Wah! Oh my gosh, I hate this stupid story so much!

...Okay, that was a lie, but for real, I totally was- up until like 60 seconds ago, anyways- going to have this one big long chapter with an action-packed ending, but then I just couldn't. It felt wrong. You'll see with the way that I end this chapter and start the next. It'll make sense then. Not the point. Point is, I decided that the end of what will now be the next chapter was just way too intense for me to put in this one.

Anyways, enough of me toying with your guy's minds, I wanted to say hi! It's been two and a half weeks! I missed you all!

It's been so long that you'll probably start reading this chapter, stop, and then think to yourself, "What the heck is going on?" Because if you're anything like me when I'm waiting for an update that takes a while, you'll have gone and read 10+ other fanfictions, possibly all with the same characters, and you will have absolutely no idea what was happening. I'm not even kidding; when I used to bookmark a million different stories on my phone, I would go back and check for updates and it'll have been like two months, and I'll just have no clue what's going on.

With that said, I think if you go back and read the last little snippet of last chapter- heck, just go back and read the last word- and you should be set. The one word. Sakura says, "Dad."

Did you just have an 'ah-ha' moment? Hopefully. If not, I don't know what to tell you.

Wow. I had so much stuff I wanted to say in the authors notes, but now that I've split this chapter up, I guess the rest can wait until the end. Oh, but I almost forgot! Since I did split this chapter into two, and the interesting part is in the second half, you might be kinda bored while reading this. And I totally just insulted my own writing. Nice, Cupcake. Real nice.

I must just sound insane right now. I'm sorry about that. It's been a long day. That and I'm still readjusting to being home again. Everything feels colder now. Kinda creepy, because I was only at the beach for a week... Although, it was considerably closer to the equator than where I am now.

Enough of me talking, enjoy the chapter... Even if it is fairly uneventful...

Syaoran's POV

Something is definitely off with Sakura this week. Ever since Monday, she's been distant. It's weird, obviously, but somehow it feels like she's been acting strange a lot lately. Just last week she was acting uncharacteristically jumpy, and now it looks like she's hiding something. She keeps on glancing over at me in the morning with this look like she wants to tell me something, but as soon as I meet her gaze, she looks away and stays silent.

On Wednesday, she finally says something out of the ordinary.

"Um, hey, Syaoran." I look up from the book she forced me to check out from the school library last week. With my attention draw, she continues. "I'm not going to be here in the morning tomorrow or Friday."

"Huh? How come? I thought painting was your favorite thing to do in the morning."

"It is, but there's," she hesitates, "something I need to take care of."

I'm about to ask her what, when she quickly says, "Anyways, I just figured you should know, since you come here every morning, too."

"Oh," I begin slowly. "Well then, I'll take that into account." Now what am I supposed to do in the morning? I've gotten so accustomed to coming to school early every day, that I don't think I'd be able to sleep in if I tried.

More importantly, though, there's defiantly something up with Sakura, and I intend to get to the bottom of it.

Figuring out what's up with Sakura has proven to be more challenging than I anticipated. She lied to me when I asked her if she'd finished of everything she needed to. She claimed that everything was taken care of, but from the look in her eyes, I could see that she wasn't telling me the truth- at least not all of it. Something is defiantly going on, but I can't tell what.

Maybe something to do with her brother. For all I know, something could have come up that she's just not ready to talk to me about. Although, after she told me about her father the other week, I don't see why she would feel the need to hide anything from me.

Due to my lack of progress, I've decided to talk to Daidouji to see if she knows anything. I don't particularly want to invade Sakura's privacy when she's clearly not ready to tell me about what's going on, but I'm starting to worry. She's starting to look more and more distressed with every passing day.

I manage to catch Sakura's amethyst-eyed friend before class on Friday. She's about to head into the classroom when I intercept her.

"Hey, Daidouji, do you have a minute? There's something I wanted to ask you. It's about Sakura."

Hearing Sakura's name, her eyes immediately fill with worry. "Sakura? Why, is something wrong?"

"Uh," I glance over my shoulder to make sure the girl in question doesn't spontaneously show up at the wrong time. "I'm not sure. She's been acting strange ever since the beginning of last week. I don't mean to sound too intrusive, it's just that I'm-"

"Worried about her," Daidouji finishes my sentence for me. "I know you are, Li. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what you're talking about." She reaches up to wring her hair between her fingers. "I haven't spoken to her much these past few weeks, now that I think about it. If she's acting strange, I haven't noticed, and she hasn't said anything about it to me. Whatever 'it' is."

