Chapter Four

Meet the Temporary Change

As soon as the moment let us,

We forget all our pain.

October 2019 – Tomoeda, Japan

Sakura started on her sport report of 300 pages, working by the small light of her mp3-player. A good subject refused to come up in her mind, and the dark surrounding were creeping her out more and more, with every minute that passed. She crossed all the uninteresting sports, when she heard an eerie sound which startled her immediately. The sound of metal against metal. She was scared of the first thought that entered her mind.

H-Hoe! The ghosts are coming for me!

She pushed the thought back. There are no ghosts! But something did come down through the dark shaft. Apparently the elevator wasn't as soundproof as she thought. She was glad that the trapdoor was closed, because whatever came down from up there, it couldn't immediately attack her now.

Something landed on top of the elevator with a dull sound, and she grabbed one of the heavy books from her bag. Frightened, she crawled back in the furthest corner, ready to attack, whatever was coming down for her.

It was silent for a while, until the trapdoor slowly moved out of place.

An eerie, vague light shone through it, creating shadows all around her.

She screamed…

A pair of hands became visible, followed by an old face.

Sakura quickly covered her mouth with her hands to silence her scream.

'Are you Sakura?' The man asked with a dull but friendly voice.

'Y-yes!' Sakura managed to squeak out that one word.

'I'm Chris, the technician. If you can give me your hands, I'll help you up.'

A deep sigh escaped Sakura's lips, and for a moment, she was scared that her knees wouldn't hold her any longer. But all was okay now... It was only the technician that came to look for her, not a creepy monster or an eerie ghost. What am I thinking? I'm saved!

It was already six o'clock, or somewhere around that time. She quickly put the heavy book in her schoolbag, hoping Chris didn't see that she planned to use it as a weapon. She picked up the rest of her belongings and went for the trapdoor.

The man motioned her to reach up with her hands, and Sakura did so, swallowing hard. Is it really save up there? She didn't want to ask that out loud, stupid as that would sound. The man lifted her up, and put her on top of the elevator. Sakura could just suppress a deep sigh of joy, as she saw the light the technician had brought. A short ladder was set against the wall, reaching the lift doors and she climbed it, eager to reach the bright light.

She had been in the dark for too many hours.

When she reached the top, various hands helped her out, into the light, and as she looked up, she Tomoyo already took her in an embrace. Her friends and some of the teachers, who were still at school when the rescue mission had started, were smiling worriedly at her, glad that she looked alright.

'Sakura-chan! I was so worried! Thank god you are alright! Are you alright?' Tomoyo hovered over her like a worried sick mother, as the rest of the group muttered their relieves. They were grateful that everything looked alright now, glad that they figured out that she was stuck in the elevator just in time for the weekend to start.

'I'm fine, Tomoyo-chan, just a bit shaken.' Sakura sounded more frightened than she wanted herself to sound, and she had to suppress the upcoming tears. '... and thirsty...' She just realized that she hadn't drunk anything for the past five hours or so, and somehow, the thought of water calmed her down a bit.

She got out, finally, but the stress that she had suppressed the entire time down there, threatened to take its toll. Her knees became weak again, and she thankfully leaned against Tomoyo, who somehow fully understood what she needed.

Tomoyo motioned Eriol to grab some water. 'I'm out of water.' Eriol replied, and he checked Tomoyo's bag for some water. 'And so are you.'

'That's alright, we'll just refill them then.' Tomoyo said, as she motioned Sakura to follow her to the drinking fountain.

'Let's get something to drink downtown too, okay? I think we could all use some distraction right now.' Chiharu said, as she hugged Sakura, comforting Sakura and herself at the same time.

Sakura nodded and the group made their leave, after thanking the technician and the teachers for their help. Mizuki-sensei, who had waited for Sakura to return on a solid floor, made her promise to come and visit her after the weekend when she had time, so she could tell them what had happened. Sakura secretly thanked her that she didn't have to do that right now.

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'Ah, they already let her out…' Tomiko said in emotionless tone, as she and Yoko were watching the group from their spot behind some bushes.

'At least she was down there for more than five hours.' Yoko sounded quite content about that. 'The plan could've backfired on us you know, if they had only found out sooner that the elevator was broken.'

'Hm, right… Guess we are really lucky then. Let's go.' They watched the group disappearing around the corner, before Tomiko made her way out of the bushes. She beeped her chauffeur to come here as fast as possible, so they could go back to her mansion, ready to break the news to her friends and celebrate the victorious outcome of her plan.

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'Here, you drive. I'm too tired.' Eriol threw the car keys.

Syaoran caught them, and opened Eriol's car. The girls, still hovering over Sakura, got in the back together with Yamazaki, and they drove away.

'It's good you found her phone. If not, who knows when we would have found her.' Eriol remarked from beside him, relaxing in the front seat.

'Coincidence. Which reminds me, I still need to give it back.' He thought of the phone, which lay in his pocket. He looked in the mirror, and saw Sakura in deep conversation with Tomoyo and Chiharu. They sat on each others lap, because the car was too small for eight people. Maybe it was better to give it to her after she calmed down a bit.

'Ah, and that reminds me, how is Meilin doing?' Eriol asked, noticing the others weren't paying any attention to them, so he could finally talk to Syaoran.

Syaoran wondered for a moment how the phone could remind Eriol of his cousin. 'She's fine, I guess. I called her last night, but I didn't really ask her.'

