RECAP: Sakura and Syaoran went and checked out Mt Fuji... Syaoran told Sakura about his mother’s death (finally), there was laughter and tears... They try to fight with earthy, but they both get beat up and find that Earthy’s too powerful. Syaoran carried Sakura back down the mountain claiming ‘we must find Eriol’

Chapter 47:

Sakura had ignored Syaoran’s persistent plea to go to the hospital, and so now they sat in the living room of his house. Syaoran begrudgedly had wrapped her leg up with more lotion and medicine stuff than Sakura thought a normal hospital would have. She leaned back on the couch as he fastened the bandage on. "I don’t know what I’m going to tell my dad."

Syaoran stood up and stretched his back, then collapsed on the couch next to her. It was about nine at night, two and a half days since Sakura had left to help with the Earthy. "I don’t know either," he muttered, his brain pretty well fried. He leaned his head back and tried to massage some of the knots out of his sore arms. Carrying Sakura all the way down a mountain was no easy task, no matter how light she was. He forced himself to become more concerned with her problem. "Tell him you were at Tomoyo’s," Syaoran decided sensibly.

Sakura sighed and faced him. "Tomoyo is growing less and less trustworthy. I’m afraid she may have already told my brother I ran off with you or something."

Syaoran moved to working out the massive knot in the back of his neck. "Well..." Syaoran sighed and faced her again. "Why not use that story? Your brother would just love to hear it, and he’s not going to doubt it’s accuracy if you tell him that."

Sakura frowned unsurely. "I’m afraid he might come over here and try to kill you."

Syaoran shrugged. "He doesn’t know where I live... exactly."

"Well......." Sakura let her head flop back on the couch, exhausted. "I don’t know. I don’t know! I’m so tired, why should I even have to think about all of this?"

Syaoran sympathized, leaning his head back once more. Life seemed a whole lot easier in that position. "You could um... just stay here, if you want. We’ll go to school tomorrow, then you can go home and have all of the day to think up some ingenious plan." Syaoran wished she would accept it, but doubted she would. Why would she stay at his house when she could go home?

Sakura’s eyes glimmered a little. That was the first appealing suggestion either of them had had. "Really...I mean, you don’t mind?"

Syaoran smiled at her, a very lazy smile. Sakura tried not to let her eyes widen at the rarity of the moment. "I really don’t. You’ve been gone for two days, why not three?"

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Sounds perfectly logical."

Syaoran nodded, then looked over to his kitchen, thinking. She could sleep in his bed and he could sleep on the couch in here, he supposed. But he wouldn’t mind them both sleeping on the two couches in his living room; they could discuss their plans to defeat the cards. They could just talk each other to sleep. That sounded perfect to him. After two days of being together nonstop, it seemed a horrible thing to sleep in seperate rooms. But he didn’t want to offend her. "Well I have to get some blankets for out here. You can sleep on the bed or in here, whatever you-"

The door swung open, and a long haired fiery girl stormed in. The second her eyes found Syaoran she let out a shriek. "Li Syaoran! What on earth have you been doing!?" When Meilin recognized Sakura’s existence, she added, "Doing with her?"

"We were trying to save the people around Mt Fuji from a massacre."

Meilin sighed. She was quiet for a second, then frowned. "Trying? My cousin never tries anything. He does."

Syaoran shook his head. "There was no beating it Meilin. There’s just too many of those cards against us now, and much too powerful. All we can use anymore is Chinese spells."

Meilin wasn’t quite sure how to handle the situation. She noticed Sakura’s wrapped leg. "What happened to your leg?"

Sakura looked at her leg and then looked at Meilin. "Almost fell into an acidic lake."

Meilin nodded. "Ah, of course."

The three of them sat silent for a while. Syaoran felt himself drifting into sleep, so he decided the sleeping arrangements must be sorted out immediately. "She’s staying here tonight. Have you heard Tomoyo talking about her being gone yet?"

Meilin shook her head. "I haven’t heard anything, but it doesn’t mean she hasn’t. Your friend’s not such a great friend, Kinomoto."

Sakura sighed, looking down at the bandages around her leg. Tomoyo had changed alot in the past year or so. She had changed dramatically. Sakura didn’t know what to think of her as anymore. "I know. I don’t know what’s gotten into her these days."

"I have some theories," Syaoran muttered, shuddering to remember the time Tomoyo had kissed him at that party. She was really messed up.

"Well guys, I don’t want to break up your little date here, but unfortunately this is my bedroom." Meilin pulled a blanket off the back of the other couch and sat down. "Which one of you is staying in here?"

"I am," Syaoran said with authority. He got to his feet and walked purposefully to his room. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Sakura was not following him. He stopped and waited to get her attention.

"Yes?"

"Are you coming?" Syaoran asked. Sakura wordlessly got to her feet and followed him. Syaoran flicked the light switch on and stepped into his almost furniture-less room. "You’ll sleep in here." He explained.

Sakura rubbed her eyes and followed him to his closet as he pulled out extra blankets. "You can sleep on your own bed Syaoran, I don’t want to take it-"

"No, I’m not the injured one. You get the mattress, it’ll all be okay." Syaoran grabbed a large pillow and shut the closet, then faced Sakura. She gave him an unconvinced look. Syaoran smiled. "Just take it for my sake."

Sakura was a bit taken aback by those bright amber eyes opening up to her again. She smiled her biggest smile in return. "I guess I’ll do it then." Not able to hold back her happiness anymore, she threw her arms around him and the blankets he was holding. "Syaoran thank you so much for not holding everything in anymore!"

Syaoran grinned, slowly losing the pillow he was holding. He pulled it the rest of the way out so it wasn’t seperating them, and hugged Sakura back in return. She stepped back, smiling brightly at him, and looked straight into his eyes. Syaoran smiled squarely back. He stepped a littler closer in, keeping her eyes locked on his. This was a perfect moment to...

Meilin cleared her throat in the doorway, receiving a very perturbed look from Syaoran and causing Sakura to turn beat red. She sighed. "Is there any extra blankets?"

Syaoran turned and grabbed the last blanket from his empty closet and tossed it to Meilin. He headed out of the room with her, then stopped at the doorway. "I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Goodnight Sakura."

