"There are two people you'll meet in your life. One will run a finger down the index of who you are and jump straight to the parts of you that peak their interest. The other will take his time reading through every one of your chapters and maybe fold corners of you that inspired them most. You will meet these two people; it is a given. It is the third person that you'll never see coming. That one person who not only finishes your sentences, but keeps the book." – Author Unknown

Chapter 16
"Let the Games Begin"

And on to entertainment news Yuri, as of last night we still haven't received word from either Li Syaoran or Kinomoto Sakura regarding the rumors that are running around in the social media. According to an anonymous source, the couple has been involved romantically in the past. We still don't have many details on this as neither of them have confirmed or denied the rumors but a photo has been leaked through social networks and is currently running around the internet.

Meiling watched the news as a picture was presented and been given a close up on TV. It was a picture taken eight years ago where Sakura was hugging Syaoran from behind. They were both smiling as Syaoran proudly held a trophy on his hand. "That heinous bitch!"

"Meiling! Language!" Yelan loudly said in her living room.

Meiling grimaced before regretfully replying, "Sorry auntie."

What it's certain Yuri is that Ms. Kinomoto was indeed at Li's side a month ago when he suffered a serious injury that almost restrained him from playing this tournament. For those of you who are not too familiar with the business world, Ms. Kinomoto is one of the most acclaimed project managers Li Enterprises has and works very closely with the company's President Li Xian, who is also Li Syaoran's father. It has been previously said that these two had met through his father but this picture put those rumors to rest as it is confirmed that they at least met years before this year.

~ o ~

Sakura heard the news and took a deep breath. As of now, about fifty reporters were gathered around her apartment and after peeking through her office window apparently some of them had decided to invade the outside parts of the office building as well. The news of her being the only serious woman romantically linked to famous hot star soccer player Li peeked reporter's interest like crazy. But she wasn't worried for her safety. What concerned her more was Syaoran in all of this. She had talked to him last night and even though she tried to convince him that she was fine she could tell he was still worried before hanging up.

"You promised me I had nothing to worry about when it came to me being a distraction to you once again." She said.

"This is not about you being a distraction for me Sakura. Reporters can get a little aggressive when they want information that you're not willing to give them." he calmly explained.

"So you just want me to agree with everything?"

"That's not what I'm saying." He quickly said.

"Then what are you saying?"

He hesitated before answering, "Maybe you can consider staying at my parents for the rest of the tournament."

She scoffed. "That would be the same thing as agreeing with what they're saying."

"And what from what they're saying is not true Sak? We dated. For seven years you have been my only serious long-time relationship and right now we are dating again. Even if we haven't had our first date yet…"

A soft smile appeared on her face after hearing his comment. They were dating again. The words alone brought goose bumps through her hands and not from being afraid but from longing.

"Look Sak, I know what these reporters can do. You may have heard about their behavior or haven't but you still haven't been through dealing with these people. I just… I don't want you to get hurt."

"Fine. I'll think about it."

"Please consider it. Don't just tell me that so I back down from this. I won't be calm until I know you're safe."

She listened to the ending sounds of her coffee maker announcing her coffee had just finished brewing. Turning around, she walked towards her mini bar and served herself a cup. She knew this was coming. The moment she had decided to give him another chance, reporters would suddenly invade her life. Her privacy would suddenly change from having boundaries to been all over the news unless she learned how to handle this. She thought deeply on his proposition. She had never had trouble staying at the Li's before, but just like she had explained to him last night going to their house would only mean she was publicly accepting the rumors.

Another thought entered her mind as she took her first sip from her cup… Sayuri... her dear cousin had decided to pay her a visit yesterday. Believe it or not she had actually calculated she would be seeing her much sooner. From the moment she had decided to run away she had hoped not to see her again. It was one thing from her hometown she definitely didn't miss. All childhood memories she had from her cousin had nothing good in them.

Since her parents abandoned her, she had been living with Sakura and her father. You would think that by living together they would be closer but it was entirely the opposite. Sayuri had turned out to be a conniving envious person. In front of her father she was the exemplary innocent kid who always did things to be in his favors. Then when he would turn around she would try to put Sakura down as much as possible.

She had become a model just like her father had predicted years ago. Her flirty ways around men and light playful attitude fitted the mold perfectly. She had always tried to get in between her relationship with Syaoran before which is why she had expected to see her from the moment her name had been linked with Syaoran's rehab. And yet to see her again brought a sour taste to her day.

This created another thought in her head… Syaoran's reaction. She knew he wouldn't be too happy in knowing she knew of his past without it been told by him. His secret, perhaps his darkest regret, she knew. The moment she had decided to walk away years ago she made herself disappear completely from his life. She made sure to cut off all communication with everyone that could endanger her hideout. She had stayed with his family with the only condition that he wouldn't know of her presence in here. She had done every possible thing she could do to detach herself completely from her past and yet she knew about his.

It was true Xiefa had sent a detective to stay on top of her brother's situation back then. She remembered sometimes his family would try to get a hold of him but their attempts turned out to be unsuccessful so she grew tired of waiting for him to call back. Speaking with Meiling or Eriol didn't help either. Both of them tried to hide the real situation when speaking with the family which was the real reason why Xiefa had decided to take things into her own hands. When she saw the truth behind the situation she decided to make Sakura as miserable as her brother was by telling her every little bad thing her brother did until that forsaken night happened.

She walked towards her desk and pressed a button. "Suri, come in here."

"Coming!" she heard from the other side before two girls walked into her office. Since Suri would soon be taking her own jobs they had decided that Kira would follow her around everywhere she went so that she could learn exactly how to be a good assistant to Sakura. They both walked in with an electronic notepad on hand waiting for instructions. "Yes?"

