Lilover131: Hey guys! I AM BACK!! Sorry for the long wait! I was grounded from the computer for a while cuz' of my algebra grade. However, now its summer break! I can write much more! Lol. I hope you liked the last chapter! Sakura finally talks to Kohaku! I bet you all have been just as curious as her (at least I hope. That would be the point. Lol). Ah! Today's a special day! IT'S SYAORAN'S BIRTHDAY!! Anyways, with no further delay…here's chapter thirty-seven!

Last time…

"Kohaku…who are you?" she asked. Kohaku returned her look of straightforwardness. The wolf cub stood up for a moment and then sat down on the soft sheets again. He could see the look in her eyes. In her emerald eyes, there was a strong light that shone of determination and curiosity.

"I suppose I should tell you, now that you've become so determined to know," said a soft female voice from him. Sakura's emerald orbs widened in shock.

"That voice…is that really you, Kohaku?" she asked quietly. She was so stunned, she could barely speak. A grin almost appeared on the wolf's face from her reaction to the voice. However, seriousness soon reigned again.

"Yes. I am the one you know as Kohaku. However, I am also someone else you have not yet met."

Cry of a Wolf-Chapter Thirty-seven: Questions asked and answered

"…Someone I have not met…?" Sakura said. She was so confused! Since when could Kohaku speak? And what does he mean by 'someone else she has not yet met'?

"Sakura-san…do you recall having a conversation with Hiiragizawa-kun about the force outside that 'maintains balance' in Syaoran's powers?" asked Kohaku…or at least the feminine voice. Sakura nodded.

"Hiiragizawa-kun's assumption was correct. There is a force outside that maintains it." Sakura smiled brightly.

"Really? Do you know who maintains it?" Sakura said. Kohaku nodded.

"The one who upholds the balance…is me," the wolf cub said. She gasped in shock before smiling slightly.

"I had a thought that it might be you," she said. However, something still did not make sense to her.

"What did you mean by you being someone I have not yet met?" she asked. Kohaku's gaze brightened a little.

"You know me as the male wolf cub named Kohaku. However, in reality I am a feminine spirit named XiaoLian (Chinese name meaning "little lotus")," said Kohaku. Sakura's mouth was wide open in surprise (In order to not confuse anyone, remember that Kohaku and XiaoLian are one in the same).

"So you're a girl?" she asked. The voice giggled.

"Yes. I suppose you could say that." Sakura smiled brightly. The expressions soon turned serious once again.

"Syaoran-sama's in great danger…" XiaoLian spoke. Sakura nodded worriedly and continued to listen.

"My powers cannot keep the two other spirits in control for long...they know I'm here now…" she said.

"The two spirits know who you are?" she asked. Kohaku's head nodded.

"Of course they do. After all, they are my brothers." Sakura's eyes widened.

"Why are your brothers' spirits's inside of Syaoran?"

"That is a very long story meant to be told another day," she answered. Sakura nodded in understanding. Kohaku gazed out the window sadly before speaking again.

"Syaoran is beginning to lose control of the spirits within him. You noticed after what happened today, right?" she asked. Sakura nodded.

"Yes. He seemed out of it and muttered some strange Chinese words," she said.

"And the look in his eyes…it was almost as if…it wasn't even him."

"That's because it wasn't him. The one we saw earlier was one of my older brothers," said XiaoLian. Kohaku could recall Syaoran saying 'Shiaw Mey Mey', which meant "little sister" in Chinese.

"That was your older brother?" Sakura asked. She was finding out so much information in such a short amount of time!

"Yes. His name is XianLiang (Chinese name meaning "worthy brightness"). He is the spirit responsible for the powers Syaoran has used thus far," she answered.

"What about your other brother? What of him?"

Kohaku's expression suddenly looked frightened.

"…He has not yet surfaced…"

With Syaoran and the others

Syaoran continued to cook breakfast. He had made it back just in time before the food burnt. Strangely enough, he did not even remember walking outside. He remembered Feimei teasing Sakura and him about sleeping together, and then hearing a strange voice.

Flashback…

"…Xiao Lang…" said the voice. Obviously, he had been very surprised to hear this voice. Especially considering it didn't look like anyone else had heard it. He suddenly felt dizzy.