Sakura glowed. "Goodnight Syaoran," she answered. He left the doorway, leaving her to get to sleeping. Sakura looked around the room, then at the neatly made bed, then let out a long breath. When things were bad, they were bad, but when they were good...they’re wonderful. Sakura flicked the lightswitch down and walked blindly to the bedside. She pulled off her shoes and stretched out, looking at the clock. It was almost nine thirty. She began to stress herself out about Touya and her father. Luckily exhaustion took hold of her and saved her from the worry.

___________

Sakura, Syaoran, and Meilin were all almost late to their first classes. Each had slept through the alarms, and only Meilin, waking to go to the bathroom, noticed the late hour. Sakura sat miserably in math class, shifting her weight to her other leg. She had a horrible amount of make up homework to do, and it looked really hard. These next weeks were going to be terrible.

Nothing brilliant had come to her as far as excuses for her absence. She dreaded how fast the clock was going. She was never going to be able to climb out of this hole. Sakura shifted back to her right leg and sighed. She wished she could just go to Syaoran’s apartment and hide there forever. Unfortunately, that would most likely draw a crowd of policeman led by Touya to Syaoran’s front door. Sakura looked despondently at the clock once more, not acknowledging Tomoyo’s watching eye.

Maybe I should tell them the truth? But... I can’t do that. But... I hate keeping this lie from them, like I have since I was a kid. I’ve never been allowed to settle down into a normal life. Oh no, I just have to be pushed into this heroic role. Who cares if my whole life suffers. But.... would I really want to be normal? Yeah... I think so. But... would Syaoran and I have ever met if things were normal? No. Maybe being normal wouldn’t be that great after all.

Sakura straightened up in her chair and stacked her books precisely. She eyed the crocked book on the bottom, then fixed it. The bell was sure to ring any time. But she knew Tomoyo wasn’t going to let her blow her off.

A high ring signaled Sakura to hop to her feet. She held her books to her chest and headed to the door, not bothering to try and avoid Tomoyo. She gave her a weak smile as they filed out into the hallway. "You hear about the volcano?"

Tomoyo nodded. "I knew you were there." Tomoyo let out a long, dramatic sigh as they stopped at their lockers. She let the silence hang for a moment, then added what she had been aching to say. "I can’t believe you let him go along."

Sakura sighed once more as she opened her locker. "Give it up Tomoyo." Sakura figured it was time to straighten this out once and for all. She faced her. "I know you have something against him. Why I don’t know, because Syaoran’s a wonderful person who’s been through alot. I know you.. you kissed him, last Christmas, and why, I dunno. But please Tomoyo, understand, I’m not going to stop being his friend because you have something against him."

Tomoyo took her books out of her locker, seemingly indifferent. "That’s fine Sakura." She shut her locker and faced Sakura. "But I’m not going sit back and watch your friendship ruin you. Touya already knows that you were with him this whole time you’ve been gone."

Sakura about dropped her books. "Wha...... Tomoyo! How could you? Now he’s going to think we were out doing... He’ll probably tell my dad I was out at some sex fest and ...." Sakura stared at Tomoyo with disbelief.

Tomoyo just shrugged, calmly disagreeing. "How was I to know you weren’t?" She gave a small smile. "I’m sorry Sakura, that it had to be this way. Remember I’m just trying to help you, do what’s right for you... you know?"

Sakura felt a tap on her arm though she barely registered it. Sakura blinked out of her shock and found Syaoran standing next to her. He glanced at Tomoyo, then returned to Sakura. "Thought of anything yet?"

Sakura looked back to Tomoyo, who was already walking away. Tomoyo had a firm expression, her head tilted back enough to look a bit haughty. Sakura watched her walk off, then frowned at the floor, her eyes already filling up. How could such a great friend turn into such an enemy? She let out a shakey breath, forgetting Syaoran was standing next to her.

Syaoran frowned and put his hand on her shoulder. "What... did she say?"

Sakura shook her head and stepped out from his hand. "I can’t...talk..." She choked out, stepping quickly towards her next class.

Syaoran hurried after her. "Tell me when you can, alright?"

Sakura nodded, trying vainly to clear her eyes. As they reached the door to their class Sakura felt a bit composed. She stepped into the room, well aware that Syaoran stood beside her still, watching her every move. She looked into the classroom, where Tomoyo sat on one side. There was a seat for her, if she wanted it, but it was isolated. Syaoran would have to sit two rows away. The entire right half of the room was still empty, and she could sit down next to Syaoran.

Sakura didn’t want to have to make this choice. She always sat with Tomoyo, no matter what. Was she really going to sit next to Syaoran instead of her lifelong friend? Sakura watched Tomoyo talk brightly with Rika. She glanced at Syaoran, meeting his hopeful amber eyes. She smiled the most subtle smile, then walked with him to the far rows. They sat down next to each other. Sakura looked apprehensively to her left. She sat next to Chihura, who was next to Rika, who was next to Tomoyo.

Sakura let out a long breath, then smiled at Syaoran, who smiled unsurely back. "I’ve enjoyed the past couple days," she commented quietly.

Syaoran nodded. "Me too." He looked up at the sensei that walked in front of the class, ready to organize the students. "Tell me after class," Syaoran whispered as the sensei began talking.

Sakura nodded, though Syaoran wasn’t really waiting for a response.

---

After what seeemed like the world’s longest lecture, Sakura turned in her chair to Syaoran. "Touya knows I was with you," she started.

Syaoran looked a bit paler than usual. "Knows...?"

Sakura looked down, making sure no tears were coming, then looked back to him. "Tomoyo. I don’t know what I’m going to do.... Touya’s going to try to make sure I never see you again."

Syaoran let out a sigh. "I’m sorry I had to cause such a problem with you and Tomoyo..."

Sakura shook her head. "Don’t apologize. I don’t blame you for anything. The only thing I want to think about now is how I’m going to be able to still see you after I go home tonight."

Syaoran tried not to look too flattered. "Right... Well..." He shook his head. "I don’t know what to tell you anymore. You can take care of yourself Sakura, so do whatever you want. But don’t cause anymore trouble because of me. Maybe.... maybe I should just go back.." Syaoran didn’t want to admit he couldn’t bare to even entertain the idea. But deep down, he didn’t know if he could live with himself tearing Sakura away from her family. Maybe tearing away from Tomoyo, but not from her family.

"No! You’re not going back Syaoran," Sakura said forcefully.

