I have decided to put my A/N after the chappie so that you guys don't have to scroll way too much to get to the story. ;)

HAPPY READING!

PREVIOUSLY...

Meiling stared at her before bursting out in laughter, followed by the other two.

"Man, Ayume…you have a nerve to dare and affront one of your biggest clients!" she said, still laughing.

Sakura couldn't help but grin—she missed Tomoyo but maybe, she might have just found two friends who were idiotic madcaps on the same level.

Perhaps.

"Hey girls. I am supposed to meet Eriol for coffee at Café Lazza after college today. He texted me to say that Li-kun is also coming. Wanna join?"

"I am in…it's not like I have anything more interesting to do," said Ayume while Meiling nodded in agreement. She was curious to meet the guy whom Syaoran befriended, knowing that the amber-eyed boy rarely made friends that easily.

"So the coffee meet is on!"

CHAPTER 3: CAFÉ LAZZA AND LITTLE KERO

After completing the registration for optional courses, the CL class was free for the day. Meiling, Ayume and Sakura chatted as they made their way to their rendezvous point: Café Lazza. Little did they know that this café would be whole lot important to the days that would come.

It was a quaint little café, snug and had a cozy feel—armchairs and plushy sofas surrounded the coffee tables and the trio made a beeline for the one next to the French window overlooking the busy Tokyo streets. The café was on the third floor and hence the view was commendable.

"Strawberry thick shake!" piped up Sakura.

"Mocha Cappuccino on the rocks," said Meiling as she scanned the menu.

"Kappi Nirvana for me," said Ayume brightly.

The bemused waitress took down their order and hung for just a second—she knew the Tokyo University students and their hunger-pangs.

"Are you sure this would be all?" she asked, waving the order list.

"Hmm…" Sakura looked unsure.

She had lunch four freaking hours ago and she was really, really hungry. Devil may cry, she said to herself and pitched in a sinful choco-chip doughnut. She was partial to chocolates and strawberries and her high metabolism meant that her gluttony habits would not be piled up on her.

Ayume grinned and added a cheese-chilli toastizza while Meiling, the most health-conscious of the lot, ordered a whole-wheat grilled chicken sub.

The waitress grinned; this seemed more like an order!

"Hungry, are we?" Ayume grinned after the waitress was off the earshot. Sakura sighed, patting her stomach.

"I know why Touya calls me a glutton…though I don't look like one."

"You are so lucky!" Meiling sighed.

"As for me, I have to constantly watch my weight or I will be a plump Wobbly-man—or girl—before I know it."

The other two laughed as they tried to imagine the slender and elegant Meiling as the popular Noddy character.

"The boys sure are taking their time," said Ayume, consulting her watch.

"Dunno…maybe the ABC is on a different schedule?" Sakura wondered.

It was when their order arrived when the duo arrived. Both of them looked slightly wild-eyed and drowned the glasses of water on the table.

"An iced tea and blueberry muffin," said Eriol, gasping slightly.

"Mint chocolate thick shake with a cheeseburger." Said Syaoran, equally breathless. The waitress noted down the orders and withdrew quietly.

Meiling raised an eye-brow at her cousin; Syaoran never ate unhealthy stuff and burgers were on the top of his "sin food" list.

"I need this," he said hoarsely, answering her unasked question.

Now that the duo had regained their normal breathing pattern, Eriol gave a hearty laugh.

The girls gave him a quizzical look.

"You wouldn't believe what happened today!" Eriol grinned as Syaoran glared daggers at him.

"Some friend you are," he huffed. "You don't even come to my rescue!"

"Sorry, dear little heir, but I couldn't have missed this show for anything—it was priceless!"

Syaoran folded his hands on his chest, glowering slightly which made Meiling giggle.

"What is it, Hiiragizawa-san?" she probed, still keeping an eye on the chocolate-haired boy.

"It was when we went to the cafeteria for lunch. As you all probably know, Syaoran is some sort of a rich billionaire heir—like I care—but apparently, someone in our class did care. Someone named Amaryl Miyagi."

Syaoran glowered even more.

"Come to the point Eriol. Stop frosting the cake already."

"Apparently, she is the daughter of Taiichi Miyagi who heads the Miyagi Industries and apparently they are like one of the 'ye olde' business families…"

Meiling gave a low whistle.

"No wonder the name sounded familiar. Do continue, Hiiragizawa-san."

"It's not Hiiragizawa-san, call me Eriol. The formality sounds stiff on me." Eriol interjected before continuing.

"Miyagi Industries, if I am not mistaken, is on its way to enter into a pact with the Li Corp to launch a new chain of elite hotels in the Bahamas…and apparently the heiress thinks that pacts in the boardroom result into a pact in personal life. She has kindly taken upon the duty to be our dear Syaoran's soul-mate aka wife!"

Ayume couldn't help but guffaw through her toastizza, almost choking herself. Meiling almost laughed whereas Sakura looked partly amused and partly sorry for the said boy. The boys' order arrived and soon quiet reigned the table for a few minutes as the occupants satiated their stomachs.

