "Morning!" she beamed at the growling figure.

Li scowled, and walked away from the door to let her out. Sakura grinned, and silently winked at Kero who sat on the table remaining still and silent, before she closed the door.

~ * ~ * ~ Outside.

"So.... where do you want to go today?" Li mumbled staring at the ground and kicking the snow.

Sakura stared at Li's actions and silently giggled. "May I ask that we go to the mall?"

Li abruptly looked up. His eyebrow rose, "The mall....?" he repeated to himself.

"Yep! Tomorrow's Christmas eve, remember!" Sakura exclaimed brightly, while walking to his car.

"O...." Li murmured and stared at the ground again.

Sakura stopped in her tracks. "Don't tell me you forgot...."

Li didn't say anything at first. "I don't waste my precious time thinking about Christmas.... it doesn't really matter to me anyways...."

Sakura grinned. "Li..... have you ever celebrated Christmas?"

Li glared at her. "It's none of your business!, but I will you my mother has elegant Christmas parties every year!"

Sakura chuckled. "You mean Christmas parties that you never attend."

Li growled. "Shut up and walk!"

Sakura laughed and continued to walk to his car.

"I just realized, you're not taking the stupid bus today.... and I was actually prepared for it...... I brought tons of pennies....." Li informed with pride.

Sakura burst out into laughter, and Li immediately blushed, wondering what was so funny.

~* ~ * ~*~ Mall~ * ~ * ~

"Wow..... this mall is huge....." Sakura breathed as she stepped into the massive doorways of the mall.

"Not really..... my living room is twice it's size." Li mumbled.

Sakura glared at him. "Stop showing off!"

"I was being honest!" Li yelled.

"God didn't tell me he was so annoying..." Sakura mumbled.

"What?!"

"Nothing........ hey are you hungry?" Sakura asked quickly changing the subject.

Li nodded. "Lets go to the food court...."

Sakura smiled. "Yep!"

As Li led the way to the food court, Sakura silently thought to herself, "What would Kero like for a present? What would this stubborn brat like for Christmas.... well... he probably has everything he wants considering how rich he is....."

*Lunch*

"Um...... is there anything eatable here?" Li asked in disgust as he stared at the food people were eating.

Sakura chuckled. "Everything is eatable. Now choose!"

"Um... I'll have whatever you have....." Li mumbled.

