Disclaimer: I don't own ccs or the characters! Although, I wish I did!

Lilover131: Hey everyone! I'm sorry if the last chapter was confusing! Perhaps if it was, then it will make more sense as the story continues. I'm also sorry that it was not as exciting as the other ones, but I just had to get out most of the information before continuing. AND I'M REALLY REALLY REALLY SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME REACH MY GOAL OF 200 REVIEWS!! WE DID IT AGAIN!! THE NEW GOAL IS NOW 250!! AND TWO DAYS AGO WAS MY BIRTHDAY (had to get that out)!! Yay! I am 16 now! Anyways, here is chapter thirty-three!

Cry of a Wolf-Chapter Thirty-three: To Promise and Protect

Syaoran's amber eyes fluttered open from his reoccurring slumber. He was tired of constantly losing consciousness and didn't like to feel weak. However, he was confused as to what happened earlier. All he remembered was the electricity coursing through his body and then darkness again. Slowly, he sat up and gazed around his room. He was relieved to find that no one was there. Now he could sneak out and train! However, as soon as he began to get off the bed, the door opened. Sakura came in with a tray of tea and a warm hearted smile.

"Oh! I see you are awake! I brought you some tea," Sakura said as she placed the tray down on the table next to his bed. Syaoran stared at the tea on the tray.

"A-arigatou," Syaoran said quietly (Arigatou- Thank You). Sakura poured the drinks into the cups and then handed one to Syaoran. He slowly took the cup into his hands and took small sips. He had been very quiet for several minutes, which left Sakura frowning.

"Syaoran…are you feeling all right?" Sakura asked. Syaoran gazed to her rather blankly.

"I'm fine," Syaoran said quietly. He couldn't leave to train with Sakura being right there. 'She might call the others' Syaoran thought and so he stayed in his place. The two continued to drink tea, and Sakura was becoming fidgety from the uncomfortable silence. Syaoran's amber eyes were boring into the cup at his darkened reflection. His mind was deep in thought, and Sakura watched him quietly. His gaze then turned from the teacup to the window of his veranda doors. The sun was setting in the horizon and left the sky glowing a bright orange. Yet another day was passing. 'Tomorrow is the day the half moon will rise…I wonder what will happen? In every dream, there was a half moon in the sky. What are my dreams trying to tell me about?' Syaoran thought to himself.

Syaoran felt Sakura lean her head on his shoulder for a moment. He looked to her with worried eyes, and she looked up to him with the same gaze. 'The half moon will rise tomorrow…and when that happens, I may be out of time to protect those I love. I cannot let that happen!'. Sakura became even more worried when she felt him gently shrug her off his shoulder and stand up.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked. She felt as if she already knew, but couldn't help asking. He stood in his place and did not answer.

"You're going to go out and train, aren't you?" Sakura asked. He still did not answer.

"You ARE…aren't you?" Sakura said quietly with pain in her tone. Syaoran did not respond to her questions and began to walk towards the door.

"Thanks for the tea. I'm going now," Syaoran said and continued to walk away. Suddenly, Sakura dropped her teacup, which allowed it to shatter on the floor, and she ran towards Syaoran. She quickly grabbed him in an embrace from behind around his waist, which caused him to gasp slightly in shock from her sudden action. He felt her bury her face into his back, and the broken teacup and spilled tea was quickly forgotten.

"Sakura?" Syaoran said in a whisper. Sakura embraced him even tighter before speaking.

"HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT WE CAN PROTECT OURSELVES?" Sakura cried. Syaoran's eyes widened.

"…"

"DO YOU THINK WE ARE TOO WEAK TO PROTECT OURSELVES?" Sakura cried again. Syaoran gave a sad expression.

"…No…but…" he tried to say before being interrupted.

"IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE IN US, THEN PLEASE JUST REST AND WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF FOR A WHILE!" Sakura yelled. Syaoran remained in her embrace completely speechless from her words. He had been so absorbed in protecting his loved ones, that he had forgotten that they were not helpless. Sakura felt herself being pulled down by Syaoran's weight when he suddenly fell to his knees. She could feel him lightly place his hands on hers which embraced him.

"…I am sorry Sakura…I didn't realize…" Syaoran said with a shaky tone. Sakura kept a strong embrace and simply rested her head on his back. 'I don't ever want to let him go' Sakura thought to herself.

"I want to protect you, Syaoran," Sakura said in a whisper. Sakura was slightly shocked when Syaoran released her embrace from him. However, he had only done so to turn around and gaze into her emerald eyes.

