AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:

Oh well, I'll be going back to school on June 8. I might not be able to update this fic as soon as I can. But as long as there are research projects and stuff to do, maybe I can try sneaking, if you know what I mean!

SPECIALTHANKS TO:

obitakuleht: Thank you very much, really! Whoa… I found the sweat dropping part funny. Hehe!
Lin: Arigatou gozaimasu! I guess we'll talk more about this at the you-know-where.
Pinaygrrl: Gee, thanks very much for the support! I thought you were no longer going to review since I hadn't updated for so long. (all smiles)
sabishiikage: Thankyouthankyou! That helped me in typing this sixth chap. I was encouraged by that!
Sanoske and Kiri: Wow… That's very nice of you both! I really find your review amusing. Thanks for the support, yes, I did appreciate that very well!
killer2be: Thank you. But I thought you wouldn't find it funny… All the same, I really tried making it a bit funny but in the dark humor way, as I call it… Still, thanks again! Lol!
youkaigirl64: Sure thing! And a bit more could be found in this chap!
prettycosmosis: Hehe… Of course their fights would soon lessen, but to tell you honestly, there's going to be a big fight somewhere in the middle of the story itself! Sorry for that little piece of spoiler… But still, I want to thank you for dropping by a review!
Unknown: Thanks! Gee, I really don't know how much I want to thank all of you for those nice reviews you dropped by, all of you! Your reviews warm my heart, honestly, because actually, I was in a bad mood when I wrote the fifth chap. But anyways, hope you'll still support! (Did I sound too rude? Sorry about it.).
cuteblossom: As I have told the others, I want to thank you too! I'm glad you appreciated my story. It hadn't been that easy to cook up another plotline for this fic.
mauinetani: Ohayo! How's my besty? Talagang gusto kitang pasalamatan. Ang sweet mo talaga. Sayang nga lang at manhid yung isa diyan. Di ba kilala mo yung tinutukoy ko? Hehe. I'm going to review in your third fic soon.
neopyrocitrine: Ei! Musta na? Hope you're okay. I miss you dreadfully! Try visiting HFS for sometime.

BACK TO darkshadow36: To you pips out there, go ahead and read the long-awaited chap.

: MAIN CHARACTERS:
Li Syaoran – clueless of what's behind him
Sakura Kinomoto – darkened over her dark past
Tomoyo Daidouji – optimistic and willing to help
Eriol Hiiragizawa – has his hidden talents

: SUMMARY FOR CHAPTER 6: It's meeting the folks! How will things go for the four of them? Will their parents and guardians accept their special relationships? Another, Sakura discovers half about what really happened to her family… Does she still have hope? And, there's an unknown enemy on the run… It's all that in this chap!

(UPDATED: May 27, 2005) Chapter 6: A World of Mysteries

-0-

Monday—the four were at Eriol's house, which is just a few walking distances from the school. Ten minutes had already passed since they arrived. They promised to have dinner at Eriol's house for today.

Tomoyo had already informed her mother that she'd be at Eriol's house for the whole afternoon and that she'll be back home by 6:30 p.m... As for Syaoran and Sakura, they have no intention of telling their folks at all.

"So is this what you've been up to?" The booming voice repeated. The four looked back in fear and saw a young woman with long hair and she looked as if her eyes were dancing madly.

"Err, guys, this is Nakuru, Akizuki Nakuru," Eriol stood up while nodding towards this strange-looking girl. He smiled quite sheepishly. "Uh, Nakuru, I thought you were out with your friends and stuff…"

Sakura looked at Nakuru from head to toe.

'I think I've already heard her name before…' she thought.

"Well, mister, for your information…" Nakuru looked at Eriol's friends and gaped at them, "I want to check you first before I go on with my business."

Eriol put a hand on Nakuru's shoulder. "C'mon, Nakuru-san, I'm no longer a kid."

"Is this what you call… fun?" Sakura said loudly. Nakuru's eyes rounded on Sakura.

