Author’s Note: Wow, I am such a bastard, I swear… it’s srsly been a year since I last updated… what, the hell. I am so, SO sorry. But I am updating now, because I think (and hope) I have re-found inspiration when I read through the notes I made on various scenes that’s to happen in this story… now, let’s see how many people are still following this story/remember it… :shot:Thave fun...it.", you probably wouldnt', with Eriol following behind silently, observantly.

)Frosted BlossomZ( - Hehe that part was particularly fun for me to write too :P Yay Sakura XD

)Sayoko's-fire( - Whooooops… another late update then…? n.n; gomen ne… ah, I don’t blame ya for forgetting the story… I think if it were me I’d too… :shot:

)mangalvr( - Haha, lol yes ma’am, I shall write! XP

)Arina and Saku( - Haha I don’t think I’ll be rewriting it atm… more important to actually keep consistent updates, ne? :P Though I’m kinda forgetting what I wrote before… need to reread soon before I write some conflicting crap… :(

Chapter Four

Havin’ a Little Fun

Tomoyo walked silently along the stream, with Eriol following behind silently, observantly. “There’s something you want to ask me?” Tomoyo asked gently.

Eriol sighed. “Well, yes, there is… but, I don’t want to sound as if I’m accusing or anything…”

“Don’t worry, ask away.” She replied with a small smile. She would never have guessed that… normal people… would be so observant. “I won’t get mad.” She added.

He paused. “You and Sakura… when did you two come to this town?”

“A few weeks ago.”

“From where?”

“A far away place, you probably wouldn’t’ve heard of it.”

“Why?”

“To… have fun…”

“To have fun. That’s a rather simple answer, isn’t it?”

Tomoyo looked away. She should’ve and could’ve came up with a better lie, she knew. Except for some reason, she didn’t want to lie to the young man before her. “Yes, but it’s true.”

“You and Kinomoto-san are barely 13-year-old girls, I think it’s fair to say normal girls your age don’t just change towns to ‘have fun’.”

“But… we’re not normal…” she whispered softly.

Eriol paused in mid-stride as he stared at her. Tomoyo stopped, too, as she turned around to gaze back at him.

A chilly wind blew by, lifting her long, gorgeous dark hair into the sky.

Reaching forward hesitantly, Eriol brushed her hair out of her eyes, his hand lingering by the side of her face. “No,” he replied. “You’re definitely not.”

Another rather strong gust of wind blew by, causing the water from the stream to splatter onto their legs.

Tomoyo suddenly felt tense, remember what her mother told her about not going near water. Slowly, she glanced down and saw that a small part of the strap of her sandal seemed to have melted away.

Startled, she took a step back abruptly, breaking her and Eriol’s eye contact. “Sorry.” Tomoyo apologized quickly. “Let’s go somewhere else…” she said, already walking away from the stream.

Eriol mentally slapped himself. He couldn’t believe he was just staring… at a girl. A middle-schooler, no less. “Are you… afraid of water?”

Tomoyo smiled sheepishly. “Well, I—ah—it’s hard to say… let’s just say I’m not too fond of it.”

Eriol grinned following after her. “You’re a weird one…”

“Mou… stop making fun of me…” Tomoyo mumbled.

“So, where do you wanna go?” He asked as he caught up to her, grasping her hand gently. Her skin was unnaturally smooth, and creamy, and soft, and all in all, perfect—just like the rest of her.

Tomoyo pondered. “Doesn’t matter, really, let’s just take a walk, and see where it leads us.”

Eriol smiled. But before he could nod, his smile suddenly faded as he stopped in his steps and glanced at his watch. “Shoot. Actually, I can’t. I’m sorry Tomoyo, I have to meet someone else in about half an hour at the school.”

“Someone else?” She echoed.

“Well… There are nine other girls besides you whom I’m seeing… and I got to meet one of them today.” Normally Eriol would tell the girl he is with this line, without feeling the slightest hint of guilt. After all, they were all fully aware of this. But somehow… looking into Tomoyo’s eyes, he felt as if he was betraying her. “I, I guess I should’ve told you about it ahead of time. Sorry.”

Tomoyo looked away and frowned. This won’t do. Nine other girls? No. I do not wish to share… “Can you tell her you have to be with someone else?”

