It's so short! It's so short! It's so short!

Not anymore.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dawn came, and Sakura was still alone. She watched the sun rise slowly, thoughts consuming her. She wondered if Cyou was still alive. After all, Syaoran hated him, which wasn't the best situation to be in.

She wondered why she wasn't dead.

She wondered why she was even here. It had been almost two months since she first arrived, far longer than any other "guest" had ever stayed. Syaoran rarely talked to her anymore. Of course, her always yelling at him and running away probably didn't help.

But why did he keep her around? She was undoubtedly the first to stand up to him because of his horrible behavior. Tomoyo was too kind to say anything, and any other couldn't care less how he treated them as long as they were treated like royalty.

Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten in who-knows-how-long. And after a sleepless night on the damp ground, she wasn't feeling so hot. She was actually feeling pretty sick.

A sneeze escaped and she groaned. She could either humiliatingly trudge back to the castle for everyone to see or stay outside and risk getting more sick.

Well, she was already sick. A little pneumonia wouldn't hurt.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura walked around the secluded garden that she found, still debating whether she should take off the damp rag of a dress that now surrounded her. She halfway wished she would die, just so Syaoran would feel bad for not coming to look for her. Then the whole castle would smell of rotting flesh and he'd have to hide in the basement to escape the smell. That'd teach him.

But then she would be dead, which probably isn't as fun as it sounds.

So she forced herself to push on, feasting on the fresh fruits of the garden trees just to stay alive. Maybe that was a bit dramatic, but it emphasizes the point. She was hungry and cold.

But she still had her dignity.

In the distance she heard footsteps and shouting. After doing a happy-dance, she ran into a secluded part of the garden and sat down with grace. He wouldn't find her looking a mess.

Finally the soldiers ran past her quickly. She waited a few minutes, expecting them to come get her. But apparently they never played hide-and-seek and missed her entirely. She groaned.

Now she could either run out and lose her dignity or sit alone for a few more days and really die. After taking a deep breath, Sakura sucked up her pride and walked out of the garden, looking around cautiously. She wasn't going to jump up and down begging for someone to find her, but accidentally running into someone wasn't heard of.

"Sakura!" a voice called. She turned to see Syaoran running towards her looking ecstatic. "Are you okay?"

She wanted to roll her eyes and run back into the garden to have someone else find her. Why Syaoran? Life was unfair.

"Uh, I'm fine," she said quietly, voice hoarse. She tried to hold back a cough but just made it worse, sending her into a hysterical series of wheezes. Not exactly dignified.

"We need to get you back right away," said Syaoran. He quickly grabbed and swept her into his arms, running the direction he came from. Sakura turned her head far away from his face; his breath was gross and... warm. He was warm. She unwillingly snuggled against him, telling herself it was only because he was warm, and the slight chance that she would get him sick. That would be nice.

Eventually they came across other members of the search party, who rode her back to the castle on horseback. Syaoran tried to carry her back to her room, but she refused. Politely.

She wobbled up to her room and collapsed the second the door was closed. Chiharu and Naoko immediately took over, plunging her into a hot bath.

"Sakura-san, that was... really stupid." Chiharu helped Sakura out slowly once she began to get all pruney.

Sakura sighed. "I know." She sneezed again, groaning. "I think I'm sick."

Naoko shrugged. "I don't think so." Chiharu laughed.

"I just hope I got that jerk sick too," she said quietly, slipping on her nightgown and snuggling into bed. "If you don't mind I'm going to try to sleep now."

Chiharu and Naoko nodded and left quietly. Sakura sighed, knowing sleep wouldn't come to her. She was worried sick and no amount of sickness could trick her into sleeping.

Just as she remembered that she was hungry, someone knocked on her door. She groaned and it opened.

"Li-sama." Who else? She thought dryly. He smiled hesitantly and came in, revealing the tray of food he brought with him. She immediately put aside all bad thoughts of him.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked quietly, watching her eat very unladylike-ly. She nodded and continued to eat. He fell silent.

