A/N: Lolz, you people seriously make great guesses! I have to admit, I regret making some of you suffer from the cliffhanger! SORRI, my apologies! =) Also, I am VERY SORRY for my EXTREMELY late update! =) Regents clogged up my schedule! SORRI! Once again, Thank you for every one of your reviews! They were great!!!! I was soooo happy to receive all those comments and suspicious guesses! (Not that I want you to be tortured.) Hope you enjoy reading Chapter Twelve!

Chapter Twelve

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?" Sakura questioned with a mixture of fear and courage.

The boy stepped out of the shadow, still smiling devilishly Sakura immediately earned a better view of him. He was dressed in a huge black sweater with some black pants. His hair was bright golden blond.....too bright in fact...., and Sakura couldn't help but be suspicious of something....

"Kero?"

The smirk on the boy's cherubic face dropped....

"Damn it! How did you know??!!"

(Some of you did get it right! Congratulations! (^.^)

Sakura sighed in relief. Then she grinned at Kero, and replied, "Your hair gave it away."

"Aw!!! I knew I should have asked God to make me bald!" Kero whined as he took a seat near the kitchen table.

Sakura grinned at his comment, and went right on with her question. "So.... God decided to turn you..... human?"

Kero nodded as he grabbed a apple from the fruit basket and beamed. "Ah... feels great to clutch an apple with five fingers instead of my two stubby paws...!"

"Why?"

Kero stared at her with narrow eyes.... he was use to giving her that look by now... "How would you like it if you have two furry paws and each time you try to bite into an apple, it slips!!!!!"

Sakura laughed. "No, why did he change you?"

*Munch* *Crunch* "I told him how bored I was being stuck at home, so I asked if I could become human so I can hang around you.... alllllllll day! He granted my wish, and made me into this cute handsome boy I am now!" Kero explained happily with apple bits flying from his mouth.

Sakura wiped a piece of apple from her cheek and playfully remarked, "You were cuter as a bear, and if you're going to hang around me, learn to chew correctly, and speak without your mouth full!"

Kero glared at her, but slowly faded as a exciting gleam proceeded to build in his bright dark brown eyes. "So, can I choose where to go tomorrow! PLEEEASEEE!!!" he begged and sent her a cute puppy face.

Sakura smiled and nodded. "Sure.... but don't tell me a food store! I'm not spending one of my valuable days eating!!!"

Kero beamed, and jumped off his seat. He ran towards the living room, and then returned holding a large piece of paper. He held it towards Sakura's face and jumped up at down.

Sakura peered at the colorful parchment and grinned. "The amusement park.... nice idea!"

Kero nodded with a triumphant glow.

"Well, it's late. Time for you to go to bed." Sakura announced, eyeing the younger and smaller boy before her.

Kero growled. "Which reminds me, you came home awfully late tonight.... what were you doing?" he asked with a tint of excitement.

Sakura glared at him, and loudly commanded, "GO TO SLEEP!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Morning

"Kero wake up!!!!!"

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

"Kerooooo!!!!!"

"*yawn* What!!!!!!" Kero yelled, annoyed by the fact he couldn't continue dreaming.

"Wake up! We need arrange the preparations for our trip a bit earlier. It'll be a long drive, and you want to get there early so you'll have a better chance of riding the thrill rides without waiting an hour for each one!" Sakura explained as she dashed towards the bathroom.

Kero gaped at her, and angrily looked into their mirror. "Stupid, why did you choose the amusement park!" he cursed at his own reflection.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 8:00 A.M

*Ding* *Dong*

Kero stared maliciously at the door..... but his expression soon switched to one of malevolence. He smirked as he approached it.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Li's POV

*Yawn* I wonder why Sakura actually chose something fun today. Thought she would bring me somewhere lame again, like the landfills of Japan.

..............................................................................

Hm..... I could have swore I rang the bell two minutes ago! God, why do girls always have to keep a guy waiting!

I rang the bell again....... this time..... I heard *knock* *knock*, but it wasn't me.... it was coming from the other side of the door.

If I didn't know better, I would have thought Sakura didn't know how to open door her own door. "You turn the knob, Sakura. Do you need a lesson on turning door knobs?" I teased.

*silence*

"Ok, Sakura you're not funny, open the door! It's freezing out here. I'm going to turn into a human- size Popsicle!" I hollered.

Suddenly, a note slipped out .... I picked it up and it read.....

WHAT FLAVOR?

"What????? Ok, Sakura, if you think this is entertaining, I'm leaving!" I motioned with irritation running through me.

Another note flew out. I groaned. "Sakura, are you mute, or did you finally realize how bad your voice sounds?"