"Find out where my cousin is staying." Sakura simply said.

"We've searched all her code names throughout our hotels and nothing came up with those names." Kira commented.

Sakura took a deep breath and looked at Suri. "Find out where she is. Walking into my office yesterday was no coincidence."

Suri nodded. "Will do. Let's go Kira." She said before walking back out and closing the door after.

'After so much pain, this is where we're at now.' She smiled a little at the thought as she heard her phone ring and answered. "Are you here?"

"Entering the lobby!" Feimei excitedly answered.

Sakura sighed. She drank what was left of her cup before leaving it on her desk and taking her bag to walk out. She had compared the pros and cons of the situation like she would do in any business proposal and in the end decided to take her boyfriend's suggestion only modifying it a little. Instead of staying with his parents, she decided to stay temporarily with his sister until the tournament was over.

~ o ~

They saw Sakura walked out of her office and into the elevator. Kira sighed and sat down on her chair a little frustrated after hearing what Sakura had asked for. "We spent hours searching for this yesterday because you said she would probably ask for this and found nothing. I'm not sure why we have to keep searching."

"First lesson of today Kira, your job is not to question Sakura's instructions or tell her what we did. Your job is to get her what she's asking for. If she's saying find out where her cousin is staying nothing else matter but the name of the hotel where she is staying even if the hotel is not ours."

"But how are we supposed to know that? We searched all her code names and nothing came up."

Suri put a list of hotels with their phones in front of her. "Start calling these and ask if any of her code names are booked in their hotel. Start with the ones that are closer to where the guys are staying."

Kira saw the entire list and rolled her eyes but nonetheless picked up the phone and started calling places.

~ o ~

"You're not going to the gym this morning?" Eriol asked.

Syaoran put his hands on his pockets as he waited for the elevator and shook his head. "We have a game tonight."

Eriol stared at him before looking at the closed elevator doors as well. "That's never stopped you before."

"Hey guys!" Kyu said while walking towards them. "Going down for breakfast?"

They both noticed Kyu and Syaoran nodded. Eriol looked at Syaoran again before turning to see the elevator had arrived for them. They waited for the doors to open and walked inside as Kyu pressed the lobby floor. Something indeed had changed in his cousin. His bad temper had left him. Even with his current situation his face seemed calmed and composed with a look of determination.

"Congratulations man!" Kyu casually said while sheepishly smiling.

Syaoran looked at him. "For?"

"It's all over the news. You and Sakura again? Wah! About time too!" he simply replied.

"I'm not sure that's something to be celebrating Kyu…" Eriol said.

Kyu looked at him. "Why not? The three of us including him knew he wasn't over her from the moment we saw her for the first time again. I was actually hoping for it to be sooner."

Syaoran chuckled.

"Have you talked to her?" Eriol asked.

Syaoran nodded. "She's staying with Feimei for now. We'll see what happens."

"Ah… the six of us back together in England. Who would've ever thought we would be reunited again after seven years?" Kyu carelessly said smiling. "Just like old times…"

Syaoran looked at him and smiled at the thought but decided on not saying anything. There were so many things left unsaid between Sakura and him it was impossible to know what her decision would be right now.

"The six?" Eriol asked. "Maybe five. I'm not sure you have convinced your recently fiancée to go live with you on England."

Kyu shook his head and smirked. "Don't worry. I'll let you know the verdict after fighting with her."

Eriol chuckled. "I still can't believe you proposed to her while fighting."

Syaoran also joined the laugh. "Not even that he's engaged."

Kyu smirked at Syaoran. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. Eriol is getting married next year, mine finally said yes even if it took her a little while. I mean… let's be honest, Meiling is a feisty one… but Sakura… ufff!"

Eriol laughed as well. "I have to agree on that one."

Syaoran sighed and confidently said, "I'm not worried about it at all."

The elevator signaled they'd arrived to their destination and they waited for the doors to open. The first to react was Syaoran whose smile started quickly fading away as an astounded look adorned his face after seeing the least person he expected to see in front of him. "Sayuri!"

Eriol and Kyu stopped laughing immediately which let Syaoran know they were as surprised as he was of finding her in front of them. He had heard she was traveling around but he had never imagined in a million years he would find her in the hotel they were staying at much less knowing that his sister and Sakura had a lot to do with the coordination of this whole tournament.

"Hello guys. Long time no see." She sincerely smiled after looking at them and looked at Syaoran. "I heard you were hurt in the news. How are you feeling?"

Syaoran stared at her not knowing exactly what to say. He wanted to say and ask too many things right now but decided on simply answering her question. "I'm good now. Thanks for asking."

She smiled and nodded. "That's good."

"Are you staying in the hotel?" he asked.

She nodded and softly added, "My boyfriend is a soccer fan. He wanted me to watch this tournament with him. So, we'll be rooting for you guys!" She gestured that last part with a punch she formed in her hand in a cheerful way.

Syaoran smiled a little and nodded. "Thanks."

"Yeah, thanks!" Kyu added getting into the conversation. "I'm sorry to say this but we really have to get going now or else we'll be late for breakfast."

Sayuri nodded. "I understand. Well, see you guys around." She waved her goodbye and walked past them to get into the elevator which to her luck had opened for the third time since she had been talking with them.

They waited for the doors to close before Kyu broke the silence between them. "Of all the people we can encounter we actually have to see her here… I wonder how she got past your sister and Sakura's eyes…"

"She probably used one of her code names to book a room here. It's what all famous people do." Eriol answered.

Syaoran shook his head. "She probably is staying under her boyfriend's name." At Kyu and Eriol's lost face he added, "Sakura probably knows all her code names by now. There's no way she would've been able to book any of the rooms with any of those names."

