AN: Heres a little present for the SxS lovers out there, enjoy it, cause its the last SxS yumminess that you will see for a while. If you're lucky, maybe you'll even get a chapter weekly for the next couple weeks.

Chapter 14: Reconciliation

A groggy Sakura was gently roused from her sleep. She was still physically and magically exhausted. It was Yue who had woken her. His brow was furrowed and his lips pressed tightly together in a worried expression that was a rare sight considering his usual stern but emotionless expression. Keroberos was next to them, staring angrily at the council. He had not yet forgotten the trials his mistress had faced in this room.

They were at the Li mansion in front of the council of elders. The Americans where there as well. Behind each of them was a man outfitted in a Li uniform. She suspected that they were some sort of ceremonial guard detail. Each one bore a tightly fitting silk shirt with a high Chinese collar and a tasseled coat with wide flowing sleeves and a tail the reached almost down to the floor. At their waists were silver guarded swords in the fashion of European rapiers in black lacquered sheathes marked with gold trim. The right arm of each man had a band of gold-embroidered green cloth that displayed the yin-yang.

Li Xiao Fang was looking at Sakura. His stern gaze didn't stray from her until she had shakily straightened herself up and returned it. Yue was carefully holding her shoulders so that she would not sway or topple over.

"Sakura, I am going to ask you a question. I know you have expended every ounce of your power and need to rest, so please answer completely and truthfully. Do these men pose a danger to the Li clan." His eyes were like black pools of dreadful emptiness as they bore into her, demandingly. Sakura knew that the secrecy of the Li clan was important, and that in some cases they would kill to maintain it. She had not witnessed this herself, but had heard about it in the morning lessons as the Elders talked about the history of the clan. Her words could save the men before her, or sentence them to death. She tried to think, but her mind was clouded with drowsiness.

"They aren't a threat!" she finally said, hoping that it was the answer she needed. The fire in the brazier at the center of the room flared with a burst of red flame. That wasn't a good sign. "I mean, that I don't think they have any reason to try and hurt us." The fire remained calm.

"Then it is decided unanimously. They know too much to be allowed to leave." Sakura's eyes widened in shock. Before she could protest, the elder continued, "Their memories will be erased, after their leader," he glanced towards the man called Captain Black, "Writes a sufficiently convincing report."

"What about Jade?" Sakura asked.

"For now, she will have an inhibition spell placed on her and she will begin Li training to be planted in the American's Section Thirteen. If she resists, she will have her memories erased as well."

Sakura sighed in relief. While losing a day of memories was not a good thing for the men, it was far better than some of the possibilities she had imagined. The Americans, luckily, either did not understand or they had the sense not to say anything for fear of making their situation worse. She had expected Jade to at least make some comment about it. She waited. Jade wasn't here. Maybe they were letting her rest, or had already removed her to the training facility.

"It's over, you need some rest," Kero told her. Sakura nodded in agreement. She took a stumbling step towards the door. "I'll carry you to your room."

With Yue's help, Sakura ended up lying astride Kero's back, loosely gripping the fur of his chest. She dozed off while he carried her.

It seemed like she had not been out for more than a few seconds before she heard Syaoran's concerned voice. His hand touched her shoulder and she flinched violently, falling off Kero and onto the floor.

"Sorry!" He withdrew sullenly. She already looked so tired; he didn't want to cause her any more distress.

Sakura rubbed her eyes and yawned. She knew she had to confront this feeling sooner or later. It was better to get it over with. She grabbed a handful of Kero's fur and used him to help herself get to her feet. She wobbled slightly as if drunk as she stood.

"We've got to stop this," she slurred tiredly. She shuffled towards the bed, removing her shirt. She tossed it carelessly aside and then began fumbling with the clasp of her bra. Soon, it was discarded as well. She collapsed forward onto the bed. "Maybe if you make me feel good, my body will remember that instead." She had just wrestled a super strong Ox spirit and lost, so not only was her magic exhausted, but her muscles were tired and sore as well.

Syaoran's hand touched her back and Sakura's body tightened up. Her hands dug into and gripped the fabric of the comforter tightly. He stopped, allowing her to relax again. His hands began to gently move up and down, delicately following the curve of her back, looping over her shoulders and back to where he'd started. Before Sakura realized what had happened, he was kneeling astride her on the bed and putting his whole body into long smooth strokes along her skin.