After those words, I could have swore I heard a snicker fly out of the door. I felt a instant overwhelming curiosity obstruct me. I cautiously ignored it and read the second note,

YOU OPEN THE DOOR!!!!

"Sheesh, Sakura! You're full of disabilities today!" I exclaimed, and turned her knob.....

Omg, how typical of her to be this dumb..... it was locked.

"How do you expect me to open your door if it's locked!!!!!!!" I bellowed.

I heard another laugh. Then another note flew through the gap bellow the door...

USE THE WINDOW

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr "SAKURA KINOMOTO!!!"

Normal POV

Sakura scurried down the stairs as shock filled her when Li's lurid demand struck her eardrums. She stared at Kero, and her shock seemed to vanish immediately, for everything became instantly clear. "KERO BEROS! OPEN THAT DOOR NOW!!!!!" she yelled.

Kero turned at the angry Sakura and smiled nervously at her. Then he abruptly opened the door and Li's irate figure appeared. Kero smiled impishly at him and quickly ran to the table to devour the rest of his cupcakes.

Li stomped in and glared at Kero. "It was you!"

Kero smiled devilishly at Li and brightly exclaimed, "Do you like cupcakes?"

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. If you weren't retarded, I swear, I would kill you!" Li threatened.

Kero stared at him happily, but then his face turned angry. "Hey, wait a second. What did you call me????"

Li smirked. "A retard." he provoke peevishly.

"Why you little!!!!" Kero jumped out of his seat and was about to tackle him when Sakura jumped into their dispute. "Ok, that's it! Stop! Kero, you promised me you would behave...."

"No I didn't...... I....." he stopped when Sakura gave him a intimidating glare.

"And you! I'm surprised a boy of your age can be so immature." Sakura remarked, facing the surprised auburn hair boy before her.

"He started it." Li mumbled, then stared at the floor to avert her glare.

*silence*

"Now.... let's all go and have fun....ok?" Sakura ushered cheerfully.

"Wait, he's coming too????!!!!" Li exclaimed.

Kero posted a big grin on his face and nodded. "Of course, where's the fun without Kero?"

Li growled. "You take the fun out of everything!"

Kero smirked. "You just want to take advantage of Sakura, but you know since I'm here, you can't!"

Li blushed, and ran after Kero out the door.

Sakura sighed.... today will definitely be a long day.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Car

"Ooooooooo...... leather...."

Li turned from the driver's seat to study Kero's behavior. "Hey, get your feet of the seats!"

"Why should I? I have clean feet." Kero cried happily and stuck his foot in his face to purposely annoy him.

Li glared at him viciously... and then glared at Sakura. "Why in the world did you choose to bring him?"

Sakura stared at her feet... "Well.... you see, my parents had work today... and I had to take care of him..... so I decided to take him to the amusement park..."

Li smirked as he looked through the rear mirror. "It's not like he's going to be tall enough for any of the rides anyways."

Kero smiled brightly at him. "I'll wear high heels!"

"Really? Are you sure you have no problem walking in those shoes?" Li asked with a tint of evil glow.

Kero nodded triumphantly.

Li smirked. "I bet you gained experience after dressing up as a women all the time." he jeered slyly.

"Why you!!!!"

"Ouch! Hey, get off me!!!! Ow!"

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING!!!"

"OW!" "Take this, and that!" "Stop!"

"Fatso! Damnit!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Amusement Park.

*Sigh* "Finally.....Let's look on the bright side. We made it here safely!" Sakura replied happily.

Kero snickered devilishly. "HAHAA, Li got a ticket!"

"That's it! You're going to pay for it with life!" Li yelled and started to chase him.

"LOOK KERO, it's the ice cream stand, run to it!" Sakura pointed anxiously towards the entrance.

~In a gust of wind, Kero was gone.~

Li looked in utter shock.... "Well.... now we know what to do if your brother decides to join the track team."

Sakura laughed and together they walked towards the entrance of the park to get their tickets.

~ * ~ * ~ Inside the park

"Where do you want to start first?" Li asked while analyzing the map.

"Some where spooooky!" Kero advised happily.

Li grinned evilly, and reticently retorted, "What can be spookier than your face?".

Kero glared at Li. "You!"

Sakura sighed as they mentally cursed at each other.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ First ride.... the spooky mansion... =)

"Please be aware that your heart may be at risk of danger, so for precaution, those of you who have heart problems and are easily scared, I advise you depart this exhibit."

Kero nodded at the announcer, and narrowed his eyes at Li. "You can back out now you know, save yourself from future embarrassment."

