A/n: I'm back! With another chapter! Woot! Anyway, I'll just let you guys read along and hopefully see the replies I had for your reviews last chapter.

Note: A tad bit shorter than before. Replies dedicated to reviews from chapter eight found at the author's notes below.

WARNING: Scenes in this chapter are focused more on Sakura and Syaoran once again.

Chapter of Pure SxS.

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

Strictly Professional

Chapter IX:

Making It Up

Amber eyes stared fixatedly at the dry roads of Tokyo as the traffic continued to run smoothly. He continued to maneuver his black sports car down the street as he listened to the person who talked on his headset attached to his phone. "So you're not going to work today, right?"

"No Meilin, I'm not-" Syaoran thought for a second as his eyes never continued to leave the road. "Actually, I am going to work. But just tell Daidouji I won't be there just because…" The amber-eyed manager sighed as the rest of his sentence faded. Even though it was his career, it still sounded kind of awkward. "Well I'm working, but I'm not! Got it?"

There was a momentary silence on the other side of the room and Syaoran could swear that his cousin was probably raising one dark, delicate eyebrow at him. A few more seconds of silence before Meilin finally made some noise, in a form of an inhale of air. "Oh! I think I get it now." He could almost swear that his cousin was smirking widely.

"Thank you," Syaoran replied flatly as he switched his right foot to step on the breaks. His eyes finally left the road as he stared out the passenger seat's window of his sport's car. He found a small, corner flower shop, his eyes resting on it as thoughts ran through his head before Meilin broke him out of his reverie.

"Yeah, I'm guessing you already know this but," Meilin started as a fast paced typing on the keyboard was heard. "Christmas break starts on the eighteenth, Monday."

Syaoran rolled his eyes at the obvious statement, "Everybody knows that."

"I know," Meilin said as the rapid typing on the keyboard was heard once again. "But not a lot of people know that yours and Sakura's Christmas breaks have been moved earlier to December sixteen, Saturday." With the following information mentioned, Syaoran's eyes grew shocked but instantly turned into tiny slits as he noticed that something was probably going on.

"Why?" He questioned suspiciously and stepped on the gas, ripping his gaze off the flower shop after a number of angry, honking sounds were heard from behind his black sports car.

"Why are you so suspicious of us dearest cousin?" Meilin questioned, emphasizing the word dearest before laughing a very evil cackle came after her question. That was exactly why he was suspicious.

"Why not be?" Syaoran questioned once again as Meilin's laughter died down. "From your angelical laugh and the way your brain innocently functions, there's always something going on in there when you're trying to be nice to me, your dearest and most favorite cousin." He stated sarcastically.

"I guess you now think that us is another word for me," Meilin said as she gave out another one of her shrilling laughter. "Just to refresh your vocabulary, 'us' is the plural pronoun which usually consists of the person who is talking and another group of people he or she refers to. However, me-"

"I get your point Meilin; I'm not as slow as you are," Syaoran stated as he made a quick turn on the next intersection, before turning back down to the road he was earlier. "Is there an actual reason behind the earlier Christmas break?"

"Normally, we call it a reward for the people who have worked hard for the past month," His ruby-eyed cousin started. "However, this partially involves another reason. Since you guys have to work over-time on your relationship, we thought that it would just be fair. Don't you think?"

Syaoran sighed. He never really realized that he does actually have to 'work' even on their breaks. It was his stupid fault in the first place, and now he has to pay the consequences. He only agreed to it because he did not want to lose his career, lose his future company, not want to have his mother ashamed of him, and be blamed for all the ignominy that he has caused. It was selfish, yet it worked.

"Yeah," Syaoran turned the wheel and positioned his car to park on one of the empty parking slots. "I have to go Meilin, tell Daidouji that I'll be taking this day-off."

"Don't worry, I'll tell her," Meilin started as a chuckle was heard on the other line. "I'll also say not to worry as you're not exactly slacking off either." Meilin then hung up with a final laugh.

Syaoran quickly ripped his headset off of him before stepping off his car. His amber eyes stared at the store he had parked in front of, and sighed. He could not even believe that he was doing this.

It's official, Syaoran thought as he ran his gloved hand through his already messy chestnut hair. I have transformed into a human being incapable of improper judgment that should be cuffed, tied down, and shut inside a mental hospital.

His amber eyes scanned the store that he had stopped over, and gave out another sigh, before grabbing the first thing that caught his eyes near the cream coloured door which held a sign reading "open" by the glass.

He grabbed a bouquet of yellow tulips and with pull of the door and a ring of the bell, he entered the flower shop.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Press…Bothersome," mumbled a soft, groggy voice as a lump under the thick comforters shifted. "Damn magazines," Another mumble followed as a pale arm suddenly stretched out from the white, silky sheets before landing back down on the pale pink pillow with a puff, pulling the pillow back inside the confines of the white comforter.

A few more mumbles were heard in the lines of stupid, manager and solution when a huge bang was heard after the figure which was formerly a lump landed face first against the carpeted floor of her bedroom. All the sheets which were once on her queen sized bed then followed suit as it all swooped down being dumped on her back.

Kinomoto Sakura then sat up from her peach carpeted floor as all the sheets dropped behind her back. She mumbled a few curse words before unsteadily climbing back up on her bed, almost tripping on her oversized, navy, star-patterned pajama bottoms. It was only a few minutes after nine and the young model was trying to get as much sleep as she could for the day.

That was probably one of the only good things that made her go through her currently busy life, a day's break. She needed sleep and Sakura lived for sleep. It was the only thing in life that usually kept her sane; however her career life had also invaded her dream and had come crashing down on her like an avalanche. She had just had a nightmare about the solution that her company had thrown upon her about the little press outrage on the slap she had forcefully and willingly gave Syaoran.

The emerald-eyed model rolled back to the centre of the bed, before she cuddled herself close to the pillow which she had wrapped her arms around before she painfully fell on the floor earlier. Sakura shut her eyes tightly desperately trying to get back to the peaceful slumber that she deserved. She rolled over to her left side as she dug her face in the pillow she hugged snugly. However, no matter how many times she turned, and buried her face in the pillow, covers or the mattress, she couldn't go back to sleep.

Sakura finally gave up as she sat up on her bed irritated. She glanced at her clock and noticed that at least she got a full eight hours of sleep. She had been so bothered by the events yesterday, that when both she and Syaoran were dismissed early to avoid more gossip, she couldn't let herself fall asleep on the bed until it was three o'clock in the morning.

Lazily, she got off the bed and didn't bother to fix her sheets, deciding that there was no point to fixing it since there was nothing else better to do for the rest of the day than eat and sleep. Sakura pulled back her heavy, white curtains and gazed at the stunningly bright morning. She pushed her arms up in the air and intertwined her fingers together as she gave a long stretch, trying to awaken her muscles. Apparently, even if her body seemed slightly awake, Sakura still felt kind of groggy as she slowly walked out of her vanilla yellow bedroom, not bothering to change out of her pajamas.

Remembering yesterday's events Sakura silently cursed that Syaoran still got on her nerves. They were supposed to act like a couple, and she didn't like the idea of being too clingy to that… jerk. Yes, she still referred to him as a jerk since he was still the one that got her into this problem, although he was slightly nice to comfort her on the stress that he had caused. Either way, he still appeared annoying to the emerald eyed model.