Syaoran grinned. "I guess that settles things."

The bell rang, interrupting their unproductive conversation. Sakura stood up with Syaoran, casting a glance at Tomoyo and her friends. It seemed Sakura’s old circle was suddenly closing her off. The girls headed out the door, not offering Sakura an exiting smile. Sakura followed Syaoran into the hallway.

"But look Sakura. I don’t want you to become an outcast just because you’re hanging out with me."

Sakura smiled gratefully at Syaoran, shaking her head. "I don’t mind being a loner, especially when the company’s nice."

Syaoran would have blushed, except he rarely did so these days. Syaoran, unsure how to accept the compliment, just headed away to his locker at a hallway intersection. Sakura seperated from his side and headed to her own locker. Tomoyo was already stalking away from her locker, heading to music. Sakura sighed inwardly. This music class was going to suck. She looked down the hallway where she could still see the back of Syaoran’s head. Meilin had found him and seemed to be chattering on to him. From the way Syaoran’s head was staying unresponsive, Sakura guessed he wasn’t listening. She smiled to herself and opened her locker. "Music, music, music...."

________________________________________________________________________

Sakura opened the door quietly, as if it would put things off. She stepped into the living room and found no one present. She let out a relieved breath, then headed towards the kitchen. She had been so nervous walking home, she was sure she had lost a pint of water to sweat. She poured a glass of water and gulped it down quickly. Movement in the hall cause her stomach to flip over.

"Touya-san?" Sakura’s father emerged from the hallway, a confused look on his face. His eyes widened. "Sakura-chan! What- where?" He rushed over and pulled her into a hug. "I was so worried about you! I was out all yesterday driving around, Touya was calling around... Are you alright?"

Sakura stepped out of her father’s arms, feeling the guilt weigh down. "Yes otto-san, I’m fine."

Her father’s desperately relieved expression slowly turned to an unreadable one. "Sakura-san, where have you been the past three days?"

Sakura looked to the floor, shaking her head. "I was.... I was out..."

Her father let out a loud sigh, showing his irritation. "I missed work yesterday, just to go out and look for you. We called everyone we could think of trying to find you. You owe me a confession."

"I was...." Sakura swallowed. She had nothing. She couldn’t lie to her father now, not when he was so upset.

"She was out with that little bastard of a child," Touya said loudly, thumping down the last step.

Sakura frowned at Touya. "Onni-chan-"

"Save it Sakura. Tomoyo told me all about it. It’s not like it comes as a big surprise. I see you run off with him all the time. How could you do that to us? Just run off for three days?"

Sakura shook her head profusely, though tears already peaked through. "I was with him. I was! But it wasn’t like you think! It isn’t ever like you think. You just hate him Touya, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you he did something good!"

"Don’t turn this into my problem, I-"

"Touya, Sakura! Enough! I have had enough headaches to last me quite a while. Sakura, tell us where you were, and I won’t be nearly as upset with you as I am now."

Sakura rub her right eye, keeping her eyes glued to the floor. "I was out with him," she continued more collectively, "and we went.... we went..... Did you hear about Mt Fuji?"

Touya rolled his eyes, but her father spoke up. "Yes, I did."

"We thought we could help somehow..... you know, try and help out all those people. So we headed out. I knew you would never let me go out there-"

"Risk you lives for a bunch of people you don’t even know? How valiant. How courageous, Sakura-chan. Very original. How dense do you think we are-?"

"Sakura, I’ve had enough of this. Maybe you really had good intentions. But that is no excuse for doing what you did. I’m not going to have my one and only daughter running around Japan with some boy I hardly know for days on end. Sakura, you’re not to leave the house for anything but school, do you understand? Nothing. If you need to get a blade of grass from outside this house, you better get Touya or I to oversee the process. You’re not going to use the phone, the television, or the computer until I feel like I know exactly what happened these past few days."

Sakura felt her lower lip begin to tremble. She bit down with her front teeth and nodded miserably, not bothering to hold back the tears. There was nothing she could do. She had gotten away with being gone all the time for quite a while. Now she was out of leeway.

"Now I want you to go up to your room and work on homework, stare out the window, or just sleep. But if you feel like telling me anything else, you just come right down here and tell me."

Sakura wiped the tears dripping down her cheeks and nodded once more, then turned and dragged her feet to the stairs. There’s nothing I can do. I can’t tell him the truth.

Sakura opened her door miserably and stepped in. She looked over her room. Everything was the same as she had left it. Her clothes were left scattered on the floor. Her nintendo was sticking out from under the TV. Her blankets were overturned. Sakura walked over to her bed and sat down. She looked around the room, a glum look on her face. Figures. No phone. No contact with Syaoran.

"Kinomoto Sakura!"

Sakura looked up at the scolding voice. A yellow bear came zooming out of the closet. Sakura tried to hold back the invading tears. She couldn’t withstand another verbal assault. "Don’t even start Kero. You should have been out there helping me. I don’t want to hear one more thing about how I should have ‘let you know where I was going’ or how I should have ‘gone without that...boy’!"

Kero hovered by Sakura’s face, looking upset. "Well you should have," he persisted indignantly.

Sakura glared at him for a moment, then threw herself back on her bed. "Ughh! What IS it with my life! It sucks!"

Sakura shut her eyes tightly and breathed in a few shakey breaths, then opened her eyes. She stared blankly at the ceiling, searching for some kind of answer to her problem. The only answer she got was a pathetic looking butterfly fluttering overhead.

"Bob, you’re still alive," she said dryly.

Bob didn’t look very good at all. His wings were getting slightly crinkled and his antanea were starting to droop. But Bob continued to hold his head high. "Mean Kero won’t ever get the best of me." Bob flew down and perched on the edge of Sakura’s pillow. "You and Sailor fought together?"

Sakura sat up and looked at him. "Yeah, we did."

Kero let out a loud coughing sound.

Bob glared in Kero’s general direction. "Don’t let the yellow beast bother you, sweet angel-chan. The mixing of your powers will make you an unstoppable team."

Sakura frowned with interest. "We couldn’t even beat Earthy. I hardly think we’re unstoppable."

