"Why is this so hard? I was just beginning to understand you," complained Sakura, holding her hand to her forehead as she stared down at her maths homework. "What's a surd?"

Sakura felt herself get dizzy as the numbers stared up at her from the open pages of her homework book. Mr Terada had gone over everything in class that day when he'd set the homework, and Sakura had thought she'd understood it just fine then but it had completely flown out of her head. She sighed and tried tapping her pencil against the paper, just in case she couldn't find the answer in Morse code. Kero, good willed as he was, had tried to help but whilst he had picked up an accent from Osaka, he had failed to pick up any mathematical prowess, so he left her to it. She was on the verge of giving up when he phone began buzzing next to her book.

BZZZ BZZZ

Sakura jumped at the sound of the phone but jumped in her seat, glee rising in her face. She must not have noticed the time. Every other day at 7pm in Japan, that being 6pm in China, Syaoran phoned her. He always called at the same time to avoid inconveniencing Sakura by calling her when she was busy. Still, Sakura was the type to lose track of time if she was focusing too hard on something else. She grabbed the phone quickly and answered the call.

"Syaoran!" beamed Sakura.
"Hi," greeted Syaoran, sounding both tired and pleased.
Suddenly, Sakura's face soured and her voice crumbled in defeat. "Oh, Syaoran!" And she dramatically let her head fall onto her book, succumbing to mat's hateful reign.
"Sakura! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" asked Syaoran, his voice instantly tensing, filled with panic. "Sakura! What's happening?"
"Syaoran!" wailed Sakura.
"Sakura?" Syaoran kept his voice calm, not wishing to distress her further.
"Syaoran, what are surds?" asked Sakura.

…

"Yes! It's done!" cheered Sakura, lifting her book up into the air so that it eclipsed the light, casting an artificial halo. She closed the book and laid it flat down on her desk. She snatched up her phone and span onto her bed. "Thank you so much, Syaoran. I couldn't have done it without you."
"I'm happy to help," answered Syaoran. "But I'm sure you would've worked it out for yourself eventually."
"But you still helped me," she smiled. "Oh! But we've barely spoken. How was your day?"
"Oh, it was fine," said Syaoran, a chuckle still in his voice. "There are a few tests coming up tomorrow, but I'm sure they won't be too difficult."
"That's great. You're so smart, I know you'll do great," said Sakura. "Oh! By the way, if I wanted to send you a letter, where could I send it?"
"A letter?" queried Syaoran. "I could give you my home address. Do you want to write it down?"

Sakura lurched up and grabbed for a pen and a free piece of paper. She told Syaoran she was ready and listened to his description of how to write the Mandarin kanji for his address. It was said that the original Japanese kanji took from the Chinese, but it was clear how they'd evolved away from each other. Sakura found herself thinking about how hard Syaoran must have had to work to be able to keep up in Japanese. Every realisation she made about him astounded her. There was so much about Syaoran that she'd overlooked; so much that was incredible.

"Are you sure you don't need me to describe it again?" asked Syaoran, uncertain whether describing foreign kanji was really a good idea. He didn't want Sakura to put in as much effort as she put into everything she did, only for her letter to get lost.
"I'm sure! Thanks, Syaoran," answered Sakura genuinely. "You're home now right? What're you going to do?"
"Yeah, I'm not sure," admitted Syaoran. "I think it's nearly time for dinner though."

Sakura was about to ask another question when she heard a boom and a crash, stunning her silent. She heard a loud voice calling Syaoran's name as if he'd been calling him for ages and had received no response.

"Who're you talking to in here? It's time for dinner!" called the voice. It sounded like a girl.
"Meilin, please calm down," asked Syaoran, retaining his usually calm tone.
"I've been calling you for five minutes," the voice grew closer to the phone until Sakura could hear her very clearly. Clearly, this girl had no issues with volume. "Now, who did you say you were talking to?"
"Meilin, give back my phone!" hollered Syaoran, his voice distancing.
"What does this even say?" said Meilin. "Oh, it's a Japanese name. Sa-ku-ra? Sakura. Is this Sakura?"
"Um, yes?" answered Sakura.
"Who are you exactly?" inquired Meilin. "And what exactly is your relationship with Syaoran?"
"Um! I'm Sakura, Kinomoto Sakura," answered Sakura, nervous about what to say. "Uh, Syaoran and I- we- um- we're friends and-"
"Meilin!" yelled Syaoran once more. The scuffle that came across the line seemed to imply wrestling over the device until Syaoran's voice came through. "Sakura, I'm sorry about my cousin."
"You call her by her first name?" yelled Meilin, tone turning from incredulous to impressed. "Who is this girl?"
"She is the new Master of the Cards and my-" said Syaoran, stopping himself suddenly. But now, everybody was listening even more intently to the silence.
"Your what, Syaoran?" asked Meilin, her tone sly. "Your what?"
"Ah, my, uh," he stammered.
"Master of the Cards and~" she urged, teasingly.
"I'm his girlfriend!" hollered Sakura.

There was a beat of silence, and then.

"Kyaa!" screamed Meilin. There was the sound of the door slamming open again and Meilin chanting 'SYAORAN HAS A GIRLFRIEND' throughout the house.
"I have to go," said Syaoran, his exhaustion returning full force.
"Okay," replied Sakura. "I'm sorry if I said something I shouldn't have, I just didn't…"
"It's not a problem, really. I was going to tell her eventually, but she is very…loud," assured Syaoran, his good-humour resurfacing. "I'll talk to you later. Bye."
"Goodbye."

Okay, before anyone fights me. I am using the manga timeline and yes, I know Meilin isn't in the manga, but that's not to say she doesn't exist in that universe. And I for one refuse to believe that she wouldn't, so deal.

But other than that, you know that your reviews are welcome and your criticisms are encouraged. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I will see you next time.

Ja Ne