She finished the food and sighed. Her body ached for sleep, but her mind was restless. And it didn't help that there was a guy staring at her at the other side of her bed.

He stared at her; she stared at the ceiling. "Thank you," she said quietly. It didn't make him leave.

Maybe he's waiting for me to apologize, she thought. Ugh.

"I'm..." Sakura looked to Syaoran, who was definitely staring at her shamelessly. Maybe if she kissed him she wouldn't have to apologize. The only thing she was sorry about was not getting him sick.

She sat up and leaned into him, head tiling slowly. He winced.

"Uh, I appreciate the thought, but ew. Germs." He bowed and made a quick exit, and she swore she heard him running down the hall. She sighed.

The next week or so was spent in bed, visited only by her favorite maids. She was tired of the routine, but it kept her away from Syaoran. And he wasn't coming anywhere near her since she was sick. Apparently the prince was a hypochondriac, which Sakura made a careful note of in case she ever wanted to get rid of him in the future.

She dreaded the day that she was better. Which was that day.

"Sakura, you have been asked to attend dinner in the dining hall tonight," Chiharu said hesitantly. "Please don't be angry."

She sighed. "No, I knew this day had to come at some point." She sneezed quickly. "Let me rest for a while, please?"

Chiharu nodded and left her alone in the room. Sakura debated sneaking out again, but she figured enough trouble had been caused already and she wasn't in the best condition to go cavorting about. Instead she slowly perused her closet of obnoxiously large dresses. They were mostly beautiful, but something about them said "I'm trying to make you love me for my stuff. Love, Syaoran." She'd rather wear her old dresses that you could actually move and breathe in. That was kind of necessary.

Sakura stopped when she came to the dress Cyou left. She smiled; he knew her far too well. And after not seeing him for how-many years, she was surprised how much she missed him. She supposed the thought of actually having a friend was too comforting, and she never wanted him gone again.

She closed the wardrobe quietly. Trudging back to her bed once again, she fell down and begged for sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay, so sleep hated her and wasn't talking to her for a while. Sakura got up from the bed and stretched out. Her muscles ached. She had a headache. She was hungry and tired. Life wasn't going too well.

"Naoko," she called quietly. Her nurse quickly came from the other room.

"Sakura-san?"

"I want to go outside. Help me."

Naoko sighed and helped Sakura into a light dress, not wanting too much weight on her sick body(which shouldn't be walking around in the first place). Sakura climbed down to the gardens alone.

It was a cold-but-warm-too sort of day. The sun was bright and covered everything, but the air remained unaffected and stung her nose. To her, it was nothing out of the ordinary; only a few months ago she was working in this weather. She missed doing something with her life.

Sakura sat in a close-by garden, feeling drowsier than when she was inside. In fact, she felt a lot better. Not being in a stuffy room all day was much better than she'd thought.

She wanted her friend back.

It may have been her being sick or just overwhelming paranoia, or a combination of the two. Sakura began crying loudly, and she wasn't in the position to care who heard her. She wasn't seeing things clearly, and she needed to sleep. But she couldn't.

"Hello?" a voice called.

Sakura froze.

"Cyou?" she yelled, running from the garden to where the voice called. It had to be him.

"Sakura?"

Her heart began to pound. Where was he?

"Sakura, where are you?" A figure stepped from around the corner.

She looked at him.

She collapsed onto the ground and cried.

Syaoran ran to her side and sat beside her. "Sakura, are you okay?"

Sakura was not okay. But for once, not knowing what possessed her, she fell in Syaoran's lap and let herself cry on him. She didn't care that she hated him, and he was the entire reason that her only friend was gone. I mean, she needed her friend... but he would do for the meantime.

She felt him tense, then slowly relax. Sakura focused on him, not the nasty situation she put herself in. He pulled his fingers softly through her hair. She liked it.

"I want to-"

"Stop talking. Play with my hair."

