Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

Chapter Five

"Several Conclusions"

Xiao Tian and Xiao Hai looked at each other before reaching up and pulling on both of Sakura's hands.

"Mother?"

Sakura snapped out of it.

"A-A pleasure to meet you Mr. Li," she replied as calmly as she could with a hand held towards him.

Syaoran could literally feel his blood boil within him. Realization after realization hit him like cold sea water crashing down on him wave after wave.

"What the hell is t-"

"My name is Sakura Kinomoto, I believe this is the first time I've met with such a famous actor before," she added in an innocent tone, cutting him off.

Syaoran's brow furrowed at hearing her say this, then he felt something tug on his pant leg.

"Don't be rude to mother," Xiao Hai whispered, pointing up at her held out hand.

Reluctantly and silently, Syaoran took her hand and shook it, unable to say anything.

Sakura smiled at him before turning to Shizuki. "How about we grab something to eat? I believe the boys haven't had anything to eat yet due to their little detour," she said with a brow raised at the twin boys who were grinning.

"Of course! There's a restaurant not far from here, I think it'll be better to eat there than eat the unhealthy ones served here in the park," he said before turning to Syaoran. "How about it Mr. Li? Would you care to join us? That is if you don't mind joining this average family," he added with a grin.

"Yes, you may join us if you want Mr. Li," Sakura said with a sweet smile.

Syaoran, a frown still on his features, was still confused with the whole situation, he still couldn't say a word.

"He'll come!" Xiao Hai answered for him.

"Won't you?" Xiao Tian added, looking at him.

"What?" Erika said into her cell, a frown on her face. "Well, if you're sure… okay, ja."

Frowning, she looked at the screen of her cell until Syaoran's name disappeared as the call ended.

"Ms. Kitamura?"

"Yes?"

"Where do we put all these?" the man asked, pointing to a few boxes.

"Just put them in the truck please," she said with a smile before a frown appeared on her features again. 'Why is he so attached to those kids?' she thought. It was the first time Syaoran had any emotional connection to anyone or anything for the past few years. Now it's happened again and in the same country no less.

"Don't worry…I'm just gonna grab a bite to eat with the twins and their family as thanks for helping me with the signing earlier. I'll meet you back in Tokyo."

"Excuse me, I have to use the ladies' room," Sakura said, getting up from her seat.

Watching her leave, Shizuki turned back to Syaoran whom he had noticed had been frowning ever since they left the park.

"Are you alright?"

Syaoran looked at him, a frown still on his face. "Yeah, I'm…just a bit tired from earlier," he lied, trying to put a smile on his face.

"Yeah, there were a lot of people…"

"…but it was really fun!"

That said, the twin boys started goofing off and doing all sorts of poses on their seats.

"Now boys, don't make too much of a scene, we're trying to hide ourselves, remember?" Shizuki reminded, nodding at the people around the restaurant. They were seated on the large round table at the corner and positioning themselves so no one can properly see Syaoran.

"Sorry!" they replied in unison but with grins on their faces before turning to their sister.

"Mei Hua, you haven't met Mr. Li yet…"

"…he's very nice!"

The Sakura lookalike kept silent on her booster seat that was positioned in between Sakura and Shizuki.

"Sorry about Mei Hua," Shizuki told him. "She's not really much of a talker compared to the boys."

Syaoran looked at the child with a blank face, not sure what to make of her. Just looking at her made him as angry as when he first saw Sakura. She was just an innocent child but he looked too much like her mother, in fact she looked like her own mother's twin.

From the trip they made in Syaoran's limo to the restaurant, and the time they spent waiting for a table and through the course of their meal, Syaoran's come up with several conclusions about the entire family.

One, Xiao Tian and Xiao Hai were his sons.

Two, Sakura married Shizuki to give the kids a father.

Three, she gave birth to Mei Hua, making her Shizuki's and her daughter.

Four, somehow, she's lost her memory about the past he and Sakura shared.