"…Xiao Lang…" said the voice again. The dizziness blurred his vision, and he felt his head and arms fall limply.

"Who are you?" Syaoran said in Chinese aloud (that's what the first Chinese word meant). There was no answer. And then there was darkness.

When he finally came to, he found himself outside.

End of flashback…

'What was that?' Syaoran thought in confusion. His mind soon drifted back to finishing the breakfast. He was almost done.

Meanwhile, Eriol eyed Syaoran curiously. He had felt a different aura about him when the strange occurrence happened. He wasn't himself. And those words…

"Hsin shiey…"

Eriol knew all too well what that meant. 'Fresh blood…' he translated in his mind. Moreover, when Syaoran walked outside, Kohaku was found bleeding with a wound to his leg. Coincidence? He didn't think so.

'Syaoran also seemed very confused when he went back to normal. Could he be losing control to the spirits possibly within him? But also…once Kohaku was injured, he went into that state. Could Kohaku be…?'

Eriol suddenly came to a realization.

With Sakura and Kohaku

Sakura gave a confused expression from what she had just heard.

"Not surfaced?" she asked. Kohaku nodded.

"…He almost did surface at the forest when Naraku kidnapped you. Syaoran was in such rage…my other brother thrives on anger. Thank goodness he didn't, though. Otherwise, we would all be dead," she answered. Sakura's face paled at that answer.

"Is he really that violent?" she asked.

"More than you know," XiaoLian said ominouslyShe gulped in response.

"So what can we do to stop Syaoran's balance from shattering?" she asked. Kohaku's expression became troubled.

"…I don't know…" she answered shamefully. Sakura sighed and bowed her head low.

"I-I see…"

"However…I know that if my power fails, then my brothers will certainly cause much damage…to Syaoran…and perhaps even to the entire planet…" said XiaoLian.

"And my powers are running low…" she whispered ever so quietly. Sakura prepared to ask, but Kohaku had changed the subject.

"-And about those girls…the body guards…" she started. However, as soon as she did, the body guards burst into the room.

"BREAKFAST IS READY!!" said the three girls cheerfully. Sakura fell out of her chair in surprise. Ai, Lin, and Shui quickly apologized for the scare.

"We are so sorry, Sakura-sama! We didn't mean to startle you!"

Sakura quickly shook her head.

"No! It's all right. I'm just startled easily," she said with a laugh. Kohaku's irritation from the interruption was quite noticeable. However, they had no choice but to end the conversation at that moment. There was no point in keeping everyone downstairs waiting.

Downstairs

"You took an awfully long time bandaging Kohaku's leg. Was everything all right?" Tomoyo asked Sakura in worry. She nodded. Everyone at the breakfast table had the same question.

"Yes. Everything was fine. I'm sorry I took so long. I was a little picky about getting the bandage just right…" she said. She felt a little guilty lying to everyone, but she didn't think XianLian wanted her secret to be spilled quite yet. Though she thought she had cleared through the question, Eriol was not convinced. He knew that there was more to what she had said.

'Sakura knows something…'

Even Syaoran seemed a little hesitating to believe her. Though considering he could trust her with anything, he was fairly quick to accept the lie with no further questioning. Sakura quickly took a bite of the meal that Syaoran had so graciously prepared for them. The taste consequently left a wide grin after swallowing. The food seemed to have the same effect on the others as well.

"Amazing! Syaoran…where on earth did you learn how to cook so well?" Sakura asked. Her emerald eyes emitted a glow of curiosity. Syaoran gave a small smile.

"He learned from his grandmother," Yelan stated. Sakura smiled even brighter.

"Really? Was she a really good cook?" she asked. Yelan was quiet for a moment as she retraced back into her memories.

"Absolutely. She could cook any recipe given to her, and she memorized them all after seeing them once. Not only was she excellent at remembering the recipes, but the taste of her food was unbeatable," Yelan said. She smiled warmly before speaking again.

"…And she still is unbeatable."

Sakura smiled brightly.

"What kind of food did she make?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, she made all kinds of food. Although, her specialty's always involved chocolate. I suppose that's why it's Syaoran's favorite food," Fanren said with a laugh. Syaoran blushed from this comment. Sakura sighed happily.

