Hey guys. What's up? I'm sorry for taking so long. Lack of inspiration has really taken a toll. I'll try to get another update up around Christmas time, but I'm not making any promises. That's about all I have to say for now. Enjoy.

Something of Yours

Chapter 15

The Past

Bubbly squeals of excitement bounded throughout the Daidouji manor. Syaoran watched, perplexed, as Tomoyo grabbed Eriol's hands and began bouncing up and down rapidly like a Mexican Jumping Bean. He watched, not really paying attention, as the various occupants in the room grew accustomed to the news he had just shared with them.

A girl.

He was going to have a daughter.

That was the only thought floating around his brain; he was having a daughter! He still hadn't managed to wipe the silly grin off his face that had spread when he was in the doctor's office.

A daughter…

"…you there? Syaoran? Syaoran!"

Syaoran snapped out of his daze, snapping his head toward his mother. She looked grim; that expression successfully wiped any feeling of giddiness from him. His innards turned cold, already guessing what his mother wanted to speak to him about. "Yes?"

"You know what this means, correct?"

Syaoran blinked. "What?"

The corner of Yelan's mouth quirked up into a smile. "Your father is worried about a son. You know this, correct?"

The gears in Syaoran's head began to turn. "Yeah…?" This wasn't good.

"He is unlikely to believe us when we say that the child is a girl."

"I know…"

"He will likely attempt to take measures to ensure that the child is never born."

"I know. I already told Sakura."

Yelan sighed. "The best we can do now is keep an eye on Sakura and hope that all goes well. I shall call your father. Perhaps you should go and speak to Sakura again."

OoOoOoOoOoO

Mr Li hung up the phone slowly, calmly. His wife had just told him the most cunning lie. The whore's child was a girl, indeed! If she thought that her husband would fall for that ridiculous lie, she had another thing coming. He knew better; no son of his would sire a daughter before a son! It was just not possible. Unheard of. There was no way that the slut's kid was a girl. Simple as that.

Eyeing the manila folders on the table, he sipped his coffee. He had there, in front of him, all that there was to know about the girl and her family. Her grandfather, for instance, was a renowned archaeologist, as was her father; both still taught in universities, though separate ones. Each had a published work of their own, both on the ancient tombs of Egypt, though different Pharaohs. Her mother, while now deceased, had once been a well-known model. It was rather curious, though, that there were no records of a cause of death for the young model, who had perished shortly after her daughter's eighth birthday.

The girl's older brother, Kinomoto Touya, was living on-campus at Toudai and attending seminars in order to become a doctor. Interesting. He was also listed as the divorcee of Mizuki Kaho – the marriage was dissolved due to 'irreconcilable differences', and they had no children – and current de-facto partner to one Tsukishiro Yukito, also studying at Toudai to become an elementary school counsellor. Very interesting…

The folder on Kinomoto Sakura herself was the most interesting to him, though. At the age of ten, just two ears after losing her mother, she took up part-time children's modelling. This continued until age thirteen, when her father had them move house due to the old man that was stalking her, claiming that they were having a relationship. Living in constant fear of the man for a year, things began to relax for them, and she began to attend public schooling.

Mr Li's eyes lingered on the name of the man who had stalked the Kinomoto girl.

Interesting…

It was with a grim smile that Mr Li picked up the phone and dialled a number. Smirking with satisfaction, he waited for the dial tone to cease. It took perhaps ten seconds before it was answered by a wheezing, old voice. "Hello, Hamada Osamu speaking. How may I help you?"

"Mr Hamada?" Mr Li inquired, earning a grunt of acknowledgement from the other end. "This is Li Xiao Chen, head of the Li Clan in Hong Kong, China."

The sounds of scuffling and murmured cursing on the other end were almost comical to Mr Li. "Ah… ah… y-yes? How may I help you, Mr Li?"

"I was wondering if, perhaps, you have ever heard of the child model, Kinomoto Sakura?" He asked smoothly, knowing full well that, indeed, the old man knew of the child.

"Ah, yes!" Mr Li could almost hear the man nodding through the bad reception. "Yes, we are dating. She seems to enjoy playing with me, though; I haven't seen her since the last time she was on the news. Hah! Those people know nothing! That child is mine!"

Mr Li's eye twitched. The man was an imbecile. But still, he forcibly reminded himself, he would be imperative to his success. "I assume you would like to know where to find her?" He asked, false concern ringing in his voice. The old man on the other end fumbled again, murmuring curses and other non-flattering things. "I could tell you, if you like. You could finally claim her back and take responsibility for your child."

"Oh, I would like that very much!" The old man cheered. "Tell me, do you know where to find my precious little flower and our pending seedling?"

Mr Li's eye twitched again. "Yes. Have you heard of a place called Tomoeda, in central Japan?" The man made an 'uh-huh' sound. "You may find Miss Kinomoto there. I do not know her exact address, but I think, if you looked hard enough, you would be able to spot her."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" The man was ecstatic. "How can I ever repay you for-"

Mr Li hung up.

Now, let the games begin.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Sakura was twirling a pencil in her hand, scribbling names down and erasing them at random. Ever since she had gotten home from the clinic that afternoon, she'd been thinking up names for her child. So far, her favourites were 'Akiko', 'Kumiko', and 'Hanako'. She knew it was still too early, but she was off in her own little world, blissfully ignorant of the fact that she was the only person in the house.

She was started, to say the least, at the knock on the door. Putting the pad and pencil aside, she padded over to the front door, looking out the curtain to see Syaoran looking over his shoulder at some joggers on the opposite side of the room. Frowning, Sakura opened the door a fraction of an inch. "Can I help you, Syaoran?" She all but demanded.