Sakura and Syaoran had another argument yesterday, another one of their little spat sessions. The emerald-eyed model had kept on bugging him about how he still did not have to agree, and now the press was still hot on their tails, and it annoyed her. The argument which had occurred lasted for a long time inside Syaoran's office at the Li Designs building before they finally ended it with Syaoran smiling proudly and idiotically at the end. He had obviously won, since Sakura was just being, like what she was for the pas few days, stubborn. But did he always have to win?

Damn that Li Syaoran.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"That girl must be a very sweet and charming girl," A soft, yet mature female voice said from behind one of the rows of flowers. "She's very lucky."

"Um, excuse me?" Syaoran questioned as he turned around from approaching the empty counters to pay for the bouquet of yellow tulips in his arms, squinting his eyes to spot where the voice had come from.

A lady with light blue, almost knee-length hair which was accessorized with a simple, white, headband stood up from her kneeling position behind a variety of flowers. Her pale skin and ice blue eyes perfectly matched her hair and added a soft and gentle touch to her features. She wore a pink apron over a white turtle neck knit sweater and a purple A-line skirt which stopped right below her knees. She removed a pair of yellow rubber gloves covered in dirt and revealed her equally smooth and pale hands. Overall, a sophisticated and elegant look radiated from her figure.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said in her soft voice once again as she bowed her head to greet the customer who had entered the shop. "Welcome to Sono Hanakotoba," she smiled as she approached the side of the counter. "I'm Moridake Amika, the owner of the store. It's an honour to have you in our humble flower shop Mr. Li."

Syaoran stared at the girl with an eyebrow raised and smiled back seeing as he didn't have anything to cover his identity to the woman who smiled warmly in front of him, "It's my pleasure to meet you Moridake-san." Syaoran greeted back as he continued to approach the counter which the lady still stood beside, "but may I ask what you meant by your earlier comment?"

"Oh, I did it again didn't I?" She asked with the same never faltering smile on her face. "I tend to say things like that a lot these days," she said as she approached the young man while she bent forward and stared down at the bouquet of flowers in his hands seriously. "Yellow tulips…"

"What about them?" Syaoran asked as he stared at the bouquet of flowers he had in hand, trying to figure out what was wrong with the flowers which the pair of ice blue eyes gazed intently at.

"May I ask you a question Mr. Li?" She questioned as she took a quick glance up at the amber-eyed model that looked away from the flowers in his hand and nodded. "Are you hopelessly in love?"

"What?" Syaoran questioned, a bit taken aback by the sudden question of the owner who stood before him. "No, why?"

"Well, the flowers seem to speak for you." she started as she straightened her back and gathered her thick, and water-like, knee length hair to rest on her left shoulder. "You see, flowers have many different languages. Usually, the people who have grown accustomed to having flowers around tend to pick out flowers which suit the feelings they want to express." Amika started as she walked towards a number of purple crocus flowers, caressing them with a gently touch. "However, for people who are not greatly familiar with them, they tend to pick out things that are not connected to what they feel at all." Amika said as she walked over to yellow-orange marigold flowers.

"That explains the name of the shop, does it not?" Syaoran asked as he remembered the meaning of the shop he entered, The Language of Flowers.

"You catch on quick Li-san," Amika said as she gave out another one of her smiles. "Yellow tulips represents that the person you intend to give it to gives you sunshine with their smile." She said as she continued to smile at the face of the amber-eyed manager who seemed to attentively listen to her explanations. "It can also mean that you are hopelessly in love." She continued as she approached the young man who held the yellow tulips in hand and gently took it from his hands to place it in a bucket outside where the rest of the flowers lay, before entering back inside.

"So I'm guessing you did that because you knew those weren't the flowers that I needed; and that I am a great big amateur at this since I have not been around flowers much," Syaoran raised both eyebrows as he followed the figure who only walked to the middle of the store.

"Since you had just openly and bravely claimed that you are an amateur at this," Amika smiled as she stared with interest at the man who still stood near the counter and admitted his weakness. "I believe you would need some help trying to find those flowers that you really need. So what is it that you need Mr. Li?"

Syaoran stared at her with an eyebrow raised; she seemed to know what he needed to get and only wanted a confirmation. A thought then ran through his head, that she probably did know what he wanted since the press had already broadcasted his and Sakura's little 'Lover's Quarrel.' Syaoran ran a hand through his hair and looked for a way to explain his situation, "Well I can't really say I'm hopelessly in love, but I uh…" Syaoran's voice faded as he desperately searched for a better way to express the fact that he only went there for the sake of getting any type of flower. Apparently, nothing better came to mind, "I need to say sorry to… some-."

"Okaa-san, I just finished putting the white tuli-" a small female voice interrupted but was immediately cut off by a little shriek of her own. A little girl who seemed like a complete replica of the owner came out of the rest of the rows in the shop, stopped, and quickly hid behind Amika. Her long, braided, light blue hair whizzed by and followed the rapid actions of the little girl once her light pink eyes, which differentiated her from her mother, spotted Syaoran. She peeked behind her mother's skirt which she lightly grasped, smiling ever so lightly, and blushing at the sight of the young male model that stood in their shop.

"Why thank you Chiyori-chan," Amika smiled warmly as she turned around and kneeled down to reach the height of her daughter, before gently placing a delicate hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Why don't you do mommy a favor and go grab some of those white tulips for our customer?" Chiyori shyly nodded and smiled weakly at Syaoran before running back to where she had come out from earlier.

Once Chiyori was gone Amika stood back up and faced Syaoran who seemed shocked by the piece of information he had just absorbed, "She's your daughter?" Syaoran dumbly questioned as he stared at Amika who still had the familiar smile on her face. "Wait, ignore that question. She obviously is; you look exactly like her."

"You seem shocked," Amika said with an amused smile as she continued to stare at the baffled Syaoran who stood in her shop. "She's Chiyori, my four year old daughter. People do say I look a lot like her."

"Yes you do," Syaoran said as he gave a chuckle. "And… white tulips?" Syaoran questioned as he looked seriously back up at the young mother who still smiled in her spot.

"White tulips symbolize asking for forgiveness," Amika stated as she looked at Syaoran who ran his hands through his already messy chest-nut locks. "That is what you needed, isn't it?"

At that moment, Chiyori came back running to the male model as she carried a bouquet of fresh white tulips in her hand. Syaoran smiled brightly at her and kneeled down to grab the white tulips from the young child and watched amusedly to see her quickly run back behind her mother. Syaoran stood back up and smiled at Amika who simply smiled at him. Oddly enough, her smile also reminded him of the store owner, "I think those are the ones you'll need for now, isn't that right Mr. Li?"

Syaoran nodded and walked over to the counter where he expected Amika to go behind and receive his payment, "So how much would you want for these?" Syaoran questioned as he stared at the bouquet in his hands.

"It's free of charge right now," Amika whispered.

Syaoran stared at her with widened amber eyes, "No, I'll-"

"It's okay," Amika smiled as she smiled at the sight of her daughter fiddle with her dress in the middle of the store with a small smile gracing her lips. "As long as I finally see my daughter with a smile around other people, it would be considered more than enough payment." Syaoran looked behind him and noticed Chiyori smiling nervously as she glanced at him, "She idolizes you and Sakura-chan. You can pay next time you wish to come by. It would be nice to have you back," Amika smiled before she walked from behind the counter, to approach her daughter.

Idolizes Kinomoto and me? Syaoran thought as he looked at the young girl who stood shyly beside her mom. I wonder how they'll react if she knew we weren't really together. Syaoran frowned but quickly covered up his guilt with a smile, pushing all previous thoughts at the back of his head, deciding that nobody had to know.