A grin appeared on Eriol's face. 'But is that not the reason you call her in the first place?'

'Not really, I call her because she gets mad if I don't. Besides, she only has love-problems.'

This made Eriol laugh. 'Let me guess, Ryu is still not giving her attention. It wouldn't surprise me if he still flirts with other girls.'

'Right, I guess I don't need to tell you then.' A small hint of a smile played on the corners of his lips.

'Maybe we should invite him over someday, so we can tell him what he does wrong.' Eriol sniggered at the thought. They both knew that Ryu had certain feelings for Meilin, but somehow managed to never show it to her, and instead flirt away with all the other girls. Alright, maybe that was their fault, and not Ryu's.

A light began to shine in Syaoran's eyes. 'Meilin is coming with the autumn holidays.' The hint was clear as ever.

'Really, well it is just a coincidence then, that I'm asking Ryu to come over at the same time. I mean, you asking Meilin, and I asking Ryu, that really hasn't anything to do with each other, right?' He pushed his glasses up his nose, as a mischievous look appeared in his eyes.

'Right, then let's bring our two old buddies over, shall we?' Syaoran gave Eriol a high-five as they remembered their childhood. Back then, they also used to do these things for their friends.

Meanwhile, Sakura had stopped listening to Tomoyo. The conversation was more between her and Chiharu anyway, so it wasn't really necessary for her to listen. Sakura understood that her friends had worried, and that they wanted to know all the details, but she couldn't really find herself in the mood for that now.

Instead, she listened to the conversation between Eriol and Syaoran. This was the first time she had seen him in a real conversation. The first time she noticed he was somehow the same as the other students of their age.

The car stopped, and everybody got out. Or actually, when Eriol opened the backdoor, Chiharu promptly fell off Yamazaki's lap, onto the floor outside the car.

'Ouch!' Chiharu rubbed her head, as Yamazaki was laughing his head off, but at the same time was nice enough to help her up.

Sakura smiled as she got out. This was what she needed right now. Some normal actions and humor.

'Thought that would make you smile.' Eriol said from beside her. She smiled at him. 'Yes, thank you, Eriol-kun.'

The group walked to their favorite café, and Sakura sat down at one of the larger tables.

'Sakura-chan, what do you want to have, it's on me!' Eriol tried to be generous for once.

'Are you sure? Well, if you say so… then I would like to have a hot chocolate, with cream, and a large coca cola!' Sakura showed a really bright smile at the sweat dropping Eriol.

'Sure...' When he grabbed his wallet, it soon became clear, that it was as empty as it would be after one hour of shopping with Tomoyo. 'Say, Syaoran-sama?'

Syaoran looked at his 'friend' with distrustful eyes. Eriol must have something on his sleeve...

'I still get a drink from you, remember? Last time in Hong Kong? When you forgot your wallet?' Eriol looked at him with large begging eyes.

Syaoran sweat dropped. He couldn't remember that certain event. It probably never happened in the first place. 'Eh…'

Eriol perked up. 'Then I would like two big coca cola, and a hot chocolate with cream!'

'Li-kun, are you paying?' Tomoyo looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes, by far surpassing those of Eriol. 'In that case, I want three scoops of ice, in the flavors vanilla, lemon and peach.'

'Ah, that's so generous! Then I want…' Chiharu started, while struggling to make Yamazaki quiet. He just told her how elevators broke down, because of remorseful ghosts. Yamazaki stopped talking as he too looked at Syaoran with begging eyes.

Rika and Naoko were just smiling sweetly at him, holding the menu card in hand and ready to order whatever was on it, if he only said that he would pay.

'Alright, ALRIGHT! Geez, I pay, but get it for yourself!' Turning towards Eriol, he shoved his wallet in his hands. 'And get a hot chocolate for me.'

'With cream?' Eriol used his sugar sweet voice, as he slowly walked away with the wallet. The rest quickly followed him.

'No, thank you.' Syaoran sighed as he sat beside Sakura.

Sakura hold one of her hands in front of her mouth, trying to silence the giggle that was stuck in her throat. 'You do know that they are going to order everything they can think of?'

She smiles again. He thought as he saw her sparkling eyes. 'Hm, if they spent all out, they stop eventually.'

He reached for his pocket and retrieved her cell phone. 'I found this when Tomoyo called. It was in the dustbin beside the elevator.' Sakura's eyes darkened for a moment, but she covered it so fast, that he wondered if he had really seen it.

'Thank you, Li-kun. I already worried where it could be, I thought I lost it.' Sakura smiled her innocent smile, but Syaoran could see that she was hiding something, like she was wearing a mask.

A really good one at that. Maybe I really misjudged her, maybe she did see real life, just like Eriol said.

Sakura dialed a number on her phone. 'I forgot that it is already late, my brother probably wonders where I am if he gets home.' She waited for a moment, and then someone picked up at the other end.

'Kaijuu.' If Syaoran listened intently, he could hear what her brother said.

'Stupid brother! I'm not a monster!'

'Whatever… why are you calling, I'm still working here.'

'Sorry, but I just wanted to say I'll probably be home later.'

'You're not dating someone, are you?'

'TOUYA! Of course not!' Sakura was glad Touya couldn't see her, for her face colored beet red.

'Well, as long as you aren't alone with a boy, it's okay. Are you still eating home?'

