Okay, so I finally updated. I just came home from this Summer Camp. It was kind of fun but I did not like their idea of punishment. Excuse me while I dodge rotten tomatoes for this late entry. . .

Disclaimer: CLAMP owns CCS. I only own a computer and a good-enough imagination.

She twisted and turned in her bed, almost falling down in the process. Sakura tried to cover her ears from the obnoxious ringing of the alarm clock. She groaned, and raised her head from the pillows and stared at the large green digital numbers, as if her glare would be able to burn it into ashes if she concentrated enough.

At least her brother didn't steal her alarm clock today, and there might be a chance that she would be early for class!

She dragged herself off her bed and made her way to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and combed her hair. She dragged herself again out of the bathroom and made her way downstairs.

She sniffed the aroma of something good and instantly lit up. She hurried her steps.

"Pancakes!"

She was greeted by her father's smiling face. Her brother, in the other hand, didn't bother to acknowledge her presence. "Ohayo, otou-san!" She greeted her father with a cheerful voice. He returned her greeting. "Ohayo, Onii-chan," She greeted her sibling with slightly less enthusiasm, but all she got was a grunt as a reply.

-X--X-

She got in school early (first time this week!) and didn't see Tomoyo or a certain amber-eyed guy in the hallway. She went into her own classroom, humming a little tune. When she opened the sliding doors, she saw someone she didn't expect.

"Good morning, Kinomoto-san. Am I right?" Her companion said, while he gave her a smile.

"Um. Yeah. That's me - Kinomoto. But you can call me Sakura. Almost everyone does. And you're Hiiragizawa-kun, correct?" she replied, while giving her own smile.

He nodded. "Then you can call me Eriol as well."

She knew how it was to be the new kid. She only came to this school about two years ago. "Well, nice to meet you. How's your stay at Seijuu High?" She put down her bag and sat on the desk near him. "I hope you didn't get any bruises when you get chased."

"Chased?" He asked, in a barely-there but still there English accent.

"Yeah, chased. You know, fan girls. I'm sure you've got some, seeing the female population in this class' reaction to both yours and Syaoran Li's entrance." Especially Tomoyo's, but she didn't want to shot down by said girl's bodyguards so she decided to keep her mouth shut.

He chuckled a bit. "You remember his name clearly when you weren't even sure of my last name, eh?" He adjusted his glasses until the sun's light reflected from it, which made Sakura not able to see his eyes.

Sakura Kinomoto blushed. She couldn't tell him that he's his boss' son. She knew that news would go around, reaching Tomoyo's ears within a nanosecond, and that – Sakura knew – would be endangering her reputation as well as the bet. There was no way she could tell.

"Well… he is …" She struggled to make a little white lie. "Umm… not easily forgettable?"

And at that moment, the doors opened.

And in came the guy she was desperate to avoid.

"Not easily forgettable? That's all? You wound me, Kura-chan." At the mention of her new nickname, her eyes twitched, which Syaoran saw perfectly. He smirked.

He turned his attention back to Eriol. "You crazy bastard. I told you to wait for me, and now you even took my car. I had to take yours." Eriol only grinned.

"Why, my dear cousin, I believe Aunt Yelan allowed me to take your car because, and I personally quote, 'That boy does not appreciate the true purpose of getting a car than picking up women with waist lines the same digit as their IQ. Thankfully, his dear cousin has offered to keep a look-out for him.'" He smirked when he saw his cute little descendant scowling.

Sakura was not surprised. It did concern Li Syaoran after all. Women were probably just play things to him and commitment was a sin.

Kami-sama, why the hell did Tomoyo chose him? Oops, is it taboo to pray to you while saying the word 'hell'?

Hey, wait a minute. They were cousins?! Heh, she never would've guessed. They were as opposite as day and night. Eriol and Syaoran still continued bickering which made Sakura chuckled a bit. Was this how it looked like when it was her and Touya bickering? Who knew it was kind of funny?

However, Syaoran heard her chuckle.

"What's so funny, Kinomoto?" Well, at least he didn't use his nickname for her. He gave her this very intimidating look, which made her gulp.

"I … Uh… Well." She was stuttering. Damn it. She wasn't supposed to be intimidated by this guy. No way in hell.

"Now, now, my cute little descendant… I think you're making Sakura-san uncomfortable."

"Since when did you call her by her first name?"

At this, Eriol raised an eyebrow. "At least I don't call her by a nickname that sounds like a teddy bear."

At this, Syaoran looked confused, Sakura looked embarrassed.

"Actually, Li-kun, he's kind of right. 'Kura-chan' sounds like 'Kuma-chan'… which means Teddy Bear."

"I knew that." A vein was forming on his forehead.

"And did you know, my cute little descendant, that that is how couples refer to each other?"

Another vein appeared, and another on his already raised fist. Eriol suddenly took off. Syaoran followed. Sakura was confused.

"GET BACK HERE YOU CRAZY BASTARD!!"

-X-

-X-

She never thought school could finish so fast. Despite their little chase, Syaoran and Eriol managed to get to class in time, without any bruises on either of them. Tomoyo, Chiharu, Rika and Naoko looked more 'cheerful' today compared to other days, and Tomoyo did not fail to tell Sakura that today was the official starting of their bet. She also made sure that Chiharu and they all, knew.

But the weirdest thing was what Eriol whispered to her after Algebra.

"Did you bring an umbrella, Sakura-san?" He asked, right after the teacher left.

"Um… no. Why do you ask?"

He gave her a smile. A Cheshire cat smile. Just like the ones the girls were wearing. "Oh. No reason."

Well ok. Sakura was officially calling that smile 'The Cheshire Cat Smile'. Oh good. Everyone's doing it, aren't they? Everyone except her.