"Chiyori don't you have to say something to our customer?" Amika questioned as she lovingly smiled at her four year old daughter.

Chiyori quickly fumbled with her orange dress as she shyly approached Syaoran, "Thank you for coming to Sono Hanakotoba Li-san."

Syaoran smiled at the young girl as she shyly played with her dress, "No, thank you for your assistance Chiyori-chan." Syaoran smiled as he kneeled down to offer a hand for the young girl to shake. Chiyori shyly took it and shook it with a smile.

"Will you be back?" She questioned quietly as her bright pink eyes innocently stared at Syaoran's amber eyes.

Syaoran simply smiled and nodded his head, remembering her mother's previous statement, "Of course I will, only if you call me onii-chan. Then, maybe one day, I'll bring Sakura onee-chan with me," Syaoran said with a smile as he knowingly glanced at Amika who simply smiled at her daughter's lit up face. "What do you think about that?"

"Really?" She questioned as her smile grew wider than before. "You mean it?"

"Of course I do!" Syaoran exclaimed happily as he smiled at the girl whose pink eyes sparkled with happiness. "So you be a good girl and help your okaa-san take care of these precious flowers until onii-chan comes back, okay?"

"Un," Chiyori nodded with a very bright smile as she stared at Syaoran stand up.

"Good bye now Chiyori," Syaoran said as he ruffled the young girl's braided hair like an older brother.

"Ja ne, onii-chan," Syaoran smiled at the little girl's use of the word.

Syaoran smiled and nodded with a goodbye at Amika before he opened the door and left the flower shop with one last ring of a bell.

0o0o0o0o0o0

It was eleven-thirty in the morning when a soft breathing was heard accompanying the laughing people in a comedy television show. The sun's rays had penetrated through the thick, cream, and gold-embroidered curtains entering the light caramel-coloured living room. The rays had lit up the room and slowly crawled its way to hit the sleeping model on the sofa.

Sakura grumbled as she lazily got off the couch, rubbing her back as she rubbed her tired emerald eyes. She had fallen asleep with the television turned on after breakfast, and shut it off with the remote control she had accidentally dropped when she had fallen asleep. She then fell back on the couch and, once her head hit the belly of the human sized teddy-bear which sat at the corner of her peach coloured sofa, she heard someone knocking against her front door.

The young model grumbled. She slowly lifted herself from sofa, not bothering to check her appearance in a mirror, as she walked towards the door. She still wore her overly sized navy pajama bottoms patterned with yellow stars which rested right on her hips. Her unbuttoned, equally oversized matching pajama top lay on her left shoulder as the other side slowly slid down her right shoulder dragging down the strap of her white tank top, leaving her creamy, delicate shoulders bare, as the remaining cloth dangled with her arms. The white tank top which Sakura wore inside her pajama button-up was slightly left askew.

Sakura was walking down the hall with her emerald eyes half open, her body slumped in a sleepy position, and her hair had strands sticking out. Either way you look at it, Sakura was a walking zombie model. Even so, she still looked adorable in her early-morning posture.

Once the emerald-eyed model reached the front door, she didn't bother to look at the hole in her door as she rubbed her left eye with her left hand. Sakura slowly opened the door once she finished rubbing her tired emeralds and as soon as she got a view of who was at the door, she quickly shut and locked it in front of the person who stood in front of it.

Sakura yawned as she peeked through the whole to see Syaoran still standing outside. "What do you want from me this early in the morning jerk?"

"It's already eleven-thirty-four. You can't really call it early in the morning," Syaoran chuckled at her comment which Sakura ignored, he was right… again!

"Answer the question or leave," Sakura said a bit annoyed that her sleep has been once again interrupted. "Pick."

"I'm picking the first one…" Syaoran said through the door. "First," he then added with an afterthought.

"Well then answer the question," Sakura demanded, as she ignored the extra word Syaoran had emphasized in his previous statement.

"Can you please just open the doors," Syaoran complained as he looked at the empty hallway, "We have some business reasons to talk about."

Once Sakura heard the term 'business' she quickly unlocked the door and swung it open to come face to face with…

White tulips?

"I said I'll make it up to you didn't I?" Syaoran said with a faint smile as he slowly lowered the flowers in front of the wide-eyed zombie-like and still adorable model. He chuckled at the sight of her face but Sakura didn't seem to notice it at all.

Sakura couldn't help but stare at the flowers which Syaoran held in front of her. She was in so much shock that all she could do was stare at the lovely white petals of the tulips which were offered in front of her. The sweet scent instantly filled her nostrils, and immediately affected her brain to stop functioning. The female model only stared dumbfounded at the flowers which seemed to keep her stunned.

"Aren't you going to invite me in Sakura?" At the mention of her first name, Sakura quickly snapped and gently grabbed the flowers from Syaoran's hold then quickly and harshly pulled him inside her condominium before locking it securely. "Talk about nice invite, changing in mood, reaction, and…" Syaoran took one good look at Sakura's early morning look and raised an eyebrow at her lopsided garments. "Clothes."

Sakura then whipped her head back at him to tell him to mind his own business and glare but Syaoran was no longer smirking at her like she thought he would be; instead was taking off his shoes and walking down the hall, observing her place. Sakura then ignored him and placed the tulips on one of the glass-side tables which lay beside the couch she formerly fell asleep on. Her delicate hands grabbed an empty crystal vase before walking towards the kitchen.

Syaoran stared around her condominium. The manager was expecting an enormous, fancy place filled with numerous expensive things since she was a famous celebrity. However, it was simple, standard sized, and neat. It looked almost typical to him, with the greatly coordinated colours of the room. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was her incredibly huge television which stood against a wall, her surround sound system, the many stuff toys which were displayed in glass cabinets, numerous pillows scattered around the room, and a human-sized teddy bear which sat comfortably on the sofa. He guessed that it was probably as big as him, if not, bigger! Where she got the teddy bear? He didn't think he'd want to know.

His amber eyes scanned the place and decided to wait a little until Sakura told him what to do. He didn't want to do something that can get her back to her recent bad moods, and kick him out of the house before he can even say anything else.

Soon, Sakura came back with the vase filled with water and a bowl of ice cream with a spoon in her mouth. She placed the bowl down, before she poured half of the water in the vase on another identical piece of furniture which lay on the other side of her peach sofa. Placing the now, half-filled vase on the side of her room, she quickly untied the ribbon which secured the plastic wrap around the bouquet and equally divided it to place into the two vases. After she did this, she quickly plopped herself on her sofa, grabbed her bowl of strawberry ice cream, and placed the spoon which was on top of the scoop.

Sakura's emerald eyes stared at his amber ones, and raised an eyebrow at his standing figure. "What are you doing just standing there?" Syaoran was about to sit on one of the smaller sofas before Sakura stopped him with her hand. "I didn't say sit, I was kind of thinking talk."

Syaoran arched an eyebrow; she sure has a way with visitors.

"Well, what did you want to talk about?" Sakura said as she stuffed another scoop of ice cream in her mouth. "This better be worth waking me up from my oh-so-peaceful slumber."

"I was just wondering," Syaoran took in a deep breath as he wondered whether or not he should be doing this. After all, they were supposed to be on a day-off.

"Go on," Sakura said as she twirled her spoon to gesture him to continue.

