A/N: back with the next chapter. hehe. Oh, and this chapter contains note-passing from Li, Eriol and Tomoyo during classes (think

of the boring ones). remember:

Bold for Li

Italicized for Tomoyo

Underlined for Eriol

Chapter 15: Make-Over

"Now, remember, Sakura," Tomoyo reminded her friend, who was currently pretending to be stone deaf, "you should be nice to Michael, seeing as you haven't seen him for quite some time. He'll arrive any minute now so get ready."

Sakura looked at her innocently. "Me? Of course I would greet Eggy with the happiest smile you've ever seen! What, are you insinuating that, upon seeing him, I'll bring out a giant pan and dump him in with the hopes of actually breaking the world record of 'Largest Scrambled Egg'?"

"I was afraid you're going to do just that," Tomoyo muttered. Then, hearing the beep of a car, brightened, "HERE HE COMES!"

When she was out of earshot, Sakura siddled up to Li. "Hey Li, where do they keep those large oversized frying pans Rose uses to cook turkey? Or was that something else?"

Li chuckled, amused. "I have no idea. Although if I did, I certainly wouldn't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Mother would probably hitch me with Miyu if she found out I was an accomplice for frustrated murder, nevermind the fact that the targeted victim is highly unstable."

Before she can retort, the door burst open and in came the leader of the gay baboons from hell. With a shudder and smirk, she noted the uneven tan and the sunburned head. Egad, he must've gained 2000 pounds! Ahh, how unfortunate he cannot be cooked! Then again, being sunburned and all, perhaps all he needs is butter. 50 less fat, of course.

"Ah, my balding eggheaded sadist!" Sakura greeted loudly, clapping him in the shoulders with mock delight. "I see you have been boiled in tar! Very good, my friend! Tell me, how does it feel to see you favorite pupil in the world again?"

Eggy looked at her, clearly not amused. "I've felt better, frankly"

"Ouch!" she mocked hurt. "Is that what you think? Well, we're in the same boa—who the hell are the-OW! QUIT IT!" she was cut off, staring behind Eggy's shoulder and swore as she once again felt the whack of the baboon's stick. Loosing the pleasant tone, she demanded, "is—is that a hair curler?"

"And here I thought you were polite!" Eggy said sarcastically. "These lovely ladies will assist me in a makeover which is probably the hardest I have ever done in my whole entire life," he explained, indicating the gaggle of 17 or so women with threatening-looking scissors and eyelash curlers.

"Oohhh," Sakura said, nervously edging away. "For Kero! Oh, you bloody egg, you are so sweet! I'll go get the pooch in the ki—"

"No, dearie," Eggy interrupted, now looking like a cross of a gleeful Plankton and a pained Squidward. "YOU are the prey, WE are the predators."

"Eh?"

OooOOoOOOoO

So how did our dear Sakura react upon seeing Eggy?

Yeah, Tomoyo, did she pull a Moody and zapped him into a ferret?

I thought both of you were there?

Are you kidding me? As much as we would like to witness the rage of a deranged chipmunk, our innocent eyes can't bear to see the frying of a constipated—stop looking at me like that, Tomoyo—boiled egg, aren't they, Eriol?

True, so true. Oooh, careful, Xiao-Lang, Tomoyo's not in favor of you calling her fashion hero an egg.

Be glad both of you are my friends or else I would've chuck you in where the stylists and beauticians can do you in. At least, when it comes to that, Sakura will have company.

Really? Sakura's going to have a make-over?

Actually, she's having it right now.

OOOOOOO

"What are you going to do with my teeth?" I demanded, eyeing the deadly-looking machine beside my chair, where I am strapped like a prisoner waiting to be executed.

"Hopefully, remove the chocolate stains and Cheetos stuck on your molars," Eggy replied.

"And how in the world are you going to do tha-OW!" I yelled when somebody started what I first thought was forcefully pulling my hair out of my scalp. "EGGY!" I snarled at him, "you are NOT getting my hair for your upcoming hair transplant, do you hear me? I am too young to be bald and too vio-!"

"I am not interested in exposing your hair follicles," he retorted, revolted. "I'm afraid auburn does not complement my nose."

"Uh?"

"Really, Sakura, what happened to your hair?"

