Another chapter, after the wait. Sorry about that, but, if you've seen my profile or whatever, you should know that I am no longer on semester break and yes, I have school, and a whole bunch of extracurricular activities, like piano, karate, basketball...I'm involved in my school, and whole bunch of other stuff, so it's harder for me to be putting out chapters very fast.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. CLAMP does. Okay?

Flashback

Sakura stared at the paper in her shaking hands, scanning the letter's contents one more time to make sure it was real.

"Sakura, how many times do you have to read it before you're satisfied?"

Sakura looked up in surprise at the man who'd given her the letter.

"T-Touya'nii-chan..."

Touya sighed. "Look, Sakura, you know I'm trying to be nice to you today, but really, whatever Yuki wanted to tell you, it must have been special, and you should honor his wishes," Touya said, and Sakura's eyes watered up in her depression.

"B-but, Onii-chan...Yukito, he...he said...he said that I...that I should...should..."

Touya held up his hand to stop her. "You don't have to tell me. What was written there was between you and Yuki, not me," he said, and a teary-eyed Sakura finally broke and jumped balling into her brother's arms.

Flashback: End

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise as the memory of that horrible time flashed through her mind. She stared at the tomb of her dead husband, the old flowers wilted and dead.

Tears slipped out of her eyes, but she hurriedly wiped them away. It did not good to dwell on the past.

So why did it hurt so much?

The letter had been packed away in her closet in Tomoeda, not having seen the light since the night she first received it. That letter, the last words to her from Yukito, and she didn't want to see them in the least. It wouldn't matter anyway-she'd read over it so many times that the memory was etched into her head. She could easily recite the entire content of the letter without having to actually look at it, even after two years.

"Yukito..."

Sakura had sent her children to play, telling them she'd be there soon. Kei was old enough to care for Takahiko, and Nadeshiko had the sense to be a good judge of right and wrong among the ones younger than her.

Sakura was gazing longingly at the grave when a shadow fell over her. She frowned, and looked over her shoulder to see who was there. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked.

They weren't any acquaintances of her, and that wasn't the most scary part. It was a group of five men, and they grinned at her in a way that made her stomach flip uneasily.

"Wh-who are you?" she stuttered, and the man who seemed to be the leader stepped towards her.

"Names aren't all that important, little lady. Now, how about you come with us," he slurred, placing his hand on her arm.

"N-no, thanks," Sakura mumbled, trying unsuccessfully to pull away. "Please, let me go! Please!"

The man grinned. "Sorry, but I can't do that," he replied sadistically. Sakura's eyes widened in fear as he began pulling her. She let out cries for help, until another of the men clasped his hand over her mouth as they began to drag her away.

Sakura felt tears begin to fall, once again, from her eyes. What about my kids? What will they do? I can't let these men take me away! They'll make me abandon my children! And Yukito! Goodness, please, someone, save me!

"You should stop struggling you know," the man holding her warned. Sakura shot him a dirty look, and ripped the hand off of her mouth.

"You scumbag. I hate people like you the most. You don't deserve to be called a man!" she snapped, and her captor spun on her, not hesitating to raise his hand and give her a hard whack across the face. Sakura took the blow, squeezing her eyes tightly shut, trying not the cry at the sudden pain.

"You little b-"

Sakura heard a sickening thud, and an agitated cry, along with some grunts and more thuds. She didn't dare open her eyes, not even when the hands that had been holding her loosened and released her.

She felt a hand rest atop her head, and flinched at the touch.

"Kinomoto-san, it's alright. We should get out of here."

Sakura's eyes shot open, and she stared at a grim-looking Li Syaoran.

"L-Li-san! W-whatever are you doing here!?" she exclaimed, hurriedly wiping the tears from her face.

He sighed. "It's a little complicated. But we're lucky I got here in time. Are you alright? Did they hurt you-well, that slap sounded horrible. Is it alright?"

Sakura sighed, holding her cheek. "I'll be fine, Li-san. And...thank you so much for saving me. My kids, I don't know what I would have done if...if...well, you get the idea," Sakura said, bowing low in gratification.

Syaoran sighed. "Kinomoto-san, you have to be more careful. Now let's go, your kids are waiting. I think they got a little weirded out when a stranger came running asking where you were," he said, and Sakura looked up at him, a light blush on her face.

"Oh, you know my kids then? They're the most beautiful, adorable little ones you've ever seen, aren't they? I love them more than anything," Sakura ranted on, and Syaoran chuckled.