Bob flew up suddenly. "You’ve got to believe!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as Bob headed into his mysterious place of resting. Believe in yourself Sakura! You can do it! You can save the world! Sure. Believing in myself didn’t do much to stop that bubbling acid from frying my leg. Sakura sat up and looked towards the window. She bit her lower lip in thought. There’s no stopping these cards anymore. There really isn’t. What’s going to happen when we aren’t strong enough to defeat them? How can that possibly happen? What happened to the good old days where the hardest thing I had to deal with was being tired? Now I have to wrap my legs in secret twice a day and live like a prisoner in my own room.

Eriol’s the only one that could help us with this now. But maybe he is against me? There’s only one way to find out. Should I go looking for him? Should I use a transport spell? No, that’s too dangerous. But how else will I get out of the house? Sakura sighed. She looked longingly to the window. Outside there was a hazy sky. The sleepy clouds pressed their weight down onto the tall trees lining the streets. It’s going to snow tonight. Great.

Sakura rubbed her eyes and stood up. She decided she was thirsty again, whether actually thirsty or bored she didn’t know. Sakura headed out her door, letting it click quietly behind her. She ambled down the stairs, feeling curiously disconnected from her body. Touya had left the premesis and her father was sitting watching television. Sakura continued to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of orange juice, then leaned on the counter and drank thoughtfully.

Syaoran would know what to do. Too bad I can’t call him. This is the one time in my life school has been so important. It seems like the only time I’ll ever be able to see him. Unless, of course, I come up with some genius lie to explain everything. But that’s not going to happen. I can’t do it anymore. I should just tell them the truth. But I can’t. What happens if a card decides to act up? I can’t leave my house tonight, no way. Sakura remembered the pleading look in her father’s eyes. He really wanted to know the honest to goodness truth. Sakura looked over to the couch where the back of his head protruded out and opened her mouth to speak, then shut her mouth. Like he could even believe the truth if I told him. I’ll just have to wait this out, no matter how long it takes. There’s nothing else to do but that.

--------------

Sakura did not even both to restrain the tears flowing down her cheeks once more. The ice storm had granted Tomeoda a rare snow day. While every other kid was celebrating, Sakura found herself miserable. She had been looking forward to morning all last night, dying to get to school and see Syaoran again. But of course, fate had its way, and they were seperated yet again. Sakura kicked her school outfit across the room and flopped on her bed, her tears finally subsiding.

"I’ve never seen this kind of reaction to a day off school before," Kero commented, dominating the TV with some game he had bought since Sakura was away.

"Yeah, and I’ve never seen such a lazy guardian," Sakura shot back, sitting up and letting out a breath of frustration. "You know it just figures. Of course school was gonna be canceled. I was actually beginning to be happy again, then this."

"What’s so big about school?"

Sakura sighed loudly and got to her feet, looking out the window. "Everything. It’s my only way out of this house, it’s the only place where I can see ... my friends..." Sakura let her thoughts drift. Syaoran seemed like the only remedy to her problems now.

Sakura yawned and walked closer to the window, inspecting the outdoor conditions. "You know they didn’t need to cancel school. It’s not like there’s a foot of snow covering the road or anything. Just a few inches of ice."

"And how many cars have you seen drive by?" Kero questioned, flying over on pause from his game.

"Well....but that’s not the point. The point is... The point is my school’s so stupid and it’s a perfectly fine day to have class."

Kero shook his head and flew over to the television, resuming his game. Sakura glared at him for a moment, then walked to her door. At least she could go enjoy a long shower to pass away the time. As she reached for the door knob, it twisted independently. Sakura stepped back as Touya peered in. His eyes darted straight to the TV.

"Can’t even respect a punishment. I thought I heard that thing on."

Sakura winced. She had forgotten about the no television rule. "I- I forgot..."

Touya didn’t seem to care. "Sure. Well it’s alright, me and dad will move that out of here later. For now I have the perfect punishment for you." Touya motioned for her to exit the room, as she did, giving a last glare to Kero behind her back (who was in his frozen position). As they continued down the hall to the stairs, Touya elaborated his sentence. "Unlike you, I still have to go out in this ice to work today. I do appreciate you volunteering to scrape off my car."

Sakura rolled her eyes and quickened her pace to get away from him. She refrained from grumbling.

"Just scrape off the windows, then work on the door handle with a hair dryer, okay squirt?"

Sakura turned to give him an indifferent look, then nodded. "Of course, onni-chan," she replied, voice dripping in superficiality.

Sakura walked over and grabbed her coat and boots, then stole some gloves that probably belonged to her father. Touya followed her outside to her driveway and leaned against the house wall as Sakura headed out to his car.

Stupid Kero. Leave it to him to make my day even more miserable. Sakura turned to Touya, realizing she was without an ice scraper. He held one out, then leaned back coolly against the wall. Sakura ripped it out of his hands and began on the driver’s window.

"You know Sakura, it would be a whole lot easier on the whole family if you would just stop lying. Maybe it’s a hard habit for you to break, I dunno, but you causing unnecessary stress on dad. I don’t think it’s too good for his health to keep worrying like this. He’s thinking about getting a family therapist, did you know that?"

Sakura continued scraping at the ice relentlessly.

"Selfish Sakura, of course you didn’t know. Because you don’t care. You’re going to break up our family and you’re not even worried about it."

Sakura tried vainly to block Touya out and concentrate on her job. The ice was pretty thick, and she had a hard time getting good footing.

"I wish you’d just stop hanging out with that bastard Sakura. You were never such a weak and self absorbed person until you started wasting time with him. It needs to stop."

Sakura turned to look at him over her shoulder, their eyes meeting and making more ice in the cold Tomeoda day. She opened her mouth to say something, then turned back to the window and continued vigorously. You’re so wrong Touya!

"You know I’m right. Alot of things about you have changed lately." Touya watched her carefully for a few more seconds, then shivered. "It’s too cold out here. I’m going inside, but hurry up, I need to leave in fifteen minutes."

Sakura continued to scrape the window crystal clear, listening closely to the sounds of Touya stepping through the door. As she heard the door click, she turned to make sure he was gone, then went back to the window, this time with lethargy.

"He really doesn’t like me, does he?"

Sakura jumped at the familiar voice, then looked wildly around. Syaoran peered out from the other side of the car, a grim smile on his face.

"Syaoran, I’m going to get in so much trouble if they see you!" Sakura whispered harshly. With a second glance at him, she sighed. "Where were you?"

"Ducking behind here. What’s wrong?" Syaoran walked around the hood of the car.