Sakura nodded and ran to the pizza section, and watched as Li followed.

~~~ 15 minutes later.

"So this is pizza....." Li observed the piece carefully.

Sakura nodded and stared at Li's expressions curiously. She watched him take a small bite and chew slowly. Then he nodded in satisfaction.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be..... is there anything else we can try?" Li asked with a tint of content and excitement in his tone.

Sakura nodded delightfully. He was a little happy.... she could sense it...... she was actually making progress....and she couldn't help but smile too....

"Li?"

"hmmm?" Li asked while chewing on fries now.

"How come you never use to come out from your rich position and into the urban life like you are doing now? I mean, you should really get a taste of how the whole world is... before you loose the chance to..." Sakura replied.

Li stopped stuffing himself and stared into her enormous emerald eyes.... "I...... well.... I was never forced to explore the middle-class life like I am now..."

Sakura grinned. "So it's a good thing I'm here right?"

"Of coarse it is..... not...." Li blushed again, and continued to eat.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Why are you buying so much candy.... and cupcakes? Wait a minute.... you're not buying this for your stupid brother..... you know.... the one whose apparently obsessed over cupcakes are you?" Li asked his widening eyes.

Sakura chuckled and nodded. "He loves sweet."

"Yea well, he should cut down on it, because I think he's going to get extremely over-hyperactive and end up even more nuts than he already is!" Li advise with a sense of irritation in his voice.

Sakura smiled. "Maybe....Hey, can you wait here, I need to use the restroom."

Li nodded and stared at the sweets in the large bag she was holding. "I'll carry those for you...."

Sakura smiled again and handed the bag to him. Then she rushed towards the direction if the bathroom and Li sat on the bench waiting.

After fifteen minutes, Sakura came bounding back to him with a bag.

"What's in that bag?" Li asked suspiciously at the beaming girl.

"Nothing, just something I found cute on my way back from the bathroom." Sakura replied happily.

"O...." Li mumbled.

"So... do you think you've had enough walking....?" Sakura asked.

Li frowned at her. "Yea, and I'm quite annoyed that you dragged me to every store on every floor just to look and play around in. You didn't buy even one little thing... from any of them! What kind of girl are you! You come to the store to buy candy.... and yarn!" Li added as he peeked into the mysterious bag Sakura held.

Sakura giggled. "I'm just not the kind of girls you know....."

Li sighed. "That's why you're so weird." Li mocked coolly.

Sakura shrug. "I like being weird." she informed nonchalantly and walked towards the direction of the entrance.

~* ~ * ~ *~

As Sakura stepped out into the cold winter night, she couldn't help but smile happily at the moon. It's glow illuminated the streets with a quiet tranquil warmth, and she realized how pretty it was.

"Ready to go?" Li asked.

Sakura nodded at him and began to walk behind him towards his car. While they walked, Sakura noticed a gown store.... She stopped short and stared at the picture that showed a couple modeling wedding gowns. She smiled warmly at the picture, and Li stared at her curiously. He slowly walked towards her and continued began to stare at the picture with her.

The he watched as her eyes traveled to the left of the display and spotted a beautiful white gown.... her eyes widen..... she grinned.

"Li.... life is a very wonderful thing.... think of life as a chance.......the chance to experience and realize the possibilities and dreams you can achieve... learn to cherish life before you loose it and never be able to gain anything from it at all..... life is something I took...I mean take..... for granted..... and when I realize something.... it's always too late.... so.... Li.....don't procrastinate.... do the things you love and want to experience as soon as possible...... your experiences, especially in love and friendship, are what makes life worth living for.....and so far... I believe you haven't experienced any love nor friendship, am I right?"

Li stared at her in disbelief. "You got all that from staring at a dress?"

Sakura laughed and then smiled at him. "Let's go home...."

Li growled in disbelief and muttered, "I hate it when she's right..."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Home....

"Thanks, Li. For taking me to the mall today...." Sakura replied as she stepped out of Li's car, and began to walk back to her house.

Li glared at her as he walked beside her, "I'm only doing this because of our deal!"

Sakura smiled sweetly at him. "I'm not impolite you know.... I thank people when the deserve it..... and I don't really care if we're on a deal or not, but the point is, you did me a favor, and you deserve my gratitude."

Li growled.

"Li... whoa!!!" Sakura yelled, as she slipped on the solid ice beneath her, she grabbed Li for support, and they both fell....... with Li above her.

For a moment, they stayed in their position, both breathless and silent. Sakura stared at his clear brown eyes...... they looked so pure..... deep and entrancing. She blushed once she realized he was on top of her. Li was struggling on his elbows, so he wouldn't have to be directly on top of her, and crush her...... this took a lot of effort considering he had to hold back his desires..... but he stopped struggling when he caught sight of her enchanting eyes, and the beautiful glowing face she possessed.... she looked like a angel..... he shook his head and quickly pulled himself up. He was blushing madly, and without looking at Sakura, he stuck his hand out towards Sakura and muttered "Here..."

Sakura's eyes widen a little, and she stared at his out stretched hand with curiosity. Slowly, she lifted her own hands and took hold of his. His hand was firm and warm...it felt safe....and Li gently pulled her up. After holding her hand for ages, Li finally realized his actions and jerked his hand away from hers. "Sorry....I.... hey... your hand's bleeding....."