"They are, I suppose. But, Kinomoto-san, Tsukishiro-san would not have wanted you to go this alone," Syaoran said, catching her eye pointedly.

"I'm not alone. I have Tomoyo and Eriol-kun, and Chiharu-chan, Takashi-kun, Rika-chan, and Naoko-chan, as well as all my other friends from work...I'm not alone, Li-san. Please don't make assumptions about me when we hardly even know each other. And it isn't your business what Yukito would have wanted. How do you even know about that anyways?" Sakura replied, crossing her arms.

"First off, Takashi is my best friend and works with me, so I learned from him. It's not exactly normal for a woman to get a ride with another man, whom she doesn't know, especially when she's already married, so I was...concerned, when I saw your kids. And on the other subject...I did not mean friend-wise. I know you're plentiful in that area. I meant with another man. I know from personal experience how sad it is to live without your father, but it would have been better to have at the very least, a father-figure," Syaoran said, stepping towards Sakura.

"My children and I get along just fine, thank you. I don't need to hear anything about my finding another man from another person, especially someone who doesn't know me very well at all," Sakura said, gathering herself and stepping in to pass him. She did not catch any hints Syaoran may have tried to through at her.

Syaoran moved into her way, his sharp amber eyes focusing on her emeralds, which were now glaring up at him in annoyance.

"What do you want from me!? We hardly know each other, for crying out loud!" she demanded, growing more annoyed and irritated as the seconds ticked by.

Syaoran ran his hand through his hair, leaning back with a sigh. "Kinomoto-san, our lives our inevitably joined. You work at the cafe I go to every morning, and that's not even the beginning. Your best friend and her husband, the people you live with, are connected business-wise to me, and we get along quite well anyways. Your friends, Mihara Chiharu and Yamazaki Takashi, work for me, as my secretary and my vice CEO. Takashi has been my best friend even before I took the head of my company. Ah, and I believe your mother's grandfather headed a company that is now joined with Li Corps. Not to mention the fact that I just saved you from some perverted idiots. Without me, who knows where you'd be right now? Who knows what would be happened to you, or your kids?"

Sakura frowned at him. "Alright, so what? What do you want from all of this?" she questioned, trying to remain calm throughout the ordeal.

"For now, all I would expect is friendship...Sakura-san."

Sakura's eyes snapped to attention, and she gave him a mean glare, but softened within seconds as she decided he was trustworthy.

"Alright then. A friendship it is, Syaoran-kun-if I may call you that," she said, putting her hand out.

Syaoran took it, nodding. "I'm glad," he said, and they shook hands.

Sakura smiled hesitantly before her hand flew to her forehead. "Oh, gosh, my kids! I have to go get them!" she exclaimed, turning back to the park.

"Thanks, Syaoran-kun," she said, nodding before they both set off quickly out of the cemetery and to the park.

The kids were fine, playing on the swings, and Kei and Nadeshiko had the younger ones under fine control.

"Mom! Are you back already?" Isamu called, looking up from the sand and grinning at her.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine," Sakura said, stepping down to Nadeshiko, who'd been holding Takahiko, and releasing the younger girl of her weight burden.

"Sakura-san, I'm sorry, but I'm not exactly sure of all of their names..." Syaoran confessed, giving her an apologetic smile.

"Ah, of course! Okay, well, my eldest is Kei," Sakura said, motioning to the boy who now held Miki after stopping the swing. "Nadeshiko is my nine-year old, a year younger...she was named after my mother," Sakura continued, smiling forlornly before continuing. "Isamu is seven," she introduced, patting her son on the head before grinning at the twins. "Daichi and Midori are my five-year-old twins-you could tell by looking at them, though," she said as the two held their eldest sister's hands tightly, but grinning at their mother and Syaoran. "Miki-chan, the little sweety Kei is holding, is three, and this guy, Takahiko, is two..." Sakura finished, drifting off as she thought of the incident two years earlier. She shook it off, turning with a smile to Syaoran. "And those are all my beloved children!"

Syaoran blinked a couple of times, before chuckling. "They're wonderful...I suppose they take after their mother," he said, flashing her a grin, at which Sakura turned away, trying to conceal her pink-tinted cheeks.

"Th-thank you, Syaoran-kun," she said, and slipped her hand into her purse, fishing out her pink cellphone.

"What can we call you?" Nadeshiko asked politely, turning to Syaoran with a pleasant smile.

"How about 'Onii-chan'?" he suggested playfully, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Wouldn't ojisan be more appropriate?" she put in, and Syaoran grinned at her.