Kyu chuckled and sighed. "Oh, this just keeps getting interesting. Maybe we should all go for popcorn and wait on the lobby for that moment when Sakura sees her in this hotel."

Eriol chuckled as well shook his head. "I think we may need more than just popcorn for that one."

Syaoran didn't say anything. Instead he just started walking towards the restaurant since they would actually be late in a couple of minutes. He wasn't interested in formulating ideas on how would Sakura take this. Sayuri had never been a mean person towards him in fact she had always been nice even to talk to but he knew what it meant to see her here. Not even the fact of her having a boyfriend would save her from the storm that was coming when Sakura were to find out that she was staying in the same hotel as him. He sighed. He needed to concentrate on this tournament and that was exactly what he was going to do.

~ o ~

"You don't need to be on the field yet, right?" Feimie asked while driving. She had picked up Sakura at her office and wanted to make a quick stop before taking her to the apartment.

"Depends…" she simply answered.

"Depends on what? It's almost ten thirty in the morning and the game is at six. How early do you need to be there?" Feimei asked.

"At two." Sakura simply answered.

Feimei scoffed still looking at the road. "Not even the players are supposed to arrive at two."

Sakura sighed. "I may not play but I'm in charge of the VIP rooms so… at two it is."

"Do you mind if we stop for some ice cream?"

Sakura looked at her. "Now? Since when do you have ice cream as breakfast?"

The light pole turned red on the street and Feimei waited for the car to come to a complete stop before looking at her. "Well then, do you want to stop at some place to have breakfast and then I can have my ice cream?"

Sakura curiously looked at her and asked, "Are you pregnant?"

"No!" she quickly answered. "Is it so bad to want an ice cream right now? Jeez!" she said as the light turn green and she started driving again. "Meiling and Tomoyo wanted to do something in the morning so I suggested ice cream."

"Are you absolutely certain you're not pregnant? I might not want to be staying with you if you're holding something like this from your brother…"

Feimei laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh please! I AM absolutely one hundred percent sure I'm not pregnant."

Sakura chuckled. "Let's just go and have breakfast. Who knows… perhaps you'll be able to get your ice cream while I actually eat breakfast."

"Since when are you eating breakfast? Usually is a toast with jam and a cup of coffee or just the coffee which in my books none of them are considered good enough morning breakfast."

Sakura sighed. "Just because you don't consider them breakfast doesn't mean they aren't. A cup of coffee is good enough for me."

Feimei nodded. "Then text the girls and let them know we'll stop by for breakfast. See if they want to come although I still prefer my ice cream idea."

Sakura chuckled but still texted the girls to meet them at a small coffee shop down the street.

"Have you talked to my brother?"

"If you're referring to Xiefa's little inspector gadget ways to spy on him then the answer is no."

"I was actually referring to his little friend the desperate reporter who kicked you out of your own apartment by displaying and releasing your 'so awaited relationship' by some into the media and using your personal information against you."

Feimei's way of dramatizing everything made Sakura smirked. "That reporter doesn't concern me anymore. If the idea was to hurt me then she failed entirely."

"I'm not sure the idea was only to hurt you. She's been gaining a lot of followers in social networks by releasing that. In other words, she's been getting famous at your own doing."

"How is this 'my own doing'?"

"If you don't do anything, then yes… your own doing."

"If I do anything right now with that one Xiaolang's going to get pissed. So my hands are tight for now."

"You think he would take her side?"

They reached the place and Sakura waited for Feimei to park the car before opening her door. "I don't think he'll see it as taking sides. I think he'll be more preoccupied with the way I'm thinking of handling it."

Feimei sighed. She got out of the car and followed Sakura into the small restaurant. "You're not the same. He knows that and he needs to understand that if he loves you he'll have to accept this side of you as well."

Sakura looked at her friend before walking into the restaurant where the girls were already waiting for them with smiles on their face. They walked over to them. "You guys sure got here fast." She commented.

"Well, Meiling drove." Tomoyo said not too comfortable with that.

Sakura smirked as she took her seat. "I see."

"Is it true? Are you back with Syaoran?" Meiling quickly asked.

Sakura chuckled but nodded. "We wanted to let you guys know together but apparently someone else decided to make it public."

"Oohhh this is so exciting!" Tomoyo said clapping her hands not containing her enthusiasm after hearing the news.

"About time! Since when?" Meiling asked.

"Two nights ago." She simply said before taking a look at the menu.

"The dinner night?" Meiling asked. "I don't remember Kyu telling me he had time after dinner." She looked at Tomoyo for confirmation but all she received was a shake of her head and a shrugged from her shoulders.

"They didn't." Sakura simply said not wanting to go into too much detail.

"Does this means you're over the Sayuri night?" Tomoyo casually asked. "I mean, you already know about it."

"That's right!" Meiling added. "No wonder she went to your office yesterday. She must know about you two getting back together!"

Feimei suddenly looked at Sakura as she stopped looking at the menu and spoke, "It means we're giving ourselves a second chance. We still haven't talked about Sayuri."

In the past Feimei had always heard about Sayuri from Sakura. It had always been a sour subject to speak about because she was her cousin after all and none of the things she did benefited Sakura at all. From what she heard, she was one of those people who were never content with what they had in their lives so she wanted to always get what others had.

Feimei quickly smiled and sighed changing the subject while looking at her menu. "Well, what do you know… this place do sell ice cream."

"Ice cream in the morning?" Meiling asked. "Are you pregnant?"

Feimei narrowed her eyes at her cousin for a moment before looking at Sakura who in turn was smirking. "You know… you never told me how you got my brother to agree on me dating Xiun."

Sakura chuckled and sarcastically replied, "It's called talking…? I recommend you try it once in a while before actually doing things. And just for the record, I believe I told you with months of anticipation to do so."