Eriol scratched the back of his head. “Probably not… this girl… umm originally both her and her sister are suppose to date me this year… but… to give you and Sakura the privilege… someone had to go… The girls decided by drawings straws… the girl I’m gonna see now—Miki—her sister drew the shorter one and got kicked out…”

“Miki’s sister… what’s her name?”

Eriol wondered what she was getting at. “Nana, why?”

“Do you love Nana?”

He stared back at her with a bewildered expression. “Are you kidding me? Of course not.”

“Do you think you would’ve fallen in love with her if you dated her this whole year?”

“Probably not… Nana’s… well, just like all the girls I’ve dated in the past. And I haven’t fallen in love with any of them.” Eriol sighed scratching the back of his head. “I really don’t think I’ll ever find my soulmate… at least not out of these bunch…”

Tomoyo turned fully towards him and smiled. “Good, I’m glad to know that.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Now I don’t need to feel guilty.” She replied with a smile. “I didn’t take anything away from her. Her goal is to have you fall in love with her, yes? So whether or not she had this chance to date you, nothing would’ve matter. I have not disturbed fate. And you shouldn’t feel obliged to meet her sister today.”

Eriol shifted uncomfortably, though couldn’t help the small tug at the corner of his lips. Her logic was so strange, and straightforward. “I-I guess that’s one way of putting it… but still…”

Tomoyo smiled shyly. “So stay with me today.”

“Tomoyo… I already told her, I can’t cancel.”

“Do you love her?”

“I—okay it’s just that—Tomoyo—okay.” He took a deep breath. “It’s not about me being in love with her or anything of that sort. I am a person who stays true to my words and I will not leave a girl alone by herself standing in middle of the street waiting for me. It’s something called keeping your word. And I have to go see her today. So I will see you another time, okay?”

Tomoyo stopped and stared at him, tiling her head to one side. She knew that if she pushed him any more he would definitely become irritated with her, and that she could not have. But she definitely needed to get rid of the other 9 girls… after all, she has such limited time to enjoy life, she couldn’t possibly have a random girl getting in the way. “Okay then, Eriol-kun. Will I see you tomorrow?”

Eriol seemed thoughtful. “You know what, yeah. Come see me after school tomorrow, and we’ll go somewhere, okay?”

Tomoyo smiled sweetly. “Tomorrow it is then.”

Eriol felt his heart flutter at her sweet smile as he quickly nodded and turned around and walked away.

Unbeknownst to him, Tomoyo was definitely not going home…

--

“Welcome home, Master Li.”

“S-Sakura!!”

“Preeetty!!” Sakura squealed running through the opening gates of Syaoran’s mansion as she ran towards his main door.

“Hey, Sakura, wait up! Jeez, aren’t we energetic…”

Sakura turned around and giggled, her eyes sparkling. “It’s, it’s so pretty here! I’ve never see so many… so many… what are these?”

Syaoran glanced around him. But all he saw were gardens full of blooming flowers… but that couldn’t be what she was asking him… could it?! “Um, flowers?” He answered uncertainly.

“Oh! So they are called flowers! Wow, they are much softer in real life… and smell nice too!” She beamed as she sniffed each flower, walking side ways towards the main entrance.

Syaoran smirked walking after her. “And you told me you live in a mansion much nicer than me? And that you’re much richer than I am?! How could you be when you’ve never even see flowers?!”

Sakura paused as she straightened, her smile dimming. “Believe me, I didn’t lie when I said I am much richer than you are… but… the place I lived at… my parents cared very little for decorations… there were endless rooms, but… they were all bare…”

Syaoran paused in his steps wondering what she was talking about. Truly the place she spoke of sounded like a prison. What kind of person with endless money would go buy a house with endless rooms then leave it all bare?! What kind of sickening environment is that?! “Sakura…”

Her smile came back as quickly as it had gone away as she bounced up the stairs.

“Welcome back, Master Syaoran. And who might you be?” His most trusted butler, Wei, bowed as he held open the door for them.

“Sakura! Kinomoto Sakura!” She replied bouncing happily into the large mansion.

Syaoran walked in after her with a small shake of his head and a smile upon his lips.

“Is it a new round already?” Wei whispered to him as Syaoran walked by.

“Yes it is, Wei.” He replied.

“Pity…” Wei replied sadly. “I suppose it’ll finally be Ms. Tiffany’s turn this round?”

“… yes.” Syaoran replied stiffly.

“That girl is trouble,” Wei whispered. “Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”

Despite how quietly they whispered to each other, Sakura caught every word, and briefly, she wondered who this Tiffany is.