"ARGMFDRGHE!" I managed to say, as one sadist started working on my teeth just as another of Eggy's cronies worked on my feet.

"When did you last brush your hair?" he interrogated me, as though he understood a word I said.

I shot daggers at him.

He changed his mind and merely muttered, "wait, I don't even want to know." He turned to the lady brushing my hair and commanded, "have no mercy, my dear lady. HAVE—NO—MERCY."

OoOoOoOooOo

Did you hear—I mean—read that, Li? Your lady love is being transformed from an exquisite nymph to an ethereal goddess!

WHAT D-!

Shut up, Li. Anyway, it's bound to be painful. You heard what they say: no pain, no gain. Sakura has to endure a gazillion treatments including diamond peel, a pedicure, a manicure, hair styling, hair treatments/spa/protein, teeth cleansing, facial, dress fitting, foot spa—

What the hell does she need that for, anyway? She's beau—er—fine enough for me!

Ah, did just hear an incomplete declaration of luuuvv?

--and waxing.

WAXING?

OoOoOoOO

"NO…. NO!" I yelled vehemently, glaring at the lady approaching me with a manic (for me) look in her eye.

"No buts! It's for your benefit!" she reasoned unreasonably. "Think of how soft your skin will look and fee-!"

"No, do you hear me? NO! N-O NO waxing! I happen to LIKE my body hair and I have every intention of keeping it, thank you very much! They keep me warm; they protect me from frostbite; they ward off terminal diseases like Eggy-itis and Fatty-itis and—no…no…"

FAR FAR AWAY…. (PARIS, LONDON)

"Oh, teddy, do you really love me?" a voluptuous blonde woman looked at a fat man with gray eyes and an egg-shaped head and smiled seductively.

Fatty looked at her and winked flirtatiously. "Do you really want an answer to that?". The blonde nodded. Shrugging, he smirked and opened his mouth and was about to answer, "Ye-"

A scream shook the whole place, a scream only too familiar with Fatty. It shook the restaurant, the park, the Eiffel Tower and maybe even the whole world.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As the blonde reddened and opened her mouth to shout obscenities at him, he groaned and looked heavenward. What the fuck did you do now, my stupid brother of mine?

OooOoOoooOoOo

Why would women want to strip off body hair? Isn't that appealing to the eyes of the opposite sex?

It's ok on you guys, but it is a rather ghastly sight on women, especially with porcelain-skinned ones like Sakura. Ugh, I can't believe you don't know that, Eriol.

Because I'm a guy. Our morning routine consists of a shower, a shave and toothbrush… ing. Toothbrushing? No, using the toothbrush. It consists of a shower, a shave and using the toothbrush.

I heard waxing is a huuugggeee pain the the…. Wherever the hell it's administered.

Well, yes. They put this really hot pink g-

Spare us from the morbid details, will you?

You hear that, my dear descendant? Juliet is going to be burned in hot pink—er—VIRGIN COCONUT OIL! Quick, mount your trusty ste-!

Continue that sentence, smartass, and you'll get more than hot pink goo up your arse. I mean it.

Ooh, somebody's pissed.

OoOoO

"That's not very hygienic, you know," I commented conversationally to Eggy, as Lady 2 and Lady 4 finished up the uncomfortable pedicure and another 2 manicured my nails. "And for somebody who preaches that oily burgers are a no-no since it contains about 335 calories, you sure don't practice what you preach."

He merely ignored me. Huhn.

"Before I give in to my urge and combust, I would absolutely like it if I could get up from this godforsaken chair and walk around with my butt free from leather and flammable materials. Can i?" I managed to ask politely, preventing the urge to leap right out and scream 'BLOODY MURDER' at the top of my lungs.

"Nope. Time is gold, I'm afraid," he answered, too busy preparing a delicious hamburger to notice. "And I'm afraid I'm not some kind of hypocrite, as what you were saying to me awhile ago. You see, I have very high metabolism, unlike you. So my rule applies for everybody except lucky people…" he sliced lettuce and tomatoes, "… like me."

Twitch.

"There seems to be something missing… aha! Would you crack those eggs for me? Oh, and hand them over to Rose once you finished," he DARED to order the owner of a VERY angry and murderous stomach.

As you wish.

WHACK!