"I want to protect you too Sakura…" Syaoran whispered. Not before long, Syaoran held her hands and began to lean forward slowly, while Sakura did the same. The couple's faces became closer and closer…until…

"XIAO LANG-SAMA! YOU'RE AWAKE!" yelled three familiar voices. Sakura's eyebrow twitched at the unwanted presence of the three bodyguards: Ai, Lin, and Shui. The three hyperactive girls were like three Meilin's from back in the card capturing days. To Sakura…it was one of the most irritating things EVER. However, because she is a kind and thoughtful person at heart, she had not tackled them to the ground and ripped their heads off yet. The girls quickly wrenched him off of the ground and began to pace around him.

"Um…what are you doing?" Syaoran asked confused. The girls then walked up to his front and looked to him seriously before smiling brightly.

"Checking you for injuries!" said the girls. The couple looked to each other with a strange reaction.

"Um…why?" Syaoran asked.

"We heard you had an accident earlier when it was raining, and we just want to make sure you were all right!" said the girls. Sakura and Syaoran sighed. 'It's a little too late for that…' Sakura thought to herself. Lately, these so-called 'bodyguards' had come too late when Syaoran was in danger. They were useless! 'Where did they go anyway? They just disappeared for hours' Sakura thought in realization. All of her thoughts fled when someone opened the door. The person who entered the room was none other than Yelan.

"…Mother…" Syaoran said quietly before she spoke.

"Dinner is ready. Everyone should meet at the dining room," Yelan said. On cue, everyone began to walk out of the room to go eat. However, Syaoran was stopped by his mother's arm.

"Not you, Syaoran. You are going to eat in here," Yelan said. Syaoran was slightly surprised.

"Why?" Syaoran asked with a confused expression etched on his features.

"Because you need to rest. I don't want you to over exert yourself," Yelan said. Syaoran groaned in irritation.

"Jeez…I'm so tired of resting all the time. I need to move!" Syaoran protested. His words made no progress in the situation. Within seconds, he remembered what he had heard from Sakura. 'But I believe in them…so I will rest…' Syaoran thought once he remembered Sakura's words. Yelan was surprised that Syaoran had not argued further, for he usually did, and she left without another word. Ai, Lin, and Shui left shortly after her, but Sakura stayed in the room for another moment with Syaoran. Sakura looked to him as if she wanted to say something. Syaoran shot her a questioning look that told her 'what is it?'.

"Syaoran…will you promise me something?" Sakura asked. He instantly nodded.

"Promise me…that you won't use your magic today and tomorrow," Sakura said. Syaoran's eyes widened. Today AND tomorrow? He wished to argue, but there was one little problem…it was SAKURA asking him! He could not disagree with those pleading emerald eyes.

"…Fine…" Syaoran said in defeat long before the battle had even started. After this was said and the two linked pinkies, the promise was complete. Sakura smiled brightly. She began to walk out the door, but she then gazed back at him with a smirk. Syaoran suddenly had an unsettling feeling.

"And just to make sure you don't sneak out…I'm going to use the 'LOCK' card on your room!" Sakura said. Syaoran nearly fell over.

"Is that really necessary?" Syaoran asked with an agitated tone. Sakura's grin widened.

"Sometimes you must go to great measures to get someone to relax," Sakura said. Kohaku quickly ran into the room before Sakura pulled out her star key. Without saying another word, Sakura left the room and placed the magic shield around his room. He was stuck.

With the others

"Is it really necessary to lock Xiao-Lang-sama in his room like this?" asked Ai, Lin, and Shui. The group looked to each other in thought.

"YES," was the answer all of them said in unison. The girls blinked in confusion. Touya had especially agreed to lock him up. They all knew how reckless Syaoran could be. However, unless they wanted him to starve to death in his room, they needed to bring him some food. The bodyguards seemed to be the best girls for the job, and that was because feeding him should count somewhat as guarding.

"We'll be right back," said the three. Sakura and the others wondered why all three needed to go, but they really didn't care otherwise.

"I can already feel him trying to break through the 'LOCK' card," Sakura said. Everyone laughed. Those girls were going to be dodging shelves and dressers.

With Syaoran

'Argh! Why do they have to treat me like a kid on grounding?' Syaoran thought to himself. He threw multiple amounts of furniture at the door to escape and eat with the others, but the spell Sakura had put on it was a strong one. He sat on his bed sulking like a child. At least Kohaku was with him. He usually liked being alone, but he did not in these circumstances.