"No! Stay over there! Please!"

Syaoran froze in his footsteps, then backtracked behind the car. Sakura finished the window, then hurried over to the passenger’s side of the car. She knelt down beside him and began scraping the window. "I got in a load of trouble when I got home last night," Sakura explained.

"I figured. I tried to call you but you had your phone off."

"Yeah. I’m not allowed to use it-" Sakura peeked over the car to make sure Touya wasn’t hiding somewhere, then returned back down, "-or any other form of communication within my house until I tell them ‘the truth’ of where I was."

Syaoran side and resettled himself on his knees. "So no brilliant story came to you?"

"No." Sakura stood up and began scraping the windshield. "Since Touya knew I was with you, he basically banned me from ever seeing you, school asides. I can’t believe we had a snow day today. Of all days!"

Syaoran nodded. "It’s just like fate to do this to us. I was so sick before I came out here, but I just felt like something was trying to hold me back, so I came anyways."

"Sick?" Sakura asked, glancing at him with sympathy. "Are you alright?"

Syaoran grinned and nodded. "Yeah. I was just really dizzy and stuff. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is your cards. I thought about it alot last night and I think we really just have to get to Eriol, and the sooner the better."

"I know," Sakura agreed, moving to the other side of the windshield, "but I’m not allowed to go anywhere for a long time. I just have to let this all die down first."

Syaoran sighed. "What if Earthy starts doing something?"

Sakura bit her lower lip. "I don’t know. I just... I hate doing this to them! I just want to tell them the truth!"

Syaoran dared to peer over the car’s hood. He watched her a while, then looked down at the layer of ice across the car’s blue paint. "I know. It’s not right to break up your family, I know how horrible that can be...It’s your decision Sakura. I can’t help you there."

Sakura quietly continued scraping the ice off. Finally she sighed and set down the ice scraper. "So was that what you were coming here to ask me about? About seeing Eriol?"

Syaoran nodded. "Basically."

Sakura met his eyes, feeling some comfort at the sight of them. She managed a smile. "Well I agree. We-" Sakura paled as she heard the door open. She enlarged her eyes at Syaoran, hoping he would find a safe hiding spot, then turned and headed nonchalantly towards the door.

"Almost done, monster?"

"Just getting the hair dryer," Sakura responded, aloof.

Touya followed her back inside. "Hurry up, I’m going to be late."

Sakura ignored him and headed to the downstairs bathroom, quickly retrieving the tiny hair dryer. She headed back quickly to the door and found the closest outlet, then hurried to the car. She peered around but saw no one.

"Syaoran?"

When no response came, Sakura pressed her teeth together hard and flipped the dryer on, holding it steadily at the frozen handle. At least he came by. Leave it to him to show up at a time like this. He is... so great sometimes. Sakura looked down the road, squinting for any trace of him. There was none. She leaned against the car, forgetting about aiming the hair dryer, and began planning out what she was going to do.

Maybe I should just tell them the truth. What am I scared of? So what if they want to send me to a psychiatrist. I’ll go to England, straighten everything out with the cards, and then be able to live peacefully for the rest of my life. No more cards, no more worries, no more problems, no more stress... That’s just it. I just have to go. Sakura turned off the hair dryer and pulled the door open, then shut it and headed to the house.

Sakura walked to the bathroom and threw her hair dryer in its shelf. "Your car’s done, Touya."

Touya made no response, only headed out to his car. Sakura wasn’t offended in the least, and headed upstairs to her room. She opened the door and sat down, finding the television left on as it had been when she left. She walked over and turned it off, then flopped down on her bed.

"Well... I’m really sorry about that Sakura-"

"Don’t even start Kero. I don’t care. Just don’t get me into anymore trouble."

"Angel-chan should lock glutton away for good!"

Sakura looked up to see Bob’s announcement, who was sprinkling black dust on Kero. She watched Kero’s aggrivation level peak, then intervened. "Stop guys," she said with authority, "or none of us will be eating dinner tonight."

Bob settled down atop his perch and looked out the window quietly. Kero just flew himself over to his drawer and headed in, a large frown on his face. Sakura sat quietly and listened to her own breathing for a moment, then sat up with determination. She headed over to her desk and sat down, then pulled out a pen and some paper.

Dear otto-san,

_________________________

Syaoran stretched out his feet on the couch and yawned. Once he had returned from his visit to Sakura’s he had gotten another wave of dizziness and exhaustion. Meilin, of course, had been on top of it. She had numerous types of tea and foods waiting for Syaoran if he needed them. Syaoran took the time to relax and reflected on the events of the past, as well as the events about to unfold. He and Sakura had some big battles coming up. At least we’re together again. Even an unbeatable enemy doesn’t seem so bad.

The phone rang, and Meilin answered it from the kitchen. Syaoran didn’t trouble himself about it, only drank his tea and gazed out the window.

"Syaoran, it’s Tyung!" Meilin called.

Syaoran’s internal alarms went off. "I’m sick, Meilin, tell her to call back-"

"Stop it you big baby! You can’t keep avoiding their phone calls forever," Meilin stomped in from the kitchen and forced the phone upon him. Syaoran reluctantly took it from her and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, little brother. You sure know how to make your family feel appreciated."

Syaoran felt his emotional dam start to crack. "I’m sorry Tyung. I should have called you guys sooner, or the braver thing to do would have been to stay there and face it, maybe even take what the elders were giving me, but I’m only human. I’m not invincible anymore."

"No, Syaoran. Maybe Daikal and the rest of them would tell you they wished you would have stayed, but none of us wanted you to be tortured like that anymore. However, I really resent the way you left. But I don’t even want to talk about feelings. Everything’s still a blur here, it’s going to take another lifetime to sort things out. No, all I want from you is to tell me what to do with your two damned ponies. Uncle’s tired of holding onto them, and we sure don’t know what to do with them."

Syaoran took a long, deep breath. "I’ll see if I can get them shipped out-"

"Syaoran why are you staying out there! What’s so big about Japan, being away from your family?"

Syaoran stayed quiet, hoping she would divert off the subject.

"Fine. Act like a little child and hide from it. Just know we’d all rather you act your age and be here with us right now. You call your uncle, because if those horses show up here, they’re going straight to Sensei Wanti’s posession."

"Alright," Syaoran mumbled, his small headache increasing violently.

