AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:

Sorry if I wasn't able to update for months already. It's hard to come up with something new… And my schoolwork occupies most of my schedule.

SPECIAL THANKS TO: ALL OF YOU! Sorry, I can't do special mention now, I'm really busy…

BACK TO darkshadow36: Now go ahead and read, I wouldn't want to waste your time.

: 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 7: Sakura learns another truth… This time from Ms. Yano! And, due to the bomb threat that day, the students had to be dismissed early and Sakura and the gang will go to Tomoyo's house this time. And this visit will result to one of the hardest things to do if you're a parent – babysitting!

(UPDATED: September 24, 2005) Chapter 7: Things That Last Forever

-0-

Day 5

"Lunch break!" Sakura smiled gleefully as she and Tomoyo headed for the cafeteria. Sakura patted her stomach and looked expectantly at the food stalls. 'Wonder what I could have for today…' she thought.

"Break time sure is your favorite subject," Tomoyo chuckled. Sakura nodded at this. Break times last for an hour at their school. This is one of the easiest subjects in Redstone.

Soon, Sakura went off to buy her lunch. Tomoyo picked a vacant table and sat down on a chair and waited for Sakura before she eats.

She opened her bag and brought out her lunch. 'Mom sure is good enough to prepare me one of my favorite Italian dishes for lunch…' she sighed.

But before she started eating, she was thinking of something. It was about the way Sakura acted around Syaoran these days and it seemed to bother her a lot. She was thinking of talking to Eriol about this one.

"Oi, Daidouji!"

Tomoyo didn't turn around She recognized the voice fully. She felt her tension rising. She was supposed to wait for Sakura before she eat her lunch, but she soon began eating in small bites as to make an excuse not to talk to—

"Honshu," she whispered in anger. She ate in a dawdling manner. She pretended not to have heard her but she can hear her approaching her table all the same. Yumina Honshu sat down opposite Tomoyo and faced her. They looked at each other in the eye and both eyes flashed dangerously.

"What are you doing here?" Tomoyo said coldly. "Haven't you learned your lesson yet?"

"Ooh, look who's talking," Yumina said sleekly. "So, how's life with a superstar?"

"That's certainly none of your business," Tomoyo yawned and didn't bother to look up. She kept on eating.

Yumina continued to smile smugly. "Well, if it seems difficult, I can make it easy for you…"

"So, you mean to say you will flirt with Eriol-kun and all that?" Sakura came and then put down her lunch on the table gently and banged a strong hand on the table, enough to catch the attention of the students around them. She approached Yumina who suddenly trembled slightly with fear. However, Yumina continued to put up with that sneering face even you wouldn't like.

"Kinomoto the lesbian to the rescue," she said. "It's so sweet of you to come here!"

Tomoyo went red. 'Grr…'

Sakura winced a little when she mentioned the word 'lesbian'. It brought her back the memories of that incident… Where it all started…

"Shut up or I'll cut off your tongue and make you swear that you.wish.you.were.never.born.with.a.tongue!" Sakura said quite threateningly.

"All right," Yumina stood up, "I guess you can make it easier for me too, Kinomoto," she looked at her maliciously. "Why don't ya court Tomoyo since you're a tomboy so that Eriol can be mine? Anyway, lesbians go for girls, not boys. Oh, and… Keep your filthy hands off Syaoran too. That was from Karen."

Sakura looked at her quietly. "Maybe I would like that," she said sarcastically. "Hmm… I wouldn't mind Li at all. Anyway, better Tomoyo than you, y'know… She's got the looks, you, you don't even have the slightest amount of elegance…" She said hastily. "Offending, isn't it, popkid?"

"Settle down, Kinomoto and put your anger aside for now. To my office, Miss Honshu, and I mean now. I don't care if you've eaten lunch already or not. This monkey business of yours will be heading for a…" It stopped there.

It was Ms. Yano. Then she smiled at Sakura. "We'll talk later after dismissal."

"What?" Sakura seemed confused.

"You aren't deaf, are you?" she winked.

-0-

"Even Yano-sensei acts strange sometimes," Sakura said as she watched Ms. Yano and Honshu go.

Tomoyo looked at her and ate a large bite this time. "Thanks anyway for saving my neck a while ago. So, what do you mean by that?"

"Well, her last words to me a while ago seemed familiar…" Sakura replied, turning to her lunch and began eating.

"What—you mean some sort of déjà vu?"

"Not really, I guess," said Sakura.

Tomoyo shrugged. "Anyway, I've noticed something strange about her too…"

"Nani?"

"She keeps an eye on you most of the time," she said. Sakura nodded slowly.

"I suppose she's just worried about me. I told her about my past since when I first met her here; I feel comfortable around her."

