Mending Mistakes Chapter 16: Plan of Action, a card captor sakura fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

Pairings: Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

Chapter Fifteen

"Plan of Action"

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Tomoyo asked yet again.

"It's really fine. And I want to be here. I'd rather be here than wait by myself at Syaoran's place. He's busy at work."

"Christmas has barely gone by, that man should take a break or two. I mean, even we have a couple days off."

Sakura giggled but didn't say anything.

By now she already knew how Syaoran was and she could hardly stop him from being the way he was. Although she did suggest that he take a break from work that day to stay in bed with her, and he indeed fulfilled her request by staying in. But he only stayed long enough until she fell back to sleep after which, he promptly left for the office.

"Thanks for coming over though, Sakura. I really did need to vent out a lot of things. And since Eri has work…" she trailed away and sighed.

"Are you feeling any better?" Sakura inquired worriedly.

Tomoyo gave her a smile. "I'm fine. The shock is still there but it's okay now. If I think about it further, this is rather a good thing, isn't it? Eriol and Syaoran are best friends, you and I are best friends, that only makes us all closer!"

"I know what you mean," Sakura grinned. "But I still need to ask Syaoran if he knew though. I mean, it's hard to believe that none of us knew of any sort of connection we had to each other after all this time, you know?"

The darker haired girl nodded. "Eri told me he didn't expect my Sakura to be the same as Syaoran's Sakura and I can't exactly blame him. I mean, your first name is fairly common and I never did mention your surname to him."

Sakura thought about this. Syaoran and Eriol were really close as far as she knows. It was probably impossible for Syaoran not to know of Eriol and Tomoyo's relationship right?

"Fujitaka Kinomoto."

"I can't be sure how much information I can get though Dr. Hiiragizawa. Wills and such things are generally kept private."

"It's fine. Just tell me as much as you find out."

"Very well, sir."

"Oh, and make sure to keep this matter private."

"Yes, of course."

"Tell me once you get anything."

"Yes."

Eriol replaced the receiver of his office phone and leaned back into his chair. He didn't exactly want to go this far from something Tomoyo had only said in passing the previous night but he couldn't help it. It did involve Syaoran, and it was only right for him to look out for his best friend as the man would usually do for him.

Syaoran fell silent for a few seconds. He had already prepared himself on what to tell Sakura the moment she would question him about Eriol and Tomoyo. After what Eriol had told him earlier that morning, it was only expected that she would immediately interrogate him about the matter. And Sakura didn't disappoint.

"It was a surprise," he finally said as he made a scene of removing his coat and tie. "Eriol dropped by my office earlier this morning to tell me actually."

"Oh? So you didn't know anything about Eriol dating my Tomoyo?"

"I had my suspicions," Syaoran said, not really lying but not really telling the truth, though the whole truth was that he was actually the very first person who knew everything in the first place.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked with a slight frown.

"It wasn't exactly my place to say or do anything. I mean, it's their relationship. I wouldn't want to be the one to spoil anything out of suspicion."

This answer didn't exactly satisfy Sakura and it probably showed on her face for Syaoran took that moment to give her a sweet kiss on the lips.

"Work today was tiring," he admitted after he pulled back and leaned his head on her shoulder.

"Did anything happen?" she asked. She couldn't help the smile appearing on her face now by the way he was acting.

"Nonstop calls from friends, colleagues, business partners, and family." This last one he said rather pointedly and with much annoyance that Sakura couldn't help but recall Syaoran's sisters whom she had only met once before. "Calls for congratulations was all well and good but my sisters were practically harassing me. My parents gave me a call too."

Sakura stiffened after hearing this. She never met Syaoran's parents but she can only imagine how intimidating that sort of meeting will be when it comes.

He must have felt her because he pulled back to look at her.

"They congratulated me too. They said they wanted to meet you," he told her with a grin.

"I don't think I can handle meeting the founders of Li Corp.," she admitted in a nervous voice.

"You won't be meeting the founders of Li Corp., you'll be meeting my parents," he corrected and brushed his hand against her cheek. "And that won't happen any time soon so you can relax."

January…

February…

Time flew. Literally… or that's how it felt to Sakura.

