Chapter Two. And they meet

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. :P

13 years ago

Dearest Nadeshiko,
Remember when you, Sonomi, Miya and I used to fantasize about having kids? We always planned about them ending up with one another, remember? By the way, my son and I haven't had the pleasure of meeting your 2 year old girl, Sakura-chan.

I'm leaving Syaoran under your care, if ever something happens to me. Remember our last meeting, Iko. I miss you.

Love,
Yelan.

It was when he woke up, that Syaoran felt the full impact of what happened the day before. Losing the house didn't matter. He was never attached to too many material things, either. It was the memory of his mother that made him feel remorse. He felt guilty that somehow, in some way, he was responsible for her death.

The investigators told him that the fire started with a kettle. Something about spilling hot water? Syaoran couldn't remember. He was much too sad to involve himself with such trivial things.

He sat up from the bed and then took in the room he was in. It was simple. There was a bed, a cabinet, a desk, and a bookshelf. The walls were painted dark green and white. The floor tiles were patterned. Black, red, white, black, red, white...

It seemed suitable enough. His room back in his old house was pretty much the same. He never asked for unnecessary things. What he didn't have then, was an old painting easel. It was black and - as Syaoran ran his hand to touch it- still smooth. There was a small canvas with an unfinished painting. It was of a small girl with auburn hair and a small boy as young as her, with brown unruly hair. Only that. No scenery, no nothing.

Syaoran looked at the painting skeptically. Was the boy him? If so, then who was the girl? And why would the painter paint such a picture? He shook his head dismissively. He walked away from the easel. He was about to open the door when someone knocked. He slowly twisted the knob, and then in came a smiling Fujitaka Kinomoto.

"Good morning, Syaoran. Did you sleep well?" The man was only trying to help make the boy comfortable.

"Good morning, Mr. Kinomoto. Yes, I did. Thank you." In turn, Syaoran was polite.

Fujitaka produced three pairs of clothes for Syaoran. "I found these for you. One of these days, my wife will take you shopping for real clothes." He smiled kindly at the boy.

Syaoran was startled. He hadn't expected this. "Thank you, sir." He bowed for about two seconds, and then took the clothes from Fujitaka.

He stepped out of the warm shower, dressing quickly as to keep the warmth with him, if only for a short time. He combed his hair, which was as stubborn as ever and did no effect on him whatsoever. He stepped out of his room, and then searched for Mrs. Kinomoto.

She told him a while ago that she would indeed take him out for clothes shopping. He was also told that all of the money his mother owned was now his.

Syaoran was not very keen with this piece of news, but he accepted it nonetheless. To be honest, he didn't really care. He wanted his mother. His heart still ached for her, but his mind had already accepted the hard truth. She was gone.

"Syaoran." He looked up and found Nadeshiko Kinomoto sitting on the piano bench, closing the organ she had been playing. She smiled kindly at him, like she knew him fondly. And she did, not that he knew.

He nodded at her. "Good morning, Mrs. Kinomoto. Are we going now or..." His voice trailed away.

Nadeshiko nodded, and then got up from her seat. "I'd get my car keys first."

Syaoran stopped her. "No need, Ma'am. We can take my car." He was being generous, and she found that charming. She knew for a fact that he was raised well by Yelan, her best friend since forever. She smiled once again, and then braided her dark gray hair.

"Alright, Syaoran dear. I'll prepare us something to eat." She left for the kitchen.

Realizing that he didn't have his car keys with him, Syaoran went back up the stairs. He wasn't looking were he was going, so when he reached the topmost step, he ran into someone, and both fell on the floor.

"Oww, oww, oww."

Syaoran was startled. He didn't know of anyone else who lived in the house except for the couple. Did they happen to have a daughter or something? He was fairly new, having only moved to Tomoeda two months prior. It was nearing the end of summer, and he was expected to go the local high school here.

"I'm sorry." He was met by a pair of green eyes and a flash of auburn hair. She looked alarmed and confused. Who was she?

Sakura Kinomoto did not expect to meet their new house mate so oddly. She was wearing house clothes, a pair of shorts and a tank top, which made it even more embarrassing.

"I'm Li Syaoran." He introduced himself, hadn't he? Or was she just used to people making fun of her, that she didn't see the genuineness of his introduction?

She ignore the thought. "Kinomoto Sakura. I, uhh, I didn't expect to meet you like this. Sorry." She ran off to her room.

Who was she kidding? Befriending someone as handsome and rich as him? She would be the laughingstock for the whole year! Not that she wasn't already.

Sakura isn't what you would call popular. On the contrary, she was the exact opposite. She was ridiculed and mocked. Duh, its high school! What would you expect? As you can see, she was still a humble girl. Too humble that she let people step all over her.

She sighed deeply, and then continued typing on her computer. She went out to get herself a glass of water, but then she met the Li boy. She was far too confused to go back to what she initially wanted to do.

That was how they met.

A/N: I guess I finally got the idea of that. Well, we shall see. Anyways, I'm posting this super early because I've got tons of schoolwork and won't be able to post within the week. Expect the next update to be next week or so. Please review! I love hearing your thoughts. Thanks!