'I think so, you too?'

'No, Kaho asked me to eat something with her. She doesn't have much time, so I won't be gone long.'

Sakura felt very nervous suddenly. If Kaho told Touya what happened, she wouldn't get any rest today. 'M-Mizuki-sensei did? Well, then I see you tonight, okay?'

'Right, bye Kaijuu.'

'Same to you!' She said as she stuck out her tongue at the phone, but of course Touya couldn't see it.

As Sakura put her mobile away, Syaoran asked her: 'Touya? Does your brother perhaps work at the Li-cooperation?' He remembered someone called Kinomoto Touya working there.

'Eh… I thought he did. Why, do you know him?'

'Yes, I worked with him a few times.'

Li…Li… Sakura was thinking why Syaoran would work with her brother. He was just a student, right? 'You work there to?'

Syaoran mentally slapped himself. She doesn't know who I am, maybe Eriol hasn't told her yet. Well then, let's keep it that way… 'Hm, something like that.'

Sakura's friends came back, fully loaded with drinks and snacks of all sort. Sakura and Syaoran sweat dropped at the sight of it. It could take a while before they would get home again.

As soon as everything was stalled, Syaoran picked some of the snacks they bought from his money. His way of silence revenge…

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When they finished, Syaoran being completely broke, they went separate ways. Chiharu, Yamazaki, Rika and Naoko lived nearby and Tomoyo got picked up by her bodyguards. Sakura was about to take the bus, when Eriol offered to ride her home. She gladly accepted that.

'No problem.' Eriol said, as he threw the car keys to Syaoran again. 'He's driving anyway.'

Syaoran stared at the keys in his hands. 'Why was that again?'

'Because I'm too lazy…' Syaoran raised a brow, and Eriol hastily finished: 'Because you are the better driver? Or eh… because then you don't have to walk?' His weak attempts weren't really working seeing the threatening glare Syaoran gave him. 'Okay, because I need to talk to you, and I can do that when you are somewhere else, or to occupied with your homework. As usual…' Eriol was actually whining now.

Syaoran sighed, as he got in the car. 'Right… right.'

Sakura gave directions, as neither of the boys had ever been in her new home.

'You live outside Tomoeda?' Syaoran asked, as the houses were disappearing slowly from sight.

'Yes, just a little further, then turn right, and then it's the second house.'

Syaoran followed her directions, and soon after he pulled up at one of the smallest houses he had ever seen. He had to suppress the feeling of gaping at her 'home'.

'Sakura-chan, you don't live there, do you?' Eriol asked her, as she was already getting out of the car. 'But… that's even smaller than I thought it would be!'

'I know, I know, I told you it was small.' She said as she opened Eriol's door and softly hit him on the head.

'That really doesn't do for our poor Sakura-chan...!' Eriol said, acting all hurt.

A smile appeared on Sakura's face. 'Why not? I'm quite content here. Let's say... it's small, but cozy!' She whirled around to prove her point.

At that moment, the door opened, and Touya came outside. The boys hid their sniggers as they saw that he had to bend his head to get out.

'Kaijuu, I thought you said you weren't alone with boys. Those are boys, in the case you didn't notice.' He pointed at the two boys who immediately stopped sniggering at his rude words.

'I noticed, but I wasn't hanging out with boys, I was hanging out with my friends.' Sakura retorted as he came closer.

Touya glared at her, and then at the boys. He walked up to Syaoran, not saying a word, but still glaring. If one looked hard enough, you could see he was actually trying to hold his own glare back.

He was fuming with anger, seeing the heir of Li with his little sister. That was something, he never ever wanted to see again. But then again, neither did he want to lose his job over something stupid as controlling his anger. He was battling himself over the best option to do, at this moment.

But he didn't have to choose, because instead, Syaoran broke the tensed silence, getting out of the car. 'Kinomoto-san.'

'Li-sama.' Touya couldn't manage to get the last word out politely. It sounded more like a sneer, and the glare on his face deepened.

Sakura and Eriol looked from one to another, wondering what exactly happened in front of their eyes. 'H-Hoe? Li-sama?'

Syaoran looked on his watch. 'It's after work time, and we are not at the office, so you can stop pretending, Kinomoto-san.'

The glare deepened on Touya's face. 'Fine, gaki. Then let me make something clear: I do NOT want YOUR kind to hang around with MY SISTER!'

'Isn't that up to her to decide?' Syaoran managed to stay calm throughout the entire ordeal.

'G-Gaki? Eh, Sakura-chan, maybe it's better to make your brother stop. You don't want him to lose his job, right?' Eriol whispered worriedly to the not understanding Sakura.

'What are you talking about?' Sakura whispered back.

'I heard that, Eriol, and I won't fire him over something as simple as calling me gaki.' Syaoran walked back to the car. 'Listen, Kinomoto-san. It's not up to me with who your sister wants to hang around, and I certainly won't fire you over something as trivial as this. But if you are making it worse, and, of course, when your work suffers under it, then I can't help it if you lose your job.'

He opened the car door and got in. 'Come on, Eriol. I don't think he wants us to stay here any longer than necessary.'

Eriol raced to the car, really wanting to get out of here. 'See you, Sakura-chan!'