"That woman is crazy," said Syaoran through a mouthful of cheeseburger. "She practically followed me everywhere—I think she will even tail me into the men's restroom."

"Some people don't know how to take hints, Li-kun. I am Ayume Tendo, by the way." Said Ayume, wiping her mouth carefully with a tissue.

"How I wish she could! This will be sheer madness—we are in the same course and she freaking took the same optionals! How shitty can my life get?" Syaoran groaned as he sucked in his thick-shake dolefully.

"Come on, Li-kun." Said Sakura brightly. "I mean, she cannot be very bad now, can she? She might just have a crush on you—it will die down. Just forget it. Eriol-kun can help you find a way out of this mess, yes?"

Eriol looked flabbergasted at her suggestion.

"Well, maybe not." She sighed.

"I guess you are right, Kinomoto." Syaoran sighed, partly in defeat, partly in exhaustion.

"Shouldn't waste my time thinking about useless stuff."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, making everybody jump.

"There's this night-club near Lime Tree Hotel which is supposed to be pretty awesome. And they are having a Punk Rock Special tonight. You guys interested? Mei?"

Meiling shrugged.

"Not like I have anything else up tonight."

"Tendo?"

Ayume thought for a couple of moments before nodding in agreement.

"Kinomoto?"

Sakura had never been to a night-club before—Tomoeda didn't have one and she was pretty sure Touya wouldn't have allowed her to step into one. But curiosity got better of her so she nodded in assent.

"Eriol?"

"If Sakura and you are in, I don't see why should I spend my night in solitude." He winked.

Syaoran clapped his hands in delight.

"So it's settled, then. Ten pm. Mei and I will be waiting for you guys near that teriyaki stall across the bridge."

After half-an-hour of talking, the group dispersed—Ayume had to go the shop, Meiling had her economics lesson ("a Li has to know business whether interested or not" she had sighed) and Syaoran for his martial arts class.

As Sakura and Eriol started their walk home, her cellphone rang.

"Gosh! It's Tomoyo-chan!" she squealed, jamming the phone onto her ear.

"You girls talk, I will walk on ahead." said Eriol as he continued walking. Sakura made a beeline for the nearest bench, talking excitedly to her cousin-cum-soul sister.

"Heya Sakura-chan! I miss you soo much!" Tomoyo squealed from the other end.

"Miss you too, Tomo-chan!" Sakura replied, smiling.

"How's Milan?"

"It's so cool here! And you wouldn't guess how talented the teachers are—not to mention my classmates. They are far wackier than I could ever be."

"Wackier? I doubt it," Sakura replied, laughing.

"I designed a Victorian style prom dress today in pink and cream…you would look so kawaii in it—I can imagine you perfectly in that dress." said Tomoyo, her voice getting all dreamy as usual.

"You don't change, do you? It's been almost two months you have been away—when are you coming back?"

"Pretty soon. Actually that's the reason I called you out of the blue. We all have to submit term projects every semester and we have to spend at least a month in the place where our project is based. I have taken up cosplay so I dare say I would be popping in soon!"

Sakura almost jumped in delight.

"Do tell me when you are coming back…okay?"

"Sure. But don't tell Eriol—I want to surprise him."

"Deal."

"And I am bringing a gift for you!"

Sakura groaned.

"Let me guess…a giant suitcase of clothes?"

"That's a given, Sakura!" Tomoyo laughed lightly.

"Naah, it's something else. A little golden ball of fur you gonna love!"

Sakura was surprised—a golden ball of fur? What would she do with fur?

"Okay…see ya soon!"

It was almost six when she reached home. The sunset painted the room in fiery shades—casting an ethereal glow in the apartment. She felt silly on recalling her doubts of the previous night—Ayume and Meiling were awesome people. So was Syaoran Li. A slight blush crept into her cheeks as she remembered her morning encounter. Yes, he was good looking but it was his eyes which captivated her.

Amber eyes as pure as glass.

That depth of sincerity, that genuine worry for her well-being.

He was indeed a very nice person.

She called up her father, telling him what happened in the course of the day. He was glad to see his daughter mingle with people.

On the other hand, Touya was horrified to hear that she was going to a night club.

"Are you out of your freaking mind?" he had yelled.

"Onii-chan, it's okay. Besides, you know I hate drinking. And I will have Eriol with me. And the Li's are great people too!"

Touya still grumbled about "Kaijuu getting all big and mighty" before hanging up, making Sakura smile. Some people seriously never changed!

After getting out of her formals, she crawled into a pair of baggy pyjamas and nightshirt before snuggling into the couch. The night-club visit wasn't till ten so she had almost three hours to kill.

Sakura Kinomoto was a quiet girl, even by Tomoeda standards. She went to school, got good grades, stayed back for cheerleading practice and skated back home. Her social life was severely limited to shopping with Tomoyo, Chiharu and Naoko—her school buddies—as not having a boyfriend ensured the fact that she wasn't out for dates. She did crush on Hein Abe, the Tomoeda heartthrob, but it disappeared when she learnt about his playboy nature. After that, though she had friends who were boys, she never dated anyone.