Though Syaoran said she wouldn't be meeting Syaoran's parents anytime soon, he was wrong. The renowned president of Li Corp. along with his wife had flown in to spend New Year's Eve with Syaoran, Sakura, and- to Syaoran's annoyance –his four sisters who too had flown in around the exact same time when they heard of their parents' plans.

The Li family reunion wasn't as overwhelming as Sakura had thought. But it was probably because they had spent their time together in a regular setting within Syaoran's flat.

Syaoran had said that it would do no one any good to be caught in public. Li Corp.'s president, vice-president (something Sakura didn't even know until Yelan Li mentioned the stress the job was giving her), and five of the company's CEOs in public together? It's like asking for a death wish and the media will surely have a field day. He also expressed that he lacked enough security to accompany their group anywhere and it was too short notice to call in more and the present season and events only made it impossible. So they settled to having a small party in his home instead. And although Sakura expressed how nerve wrecking the thought was, the actual thing wasn't all too bad in the end. Even better.

It felt like a normal family spending quality time together… as normal as it could be for a family who owned and ran a renowned and successful business empire anyway.

Mr. and Mrs. Li weren't only expectedly well-mannered, but quite friendly as well and not at all stuck-up as what Sakura would have expected from the elite. Syaoran's sisters were also as wonderful as they were back when Sakura first met them, even better and more natural without the restrictions and expectations of watching eyes. Even the beloved family dog his parents brought with them, an adorable and well-trained, snow white Shih Tzu, by the name of Yin, was lovely. The canine also seemed to seal the portrait of a "perfect family" for Sakura that she ended up crying her eyes out and embracing Yin (to the surprise of the entire Li family, including Syaoran).

Besides making an embarrassing spectacle of herself, Sakura was grateful for the experience. It made her miss her father who was her original and only family for a long time but now the thought of being married into Syaoran's large and happy family made her glad as well.

But now, it was nearing the end of February. And now they had another matter at hand to deal with.

"So what do you think?" Syaoran asked looking unsure which was rare to see on his usually composed and confident face.

"Married in a month?" Sakura echoed disbelievingly. She was more surprised than anything else. "I'm not saying it isn't okay with me, but why so soon?"

"Well, why not?"

She raised her brows. Surely that wasn't his actual defense for her question.

Syaoran chuckled. "Okay, okay… It's because my sisters have been making their own plans since New Year's."

"Plans?"

"For our wedding," he answered with a sigh. "And their plans have only gotten more and more extravagant. I'm sure you wouldn't want your own wedding to be planned out for you right? Of course, if you actually want a grand wedding with thousands of guests, I wouldn't mind. It's your wedding too of-"

"No," Sakura spoke up immediately and sounding horrified.

Having thousands of guests was something she definitely didn't want her own wedding to have. If anything, all she ever envisioned in her wedding was a quaint garden ceremony with immediate friends and family. And it wasn't like she had much of both at any rate. The last of her family was gone and the only friend she could think of inviting as well as acting as her maid of honor was Tomoyo.

"Of course, I also want to marry you as soon as possible," Syaoran continued. "I wouldn't want to get married in a rush just because of my meddlesome family," he reassured.

Sakura couldn't help but smile. "What day did you have in mind?"

"March thirty first," he answered immediately which only proved to Sakura that he had thought about this quite a bit.

"Why that date specifically?"

"Several reasons. The main reason being it's predicted that in Tokyo this year, the thirty first is when the first cherry blossoms will bloom. It's only fitting, don't you think?" he asked with a grin. "Second is because your birthday is the day after. We can drop by Tomoeda and your father's grave before we head out for our honeymoon."

She fell silent as he said this. Syaoran really had thought all this through, more so than she had. It wasn't like she was satisfied being engaged for a while, but because she was afraid of messing anything up by being too forceful of any wedding details. She already felt bad about her primary intentions of going after Syaoran after all, even if it all ended up in actual and mutual love between them.

"So what do you think?" he asked once again.

"I think I'm the luckiest girl in the world," she admitted and rested her palms on the sides of his face. "And that you're the best man a girl could ever ask for."

He couldn't help the boyish grin on his face.

"I love you," she confessed with all the emotions she felt at that moment and planted a soft and gentle kiss on his lips. "And yes, I think your plan is perfect."