Li smirked. "Speak for yourself. If you get scared, I'll stick a sock in your mouth to muffle your shrieks."

Sakura sighed and ignored their vain threats, then moved into the huge building without them. Li and Kero quickly followed, after realizing she was gone.

Inside, the huge room was lightly illuminated with candles, and hollow moans and shrill shrieks flowed through the cool atmosphere.

Kero stared at the ceilings streaked with artificial blood... he sniffed the walls while Li watched him curiously... "Hm.... you think if I jump high enough, I'd be able to reach some of that cherry blood?"

Li sweat dropped and turned to Sakura who was giggling at him. "Your brother has a good sense of smell...." Li mumbled while staring at the height of the ceilings.

Sakura smiled at his comment and began to move down the halls. Li watched her continued, but realized his shoelaces were untied, so he stayed behind to tie them.

As she bounded a corner, a unexpected headless troll shot out of the wall.

"Wha!" Sakura cried out as overwhelming shock threw her back. She tripped on her own feet and started to fall backwards....

Li had just finished tying his shoelaces, and quickly ran up the hallway to catch up with Sakura.... only to be taken back by her fall.... he swiftly caught her around the waist and held her tightly...

Li waited for Sakura to calm down and smiled at the fact that she was in his arms....

"You ok?" he whispered gently, and held her even more close.

His words and his touch lifted her with affection and the familiar tint of red floated across her cheeks as she nodded.

"You're warm..." Li softly informed.

For minute, they stood there in the same position... until a small figure came running towards them...

"Stupid ceiling, why'd you have to be so freakin high....then again, why did I have to be short!..... and.... hey... what the heck are you two doing.... *gasp* LI SYOARAN! The nerve of you! Taking advantage of Sakura when I'm not here! You pervert! Get your slimy hands off her this instantly!" his voice bellowed.

As if obeying Kero's demand, they parted immediately, and for the rest of the ride, Kero held Sakura's hand and dragged her where ever he wanted to go.... he left Li cursing behind them =)

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ After the ride

"That was a nice exhibit." Sakura commented as they walked through the exciting grounds.

Li nodded in agreement, and began to study the map once again. Li smirked. "Oh, look... there's a pie eating contest." Looking up from the map, he took a quick glance at Kero's glistening eyes, and his smirk widen.

Kero quickly beamed at Sakura. "PLEASEEEE!!!! I promise I'll bring home first prize!"

Sakura nodded with a smile. "What else are you good at?" she teased.

Li grinned too.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Pie Eating Contest

"Well... don't you think you're a little too small to go against all those big guys over there?"

Sakura laughed nervously at the host. "My brother has quite an appetite. I'm sure he'll do fine."

Kero glared at the host and nodded in proud agreement.

The host nodded with hesitation... "Ok... well... take a seat next to that big guy over there, and the contest will start in a few minutes."

Kero beamed and ran up the stage, while the other competitors scoffed at him.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Pie contest starts

"Ok, Folks! This is it! It's time for our fellow competitors to open up their appetites and finish off 20 batches of pie!!! Winner gets to bring home a year supply of Cheerios!" the Host announced joyously.

"....um...What does cereal have to do with pie?" Li whispered from offstage where all the audience watched.

Sakura smiled, and shrugged.

Li grinned once the host announced the start of the contest. He glanced at Sakura and tapped her on the shoulders to catch her attention.

"Come' on," he motioned as he started to make his way through the crowd.

Sakura stared in confusion, but followed. "Where are you going?" she beckoned once out of the crowd.

Li smirked. "Let's go visit other rides!"

Sakura frowned. "What about Kero?"

Li stared at the huge column of pie. "No human can finish that in half an hour!" he persisted logically.

"You don't know Kero then." she mumbled to herself... but she did want to go on other rides... so she nodded... "but... we have to be back by half an hour!" Sakura warned.

Li nodded with a frustrated sigh, and quickly took hold of her hand. Sakura smiled as he led her to a roller coaster.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

After half an hour, they had ridden loads of rides, including three roller coasters, bumping cars, and the flying swings that Li reluctantly went on.

"Wow! That was fun!" Sakura breathed as she got off the boat ride. She turned to catch Li's expression and laughed. His face was a lime green. "Guess you're not a fan of water rides!" she implied cleverly.

Li glared at her and he leaned against a pole to support his weakening legs.

Sakura sighed contently and started to look around for anything interesting. She grinned once she noticed something a few feet from her. "Psss, Li! Let's go check out that mirror room exhibit."