"Well let me talk to Meilin."

Syaoran wordlessly handed the phone to Meilin and settled back into the couch. He had been doing such a good job at blocking out everything that had happened since his mother’s death. Now they forced him to face it again.He had left everything in a mess, but why should the weight of his entire family’s welfare be on his shoulders? He was, after all, the youngest of his siblings. But that didn’t seem to matter. He always ended up the scapegoat for everything. Maybe I set myself up for it. I become such an easy target for them, every time I turn unnaturally cold or react differently than them..

Syaoran looked up as Meilin hung up the phone. "What else did she say?"

"Not much. The clan appointed some new guy as an elder, and Wanti-san made a big deal about how he wanted to have that spot. Everything settled, I guess. Your sisters have managed to keep the house, so far, though I have no clue how. Tyung said she’s had some money saved up that she put towards it. I guess they’re doing alright. Maybe you should ask them yourself. It would do alot for them to see some sign that you actually do have some concerns for them."

Syaoran glared. "And what about their concerns for me! I came back and worked my ass of for them and I didn’t get anything but pain and persecution in return. I don’t think that’s quite a fair trade-"

"Stop it! You went there and worked for your mother, and they all admired you for it, you know they did. How the elders treated you, that wasn’t right, but they were scared of losing you. And they did. What your sisters don’t understand is why you had to leave them alone right after everything collapsed, that’s all."

"What my sisters don’t understand is that everything would have collapsed no matter when I left. I just couldn’t hold everything up anymore. I needed help just holding myself up. So I finally did something for myself and came and got it."

Meilin was quiet for a moment and then smiled. "And Sakura’s honored for the job. Have you ever told her..."

Syaoran sighed and shook his head. "There’s been too much stuff going on with her and her cards to even touch feelings. It seems no matter where I live, I’ll never be able to be a normal, boring, wonderful human."

Meilin shook her head with a sad smile. "You’re not missing anything, believe me."

______________

Sakura surveyed her father and brother watching television downstairs. It was the perfect opportunity. Everything was in place, all just waiting for her to make the final move. She had her dad’s card, her suitcase, and her note all just waiting to be used. Sakura walked nervously down the last of the steps and stood expectantly facing the two couches. Finally her father acknowledged her existence.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura glanced at the news show they were watching and took a deep breath. "I want to tell you the truth."

Her father turned to face her, his eyes looking ready. Touya turned as well, a smug smile on his face. "Only a day and a half of punishment and you’re already ready to fess up?"

Sakura just looked at him, then returned her gaze to her father. She sat on the edge of the couch, picking at a rugged nail on her left hand. "I don’t know if you guys are going to believe this or not, but I swear by it. It’s the truth. It’s wild and far fetched, but it’s way beyond my imagination’s skills."

"Just go on, Sakura, and I’ll decide the rest," her father responded.

Sakura took a deep breath and looked at the carpet. "Okay. Well you know.... I.. I’m not exactly a normal kid." At Touya’s laugh she glared. "Neither are you Touya, or any of us for that matter. We’re not really a normal family. Mom was murdered by some psycho, which is definitely not exactly a normal type of death. Touya, you can see ghosts, dad, you’re a descendant of the greatest magician to ever live, and me, I’m in charge of the magic cards that magician left behind.

"I’ve been fighting and sealing these cards since I was ...like ten. That’s where I was on those three days. One of my cards was acting up and I went there to stop it before it hurt a bunch of people." Sakura surveyed her audience. "Look," Sakura quickly pulled up her pantleg and unwrapped her calf. "I almost fell into a bunch of acid. And this-" Sakura pulled up her sleeve, "This scar is from this ghost related to mom’s murderer."

Touya rolled his eyes. "That was one of the best lies you’ve come up with-"

"It’s not a lie! I know you’ve seen her, so don’t deny it."

"Seen who?"

"Mother!" Sakura explained.

Touya swallowed his malice and pointed his finger at Sakura. "Stop this Sakura! Stop lying to us! You’re tearing us apart! You expect us to believe this fairytale concoction? And I’m sure that little bastard is part of your magician friend network, and went along with you. Convenient as hell, don’t you think? Nice try Sakura, but what do you take us for, honestly?"

Sakura looked with pleading eyes to her father, who had pulled her arm closer for inspection. "That’s it. That’s where I was. You can keep punishing me, but that’s all you’re going to get out of me. That’s the truth." Sakura looked to her father for some kind of sign, but he gave none. He only let go of her arm and looked up with sad eyes.

"Sakura, you can go up to your room now. We’ll talk about this tomorrow. Don’t worry about going to school."

Sakura stared at him with shock, not able to produce any tears. She had prepared herself for this, but there was no way to foresee how bad it would feel. They really didn’t believe her. They probably thought she needed help. Sakura nodded as an automatic response, then turned and walked stiffly towards the stairs, picking up the bandaging from her leg. She walked quietly into her room and turned off the light, ignoring that it was only eight O’clock.

I knew it would happen. It’s alright. In a little while, everything will be okay. Everything will be back to normal.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - -

Syaoran opened his eyes to see a bleary vision of his ceiling. From the pale gray light that he could see, he guessed it was about five in the morning. His headache was gone, as he checked by shaking his head from side to side. His eyes wanted to close again. Then why had he woken up in the first place? Syaoran could tell his mind was registering something. What was it? Magic? No... Maybe Meilin just got up or something. Syaoran went to roll over, then realized what had woken up. He had heard a rhythmatic thud.

That wasn’t footsteps. That was... Knocking? Syaoran sat up, squinting as he was eye level with his window, then got to his feet. He shivered and searched for the T-shirt he had thrown off just before bed last night. Not able to find it, Syaoran tore a towel off a chair and wrapped it around his upper half, then headed out into the living room towards the door.

Syaoran opened the door and was greeted by arms flung around his neck. This isn’t Meilin. She’s asleep inside... "Sakura?" Syaoran asked, his voice a bit gruff.

"I did it Syaoran!" Sakura said, hugging him tightly, trying not to let any more tears escape. She stepped back, letting Syaoran close door behind her, and smiled sadly.

He returned a confused smile and tried to better hold the towel around him. "Oh?"

Sakura was able to genuinely laugh at Syaoran’s confusion. "I told them. I told them last night, about where I was, that I was in charge of magic cards, everything!"