"It seems like you have a strong bond," smiled Tomoyo. "But I surely have never heard of a principal-and-student bond."

"I think so…" Sakura's emerald-green eyes shone brightly. "Whenever I'm with her, she reminds me of my brother's girlfriend Kaho Mizuki. They looked exactly alike in many ways—their voices, their eyes, and they're both approachable… But the only difference is that Kaho is a very gentle woman and she never gets easily angry like Yano-sensei." She chuckled.

"Speaking of your brother," Tomoyo bit her lip, "you mentioned him to us yesterday. What was that all about? And what were you and Nakuru doing while the three of us were watching TV?"

"Hush," Sakura put a finger to her lips, signaling her to keep down her voice. "Well, Tomoyo-chan, it's secret, actually. As they say, life is full of mysteries…"

Tomoyo looked at her and waited. "Go on please…"

"And I'm one of those who live in giant jigsaw puzzles," Sakura continued, still in that whispering voice. "I'll tell you the truth someday, Tomoyo-chan. Who knows—it might be anytime by now."

"But why not now?" asked Tomoyo.

"Because," said Sakura. "Because," she repeated. She gave a sheepish smile.

"What?"

"It's because I'm not yet ready," she finished. "But that's a promise, really… I won't turn sixteen unless I tell you about my past… 'Coz I know it'll be unfair for your part."

Tomoyo seemed convinced. "All right, but will you tell Syaoran-kun and Eriol-kun?"

Sakura hadn't even thought of this. She was confused with herself. Her mind was swirling with lots of thoughts, whether tragic or happy. The thirst for more truth is still burning inside her still since yesterday, and she couldn't help but get exaggerated in her actions and feel giddy these past few days.

A few seconds later, she nodded slowly. "I suppose I should tell them." She said quickly. "Err… Could we talk about this another time? I really don't feel comfortable with this topic…"

"Very well," Tomoyo said sympathetically. "Oh, that reminds me…" She opened her bag and pulled a crumpled piece of paper.

"Not another piece of your calendar," groaned Sakura. Tomoyo shook her head, beaming.

"No, it's not that," she unfolded the paper, "in this paper are the rules. Your rules with Syaoran… You know what I mean, don't you?"

"Of course I do. So what's that thing? You can just deliver that straight into the trash bin since crumpled paper containing rules is no use."

"For you, but not for reality, that is. Getting straight to the point—Nakuru actually wants to implement these rules for both of you. She makes it her goal to make you two be… together."

Sakura pretended to throw up. "Geez, do Li-kun and I really have to follow the rules?"

"I'm afraid you have to, even if it's in your own free will if you want to do it or not," said Tomoyo. "Nakuru will make sure you follow all these three rules. She'll be guiding you every step of the way… Uh, that's what she said." She added quickly when Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Read the rules, will you?" Sakura said, uninterested. 'This is getting serious…'

"Rule number one," Tomoyo whispered to her so that others won't get suspicious, "Avoid fighting especially in public."

"Now that's what I call pathetic," Sakura mumbled.

"Rule number two, call each other sweet names. You go act like a real couple—boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Now that's a maniac's act."

"Lastly, rule number three… Use PDA most of the time…"

"Now that's what I call madness!" Sakura hissed. "Public Display of Affection, isn't it?"

"Nope," grinned Tomoyo, "for Nakuru, it's gonna be Public Declare of Affection."

Sakura put up a screwed face. "But I think that's the same."

"Yeah, I thought so too, but Nakuru explained the real thing to me… That means you must declare that it's already you two whenever you meet a known friend or schoolmate or whatever along the road, as long as you know the person!"

"I guess that wouldn't hurt," Sakura said bitterly.

"Just three rules, but very meaningful," Tomoyo remarked. "Nakuru crumpled this paper herself this morning and gave it to Eriol and me… But Eriol gave the paper to me instead."

"Why did she crumple it? She must realize this is just trash," snapped Sakura.

"She didn't tell us why," said Tomoyo. "The only thing that matters is that you and Syaoran both know the rules. Perhaps Eriol-kun has already told Syaoran-kun about it…"

"But he doesn't have a copy of that…"

Tomoyo laughed. "Oh, it's in his mind… Don't worry…"

-0-

The short meeting of the Redstone basketball team actually finished three hours than expected. The boys groaned and went back to the boys' locker room to dress back themselves into their regular school clothes.

"Eep," Yamazaki held up a dead white rat. The boys laughed. "I didn't know my Chiharu put this in a plastic and into my bag… Grr, that girl—I'm gonna get her back for this! Why are you laughing? There's nothing funny about it, guys! Unless you want me to put this under your noses! You want a taste of this dead rat, Morisato? You want it too, Hanako?" He started chasing his co-players, who ran around the room.

Only two boys didn't join in the laughing.