"Okay," he mumbled. Syaoran did as commanded, probably happy that Sakura had stopped crying on him.

"Are you well?" Syaoran asked, sure to continue stroking her hair as he did so. "I mean, not like- are- do you still have a cold?"

She wanted to laugh. "No."

"...Good. I'm glad that you're feeling better." I don't want to touch a sick person.

Sakura had expected the situation to get awkward at some point, but it didn't; in fact, she felt herself more relaxed than she had been when Cyou was with her. Which bothered her.

"Why did you take away my best friend?"

Syaoran froze. "What?"

Sakura got up from his lap and stared him in the eye. "Why did you take Cyou from me?"

He looked at her incredulously. "I didn't take him away on purpose. Why would you think something like that?"

"You tell me."

Syaoran stared at her for a moment. "I would just not tell you... but you have a habit of yelling at me and running away when I do something wrong."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows.

"Fine." He threw his arms up and stood up. "Walk with me."

"Fine." She refused his outstretched hand. "I will."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"If you're going to tell me, you better do it soon." Sakura kicked a pebble into the pond they passed, returning to the garden that she first (re)met Cyou in.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" he shouted.

"Sorry."

"This is difficult for me to say..." He paused, looking into the pond. "Cyou and I are lovers."

"What?" Sakura screamed. "No!"

He laughed. "I'm kidding. I was just jealous."

Sakura took a minute and sat down to get over the shock, and mental image, of his previous statement before she realized what he said. "You were jealous?"

He nodded. "I mean, he's infatuated with you, and you enjoy his company more than mine." He looked resentful. "It was capricious."

Sakura tried to hold back her laugh. "You got jealous of a guy, so you put him in the middle of a war?" She sighed. "That's a little overdramatic."

Syaoran looked at his feet and scowled. "I've done worse things, you know."

She almost asked him.

"Oh... yeah." She paused, then looked up at him with hatred. "And why would you do that, anyways?!"

He looked at her with a curious expression. "Since when was this 'point out all of Syaoran's problems' day?"

"Murdering innocent women isn't a problem, it's either a psychological problem or a fetish." Sakura stood up and glared at him. "Or maybe you're just unscrupulous."

Syaoran's temper flared. "Don't you dare talk to me that way."

"Why? Because you were born into the right family? There are actual people that deserve your position because they work hard and have some moral standards." She shook her head angrily and turned, starting to run.

"No, you're not running away from me again!" he screamed, grabbing her arm. "I'm tired of you always running from me when we're in the middle of a conversation! You never even give me a chance to say anything. Do you enjoy living in a world of your own?" Syaoran tried to control his breathing. "You never listen to other people, just tell them your opinion and never wait for the response. Doesn't that bother you, at all? Never knowing the actual truth?"

She glared into his eyes, feeling the tears rise to her eyes. He saw them, without a doubt, and had no remorse judging by his expression.

"Fine," she whispered.

"Fine."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are you still mad?" he asked. She gave no response.

"Oh come on. I mean, I told you the truth, what else am I supposed to do?"

"Maybe you should try apologizing," she growled. "I want to go now."

"You're not allowed to." Syaoran kicked a pebble into the pond, probably just as bored as she was. But he was not backing down. He was proving a point, and his manliness was on the line. There was no way he was giving up anytime soon.

"You're mean."

"You're rude."

"I don't like your hair."

"I don't like your attitude."

"You smile too much."

"You yell too much."

"You never make any decisions."

"You make people's decisions for them."

"I like arguing with you."

"I- ugh. Stop talking to me."

"Stop keeping me hostage."

"Stop making an insult out of everything I say."

"No."

"You- just stop."

"Are you keeping me out here just to prove you can stick with your decisions? Because I think this is the first one. Oh, besides purposefully putting my friend's life in danger because you thought he was flirting with me."

"Okay, he definitely was. And that was mean."

"You're just reading too far into the situation."

"You're just annoying."

"Shut up."

"Don't talk to me like that."

"Don't talk."