Feimei smirked and in a sweet sarcastic voice replied, "Oh… and here I thought that it was because you had him wrapped up in your fingers since long ago…"

Meiling laughed and smirked. "That could also pass as an answer."

Sakura rolled her eyes at both of them. "As a matter of defense, your cousin," she said while turning from looking at Meiling to Feimei, "who is also your brother, is hard to actually convince when he's so bent on something."

"And yet… you seem to keep accomplishing that difficult task…" Tomoyo added while chuckling.

Sakura sighed. "I thought at least you would be on my side Tomoyo…"

~ o ~

After having breakfast with the girls she asked Feimei to drop her at the stadium since she had to meet with the soccer coach before tonight's game started. She said her greetings and followed him to the locker room. Suddenly she felt all eyes on her from the moment she walked past the locker room doors till the moment she stood in front and waited at their coach's side. She noticed most of them were half dressed as in most of them were missing their shirts and she smiled at herself as a thought ran through her head. 'A room full of half naked men is exactly what I need.'

"Boys!" He loudly called and waited to have their undivided attention. "Ms. Kinomoto here has an announcement for all of you."

While the coach gave the announcement she smiled after hearing a couple of them whistling flirtingly towards her. Something her new pronounced boyfriend gladly narrowed his eyes to and she enjoyed every second the intensity of his glare increased unmistakably. 'Serves him right for yesterday...' She thought as she got prepared to make her announcement. "Mr. Li has asked the hotel Spa to give you a full body massage tomorrow compliments of the hotel. You may go throughout the day. I gave a list to your coach with available hours. You are all welcome to take this offer including the staff. The Spa can attend three of you at a time so please sign up with your coach after choosing the hour you will attend." She looked at the coach and he nodded before she turned to watch the rest of the team again. "All of you can start signing now except Li." After saying this, she amusedly looked at him. "You're going to the infirmary with me. "Any questions?"

He scoffed. They had such a wonderful phone talk last night... What the heck was her problem now?

"Yes, will you be doing any of the massages personally?" One of the guys answered as he sheepishly chuckled.

"Yeah, sign me up any time she's giving it." Another one commented.

"Are you done with the stupid questions Zai?" Syaoran snapped back at the boy.

The rest of the guys backed down while their coach rubbed one of his hands through the back of his head and apologetically smiled at her. "Never mind them Ms. Kinomoto. We'll fill out the form and leave it at the reception tonight. Please give our thanks to Mr. Li."

She nodded. "Li, please follow me. The rest of you we hope you enjoy your spa." She said before walking out.

He followed her out the door. He watched her back as he followed her. After several more steps he finally asked, "With so many employees under you was it truly necessary for you to make that announcement yourself?"

Syaoran had always been the jealous type. It was something she had been counting on from the moment Xian had told her about the gift for the team. Not wanting to miss this chance she volunteered to make the announcement herself. To find the other guys half naked was just an added bonus. Even if he tried to sound as normal as possible she could still hear the jealous tone throughout his question which made her smile and innocently asked, "You think it was unnecessary?"

"Yes!" he quickly answered.

She amusedly smiled to herself before replying, "Mmm... Kind of like that kiss you gave me in front of your sister yesterday. Isn't it?" She said as she looked back at him enjoying the moment.

He smirked. "Well, you did say you wanted to tell them together."

She scoffed. The nerve of him trying to put the blame on her for his little act yesterday. "Last time I checked, telling them is not the same as kissing in front of them."

He smirked as he kept following her. "Come on Sak! Don't tell me you've become this vengeful over a little kiss..."

She shrugged and innocently said, "Fine, I won't. Then let's just say it was a direct order from your father. I can't say no to my boss. Can you imagine if I had?"

He scoffed. "Like you haven't said no to him before."

To this she smirked as she opened a door and walked in. She waited for him to enter before closing it.

The emptiness of the place was a clear indication the tournament hadn't started yet. He could imagine given a couple of hours this place would probably fill itself up with rehabs and prevention therapies players liked to do to be able to last the entire month. "This infirmary is missing a few people… Where's the doctor?" He said before turning towards her.

"He'll be here shortly." She simply answered.

The small smile that appeared on her face confirmed his suspicion that she had before hand planned this. It made him smirked again. "I can't imagine my father would leave me out of a spa gift."

She shrugged. "I never said he would leave you out, only that you couldn't sign while your team is signing right now but if you want the spa so badly I can always get a voucher for you." She turned around and opened the door when she felt him close it for her.

"Where are the cameras in this place?" he asked from behind her.

This was the second time he pulled the same move on her only this time she had actually been looking forward to it. She turned around and smirked. "There off."

He stared at her and deviously smiled. "Tease."

"Player." She quickly replied.

He stared at her confidently smiling to himself. This woman never seized to amaze him. "You know, if you wanted to have me all for yourself you could've just rented one of the rooms in the hotel. It would definitely feel more comfortable than in here."

She smirked after hearing his arrogant comment. He was so irritatingly hot she could easily see how many women had fallen before him and yet, "What kind of woman do you think I am? One of your Barbie doll fans who'll do anything you want?" She playfully narrowed her eyes at him before asking, "What exactly am I to you?

He smiled while caressing her face. "You're the light of my life."

She sarcastically chuckled, "The light of your life is not too happy to hear you wish to play in tonight's game."

Suddenly the playfulness left his mind. He stared at her and swallowed. Sakura had always been his soft spot. She could be sweet and playful and in mere seconds turn to have you backed up against a corner. Knowing full well this was an entire conversation he didn't want to start with her he tried to change the subject. "What did Jun wanted the other day?"

She smirked. "I thought you didn't want to talk about Jun."