"Ah, but onii-chan is funner!"

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. "Just call him whatever. Syaoran-san, if you like, or ojisan. But I don't think he could be an onii-chan. He's not any younger than me," Sakura said, and the older kids chuckled.

"Hey, how would you know how old I am?" Syaoran said, turning to her with a raised eyebrow.

"You're best friends with Takashi, right? And Takashi is older than me. So, I'd expect you to be the same age as Takashi, give or take a year. Which would mean you are either my age or one or two years older than me. In theory," Sakura retorted logically.

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Fine then. Takashi is a little under two weeks older than me," he admitted.

"Then you're older than me by a year!" Sakura chided, grinning at her victory in the small banter as she dialed a number in her cellphone. "Please excuse me for a minute," she said to Syaoran and the kids, turning away and waiting for the person on the other end to pickup. It didn't take more than two rings.

"Hello? Is this Kinomoto-sama?"

Sakura smiled. "Yes, Yamakanata-kun. I'm ready. You can come pick us up," she said.

"Pick you up? But, Kinomoto-sama, I'm very far from where you are...Hiiragizawa-sama told me that I was free until she and her husband were to go home from work. She said you had another ride arranged..."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, and then instantly narrowed in annoyance. "Is that so? Then sorry for taking up your time," she gritted, trying to be polite to him before saying her quick goodbyes and snapping her cellphone shut. "That stupid Tomoyo. What is she thinking?" she muttered in irritation as she spun around again to face the others.

"What was that?" Kei asked curiously.

"Nothing important...Syaoran-kun, may I ask what type of vehicle you used to get here?" Sakura asked, turning the chestnut-haired man.

"Hm? Oh, I took a limo. It was ready and available at the moment, so..."

Sakura nodded, sighing.

"Well, I don't know what is going through Tomoyo's mind, but, please, can you give the kids and I a ride home? It seems Tomoyo told our limo-driver he wasn't needed here," Sakura requested. Syaoran blinked a couple of times, before putting on a light smile.

"Sure, that'd be fine. Let's go," he said, and they all headed to the entrance of the park, where a very conspicuous black limo waited.

At home, after getting all the younger kids settled playing, Sakura went straight to her room. She locked the door tightly, and then walked over to her desk. She pulled open the top drawer, pulling out the pictures there. The first one was taken a long time ago, back when Sakura's mother was still alive. It was a family photograph, and Sakura smiled as she ran her fingers gently over the dusty surface of the old picture. They were all grinning and truly, honestly happy. At peace with the world. No worries in the least.

The next picture was another happy picture, despite the fact that one family member was missing. Her, her father, and Touya were all happily posing for a picture while on vacation. The next was a picture even older than the first, of both of her parents. It was actually their wedding picture. Sakura smiled fondly at the overjoyed young couple that was her parents before continuing on to a picture of her father. It had been taken on a normal morning when he'd been making breakfast, smiling as happily as ever. Sakura smiled giddily, remembering her childhood and high school days, when her father had always been there, making breakfast in the morning. Even if he was out on an expedition, Sakura always knew he'd be back soon with a surprise.

Sakura looked at the next picture, of Touya and his family. It was the most recent of the pictures. He was happy with his wife and two children. Sakura loved them all dearly, and enjoyed visiting them very much.

The final picture was one Sakura hadn't looked at for such a long time, long over a year ago. She had the picture-side turned down, and she debated actually looking at it for several minutes. Should she? What would be the affects of looking at this photograph? Would she break down in tears? Would she rip it into millions of tiny pieces? Would she do nothing?

There was only one way to know.

Hesitantly, very slowly, she flipped the picture over and stared at the picture.

A wide arrangement of emotions overwhelmed Sakura, but her first reaction was to immediately flip it back over. Sakura stared at the blank side for a few moments before taking a couple deep breaths and once again flipped over the picture. This time, she didn't turn it over, but instead, studied the happiness on her face. On his face. Both were incredibly joyous, and why shouldn't they be? This was her wedding picture after all.

Sakura felt a tear slip down from her eyes, and immediately wiped it away, putting away all of the pictures. She took a deep breath.

It was time to come to grips with the past. And this was the first step.

Sakura picked up the phone and dialed a very familiar phone number. The person on the other end picked up soon.

"Hello, Touya'nii-chan? It's me, Sakura. Would it be fine for me to come to Tomoeda tomorrow?"

A/N: Shorter than I would have liked, but what can you do?

Hope you review!