"You make me want to kill myself!"

"You seem to have that effect on many women, don't you?"

"Don't bring that up."

"I hope you get sick."

"Don't say something like that."

"Oh, I just did."

"I realize that."

"Congratulations."

"I don't- okay, you need to stop talking or I swear I will throw you into this pond."

"You can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't catch me."

"Of course- NO!"

Sakura ran out of the garden as quickly as she could, figuring surprise would have to be her only strategy. He knew the gardens better than her, and he was probably faster(although if she didn't have a huge dress on, things would be different).

Sakura always hated chasing games. That feeling of being caught sent butterflies into her stomach, and adrenaline coursed through her veins. She wasn't having fun; this was war.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was having a considerably fantastic time hunting down Sakura like a wolf. He loved the feeling of chasing; and not just chasing anyone, but a beautiful girl running away from him. Normally it was the other way around(although not much running was involved). This whole process of waiting and pleasing a woman in order for her to be close to him was strange and foreign in his mind. But he thrived in challenges, and considered Sakura his most difficult.

Sakura now had to either hide or rip her clothes off in order to run faster. Choosing the first option, she turned left and ran into some bushes. Her heart was beating too fast; she tried to control her breath. The last thing she wanted was him finding her helplessly tangled in some bush.

He knew she was hiding somewhere. And he had to find her.

She probably ran farther from the castle, more secluded and with dense foliage. He wished the ground were softer so he could track her footprints.

Sakura peered over her bush; she saw him, rushing towards her unknowingly. She quietly backed out of her hideaway, hoping for better seclusion.

A large forest stretched out past the gardens. Sakura ran through it, hoping she wasn't going too far.

Syaoran found a trampled bush with a clear path to the forest made with still-soggy earth.

"No," he moaned. "No no no no."

"Oh no," she whispered, looking up into the sky. It was covered with orange and yellow leaves, leaving the ground below an ominous dark shade despite the time. Sakura looked around her, and slowly realized that she didn't know the way back to the castle. All that surrounded her was trees and muddy grass.

And the sound of men and horses.

"Syaoran?" she called. It had to be him.

Right?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Syaoran slumped onto the floor, uninterrupted from his sleep.

"Li-sama?"

His eyes slowly opened. He groaned.

"Yes?"

"I was told to report that nothing has been found." A young soldier stood trembling in Syaoran's presence; curled up on the floor and sleep deprived. Oh-so-intimidating.

"Great. Thanks."

The soldier bowed and exited quickly. Syaoran forced himself up, resuming his work. Finally he gave up and tipped the desk over, sending his work flying across the room.

He took a deep breath and exited the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura tried to look intimidating.

"You're not fooling anyone, darling."

"Don't call me that," she growled.

The large man laughed. "You better watch your mouth."

Sakura was hoisted into the saddle of a horse in front of another soldier. "Hello gorgeous," he murmured. She would have done something about him, if it weren't for the whole "captive" thing.

"King Demoratus will be ecstatic when we come back," the large soldier remarked. "Syaoran will have to fight back for his sweet mistress."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm not-"

"You don't have to deny it, sweetie," the soldier behind her assuaged. "We understand."

"I don't think you do," she replied sweetly.

"Mizu, stop provoking the girl."

"Why are all of you out here?" she asked. "I'm guessing you're enemies of the Li Kingdom."

"Excellent conjecture, your highness," the large one praised. "If you must know, we were scouting a way into the castle. But then you wandered along, and we'd rather negotiate than fight."

"Tell me about your kingdom."

"Why should I?" he spat.

"Because I'm being kidnapped. It's common courtesy to tell me where I'm going. And this is boring."

"You have a point." He sighed. "Well, we come from the kingdom Demoratia. It's about a day's ride from here. We hate the Li kingdom and its little brat of a prince, and can't wait to destroy it. That's about it, right?" He looked to Mizu and laughed. "We're a simple kingdom."

"Great," Sakura moaned.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I hope you're all happy.