He sighed giving away the fact that this topic was indeed not one of his favorites. "I am a hundred percent certain I could come up with a lot of better ways to spend this time with you than talking about your ex-boyfriend Sakura but then I keep wondering what he wanted this time."

"Ex-fiancé actually." She said correcting his words. Even though she knew this was a sour subject for him she needed to come clean with this. It was obvious the mere mention of Jun bothered him and that day's event was probably still fresh on his mind.

He rolled his eyes at her. "We can call him ex-puppy if you want and it would still have the same meaning for me. What does he want?"

"You want a trade?" she sweetly asked with an innocent mask on her face.

He chuckled and smirked. "I'm smart enough not to do this kind of trade with a business woman much less with your reputation."

She smiled but nonetheless answered his question. "He wants to have an event in the hotel."

He sighed and stared at her. "If he only wanted to have an event in the hotel he could've gone to the office and requested one. And yet he went to you."

She mockingly looked at him. "Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?"

He scoffed and arrogantly looked away. "Li's don't get jealous!"

She chuckled at his childish way of answering and sighed. "You're right. He wanted me to coordinate the event as well as give him another chance." She watched as the amusement left his face as he looked at her again but before he could say anything she added, "Which is why I turned the offer down."

He stared at her. "Isn't this a good opportunity for you?"

She turned from him to look down at her phone. She had received a text from the doctor stating that he was on his way. "It is, but is not something I'll regret." She looked at him again. "I've already done enough political events in my career to fill my portfolio. I don't need one more and much less knowing how much it pisses you off."

He took a deep breath and as if he was going to regret his next words, he said in a lowly voice, "If it's because of me you can do the event."

She chuckled. "Do you see eagerness in my face when the opportunity to coordinate a political event comes by? Besides, once this tournament is over I do have other plans that don't involve working." She flirted her way into walking closely pass him. She slowly sat in one of the medical stretchers to wait for the doctor while keeping her eyes on him.

He watched each and every little movement she made with hawk eyes and smirked before walking towards her. "I forgot how sneaky you are too." He said before kissing her. He found her two arms encircling themselves around his neck and savored the moment before breaking the kiss. "I trust you included me in your plans as I'm not planning on leaving your side once this tournament is over."

She smiled while she caressed his arm and sighed. "Can I persuade you not to play tonight?"

Once again his face changed when she brought the subject up. Sighing he looked away. "Sak-"

She placed her hand under his chin and made him looked at her. "It's not that I think you can't do it I just feel it's not necessary. You've already come this far. It won't kill you to at least wait till the second game."

"You don't believe I can do this?" Syaoran asked her.

"It's because I know that you can that I am asking you not to do this."

He sighed. "Decisions inside the field are mine and mine alone Sak."

She sweetly smiled at him. "I know... which is why I asked if I could persuade you from playing…"

He shook his head and untangled himself from her hands walking away but not too far as he looked at her again. "We talked about this. You asked me not to depend on you and I'm asking you to do the same."

She stared at him. It was obvious her plea had indeed bothered him and she could understand why but that didn't help her nerves every time she thought about him playing so early. "It's not the same. I'm not asking you because I depend on you I'm asking you because I worry for you. You never give just fifty percent in what you do, you always give a hundred and that hundred right now for a game that can be won by your teammates could have you back in a hospital."

"Don't worry about me."

She questioningly looked at him. She got out of the stretcher and walked straight to him. "Can I do that? Look into my eyes and tell me I can do that." After waiting for him to say something she sighed. "I believe the doctor will finally release you today and I know it's your decision but don't ask me not to worry."

He nodded before embracing her in a hug. Close to her… that's where he felt the peacefulness and calmness inside him. Although he was pissed about having this conversation, holding her in his arms soothed him as he softly said, "I won't play if it's not necessary but if my teammates need me I'll ask coach to put me in. It's the decision I made two nights ago not because of you but because that's how I felt and still feel about this. I respect your decisions even if sometimes I don't like them so I will ask you to do the same. Don't ever do this again Sak." He felt her nod before he looked at her and softly kissed her. He felt her arms around his neck as he took his time savoring her sweet taste until he felt her moan. He finished the kiss breathless and hugged her sighing. "You truly are something else."

"I'm sorry." She softly said enjoying his arms around her.

"Will I be seeing you again?" he asked.

She smirked. "I don't think you're supposed to. Not at least till the end of the tournament I believe."

"You could stay at the hotel? I can tell you I wouldn't mind…"

She chuckled and separated a little to look at him. "Even if I did, I don't think you're supposed to. You even have curfew… I wouldn't want to be a temptation to you." She playfully said.

He smirked. "And what makes you think you aren't one already?"

She smiled after hearing him and looked away. She felt him closer as she returned to look at him again and found herself tasting his lips. It was exactly what she had wanted yesterday and instead she had received a chaste kiss with a tail of problems following it. She wouldn't admit it to him, not yet anyways, but she needed his kisses. From the moment she saw him in that elevator again she had wondered if his lips would feel the same, if his kisses would be different. Now she could say they were far better than how she remembered them.

~ o ~

She walked out of the infirmary a little happier than when she walked in. Even if they had one of their little arguments in the end she heard the exact words she wanted to hear from him hence her good mood… he wouldn't be playing today. Not to mention those fabulous kisses he gave her sent her into lala land in mere seconds. Just like she had expected, the doctor had finally given the release for Syaoran to play. Now all she hoped for was for the team to be able to win this first game without the need of having him play. She was still a little skeptic of him playing this first game and even after talking to him that doubtful feeling wouldn't leave her mind but at least she heard those words from his lips.