Sakura gasped. She stared at the scrap she had made, and the blood trickling from it. "I'm bleeding...." she breathed.

Li stared at her strangely..... "Yes.... you're bleeding.... it's a miracle?"

Sakura stared at him with her eyes wide. "I'm bleeding!" screamed with excitement.

"Yes I know! I'm so happy for you, now let's go in and fix it!" Li yelled with sarcastic excitement and happiness.

Sakura suddenly laughed at his actions. It was the first time she had seen him act excited... even if it was just a form of mockery.

Li blushed again and muttered, "Let's go inside to fix your hand."

Sakura nodded and walked up to her door. When she opened it, she thoughtlessly cried out, "Kero, can you bring me the band aids?"

From upstairs, Kero's voice bellowed, "Sure, but why?"

"So Kero's your brother..." Li inferred as he closed the door behind him.

Sakura gasped. "Oh my god!! Kero! No... he's.......um *damn it what should I say*.....Crap!"

"He's crap?" Li asked curiously.

"No!!!.. I mean.... yes...wait no! He is my brother! Kero don't come...." Sakura stopped she was too late..... Kero flew down from the stairs with a joyous look on his face and turned towards Sakura who's eyes widen in fear.

Kero flew in front of Sakura's face and wondered why she was so shocked....until he saw why..... when he saw Li, his happy expression vanished, and he dropped onto the floor with the box of band aids he held.

Sakura hesitated to see the surprised look on Li's face. "Oh no..." she thought to herself.

"Sakura...."

Sakura sighed. "Li.... I...."

"Did that teddy bear just fly...?"

Sakura looked down at the floor, afraid to meet his glance. Think fast!!! she mentally told herself. Then a light bulb clicked in her head, she smiled brightly at him. "No!!!! Of course not! Have you ever seen teddy bears fly?! I mean, you would have to be crazy to think that....this ......um......this thing..... is just a stupid toy I have....(Sakura picks up Kero and tosses him aside, while muttering sorry!) My brother... you know the one who's sick..... yea... um... he has a habit of throwing things at me when I come home...."

"Bu.... but...... the thing curved....!" Li exclaimed in horror.

"Yea I know, he'll make a great pitcher for the Yankees!" Sakura beamed.

Li immediately recovered from his shock and chuckled at her joke. When he realized this, he slapped his mouth shut for doing it.

Sakura laughed.

For a moment they kept silent, and wouldn't say a word to each other.

"Um... Sakura.... you hand's still bleeding..." Li mumbled as soon as he noticed her injured hand.

Sakura jumped, and nodded.

"Band aids aren't enough.... go get alcohol, and some sort of wrapping cloth.... the opening in your skin is way to large....." Li explained.

Sakura glanced at him curiously, and nodded. She grabbed Kero from the floor and grabbed ran up the stairs.

*Upstairs*

"Bum! Kero's just your stuff animal, and a STUPID one too! Sure toss Kero aside!" Kero muffled.

Sakura sighed. "Kero, you know that I didn't mean what I said. Be good.... and stay up here for now.... I promise I'll give you your Christmas present at midnight ok?"

Kero beamed. "YOU BETTER!!!!!!!!!!"

Sakura smiled. She allowed him to fly into her room and play on the computer that was inside, while she fished for the necessary equipment. After getting the roll of cloth and alcohol pads, she dashed downstairs and saw Li waiting patiently by the door.

She smiled. "I never forbid you from sitting."

Li looked up from the ground and frowned. "I prefer to stand..."

She chuckled. "Your arrogance is beyond believable, Li."

Li glared at her.... but he softened as he caught sight of her hand again. "Sakura, bring the things over here..... I'll help you put it on....."

Sakura nodded. She carried the equipment to him and waited as he opened one of the alcohol pads....

"Um..... this will hurt..... so get the stuff bear of yours so you can hug him if the pain becomes intolerable." Li muttered.

Sakura nodded, "He's upstairs though, let me get him....."

*sigh* "Never mind then.... if the pain becomes intolerable...... you can.... hold onto me...."

Sakura gulped at his words, but soon began to giggle at the bright red color his face began to form. Then she nodded.

Li held her soft injured hand gently, and winced as he edged the pad close to the bloody opening of skin. He began to sweat, and reluctantly began to softly rub the pad on her injury. "Hold it, Sakura... it'll all be over s....." his words were quickly interrupted by the touch of Sakura's arm around his waist. Her vulnerable head laid trembling on his chest. Li stared at her actions and his eyes suddenly turned soft..... he stared at her with the kindness and warmth he had never allowed into the world.... he could help but whisper into her ears..... the words he kept for so long, "You're so cute...."

Sakura opened her eyes in shock..... she blushed and her eyes became dreamy. He called her cute..... the pain immediately disappeared and when Li finished with the pad, he mumbled, "It's over, Sakura."

Sakura smiled and reluctantly pulled away. "Li, did you call me cute?"

Li blushed madly. "No.... it's time to wrap you hand....." he mumbled with embarrassment.

Sakura grinned and allowed him to take hold her of hand again. She watched as his face became intent, and serious with concern, as he wrapped her hand with the gentleness he would have never thought he possessed. Sakura felt all fuzzy inside and was suddenly filled with a special feeling she never experienced before.....

Soon, he was done, and Sakura stared at her bandaged hand. With a smirk, she replied, "Not bad for a cold hearted guy...."

Li glared at her. "Yea, you know what, I should have left you in the cold and allow that injury to get infected!"

Sakura smiled warmly at him. "Li...." she replied.

"What?" he asked roughly

"Thank you...." she answered softly.

Li gave her a small smile.... a real small smile..... "Now you owe me, Kinomoto!"

Sakura laughed. "What do you have in mind?"

"You'll see...." Li simply answered, and started out the door.

Sakura smiled happily at the retreating figure and told herself... "He thinks I'm cute...!"

A/N: Wow!!! Longest chapter so far!!!!! Hehe, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hope to finish the sixth chapter soon!!!!! =) Bye =)