For this bet, she knew that Tomoyo was probably planning something which will either: A- Humiliate her. B- Hook her up with somebody or C- Both.

It was a wonder to her now how'd she survived her life with Tomoyo around. And with Chiharu, Rika and Naoko joining her evil forces on this bet, she was wondering if she was safe with these people at all. Okay, so maybe it was a little mean to say that… but it's true!

Whenever those plans failed, Tomoyo never blamed herself or her plans. She'd blamed the guy whom she tried to hook Sakura up with. If Tomoyo ruled the 'Dark Side', the Jedi Knights would've been dead even before Anakin Skywalker was born.

Eriol somehow gave her that same feeling, the feeling of the 'Dark Side' that Tomoyo ruled, with her other minions. She saw them together at the hallway, right before lunch ended. They were talking in hushed tones, and even heard her name numerous times, along with Tomoyo's squealing. Eriol and Tomoyo, teaming up?

Does Kami-sama hate me?

She wasn't her naïve 10 year old self anymore. She was more aware of her surroundings and had a deeper understanding of people and their doings. After all that's happened in her life, she couldn't, she mustn't be naïve.

She knows the reason why Tomoyo does all her matchmaking. She wanted her to be happy, not to miss out on the 'wonderful teenage years of love, drama and high school', she has said those exact same words when Sakura caught her muttering to herself after one of her matchmaking techniques had failed. It was probably Sakura's fault anyway. She never let Tomoyo know, or anyone else for that matter, that she didn't like the idea of being pushed around, of someone butting into her own life.

Life was already complicated enough as it is. Her okaa-san's advice to her was to take life one step at a time. Why can't she do that? Why do people need to push her around?

This probably wasn't concerning Tomoyo anymore, she thought. Man, I'm getting into a bad mood just thinking of it.

She walked up to her locker, surprised to see someone there as well.

"Li? What are you doing here?" She asked.

He looked up to see her standing there. "The Principal just told me my locker's next to yours."

So what else was knew?

"Oh."

He raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

That caught her attention immediately and decided to put up a cheery front. She smiled, as authentic as she possible can. "Nothing really, just thinking…" She made sure she also talked casually.

"You're the worst liar on Earth, Kinomoto." Now, he was starting to piss her off.

"I didn't ask your opinion, now did I?"

"I didn't ask you to complain, now did I?" he shot back, playfully.

She shouldn't even have tried. "Look Li, I know that we're not exactly on the best of terms from the moment we met. I'm sorry I tripped on you. I'm sorry I didn't apologize earlier. What else do you want me to be sorry for?"

She put her books in her locker and closed it shut. He looked at her for a minute as if she's just grown an extra head.

"Kinomoto, you're no fun when you're serious."

She put crossed her arms against her chest and pouted.

"But I am serious. I'm not trying to be rude or anything but you act as if we've been best friends forever."

"At least you look cute with that pout of yours…" he said, making her blush a bit.

"Are you listening to me at all?" She furrowed her eyebrows in frustration…

"Hmm. Sounds like its raining."

"You're not listening to me at all." It was at that moment that what he just said finally sunk in. Judging by the loud noise of the raindrops hitting against the roof of the school, she figured that it wasn't just a drizzle.

That means she'll be late for work. Damn… and she didn't even bring an umbrella.

"If you don't have a ride, I'll be willing to drive you to the Mayflower." He said, while twirling his car keys with his finger.

"You would?" Sakura asked hopefully.

He got real close to her face, close enough to make their noses almost touch. Was this what he did to that (slut) Laura Miyagi, as well?

He smirked. He liked seeing her squirm. "On three conditions…" He saw her try to put up a brave front, but he read her like an opened book.

"Which are?" She tried her best to be intimidating, despite knowing herself that she was failing. He smirked again, pulled away and started walking towards the entrance to the school and once her got there, he placed both hands onto the pockets of his pants.

"H-hey! Where're you going?!" She hastily followed right behind him.

"Do you want a ride or not?" He asked, looking down at her. He was probably a head taller than her.

She looked from left to right, thinking if she should accept it or not. Mr. Nagakashi, the manager, has been breathing on her neck for almost a month now just because she was late a couple of times. And to make it worse, the rain poured on Tomoeda even harder.

"Fine. I need a ride." She muttered, but Syaoran heard it loud and clear.

"Then better run." And with that, he grabbed her hand and ran at full speed towards his car, getting caught in the heavy rain. He caught her by surprise, but she tried her best to keep up.

Once they were there, Syaoran quickly opened the door of the passenger's seat and pushed her inside. He closed it, and went over to the passenger seat. Once he closed the door, he started the engine, ready for Sakura's complains.

"I-I can't believe you! You didn't even have an umbrella?! And now we're soaked!"

He chuckled a bit. "But man… that was fun."

Sakura looked at him for a moment, and then tried to squeeze the water out of her hair. "Well, Li. Thanks. Thanks a lot." He didn't fail to notice the slight smile Sakura had.

The silence between them continued for a few more seconds, until she decided to speak up.

"So. What are your 'conditions'?"

He smirked. "They're do-able, even for you."

Sakura sunk back to her seat and crossed her arms again. She seemed to do that often today. She made a mental note in her mind.

Never show Syaoran Li a moment of weakness ever again.

ToBeContinued

It's been months since I've updated… Hope ya'll will forgive me, because life has been hectic. Well, at least I gave you something to look forward to… right? Syaoran's conditions are simple, so don't expect something too much from him. He and Sakura just met, and I'm planning to take it simple first.

By the way… does anyone play Garanado Espada? I think it's only available in Asia first, though. I think it's known as 'The Sword of the New World' in Western countries… Anyways, the game rocks! The graphics are superb and I've officially put this as my favorite MMORPG. I've fallen in love with this game…

Well… see you next chapter!

Peach Blossoms421