"Why not introduce your friends to me, eh?" Nakuru smiled. This surprised Sakura. "It would be a pleasure for me to get to know them very well."

Eriol thought Nakuru was going to strangle Sakura by the way she spoke, but he soon found himself talking about them quite soothingly.

"Uh, this is Li Syaoran, my co-player in the Redstone basketball team," Eriol began, "this is Tomoyo Daidouji… And this is Sakura Kinomoto."

Hearing Sakura's name had had an effect on Nakuru, and this really surprised the four of them, especially Sakura.

"You're a… Kinomoto?" said Nakuru, looking at her closely. Sakura just nodded. "Then you're…"

"WHAT?" The four said altogether.

Nakuru bit her tongue. "Oh, nothing," she said. "I just thought she was someone else I knew… So, how about getting to know them more?" She smiled jubilantly. "Wait a minute; I'll just prepare the dinner, but it may take time." Then she ran straight into the kitchen while bouncing like a bunny.

"Wait—are you still going out?" Eriol yelled.

"Not anymore!" Nakuru yelled back at him. Then the four settled down again and they continued watching TV.

"She sounds pretty happy about staying here instead of going out," Syaoran smirked. "Anyway, it's strange how she acted a while ago towards Kinomoto-san. It seems like she knew something about her that we don't."

"Well, I suppose it's about Sakura's past… Maybe…" Eriol cupped his chin thoughtfully with his hand. "All we know about Sakura's past is that she belongs to an aristocratic family. They're all very sophisticated… And Sakura's currently adopted by a couple."

"Since Sakura never told us much about her past, maybe we could just ask Nakuru instead," Tomoyo shrugged.

That was when they realize Sakura wasn't with them on the sofa.

"I'm here in the kitchen, guys!" They heard Sakura's voice. The three sighed in relief, and so they continued watching TV.

"Look, it's the carrot-head man who saved the day!" Syaoran said gleefully.

-0-

Nakuru and Sakura were both at the kitchen.

"I was right," said Nakuru, still looking at Sakura. "The moment I rested my eyes on you, I knew you were a Kinomoto! But I quite doubted it because… I've heard that your house got burned down… I'm sorry to hear that… And I thought your whole family's gone!"

Sakura just looked at the other three who were now watching a DVD of 'Cooking Monsters'. They were laughing again, and hearing them this happy made her quite glad she was here with them. "Yeah, and I think I've already heard your name before. Anyway, tell me more about it," she just said.

Nakuru took a nice and deep long breath. "All right, but first of all, I want to ask you if… Am I right in saying that your tragedy happened when you were only eight?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded. "Go on …"

"Well, your family's famous during our time! And you're like fifteen years old now and you're still famous!" Nakuru looked quite outraged but Sakura didn't mind. "People are still investigating your tragedy, y'know…"

"So what are you exactly trying to imply then?" Sakura asked anxiously.

"Your family's not without enemies," Nakuru said slowly. But Sakura still had that tough look.

"Look here, M—" she looked at her inquiringly.

"Just call me Nakuru, please," Nakuru interrupted.

"Right, Nakuru," Sakura continued, "As you have just said, my family's not without enemies. But those people who you call enemies… They're just the people who want to steal our fortune. People were too greedy back then."

"Yes," said Nakuru, "When it was reported on news about that tragic incident, many were shocked, of course… And guess what—it was also reported on the news that your parents' bodies were found—"

"I know that," Sakura said in a quite bored way. "And they also reported that I'm still alive and well since I wasn't in the house when the tragedy happened. I didn't watch the news though during that time. They even said my brother also died when the fire appeared and burned the house down. That literally means I have no more living relatives left. I'm the last of the Kinomotos… And I don't know if I can protect the fortune at such a young age…"

"Actually," Nakuru looked furtively at the three who kept on laughing, "your brother is missing."

"What do you mean?" Sakura said incredulously.

"Don't you see?"

"Get straight to the point."