Sakura's body was no longer tense. Syaoran's hands began to firmly knead the muscles around her neck. She sighed contentedly into the blankets. Her body was accepting his touch now, and it felt good. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck – he inhaled deeply as if he could breathe her in. She couldn't stifle a giggle. The breath tickled.

His warm hands traced the path of her arms, wrapping around Sakura's from behind. His lips began to trace the back of her collarbone. She moaned contentedly and he nuzzled the valley of her neck. Her head rolled over into the crook of his arm. A few moments later, she was asleep, gently drooling on his sleeve as she snored.

Tomoyo gazed out her window and sighed. Her life was dull. Her sewing kit and camera sat idly upon her dresser. It had been a whole dull day where Hiiragizawa had not interfered with her in some way. His house was easily visible. She looked at it, wondering if something was going to happen soon. The house loomed up at the end of the street and seemed to call out to her saying, 'Come and see what torments I have for you today.'

She leaned back and stroked her hair. The ribbon and bead that he had placed there had not budged and the braid would not unravel. She had tugged mercilessly at it for over an hour, but could not so much as remove a single loop of the braid. She had considered cutting the whole thing off, but it would have left a conspicuous bald spot. She suspected that even then, the ribbon would remain attached to her. The spell that held it there was masterfully crafted; it even drained the water off after she bathed.

Tomoyo turned away from the window and saw her reflection in a mirror. The ribbon looked very nice. It matched her eyes perfectly and the darker color of the bead seemed to provide a bridge of color to her hair. It looked like it should naturally be there. It was almost too perfect. She began to think that it was perhaps another spell to keep her from trying to remove it. Her brow furrowed in annoyance. Two could play at that game. She grabbed her sewing kit and some fabric and began working furiously.

An hour later, her creation was finished. She had not expected it to happen so quickly. She now held in her hands a black leather collar. It was studded every half inch with nickel-plated metal stars. The stitches around the edge of the collar were in shining silver thread. The front was circular, larger than the band of the collar. Embroidered there in gold was the best rendition she could make of Eriol's magic circle. And her favorite part of it was a metal trick buckle on the back. He could never open it without knowing the secret of the mechanism. She smirked deviously. Now all she had to do was get him to put it on.

Tomoyo grabbed a sweater, and then headed out into the chill of the early evening. She glanced around, expecting him to be waiting for her to appear. He wasn't there. She walked cautiously to his house. Nothing jumped out at her. She could see the lights were on in the kitchen. Nakuru and Spinnel were there, fighting over a large bowl. The was light coming from another room of the house, but the curtains were drawn and Tomoyo could not see in.

She walked up to the door and reached out towards the doorbell. She decided against pressing it. If he thought he could just waltz into her room at any time of the day or night, then there was no reason she shouldn't be able to do the same to him. She grabbed the handle. It turned and the door opened easily and silently as if it was freshly oiled.

The air smelt slightly musty. This came as no surprise considering how long it had been since anyone had lived in the house, but everything looked sparkling clean. Even the thick rugs on the hardwood floors were free of any stray fibers, better than any vacuum cleaner could achieve.

She headed towards the room that she had noticed from outside. Along the way, Tomoyo admired the majestic oil paintings in carved wooden frames. The portraits all showed regal looking men and women in dark robes. Many of the figures in the portraits were bespectacled and their eyes seemed to follow her. They all had haughty and disdainful expressions as if they thought her presence would infect them with some horrible disease. Others, like a man whose portrait was labeled Fei Wong Reed, seemed much less imposing, but seemed untrustworthy, as if they were plotting something behind her back. Almost all of them bore the name Reed.

Tomoyo came upon a living room. It was lit by antique brass fixtures which looked like they had originally held candles rather than the light bulbs that now adorned their sockets. The room had a large fireplace and a bay window. Several book cases that lined the walls, filled with thick volumes addressing many subjects. In the center of the room was a red armchair with an extremely high back. It seemed almost like a comfortable version of a throne. Eriol was sprawled awkwardly on this chair, immersed in, of all things, Harry Potter.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" His wand appeared and he waved it, but nothing happened. He sighed despondently and continued reading.

Tomoyo walked up to him and leaned over. Her hair fell forward and blocked his sight of the book. He looked surprised, and then grinned.

"Only one day. I didn't think you'd miss me so soon..." He snapped the book shut and made it levitate over to the bookshelf using his own spell instead of the one he'd read in the book. He smiled slyly, "This is unexpected." He seemed both delighted and perturbed at the same time.