"I was wondering," Syaoran started taking a deep breath. "If you'd want to go out somewhere?" Syaoran finally asked as he waited for her dreaded expression, yet all he got was a tilt of her head as she stared at her ice cream before taking a scoop. He figured this was her way of telling him to continue, and so did, "My treat, since I've been unfair to you the past days."

"Mm," Sakura nodded trying to melt the ice cream in her mouth. "You finally noticed huh?" Sakura said with a smirk.

"Yes, I have," Syaoran said staring at her emerald orbs. "I've been a horrible manager and I just thought going out would be…" Syaoran ran his fingers through his hair as he thought whether or not he should say the next part since it was the reason as to why he was a 'horrible manager' in the first place. Sighing, Syaoran finally decided on saying what he had intended to say, "I thought it would be a good practice for our 'relationship.'"

"Okay," Sakura started as he raised an eyebrow at Syaoran. "Did Tomoyo talk you into this?"

"What?" Syaoran asked baffled by her sudden off topic question.

"She's known for these kinds of things," Sakura mumbled, as she stuffed the last scoop of her strawberry ice cream in her mouth. "Long story."

"Okay…" Syaoran said as he looked at Sakura confusedly.

"And stop standing there," she said, cocking an eyebrow up at him. "That's why there are sofas you know."

"But you were the one that-"

"I know what I said," Sakura said with a chuckle. "I just never thought you'd follow it after walking to see my house without permission earlier."

"So…" Syaoran said sitting on the sofa. "Do you want to? It would be good for our reputation that we're 'back together,' you know."

"Fine. Don't try anything funny," Sakura warned as she placed the ice cream bowl from the table she had gotten it from earlier. "Just wait here with Mr. B."

Syaoran stared a Sakura and smirked as she patted the bear's head when she stood up, "You name your teddy bear?" Sakura then turned to face him and glared, "I thought only kids do that?" He taunted.

"Shut up," Sakura said, placing her hand on her hips. "It's nice to have a cute teddy bear like that to talk to when people, like you, drive me crazy."

"I never knew you love me so much that I never leave your head to the point of drive you crazy," Syaoran gave another smirk.

"You flatter yourself too much," Sakura said with a smirk. "For your information Li, I don't you love you but I love disliking you."

"I see," Syaoran said in defeat as he raised both his hands up, seeing as she had to get ready. "Well, don't you need to get ready?"

With one last huff, Sakura quickly stomped her way towards a white door, which Syaoran guessed would be her room. She then slammed it shut but silently peeked out with an unsure smile. "Forgot something?" Syaoran questioned, as he leaned back comfortably on his chair, loving the scene she had just made.

"Um Li, Mr. Manager," Sakura questioned as she stepped out of the room and shut it close but continued to hold on the handle. "What am I supposed to wear?"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow at her, "Anything."

"Heh, if I end up being humiliated it'll be your fault being my manager," Sakura said with huff. "Tomoyo was always better at this." She added silently, but Syaoran heard what she had said.

"Tomoyo might be better, but I'm the best at it," Syaoran said with a smirk.

"At least she bothered to help," Sakura said rolling her eyes. "Unlike you useless piece of crap."

"Do you seriously want me to go barging in your closet and taking a peek at all your personal belongings?" Syaoran said with a smirk as he watched her face redden, either with anger or embarrassment, he wasn't quite sure. "I thought so."

"You pervert!" She screamed. "I was only asking what I should wear! I never said you could have the privilege of going through my closet."

"That's too bad," Syaoran said with fake disappointment. "It's funny how you say privilege. I'll be in almost every photo shoot you take and every runway you'll walk, since I am your manager. By that time, you'll eventually have to get used to me having to see what you've really got hidden behind your so called privilege." With that last fact stated Sakura quickly gave a huff, slamming her door shut.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Ready?" Syaoran asked as he heard the door to the bathroom open.

Sakura walked out of the bathroom with her silky auburn hair let down just above her shoulders, and not a single touch of make up on her face. The young model didn't fancy make up, so she only wore it when necessary. She didn't have a need for it anyway.

She was wearing a pale pink hooded sweater which reached her hips. The sweater lay two inches inside her shoulder, and dipped to end with a slight V. On the right side of the sweater were small but intricate designs of cherry blossoms petals which flowed nicely till the end of the sweater. The vee-cut neckline exposed the straps and the top of her cream coloured lace tank top which she wore inside. Her top contrasted with her dark wash jeans which fitted her body perfectly. The jeans had a light fading touch to the thigh area and slightly flared from the knee down. To top it all off, she wore a pair of peridot gems as earings and a gold chain with a similar shaped peridot pendant which almost matched the magnificence of her eyes.

"Yup," she replied, walking over to a drawer which held a cream coloured bag which she had placed all her belongings earlier. "Had a fun time with Mr. B?" Sakura asked noticing Syaoran sitting beside the huge teddy bear.

"Not really," Syaoran said as he gave out a yawn. "I had a fun time listening to your wonderful singing from the bathroom." He said with a smirk as he stood up from his seat.

"You heard that?" Sakura asked baffled by the fact that Syaoran had heard her singing while she was taking a shower.

"Of course I did," Syaoran said as he laughed heartily. "You sang it loud enough for even the neighbours to hear."

It was that loud? Sakura thought to herself with her eyes wide in fear.

At the look of her face Syaoran laughed even harder and dragged her stunned figure towards the front door. "I was only kidding," he whispered as he gave out another laugh before receiving a punch from Sakura on his coated right arm.

"Don't say things like that," she said, before opening her coat closet and grabbing her cream coloured boots.

"But I did hear you singing," Syaoran said honestly as he bent down to put on his shoes. "You're pretty good."

Sakura felt her cheeks start to glow but quickly brushed it away. It was embarrassing enough that someone had actually heard her sing while she was in the shower. To make matters worse, it was her manager that heard her singing. Why does he even bother to listen!

Once Sakura finished putting her shoes on, she quickly stood back up to search for her cream coloured coat inside the closet but found it missing. "Here," Syaoran offered as he held the coat openly in front of her. "I'll help you put it on."

"I can put it on by myself thank you very much," Sakura said as she tried to grab the coat but only ended up stumbling forward since Syaoran had quickly moved it away from her. "What was that for?"

"I told you," Syaoran said as he steadied her back up to find her glaring at him. "I'll help you put it on… here," Syaoran offered and Sakura grudgingly obliged as she turned around to put on the coat which he held in front of him. She slipped the coat on her right arm and quickly slipped it her left arm in before tugging away from his hold. "Don't I get a thank you with that?" Syaoran faked a hurt expression as Sakura replied with a sarcastic smile.

"I don't thank people who do things that I don't want them to do Li," Sakura spat out as she grabbed the gloves from her coat pockets and slid her creamy hands in them.

"It's Syaoran," Syaoran corrected as he rewrapped his green scarf securely around his neck.

"What?" Sakura asked as she opened her bag to check if all her belongings were in there.

"You have to call me Syaoran remember?" Her manager reminded as he adjusted his scarf.

"Whoever said you could give me orders?" Sakura glared at him.

"I thought we were over this issue?" Syaoran questioned remembering their argument in Sakura's trailer during their only photo shoot together. "Besides, you seemed fine with it yesterday, or did you already forget?"

"God you're hopeless," Sakura responded as she rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore Syaoran's question.

"I am not hopeless," Syaoran said as he put his right hand against his chest. "I am in fact, full of hope!" He said with a grin.