"Wrong egg, dearie," Eggy said through gritted teeth, a red fork-shaped mark on his bald sunburned head.

I merely raised my eyebrows. "Then be more specific., dearie"

OooOoOoOo

Hi, everybody. I'm Li Xiao-Lang and this is my fiancé, Sakura Kinomoto.

I swear to god, Hirigiizawa, if you don't shut up I will torture you via Daidouji.

Daidouji's not going to do that.

Daidouji's tempted.

… I hope you're trying to be funny.

OoOoOoOoO

"Ball?' I repeated, aghast though not managing to shout since the waxing session burned my butt, legs and practically every part of my body to the point of incineration. "What ball?" I demanded again, eyeing the hair stylists dangerously.

"We zold you," one said impatiently, lolling copious amounts of white substances on my hair as another one started to (let's hope not) sap the youth from my face. "Ze ball iz 'eld in zelebrasyon of ze new pa'tners of Li Enzerprises."

Before I can even speak, she eyed me dryly and answered my question. "Zer will be zancing, mingling wiz znobs and wearing high 'eel shooz and corset drezzes. Oh, an' you weel not ve avle to retire unteel ze end seence you are Mazter Lee'z guest."

"Oh," I murmured, then asked hopefully with the hope of an answer I've been trying to wring out of Li for the past few days, "who is, as you call him, Mazter Lee'z zate?". When she answered, I wasn't sure if I was feeling…well… jealous or…uhm… murderous. Maybe both.

She shrugged. "I 'ave no idea. 'robably e gorzeous gerl like before. Now stay steel!".

OoOOoOOo

A BALL? There's a ball tonight? How come I didn't know?

Wipe that indignant frown of your face, Li. You were too busy glaring daggers at the guy who was talking to Sakura yesterday in class to notice what I said.

I wasn't glaring at him. I was gu-

Save us the pathetic excuses, Li. It's just natural to feel the urge to kill when you sense a potential rival in the competitive and unpredictable game of love. Hey, Tomoyo, wanna go to the ball with me?

Why, I'd love to, Eriol.

Uhm, I'm still here.

You better swallow your pride, Li. I have a feeling you're going to have it the hard way tonight if you don't.

Why the hell is that?

Well, you still haven't asked Sakura to the ball, right? With her being—I am sure—dazzlingly stunning tonight, I'm sure half the male population present will feast their perverted attention to your lovely guest. The other half, I daresay, will have eyes, unfortunately for them since I might be forced to gouge their eyes out, for my date.

Use the old and legendary Li wit and sarcasm you always use to woo bimbos like Ivanna off their feet

Sakura's not a bimbo. She won't fall for it and would probably castrate me instead. Besides, what do I care if she has the attention of a bunch of doddering fools?

Uh-huh. Face it, Li, you're jealous. I know you. I've known you since the day you came screaming into the playpen and puked on Eriol's head when we were 3 years old. You are JEALOUS. Plus, there's a vein throbbing on your temple. And that's your killing-mode vein. Ask her out, you egoistic berk.

No.

Fine. See if I ever talk to you again. Eriol, remind me to bring bandages and first aid kits at the ball.

What for?

I have a feeling there will be bloodshed tonight.

Interesting. Whose blood?

Why, from the 'doddering fools', of course. Li, I'm afraid, has always had difficulty controlling his emotions, especially temporarily 'unrequited' love. He'll castrate them all, I'm sure.

Tomoyo? Eriol?

Yes?

What?

You two are most spectacular prats I've ever had the misfortune to meet.

We know. That's why we work so well together, don't we, Tomoyo?

Absolutely.

OoOoOo 30 MINUTES through the ball oOoOoO

A white Rolls Royce rounded the fountain in front of Li Mansioin, stopping at the foot of the marble steps leading to the enormous double doors. Inside, the buzz of conversations, tinkle of expensive silverware and the melody of classical music can be heard.

Outside, the car gleamed brightly in the dark; a short portly man stepped out from the driver's seat and, walking around the vehicle, opened the passenger seat and said in a dignified voice, which didn't waste energy concealing the dislike of the owner to the one being addressed, "I hope you have a nice time, sir."