As the car drove away, Touya walked to his little sister, towering over her, glaring at the innocent girl. 'Kaijuu, what is the meaning of this! I thought you would be able to get some normal and nice friends. So WHAT are you DOING with HIM?!' He pointed at the fading lights of the car. For a moment, he thought he knew why she had been so sad for a while, but now he threw that theory away.

'Stop it, Touya! They are nice, and they are my friends!' Sakura simply ignored the fact that Syaoran hasn't been the best friend ever. 'I decide who my friends are and who are not!'

'But, come on! A gaki and a creep? I'm sure even you can pick out better friends!'

'They are my best friends!' Her eyes became a bit watery as she looked up at her brother with a hurt expression.

Touya didn't retort, knowing very well, that he couldn't bring anything useful in this conversation anymore. He simply cared for his little sister, and if she was sad, and she threatened to spill tears, he couldn't continue being mad at her.

'Besides, don't you have something else to yell about? I'm sure Mizuki-sensei has told you already what happened.' Her voice broke, as she pushed back the tears.

'She did.' Touya muttered. He quickly pulled her into a tight embrace and let her inside their little house.

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Eriol glanced at his glaring friend. 'What just happened?'

'He is my divisional head of the second level here in Tomoeda.' He retorted. Not wishing to talk about this subject.

Eriol understood what that meant. 'That explains… Well, your divisional head really can't stand you. But if you fire him, Sakura-chan will hate us forever.'

'I don't mind, I didn't come here to make friends.' Came his cold reply. 'Besides, Touya does his work very well. Firing him, means losing one of my best men.'

Eriol suppressed a sigh. Syaoran didn't change so easily. Somehow, that cold image was always on the surface. 'Don't lie, Li Syaoran, I know you like her.' He used that tone again, in which you could hear his power. 'You may have had a rotten past, you may be a leader and you may be the heir of practically the entire business world of Asia, but you're still human, and you know that.'

'Shut up, Hiiragizawa.' Syaoran grumbled with clenched teeth.

Eriol smiled. Using his last name meant that Syaoran was annoyed, but did take his words serious.

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'Hm, Touya?' Sakura and Touya were both making something to eat. They had talked for the last hour, about her events in the elevator, and Touya had calmed down again. She thought it save to ask him now about Syaoran.

'Hm.'

'Where do you know Li-kun from?'

'I work under him.'

'WHAT?' Sakura immediately stopped with what she was doing. 'B-But…! He is still going to school! How can you work under him?'

'Calm down, Kaijuu. You really don't know your friends that well, do you?'

Sakura blushed, but she had to admit it, she hardly knew anything about Syaoran.

'Hm, then I'll just have to tell you who you befriended so easily, without thinking…' Touya muttered the last part, but nevertheless, it was heard by his sister and he received a stomp on his foot. He ignored it and told her what he knew about Syaoran. 'The gaki is the heir of the Li-clan in China and all the Li-companies. He studies at your school, and if I heard correct, he studies more courses in one year. After this year, he takes over from his mother and would be called something reprehensible as the 'King of China' or something like that.'

'Li-kun is a member of that family?' Sakura gaped at him. 'Wow, I had never realized that...! That explains why he is always studying. I actually thought he had trouble studying, but then he must be very intelligent!'

'Now don't think to positive of the gaki, Sakura. I warn you. He is famous for his cold behavior. Some say he has a heart of stone, and is as cold as ice, even towards his family. He doesn't have friends, and you better not start being one. He would only use you, just like he used and betrayed his childhood friends.' Well, those are the rumors, anyway…

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Sakura lay under the warmth of her bed sheets, trying to get some sleep.

Tomoyo had called her a minute ago, saying she had to be ready by five in the morning, so they could begin the long trip to Tokyo. That's why she desperately tried to get some sleep, but it just didn't work.

She wondered if Touya was right about Syaoran.

Sure, he never stopped glaring, and he seemed cold, but just today, she saw the normal kid in him, when talking to Eriol.

And that remembered her, Eriol and Syaoran were friends since their childhood, and it seemed he had two other friends in Hong Kong. What did he call them? Meilin and Ryu? Something like that...

So the rumors couldn't be completely true.

I have to find out what is true, and what is not.

Finally she drifted off in a restless sleep.

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At five thirty a.m. everybody sat in the limo, owned by Tomoyo, driven by one of her bodyguards.

'Geez, Sakura-chan, you were late, again!' Tomoyo grumbled, arms crossed in silence mocking. 'I said five, not five thirty!'

'Sorry! But I had to be really quiet. If Touya found out Li-kun was going as well, then he would have exploded, and then he would have never let me go!' Sakura apologized over and over again. She had just made them all wait in the car for half an hour as safety measures.

'Then you should get up sooner!' Tomoyo turned to look outside. It was not really the best way to start a new day.

'I really think we could have waited inside.' Eriol mumbled. 'It's only Syaoran that he does not want to see. He could have waited in the car by himself.'

Syaoran sighed. Eriol and Tomoyo were grumpy, to say at the least. They really weren't the people to get up this early. 'At least that's better than going in there. I would be dead as soon as Touya woke up.' This made Eriol smile a bit, forgetting his grumpiness for a moment.

Sakura's smile, though, disappeared completely. 'I'm sorry.' She understood what made Touya so angry and distrustful towards Syaoran, but she really wished he would stop doing that. She wished that they would act normal around each other. What if Syaoran fires Touya? What if Touya forbids me to ever see Syaoran again? It's all my fault...