Syaoran could only increase his smile as he watched her enthusiasm. My Sakura, you must be the sweetest girl in the world. "How did they take it?"

Sakura sighed. "Not the best... I think my father was going to send me to a psychiatrist today, and Touya only hates you and I more... I showed him the scar on my arm and stuff, I think he thinks I’m a cutter."

Syaoran sighed, understanding the grief she must be going through. He motioned for them to go and sit down on the couch. Sakura followed him over, and they sat down closely together. "I’m sorry, Sakura. But..." Syaoran realized there was a more main question at hand. "No offense, but why are you here so early?"

Sakura smiled, looking at the floor. "I had to sneak out before they’d try to stop me. I want to go to England Syaoran. I want to finish this once and for all. So we can just be normal people finally. No more of these worries, lies, any of it. I just want to be done."

Syaoran nodded slowly. "Yeah, we should get rid of Eriol once and for all."

Sakura nodded.

After a few seconds of silence, Syaoran tried again. "So... You want to leave now?"

Sakura clapped her hands on her knees. "Yeah," she jumped to her feet and ran to the door. She reached out into the hall and grabbed a suitcase, then returned to the couch. "I’m so forgetful sometimes. Yeah, It’d be a wise idea to leave as soon as possible..."

Syaoran nodded. "Well, I’ll get my stuff together....but... But how are we going to pay for this? I mean, I’d really like to be able to buy us both tickets, but I’m not exactly financially abundant right now..."

"I’ve learned a few tricks from you, Syaoran. I stole some of my dad’s stuff last night before I dropped the bomb, including his credit card."

Syaoran grinned at Sakura. She smiled back. She was sitting so close to him that her knee was pressing on his. Syaoran took a deep breath and tried to refocus from her mesmerizing smile. "I’m glad I’ll be travelling with such a conartist."

Sakura just looked back at him, being uncharacteristicly quiet. Syaoran let his smile fade and dared to lean a little closer in to her. But of course-

"What’s going on!" Meilin shouted in her most irritated and annoying voice. She stepped into the living room and rubbed her eyes, then softened a bit. "Oh, hi Sakura. You two eloping so early in the morning?"

Sakura blushed vibrantly. Syaoran only had the boldness to respond.

"We’re going to England," Syaoran said, ignoring her comment.

Meilin’s eyebrows raised curiously. "Oh?" Meilin surveyed the towel Syaoran had wrapped around his upper half. "In a towel?"

Syaoran looked down and blushed, having forgotten about it in his conversation with Sakura. How could she not comment on that? "No, I um... couldn’t find my shirt..." Syaoran mumbled.

Meilin waved that off and continued on the main subject. "Care if another traveller joins you?"

Syaoran shook his head. "Not this journey. We’re taking care of Eriol once and for all."

Sakura fingered the necklace around her neck nervously. So much had gone on lately from her cards... She wondered what seeing Eriol would do? I wonder if we’ll be able to un-erase Chindra? "I’m running away from the psychiatrists my family is going to force on me."

Meilin grinned. "Looks like you’re going to have your hands full with a mental patient travelling all the way to England, Syaoran." Her smile faded. "You’re sure I can’t go?"

"Can you afford what these tickets are going to cost?" Syaoran countered.

Meilin sighed loudly. All was quiet for a few moments, then Meilin sprung back into life. "Well, if you guys are leaving, you better get to it. Knowing your weird family, Kinomoto, someone’s going to come looking for you soon, and you two better be on your way by then."

Sakura nodded and stood up. Syaoran got up, clutching his towel, and headed towards his room. "Let me pack another outfit or something really quick."

Sakura smiled, then looked to the carpet where she was digging a hole with the toe of her shoe. Meilin broke the silence.

"This is a pretty big deal, huh?"

Sakura looked up and nodded. "It really is. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my dad when I get back. I was already in so much trouble since that little trip to Mt Fuji. I left a note telling him to please not cancel his credit card, so hopefully he doesn’t. If Syaoran and me can stop Eriol then... it just seems handling the aftermath will be a piece of cake."

Meilin nodded. "You two are an unbeatable pair. I’m sure you can handle it."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks."

Meilin nodded again and then looked towards the window. "You just take care of my favorite cousin. He’s alot more fragile than he appears."

Sakura frowned curiously at Meilin. "Don’t worry. We’ll both be better off after this."

Meilin grinned slyly. "I’m sure you will."

Syaoran stepped out into the hallway, his amber-brown hair sticking out of a hat he had put on, his clothes different. "Ready?" He asked Sakura, after she and Meilin had both been staring at him silently for more than five seconds.

Sakura smiled and nodded. "Ready when you are."

Syaoran walked towards the door. "Let’s go then."

Meilin put her hand over her mouth, her eyes glazing over at the cuteness of the situation. Syaoran turned to say goodbye and scowled as he noticed the ridiculous look on her face. "Bye Meilin," He said through tightened teeth.

She smiled coolly at him. "Bye. Good luck." With that she added a wink at Syaoran, who turned quickly and rushed Sakura out the door.

"Thanks," Sakura called over her shoulder as she was ushered out into the hallway.

Syaoran shut the door, then let out a heavy breath. "We should probably take the bus since we’re short on cash."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Okay. Well let’s hurry. I can’t get caught by Touya or my dad out here."

Syaoran trotted down the stairs. "At least they won’t know where we are."

Sakura bit her lip. "Well I told him, so he didn’t have to worry... that I was going to England..."

Syaoran stopped on the bottom step, almost causing Sakura to run into him. "You told him where you were going?"

Sakura had a feeling Syaoran was about to make her feel stupid again. "I left him a note. I wanted to be honest with him, keep him from being scared..."

Syaoran let out a slow breath. "Sakura... You can’t just tell him where we’re going to be. Now he’s probably going to have people looking for you, or chase after you himself....You..."

Sakura looked down at her feet, trying not to let it get to her. "Okay, maybe it was stupid. Sorry. But if we hurry, he won’t even realize I’m gone for another hour or two. We could be on our way by then."

Syaoran would have liked to continue his lecture, but seeing the upset gleam in Sakura’s eye he decided to digress. "Alright," he agreed, continuing out of the apartment lobby and into the parking lot. "Let’s just hurry about it."

Sakura nodded. "Right."