"There," Eriol smiled in satisfaction, "Those are the rules. She's warning you—no violating."

"I wonder what Kinomoto says about it," Syaoran put on his favorite cap. "I can imagine her going nuts."

Eriol laughed softly. "I assume it'll be more than that."

"All the same," Syaoran babbled on, "I think I'm giving up—"

"Another thing," Eriol added, "Nakuru says NO QUITTING."

Syaoran thought things will never be the same again. He clenched his fists tightly and sighed deeply. "Now Kinomoto will tell me I'm an idiot… One of the purest ever born…"

"Eh?" Eriol looked at him, puzzled. "Why is that?"

"Look, if it weren't for me, we would still be friends today like the good ol' days," Syaoran explained. "If it weren't for me and my stupid idea, we would still be friends. If it weren't for me and my big mouth, Nakuru's mind wouldn't be filled with these horrible ideas. If it weren't for ME, all these wouldn't happen. After all, we only did this couple thing to see if we could make you and Tomoyo jealous…"

"I guess you really are an idiot," Eriol grinned and shrugged at the same time. "But think about it, dude… They say experience is the best teacher. I'm sure you'll learn something new. Now try to keep it cool, man. You don't have to blame yourself. In fact, I think this will turn out successful."

Syaoran exhaled deeply. "Maybe," he said. "But I don't want to fall for Kinomoto. She used to be my best friend. What's more, she's a tomboy."

"Stop saying that, will you?" Eriol hissed. "If Sakura hears you saying that, she'll beat you up. Besides, she's not really a complete lesbian. She just acts like one, and Yano knows that. Lesbians get kicked out of the school immediately, you know. Have you forgotten?"

Syaoran turned pink. "Sorry, then," he just said simply as he zipped his bag. He turned to go.

"Syaoran, wait for me! Why are you always doing this to me whenever we have basketball practices and meetings?" Eriol stood up and carried along with him his unzipped bag.

-0-

Classes were cut short. That was 2:30 in the afternoon. Students got out of their classrooms in enthusiasm.

What the hell is the reason then?

"Holy cow," Sakura swung her bag over her shoulder as she went down with Tomoyo, "did someone really plant a bomb behind the school grounds? Now that's creepy. It seems so sudden."

"Yeah," agreed Tomoyo. "And to think it was Gym class that time for us… What was your subject when you heard Miss Yano's voice from the megaphone?"

"Changed subject," Sakura replied. "It was Physics."

"What? You mean to say it switched time schedule with Grammar?"

She nodded vigorously. "Hey, I forgot… Miss Yano told me that she and I have to talk. I do hope it won't be long though. Well… See you later!"

"But Sakura—"

But Sakura has already gone.

Tomoyo went directly to the phone booth. She dialed the number of her mother quickly.

"Hello? Uhmm, ma, it's me, Tomoyo. Classes had been cut short because of a bomb threat. What? I don't want to do that! Well… Let me see… Oh… I know the very person, or two people rather, who will be up for the job. Don't worry, ma, I know they can do it! Baby Bink will be safe with them! Anyways, I still have to go marketing and shopping, don't I? Okay, okay, ma, I love you too. Take care! Good-bye!"

She put down the phone. She grinned to herself. "Prepare to meet your doom!" A picture of Syaoran and Sakura together alone in her house floated in her mind.

-0-

"Uhh… Yano-sensei?" Sakura closed the door gently behind her as she entered the principal's office. She suddenly noticed something strange. For the first time, the room did not smell of cabbage. This time, however, it smelled strongly of sweet potatoes.

"Starting on a new room scent?" Sakura said sardonically as she sat down on the chair near Ms. Yano's table. Ms. Yano laughed.

"Maybe, my dear," she spoke.

"You know, Yano-sensei…" Sakura gulped, "Your voice… seems different. I've never heard you speak in that voice. You… You remind me of someone from my past!"

Ms. Yano pursed her lips for a moment. "Go on, Sakura, my little sweetie…"

Sakura my little sweetie? Sakura wondered. Someone used to call her by that phrase a long time ago… Since she was a kid…

Sakura felt quite numb. She was speechless.

"Why are you like that?" Sakura wrenched off her arm away from Ms. Yano who was holding it gently. "We may be close, but you have no right to treat me like your own or something! And only Kaho Mizuki calls me by that!"

"Kaho Mizuki…" Ms. Yano smiled. "But Sakura, I am Kaho… I've wanted to tell you this for a long time."

Sakura looked at her doubtfully, taken by surprise. "I shouldn't have gone here. What a waste of time," she turned to go. She froze when she reached the door because she suddenly heard Ms. Yano's voice behind her. She looked.

Ms. Yano had just taken off her raven-colored wig. There stood a woman with red-colored hair, beautiful and flowing.