"I wish I could try some of her desserts," Sakura said. The family's expression suddenly brightened.

"Sakura-chan, would you like to meet her?" Feimei asked. The emerald-eyed girl nodded repetitively.

"I would love to!"

"Syaoran, would you go with her? You haven't seen your grandmother in a while," Yelan asked. Her son merely nodded. It was true that he hadn't seen his grandmother in a while, but he wasn't really looking forward to it. She always teased him about how cute he was, how much he was like his father, and he could not forget her incessant need to hug him. Her personality was almost like a super-sized Meilin (back when they were engaged). Even though he knew the consequences of going, especially with a new girlfriend, he had two reasons to see her. The first reason was because Sakura wanted to meet her, and the second was because his life sucked at the moment (because of Naraku) and he needed some chocolate. However, other than the normal 'cute' rants that all grandmothers did, there was also another reason he did not want to see her…

"Then it's settled! Li-kun and Sakura-chan shall go see her!" Tomoyo said cheerfully. Sakura blinked.

"You aren't going to go, Tomoyo-chan?" she asked. The violet-eyed girl shook her head.

"I would like to meet her, but I have a little bit of business to take care of here," she said. Sakura only blinked again. It seemed that Meilin and Eriol also answered the same way. Touya was going to go (to watch Syaoran), but he was elbowed slightly by Yukito. Even the sister's decided not to go. Why didn't anyone want to go? Since Sakura was a non-questioning person, she did not ask why.

"I guess it's just us then, Syaoran!" Sakura said happily. She actually enjoyed the fact that they would get some alone time. Syaoran blushed a dark pink. The group smiled. The real reason they all bailed was not because of 'business', but it was because they wanted the two to have the alone time they weren't able to have many times before. However, the happiness did not last long.

"We will go too!" said the bodyguards. Sakura could be seen twitching slightly. Why did they have to go with them on every occasion? Didn't they have…well…lives?

"…Are you sure? Isn't there something else you'd rather do?" Sakura asked as nicely as she could. She was very good at hiding anger, but she could not hide it from her friends and family. They knew her all too well. To respect Sakura's wishes, they also tried to convince the three girls to stay. They only refused every time.

"Our mission is to stay by Syaoran's side at all times and protect him! We cannot allow him to be anywhere without us," they said in unison. Syaoran sighed. The elders really didn't trust him, did they?

On the way to Syaoran's grandmother's house

Syaoran, Sakura, and the bodyguards walked slowly through the Li territory. Luckily, most of Syaoran's family members lived within this territory. His grandmother was no exception. She and her son Kyo (Syaoran's father) lived in this territory their entire lives. Later, Kyo met Yelan and they fell in love. The two married at a young age, which was common in the clan. Kyo became the Li clan leader shortly after he got married, and it was his duty to have an heir. After having four daughters, they finally had Syaoran. Though they needed a son, they weren't the least bit bothered by all the daughters. In fact, they couldn't get enough of their children. And while the children grew up, Kyo's mother helped take care of every single one of them.

However, what Syaoran found most fascinating about his grandmother was that she never cried. She was always comforting others before herself. She was the most selfless person he knew. Syaoran's family was the most important thing to her. Kyo was all she had left when her husband died of illness at a young age. Syaoran sighed. She seemed so lost when Kyo died.

'That's why I hardly visit her anymore…' Syaoran thought to himself sadly. He was too much like Kyo. He could see the pain in her eyes every time she saw him. Syaoran felt that if he saw her, he would only remind her of what she lost.

'She's already given so much to this family…I can't bear making her sad' he thought. Sakura noticed Syaoran's saddened expression.

"Syaoran…are you all right?" she asked in concern. He nodded.

"I'm fine. We're almost there," he said. His grandmother's house was only a block away now.

'I better get this over with…' he thought. The moments that passed as he walked to the door of that large house seemed like hours. He hesitated a moment before ringing the door bell. A few seconds later, the door slowly creaked open.

Lilover131: How was that chapter? Once again, sorry it took so long to get it up. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYAORAN!! Lol. I'll get another chapter up definitely by the 27th. Because…the 27th is the second year anniversary of Cry of a Wolf! Wooohooooo!