The man he was addressing gave no reply, merely harrumphing . instead, he extended a foot and in one elegantly swift motion swept out of the car, revealing a tall stature and piercing green eyes. He stood up, surveyed the his surroundings with detached coolness, then beckoned to his companion, saying over his shoulder, "come along, son. We're already late."

The reply was a pair of cool gray orbs emerging and a 'yes, father'.

OoOoOoO

"We told you. WE WARNED YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN," Eriol hissed at me halfway through the (freakishly boring) ball. "But did you listen to us? Noooo. Now bare the consequences of your inflated pride."

I looked at him, half-irritated half-pleadingly. "Yes, yes, you'll hack and bury me alive. But save that for later and help me get away from the old hag!"

I scathingly and warily eyed the tall and slim 50 year old woman coming my way, a predatory gleam in her eyes and flanked by her two atrociously airheaded daughters.

"Well, you can't exactly punch her, seeing as said old hag is your aunt, you know," Eriol sighed, his eyes on the same woman. "You're just going to have to say that there is absolutely no way in all hells that you're going to dance with her daughters again. Remind her that the eldest stepped on your toes 50 million times and the other has two left feet… in a nice way, of course," he added as an afterthought.

"Oh, and how exactly do you say tha-too late," I muttered.

"Hello, Xiao-Lang!" purred my aunt's voice from behind me. Stifling the frustrated groan coming, I turned around and faced my aunt, who is the resident 'gossip' of the clan and the most persistent desperate mother who wants to hitch me with either of her daughters. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion she wants me to take both. "Hello, auntie," I greeted politely.

"Tell me, do you have a date in this occasion?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Er…"

"Yes, he has," Eriol answered for me, since I was pretending to be deaf at the moment.

Aunt Gossip's eyebrows rose even further. "Well then, let me see the lovely young lady who managed to snag your attention tonight! Where is she, dear?". She actually turned her head this way and that as if expecting my 'date' would pop out of nowhere and say hi.

"She… went to the… uhm… loos! Yes, that's what she did!" I answered, ignoring the smirk on Eriol's face.

Just as both of us thought, her fake lips broke out into a wide sinister smile. "I see. Really, if your partner is… ah… temporarily unavailable, then I strongly suggest that you dance with either of my daughters," the old hag said, making it clear that she didn't believe a word I said.

"I'm really sorry, Aunt Marge, but my date is expecting me to be right here in this spot when she finishes answering nature's call."

"Well, you know us women, we're always redoing our make-up right after and that could take quite some time-"

"No, really, I can't—"

"I insist you spend your waiting period dancing to this lovely tune with my eldest (said eldest smiled flirtatiously)!"

"But—"

"I don' think my friend needs to 'spend some time with your daughters', auntie, because his date's already coming down the stairs," Tomoyo, who materialized out of nowhere, intervened on our civil argument.

I looked at her, puzzled. 'where?' I mouthed.

Tomoyo put herselt between Eriol and I and whispered. "Look at the staircase. We almost had our eyes gouged out trying to get her to wear that outfit."

I started to turn (the hag and her daughters followed suit). "What—holy…" I gaped, shocked as I took in the image descending down the stairs.

"Who is she, mother?" the eldest asked, eyes glued to the image.

&.. &.. &

"That, my dear ladies, is Li's fiancé-to-be and date for tonight," Eriol answered proudly. Expecting a blow on the head, he was surprised to find himself unscathed. He turned, and laughed when he saw the expression on his friend's face.

"Go on, Li," he nudged his shocked friend.

Li felt his legs moving, moving towards the work of art that walked down the grand staircase. A moving feminine image that slowly and unintentionally captured most of the guests' attention.

Innocently seductive and dazzling in a strapless navy blue corset dress with a bias skirt and a red ribbon belt, walking on black heels and with her wavy auburn hair flowing freely, Sakura Kinomoto, though not the slimmest, tallest, or the fairest girl present, shone the brightest of all.

And in the eyes of rich heir who already loved her, in the eyes of someone who knew the difference pretty and beautiful, she was the most beautiful girl on earth.

OoOoOoO

The heels... the heels are killing my poor feet... I'm going to be cripple for the rest of my 61 years left...