Sakura followed Syaoran down to the bus stop and sat silently with him on the bench until their bus came around. They got on quickly and sat towards the front, ready to get off again. The bus was pretty much empty, aside from a few early morning business commuters. Sakura smiled at Syaoran once, which he pretended not to see, then leaned against the seat in front of her to close her eyes. Before she knew it, Syaoran was elbowing her to get off. Sakura got to her feet and headed down the steps, followed by Syaoran.

Syaoran took the lead and led Sakura towards another bus stop, where they stood silently for a few moments.

"You think we’ll be able to get a direct flight there?" Sakura asked.

"I don’t think so. We’ll probably have two stops or so." Syaoran responded, picking up his small suitcase as a small shuttle slowed in front of them. Syaoran got on board, as did Sakura. The bus driver wordlessly continued on his route. In a moment or two they were delivered to the front of Tomeoda airport.

Sakura and Syaoran scurried off the bus and walked with energy into the airport. Syaoran seemed to know where he was going, so Sakura just followed him. He had, afterall, travelled several times from it to Hong Kong. Syaoran marched right up to some machines, setting down his suitcase. Sakura did the same and watched Syaoran with curiosity. He punched some things into the machine, then turned to Sakura.

"Can I see your credit card?"

Sakura nodded and hurriedly pulled out her father’s wad of stuff. "Here’s this. And... this is his pin number... Is that all you need?"

Syaoran nodded and was already processing the card information. Sakura stood impatiently, glancing cautiously at the doors. It was dumb of me to tell them where I was going. What if Touya breaks in and tries to take me back home? It’d be just like him to do that. Sakura watched Syaoran nervously as he took out the things the computer printed out, then sighed with relief as the screen said ‘thank you’.

"That’s it?"

"Yeah, we just skipped check-in. Here is your ticket-" Syaoran handed her a ticket- "And you have a passport with you, right?"

Sakura frowned, worried she had made some vital mistake. "Passport..."

"ID? Something with your picture on it and residency and stuff..."

"Oh! Yeah, I got one for the cruise and I ended up not even needing it. I think I left it in my wallet..." Sakura grabbed her handbag quickly and began searching for it. She unbuttoned her wallet and retreived the plastic card. "This, right?"

Syaoran sighed with relief. "Yeah. Okay, we better get going."

Sakura nodded. "Let’s."

Syaoran led Sakura the way towards the gates, looking at his tickets and then at the signs on the walls. "Get ready for the fun of security."

Sakura sighed, not really looking forward to the trip through the metal detector. She checked her pockets for anything metal, then followed Syaoran to the short line before the conveyer belt and metal detectors. She set her bags on the belt, then walked carefully through the metal doorway. Feeling relieved as nothing went off, she retrieved her things on the other side. Syaoran walked through with no problem, but then was stopped to be wanded. Sakura tried not to laugh as Syaoran stood scowling with his arms off his sides. Once cleared by the guard, Syaoran brushed past Sakura silently.

"Hey! Sakura!" A loud voice from behind shouted. Sakura’s eyes widened and she whipped around, as did Syaoran.

Touya came storming down the ramp, looking ready to pull out a gun on Syaoran. Unfortunately for him, the guards thought so too. They stopped Touya, who tried to push past them, with a firm hand. "Sir, please stop resisting-"

"That’s my sister! Hey! Sakura! You get your ass back here this minute!"

Sakura stood in shock for a moment, scared stiff, before Syaoran grabbed her hand and dragged her down the hallway. Sakura hurried after him and followed him down to the gate. "He’s going to come after us!" Sakura shrieked, looking over her shoulder.

"No he’s not. Not onto the plane he’s not. They had a plane leaving at six, and it’s ready for us to board." Syaoran said with determination. "Get out your ticket and your passport, okay?"

Sakura reached in her bag and retreived them, then slowed to a stop as Syaoran stopped in a line. Syaoran was in front, but he turned and pushed Sakura in front of him. Sakura reluctantly complied, then smiled at the attendant who took their tickets.

Sakura boarded easily, but unfortunately Syaoran was caught in the wrong random order. A security guard took him aside. "May I have a look in your bag, sir?"

Syaoran glanced at Sakura, then looked at the guard. "Sure," he muttered. Syaoran handed the guy his bag, then looked worriedly down the hallway. Touya would probably get through the gate, unless he persisted in his wild behavior. Syaoran watched Sakura disappear into the plane. The guard looked through slowly between the clothes Syaoran had packed. Syaoran sighed and shifted his weight.

A glimpse of a figure hurrying down the hallway caught Syaoran’s eyes. Touya, moving a little too fast, being a little too tall, easily spotted Syaoran. Syaoran glared back, not worried. Sakura was in the plane, and there was nothing Touya could do about it.

Touya hurried over to where the guard had Syaoran pulled aside. "You, you bastard, you get my sister off that plane right now!"

Syaoran grinned, knowing exactly how to handle this situation. "I’m sorry sir, do I know you?"

Touya gave Syaoran a look that could kill, then he grabbed his arm. "You listen here, little piece of shit, if you don’t get my sister back this instant I’ll personally handle matters myself-"

The guard, noticing the disruption, stepped in. "Is there a problem here?"

Syaoran turned to the guard. "I’m sorry officer, I think this man’s lost his sister, he seems a bit confused."

"You bastard! Bring back my sister!" Touya went to punch Syaoran, but the guard dropped Syaoran’s suitcase and restrained him.

"Sir!"

Touya ignored him.

"Security!" The guard called to the attendant, who quickly picked up her intercom radio.

"I’m sorry sir, you’re free to board," the guard said to Syaoran. Syaoran nodded gratefully and picked up his suitcase, giving Touya a mean look, then headed back onto the plane.

Syaoran let out a breath of relief as he stepped down the narrow aisle of the plane and felt his insides jump as he spotted Sakura’s bright smile. He smiled back and stopped at their seat. He put his suitcase in the overhead, then sat down wordlessly, relaxing into the seat. They would finally be rid of all of this stress, once and for all. It was just a flight away, minus the stops.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I DID IT! I’m SLOW! I KNOW! SORRY! I wrote almost all of this on a sick day. Yay! Later, I’m going to write some more!

comments! I switched emails! I’m using lots of exclamation points! I’m enthused!

[email protected]

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-Syaoran’s most avid fan!