"I made you something to thank you for this," she stroked the braid and ribbon, "Why don't you try it on?" She dangled the collar in front of his face. He grabbed it and snapped it on without hesitation.

"How do I look?" he asked. He undid the top button of his shirt to better show off the accessory. "A mirror!" With a wave of his wand a mirror appeared and he posed.

"You look like a dog," she said flatly.

"Handsome, loyal, friendly, and strong," he gasped in mock astonishment, "That is too nice of you. You know what would go great with this? A robe."

"Then you could fly around on a broom yelling about Voldemort's return?"

"Exactly! Everyone would love it." Eriol turned and yelled towards the door, "Spinnel, get in here!"

Moments later, the small, black, cat-like creature sped through the doorway to heed his master's call. "What is it?" He looked on edge and ready to fight at any moment.

"Look what Tomoyo made me!" Eriol said cheerily. Spinnel's eyebrow twitched.

"I'm going to make sure Nakuru doesn't burn down the house," he said and turned, intending to return to the kitchen.

"You have to try it!" Eriol called out, halting the magical beast.

Tomoyo watched as his hand went to the back of his neck. Now was the time for him to realize her revenge. She held her breath to contain her excitement and watched his fingerscome to rest on the clasp.

She was completely baffled when he removed the collar singlehandedly. It took her both hands and some fiddling to accomplish the same thing, and she knew what she was doing.

Eriol snapped the collar around Spinnel's belly. On its tightest fitting, it was just small enough. "Now don't you look handsome, Suppi."

Tomoyo scowled irritably as Spinnel tried and failed to remove the collar. Her plan had been a complete failure. This time she was the one who turned to leave. Eriol grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"You came all the way over here to give me a present. What kind of host would I be if I didn't at least cook you dinner?" Clouds of smoke began drifting into the room, "I assure you that I am much better at it than Nakuru."

Tomoyo sighed and relented.

Sakura stood before the ancient water shrine. Everything was silent. Wings flared above the shrine.

"Yue?" She asked. No, it wasn't him. Others were there. All of them were bathed in shadow except for one. The middle figure carried a golden staff in one hand, and was sitting on the peak of the shrine roof. Wrapped in his arms, a body was plainly visible. The pale skin was motionless, as though she was dead.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura ran forward, but a barrier blocked her way.

"Soon..." The shadowed figure said as he cradled Tomoyo's body, "I will make everything right again. A bright flash of light stopped her from moving. She struggled valiantly, but could not budge.

The light disappeared and a pair of arms wrapped lovingly around her.

When Sakura woke up, it was early morning – very early. The alarm to remind them about the morning lessons would be sounding soon. She felt warm and safe in bed with Syaoran's arms wrapped tightly around her, his hand cupping her – Sakura blushed and then smiled. She had not intended to fall asleep in her current state of undress. She wondered if Syaoran knew what he had done in his sleep.

Sakura snuggled herself back, enjoying the press of his bare chest against her equally bare back. He must have removed his shirt before he had turned in for the night. Grabbing a quick feel behind her, Sakura determined that he was not wearing anything other than his boxer shorts, and she only her panties. She had conflicting feelings about whether to get up and get dressed before he woke up, or enjoy their current proximity. She decided on the former, urged on by embarrassment and fear that her brother would kill him if he ever found out.

Sakura tried to pull away from him. His arms tightened around her.

"No," Syaoran said childishly and nuzzled her neck. He was awake. The nuzzling tickled and Sakura squirmed and laughed. He gently nipped at her jawline. She twisted around so that she could face him. He rolled on top of her and kissed the tip of her nose. Sakura reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a deep kiss.

Syaoran pulled back, breathing heavily. He removed her hands from his neck and entwined her fingers with his own. He began to kiss down her jawline. He followed the line of her neck and she lifted her chin to give him better access. He worked his way downwards.

"Hoe!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise when Syaoran nipped at the sensitive tip of her nipple. He grinned excitedly at her reaction. He placed his lips over it–

"HOEE!" Sakura exclaimed and started violently as the alarm clock began to sound. Syaoran was knocked out of bed. He pulled Sakura and half the bed sheets with him into a tangled mess on the floor. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"You know, we should probably get up," Sakura said. She was lying on top of him and made no move to get up, instead she lay her head down upon his chest. "The elders are going to be even more irritated than usual since we missed yesterday's lessons too."

"Mmnm..." Syaoran mumbled, burying his face in her hair. They lay there for a few minutes before Sakura finally groaned and sat up, stretching her arms.