He winced. "I was… er… I was hoping we could talk?"

She paused for a moment, considering his proposition. Her mind flashed back to earlier that day, when she had asked him to join her and Meiling at the clinic. She allowed a small smile, and opened the door. "Come on in. I'll make some hot chocolate." She chirped, remembering that he had once confided in her that it was his favourite drink in a semi-drunken stupor – not unlike the one that had landed them in their current predicament, though they were not nearly as sloshed. Surprised that she had remembered that little detail, he blushed and stepped inside, hanging up his coat.

Sakura murmured something about being in the kitchen as she raced off. Syaoran meandered into the living room, making himself comfortable on the couch. He awkwardly sat there, playing with his fingers, darting his eyes around the room, until a small pad of paper and a pencil caught his eye. Picking it up and reading it, he had to consciously suppress the broad grin that threatened to break out across his face. Glancing around to ensure that Sakura was no longer in the room, he scribbled down two names – one Japanese, the other Chinese.

"So, what's up?" Sakura asked, coming back in with a tray of hot chocolate and chocolate cake. Syaoran had only just replaced the pad and pencil on the couch as he turned to offer a hand to her; she merely shrugged it off and sat down on the armchair across from him, slicing the cake.

Syaoran had to do a double take. Sakura had swept her hair up into a messy bun, with small tendrils of hair falling to frame her eyes. Eyes which were, at the moment, calm and happy as they gazed at him. Something he had never, ever, seen in her eyes when they were directed at himself. His heart swelled, wondering how on earth she was affecting him now, of all times. Why not before, when they still had the chance for a real relationship?

"My mother suggested I come speak to you." He accepted his beverage and cake with a small 'thanks'. "She said that my father didn't believe that it's – she's – a girl."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sakura sat back. "I hope my baby didn't inherit the 'stupid gene' from your family, Syaoran." She teased. He wanted to correct her and say that it was 'their baby', but didn't really want to risk their new, tenuous – dare he think it…? – friendship. Such a correction was likely to risk any form of fragile understanding that they had reached shattering into a million pieces.

"Let's hope she inherits her mother's brains, then." He winked cheekily, "…and her father's looks."

Sakura paused for a second. It took her a grand total of five seconds before she began choking on her hot chocolate, laughing. Syaoran thought it was pretty cute; even the part where a little dribble of the liquid had run out of her nose from snorting so hard. "Oh… oh…! Sakura laughed. "Oh my Kami!" She slapped her knee. "That's a good one, Syaoran!"

Her laughter was infectious; Syaoran soon found himself laughing at his own little joke, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. It took them a few moments to come back to themselves. By the time they had calmed themselves, it had been ten minutes. Sakura collapsed backward, leaning on the back of her chair, a small chuckle escaping her every now and again.

They made small talk for a little while, finding each other's company not as repulsive as they had once thought. They did get over a rather heated debate regarding Tomoyo and Eriol, but otherwise they got along just fine. Almost like friends would. There was still an awkwardness that one would share with a former partner or lover – the kind where one couldn't help but have brief flashbacks to their time together – but both were wise to ignore the slight reddening of the other's cheeks or slight stumbling over words. Sakura found herself enjoying Syaoran's company – a feat in and of itself.

They watched television for a while, Sakura moving to sit next to Syaoran in order to better see the screen. It was some anime about a gender-changing guy. Sakura could follow it better than Syaoran, often explaining to him what was going on during the ad breaks.

"So, he turns into a she when he's hit with cold water? And they still call 'her' a guy?" Syaoran clarified.

"Mhmm." Sakura nodded, having watched the series a few years ago, when she was younger. "And then when he's hit with hot water, he turned back into a guy again."

"Weird." Syaoran laughed, remembering to take note of the title; it seemed that Sakura really enjoyed the series – he was thinking of buying it for her to watch in the later stages of her pregnancy. "Do you have any copies of it?" He asked suddenly, the show ending and switching to a different series; Sakura promptly turned the television off.

"Nah, I could never find a place that sold them." Her voice held a small tone of regret. It was her favourite series growing up, and she had never been able to find a copy of it elsewhere. "Why?"

"Just wondering." He shrugged. "It was… interesting, for lack of a better term."

"You can say that again."

Syaoran glanced at the clock. Half past eleven. He grimaced. "'Spose I'd better go. S'gettin' late." He yawned.

"I guess." Sakura yawned too. "'Night, Syaoran." She murmured, walking him to the door. "Ill see ya 'round."

"Bye." He gave her a two-fingered wave as he left, shutting the door behind him.

Sakura smiled to herself, going into the other room to clean up the tray she had neglected to put away earlier. Midway through clearing the table, her eyes caught the writing pad, still on the couch, and the writing on it that was, most definitely, not hers. Figuring that Syaoran had scribbled something down, she picked it up to read it.

A Japanese name, and a Chinese name. Sakura smiled as her little girl moved inside her tummy, as if in approval of the two names laid out by her father. He had good taste in names, Sakura decided.

Emi; 'beautiful blessing'.

Xiu; 'beautiful'.

N'awww! How sweet! I think Syaoran has good taste in names, don't you?

I hope this chapter is up to standard. I wrote most of it in one sitting, and I really couldn't be bothered to read it over again. I've re-read it once; I'm so bored with it right now, and I just wanted to get it over and done with.

Oh yeah, and the anime I referenced in here was Ranma ½. I highly suggest you look into it; it's hella funny, and cute in places. . I also don't own it. It is the property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Sakura's Pregnancy: 19 weeks.

Feedback is adored.