"Whattttt?!"

Syaoran massaged his temples and tried with all his might to be patient as a tirade of protests filled the air in his office. His sisters had- as he expected –launched into a series of complaints.

He had just informed them of the plans of his wedding with Sakura at the end of that month and they weren't happy and he knew it was because it rendered all their planning useless.

"But Xiao Lang! We finally just agreed to it!"

"Yes, we finally agreed on it Xiao Lang. So don't just pull this kind of news!"

The use of his Chinese name only proved how serious they were and it only exasperated him further.

"Your ceremony was to be set in Guam with the reception in Hong Kong!"

"After that, you'll fly over to Singapore for a day before heading to Paris to stay for a week of romance!"

"And after that, you'll have the option of heading north to-"

"Enough!" Syaoran cut in to which silence immediately followed.

"Girls, its Syaoran and Sakura's wedding. They have the right to decide what they want to do."

"Thank you, father," he said with a sigh. "As I said, the ceremony will take place here in Tokyo on the thirty first. I'm telling you now so you can clear your schedules early enough to attend. It's going to be a small garden ceremony with only close friends and family. So please don't disclose this information to anyone else."

"But of course!"

"Thank you." He said this distinctively as if to point out just how grateful he was that everything's settled. "That's all I want to tell you all. So I hope Sakura and I will see you on that day."

"Oh! And Syaoran, do ask Sakura for me if she would like for Yin to bear the rings during your ceremony. She seemed to really adore him."

This suggestion wasn't actually a bad idea. Yin was very well trained too so it wouldn't be a problem to have him walk down the aisle with the ring pillow tied to his back.

Just imagining the look on Sakura's face during the ceremony when the priest asks for the rings and the dog appearing was enough to convince him it really was a good idea.

"We don't have to tell her, mother. Let's make it a surprise. Please bring Yin with you when you come."

"Alright then!"

The sisters giggled, probably imagining Sakura's happily crying face again.

"Alright then, I'll see you all soon. Goodbye for now," Syaoran said in farewell to which his sisters exclaimed a unified and excited "Tsai tsien!" before they hung up and his parents said their more calmly goodbyes before they too ended the conference call.

Syaoran leaned back against his chair in relief. The hardest part (in his opinion) was finally over. If his father hadn't said what he did, he was sure the quadruplets would nag at him for days so he was inwardly very grateful for what he did.

There were three weeks left until the ceremony. He had helped Sakura as much as possible by hiring the best wedding planner he could find and a couple of assistants- more than she needed according to her –so the planning will go faster and more smoothly. They didn't exactly have a lot of preparation time but he figured it was more than enough for a small garden wedding which Sakura herself wanted.

If he thought that Sakura wanted something more extravagant, then he wouldn't have initially suggested the March 31st date but somehow knew that wasn't something she would've wanted anyway.

Syaoran smiled. The sooner he was married to her, the happier he will be. He wasn't exactly in a hurry himself, but just the thought of having her married to him gave him a more pleasant and happy feeling than what he originally expected when he finally got engaged with Sakura.

Who would've known that marriage was something that appealed to him this much? Life with Sakura had certainly brought out a lot of pleasant surprises in him.

"Ah! Dr. Hiirgizawa!"

Eriol looked back at the reception area where one of the ladies behind the counter was looking his way.

"Yes?"

"A man in a suit came to see you but you weren't around. I told him to just sit in the lounge by your office if he wanted to wait."

"I see. Thank you." His office was on the ground floor so it didn't take long for him to see who his visitor was. The moment his eyes landed on him, the man in question had looked up and Eriol gestured for him to come with him.

The man who was wearing dark sunglasses and a hat along with his suit followed him into the office without a word.

"You should seriously stop dressing that way. You do know you get more attention instead if you insist on wearing sunglasses and a hat indoors?" Eriol pointed out as he took off his coat to hang it on the rack by his desk and took down the white lab coat next to it in return.

"Yes, of course," the man nodded but didn't give any indication of taking any of it off.

"I was expecting to hear from you sooner," Eriol admitted.

"It wasn't easy. I had to do a lot of digging."

"I only asked about the will he left behind though."