Or…

Five, she's developed some acting skills of her own through the years and is pretending she's forgotten all about him.

Syaoran's fourth and fifth conclusions didn't really matter to him, neither did his second and third conclusions if only they didn't somehow involve his first conclusion.

But his first conclusion, he was damn sure it was true. He knew it within his heart and mind that Xiao Tian and Xiao Hai really were his and Sakura's flesh and blood. There was no question about it. The kids told him before that they were 5 years old, and his relationship with Sakura ended five years ago, but that didn't mean she couldn't have been pregnant when they broke up. And the chances of Sakura getting pregnant at that time weren't an impossibility at all.

Knowing all that only made his hatred for Sakura double, and also made him hate Shizuki and their child Mei Hua.

"Sorry I took so long."

"Are you alright?"

Everyone at the table, Syaoran included, looked up at Sakura whose eyes were slightly red and puffy.

"I'm fine. I was washing my face, I just got soap in my eyes," she reasoned with a wave of her hand. "Anyway, shall we go? I mean, we can't keep Mr. Li with us all day."

"Can we ride with Syaoran again?"

"We wanna ride in that fancy black car!"

Sakura looked at her boys with a stern look. "You can't have Mr. Li do everything you want for you boys."

"I don't mind," Syaoran interrupted. "I can drop off Syaoian and Syaoai on my way back to Tokyo."

An unsure look crossed Sakura's features at Syaoran's statement, and the kind of look he was currently giving her made her look to Shizuki for help.

"That's fine," he agreed, making Sakura sigh. That wasn't the line she was expecting him to say. "But Mei Hua should ride with us though," he added, looking at the little girl with a gentle smile, making her nod in silence.

"Perfect," Syaoran said, trying not to sound so harsh.

"Who would've thought, eh?" Shizuki started conversationally as they followed Syaoran's limo out of the parking lot of the restaurant. "Your boys really are something Sak, I mean, Li's obviously in close terms with them if he knows their nicknames."

Sakura thought about that too, just how much do they know of each other? Syaoran's close enough to them to actually know and call them by the boys' unofficial nicknames 'Syaoian' and 'Syaoai'. Personally she didn't approve of such nicknames before because it sounded off from the real names she had given them, but the boys insisted, and it stuck.

But the problem was, Syaoran actually calls them by their nicknames with the boys' approval. The boys never allowed anyone to call them that aside from herself, Mei Hua, Mona and Shizuki. And she can't believe how close they were either. Xiao Tian and Xiao Hai have lived their five years disapproving of any male from coming close to their whole family. Of course they don't hate all men, they were only particularly naughty towards the men who seemed interested in Sakura. Whilst the rest of the male population, they treated with respect but never taken a close liking to them like how they are with Syaoran, well, except with Shizuki of course, but he was an exception.

"Is something wrong Sakura?" Mona asked from the back seat where she sat beside Mei Hua.

"I-I'm fine, why?"

"You seem out of it today," she pointed out.

"No, it's nothing. I'm just worried that's all. We didn't get to finish Mei Hua's check-up today," she said which is actually half true. They were supposed to be at the hospital for the entire day but had to cut it short to go to the park for the boys.

"It's okay," Shizuki said reassuringly. "We can always finish it tomorrow. Right Mei Hua?" he asked, looking at the little girl through the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah. We can go back tomorrow mommy," Mei Hua responded with a smile.

"Boys," Syaoran said, getting their attention from all their button-pushing.

Ever since they got back inside the limo, the twins have been touching things non-stop, pressing buttons that raised the mini-fridge from one of the seats, opening the roof, opening the small window that revealed the driver, and more.

It wasn't entirely annoying for Syaoran, in fact, he was more entertained than annoyed. But he wanted to talk to them while he can.

"What is it?" they asked, only just noticing the serious look on the older man's face.

"About Mei Hua-"

"Our sister, yes what about her?" they finished for him.

"Yes, your sister," he said through gritted teeth at the word.