"Haven't you ever wondered why I keep an eye on you most of the time? Haven't you ever noticed the way I look at you and the way I talk to you? Has the thought of why I never wanted to put you in detention at all crossed your mind?" Ms. Yano looked at her earnestly. Sakura's eyes were wide. "It's because I understand you very well… And did you ever give a damn if Kaho Mizuki was still alive? Yes, I was with your brother at your house when the fire appeared… But we were able to escape.

"And now I… Kaho Mizuki… is standing here right in front of you, as principal of Redstone and as your close friend… is acting on your brother's orders."

-0-

"Yes, it's me, Gertrude," Syaoran breathed as he looked at the minutes left for his call. It says only 20 seconds left. "Classes have been cut short—" He was interrupted by the woman's babbling. "Whatever, oh, I will be at my friend's house, that means I'll be back home by five… I dunno… Oh, shut up, will ya? I need to put the phone down already—"

End of call.

"That woman always babbles," Syaoran groaned. "No wonder Nakuru knows her; their mouths precede them."

Eriol merely shrugged, but he just grinned. A few seconds later, he pulled out his cellular phone from his bag and called someone. "I wonder what the girls are doing right now."

"Not Tomoyo again," Syaoran mumbled. There was still a part in him that says he was jealous and was longing to call for his loved one too one of these days. But the fact still remains that he still doesn't have that special someone. This thought made him frown slightly and shake his head stubbornly.

"Syaoran? What in the world is wrong with you? Why are you shaking your head?" Eriol waved a hand in front of Syaoran's face. Syaoran went pink. Eriol laughed.

"C'mon, I know you want to share something with your Uncle Eriol…" he smirked. Syaoran gave him a scowl.

"Come off it," he said. "Unless you want me to—"

"You know, I think you need to get yourself a girlfriend too…" Eriol said humbly but there was a tone of seriousness in his voice.

"I don't think having myself a girlfriend isn't that necessary," Syaoran said. He tried to keep his face straight. "After all, what's a relationship if you'll get bored with it afterwards? When I come to think of it, sometimes, I wonder how couples like you and Tomoyo get to keep a strong relationship…"

"Why not try Sakura-chan?" Eriol suggested, but when he saw the dangerous look in Syaoran's eyes, he gulped and said jokingly, "I was only kidding, I know you're good friends, but isn't it worth trying? After all, love is rooted from friendship…"

"I won't be surprised if you fall for Sakura," a sweet voice said behind them. Tomoyo walked up behind them and walked in circles. "She's beautiful inside and out. She's not literally a tomboy, isn't she? I really felt sorry for her when she told me the story behind that… I saw how strong she actually is since her parents' death." She stopped walking and looked intently at Syaoran. "If I were you, I would immediately take the opportunity to get to know her. I admit she may be grouchy at times, but she's extremely a natural…" She grinned.

"Yeah, I think of her that way too," Eriol nodded. "She's one mysterious dude, though… She wouldn't want to speak to us about herself or what…"

"She told me that she'll tell us everything someday," said Tomoyo. "Just a while ago when Honshu bullied me…"

"What the hell did Honshu did to you?" Eriol's eyes blazed with anger.

"I'll just tell you later…"

Syaoran was quiet all this time. His gaze silently drifted off above the blue skies.

"Yeah… There's always a someday…" he mumbled. "Speaking of Kinomoto, where is she anyway?"

"She's in Miss Yano's office—"

"Where is that?" Syaoran said thoughtlessly. Obviously he hadn't heard what Tomoyo had just said.

-0-

"To tell you the truth, I certainly wouldn't believed such piece of—"

"Crap, you say?" Ms. Yano finished for her. But there wasn't any trace of anger marked on her serene face. "But it's true. Ask me anything, if you know what I mean."

"All right," Sakura had been expecting those words to come out from this woman. "I want to believe that you are Kaho… But sometimes I…" She paused for a moment. "This is just impossible! Who knows if you're just an impostor or Kaho's twin or something—?"

Ms. Yano held up a hand. "You know very well that I don't have a twin," she laughed softly. "Just go on with your questions, please."

"What if you're actually a long lost twin—" Sakura stopped. She looked at her watch. It says 3:05 p.m.

"Can we just talk about this another time, Yano-sensei?" she said hastily. "My friends are waiting for me and—"

"I'm sure they could wait," Ms. Yano said tersely. "The heartthrobs and Ms. Daidouji surely won't mind if this is just one favor I could ask of them."

"All right, but I won't be long," Sakura then thought of a question. Then she asked immediately the first question that popped in her mind, "if you really are Kaho, you know what my least favorite food is. What is it?"

"Hmm… very easy," Ms. Yano laughed again in that soft tone. "You have always detested green pepper. You wouldn't like me to cook food with that."