But all suspicion faded from her mind as she glanced at the scene before her.

If the outside of Syaoran’s house was beautiful, the inside was absolutely breathtaking. Sakura stared up in awe at the glistening chandelier above her head, at the grand, sparkling golden staircase before her that spiraled upwards on both sides, then at the intricate door at the far end of the room that clearly led to the backyard. Is this what a normal house should look like…? She wondered sadly, thinking back to the state of the lab. How cold that place seemed to her now, and she wondered how she survived all those years without noticing.

“You know,” Syaoran said, coming up behind her. “For a rich girl, you’re easily impressed.”

“Mou!! Meanie! You’re doubting what I said earlier!” Sakura whined, though her mind was still dazzled by the beauty of this place.

“Hey, I’m not saying anything.”

“You don’t believe me!” She pouted.

He laughed at her expression as he began walking towards the stairs. “Well, I mean your reaction… It’s… questionable…”

“Mou!!” Sakura grumbled as she ran up behind Syaoran and jumped right onto his back, latching her arms around his neck.

“S-Sakura! What on earth are you doing? Y-You’re choking me!! Let go!!”

But Sakura just lowered her arms a bit so that he would be able to breath, but only giggled in return, not loosening her grip. “Nope, I’m not letting go. That’s your punishment for daring to accuse me of lying! Now give me a tour of the house!”

Syaoran sighed miserably. “Okay that attitude I recognized… okay, okay… princess…” But he couldn’t help but to smile at her energy. She was so childlike yet with so many hidden talents. She was still a mystery to him at the moment, and he planned to figure her out.

“What’s a princess?”

Syaoran couldn’t believe his ears. “Whaat? You’re kidding me, right?”

Sakura shook her head as she pulled herself up a little higher, and put her face right next to his, staring at him with her beautiful, large green eyes. “No, really, what’s a princess?”

Syaoran sighed covering his face with his hands wondering just who this girl is, or was.

--

“Eriol-kun!”

Eriol smiled briefly as a girl with medium-length brown hair and chopped bangs ran up towards him, her brown eyes sparkling joyously.

“Hey Miki.” Eriol greeted gently, accepting her hug.

Miki was one of the few girls Eriol actually considered a friend. Well, they were good friends till middle school. When Eriol got popular with Syaoran, Miki began to act like those fake girls just so she could fit in. But despite his irritation with what she’s become, he still cared for her a bit more than he did the rest of the girls.

“Where would you like to go today?”

Miki smiled happily, standing as close to Eriol as possible as she reached for his hand. Tomoyo saw that small gesture clearly, and to her surprise, she suddenly felt pain within her chest.

At first she was surprised as she gasped, touching the pained area. Is something wrong? Am I sick? Is something wrong with my body…?

But when the pain didn’t subdue with time and didn’t seem to get worse, Tomoyo relaxed slowly, though still wondering what was wrong with her.

Somehow, as she followed them throughout their trip to the mall, the pain became worse each time the Miki got closer to Eriol, or when Eriol smiled at her.

Their shopping trip was short—only a bit over an hour, in fact—but already Tomoyo knew that Miki was the source of her pain. “She is an obstacle…” she muttered.

“Walk me home!” Miki smiled prettily, batting her eyes.

Eriol smiled softly. “I’m sorry Miki, I gotta get home and finish my homework for the night…”

“But Eri!! You told me you’d get it done before you came to see me!” She whined.

Eriol patted her on her head. “I guess I didn’t. Sorry. See you later, okay?”

“All right…” she mumbled. “Later it is, then! Bye Eriol!” And she wrapped her arms around him briefly. Tomoyo tilted her head at the gesture. What did that mean? Why did it seem as if she was trying to engulf him…?

Tomoyo waited a good five minutes after Eriol was gone, before walking out from her spot, and stopping in front of Miki.

“Hi.” She greeted with an arched eyebrow. “Do I know you?”

“No, but you know someone I know.”

“Oh?”

“The young man you were speaking with just now—Hiiragizawa Eriol.”

At the mention of his name, Miki’s lips curled up. “Ah… let me guess… middle-schooler, long hair, kind of short…” her attitude was becoming more and more snobby by the minute. “Daidouji, am I right?”

Tomoyo nodded. “Yes, that would be me. And you would be Miki?”