"Are you okay?"

"You look a bit…mad," Xiao Hai said bluntly.

"It's nothing," he said unconvincingly, making the twins lift a brow each at him. "Anyway, yes, about her, are you close with her?"

"Yes, of course…"

"…she's our sister after all."

"What about the guy?"

"Shizuki?" they asked, making Syaoran nod, willing himself not to punch the window nearest him at the sound of the man's name. No offense to him, he seemed like a nice guy, but the thought of him actually having a child with Sakura is enough for him to hate the man with every fiber of his being.

Not trusting himself to respond without the hint of anger in his voice, Syaoran merely nodded.

"He's a nice guy…"

"…we trust him…"

"…we don't really trust other guys, like how we trust him…"

"…except for you of course, your different."

'Of course I am, I'm your father,' he thought in approval, although not the part when they said they trust that other man as much as they did with him. "So about your father…"

"Our dead father?" they cut off again, and yet again, Syaoran willed himself not to go on a rampage inside the limo as they said this. He was really going to kill Sakura for all the shit she's been feeding into the boys' brains.

"Yes, about him. What do you know about him?"

The boys looked at each other with furrowed brows, looking like they were deep in each others' thoughts.

"We're only telling you this…"

"…because we like you…"

"…and because we trust you, so…"

"…don't say anything to our mom."

Brows raised at this statement, Syaoran got curious. He nodded at them, indicating he swore not to tell her.

"Remember what we told you? She told us our father is dead…"

"…and that we don't believe her and that we think our father just left us."

Syaoran nodded again, remembering when they had mentioned this to him in the convenience store just last week.

"Well, it's true we never believed our father was dead, we really did know it by our gut feeling…"

"…but we only found out that our father left us because of mother. You see, she talks in her sleep..."

"…we don't think she knows it though…"

"…but we hear sounds coming from her room sometimes…"

"…and we easily wake up from our sleep…"

"…so we always go to see her in her room if she's okay…"

"…but we always find her crying in her sleep…"

"…and saying things like 'I'm sorry'…"

"…and 'I can't believe you left'."

The twins fell silent after the confession, and looked over to Syaoran who had a hard look on his face.

'She's sorry? Huh…yeah right,' he hissed in thought. 'And what the bloody hell is she thinking? She can't believe I left her? She's the one who left me first! Not the damned other way around!'

He was getting more furious at Sakura now even if she didn't intentionally say those words in her sleep, because she still did. And now his own sons think he's the bad guy when it was their own mother who had run off without a word, not him.

"What're you gonna do if your real dad appears?" he asked before stopping himself.

This earned him concerned looks from the twins.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing," he muttered before the window revealing the driver slid down to an open by half.

"We're almost there Mr. Li!" he called out before sliding it close again.

Syaoran looked out at the scenery outside. The address Sakura gave them led them to a suburban area. Where they really in Tokyo?

"Where are we?"

Xiao Tian and Xiao Ai scooted over to the window as well, looking out at the dark scene outside due to the overly tinted windows of the limo.

"This is the neighborhood we live in…"

"…we've lived here ever since we were born."

"Haven't you guys ever lived in Tomoeda?" he asked casually.

"No, why do you ask?"

'I guess she never went back,' Syaoran thought, figuring Sakura must have never gone back to where both of them grew up. Now he can't help but wonder if Sakura ever hesitated from letting the boys go to the theme park in the first place. The day he found out about the event being held in Tomoeda, he was 100% against it and outright refused to go. But he's been in such a good mood lately from the great times he spent with the boys, and his thoughts were all on that outburst Erika made to the press for the last few days, he forgot all about his hesitations on going in the first place. "Nothing, just wondering."

"We're here!" the twins exclaimed before scrambling to their feet and heading towards the door.

"Take care you two," he said with a smile and a nod.

"Aren't you coming in?"

"No, I have things to take care of at my own place."

"Oh," they said with a small frown.