Syaoran raised an eyebrow, and Eriol could tell he felt a bit guilty for saying that. Eriol put his arm around Sakura's shoulders, giving her a hug. 'There's nothing to be sorry about, Sakura-chan! You just got a very overprotective brother and a friend with a bad reputation, who just happened to be his boss. That's all!'

This made Syaoran glare at Eriol, and Tomoyo turn around confused. 'Did I miss something? How can Li-kun be Touya's boss?'

Eriol explained her, and after that, it didn't take long for them to fall asleep. It would take another 5 hours to get to Tokyo. Eriol and Tomoyo were leaning against each other, Sakura still sat straight, and Syaoran looked out of the window, not sleepy at all.

It didn't take long for Sakura to doze off completely, and Syaoran had to stop himself from pushing her the other way, when she fell to his side. When he had mentally calmed down, he noticed the strange angle in which she lay, and moved her carefully, so that her head was resting on his leg.

None of the others woke up, and eventually, he fell asleep as well, his head resting against the window.

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October 2019 – Tokyo, Japan

A soft voice woke her from her deep sleep. 'We have arrived at the park, Daidouji-san.'

Sakura slowly tried to open her eyes. Where am I? She lay comfortably on something soft, and someone's hand rested on her waist.

Her eyes flew open, seeing that she lay with her head on Syaoran's leg, and that his hand rested on her waist. He was still sleeping, his head bent down and leaning against the window. A blush found its way to her cheeks, and she quickly sat up straight, hoping that no one saw that.

The bodyguard opened the door, and when Sakura looked up, Eriol got out of the car, and Tomoyo looked at her with shining eyes. 'You should wake him up now, Sakura-chan.'

The blush became more evident, when Sakura realized both Tomoyo and Eriol had witnessed the scene. N-no..! She shoved away from Syaoran, and then gently shook him, trying to wake him up from his deep slumber. I hope he doesn't know about this!

Syaoran shifted and slowly opened his eyes. 'Li-kun, we are there already, are you coming?' Sakura's voice drifted in his mind, and it took him a few seconds to realize that they were indeed, at the front of the attraction park. He got out of the car, and together with Sakura, he gaped at the enormous entrance. Syaoran couldn't help but compare it to his own mansion, back in Hong Kong.

'Wow, it's even bigger than your house, Syaoran.' Eriol said, also gaping at it, while holding Tomoyo's hand. Syaoran could only nod, as Sakura and Tomoyo silently wondered how big Syaoran's house would be.

It was eleven thirty in the morning, and the place was already crowded. People had gathered here, coming from all over Japan, and were waiting patiently in line, to get in to the park.

It took them only half an hour though, to get in, and they immediately looked around at all the pretty things and fun looking attractions. Tomoyo bent over the map, trying to get a notion of how big the park is. 'It's huge! We can never see the entire park in just one day!'

As Eriol and Syaoran also bent over the map, Sakura opted: 'Then let's just skip all the scary ones.' She really, really didn't want to go in haunting houses or things like that.

'Let's go in this one first!' Eriol pointed to a certain point on the map, picturing a rollercoaster with triple loops. 'I read about this one, and I really want to go in there! Besides, the line won't be that big yet.'

Sakura nodded. 'At least we will be awake after that one.'

'Well, I guess you are still sleepy, you probably wanted to sleep a bit longer.' Tomoyo giggled, and Sakura turned bright red.

'Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura really didn't want that to happen. She wanted to watch Syaoran closely to figure out what he was truly like, but not that close! What would he think?

At that point, Syaoran too remembered how she had slept during the ride, and he pretended that he didn't notice what they were talking about. He tried his best to hide the small blush that threatened to climb on his cheeks. Luckily for him, he had still no idea where his hand was during his time of sleeping.

The entire day, they spend on going from one ride to another. Tomoyo had brought her camcorder, and happily filmed all the scenes from that day. She skipped some grand rides, 'just to film from a different angle' as she called it, but in reality, she was just completely afraid to go in those rides. And Eriol didn't miss a chance to tease her with that.

Sakura observed Syaoran as good as she could do, without him noticing. But nothing had really changed. He still acted as the same person he was during the weeks she had met him. And if something did change, it would be that he smiled more often. Or at least, you could see the hint of a smile more often.

It was getting late already, and they had been in about half of all the rides. The park would close in an hour, so they had given up their idea to ride every ride present in this huge park.

'Oh, I really want to go in that one!' Tomoyo gaped at the gigantic Ferris Wheel. The lights were turned on, so the entire thing looked like a wheel of light.

'It's bigger than the biggest one I have ever seen!' Sakura clapped her hands in aw, at the size of it. 'If we get in line right now, we can probably still see the sunset!'

Eriol and Syaoran rolled their eyes of boredom. But if the girls wanted to go in this one, so be it... They already went in some other rides of which the girls had begged them not to.

They had to wait in line for a long time, and when they neared the end of the line, they saw that the carriages where for a maximum of three persons. Eriol immediately claimed Tomoyo for himself. 'Normally, these things go round way to many times, and if I have to do this, then I'll go with my lovely Tomoyo.'

Sakura glared at him. 'Again?' She had hardly spent any rides with them. Somehow she seemed to end up with Syaoran every time. Not that she really minded, but this did give her the idea that Tomoyo started to put one of her matchmaking plans in work. And that, she did not like.