I was oblivious to the stares. You would be, too, if your skin feels like it's been rubbed with sandpaper, your scalp burning and your butt scrunched up. Outside, I have adopted what you call the feminine look because I know that somewhere out there is a bald guy with an egg-shaped and fork-marked head watching my every move. Inside, I was howling with pain, 99 percent sure that I'm never going to be able to kick, punch, kneed, elbow, pulveriz-.

"I haven't been this naked since I came out of uterus," I muttered, inwardly miserable.

"Don't let Eggy hear you say that," a voice said mildy. "He'll go mental."

I knew whom the voice belonged to, and it took me a whole gunk of effort not to cry with joy hearing a familiar voice, nevermind the fact that it was a parrot (joke). Instead, I replied dryly, "easy for you to say. YOU don't need a diamond peel; YOU don't need to wax; YOU are a man, so you are exempted from Eggy's torture, which he usually reserves for women."

Li laughed. "Was it really that bad?"

I snorted. "Oh yes."

"Can't say he did a bad job, though," he commented, smiling.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

He rolled his eyes and, in reply, steered me towards the large mirror beside a marble statue. "Look in the reflection, you dense chipmunk. Nobody in his right mind would need inch-thick glasses to know that you look..."

"I look what?"

He shifted, poker-face intact. "Beau- good. You look really good".

I was about to retort when I saw the sincerity in his eyes. I felt a swooping sensation down my stomach. Was that a compliment? At that thought, said swooping sensation worsened in my stomach, and I can't help but feel.. well... pleased. To cover my awkward moment, I looked at him, "did Eggy assign you to accompany me or something? What are you doing here?"

He grinned, a sheepish expression that made it hard for me to keep my eyes to myself. "Well, you see that old lady over there, the one with 2 girls beside her, and watching us? (Uh-huh, I replied) That is one of the most desperate mothers on earth, who believes that the first step to my 'falling in love' with her daughters is dancing with either of them. To get away, Eriol and I made up the spur-of-the-moment excuse of me having a date, and... well... said date's name is Sakura Kinomoto."

I smirked. "Good going, cupid."

He ignored my barb. "Seriously, I will love you forever and ever and ever and after if you pretend you love me this one night and cuddle up or something, no matter how hard to imagine that is."

"No," I answered automatically, grinning evilly.

He pouted magnificently, making me bite my lip to keep from guffawing loudly. "Please! I'm begging you, Kinomoto. I don't want to have a mother-in-law like that. It is degrading to the Li name."

I pretended to think, then said in a half-kidding voice, "Would you really love me?".

"Yes. And throw in a few CDs and a share of my limited collection of NBA goodies."

I smirked. "Fine. But you'll have to bear my ear-splitting complaints and protests. Of course, I can't have some fake boyfriend of mine not hear my raging tirade about my inhuman make-over, can i? Think you're up to it?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Why, I believe I can. So… is waxing really as painful as Tomoyo said?"

OoOoOoO

Halfway through our debate about whether Eggy's hair—before he became bald—was blue or orange, she suddenly stopped and announced, "I want to get some éclairs!"

I snorted. "Oh, please, you're just pissed cause I have presented valid proof that Eggy's hair used to be orange."

She threw me a dark look. "His hair was orange and you know it! Besides, it wouldn't win you any points at all if you keep on arguing with your girlfriend, now, would you?". Seeing the smug look vanish from my face, she smirked triumphantly. "I'll get éclairs for us," she said, and walked away.

5 seconds after that my cellphone rang. I was surprised to hear Tomoyo's voice, urgent and panicked. "Quick! Take Sakura and go out of the house now! Where is she?" she demanded.

I scanned the crowd and saw Tomoyo, frantically waving at me and Eriol, whose eyes were on someone unfamiliar, narrowed suspiciously. "She went to get some food. Why—"

"No time to explain!" she snapped. "THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE BOTH HERE!"

I knew at once who 'they' was and wasted no time, but when I found Sakura in front of the dessert tables, I found that I was too late. She stared right past me with her eyes widened with shock and something else, into someone behind my back.

"Papa? Brother?" she whispered.

I got the idea of note-passing from a fic I read in the Harry Potter genre. It was really funny and it's a shame I have a notoriously poor memory…

Anyway, THANK YOU for the reviews and I hope you'd review this one too! Oh , and I have a new story posted. R &R that one as well! Thank you!

Later and Lotsa Love,

Calcarrie