Nakuru paused for a while and finally said, "You still have a living relative, Sakura-san. You still have hope. Literally, you still have my friend, Touya Kinomoto."

-0-

"NO! NO! NO!"

"What are you shouting at dear?" Yukon jumped, quite terrified. "You seem… upset about something—"

"Oh, yes, yes!" The 26-year old woman nodded furiously. "You know what; I should have said a flat no to that evil witch!"

Yukon gulped. "You mean—Madam?"

"Of course," Sherri tried her best to calm down herself. She sat down beside her husband who had just turned on the TV. "If only I knew Sakura would be coming to our lives…"

"But… She seems to detest you a lot these days—"

"Say 'ever since we came to adopt her'," Sherri interrupted. "All the same, I still love her no matter how much she turns her back on us…"

Yukon sighed. "Why would you be so hopeful though? I will give up immediately if I were you."

Sherri let out a yawn. "What? You'll easily give up just like that?" she said, her eyes widening. "Geez, I wish I didn't marry a schmuck like you." She laughed.

Yukon laughed too. "You and Sakura are so much alike, you know… And anyway, why did we land on this subject?"

"I just thought of putting it up because… Oh, that doesn't matter anyway…"

"All right, whatever you say. So why are you still hoping for such thing?"

Sherri smiled. "It's because… I know someday she'll come back to us… And if that day ever happens, I know that that will be the time I'll die."

-0-

"I can't believe it…" Sakura's smile brightened. "Thanks for the info, Nakuru. I owe you one!"

"It's okay…" Nakuru grinned as she prepared their snacks.

"But… How did you know that? Are you both still communicating?"

"Well, sorta," said Nakuru. "I can't tell you much though, sorry. Touya told me not to tell you more about what's been happening to them."

"Them? What do you mean? Do you mean to say that—my parents are still alive? C'mon, tell me more!" She had been so excited that she nearly knocked off the plates beside her.

Nakuru shook her head. "I'm really sorry, Sakura… Your parents are really dead now; their bodies are proofs. Well… Uh…" her face screwed up. But she continued, "But I really can't tell you more there is to know about Touya's things…"

Sakura looked quite expectant. Nakuru felt sorry for her, and so she just chose to make things a bit easier. But when she said her next words, it hadn't been that easy for Sakura.

"But I can tell you four more things—first, I can't answer some of the questions that are circling around your mind now; second, I promise you I won't tell this secret to anyone, since it came to my knowledge from Eriol that you don't want to say anything involving your past. Third, Touya was the one who returned your bag. And finally the fourth—you can now watch along with the others. I know someday you'll find the answers to your questions."

"But—"

"Ah, ah, ah," Nakuru put up her forefinger. "I've told you much now… And Touya's gonna cut off my tongue if this comes to his knowledge. Anyway, even Eriol doesn't know this secret I'm hiding. We're hiding." She whispered. "But I believe that they'll soon know. There's no use hiding it forever."

Sakura had no choice. Though she was eager to know more, she just sighed sadly and went back to the living room and then she sat down beside Tomoyo.

"It looks like you and Nakuru got on well," said Eriol. Sakura just nodded.

Tomoyo, meanwhile, kept on gushing at the monsters. "Hey, Sakura-chan, look at that monster! His name's Wiki. Isn't he cute?"

"What makes him cute, eh, Tomoyo-san?" Syaoran drawled.

"Well, Syaoran…" Eriol said, "Just look at Wiki… He's got the head of a monkey, a body of a hamster, and legs of that of a frog. Imagine if we have an animal like that today. It'll be amazing."

"I'd like it much better if its body is that of an elephant," Syaoran said grimly.

-0-

"Well, I've already introduced Eriol to my mom…" Tomoyo told Nakuru, blushing. "And she… liked him." She smiled beamingly.