"Besides, we're inside my place and I didn't forget." Sakura said as she grabbed her keys from her bag and got ready to open the door. "It's just the morning effect and I'm not a morning person."

"You took about half an hour getting ready, it's no longer morning," Syaoran said with a chuckle. "However, I cannot deny that I noticed that you are not a morning person."

"What does that mean?" Sakura cocked an eyebrow at Syaoran's smirking face.

"Let's see, you're late half the time," he said as he thoughtfully tapped his gloved finger against his chin. "You obviously wake up late, and you looked like a zombie with a hang over when I knocked on your door." He finished with a smile.

"I am not late half the time, and it's normal to look freaky in the morning! I bet you look even worse!" Sakura argued back.

"Oh, it's a bet?" Syaoran questioned with an amused smile. "So you're inviting me over to your condominium to sleep? Or are you inviting yourself over to my place to… you know?" Syaoran laughed at Sakura's disgusted face. "My, my… I never knew you could be so straightforward Sakura, but I do have to decline your offer."

"Don't call me Sakura!" Sakuar screamed as she held on tightly against the doorknob. "We're still in my place in case you haven't noticed, and there's only the two of us in here!"

"Are you suggesting we do that bet now? Sakura, since you haven't noticed I already declined your very seductive offer." Syaoran smirked at Sakura's fuming reaction. "Beside another correction to your statement," Syaoran said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mr. B can hear us loud and clear."

"Why you-" Sakura quickly lunged herself forward ready to punch Syaoran. However he quickly ducked and grabbed the door handle with one swift move and opened it, causing Sakura to stop her movements. Syaoran only gave out a smirk as he opened the door wider for Sakura to exit. She quickly took a deep breath before stepping out of her condominium door.

Sakura smiled sarcastically sweet at Syaoran as he let go of the door knob and let her lock her door before she stomped her way to the elevator, slowly followed by Syaoran. Once they reached the front of the elevator and Sakura's harsh pressing on the down button, he gently placed his right hand on her left shoulder.

"You need to calm down," Syaoran whispered to her. "We're in public now."

"How exactly can I come down if you're near me?" Sakura harshly whispered back.

"Simple," he said as he gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "You just have to pretend you don't dislike me."

"You make it sound so easy," Sakura said as she smiled sarcastically sweet up at Syaoran when an elevator door opened and a gentleman got off with a suitcase in hand, smiling at the 'young couple.' The elevator door closed once again, going up with other people and Sakura waited until the man quickly got inside one of the doors on the opposite side of the hall.

"That wasn't that hard now was it?" Sakura glared back up at Syaoran before letting out a sigh of defeat and hanging her head low.

"Fine," Sakura said as she tapped her foot against the floor. "I'll try."

Syaoran smiled down at her, letting his hand slide down from her left shoulder to her hand, holding it in his. Syaoran gave Sakura's hand a light squeeze, and walked her inside the empty elevator going down. The little action made Sakura look up at him with a confused expression, before he smiled even wider, "That's nice to know."

0o0o0o0o0o0

The sun which was once brightly shining high above the busy city of Tokyo was now slowly coming to take its rest, as it gradually descended from the sky. The formerly small, circular body which glowed white and gave out wonderfully bright rays down on Japan's capital was slowly changing its feature into a bigger circle and turning into a warm orange sphere. Its descent has changed the colour of the sky, and its departure has signaled for the moon to rise from the east, while the setting sun takes its rest from the west.

The formerly light blue sky has transformed into many colourful shades from deep blue to light pink. Its different hues must have been a great thing to observe, if only the people weren't too busy about their occupied lives. The winds have started to blow its cooler whistles and the dried, fallen leaves which lay crumpled and neglected on the ground, have slowly crawled its way together with the dance of the cool breeze.

Busy people have rushed their ways from building to building, some waiting impatiently for the cars to move from the heavy traffic, and many crowded at the subway stations ready to go and move on for their next destination for the day. Despite the many busy people who have blended themselves perfectly with the busy crowd; some still took time to enjoy their available leisure moment to go and take nice strolls at the parks and many amusing places to rest.

Many parks had different types of people all from children playing, family gatherings, friends talking, or couples having the romantic moment to spend with their loved ones. So exactly what category do we place these two people, where the guy comfortably rested on the strikingly dazzling young lady's lap with a smile while she lovingly looked down at him, brushing her hand against his stunningly gorgeous face, leaning against one of the leafless trunks of the many trees beside a pond with running water and lily pads?

Why, under the couples category of course!

WRONG!

The two breathtaking people who appeared as a loving couple were none other than Japan's top models, even possibly Asia's. From far away people would probably mistake them for two people who simply want to spend their intimate time in peace and quiet. However, if they knew perfectly well what was going on, they'll notice that their loving words, affectionate stares, and warm touches were nothing but a fake!

Indeed, Sakura and Syaoran who lay under the leafless tree, staring deeply into each other's eyes were only acting. It was the simple pretend game that almost everybody was unfamiliar with.

"Syaoran," Sakura said sweetly as she soothingly brushed the back of her hand against the young man's face that lay on her lap. "My legs are starting to turn numb." She whispered trying to not sound irritated, as she leaned her face forward slightly, some of her hair falling from behind her ear.

"Sakura," Syaoran said as he pushed her silky auburn hair behind her ear with his right hand. "I know," he whispered as Sakura slowly backed away from her leaning position and Syaoran sat up from the ground before smiling equally sweet at her.

"Thank you," The emerald eyed model gave out a smaller smile with a sigh as she watched Syaoran position himself beside her, and compassionately wrapped his left arm around her shoulders.

"No problem," Syaoran smiled back as he hugged Sakura closer, making her rest her head on his left shoulder.

At that moment, both models heard the grumbling of Sakura's stomach as she lightly flinched and blushed, moving her right hand on top of her stomach. Syaoran gave out a genial laugh as he nuzzled his face into Sakura's hair, inhaling her cherry blossom scent.

"You hungry?" Syaoran teased.

"No," Sakura said, as she lightly furrowed her eyebrows and pulled her head away from Syaoran to face his interested smiling face. "I'm starving!" She pouted as she looked up at him.

Syaoran gave out another laugh as he slowly unwrapped his left arm from around her shoulders. He stood up and offered a hand to Sakura who gratefully took it. Once she stood up, Sakura's stomach immediately grumbled once again as she stumbled forward due to the lack of feeling from her thighs, knees and legs. It was a good thing that Syaoran had been holding her hand and had immediately caught her only to land in his arms. They stood like that for a few minutes before Syaoran had talked.

"You okay?" Syaoran questioned, glancing worriedly at Sakura with a hint of taunting in his eyes. Sakura noticed this as he helped her steady herself before nodding her head with a sarcastic smile and eyes that read, I saw that!

The couple then slowly walked, holding each other's hands as they thought of a place to eat, "Hey, you said you like noodles right?" Syaoran questioned remembering the first half of their day when they had talked about what they liked and disliked. Apparently, one of Sakura's dislikes was Syaoran. Without a reply from Sakura, he looked down to see the obviously disturbed features of the model, "Sakura?"

"Huh?" Sakura questioned as she looked at Syaoran.

"What's the matter?" Syaoran asked as he stopped walking, to face her. "Are you sure you're okay."

"Yeah," Sakura replied as she looked up at Syaoran with eyes that clearly screamed, Are you crazy? Of course I'm not! "It's just that all these people…" Sakura's voice faded as she let go of Syaoran's hand to clasp both of her hands together to fiddle with her thumbs while she looked around at the amount of people whose eyes were glued at them.

