Author's notes: Sorry, forgot to tell you last chapter that it will be Touya/Yume from now on. So sorry to all the Touya/Yukito fans! But majority voted for Touya/Yume. To compensate, just think of Yume as Yukito in female form. They are twins.

Disclaimer: CCS is a property of CLAMP.

Chapter 7: 'A Few Secrets Unraveled'

She found herself walking down an unfamiliar hallway. Sakura looked around, passing by several large wooden oak doors that lead to different rooms. There were portraits framed in gold, and vases made of silver and porcelain. She couldn't believe her eyes at the magnificence of it.

It was like she was in one of those big mansions she had often seen on TV. She had always wondered what it would be like living in those houses. Yet, walking along this grand--though quite eerie--hall, she couldn't help but think that it seemed familiar somehow.

She wasn't sure if she had been to this place before, and if she did, she couldn't figure out when. She did not know where she was heading, or even why, but still she kept at it. She walked and walked until she went past a pair of wooden doors, open just enough for her to get a glimpse inside.

It was a vast room full of furniture, yet not too much. Sakura guessed this was the living room. A woman sat on a couch in the middle of the room. She had long black silky hair. Her skin was like porcelain in contrast with her red cherry lips, and her eyes were of brilliant amber. The corners of her mouth were slightly raised. She seems to be smiling, Sakura mused.

Holding the door handle for support, Sakura craned her neck to see what- or rather who- the woman was looking at. There, at one side of the huge room, four teenaged girls clustered around a small boy, apparently around her age. The four girls coddled him and squeezed him in delight, murmuring words like 'aw, he's so cute' and 'he's cheeks are so chubby' and 'my teddy bear isn't half as cute as Syao-Syao'.

They continued to giggle even more as he tried to struggle free but to no avail.

Now, three of them took hold of his arms like guards would do to a prisoner. The little boy watched in terror as one of them, probably the eldest, began to move her hands to his sides, ready to tickle him until he tears would come out of his eyes.

But as luck would have it, it cut short by a clear, commanding voice, and in a language which Sakura presumed to be Cantonese. She, herself, had learned a little of the language.

"Fanren, Feimei, Shiefa, Fuutie, that's enough. Let Xiaolang go." The woman stood up from the couch, allowing her long hair to cascade down to her waist.

The boy, whom Sakura assumed to be 'Xiaolang', let out a sigh as he finally broke free from his sisters. The four had the same look of disappointment that they couldn't be able to play with their cute little brother.

Sakura continued to lean forward, wanting to see more. She wasn't paying much attention to herself or the door that she accidentally fell forward, losing her balance. The huge door burst open and she landed face first on the floor.

Six pairs of eyes were on her, but she didn't seem to notice. She rubbed her hand to her forehead in order to lessen the pain, and grumbling words she had learned from Touya when he thought she wasn't listening. It was then that she noticed that everyone in the room was looking at her.

Unintentionally, she let out a nervous laugh but stopped when she noticed that the boy, 'Xiaolang' as she had known, was glaring at her, seemingly burning holes right through her head. It made the hairs on her arms stand on end.

Sakura made no move to stand up as she had no strength to do so. But instead she looked at him with her frightened emerald eyes. The intensity of his eyes never faltered as he came nearer towards her. He kneeled down so that he was in level with her, allowing her to see his eyes more clearly.

Amber… just like-

"Syoaran!"

Sakura stirred awake from her sleep. What a weird dream, she thought to herself. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she turned her head to her bedside table, where she placed her pink clock, taking a glimpse at the time. It was just 7:00am and already this noisy? God, it's only Saturday!

From outside her room, she could hear her two persons arguing, presumably Touya and Syaoran. She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but she could definitely make out sentences like, 'I was here first, you gaki' which was probably from Touya, 'No way! I was here first!' from Syaoran, and another one, 'Oh yeah? Wanna bet?' from Touya.

Grudgingly, Sakura got out from her bed, utterly annoyed. She didn't even bother to wear some slippers as she moved towards the door and went outside.

She found her two brothers in front of the bathroom, glaring at each other. Each was carrying a towel and some clothes. From the looks of it, they were arguing about who will use the bathroom first, and neither of them was willing to let the other win.

"I'm the one who should go in first!" Touya yelled and Sakura had to cover her ears so as not to damage them.

"But I got here earlier than you did!"

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm older so it doesn't matter!"

"What does that have to do with this! I got here first and you know it!"

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, Yeah?"

"YEAH!"

"STOP!"

Touya and Syaoran turned their heads toward Sakura, eyes blazing with fire. At that moment, no one- and I do mean NO ONE- wants to be in their position right now.

"What, may I ask, are you two doing here?" Sakura glared at them, far more intense than their own put together. Who knew she could do that! Maybe Touya and Syaoran did rub off on her.

Syaoran fidgeted nervously, and all Touya could do was say, "Um…er…uh…"

"WELL?" Sakura barked at them. She tapped her foot impatiently waiting for an answer. "If you're just going to stand there and do nothing then I'LL be using the bathroom first!"