Sakura's face screwed up, still not convinced. "How long have you and Touya been together until now?"

"We'll already be eight years in the 1st of next month."

"What was the naughtiest thing I did to Touya when I was 6?"

"You put a frog on his bag the night before his field trip the next day. Touya told me that; it was actually one of his most unforgettable moments."

Sakura gulped, running out of ideas. She may know a lot, but if she's not able to answer this last one, she's dead. "Last one—how many pocketbooks can I read in a day when I was 7?"

Ms. Yano grinned. "Now that's the easiest," she said. "It takes you a week to finish a single pocketbook. You usually read the first four chapters of a book. Sometimes, you'd let me read it and then you'll want me to summarize the story for you."

Sakura did not stop herself. She dropped her bag, ran to Ms. Yano and hugged her while crying. "Kaho… It's really you!"

"Don't cry now," Ms. Yano, or let's just say Kaho, said soothingly. "I assume you already knew your brother's still alive?"

"Yeah, I do… Nakuru told me," Sakura wiped her tears. She hasn't cried like this for a long time. "So… If Nakuru couldn't tell me the truth, maybe you could—"

"I can't, as of now, either…" Kaho sighed. Then she looked at Sakura again. "I think you should get going now. Tomorrow again, Sakura, my little sweetie… Don't be afraid to approach me anytime you want."

"Thanks," Sakura picked up her bag and went out the room without another word. She felt absurd, yet happy. She set off for the waiting area, can't stop thinking about what had just happened to her.

Syaoran's voice was the first to greet her. "Our ickle Sakura looked like she's been crying!" he said in a rather teasing voice. Surprisingly, instead of retorting back…

"Oh, Li-kun!" she flung her arms around him. This surprised Eriol and Tomoyo, who were both holding hands.

"The world has suddenly gone upside down," Tomoyo nodded slowly. "What happened to you, Sakura-chan? Did anyone hurt you or something? C'mon, tell us!"

"And we're gonna punch them for you!" Eriol added, feeling rather weird for no reason.

"No need…" This time, Sakura wasn't able to prevent her tears from flowing down her sparkling emerald green eyes. Syaoran, puzzled, just patted her gently on the back.

"Stop acting like a little child, Kinomoto," he said, not sure if this was the right thing to say. Sakura, however, didn't mind.

Tomoyo looked at Sakura with her bright amethyst purple eyes intently. "Hmm… Let's do a bit of investigation. Yano-sensei must have told you something—"

"You've been at her office all this time?" Syaoran said incredulously. "You were there while we were waiting for you?"

"I've been telling you a while ago that but you won't even listen to me," Tomoyo said through gritted teeth. Syaoran went pink and he just smiled sheepishly.

"Sakura-chan," Eriol said, "why not tell us instead--?"

Sakura beamed at him. "Once we get to Tomoyo's car, I'll tell the whole story."

"Okay, then, that's settled," said Tomoyo, nodding. "Oh, there's my fetcher, guys! Come on—"

The three's mouths hang open when they got out of the school. A tall and slender woman with long brown hair stood in front of them. Her taut breasts were quite attracting attention of some men who passed by.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Tomoyo said in a menacing voice. "My guards are not really used to publicity, especially Emery… She was the only available guard left to fetch me…"

The four of them hopped on the back seats of the black shiny limo.

"Yano-sensei told me at first that she was Kaho, but I didn't believe it," Sakura still had that smile on her face. "All this time I've wanted to hear that from her, but during that situation…"

"Just get straight to the point, will ya, sweetie?" Syaoran yawned. Tomoyo stepped on his right feet.

"Show respect, will ya?" she said.

Sakura continued, "To prove that she really was Kaho, she told me to ask her questions. And so I asked her… That was more than three questions, I think… Yes, and I proved in the end that she really was my brother's girlfriend!"

"Nice story," Eriol clapped his hands, smiling. "I must say, life is full of mysteries…"

"Yes, of course," said Tomoyo, "no one knows what's going to happen next."

"Miss Tomoyo, we're here," Emery opened the door for them. The four got down and thanked her.

Tomoyo's mansion was big. The three had been to her house lots of times before, when Tomoyo first arrived in town and all that. There were lots of rooms enough for five people or more.

Sonomi Daidouji, Tomoyo's mom, was not at home, and so only the four of them and the other maids and Tomoyo's butler are busy in the mansion.

"Uhmm… May you excuse us both for a moment?" Tomoyo told Syaoran and Sakura who were both laughing like maniacs. They were watching TV. Eriol held Tomoyo's hand and went to hide in a corner when the two nodded.

"What's up?" Eriol asked her. They looked at each other for a moment. Tomoyo forgot what she has to tell him. Instead, she found herself blushing when they both realized their faces were an inch closer to each other.