"Nowadays, I'm starting to question who I can trust," Syaoran said. Kohaku nodded as if he understood. Everyone seemed to be locking him up these past few days.

"Nobody trusts me enough to make my own decisions, and they all act as if they have to make them FOR me," Syaoran said. He sighed. Even though he felt restricted, he knew that they were all doing this to protect him. The only problem with this was that he HATED being protected.

"I want to protect them…and I feel like a weakling when it's the other way around," Syaoran said to the baby wolf.

"Do you think they should be protecting me?" Syaoran asked. He waited to see if Kohaku would answer. For a moment the wolf did not respond, and then it looked to him with fiery amber eyes.

"I was born to protect you," Syaoran heard a feminine voice say. His eyes widened in response to the voice.

"Who was that?" Syaoran said aloud. Before he could think of it any further, Kohaku jumped on him and began to lick his face. Syaoran giggled from the tickling sensation.

"Jeez Kohaku! Why do you always do that?" Syaoran said in between laughter's. The moment between the two wolves were interrupted when the three bodyguards came through the door. Kohaku began to growl immediately. Syaoran found Kohaku's reaction strange. He was always so friendly with people. Sure he growled and bit Touya at first, but now they got along just fine. Kohaku would've normally gotten used to them by now.

"We have brought you some food Xiao-Lang-sama," said the three girls. Syaoran slowly raised himself off of the bed and walked over to the girls. Gently, he took the dinner plate from their hands and bowed slightly in thanks.

"Arigatou," Syaoran said (Arigatou- Thank You). In response, the three girls got low to the ground and began to bow.

"We, simple clan people, do not deserve such thanks from the Li clan heir," Lin said. Syaoran sighed. Everyone in his clan felt that they were to worship him because he is the heir.

"…You don't need to bow…"

"But the Li clan heir deserves utmost respect!" Shui said.

"Just stop bowing and stand up!" Syaoran said loudly. The girls were slightly stunned, and they immediately stood up from the order.

"Yes, Xiao-Lang-sama!" said the girls obediently. Syaoran put a hand to his head in irritation.

"That wasn't an order…Just stop being so respectful. I'm no better than anyone else in this clan," he said. The girls smiled brightly from his words.

"What?" Syaoran asked. Why were they looking at him like that?

"You're just like your father," Ai said. Syaoran's eyes widened. Syaoran was silent for a few minutes as he sat down on his bed and began to eat his meal. The girls watched him intently.

"So you knew my father?" he asked in between bites. They shook their heads.

"No. But our father did. He always told us what a kind man he was. He always told the people of the clan to treat him as a normal person, and he was the strongest person around," said Lin. Syaoran nodded. That sounded like his father.

"…We were so saddened when we heard about your father's death. That must have been a very tragic moment for you," said Shui. Syaoran looked down with a wave of sadness in his amber eyes.

"He was murdered by Naraku, the man who currently haunts you…is that correct?" asked Ai. Syaoran nodded with a mix of many emotions on his face upon hearing Naraku's name. The sound of Naraku's name made him feel strange. Suddenly, Syaoran felt a small amount of dizziness course through him. He could feel a strong emotion of rage swirl dangerously within his body. A small gust of wind flew around him and caused his hair to blow in different directions. His eyes, which held such anger, began to blink from green and back to amber again. Electricity came in small doses under his feet and in his palms. When Syaoran realized what he was doing, he quickly stopped all occurrences. 'No. I won't let my magic be released. I promised Sakura that I wouldn't use magic' Syaoran thought.

"Are you all right Xiao-Lang-sama?" asked the girls. Syaoran sighed. There they went with the respectful talk again.

"I am all right. I just lost control for a moment," he responded. The girls still looked concerned, and Kohaku looked worried as well.

"Perhaps we should leave you so you can rest," Shui said. Syaoran nodded in agreement, and the three girls bowed, turned around, and began to head towards the door. However, as soon as they turned the knob, they stopped and turned back to face Syaoran.

"What's the matter?" Syaoran asked. The girls looked down.

"The door is locked."

Lilover131: Hey everybody! Did you like that chapter? I'M SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG!! I've been SOOOOOOOO busy lately…. and lazy too. So we left the chapter with the three bodyguards getting locked in the room with Syaoran! WHAT WILL HAPPEN? Haha. You'll just have to find out! See you next time!