Eriol and Tomoyo didn't budge, so in the end, Syaoran and Sakura shared a carriage. The wheel turned slowly, and they looked at the enlightened park, moving slowly beneath them. Sakura looked briefly up to him, to see what he thought of the view, and then quickly looked down at the lights again.

Children ran from one attraction to another, followed by tired looking parents. A rollercoaster made a loop. And even from up here, they could hear their screams. Only when they reached the top, the sounds from beneath them died down.

When Sakura looked at him again, she saw him glaring at her. Her throat became dry under that intense glare of him.

'Why do you keep looking at me?' He demanded in harsh tone, but soft enough to not be heard by others. Namely Eriol and Tomoyo.

Sakura swallowed. 'I-I don't...' She began but was interrupted immediately.

'Don't lie! I've noticed it the entire day, and I'm getting tired of it!'

Sakura couldn't really stand the glaring eyes, and tears threatened to spill, but she kept herself strong, forcing them back. She looked away from him.

What could she do? Admit that she had indeed observed him? What would he think? But what else could she say? She couldn't lie to him, she never lied to anyone. Accept to prevent others from worrying about her.

I better tell him the truth then.

They were going down again, slowly nearing the crowd beneath them.

'Yes, I was, I'm sorry...' She started, looking briefly up, but turning away again, seeing his glaring eyes. She was silent for a moment. How to find the words?

'I-I wanted to know...' She turned bright pink. It seemed so stupid now, as she looked back on her actions of today. 'Eh, it's quite embarrassing actually.' I really did observe him a lot, maybe a bit too much... But what's the use? Today, he is not any different from the past six weeks... I might not know him so well, but I know... I know Touya is wrong...

She sighed, and a soft laugh escaped her lips. She looked up at him, completely ignoring the glaring eyes, a smile returned on her face. 'Alright, although it's quite stupid.'

She thought for a moment, trying to find the right words. 'I didn't know who you were, or actually, who others knew you were. Eh... let's say, I have heard of the heir of Li, but I didn't know that was you. Touya told me yesterday, and he warned me about you. Of course, I know the rumors, but...'

She sighed and looked at the people waiting in the line to get in. They were already down, and slowly moving to the top again. She waited a moment until the ground was a bit further beneath them again, before she continued. 'I'm sorry, I just wanted to know what was true: the rumors, or the one I thought you were for the past six weeks.'

Syaoran was not glaring at her anymore, but looked quite troubled to some far off point at the horizon. He said nothing, so Sakura used that opportunity to stiffly add one last comment to her explanation. 'I'm sorry to have bothered you with this, because in the end, I guess I already knew the answer. I promise not to trouble you any further with these things.'

Sakura sighed as she leaned on the side railing to look down, searching for something to get her mind off. Syaoran didn't answer her, just kept staring at nothing in particular.

The Ferris Wheel still moved, and they reached the top again. Sakura had hoped to see the sunset, but it still shone a bit above the horizon. She wanted to get out once they reached the ground, because the silence made her uneasy, but on the other hand, she also wanted to see the sunset from up here.

The wheel went down, and began at the third round. She felt somewhat relieved, because she knew Tomoyo and Eriol would want to see the sunset to. From the waiting line, she heard a child speaking to her mother.

'Mommy, can we go in now? I want to go so high too!'

'Just two more turns, sweetie.'

Sakura wanted to sigh. Two more chances to see the sunset, two more rounds to sit with an agitated Syaoran. Does he hate me now? Dislike me? Or does he even care what I think of him? Maybe this is the last time he will hang out with us. She felt sad thinking that he might leave them and her smile slowly faded away once more. Tears threatened to spill again and she had to give it her all, to not steal a quick glance at him.

Suddenly, Syaoran made a sound. She couldn't figure out what it meant. His voice sounded hoarse, like he was struggling to speak.

Finally, Sakura couldn't take it anymore, and looked at him, wanting to know if something was wrong. But before she could ask him, he spoke.

'S-Sakura... what is the truth?'

Her eyes grew large as she stared at his face. In that short sentence, lay more emotion than she had ever heard from him. He still didn't look at her, but from the side, she could see that his eyes were on the edge of crying, his hands clenching the railing with white knuckles. She wondered why, didn't he know the truth for himself?

But then she realized something else.

He called me...

Sakura...?

For a moment she didn't know what to say. They were already reaching the top of the Ferris Wheel for the third time, and she still could do nothing but stare at him.

Syaoran finally looked her straight in the eyes and she wavered. His eyes showed such enormous pain, such agony… such... she couldn't find the words to describe what she saw in his eyes. She suddenly understood that the side he showed her now, was the real Syaoran.

'Please tell me...' He sounded so desperate.

She felt the urge to hold him, to let him cry on her shoulder. But she didn't, she couldn't. Instead, she told him the truth. Her truth. She tried to smile at him, but hardly succeeded. Her eyes were shining from unshed tears.

'The truth is... No matter what my brother says, or what the rumors are... I still want to be your friend. Of the real you, that is. Not the one of the rumors, not even the one I met.' Her hand reached up and touched his cheek. Vaguely, she noticed it was burning. 'I want to know the real you.'