"Uh… Sorry," Eriol quickly apologized. But to admit it, Eriol actually wanted to kiss her again just like the last time.

"Oh yes, I remember now!" Tomoyo exclaimed in a whisper.

Eriol's face screwed up. "Why are you whispering?" he said in a quite loud voice. Tomoyo held up a finger to her lips.

"Be quiet; I don't want those two lovebirds to hear us…"

"Hate-love birds," Eriol sniggered. Tomoyo laughed loudly, but Syaoran and Sakura, who were still laughing, didn't seem to hear her.

"I have a plan to get the both of them… act more like a sweet couple," Tomoyo said quite excitedly. "Now ask me what the plan is."

"Err… What is the plan then? What have you got in your mind?"

"I called my mom a while ago. She told me that I'll be babysitting her friend's baby girl, Yuma, but I call her Bink for no particular reason. She told me to look after her while they go out on some sort of group date or whatever… Bink is five years old … And I think she's a smart girl at her young age. Once, I was with a friend of mine, his name's Dandy. Oh, don't be jealous—" she smiled when she saw Eriol's mouth open. She continued, "We're just friends, besides, he has a girlfriend already during that time…

"We were in the park, with a four-year old Bink. I'm afraid she's been deprived of fatherly love since she lost her father when she was two. She thought Dandy and I are—you know, girlfriend-boyfriend, and so you know what she did? She tugged our shirts and tried to make us get closer to each other. I guess she gets to watch those romance movies her mom watches. Her mom doesn't feel good lately."

Eriol held his breath for a few seconds and said, "I think I know where this is going…"

Tomoyo chuckled heartily. "Yup, they'll both be babysitting Yuma whether they like it or not… And the same thing might happen to them. And both of us will go out for shopping. I told my butler and our maids about this plan, and I actually told them that the two have been going out."

Eriol looked at her in disbelief. "You're pulling my leg, aren't you?" he said quite nervously. His girlfriend shook her head lightly.

"Oh, they'll be fine," she said simply. "I know what I'm doing."

"Whatever you say," Eriol just shrugged. "I'll just be in your garden for a minute, okay?" And then surprisingly he kissed Tomoyo on the cheek and he went immediately outside. He was red on the face, and so was Tomoyo.

Soon, Tomoyo stepped out from the corner and approached the two who were both still laughing their heads out.

"Hey, Syaoran-kun, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo put a hand on the sofa. "I have a favor to ask from both of you…"

"What is it?" Sakura clutched her stomach after having said those words; she was laughing yet again.

"Do you mind if you take care of Yuma, a five-year old little girl? She's the daughter of my mom's friend. People around the house are busy, and Eriol and I will go out for shopping. Is it okay with you two?" She said innocently, but there was this dancing glint in her eyes.

"Yah, sure… Where is the kid then?"

-0-

"I wonder how they're doing with her…" Tomoyo kept on chuckling to herself while she was shopping for some things with Eriol.

"Try calling one of your maids then," he said.

"Good idea," smiled Tomoyo, "but I'm just gonna call my butler instead."

But when she was about to dial the number on her cellular phone, someone snatched the things she shopped for from her left hand.

"Oi, you moron—stop!" she yelled. She seemed to have lost hope. "Those things I've shopped for were worth all the money I have for today…"

That was when she noticed Eriol wasn't beside her.

"Someone has just stolen the things I've shopped for just for mom, and now it's Eriol!"

But soon, tears fell down from her amethyst eyes. She doesn't know why, she was confused, and here she is standing alone, thoughts whirling madly inside her head—

"Eriol Hiiragizawa, where are you?" she lowered her head, gripping her cell phone tightly.

-0-

Yuma looked at the two people sitting on either side of her. "Ooohh… They… look… cute… together!" she said loudly with a pouting face.

The two looked at her.

"But there are no couples in this TV show we're watching, Yuma; it's about humor and having a laugh—" Syaoran said gently.

"I meant you, sir—and this lovely lady here," Yuma's big eyes returned to the big TV screen. "Are you… going out?"

The two blushed.

"Absolutely not!" they said in unison. They blushed again and avoided each other's gazes.

"Those two are impossible!" Sakura had been repeating these words while she was watching TV. She looked at the little red-haired girl beside Syaoran… beside her too, which means the Yuma is sitting between them.

"Huh?" the little girl's big blue green eyes blinked twice at Sakura. Sakura shook her head, smiling.

"Gee, I like… ice cream," Yuma jumped off from the sofa and pulled Sakura's shirt. "You want one too? Auntie Tomoyo told me I could eat anything I want from their fridge."

"Ahh… Sure, but please don't pull my shirt—" Sakura tried to pull as gently as she can as not to put force on the kid, but Yuma seemed to have a good grip.