Nakuru squealed in delight, making the four leap in surprise. "Oh that's wonderful! And I also approve of your relationship… In fact, I think you'd make a great couple." She clapped her hands. "Who wouldn't like my dear baby Eriol anyway? I raised him ever since he was a baby… Look at that angelic smile, those mysterious but captivating eyes…"

"Cut it out," Eriol went red. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm no longer a baby? Unless you want me to search for your brain, I hope that'll help!"

"I'm glad he's no longer a baby!" Nakuru said loudly, ignoring Eriol. "I find your love story very fascinating. Eriol told me about it," Nakuru's proud face was still fixed on Tomoyo. Syaoran and Sakura suppressed a grin.

Suddenly, Nakuru turned to look at Syaoran, who froze. Sakura laughed.

"You look very cute when you freeze, Li-kun," she said. "I think I'd prefer to see you like that most of the time so that we could no longer argue."

Syaoran groaned. But he immediately pulled himself together. He smiled teasingly at Sakura.

"Oh well…" he smiled bracingly, "I always look cute in different angles, you know. I thought you knew that, Kinomoto-san."

"What an arrogant man," Sakura looked at him disapprovingly. "I should have known—you're one of those dominant men I ever knew in my entire life—"

"Hey, wait," Nakuru stood up and was able to stop the two from getting at each other, "I thought you're also a coupling like Eriol and Tomoyo. Why are you arguing?"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken by that, Miss Nakuru—" Sakura looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Uh, Nakuru, you know what—your day will never be complete without seeing them argue about life's smallest details and that…" Eriol said slowly.

Despite this 'horrible' fact, Nakuru still looked fascinated by the two. "As they say, the more you hate the person, the more you love that person!" She pouted cutely.

"WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT?" Syaoran and Sakura said at the same time.

"Ooh… This is becoming more interesting than I thought…" Tomoyo looked at them with pure interest and fascination.

Nakuru agreed. "Can't you tell how that is?" she said. "They say that if you hate the person, it means you care about that person by the way you retort back at each other!"

Sakura frowned slightly. "Love doesn't have anything to do with it at all—"

"As for your case, it does," Nakuru seemed serious this time. "Surely the thought of why you hate Syaoran so much will always cross your mind especially that you get to see each other almost everyday, correct me if I'm mistaken… Surely you might think one of these days… 'Maybe I've actually fallen for him'…" she sighed dreamily. "And Syaoran might feel the same way about you too!"

"That's nonsense!" Sakura said airily.

"I will never fall for my best friend," Syaoran said sharply. "We're just friends and that's there is to it."

Eriol grinned. "Sorry about that, guys. She reads romance novels and loves them so much. That results to her wide imagination and to her strong knack for smelling love in the air. She even told me once, back when I was still little, that she was able to match her guy best friend to that woman he absolutely hated."

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you?" said Sakura. Eriol shook his head.

"Ask the matchmaker yourself," he said simply.

Nakuru's lips moved in sarcasm. "And why is it that you call each other by last names even if you treat each other as best friends?" she boomed out. Syaoran and Sakura avoided each other's gaze and gulped. "What is going on here, exactly? I smell something fishy about you two…"

"There's nothing going on between us, nothing at all!" Sakura wiped off the sweat from her face. 'Oh c'mon, I want to go home now…' she thought earnestly.

"She's right! She's right!" Syaoran nodded furiously.

"Hmm?" Nakuru raised her eyebrows. "I doubt it. Both of you seem nervous about something, and that's one of the signs."

The two didn't say anything for a long time. It was a quiet moment for all of them. Nakuru just looked at Syaoran, and then at Sakura, then at Syaoran, and then at Sakura, and so on until Tomoyo decided to change the subject.

"Uh, Sakura-chan, how's your love calendar so far—"

Syaoran can no longer bear the situation. He had no choice but to tell the story. Only Eriol and Tomoyo related it to Nakuru. But as for Sakura, she just stared at the ceiling as though fascinated by it.

"Sorry about that, Kinomoto-san," Syaoran said when Nakuru went to the kitchen, "but we had to tell her the truth."

"Yeah," Eriol said sympathetically, "In fact, I think she could help you."