"Yes but other things came up regarding the late Mr. Kinomoto as I was trying to find out about the will. Things I was sure would also interest you."

"Other things?" Eriol echoed. "What other things?"

To this, a manila envelope was handed to him. At first glance, it was clear that it wasn't just a will inside because it was thick. There was clearly a thick stack of papers enclosed inside.

Eriol took it without question and pulled out its contents.

"Take a seat Akiyama-san," he said and gestured to one of two chairs in front of his desk.

"Thank you."

Silence filled the room after that as Eriol went through the many papers that were inside. It was all impressive, was what Eriol thought, but he didn't see why he would be interested in records of Fujitaka Kinomoto's many assets and properties.

As if the confused look on his face was what Koutarou Akiyama was waiting for, he immediately started to explain. Eriol listened to him as he explained the numbers in the file but the look on his face still showed that he didn't understand the point of it all.

"In short," Akiyama said in a finalized tone, "Fujitaka Kinomoto left 300 million yen behind when he passed away."

Eriol's brows shot up immediately. Although the number wasn't anything close to the amount of money he knew companies even like his were used to handling, it was still a very much impressive amount especially since this all came from a singular person's hard work.

"What happened to the money?" he asked automatically.

"It's in a bank in Tomoeda. And it is conveniently run by Fujitaka Kinomoto's friend of many years, a man by the name of Nao Morita."

"Morita?" Eriol echoed. "I guess Sakura was telling the truth."

"Sir?"

Eriol shook his head. "And, what else? Is his account still active? I mean, he already passed away. Instructions should have been given to transfer it to his immediate family."

"I made an inquiry about that. I didn't get much of the details since it was confidential. My source said that there were pending plans on transferring Fujitaka Kinomoto's account to his daughter, a Ms. Sakura Kinomoto. But there was also a set deadline."

"Deadline?"

Akiyama nodded. "The deadline is actually set the day after tomorrow, on her 27th birthday on April 1st. I didn't get any more useful information but apparently Fujitaka Kinomoto's account will be dissolved after that date. I didn't get any information as to where the money will end up by then."

This didn't entirely make sense to Eriol. From what he overheard from Tomoyo's conversation with Sakura months back, it sounded as if Sakura had to get married for some reason. And from what Tomoyo mentioned during the Christmas party, Sakura had some trouble with her father's will. Now, he just found out that a huge sum of money will probably be given to Sakura or to some other person or people.

Thinking of the details in that manner, a conclusion finally formed inside Eriol's head. But it wasn't a good one. He can only assume for now but from what he gathered, it sounded like Sakura had to be married to get her father's money.

But if that were true, wouldn't it be easier to marry some random guy instead? At least someone a lot easier than Syaoran? If Sakura still went for Syaoran regardless of these conditions, it meant that Sakura really did love Syaoran from the start. Sure it wasn't a nice thing to rush a marriage for money, but at least she wasn't exactly using Syaoran.

'Still…' Eriol thought, his brows furrowing now as he thought about it further.

Sakura still could've just married someone else, get the money, file for divorce, and if she really did have feelings for Syaoran, go after him afterwards, right? That was the easiest and safest way to go about it. So why had she been adamant about Syaoran from the start? Although it certainly was proven possible now, the risk was still there before. The risk of not getting married to Syaoran before her birthday was high, so the risk of not getting her father's money was high. But she still went for Syaoran anyway.

"Why?" Eriol found himself muttering as he absentmindedly looked at the file in front of him.

Then a sudden thought came to mind.

"Akiyama-san, do you have the name of Fujitaka's lawyer?" The lawyer was the only one Eriol could think of that must know all the details of the will.

The other man pointed at one of the first few pages which held personal information about Sakura's father.

"I tried giving him a call too but as expected, he wouldn't give me any details."

Eriol sighed in disappointment but it wasn't like he actually expected a lawyer to reveal confidential information easily anyway. He scanned the pages and saw it written on the top of the third page and it even had the man's contact information written beneath it.

"Kentaro Hashimoto," Eriol read out loud.

Author's Note:

Tsai tsien - means "Goodbye" in Chinese

Hmmm... Besides that, there's nothing else I need to clarify right?

So for now, Ja ne!

Raeny