Syaoran found Sakura fiddling with her thumbs rather amusing and smiled broadly, figuring it was probably her way of expressing nervousness since she had been doing it ever since they had exited her building and when he had not held her hand while walking. "You're not used to them seeing you around walking with someone else, moreover me, are you?" Syaoran questioned as he looked down at her.

It was obvious that Sakura had been uncomfortable being around him, how else with all these people walking around staring? It was odd, how she was the one who even suggested that they walked since she preferred it over driving, and said she wanted to be at least a partly normal person when they acted their roles.

"Yeah," Sakura answered once again as she looked up at him. "I'm used to people staring but not like this." Sakura whispered the last word for only him to hear.

Syaoran smiled and nodded, noticing her discomfort around the many people, "You'll get used to it, I'm sure of that."

Syaoran wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulders and continued to walk, seeing as she still fiddled with her thumb while she stared down at the pavement. "Um, where are we eating?" Sakura questioned as she looked back up at him, trying hard to ignore the people's stares.

"I saw a corner noodle store while walking here," Syaoran explained. "I figured that it would be nice to eat somewhere normal for a change."

"Yeah, that would be nice," Sakura nodded looking back down again before looking back up once more. "But there would be more people there!" She whined, biting her lower lip. Even she didn't know she could be this nervous. The last time she was like this was…

"It's either we both starve or we both eat," Syaoran said. He gave Sakura's shoulder a light squeeze and smiled, "You'll do fine. By the time you probably stare at the food you'll gulp it all down and not even notice the people around you."

Leaving all thoughts behind, Sakura lightly elbowed Syaoran while he laughed at her. He does have a point, Sakura thought as she gave out a slightly relieved sigh.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"I'm shocked you can still walk after eating all those bowls of Nabeyaki udon you ordered," Syaoran laughed out loud as he and Sakura walked together to another park that both of them noticed the be highly familiar, yet not as crowded as before, which relaxed both models. "When you said noodles were one of your favourite foods, I didn't expect that you could eat so much of it."

"I was starving!" Sakura argued back with a pout as she placed both hands on her hips, tearing her gloved hands away from Syaoran's grasp. "You made me starve, you bad date!" Sakura accusingly pointed her outstretched arm at Syaoran.

This only made Syaoran laugh as he grabbed her arm and slid his hand back down to intertwine it with hers. "I see you got over your little people trauma after eating all those food," Syaoran laughed. "I think you scared them away, such a beautifully slender person like you being able to gulp down all those food."

Sakura blushed at the thought of her hogging all the food at the table, she then noticed Syaoran's use of words, "Hey Syaoran." Sakura purred as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Beutifully slender?" She questioned as she batted her eyelashes flirtatiously.

"What about it?" Syaoran questioned as he stared down at her with an eyebrow arched.

"You called me beautifully slender," Sakura said with a grin.

"Why would you rather prefer distastefully obese?" Syaoran said with a wider grin as she stared at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"No," She replied. "But whatever happened to 'zombie with a hang over?'" Sakura said, as she once again batted her eyelashes playfully, as she neared Syaoran's face, tiptoeing to meet his eyes.

"I never said I find zombies unattractive," Syaoran argued as he stared back at her emerald eyes which seemed to glow brighter in the dark night. "In fact," he started seriously as he leaned in a bit forward, equally teasing Sakura back. "I think a zombie with a hang over is extremely adorable and lovely to… kiss."

At hearing those words, Sakura quickly dropped herself back to her normal height, afraid of how far Syaoran might actually take their job when they were out as a fake couple in public. Syaoran only laughed at this as he placed his arms around Sakura's shoulders once again, as they walked down the park.

"I can't believe we're back here," Syaoran started, cutting the silence between the two. "How ironic," Syaoran said as he shook his head, and tried to move along with Sakura who simply looked around the familiar place, standing still.

"This was where we first met," Sakura finally realized, standing at the exact same spot where Syaoran had first wrapped his arms around her to save her from that moronic red-headed jerk.

"It's funny how we're walking here now as a couple," Syaoran said with a smile as he stared down at Sakura, removing his arm from her shoulder, and stood behind her before he repeated the action he had once done before. "And before we were just two complete strangers to each other," He encircled her waist, as he hugged her closer, resting his chin on her head as he did so.

"You're right, it is ironic." Sakura said as she leaned back into Syaoran's hold. "But when you think about it, we were pretending to be couple back then too," Sakura added softly so that only Syaoran can hear.

"Yeah, you were my fiancé," Syaoran chuckled. "Now, it's one step lower. You're my girlfriend." Syaoran said as he emphasized the last word.

"You wish," Sakura whispered back. "You're just my manager and co-model, and I'm just a model."

"You're not just a model," Syaoran corrected. "You're the best female model in Asia… and my fake girlfriend." He added. "Happy?"

"Better than what you said earlier," Sakura rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't my fault you took it seriously," Syaoran smirked. "Or is it because you really want to be my girlfriend?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Sakura argued as she thrust both her elbows back at Li, causing him to slightly loosen his hold on her. "Thinking back on it now, when we met here we were only two strangers that didn't know each other. When you think about it now, we still don't really know much about each other, do we?"

"I guess we've got a lot to learn," Syaoran smiled as he loosened his arms around her waist and placed it back on her shoulder, pulling her close to him as they walked.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The moon shone brightly from the black, silky velvet people called the sky. The stars which were barely visible to the people because of the lights radiated by the tall buildings surrounding the park and filling the city engulfed the light that the other celestial bodies glowed. The clock continued to tick as the night continued on, nearing the day's end to start a brand new day.

The lights from the post illuminated the park, as couples continued to stroll together through the night. As the temperature of Tokyo started to drop, the number of couples walking has coordinated with the weather itself. Only a few people were left, strolling around the park in each other's arms, making out behind a tree, or sitting down on a bench as they huddled in each other's arms.

Syaoran and Sakura were an example of these couples however; they weren't really together like most people thought they were. Even though both models were famous and undisguised during their whole day, they were left alone by the public. How? They were afraid that if they cause a commotion both successful models might break their currently 'edgy' relationship.

Edgy relationship? Really, that could be applied to both of them, if only they referred to relationship in a general manner and not the loving girlfriend-boyfriend matter most people thought they were in.

After a full forty-four minutes of walking around the park multiple times and always ending up at the same place, which was where they had first met, both Sakura and Syaoran had finally decided to go take a seat on a bench and give both their feet a break. They sat in silence, neither one talking as they simply watched the people pass by for a good fifteen minutes.

Syaoran still had his arm around Sakura's shoulder as she comfortably leaned down on him, "My neck is starting to hurt," Sakura complained in a whisper in Syaoran's ear as she opened her eyes to look up at him from his position.

"Then why are you still leaning on my shoulder?" Syaoran answered with a smirk.

"Because I have to," Sakura said in a harsh whisper as she sarcastically smiled at Syaoran.

"Nobody said you have to," Syaoran replied as he hugged her closer. "You could always keep your neck in a normal position since I have my arm around you anyway; it will still look like we're together. You probably just want to keep your head on me, don't you?"

"Excuse me?" Sakura whispered in her ear with a giggle as a young couple passed by them. "Why would I want to lean my head on your shoulder, when I know it can give me a bad case of stiff neck?"

"I don't know," Syaoran shrugged. "You tell me, since you're the one who's forcing yourself to lean on my shoulder."