"Oh," I mumble, disappointed. So, Daidouji doesn't know anything, either. Back to square one.

"I'm sorry, Li."

"It's alright. Thanks, Daidouji." I turn around to head into the classroom, but stop when Daidouji calls out to me.

"Wait!" Her eyes light up as if she's just remembered something. Flicking her own forehead, she says, "I can't believe I forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"Sakura's mom; she died at the end of autumn, remember?"

Memories of Nadeshiko Kinomoto's funeral invade my memory. That had been at the start of winter, but her mom died before that. Closer to the end of Autumn, which means... "That's right. It happened sometime this month, right?"

"Yeah. December," she taps her chin thoughtfully, "something. I can't remember the exact date, but I'm pretty sure it's sometime around now."

I lean back against the wall and cross my arms. "So that would explain why she's been acting strange. She's probably been reminiscing." I shove away from the wall and turn to Daidouji. "Thanks, Daidouji. I'll try talking to her when I get a chance."

"Anytime. And, hey, Li?" Once again, I pause just as I'm about to head into the classroom and look back at her. "Thank you for looking out for her." A warm, appreciative smile crosses her face. The way she says it brings a smile to my face, too.

As I enter the art room on Monday of the following week, Sakura doesn't even turn around. Dropping my things down next to my usual stool, I walk up beside her and say, "Good morning, Sakura."

"Ah." She blinks and looks up at me as if only just noticing my presence. "Good morning."

"Everything alright? You seem kinda out of it."

"I-I do?"

Oh, wow, she's lying through her teeth.

"Yeah, you do. Look, Sakura, if something is bothering you, I can-"

"Nope!" She quickly cuts me off. "Thanks, Syaoran, really, but there's nothing for you to worry about." Much to my surprise, she looks me straight in the eyes and says, "Everything's alright."

I stare into her eyes, trying to figure out if she's lying to me or not when I finally give up and admit, "Okay, that's it. I didn't want to say anything, but you're freaking me out, Sakura. You've been acting really strange lately. I know that it's the anniversary of your mom's death this week."

Her hand automatically freezes reaching for the paint. Very slowly, she draws it back towards her body. Not facing me, she stiffly says, "It's not exactly a secret. Do you have a point?"

"My point," I tell her, "is that I'm worried about you."

At this, she turns her head and our eyes lock. She studies me for a long moment then shakes her head, and simply states, "I'm fine, Syaoran." Looking away, she adds, "My mother's death isn't what's bothering me."

"But there is something bothering you." It's not a question.

She abruptly sets the paints down and turns her entire body to face me. "Syaoran, I know that you're just trying to help me, but this really isn't the way to do it." Giving me a stern look, she waits for me to say something.

"Okay, then what is?"

She shakes her head. "For once, could you just not? I mean, do you not realize that you're prying?"

I let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. I give up. Don't tell me."

Sakura stares at me for a moment and then finally say, "Alright, fine. I'll tell you."

Whoa, hold up. Is she serious?

"It's my dad."

She is! All of that, and now she's just going tell me? Talk about a one-eighty.

"The Friday before last, he came to me and told me he needed to talk to me. He said that he had a favor he wanted to ask of me. At first, I was reluctant, but then, after almost a week of seeing him walk around the house sober, I decided something must be up." She glances down at the floor before continuing slowly. "So, I told him I'd hear him out."

When she doesn't go on, I rapidly inquire, "And?"

Sakura looks up at me again and just stares into my eyes as if trying to decide whether or not to tell me. After a moment, she sighs reluctantly, but goes on nonetheless. "He asked me if he could come with Touya and I when we visit our mother's grave this year."

Not meaning to say it out loud, I choke out, "Seriously?" I clear my throat and lean back on the stool, trying keep a straight face and process the information all at once. After a minute of very intense thinking, I finally lean forward in my seat. "So what did you say?"

"What could I say? I told him that it probably won't be possible. Touya doesn't know about any of this. My dad has been out of his study a lot more lately, but Touya hasn't been around to see it. He's too busy with work, I guess. Point is, there's no way Touya will ever agree to let our father come with us. After seven years of it being just the two of us, Touya probably doesn't even consider him part of our family anymore."

I let out a low whistle and stare at her.

"Yeah, I know," she agrees, as if reading my mind. "I'll figure something out, but right now I have no clue what to do. Part of me wants to tell Touya, but, at the same time, I don't know how without having him blow up."