Sakura marched into the bathroom with a towel and a change of clothes, and only God knows how she got them. Stomping inside, she slammed the door on their faces. Both just stood there and blinked.

And blinked again.

And again.

Then they turned to face each other, the same look of surprise on both of their faces. They just stood there in silence, gaping with their mouths open. It was Touya who spoke first.

"After she comes out, I'm next."

"What? No way, I'm next!" and the argument starts all over again…

Kero went past their feet, not at all bothered by the noise they're making, and uttering a soft "meow."

.:Hiiragizawa manor:.

Eriol watched his uncle talk to the telephone as he sat on the couch. The closed curtains made the room dark, and only a small amount of light passed through.

"Yes, I'm sure it's him…No, no, he's fine. You need not to worry…He's in good hands, I'm sure…Yes, yes, you'll be hearing from me soon, Mr. Wei." And with that, Clow put the phone back to its cradle.

He didn't need to see the questioning glance his nephew gave him. He can feel it.

"It's only a matter of time before he knew, Eriol-kun. Only a matter of time." He grinned at him, and Eriol grinned back. It's quite unnerving how the two of them look so much alike. You could mistake them as father and son or perhaps they're the same person, one being the younger/older version of the other.

.:Kinomoto residence:.

"It's not fair." Syaoran grumbled as Touya emerged from the bathroom with a triumphant grin on his face. Sakura had long since finished her turn and when she went out, the two of them still hadn't decided who was going to be the next, so Touya suggested a bet. Of course, Syaoran agreed immediately.

It went like this: (drum roll please)

Flashback

Touya smirked, his mind already forming an idea. "Hey, Syaoran, you're a smart kid, right?"

Syaoran raised his eyebrow, but grinned nonetheless. "It's nice of you to notice."

The older brother just ignored his comment and continued. "Well, since you're such a smart kid. I bet you can't answer all my four questions wrongly."

"Wha-?" Syaoran raised another eyebrow at the weirdness of the bet, especially since it came out from Touya's mouth. Well, Touya has always been weird anyway. Maybe hanging around with those Tsukishiro twins all the time makes you weird. And maybe he should keep away from them as much as possible, especially that annoying Yume girl.

"So, Syao-chan…" He winced at the name. Okay, so that Yume has influenced his brother. Oh, God, please help him!

Syaoran backed a few steps away from his brother. This, Touya didn't notice or just completely ignored it. Instead, he continued on with the bet. "I'll ask you four questions and you should answer them wrongly. Understand?"

Syaoran looked uncertain for a moment, but nodded anyway. "Uh, sure."

"Okay, let's start now!" Touya eyed his brother carefully and asked his first question. "What is your name?"

Syaoran was about to answer 'it's Syaoran, you idiot! Don't you know your own brother?' but quickly caught himself. He answered, "I'm Lulu Bumblebee." (note: LOL)

Beside him, Sakura snickered. A while ago, she had gone to get some snacks to watch their 'bet'. Kero was on her lap. And right now, it's quite entertaining her. Better than TV, no?

"Alright next question, Lulu Bumblebee. insert snicker Where do you live?"

"On the moon where I meet all my bumblebee friends." Yes, this certainly was entertaining her.

"When is your birthday?"

"Today! Yippee! Then I can invite my pals, Poodle Muffin and Hoppity Hop!"

Now, Sakura was rolling on the floor, laughing until her butt fell off. She couldn't take it. Oh! How Tomoyo would have loved to record that on video!

Syaoran was also smirking, quite proud of himself. Then Touya asked again. "Those were three questions, right?"

Still smiling, he answered. "Yup."

Then, all of a sudden, Touya jumped forward and pointed a finger at him as if catching him stealing cookies from a jar. "Ha! Gotcha, gaki! You answered the fourth question right!"

Syaoran's eyes widened beyond belief, his jaw dropped to the ground. Wha- What just happened? Dumfounded, he watched as his 'supposedly serious' brother practically danced around in circles. Then Touya stopped and leaned towards Syaoran. Dark brown eyes met amber ones.

"You know what that means don't you?" Touya grinned from ear to ear, quite a difference from his serious attitude.

Syaoran's shoulders visibly sagged. "You won the bet." His voice was barely above a whisper but Touya heard it and his smile widened even more, if that was possible.

"I didn't know you were so stupid, gaki." Then he went inside the bathroom leaving Syaoran in his miserable state.

Sakura, who had just recovered from laughing too much, patted his shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry, Lulu Bu- I mean, Syaoran-kun. You'll get him next time."

Syaoran smiled again, and Sakura was happy with that. Joyfully bouncing up and down, she exclaimed. "Now, let's celebrate your birthday, Lulu-chan! And where are those Toodle Moppins and Honey Bunny friends of yours?"

He let out another smile.

"It's Poodle Muffin and Hoppity Hop." With that, Sakura and Syaoran shared their laughs together…

TBC

A/N: sorry for the lateness! I have two reasons why: 1.) I had huge writer's block. Aaargh! Don't you just hate that? 2.) I had the finals. But I'm done now. Yay! Summer vacation! -woot woot-

So review, please!

Fuyumi-chan