After a couple of hours she finally inspected her last VIP room. Looking at her watch, she was a little behind scheduled as she hadn't changed from her casual jeans and shirt to her dress for tonight. When she walked out of the room she looked around to find that the stadium had started to fill itself up with people who had come to watch their first game. The entire tournament had started yesterday but they were scheduled to play today. As she was walking towards her change room she spotted a little kid fighting with one of the guards. She looked closely and recognized him from the charity game a couple of months ago. She curiously walked towards the entrance.

"But he did! He invited us to come and watch him play here." The kid loudly complained.

The guard laughed in his face, "Please kid, do you know how many times I've heard that one?"

"But it's the truth!" the kid angrily stated.

She reached the scene and looked from the guard to the kid before asking, "What is going on here?"

The kid angrily pointed to the guard, "This man doesn't want to let us in!"

She quickly looked at the guard who was smiling, "Ms. Kinomoto, these boys are saying that Li personally invited them to the game for free but as you can see they will not get past me that easily. I've got this all taken care of."

She raised her brow, "Do you? Did you confirm the information with your superior?"

His smile slowly started to fade away at her question.

"As it so happens Li did asked them to come to his game. Your job is not to angrily put these kids down but to consult with your superiors if his information is accurate or not."

"But Ms. Sakura, you must understand-"

She interrupted the man and said, "Let them in. If I'm not mistaken Li asked for one of the VIP rooms for all of these kids and their relatives to watch the game."

The kids all looked at each other excitedly. Some of them had started to cheer.

The guard stared at her, "Are you sure Ms. Kinomoto?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Are you questioning my orders?"

"No ma'm!" He quickly turned towards his partner and nodded their entrance to the coliseum.

The kids laughed at his expression but nonetheless walked inside the coliseum in awe alongside their parents. Most of them she could imagine had never had the opportunity to stand inside these walls.

Sakura looked at one of their parents. "Well, follow me please. I'm afraid I can only drop you off in the room since I'm running a little late."

"No problem at all Ms. Kinomoto." One of the parents said bowing his greetings and respect in front of her.

"Sakura!"

She heard her name being called from the side. When she looked, an already dressed Xiefa came walking towards her. "You're not dressed. Father is waiting for you in the VIP room."

Sakura excused herself to walk towards Xiefa and in a low voice explained, "Syaoran booked a VIP room for these kids."

Xiefa looked at her astounded. "Will you be taking them? Sakura, you know father wants you at his side when this game starts." she lowly said.

"I know but what other choice do I have?" Sakura lowly answered as well.

Xiefa took a deep breath. "Did my brother truly rent a whole VIP room for them?"

She nodded.

Xiefa sighed and looked at the guard again, "You! Call your superior and ask which room Li rented for these people."

The guard nervously nodded and quickly asked through his speaker. She watched him nod and turning towards them he answered, "Room nine."

"Thank you." Xiefa looked at Sakura. "I'll take them. You go change." Then in a friendly way she turned towards one of the parents and said, "Please follow me. I'll take all of you to the room."

~ o ~

The game had started not as good as anyone thought. China had scored a goal within the first fifteen minutes of the game which was really good until Portugal was able to tie the game 1-1 in the thirty seventh minute and was currently having a higher percentage of ball possession than China. Since that second goal Syaoran kept anxiously watching the game from the bench and getting more frustrated by the minute. In his mind Portugal was not a team that should be beating them on the first round.

He stood up from his seat and walked all over to where the coach was. "I'm going to the training room to get ready."

"No you're not. Sit down. We're fine." Tan decided to answer while his coach was concentrating on the players that were inside the field playing.

Without caring for the assistant coach he said to his coach, "You said I could play as soon as the doctor gave me the release."

"Sit down Syaoran." He said without looking.

Syaoran made him look at him. "Coach! I didn't train for eight years to see us lose on the first round."

"We're not losing Syaoran we're tied."

"The way things are going, you know where this game is headed. I'm going to the training room to get taped." With that being said he turned around ignoring Tan and walked towards the training room.

His coach sighed. After been released there was no way of holding him back. The first half only had three more minutes left and the way things were looking his team was more down than rising up as they should've been.

He was ready. His face, his eyes, the only thing that anyone could see in them was that he was doing this. There was no doubt in him at all. He was playing today.

~ o ~

Sakura was talking to one of the investors inside the VIP room while they enjoyed some snacks and drinks over halftime. He had congratulated her in having such an amazing successful event like the opening night at the hotel with all the delegations present and had wanted her to help him with an event he wanted her to consider. Of course she immediately said she wouldn't mind looking over the proposal and after discussing it with her boss she would give him the answer. One of the girls passed by them offering wine glasses to the invitees which she declined knowing it wouldn't be such a good idea to have more than two glasses a night.

"You might want to reconsider that." Xiefa closely said for only her to hear.

Sakura looked at Xiefa who in turned nodded her way into the field. She followed her gaze to watch one of China's men being substituted for Syaoran who was jumping before jogging inside the field. "On second thought I have reconsidered this." She said while picking up her third glass of wine for tonight and quickly drinking some.

He had told her he wouldn't ask to be put in. 'No… he said unless it was necessary.' She thought and sighed. From the moment he stepped into the field her eyes were glued on him. She excused herself from talking with the investors and sat down on her seat watching every single second of the game.

~ o ~

The second half of the game had started and after fifteen minutes they still couldn't find a way of scoring that winning goal. From the moment he stepped into the field he found two guys always covering him making it hard for him to infiltrate through the middle to score. He received the ball and suddenly fell to the ground grabbing his right ankle after been hit by one of Portugal's players.

After seeing the play the referee called the fault but nothing else. While some of his teammates went to demand the referee to card the other player, Eriol got concerned after seeing him hit the ground and ran to his side, "Are you alright?" He saw him grimaced and worried. Tan had already told him not to play this game but he had insisted.