"And she promised to keep it a secret, don't worry," Tomoyo smiled reassuringly. "It'll be fine."

"But she knows my brother's hideout; she might tell him what's going on with me—" Sakura blurted out. She realized she shouldn't have said that.

"You mean, Touya Kinomoto?" Tomoyo's eyes widened.

"Yo, pips, early dinner's ready!"

Nakuru did all the talking throughout dinner.

"Well, Eriol, how's school?"

"Fine…"

"Gee, I guess I have to ask Sakura myself. So, how's he doing in school? Just tell me the goofy things he usually does at school…"

Sakura seemed to have forgotten what happened a while ago. "Uhmm… He just signs lots of autographs like Li-kun… The Eriol Fan Club kept asking him to sign their shoes and notebooks and stuff but he refuses…"

"How's your relationship with Eriol, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Nice and smooth, I guess… We're still trying to adapt to our new surroundings since the members of his fan club are all jealous and they kept on whispering whenever we're near."

"Oh, don't mind them. They're just a bunch of bigheads. How about you, Syaoran? How's your adoptive mom?"

Sakura, Tomoyo, and Eriol turned to Syaoran, who was looking at Nakuru.

"How did you know Gertrude?"

"Oh, nothing… But please tell me if there's something suspicious about her."

"I don't understand, but okay…"

Dinner finished at exactly 6:10 p.m...

"Sakura, come here…"

"What is it, Nakuru-san?"

"Be careful, okay? Well, Syaoran looks kind, but be careful. Apply in your life everything you've learned from your private lessons."

"I guess Touya told you about it… But anyway, what about Syaoran? He's my best friend, and we trust each other even if we usually argue…"

"I suppose you're right. Sorry to tell you this, but I have to tell Touya everything that's going on with you. He'll be worried. He follows your trail most of the time though, but don't keep on looking for him around you. We don't want people to know his secrets."

Sakura nodded.

"Visit us again some other time, okay? Oi, Eriol, why don't you walk Tomoyo home?"

"Err…"

"Go on!" Nakuru whacked Eriol's back. "Take care, all of you!"

-0-

"I guess we have to go separately now…" said Eriol. " We're going here to the left since Tomoyo lives here in Blackwind Street. You know where to go, right, Syaoran? Be careful, Bluebell Street is dangerous this time of the night."

"Yeah…" Syaoran and Sakura soon stalked off, going to the right.

"Li-kun…"

"What?"

"I just want to ask you if…"

"What?"

"Are you a dangerous person?"

"What kind of idiotic question is that? If I were a dangerous person, I could have killed you a long time ago."

"Well… I guess you're right."

"It looks like you no longer trust me…"

"I still trust you, dummy, now never mind…"

Silence. They can hear the rustling of the leaves, and the cold wind blowing. Bluebell Street sure is a very quiet street.

"Kinomoto-san…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you believe in what Nakuru had said about the hate and love thing?"

It was another quiet moment.

"I… I don't know."

"Well, uh… How's your love calendar, then? I brought mine with me, and it's here in my bag. I actually have no idea what to write for my third day…"

"Mine's okay. It's also here with me," Sakura looked at her bag. "I guess I can show you what I've written yesterday for my third day…"

"Thanks. I'd appreciate that."

It was another round of silence.

"Anyway, when we get to our house, if you can call that mine, that is, make sure you Yukon and Sherri doesn't see you. They actually don't like the idea of seeing me hanging around with boys."

"I don't think I want to ask why."

"Right, Li-kun. Just drop it."

"But what if they see me?"

"Don't think that way, all right, or they'll really see you."

"You don't know what could happen—"

"All right. Just stick to everything I say."

"What did you say?"

"You aren't deaf, are you?"

-0-

"Why did you say that?" cried Yukon. "You're so dramatic, honey. You're not yet going to die, my beloved wife… Oh dear…"

"You remind me of a gay friend, you know," Sherri grinned. "But of course, things must come to an end, too. I hope Sakura will find out sooner or later, 'coz we can't possibly tell her."