After high school was over, she decided to enrol into Tokyo University's CL course on her father's insistence. In fact, even her class teacher recommended this course, telling how tailor-made it was to suit her talents. She loved reading and this course would help her achieve more in her favourite field. And when Eriol declared that he too would be applying for ABC, she was glad to know that she wouldn't be alone. After her mother's death due to an accident in Osaka where she had travelled to for a modelling assignment, Sakura developed an unhealthy fear for big cities and traffic. The psychiatrist had told her it was just a phobia which she had to face to overcome—but she was scared. It was only her father's gentle reassurances that she made it here; no one apart from her father and brother, not even Tomoyo, knew about her…well, situation.

She stared at the ceiling, grinning slightly at her brother's "mother hen" persona. She knew it irked him to be so far from her, but that was Touya. He had taken it upon himself to secure her well-being when their father wasn't around. Though the fear hadn't resurfaced today, she felt it at the back of her mind…waiting to pounce.

She chided herself on thinking such morbid thoughts—who was she kidding anyway. She was here, in Tokyo, enrolled in the course of her dreams, with some really cool friends. It is time she started controlling her own mind.

She switched on the TV, flicking yet again through the channels before settling onto Animal Planet. It was an episode focusing on various dog-breeds when a certain sentence of Tomoyo's flashed into her mind.

"Naah, it's something else. A little golden ball of fur you gonna love!"

And another memory, a little older one, began playing in her head.

Two seven-year-old girls were sitting underneath a sakura tree in full-bloom, making garlands with the flowers. One was alabaster fair with long, dark indigo/almost black hair in waves which bounced down her back and expressive amethyst eyes while the other was tanned with short auburn hair which curled around her face and clear emerald eyes. They were clad in identical pale pink and white frilly frocks and were presently laughing out loud at some joke.

Just then, a tiny squeal came up from underneath a bush prompting the auburn-haired girl to go and investigate.

"Look Tomo-chan, it's a golden puppy!" said the girl, lifting up the squealing pup.

"It's a Labrador pup," said Tomoyo, coming over. "And looks like it got lost…"

A few minutes later, a young white-haired teen came along, whistling.

"Spinny!"

The Lab pup squirmed in her arms, apparently desiring to return to the whistling boy. He spotted the two girls and the pup, gave a relieved smile and hurried up to them. The pup ran into his lowered arms, licking his fingers profusely.

"Thank you so much," he breathed, smiling at the girls.

"Spinny is just a couple of months old…he cannot walk around on his own yet without getting lost."

Tomoyo returned his smile but Sakura was a little disappointed—she had fervently hoped that the puppy was a stray so she could have taken it home. But seeing the boy's love shining in his light grey eyes, she was glad that he found the little guy. But still…

"I am Yukito Tsukishira, by the way," he said holding out his hand.

"I am Tomoyo Daidouji and this is my friend and cousin Sakura Kinomoto," said Tomoyo politely, shaking his hand.

Sakura still looked sad, watching the Yukito boy take away the pup…Spinny. He did invite them to come over and play but she still wasn't happy—a cute little pup of her own…

She knew they weren't well off to afford a Lab, so she mustered herself to smile and continue talking to Tomoyo as if nothing happened. But since that day, she never forgot how it felt to hold that golden ball of fur in her arms.

Tomoyo…she wasn't bringing her a Lab pup, was she?

Is Tomoyo's "golden ball of fur" really what Sakura thinks it is?

Or maybe it's something else?

The Next Chapter: Chapter 4: BAR GRENADINA: Sakura hates noisy places but she made an exception...for the day. Will it pay out for good? And will the sparks fly between our two protagonists? STAY TUNED!

Fans of Tomo-chan, yes...she will come. Just hang on a bit longer folks!

Cafe Lazza is actually based on one of my favorite hang-outs and Meiling's order is basically the facsimile of mine. Ayume Tendo is based on another friend of mine though I have slightly upped the fashion quotient...though the fact that she basically haunts Steve Madden shops makes me think that maybe, Ayume might pale in her comparison.

Many people have been asking the link of this story with the eternal classic penned by Erich Segal.

My answer is: it's just the inspiration and the summary of the story. Those who are familiar with the novel will know that the main protagonists were complete opposites in some aspects. Sakura is not pretty well-off...you will soon see why. And there is a reason why Syaoran hates Amaryl Miyagi...secrets secrets!

All will be told in due time, people!

"Naz-chan is mean! I mean, she's not even bringing me into the story!"

"Sheesh Tomo-chan! I cannot drop you right in the middle *rolls my eyes*...and not to mention that school of yours will kick you out."

*pouting* "How long? My Saku-chan needs me! I can't let her wear those baggy cargoes she had sneaked into her suitcase...that's scandalous!"

*sighing* "Exactly the reason Sakura doesn't want you around..."

"Did you say something, Naz-chan?"

"Naah, just counting my days..."

:)

See ya around!