"I'm fine." He said but didn't get up. He was breathing hard as if he was trying to hold on.

"I don't think you're fine. Do you want me to call Klein?"

He shook his head. "I said I'm fine."

A couple of minutes later Kyu appeared on the left side of Eriol. "Are you okay man?"

"I think we should call Klein, Kyu." Eriol said looking at his cousin who was still in the ground.

Syaoran suddenly stood up. "Damn it Eriol, I said I'm fine. Now just got to the right side and let's finish this game." He said a little louder than even himself expected.

"Hey man, what's your problem?" Eriol yelled back.

"Enough!" Kyu intervened between the both of them. He looked at Syaoran daring him to continue. "There's only ten minutes left to this game and whatever the referee adds to it. Let's go Eriol." He grabbed Eriol's arm to make him move but Eriol shoved him off.

"Fuck off Kyu." He said as he walked away to his position.

Syaoran grimaced as he took the first couple of steps. The pain on his ankle was a constant pulse. He could feel it even with all the bandages he had on. This wasn't good at all, but he wanted to finish this game. So far, they were still tied 1-1 on the first round. He limped a little towards the middle as he watched the other team passing the ball overhead.

Mark jumped and head kicked the ball towards Eriol who in turn started running with the ball through the right side. He passed the ball to Xiun and quickly went inside the middle zone as Xiun passed the ball right back to him. He ran through the middle and kicked the ball to the left, where another of his teammates was waiting, but the ball was intercepted by the other team.

Kyu ran towards the guy and tried to steal the ball away but received a foul call instead. After several minutes spent between fouls and lose balls, he finally heard the referee call two more minutes on the clock. He watched Mark steal the ball from a guy on the left side and started running through the middle. Mark saw him open and kicked the ball towards him. Kyu received the ball and started running avoiding two guys that tried to steal the ball from him. He watched as Syaoran started running forward and kicked the ball towards Eriol on the right side.

Eriol in turn kept running on the right side with the ball till he finally found a space between two players and kicked the ball towards the middle. Syaoran received the ball and faked his entry towards the left before turning to the right and kicking the ball towards the net scoring the winning goal. He took the ball and started running to celebrate when one of the athletes from the other team pushed him. He dropped the ball and shoved him back. "What's your problem?"

"You are my problem. What are going to do?" the guy responded as he got closer enough to Syaoran.

"That's not my fault. Try to stop me next time. Don't make it too easy on me." Syaoran said as his other teammates started gathering around and pushing the others as well.

"Is that so? Maybe I should start doing that right now."

The referee immediately started whistling and got in the middle of them both as Syaoran felt Mark pushed him out of the way from the guy's face and outside the argument area. He started yelling at the other captain, "Get your guys out as well." He in turn looked at Syaoran, "What are you doing? Stop this right now."

"He started it."

"Yeah, well I'm finishing it. Go!" He pointed towards the locker room when the referee came and took out his yellow card and noted down the card given to Syaoran.

Syaoran turned around towards the referee, "That's great ref. Well done! But I didn't start this!"

"Shut up Syaoran!" Mark grabbed his shirt and pushed him towards the locker room. "Go!"

He started walking until he was all the way inside. He was frustrated. First of all, they weren't supposed to lose this match and although it ended up as a win in the last minute it was still not good enough for him. Second, he ended up getting yellow carded for no apparent reason according to him so he would be already on probation and the tournament had just started. Things were nowhere near close to where he had pictured they would be right now. 'Great way to start the tournament.' He sarcastically thought as he walked inside their locker room.

~ o ~

Her day had been a complete mess. First, she had to deal with the manager of one of the speaker's they were using on one of the fields because the guy didn't want to honor the price he had quoted for her, then these new proposals that investors were trying to get her to take and finally the nerve wracking game in which Syaoran ended up playing after all. To know that she couldn't even go to her own apartment made her feel worst. That comfy feeling of reaching your own place where you can do whatever you want and dress any way you felt like was gone for her because of forces out of her control. 'For now' she thought as she made herself walk towards the kitchen of Feimei's apartment.

Since it would only be her and Feimei staying in the apartment she changed herself into her pajama's and thought of making a nice tea that would help her relax. It was one of those rare occasions in which she just wanted to be lazy in her long pant pajamas and over sized shirt while drinking something warm before going to bed. She took out the leaf bags from one of the cabinets and put a small pan on the stove with water. Before turning the stove on, she heard a knock on the door. She rolled her eyes at the mere thought that someone was interrupting her relaxing personal time and went to find out who it was.

She opened the door and froze, "What are you doing here?"

Outside the apartment was a casually dressed Syaoran with his baseball hat and his hands on his pockets smiling at her. "I wanted to see you."

"Are you crazy?" she looked around to make sure no one had followed him.

"Can I come in?"

She let him in and closed the door quickly a little bothered by seeing him in her apartment but at the same time happy. "Aren't you supposed to be at the hotel?"

He sighed and nodded. "But I really wanted to see you."

She sarcastically nodded, "Really? Which one do you want to talk first… your behavior towards your teammates or your unsportsmanlike attitude at the end of the game?"

He took a deep breath but didn't say anything. She had never taken pity on him before and he was pretty sure she wouldn't start now. The reason why he needed to see her? It was simple. She was Sakura and he always felt comfortably relaxed around her. He put both of his hands in his pockets again and turned around to face her. "You can choose."

"Your fight at the end of the game was uncalled for."

"He started it."

"And you couldn't be mature enough to decide not to follow it?"

He turned around and walked towards one of the stools, "What was I supposed to do? Cross my arms and wait for him to hit me? The guy had been gunning me since I walked into the match."