"Oh, Yuma, now don't pull it—keep yourself still—" Syaoran tried stopping her, but he ended up being pulled by her too.

'Thanks for saving my neck, you moron, now she has both of us together,' Sakura frowned slightly.

Yuma got herself a cupful of ice cream.

"No, don't get! Don't get!" Yuma said quite loudly when Sakura was about to get herself a cup. "I can't eat this—" she was pointing at the cup of cookies n' cream-flavored ice cream set in front of her. "—by myself! Ahh… Get spoon! Get spoon! One only!"

Sakura thought Yuma only wanted the ice cream to herself but it was fine with her, so she went to get a spoon for her. They went back to the living room and the two sat again on either side of Yuma. Sakura looked at Yuma and saw she already has a spoon with her, and she was eating already. When Yuma saw the spoon at Sakura's hand, she snatched it from her and gave it to Syaoran.

"Bite, sir," she offered. Syaoran hesitated at first, but he can't possibly ignore this kid.

"I've just brushed my teeth…" Syaoran hesitated, but then he didn't want to disappoint the kid. So then he took a bite, smiling. His eyes went back to watching TV.

Sakura still has her eyes on the TV, but her mind seems to be drifting off. She shook suddenly when she saw a spoonful of ice cream in front of her. It was Yuma holding the spoon. She was about to take a bite when she realized…

'This spoon was the one Li ate on…'

'Who knows I might get typhoid fever? Bleah…'

'Uhh… That means if I ate the ice cream, it's like I've just kissed him or what!'

'This kid seems to know what she is doing…'

Sakura and Yuma's eyes met. Her eyes were filled with surprise, but the latter's eyes seemed to look eager.

"Uhmm, I hate to break it to you, kid, but I don't think I would want—" she started when Syaoran's voice interrupted her abruptly.

"Kinomoto-san, Yuma's just a kid, be kind—"

Sakura crossed her arms. "I can't believe you're so considerate towards—"

"Well, I believe kids are innocent, just like her, and it won't be good for her to see us fight like this—"

"No fight… No fight!" Yuma suddenly burst into tears. She was crying loudly. Sakura's cheeks flushed.

"Stop crying, all right, Yuma? I… Er… I'll do anything, just don't cry! Please!" She looked at the crying kid quite desperately.

'Now what in the bloody world are you thinking?' Syaoran thought.

Yuma's big eyes squinted. "Really?"

"Uhh… I suppose I can try being a considerate person today, after all, this day seems to be a wonderful one for me…" Sakura said, having thought of Kaho. "All righty, kid… What do you want me to do? Just make sure it won't take much of the time or whatsoever."

"I…" The kid played with her fingers and looked at Sakura shyly. She turned from her to Syaoran. "You want… easy… so I… well, maybe you could…"

Sakura held her breath. 'You're just a kid, little girl…'

"Kiss… pretty boy… here." She gestured towards Syaoran, whose mouth fell in horror.

-0-

"I'm here. Don't cry… Tomoyo-san."

The girl felt a warm hand on her stiff shoulders. She spun around and immediately had the lad on a tight grip.

"Eriol-kun, don't you dare go walking away like that again, y'know!" Tomoyo sobbed a little, managing to laugh at the same time. Eriol returned her hug.

"Here you go… I managed to get it from the thief," he handed over to her the things they shopped for.

Tomoyo was dumbfounded, but amazed. "But… You shouldn't have done that… Well, yes, thank you, but still… Look, your arm has bruises—"

"Forget it, I don't mind them," Eriol said in a quite careless manner. "What's important now is that I was able to get your shopping from that thief and that I'm back here, safe and sound. The guards have him now, but whatever they're doing right now is definitely not our business."

"Okay," she simply shrugged. "Anyway, as I was saying a while ago, I want to know how the two are doing with Yuma…" She dialed the number fast on her phone.

"Yes, hi, Kimitaka, it's me Tomoyo!" she said cheerfully. "I just wanted to know how Syaoran and Sakura are doing with Bink. I'm… worried."

"Hello, little miss—oh, I assure you, they're fine… But there's quite a problem…"

"What is it?" Tomoyo asked tensely. Eriol leaned a bit closer to her, looking quite surprised.

"The kid wants them to kiss," Kimitaka said quite hastily.

Tomoyo did an afterthought. "I don't know, but I guess they'll just have to do it. She's a spoiled brat, y'know. I'm quite sure Sakura-chan can handle such situation, even Syaoran-kun can, I hope… Uh, I s'pose you can just watch them out for us, and you'll know what to do if things go wrong. Thanks, take care and bye!" She smiled, her heart beating fast against her chest.