"Fine," Sakura whispered harshly. "I won't." After a few minutes of Sakura struggling with where she could keep her head without looking or feeling awkward, she ended up in the same position where she was in earlier with a frustrated sigh.

"Why the sudden change of mind?" Syaoran chuckled.

"Oh shut up," she said, elbowing him lightly at his side, a habit she had picked up ever since they had first acted like a couple yesterday. Apparently, this habit had sunk in deeper into Sakura throughout the day and used it whenever she was annoyed by her manager.

Syaoran only laughed as he glanced at his watch. It was nearly midnight and they were still out, "I think we should start heading back," he said as he stretched both his arm up in the air as Sakura placed her right hand behind her neck, slowly rotating her head to stop the soar pains, "It's starting to get even darker than what it usually is."

"Not to mention colder," she added as a cold shiver traveled down her spine.

Syaoran noticed this and smiled. He took his scarf from his neck and delicately placed it around Sakura's as she tried to zip her coat up higher and blow into her gloved hands. "There," Syaoran said as he watched Sakura's movements stop, feeling the warm material touch her exposed neck. "Still cold?" he asked staring at her frozen figure.

Sakura took the soft and warm material in her hands and wrapped the thick, green scarf around her neck. She smiled at Syaoran as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him in a warm embrace as they walked back together.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"I should go," Syaoran stated as he stood in front of Sakura.

"I think you should go too," Sakura started as she opened the door to her condominium with her silver keys. "Your loving fans might wonder where their dear Li Syaoran has been," she said with a grin as she turned around to face her manager who stood in front of her place.

"So…" Syaoran started as he stared at Sakura's emerald eyes.

"So what?" Sakura asked raising an eyebrow at Syaoran's intense gaze.

"You remember that slap I gave you that obviously caused all this commotion between us that I agreed to…" Syaoran started as he fixatedly stared at Sakura. "You never really told me you accepted my apology just yet."

"Hmm…" Sakura said thoughtfully.

"So am I forgiven now?" Syaoran questioned hopefully staring at Sakura's thinking figure.

"Hmm…" Sakura repeated.

"Oh come on!" Syaoran said as he ran his gloved hand through his unruly chestnut hair. "I said I'll make it up to you and I did, didn't I?"

"Hmm…"

"After all those Nabeyaki udon you ate that I paid for, you have to give me at least some credit," Syaoran desperately explained.

"It was only a few yen!" Sakura flushed remembering the great amount of food she consumed earlier that day. "You're too rich to even be complaining about that!"

"It's still money," Syaoran replied with a sigh. This person is impossible!

"I thought you had an unlimited supply of those," Sakura said as she scratched her head in thought.

"Just because it's impossible to count doesn't mean it's unlimited!" Syaoran argued back his arms flailing about in aggravation.

"You know what," Sakura started with a stern face. "Just for arguing with me, you're not forgiven!"

"That's unfair!" Syaoran argued much like a little boy as Sakura tried to hold in a giggle at his sudden outburst. "I got my butt off of my bed today just to go find out where you lived, then I had to waste my gas to return back to that flower shop just to get you those flowers of apology, which I don't think you even know what they really mean, then I had to spend thirty more minutes going around the city and trying to figure out where your building was! I got lost for you and after all that I don't even get-"

"Geez," Sakura cut him off. "You really have to loosen up a little."

"How do you expect me to loosen up when I have the most difficult model to handle?" Syaoran asked frustrated as he ran a finger through his hair.

"I kind of expect you to loosen up after I say this," Sakura said as she stared at Syaoran straight in the eye, and placed a delicate ungloved hand on his still cold cheek. "Li, Xiao Lang…" Sakura started as she placed a gentle kiss on his left cheek. "You are officially forgiven." She whispered.

Syaoran stared down at Sakura in shock. After her last words finally processed in his head, he grinned, "I see I'm rubbing off on to you quite quickly." Syaoran said remembering their previous discussions about getting used to expressing affections such as those, and Syaoran giving Sakura the same kiss on her cheek yesterday.

"Says who?" Sakura grinned back as she placed her hands on her hips. "As much as I'd hate to admit this, it was okay being with you today."

"Just okay?" Syaoran said with a pout.

"Fine, fine," Sakura said as she surrendered in defeat. "It was fun!"

"Now that wasn't that hard, was it?" Syaoran said with a smirk.

"It was so hard I'm pretty sure if it was in any normal situation I would have puked it out," Sakura said, giving a disgusted face.

"But this isn't a normal situation because you had fun with me?" Syaoran questioned teasingly.

"Just don't do that pouty-face-thingy again," She said as she disgustedly stared at him. "You look weird doing it."

"Avoiding the topic?" Syaoran questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I'll just take your comment as a good thing," Syaoran said as he smiled broadly at Sakura. "After all to me a zombie with a hang over is also a good thing. Like I said, it's extremely adorable and lovely to… " Syaoran smirked, gently lifting Sakura's chin to face him as he leaned in closer.

Sakura remembering the last word to his statement quickly stepped back and glared, "Shouldn't you be leaving?"

"Should I?" Syaoran questioned as he smiled innocently at Sakura.

"Yes you should," Sakura reprimanded. "I'll see you at work."

"Aren't we at work?" Syaoran asked in a whisper with the same innocent smile.

"Good point," Sakura said. "Well goodnight Li,"

"Li? It's Syaoran remember?" He corrected as he smirked at Sakura.

"We're at my place, remember?" Sakura reminded him with a smirk rivaling his.

"Oh but you see," Syaoran said as he pointed down at the floor which had a strip of varnished wood indicating the two different places. "You are, but I'm not."

"Do you always have to win things?" Sakura asked annoyed by the fact that every time she tried to prove herself right, he always won the discussions.

"I'll let you win next time," Syaoran stated after a silent pause before smiling as he slowly walked away.

With a small smile Sakura stared at Syaoran's retreating back before closing the door to enter her own house. Sakura quickly took off her shoes and her coat as she rushed towards the living room and plopped herself down on the couch.

She then noticed Syaoran's scarf still wrapped around her neck as she rapidly ran towards the door, hoping that Syaoran would still be there. Once she opened the door, he was gone and she simply sighed and walked back to the living room, I'll give it back tomorrow.

It was then that Sakura's eyes landed on the white tulips on either side of her couch, which were placed on a table. White tulips, Sakura thought as she stared intently at the flowers. Flowers of apology huh… She thought as her lips slowly started to tilt upward. She sighed and figured she'll have to think about the meanings of the flowers next time she talked to one of her friends who were familiar with such facts.

She snuggled close to Mr. B on the couch and noticed a small piece of paper fall from his hand in front of her face. Sakura's emerald eyes sparkled with a smile as she read the note, How did he… Sakura thought as she read the neat hand writing.

I hope you had a great day. You should, since you just proved yourself to be a proud winner over your dignity, as you had finally let your own pride down and forgave me. Thanks.

Oyasumi Kinomoto-san,

Li.

With one last thought she fell asleep into a deep slumber thinking of the last words Syaoran had said that night, He let me win after all.

0o0o0o0o0o0

A/n: I finished a chapter… That was apparently FULLY Sakura and Syaoran. Even the first chapter wasn't fully SxS! At least this wasn't as long as chapter 8.

Ah, this is a chapter that wasn't as interesting yet a building block to a brand new starting point for the two.