She scoffed, "Please Syaoran… He provoked you and you let your frustration get the best of you. Did you even considered your team at all before doing this? What they'll have to go through if you get carded again because you weren't responsible enough to choose not to fight?" She looked at him with a disapproving face but tried to ease off a little by softly asking, "How is your ankle? I saw what happened. The guy should have been carded for doing that too."

"You and a lot of people saw it except the referee."

"Mmm avoiding the question… that good huh?" she said before walking towards her kitchen to continue her tea making. She turned the stove on and put exactly two cups of water into it while she waited for him to start talking about what was really bothering him.

He sighed. "Sorry, I'm just tired of people worrying about me."

"Well, you do have a lot of people who love you Syaoran… you can't expect them not to worry."

He sighed, "I know. But it's just frustrating how some just want to control your life just because they feel that you can't handle it."

She smiled while listening to him. "Really? That's not what I heard…"

He stared at her back, "You talked to Tomoyo?"

She waited a couple of minutes till the water was hot enough and poured it in both cups. She put the small leaf bags in them before walking over to the counter and placing one of the cups in front of him. He gladly took it while she stayed at the other side of the counter facing him. "Have you thought why other teams fear China right now or even see you as a worthy adversary?"

He took a sip of his tea as he waited for her to continue.

"It's not because of you Syaoran. One man doesn't make a team in soccer. You alone can't win a championship regardless of how good you are inside the field. Which just to let you know you didn't get to be so good on your own either. You didn't choose to play a one man sport, you belong in a team. The chemistry you have with Eriol and Kyu inside that field is too strong for other teams to break. It's like you guys sense each other's moves. They are all gunning for you and will keep doing it because right now you are the weakest link to break that line and you're making yourself be this every time you get anxious inside the field or frustrated."

He turned his head to the side. "So you think this is my fault? Great…"

"Look at me." She waited for him to look at her. "This isn't you. They worry because they are your teammates and you are their leader. They can't see an injured you on the field Syaoran, they need you to lead. And you can't lead if you keep getting anxious and start snipping about every question someone asks. Your ankle is fine and you are one of the best players in this tournament. So stop holding yourself back for fear of getting hurt again and be the leader they need to see inside the field."

He smiled at her and took a sip of his tea, "I'm so glad you left that loser."

She chuckled and shook her head while enjoying her tea as well.

"I should consider firing Choi as well and make you my new manager…" He jokingly said as he finished drinking his tea and walked around to put his cup on the sink.

"Oh… I'm not too sure you should to do that. I don't mix business with pleasure."

"On second thought then I won't fire Choi." She was still drinking hers but stopped when he went over to her and hugged her before softly saying, "Thanks."

She smiled after feeling his arms, "I missed you."

He tightened his hold on her a little and took a deep breath taking in the flower smell on her hair before softly saying, "When the tournament's over, I want to go away for a couple of days. I don't care where, you can choose. But just the two of us."

"We agreed on taking this slow." She reminded him.

He smiled. "We are taking it slow. Nothing will happen other than us spending time together. I promise I'll behave." He said in an inconvincible sultry way that made Sakura chuckled.

She nodded and warned. "Watch my tea or I will be very angry."

He chuckled. "You know, one would think that been in my arms would make you forget about everything else."

She placed her cup in the bar and turned around to questionably look at him, "I'm sorry baby, are you under the impression that I can't live without you?"

He smiled at her and planted a kiss on her. Caressing her face, he kissed her softly until his teeth nipped at her lower lip. She responded by opening her mouth as he tasted her and deepened the kiss while she put her hands around his waist. She loved his kisses. There was no way of denying that. She felt him pull away when his phone vibrate. He took it out and saw a text from Kyu.

*Where are u man? We have film in 20 minutes.

He sighed. It was obvious he wanted to stay but duty called. "I have to go."

She smiled and nodded. He gave her another kiss and started to taste her again but she pinched him on the stomach. "Go. You're already late as it is. You're even out of the hotel!"

He backed away chuckling and smirked when she tried to push him towards the door. "When this is over, I'm coming back for more tea and this time I won't leave."

She chuckled and gave him a quick kiss before pushing him out the door and closing it after.

"You know… you're really mean sometimes." She heard him say from the other side of the door and smiled.

"Call me after getting into the hotel!" She loudly said before laughing. After hearing his footsteps walking away, she sighed and went to finish her nice and warm tea only to find it had already turned cold. She frowned and narrowed her eyes, "He'll pay for this."

She watched as her phone started ringing. Through the caller ID she could see that the caller was none other than the owner of this apartment. "This better be important. I'm already in a foul mood as it is."

"I'm sure you're mood will change in just seconds. I just saw your cousin walking inside Xcape hotel very amiable and friendly with the president of Ozuna's son."

Sakura took a deep breath after hearing her and hung up the phone. The cold tea long forgotten as the news of her cousin started to settle inside of her. The tea wouldn't do anything for her right now whether it was cold or warm. Ozuna was one of the biggest investors in joint projects with Li Enterprises and currently they had another project coming in for the end of the year.

This new piece of information started turning wheels inside her head. Smart… her cousin had been almost smart about this one. She probably hadn't booked the room herself instead she made herself untouchable by staying with Ozuna's son. And although things seemed impossible for some, Sakura softly smiled. She was Kinomoto Sakura after all…

Author's note: Well, this chapter is finally done. First, I want to thank all the people that reviewed my last chapters, love you all! I like hearing feedback on whether you guys liked the chapter or not, giving new ideas and improvement tips here and there. I really appreciate it. You guys are the best! Second, I want to say I have nothing against Portugal's soccer team in fact I find them to be one of the best teams I've seen playing. And as I'm about to post this chapter I congratulate them on getting into the semifinals of the Euro Cup. It was a nice game to watch against Poland. I hope you guys like this chapter!