Shifting my eyes to the side, I mumble, "I know exactly what you mean." Seriously, her brother has anger management issues. That and he hates me. If looks could kill, I would have died at the day I met Touya Kinomoto, the insanely over-protective brother.

From in front of the painting easel, Sakura smiles sadly. "I'm sorry, Syaoran."

Surprised, I blink a few times. "What for?"

"Bothering you with my problems. I'll figure something out, so don't worry about it."

With that, Sakura returns to her painting, and I'm left unable to do say anything to comfort her. Even though she doesn't realize it, when she says things like that it really bothers me. Honestly, it gets to me sometimes. Seeing her in so much pain, but not being able to do anything about it. It makes me feel absolutely helpless.

Sakura's POV

"Why you stupid little... Ugh! I will annihilate you! You think you've got the best of me, well, you've got another thing coming! When I'm done with you, you're gonna be-"

"Um." My head shoots up to find Chiharu standing across the counter, staring at me as if I've gone insane. "Everything alright in here, Sakura?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well," she begins, looking down at my hands. "You were kind of just screaming at the dishes."

"Oh." I set down the plate in my hands. "Right, that. It's nothing. Just a stain that doesn't seem to want to come out."

She raises an eyebrow, but keeps quite. Then, the door behind her opens and in walks our manager.

"Sakura, why don't you head home early today? Things have ben pretty slow around here today, and I know that this week has been extra stressful for you."

I hesitate, looking down at the unfinished dishes. "Are you sure? It's really not that big of a deal."

"Yes, you should go. Ruby is closing tonight, and you know how she can be when someone gets in her way while she's locking up." I cringe. Mrs. Matsumoto turns her attention to Chiharu. "Actually, you should probably head out, too, Chiharu. No sense staying."

Unlike me, Chiharu immediately perks up. "Really? Awesome. Come on, Sakura, we can walk back together." She turns to me with bright, excited eyes.

"But the dishes." I look over at the remaining pile of silverware.

"I'll take care of it," Mrs. Matsumoto says. "You two go home and get some rest."

I hesitate one final time before reluctantly taking off the plastic gloves and following Chiharu into the changing room.

"Thanks, Mrs. Matsumoto!" Chiharu calls back, skipping happily out of the kitchen.

Mrs. Matsumoto smiles pleasantly. "Good night, ladies."

"Good night," we call back in unison.

As I arrive home, I'm greeted by my father.

"Sakura," he says, looking up from his paper in alarm. "You're back early."

"Yeah." I toss my bag down on one of the chairs and head into the kitchen. "Mrs. Matsumoto let me leave early."

My father opens his mouth to ask something, but then stops and shuts it again. He rubs his face as if deep in thought. Finally, he opens his mouth and begins slowly, "Mrs. Matsumoto..."

"Oh! Sorry, she's my boss. Manager of Twin Bells- the café I work at."

"I see." He looks down at the table as if ashamed of himself.

For a moment I'm confused by his actions, but then it hits me like a ton of bricks. He's never heard about who my manager is or where I work. Even though I've worked there for six years now, he didn't know because he never cared to ask or listen.

Unsure what to do, I quickly change the subject. "So- um- I was going to make dinner now. Does just some spaghetti sound good?"

As if coming out of a daze, the man before me looks up and simply stares at me for a moment before finally blinking a few times and saying, "Yes, that would be wonderful." With a desperate look, he stands up. "Would you like some help?"

"Um..." I glance over my shoulder at the rest of the kitchen. Then it hits me. Turning back to him, I smile and say, "Sure, I would really appreciate that."

And just like that, we get started, moving around the kitchen and exchanging helpful comments in regards to the preparation of the meal.

Fifteen minutes later, my father is walking between the kitchen and dining room to set the table. As he pulls the plates from the cabinet, he pauses and glances over to me.

"Do you think your brother will be eating with us?"

I freeze in the middle of straining the noodles. Crap. When does Touya get back today, anyways?

"Um..." My eyes dart over to the clock. Thank goodness. I'm fairly certain he doesn't get off for another hour today. That should be plenty of time to finish eating and clean up dad's plate. If he were to walk in and find dad eating dinner at the table with me, he'd freak. "He doesn't get off for a while," I say as regretfully as I can.

"Oh, I just thought that maybe he'd like to join us."

"Yeah, about that," I begin slowly. "I haven't exactly told him about how I've been talking to you."