Notes/Vocabulary:

Sono - the

Hanakotoba - language of flowers

Okaa-san - mother

Onii-chan – brother

Onee-chan – sister

Nabeyaki udon – type of Japanese noodles

Oyasumi – good night

So the fun, which was supposed to be starting from this chapter onward, was fully focused on Sakura and Syaoran. I'm sorry if people wanted to read more about the other characters, but there was really nothing important going on for them so Sakura and Syaoran completed the whole chapter instead, since I needed them to get on a new and better start for the next chapters.

I will be having the other characters back, since I also have a building plot for the rest of the pairs of this story. Now that I think about it, I have so many pairings for this fanfiction. This story's key pair is Sakura and Syaoran though, so be prepared to see some chapters which mostly involve them. If not, the two more other main pairs, which I'm sure you guys will or probably already figured out whom, will be taking over the chapters.

I hope you guys liked this chapter. There was a lot of acting here for both Sakura and Syaoran. If you guys are wondering whether or not I'll make it a fast paced story where they suddenly start to love each otherNo, I won't do that. They'll start as friends… who still argue in case you guys wanted to know.

This story is NOT, I repeat NOT going to be incredibly fast paced story. It will take it's time before everything builds up. You might notice some mushy and fluff-filled parts (like this chapter) and some hints, yet they are just hints. They are not the REAL thing.

Also, I only had two new characters introduced in this chapter, and I believe that they will be appearing in future chapters as well. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this!

Anyway, I'm still really grateful for the people who review and continue to support my story!

Here are the replies to your wonderful reviews to my previous chapter:

AirStriker: Thank you for reading my story! I'm glad you like the long chapters! And Sakura and Syaoran are pretty famous, so they should've known something like this would happen, but to think that she was rarely into magazine gossip shocked them! Thank you for reviewing! XD

Deviltwit: Thank you for your review! XD

-Kori Kage Tenshi-: Yey, of course you are being thanked! You are one of my loyal reviewers after all! XD.

ch3rryblossom-baby: Lol. Let's just say that Sakura wouldn't really be improving her image to the public if she moves. Which means, more explaining would be needed and the chapter was already Long. Lmao. Thank you for the magnificent comment though; I would try to add more drama to the next chapters. These are just starting chapters so please be patient. XD. Thank you for your review!

Musette Fujiwara: The ladys' plans… yes indeed it is better now. XD. I believe I cannot answer what Touya's reaction was yet, for it will come in the next chapter, so please be patient. :D. Thank you so much for reviewing!

Agent08: Yey! I rock your socks! That means a lot! Thank you for continuing to read my story and keeping in touch with a fellow author like me! XD. I really appreciate it! I'm glad you find my story worth it, I really do! Also, thank you for the applause, and I'm sorry to disappoint you with this chapter that not everything happened. Since this chapter is mostly Sakura and Syaoran, not a lot really happened. It just built their relationship from what they really were which was… nothing. I just had to have this chapter again, like all my other ones. So I'm really sorry to disappoint you about not having everything here! I love your reviews! Thank you for reviewing!

Sakura5584.and.Naruto5: Thanks for the two thumbs up, it means a lot to me! Thank you for reviewing! XD.

moonstone-91: Thank you for thinking that chapter eight was the best, I must disagree with you still… But thank you! Sakura does have incredible mood swings in this story, but hopefully that will change soon. Thank you so much for continuously reading through my long chapters and reviewing! XD.

Snowy Azn Angel: Let's just hope being together wouldn't be unwillingly for them soon. XD. Thank you for regularly reviewing!

x-Trisha-x: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate your support! xD.

pyscho-pyro-shrink: Thank you for always reviewing my chapters! XD. I really appreciate it!

Zilver Wings: How I write such long chapters? Well… let's just say that I have writing spurts right after having a whole week of mental blocks. So I think all my thoughts just leak out into the story. :D. At least I think that's how I manage to type long. :. Anyway, about Sakura crying… It was actually a stress breakdown. People tend to get really emotional under complete and utterly stressful lives. :D. Thank you for reading and reviewing my long chapters!

Rawritskim: Ooooh. Now that you wonder how long the story is going to be. Let's just say that it's going to be really long, that there will be a second half typed and already planned. XD. I guess you've noticed I write long and since I write long, the story itself will be long. The time span the story will take over a complete two years. But don't worry, it's not like I would have to write a story for everyday of their lives. xD.

pollyhi5: Thank you! I love your constant reviews praty! XD.

charlie and lola: Oh no, I must have really disappointed you with this chapter, seeing as you loved the amount of drama, angst, fluff, and anger from the previous one. I'm sorry this chapter is full of fluff and a bit of teasing arguments! I really am sorry if it doesn't suit your taste! Anyway, thank you for reviewing!

dark.retreat: Hmm. This is an answer for your review in chapter 7, but since you already reviewed chapter eight… Chapter eight is the longest chapter. xD. Also, I'm not really sure what other surprises I have in this story that you haven't figured out yet. My plot's pretty big so… I'm not really sure. xD. Thank you for reviewing my chapters!

shiningphoenix: Aww. Thank you for noticing my symbolism with the weather. I'm flattered. XD. Thank you for reviewing!

starZdestiny: Thank you! I appreciate you loving my story even if it's long! Thank's for reviewing! XD

Amazoness Archer: I think I would love to very much keep on reading your reviews since I have noticed that you are a reviewer who doesn't simply mention great things to authors. First of, I'm flattered to even be complimented by you. XD. I would also like to try and leave out some things that are not needed in the plot. I'll really try! By the way, I'm glad you like the twist! I have to say that I love your reviews! Thank you for reviewing!

it'sjay: I'm glad you printed it out, but you really didn't have to waste any ink on the story just to read it lil-sis-jay-li. I'm also glad you like the SxS part. Thank you for reviewing jay!

MeakoXIII: Yes, they are together but it isn't real. About the question about it will be soon… All I can answer is… It's not as soon, but you'll just have to keep on reading to find out. XP. And thank you for the compliment and the review! XD.

Aimee Yumi: Aww. I think SxS will be a cute couple too! Thank you for your loyal reviewing! XD.

Weary Soulsearcher: Let's just say Li chose to keep quiet at the start. XP. And About Sakura starting to see Syaoran in a different light… Hmm, well she obviously doesn't hate him as much… at least not just yet. But I'm guessing that wasn't the light you were referring to. XD. Hopefully she will see him in a different light. XD. By the way… besmirched? Hehe, just a burst of vocabulary change. Oh yeah, thanks for the necklace! Thank's for reviewing eura-chii.

Pinktreasure: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you love my story. XD.

lil sakura: Yes, payback is a bitch. XD. Also, don't worry, even if this chapter seems kind of too mushy and fluff-filled even for me… like I said in my previous author's notes, they won't fall for each other fast. This is not a fast paced story and I like my plot sloooow. XD. Thank you for reviewing!

Empyreal Entity: Thank you! I love your loyal reviews! XD.

ilovewhite: Thank you for the appreciation for my story! Thank you for your review as well, XD. There will be a Takashi and Chiharu in this story, but not as much. I'm thinking of having them appear in chapters eleven. XD. And Meilin, she's one of the main pairs. You'll figure out who she's with soon XP.

Rose: I guess you wouldn't be reading them if they were that long and irritating. xD. Thanks for reviewing, and for loving my LONG story. XP.

Rukz: Oh my… I can't believe you actually stuck to reading my story for four days! I am incredibly flattered by this! Thank you for reviewing and still finishing the chapter even if it was evilly long!

Thank you guys so much!