His own hand slowly covered hers, and he closed his eyes for a moment. He wondered if she could be his friend. But then again, he really longed for a friend like her. Somehow, during those few weeks he knew her, he wanted her to be his friend. When he opened his eyes, he realized that she was on the verge of crying and he felt the urge to hold her, tell her that it would be alright. But he couldn't, not until he knew for himself that everything would be alright.

'Can I be your friend?' Sakura asked him, her tone soft and wondering, her expression worried.

A part of Syaoran wanted to say no, still being afraid of what might happen. But he pushed it away and nodded. 'Please be.'

A smile broke through her worried expression, shining like the sun was about to rise, instead of going down. For the first time since ages, he smiled back, with a real smile. He hadn't even smiled like this in front of Eriol or Meilin for a long time. And it felt good.

Without realizing they were already at the beginning of the fourth round. When they looked up half way, they saw the sun beginning to set. Syaoran let go of Sakura's hand, and turned to look at the sunset.

As they sat next each other, they watched the sunset, and all the colors that emerged from it, a smile present on both their faces.

'May I call you Sakura?' Syaoran asked, not daring to look at her again. But all he heard was a soft giggle.

'Silly, you already did.'

He looked upwards, a finger placed on his chin. 'Hm, I did, didn't I?'

'Yes, but you may only call me that, if I can call you Syaoran.' She smiled sweetly, not taking her eyes of the sunset.

'Well, that seems fair enough. Sakura it is then.'

'Right, Syaoran it is.'

The wheel kept on turning, and soon, the sun couldn't be seen anymore. The fourth round ended, and they got of the Ferris Wheel. The little girl and her mother were already gone and up half way to the top.

When they got out, Syaoran made sure to cover the emotions he let out so suddenly. The glare showed on his face again, but it could be seen that it wasn't as resentful as a few moments ago.

A sleepy Eriol and an agitated Tomoyo walked up behind them.

'Did you see the sunset?' Sakura asked brilliantly. Of course they had, they couldn't have missed it from up there.

Tomoyo nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. 'I did!' Then she softly hit Eriol on the back of his head. 'But he didn't, he fell asleep.'

'Yes, I did.' Eriol said rubbing one of his eyes.

'Yes. You. Did.' Tomoyo said, as she emphasized every word with another soft hit on the head.

Sakura laughed and pulled Tomoyo away from Eriol. 'Stop it Tomoyo-chan, he won't survive it at this rate.' They linked arms and started to walk away from the Ferris Wheel.

'Thank you, Sakura-chan! My heroin!' Eriol was about to run after her and jump on her back, to show his gratitude, when Syaoran hold him back.

'Stop it Eriol, don't you see they need some time alone with each other?'

Eriol raised a brow. 'Since when do you know about that?'

'Ha ha... very funny.' Syaoran hit him on the head, taking an example from Tomoyo. 'I don't know those sorts of things, but they probably won't walk away together for nothing.'

'Hm, I guess you're right. I just had this really weird dream in which Sakura-chan saved me from an evil sorceress named Tomoyo. I was just about to thank her when Tomoyo woke me up, so...'

'Right, you sure you love her, and not Sakura?' Syaoran joked, receiving a glare from Eriol.

'Ha ha... and since when do you call Sakura by her first name?' Eriol asked amusedly, thinking Syaoran made a little mistake. But he didn't expect this answer.

'Since a few minutes ago.'

'...'

Syaoran put on his innocent look and walked away in the direction the girls had walked in a moment ago.

'What? But...but!' Eriol run after him, trying to get a good explanation.

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'The park closes in ten minutes. What do you want to do?'

'There's not enough time for another ride...' Eriol whined, still hoping to get some loving attention from Tomoyo for a change. He seemed to have really messed up in the Ferris Wheel.

'Hm, how about we buy something to eat for the ride back home, and then go?' Sakura opted, and soon everyone agreed. Tomoyo called her bodyguard, so the limo would be in the parking lot, in ten minutes.

They left the park, hands filled with bags of sweets and delicious looking things without a name.

The limo picked them up, and the ride home began. They wouldn't be home till three in the morning, but Sakura managed to stay awake during the entire ride home. Sure, Syaoran was a friend now, for certain this time, but that didn't mean she could fall asleep on his lap again!

Tomoyo had brought cards, and they played for six hours, eating the candy and singing songs along with the radio. Or actually, Tomoyo and Sakura were the ones who sang. Eriol and Syaoran simply resisted singing.

In the meanwhile, they decided that Sakura would sleep over at Tomoyo's house, because they obviously wanted to tell each other a lot of things, which they couldn't do here.

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October 2019 – Tomoeda, Japan

Syaoran lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn't get over him, no matter how hard he tried. Normally, he would meditate before sleeping, but he couldn't even find the peace to do that.

His thoughts were all set on Kinomoto Sakura.

He desperately wondered why in god's name he broke down in front of her. Why he showed his real face, his real feelings. He had actually been on the edge of crying, something that didn't happen anymore since his childhood.

So why did he do that? Was something wrong? Was Eriol right, and did he really needed a new friend this desperately?

Are my fears that childlike?

He sighed as he tossed himself in bed to lie on his right side.

Was this the right thing to do?

He cursed as he realized that Sakura probably told Tomoyo by now, and that his carefully build reputation was completely destroyed if this got out in the world.

What would she think of me now?

He turned over to his left side, as he realized that at least, he had found himself a friend that he had actually longed for quite some time now.

But when he realized what he was thinking, he only felt more confused. He could only wish that Meilin would come soon to help him out of this mess.