"That reminds me," Yukon said suddenly, "It's already six-thirty! Why hasn't Sakura come home yet? Where is she?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's okay," Sherri said. "I guess I can allow her to hang out with men already. I don't want to be too strict to her. She studies in a school where girls and boys mix anyway. And I won't get angry with her."

"Madam's son studies there, too!"

"We don't know yet if that boy's dangerous or not," Sherri said crisply. "But I prefer it if Sakura is friends with the boy, since they're about the same age anyway, as Madam had told us. Sakura is tough and she knows who she should make friends with. Hmm… I have a feeling… Just wait here, dear…"

-0-

'Day 3 – Tomoyo went to our house just to give me this calendar she made, and she even invited Li to our house. I didn't have any choice; I need to catch up with top students of the batch like him and Eriol. I was forced to tell Sherri a white lie about the male voice she heard since she doesn't like the idea of seeing me with a guy.'

"Ooh," Syaoran said, "I can hardly believe she put up this rule. But can't she even remember me? I've been to your house once, right? Hmm… Maybe she's just trying to protect you from something."

"So does that mean you're putting up with her? How could you?" Sakura hissed.

"Never mind," Syaoran just gave Sakura's calendar back to her. "Thanks. Now I have an idea of what to write in my—"

"Uh, we're here," Sakura whispered. She was about to touch the doorknob when the door flew open in front of their surprised faces.

"Come in," Sherri said immediately. She was smiling. This made Sakura wonder.

They all sat down on the sofa. Yukon just smiled at them.

"Hello," he said.

"Good evening, sir, ma'am," Syaoran greeted.

"Uh, Sherri, Yukon, this is Li Syaoran, my… boyfriend," Sakura said hastily. Syaoran gaped at her, trying not to be obvious that this was only a joke.

"Uh, yes, I-I am her boyfriend," Syaoran felt stupid when those words came out of his mouth.

Sherri and Yukon looked at the two and gasped.

"What? You don't like him?" Sakura said anxiously.

"So, you're Li Syaoran…" said Sherri slowly.

"What?" Sakura repeated.

"Oh, sorry, dear," Sherri just smiled again.

"Maybe you could tell us how it became you…" Yukon suggested. Sakura frowned slightly.

"Look, we've just been to our friend Eriol's house," she breathed. "And I think both of us would want to rest already—"

"Don't you have any homework to do?" Yukon asked. Sakura shook her head.

"Have you had dinner already?" Sherri said. Sakura nodded this time.

"I'm fine, and so is him. All right, I'm going to bed."

"It's far too early, y'know—" Syaoran whispered.

Sakura stepped on Syaoran's foot when Sherri and Yukon weren't looking. "Get out now."

Syaoran, still moaning because of his sore foot, walked towards the door and pulled it open, and then he went out.

"There," said Sakura, "I guess you'll get to know him some other time."

"Oh, no need," Sherri just smiled. "Go ahead my dear, and have enough sleep."

Sakura went upstairs to her room. She was surprised by her guardians' actions today.

'Why are they acting so strange?'

'I just can't believe it. Another thing…'

'They seem to be hiding something from me.'

'And so does Nakuru.'

She sat down on her bed and turned off the light. "Why am I living in a world of mysteries?" she whispered to herself.

"At least Touya's still alive," she hugged her pillow. "But when will he show up in front of me? I want to see him face-to-face."

Just then, Nakuru's words floated in her mind and made her close her eyes, making her sleep.

'I know someday you will find the answers to your questions.'

But the question right now in Sakura's mind is…

"When is someday?"

AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:

End of another confusing chap.

I might not be able to update the next chap for a long time, though. Sorry for such inconvenience.

Another—the setting of this story is not in USAPhilippines, or anywhere in the world. Places I mentioned are only created by my mind, and they could just be coincidence.

Thanks and I'm looking forward to your reviews. Ja ne!