Before Li could reject her option, Sakura had already dashed into the room. He groaned with disappointment and slowly limped in next to her.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

In side the dimly lit room, Li felt as if he had entered a surgery room. "Sakura?" he called through the empty hallways. "This is like a stupid maze." Li cursed under his breath.

Sakura could hear Li's distant voice calling out to her, she smiled. "Over here!" she called out into the open.

"I can't see you!" Li cried out while wandering through the walls of mirrors.

"Me neither!" Sakura called back.

"Why do we keep ending in such dark places these days!" Li mumbled.

"Sakura! Keep talking to me, and I'll find my way towards you by sound." Li replied, continuing his walk.

"Alright!" Sakura agreed.

At the sound of her voice, he sensed the short distance between them. Once he turned a corner, he immediately saw Sakura's figure and smirked. He noticed how Sakura was turning her head desperately.....and his smirk widen even more. He quickly ran towards her to give her a little scare...

*BANG!!!!!*

"OWW!" Li groaned. He stared at the mirror he had collided with and continue to moan in pain.

"Li?" Sakura's voice came.

Li continued to groan in pain.

Sakura quickly tried to find him.... and finally she did..... he laid huddled near a corner mirror groaning. She walked over and lightly tapped him on the shoulders. "Hey.... you ok?"

Li stared at her while he covered his face with his hand, and muffled... "I broke my nose, what do you think?"

Sakura laughed.

"You really pick the wrong times to laugh you know." Li muffled again.

Sakura giggled again, and helped Li up. "How did you break your nose anyways?"

Li blushed. "None of your business!" he snapped.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Outside of the Mirror Exhibit

"Oh No! Kero's probably worried about us! We've been gone for almost an hour!" Sakura exclaimed as she examined her watch. "Let's go find him."

Li nodded obediently, but just as they started to walk...

"Where have you guys been? I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Sakura quickly turned at the voice. "Kero! I'm so sorry for leaving you for so long! We assumed that it'll take you half an hour to eat all that pie so we went off to play on some rides." She quickly explained.

Kero's eyes became narrowed as he glared at Li... "Together?"

Li smirked. "Yea Kero. We went together." he quickly replied.

Kero glared at him harder, then turned back at Sakura! "Half an hour! I finished the match in ten minutes! I spent half an hour signing autographs for people!" he yelled proudly.

"You can write?" Li teased with a devilish grin.

Sakura instantly elbowed Li in the stomach, as Kero growled.

"So, where's your prize?" Sakura asked, changing the subject.

Kero smiled. "I donated it into charity box near the entrance." he informed contently.

"How sweet of you!" Sakura commented and pat him on the head.

"How dirty of him! Look at the cream that's still on his nose!" Li mocked joyously.

"Look at how flat your nose is!" Kero threw back and fell on the floor laughing.

Li blushed. "Is it ok if he calls a cab home? I have the sudden urge to leave him here." he replied.

Sakura smiled. "Don't worry. Your nose will be fine by tomorrow." she assured while laughing.

Li quickly shot her a glare too. "That's it! Have fun sleeping here tonight!!!" he hollered as he walked towards another game booth.

Sakura giggled and quickly caught up with him.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Home

"Night Li." Sakura softly mumbled and waved at the departing figure.

"Bye, Li! Can't wait to see how your nose will look tomorrow!" Kero bellowed happily.

Li stopped in his tracks and glared at Kero before getting into his car and driving away.

Sakura and Kero quickly entered their homes and raced to the bathroom to see who would take a shower first...... Kero won.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 11:00 P.M

"So.. where are you planning to go tomorrow?" Kero asked while laying on his bed.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know... where do you think?"

Kero smiled. "I bet he's never went to the opera before!"

Sakura flinched at the words. She had never enjoyed operas.... but then... Li probably never went to one before.... and if she goes... maybe they can both learn to enjoy it....

"That's not a bad idea... I guess... hm...." Sakura thought out loud.

Kero frowned. "If you're really going to the opera... I'm definitely not coming!"

Sakura smiled. "That settles it. Opera it is."

Kero stared at her... "Hey! You made your mind up awfully quick!"

Sakura laughed. "You should be happy! More time to play video games! This time you can play with your hands!" Sakura exclaimed brightly.

Kero beamed. "Cooool!"

*Yawn* "Night Kero." Sakura mumbled tiredly, and wistfully began to fall asleep....

"Night!" Kero cried out excitedly, and quickly feel asleep too.

A/N: And there ends my twelfth chapter of Because of You! Hope you enjoyed this chapter readers, it was much longer in my opinion! =) and as you all should know.... next chapter.... the opera.... hm..... what a weird place to go...wonder what will happen? =) Well, See you later! Bye! (^.^)!!!