"You haven't? Why is that?"

"Well... It's just that Touya isn't exactly as understanding as most people when it comes to... certain things." There. I think I worded that alright.

"Ah." He nods. I let out a relieved sigh.

He gets it.

"So my son doesn't approve of me."

Crap. How do I respond to this? I can't exactly deny it. That would just be my lying straight to his face. But I also can't just agree and tell him that his own son thinks he's useless as a father.

"I guess it's a bit much for me to have asked you to let me join you in visiting-" He stops short, the words getting caught in his throat. There's a wince on his face and a depressed look in his eyes.

Reaching out, I rest my hand over my fathers and give him as comforting of a smile as I can manage. "I'm sorry," I whisper. He simply nods.

There's a moment of silence before I pull my hand back and say as upbeat as I can manage, "Well, let's start eating before the food gets cold."

He nods once more, then we finish up in the kitchen and take our seats at the table.

We eat our dinner in comfortable silence, and for the next half hour, I reminisce over all the times the four of us would sit down and eat dinner when I was younger. Touya and I rarely get to actually sit down and have meals together, and even when we do, there's always something missing. Even now, there's still something missing. Maybe if Touya were here as well, it would feel whole again. At least, I'd like to think that; but, in the end, the only real thing that's missing is something that can never be replaced.

Even if my mother were to suddenly show up on our doorstep, smiling and telling us everything we ever thought was true was actually a lie, it still wouldn't be the same.

Not even if dad got help and went back to work and Touya and I could finally live our lives the way that we should.

I'll never be able to go back and have a normal childhood. That was torn away from me. I was forced to grow up and face the reality that was set in front of me. Nothing can ever change that. Nor can anything change that Touya had to drop out of school. He had to give up graduating alongside all of his friends and classmates- people who he'd known all his life. All of his dreams for the future were crushed.

We will never be able to go back and redo our lives. There's no turning back the clock. Time will continue to march on, same as it always has. Ruthless and unforgiving.

That part of our lives will forever remain tethered by the harsh reality that we were faced with. There's no putting aside what our family went through. All the things we lost. A loved one, precious to everyone she know. But so much more. We didn't just lose a mother and wife when Nadeshiko left us. We lost meaning of the word 'family'. Touya and I clung to one another because we didn't want to let it go. Our father, however, wasn't as strong. He lost sight of what was important. As much as I love him, I can't deny that my faith in him is nearly nonexistence. There's an absence of trust. In Touya's case, all that's left is bitterness. It makes me wonder how much longer I would've lasted before I, too, became consumed by bitterness.

Maybe five years. At that point I'll have graduated and started living my own life.

Possibly ten years. I could decide to save up and try to go to college in my late twenties or early thirties.

For all I know, it could even have been fifty years. It's ideally the time I would retire, but without a college degree, there's a possibility that my salary won't be enough for me to ever retire. What would've happened then?

Had I not started speaking to my father again, any of them would still be valid possibilities. Now, however, I'm not sure if I'll ever truly be able to see things the same way. All those things I once thought about my father aren't holding up anymore. My outlook is slowly starting to change, because for once, I can finally see the man behind the mask of alcohol. The man he was before Nadeshiko died. The one who cared about his children. The one who would look at me, smile, and tell me that he loved me.

It almost seems to good to be true. But right now, with him sitting across the table form me eating a meal that we cooked together, I'm not about to question that. Just for a little while, I'm going to live in this moment. The here and now, and not let anything that may happen in the future effect my enjoyment of just having my father back.

See? Uneventful. Kinda sad when you think about it. I just couldn't not (double negative) use this as an ending. It's like my signature closing. Dramatic speak from the person who's point of view it is... Which is always Sakura, because Syaoran's life is... Not as dramatic. Oh, but next chapter ends with a dramatic exit from someone besides Sakura! No, it's not Syaoran. Sorry to disappoint, but it's actually a pretty exciting chapter in my opinion. Me being the author who is totally not objective. You guys should really just let me know when I post it.

Speaking of which! The next part of this chapter is already up to 2k words (or so says my calculator/phone) making it at least 1k short. I'll have it up sometime Saturday probably. All I really need to do is add a beginning for the chapter and then it should be good.

Okay, it's getting later and later, and I've already made you guys wait forever for this, so I'm going to stop writing author's notes, and just post this. Sorry if it wasn't as awesome as you were hoping. Next chapter won't be nearly as slow. Hope you keep reading till then.