Chapter 3. Eriol

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, which is sad, but true.

Shopping for clothes was uneventful for both Syaoran and Nadeshiko: at least, at the beginning. They were about to leave the department store when a blue haired boy with midnight blue eyes ran up to them.

Nadeshiko smiled at the boy, and then waved. She acted like she expected this to happen. Syaoran felt completely awkward. The guy was about Syaoran's age, and they had the same height.

"Hello, Eriol."

The boy, now named Eriol, smiled cheerfully. "Hello, Mrs. Kinomoto. How are Sakura and Mr. Kinomoto? I'm looking forward to be in the same school as her, as of this year." Ever since Eriol came to Japan two years prior, he had been going to a school in the other town. This year, he was going to be enrolled in the same high school as Sakura.

He turned to Syaoran. "And you are?"

"Li Syaoran." His replied curtly. The boys nodded at each other.

"W-wait. Li? As in, your mother is Li Yelan? Auntie Yelan! How is she doing?" Eriol sounded like a schoolgirl when he talked of the woman. If it weren't Syaoran's mother, he would have laughed.

Syaoran slipped his hands in his pockets, and then looked away. "Sh-she's gone." At the end of the sentence, his voice broke. No, no, no. He wasn't going to cry now. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and then saw Eriol.

"Thanks."

Of course, Eriol understood. He had lost his mother and father too, when he was a child. It hurt, but he had to go through it. He was pretty sure that Syaoran mourned for her, still. Right now, Eriol was living with his official guardian: Akizuki Nakuru.

Sensing the tension, Nadeshiko tried to lighten the mood. "Syaoran, Eriol is the son of the late Hiiragizawa Miya. She, Daidouji Sonomi, Li Yelan and I were best friends since the first grade. We've been meaning to introduce you all to each other, but the time was never right. Nevertheless, Eriol knows my Sakura, and you know Eriol. That just leaves Tomoyo, right? Well, she is Sakura's cousin, and she visits from time to time, but this year, she and her mother will be staying for good." Nadeshiko smiled, "By the way, you two are cousins."

She walked away, waving to the two boys.

"Syaoran, I'll see you tonight!"

Syaoran cocked his eyebrows. He turned to Eriol, who raised his hands up in surrender.

"She asked me to show you around. You up for it?" Eriol seemed nice. Syaoran liked him immediately.

"Sure."

"So, have you met Sakura yet?" Eriol's question was sudden and unexpected. Syaoran arched his eyebrows, and then remembered his odd meeting with the girl. He didn't see her that well, judging by the dim lights of the hallway, and that he just fell on the floor. But he did see a pair of green eyes. They were wide and alert. Something about them made her noticeable.

"I saw her this morning. But, we haven't had the time to actually talk yet. Why do you ask?" Syaoran chose his words carefully and slowly.

"Nothing. She's really nice, but there's something about her school that always makes her cringe when I mention it." He paused for a minute. "Whatever it is, we'll find out soon. We'll be batch mates now, right?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

Eriol looked up wistfully. "I remember that I used to have a crush on her. But she only saw me as a brother. I realized that my feelings were only admiration. She was truly one of a kind. She's like the sister I never had."

Syaoran wondered silently why Eriol was confiding in him. Maybe he was trying to say something? Whatever it was, it made him feel a bit odd. He shook the thought off.

"I'm sure she's quite a lady." He settled for that simple comment, ending the discussion.

A/N: Hi! It's updating time again, huh? Anyway, I'm sure this is short. School's been keeping me busy. Ugh, filler chapter filler chapter filler chapter. Review? You know what to do. ;)