"How about we spend the day together tomorrow?" Syaoran suggested with a grin.

"Where are we going?"

Thinking about some good places to go to for 5 year olds, Syaoran deliberated. "How about the zoo? Or the park?"

Grinning at each other the twins then nodded in his direction.

"We've never gone to the zoo…"

"…or to a park."

"Never?" Syaoran asked with a frown.

"No, mother's always busy…"

"…with work and with Mei Ha."

Syaoran knew that if he heard another word about Sakura's obvious favor for her other brat over the boys, he'd really lose it.

"To the park and to the zoo then!" he said, trying to plaster a big smile on his face.

"We have to ask mother though…"

"…it'll take some time to convince her."

"I'll talk to her," Syaoran offered as he saw Shizuki's car pull up to a stop behind them.

"Great!" they said excitedly before running out the door.

An irritated scowl spread across Syaoran's features as he punched hard on the seat beside him, releasing all his pent up anger for the past few hours.

"We're here," Shizuki announced in relief as he stopped in front of a neighbor's house since the limo stopped right in front of the house. "Do you want a piggy back ride Mei Hua?" he asked with a grin.

Getting out of the car, Sakura was still deep within her own thoughts. She was at an utter loss of what to do now.

"Mom! Mom!"

She turned to her boys who were running towards her, and now hugging a leg each.

"Calm down boys," she said with laugh at their overexcited faces.

"Syaoran has something to tell you!" they said, pointing to the man who had just gotten out of the car in front of theirs.

Sakura watched as Syaoran made his way towards them in a few, long strides.

"Tell her! Tell her!"

Syaoran smiled down at the boys. "Don't worry, I will. You guys go in first. It looks like it's about to rain."

Everyone looked up at this and indeed the clouds overhead were growing thick and dark.

"Go on boys, I'll see you inside."

"See you later Syaoran!" the boys said with a wink at him before following Mona and Shizuki who was giving a giggling Mei Hua a piggy back ride into the house.

"What is it you wanted to tell me?" Sakura asked in a calm voice and a gentle smile, even though her insides were already doing front flips, back flips and all sorts of flips from just looking at the handsome man in front of her.

"I want to take the boys out tomorrow," he said rather rudely, making it sound more like a statement of truth rather than a question of her approval.

"Excuse me?" she asked, perplexed at the tone he was using on her.

"You heard me," he barked, glaring down at her small form. Which was true enough for him, Sakura barely reached the height of his broad shoulders.

"I did Mr. Li, there's no need to say it in such a tone that's all," Sakura interrupted.

Syaoran eyed her suspiciously, and Sakura knew all too well what that look entailed.

"Do you rememb-" he stopped as soon as she raised an open palm facing the sky.

"It's about to rain. I better get inside," she said abruptly. "If you wish to take the boys out tomorrow, please come by at 10 o'clock in the morning. Good day Mr. Li and thank you for your willingness to take my children back home."

Syaoran frowned and watched her make her way into the small gate that held a small path beyond it, leading towards the front door of the average 2-story house. Holding his palm up, he tried to feel for any droplets and felt none.

'She's avoiding me,' he assumed before making his way back inside his limo.

Just as he shut the door to a close, heavy rain suddenly poured outside.

'Or not,' Syaoran muttered, scratching the back of his head forcefully in annoyance.

Seconds ago he assumed his fifth conclusion, of Sakura only acting like she has no recollection of him, was true. But now, he was back to considering his fourth conclusion yet again.

'Could she really have forgotten everything that had happened to us five years ago?' he asked himself, getting angry and more annoyed. He hated the feeling of not knowing something that he's supposed to. 'What the hell happened five years ago?'

Author's Note:

I'll be busy in the next two weeks with personal matters but I'll try to upload the next chapters as quickly as I have been lately ever since I began re-uploading this story!

Also, thank you to all my readers (old and new) who have left reviews to previous chapters. They still mean a lot to me and I highly appreciate them!

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Ja ne!

Raeny