"I think we should leave now," Eriol suggested. He knew because Tomoyo's phone speaker was on, meaning he could hear the receiver.

-0-

Sakura froze and so did Syaoran.

"So I'm not the only one who thinks stupid here," Syaoran yawned. Sakura scowled at him.

But Syaoran kept his cool. "The kid will cry some more if we won't do it. We never expected this anyway—"

"So you're obviously telling me that we should kiss," Sakura said shrewdly. Syaoran laughed.

"Maybe," he said sarcastically. Sakura blushed hotly, but she fought off the feeling.

"Just do it, sweetie, we have no choice, unless you want her to cry again." Syaoran said in an innocent tone, but Sakura thought of it as maniacal.

Sakura held her throat. "Hey, dude, not because you're a popkid, you can just push me around like that. Sorry, but I'm afraid I don't give in to coercion." She raised her left eyebrow. Syaoran laughed again.

"Let's just think we're in some sort of acting workshop or something with a serious play… Let's say, Romeo and Juliet or whatever," he shrugged. "Let me guess, my best friend… You never had your first kiss, right?" He sneered. "Redstone will be happy to hear that I'm your first kiss—"

"Are you being sarcastic or what?" Sakura felt her blood boil a little. She doesn't know why she was so angry with him. They are best friends after all and she won't feel anything emotional about that kiss…

"All right," Sakura said finally, "I'm giving in. I swear I won't take this seriously."

"Ooh, let's see it," Syaoran was smiling kind-of smugly. But he was blushing the next second when Sakura's face went closer to his.

-0-

"Oh, c'mon, we're almost there," Tomoyo kept on saying in a quite desperate voice. She and Eriol were in a taxi, and were on their way to Tomoyo's house.

"Sir, please—over there at that big house," Eriol paid the driver immediately and he and Tomoyo got down from the taxi.

"It's open," Tomoyo breathed as she pushed the gate open with all her might. "Be careful, the gates are really heavy—especially since they're bulletproof."

Eriol helped her push, but then he thought he saw a hooded person by the window, but he didn't mind. "But, Tomoyo-san, why not ring the doorbell?"

"I don't want to spoil any moment," Tomoyo winked at him. They both laughed.

-0-

Their faces were now an inch close to the other.

And a little bit closer.

More closer until they can't see each other's faces.

'Oh, c'mon, Kinomoto, are you a chicken?' Syaoran thought. 'I want to finish this already…'

And so…

Syaoran did it. He immediately kissed her. Sakura's eyes widened. Without warning, they found their selves kissing for more than five seconds now or so.

And then the door flew open. The two immediately broke off. Yuma's smile reached heaven. Eriol and Tomoyo came in and they saw only a few seconds of the scene.

"Oh my… did I miss something? Sorry to interrupt," Tomoyo said a bit teasingly, looking at the two incredulously.

"But that kind of swept me off my feet, man," Eriol let out a sigh. "Did you do that on purpose?"

"Well, long story," Syaoran said hastily, his bright red cheeks visible under the rays of the sun that entered through the windows.

Sakura was blushing furiously too. "You wouldn't want to know it," she snapped. "I think I should go home now… I'm so tired…" She yawned sleepily.

"Syaoran-kun, why not walk her to her house?" Tomoyo suggested.

"There's been enough damage for today already," Sakura spoke up as she approached the door and pulled it open. "Never mind, I can go home myself. Thanks anyway. Good-bye." She walked off without another word.

-0-

On her way home, she can't help but touch her lips. "I can't deny the fact that he's a good kisser," she suddenly felt goose pimples. "I wonder how he felt about the kiss… Oh, it didn't have an effect on me, all right?" She kept on mumbling to herself.

On the other hand, Syaoran seems to feel the same way. He smacked his lips. "I didn't know my best friend was a good kisser!" He grinned. "How I wish I could see her expression right now… But… Hey there were no sparks or something like that!" He glided a hand through his hair, making it look messy.

"What sparks?" someone asked behind him. It was Karen Yu. She put a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. Syaoran shook it off gently and pretended that he has a shoulder pain.

"Oh… Yu… I need to go now…"

"Feel free to call me Karen, pretty boy," she said quite seductively. "I'm glad I didn't ring with me the Syaoran Fan Club or else they could've taken you away from me! And what's with the rush?"

"I just… need to do school stuff," he lied. But Karen seems to believe every word he says; Syaoran knows that, so he puts that into advantage.

"Well… Let's try going out on a Saturday night one of these days, okay?"

Syaoran didn't respond. He ran as fast as he could, wherever his feet may take him.

TBC

AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:

There! Sorry if I have to leave you in a cliffy, I know you hate cliffhangers, but I really need to get going now. I do hope you enjoyed this chap, and please wait for the next chapter too if you can! Please read and review! Thank you!