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Yoko sighed. 'So what's the next plan?'

Tomiko gathered papers that were spread around the table. 'I'm not really sure yet...' She muttered as she looked trough each of the papers, placing it all in a specific order.

Miki and Naomi entered, also holding a stack of papers. 'We got what you asked for.' Naomi said, as they placed the papers on Tomiko's table.

'Good, let me see it.' She searched through it, until she found what she needed. 'Alright, I know what we'll do. I still have to go through the details, but after the fall break, it can start.'

'Why so late?' Miki asked as she grabbed a chair to sit on, not wanting to stand during one of Tomiko's long explanations.

'Because I want her to suffer throughout her school time, and I want the entire school to know that she's hurt. Besides, I have nothing against her, outside of school.'

She motioned them closer, as she whispered her plan in their ears.

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'Thank you for coming, Sakura-san.' Mizuki said when she let Sakura out the door.

Sakura walked down to start her lunch, after her appointment with Mizuki-sensei. She avoided the elevator at all costs, and when she went down the stairs, she carefully watched out for Tomiko and her friends. Nothing had happened... yet.

On her way down, she stopped by the library, shortly checking if Syaoran studied there, or if he had classes. She couldn't find in the library so she continued on her way.

Five days had passed since the elevator accident, four days since she became friends with Syaoran. He finally called her by her first name, and after a confrontation with Eriol and Tomoyo, he also called Tomoyo by her first name.

Of course, he still glared, and the side of him that she wanted so badly to know better, was hidden underneath that glare.

But nevertheless, to her, it really seemed like things were getting better. The four of them seemed closer than ever, and Sakura had even told Tomoyo everything that had happened in the Ferris Wheel. Even Tomiko hadn't bothered her this week... yet. She did wonder why, though. Normally, Tomiko wouldn't wait so long with her pranks.

As she entered the cafeteria, Tomoyo and Eriol had already taken a table for them to eat. It rained outside, so the oak-tree wasn't the best place to spent your free time. She sat down, and grabbed her lunch.

'What did Mizuki-sensei say?' Tomoyo asked.

Syaoran entered the cafeteria, still reading in his book, but at the same time finding his way to their table. He sat down and continued reading. The three of them shrugged at his odd behavior.

'They think that someone sabotaged the elevator. It seemed that someone reprogrammed and demolished some of the hardware.' Sakura kept her voice down, so the other tables couldn't hear it. 'They don't know yet if it was planned for me to get stuck, or if that was an accident.'

Syaoran stopped reading and closed his book, putting it back in his schoolbag. He grabbed his lunch box and started eating.

'Hmpf!' Tomoyo snorted. 'It's quite obvious who did it.'

'Oh, come on, Tomoyo-chan, we don't know that! It might have been an accident. Besides, is she really capable of reprogramming the elevator?'

'She is not, but one of her friends might.' Eriol came in between.

'Not Yoko and Miki, they know even less about technical stuff than I do.' Sakura thought of Tomiko's other friends who were left.

'And Naomi is not that smart, she couldn't possibly pull off something like that.' Tomoyo said. 'Who's left?'

'Rian.'

The group looked at Syaoran who suggested the name, though he was still eating, seemingly not paying attention to anything else. 'Hm, Rian is pretty high-tech. I don't really know anything else about him.' Eriol muttered.

'Maybe we should pay them back, pull of some great stunt!' The stars in Tomoyo's eyes were evident as she imagined how to get her revenge.

'We do not!' The sharp tone made them all look at Sakura with raised brows. 'We don't know for certain if they have done it, and besides, I don't want to go that low.'

'You might not, but I do!' Tomoyo raised her fist in fury. No one could hurt her best friend like that, without paying the price.

'Stop it, Tomoyo!' Now Sakura really sounded shocked. 'She's my problem, and I don't solve my problems with aggression! So don't even think about doing something as stupid as that! Besides, she hasn't done anything this week.'

'Yet.' Tomoyo fought herself to not go against Sakura's demand. 'Maybe she plans something far worse than the elevator accident.'

Syaoran watched the three of them bickering and silently wondered if it really could've been Kuromori Tomiko who had done that. Sure, she was a spoilt brat, and always managed to get what she wanted, but could she really be that rotten? There is just one way to figure that out...

'Stop! Can we please talk about something else?' Sakura whined as she covered her ears childlike. This made Eriol and Syaoran snigger behind their hands. Tomoyo threw her hands in the air, signaling that she gave up.

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October 2019 – Plane, Somewhere above Japan

The small window showed the large view of clouds, as far as you could see. It was magnificent, but after a few hours it became plain and boring.

Meilin sighed as she slouched in her chair. Only one hour to go... She already got tired of the stupid plane. She hated planes, more than anything!

Okay, that's not completely true, but she did hate it. No one knew, she hadn't even told Syaoran, but she was afraid of heights. Like that nagging feeling that crept in you once you were above normal heights. That irritating feeling you get once you think about the chances of crashing down, of the thousands of innocent people that died in plane crashes.

She never told anyone, and she didn't plan on doing so. All that her friends and family knew was that every time she got off a plane, she acted fretful. Not for just an hour, but rather half a day.

She sighed again, trying to ignore the nagging feeling, and instead think of her quest in Tomoeda.

Her quest to cure her cousin.

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To be Continued