"I feel like I've been in bed forever," Sakura yawned. Syaoran watched her with a goofy smile on his face until she realized why he was looking at her like that. She squealed and flushed with embarrassment as she tried to cover herself with the sheets. She stood up and wrapped the sheets around herself like she was wearing a bath towel and then walked into the bathroom.

Syaoran watched Sakura go, admiring the way the sheets flowed around her body. She looked like some ancient Greek goddess. He didn't even try to follow her. After Sakura closed the door, he got up and headed to her room to fetch her clothes, contemplating asking the servants to move her dresser into his room to save them the trouble.

The morning started with a lecture, though not the one they expected.

"In one year, you will be married and leaders of this clan. That is a great responsibility, but you have a responsibility now as well. You must become as strong as you possibly can. As you get older, it becomes harder for your body to increase its magical energies. Soon you will reach the age where your magical power essentially stops growing, your mind stagnates and your body begins its slow decline. It is your responsibility to become as strong as you can for the good of the clan, and for the sake of your own futures," the elder said with just enough urgency to force them to listen, "The program we use is not purely for the sake of tradition. We have developed it over the course of centuries in the hopes that one day it will turn out sorcerers as powerful as Clow Reed. You two are by far the closest anyone has come in pure magical energy to his power."

Sakura and Syaoran nodded.

"Then get yourselves set, and fight!" the elder said, watching closely as they sparred. The two of them were almost on equal terms now that Syaoran's body had begun to recover its strength. If he continued at his current pace, he would soon be as sharp as he had been before.

"Fight harder!" Meiling easily parried Ryuuten's blows. After some initial discomfort, their interactions became orderly, following the traditional student-teacher dynamic.

"I'm giving you everything I've got!" Ryuuten grunted.

"No you aren't, you're thinking, trying to surprise me. Don't think about it, just do it!" Meiling caught his wrist and threw him to the ground. He rolled with the fall and leapt to his feet. "That's better, now try it again!" She threw him again, but this time she grabbed his leg as he tumbled and he slammed into the mat.

Ryuuten groaned. No matter how well he did, she just kept pushing him harder – and she wasn't pulling all of her punches.

"We only have a few more days!" Meiling yelled as she delivered a hammer kick to where his head would have been had he not rolled out of the way, "You aren't an undefeatable champion yet."

He scrambled to his feet, using every ounce of strength he had just to dodge the blows that were flying at him. A few scored glancing hits, but none of them were enough to knock him down. Then he saw an opening. He reacted.

"Nice." Meiling dodged and kneed him in the gut, "That should be good enough to win at this level of competition."

Ryuuten clutched his stomach in pain as Meiling backed up. Without her there to support him, he fell.

"Even if you're strong enough to win, don't let your guard down. It only takes one lucky hit to end a fight."

Ryuuten grunted. Her training was painful. Her praise was no more soothing.

"You're going to need to rest up so that you'll be at your best for the match." Meiling went to a shelf and picked up a binder full of hand drawn papers of new forms. "I made these myself. They're not what you're used to, because they are based on the Li style. Your opponents won't be ready for it either. I want you to master all of them before the tournament. It should give you an edge if there are any extra tough opponents there."

Tomoyo awoke to the sound of her piano playing. She knew who it was before she opened her eyes. The sunlight streamed through her window. It was late in the morning. Her alarm must have been turned off. She cracked her eyes open and glared at Eriol.

"You're awake," Eriol's tune became raucous and rousing as if inviting her to wake up and take on the day, "I hope you don't mind," he said, "But it seems that after a few hundred years, pianos become rather out of tune, Otherwise I would have used the one in my own home."

"What are you doing here?" Tomoyo asked. She could practically feel the mess of exploding batter that had interrupted their last encounter. She hated to admit it, but he was a competent chef, but he had relented to Nakuru's pleading and allowed her to help. She wasn't sure what had happened, but in a single moment, batter had gone from being in a bowl to coating every visible surface. Tomoyo was half certain that there was still some batter dangling in her tresses despite her attempts to wash it all away. In a way, Tomoyo was thankful to Nakuru for it. The mess had given her an excuse to go home and get away from Eriol. She cursed herself for ever thinking that her plan would work against him.

"Just a little invitation," Eriol said, "Theres something I want to see." He stopped playing and walked over to her. He handed her a ticket to a junior martial arts tournament. He smiled and ran a finger across his neck. He was wearing the collar she had made for him.