She smirked. “Of course. One and only.” And she leaned forwards and dropped her voice down a notch. “Also the one who’s gonna get Eriol in the end, got it?”

But Tomoyo wasn’t daunted. She flipped her hair back and held the threatening stare. “I want you to stop seeing Eriol.”

Miki raised an eyebrow for the longest time, before she burst out laughing. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m quite serious.”

Miki’s lips curled into a smirk. “And if I say ‘no’?”

“Even if you say no now, I will always get what I want.”

Miki threw her head back and burst out laughing. “Oh, you’re killin’ me here, little girl. Let me repeat myself one more time: no, I won’t stop seeing him. What are you gonna do about it?”

“Then I’ll have to kill you.”

If possible, Miki laughed even harder. “Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. If you’re gonna come up with a threat, at least make it believable, ay?” She gave Tomoyo a pat on her back and walked past her nonchalantly, leaving Tomoyo to stand there by herself, wondering what the flaw of her tactic was.

This world… despite all humans being so simple, is turning out to be much more complex than Tomoyo had bargained for…

--

“Rapunzel.”

Sakura shook her head.

“Snow White?”

“Hmm?”

“Uhh… Okay this one: Cinderella.”

Sakura tilted her head to one side and blinked her eyes.

“Ohhh…” Syaoran groaned face-palming. “C’mon, this one: Little Red Riding Hood.”

“Ummm, I’m sorry?”

“Are you kidding me? Did you spend your childhood underneath a rock or something?!”

Sakura frowned. “If I spent my childhood under a rock I would’ve suffocated to death…”

Syaoran stared at her. “It’s called a me-ta-phor, child!”

“Mou! I’m not a child! I have vast knowledge of many things, thank you very much!” She humph-ed and turned away from him crossing her arms, sitting on top of his soft bed.

“Oh great, c’mon now don’t get mad! You’re seriously a weird one… one of these days I’ll figure out your past…”

Still facing away from him, Sakura grinned. Good luck with that, buddy. She thought. Though briefly she could almost envision the scene of Syaoran’s reaction if he really did know the whole truth behind her dark, twisted past. “Well I wish you best of luck with—” But Sakura paused mid-sentence as she stared at a photo of a small child resting upon Syaoran’s bed stand in a silver frame. Something about her eyes… the way she stared into the camera… “Is that your child?!”

“WHAT?!” Syaoran exclaimed with a raised eyebrow as he crawled across his bed and sat cross-legged next to her and leaned forward to look at the photo. “Oh her… jeez don’t scare me like that…” he cleared his throat. “And obviously she’s not my child!! What are you thinking?!”

Sakura pondered as she stared from the photo of the little girl and back to Syaoran. “Hm. I see a resemblance.”

Syaoran pouted. “Just because we looked alike doesn’t mean she’s my child, ne?”

“Okay, then who is she?”

At that, he grew silent, and hesitant. Sakura’s smile faded gradually till she could only stare at him intently. At that moment despite the rising curiosity she wished she hadn’t asked that question. He seemed so troubled. “She’s… special to me.” He whispered at last.

Sakura stared at him intently, wondering what she should do. These Homo Sepians, what do they do for someone when they’re upset? Sakura frowned. What lies she were fed that they knew everything there was to know about the world, when she couldn’t even do something so simple… she should be able to easily manipulate normal people’s emotions… so why couldn’t she take away his pain? Sakura wrinkled her nose, deep in thought.

Glancing over, Syaoran stared at her concentrated expression, her nearly going cross-eyed. He couldn’t help but to burst out laughing.

Sakura’s head snapped up. Is that the key then? To make them feel better… just do… nothing but think? “You are happy again.” She said with a grin.

“Hmm?”

“You looked sad there for a moment. I was thinking of what normal peo—I mean, what I could do to cheer you up… I guess by thinking about you being happy makes you happy?”

Syaoran smiled. She really was so cute. “No, I was laughing at you silly!”

“Mouuu!! Syaoran! You’re mean!!” Sakura huffed. “And here I was worried about you…” her smiled faded off into a thoughtful look. “So is that it then? When I want to help someone feel better, just let them laugh at me?”

Syaoran blinked, unsure if she was just messing with him or not. “Well… usually when you’re concerned about someone… I guess… I mean, I don’t do this often but… I guess technically speaking you could give them a hug or something…”

Sakura tilted her head to one side. “A hug…?”

Syaoran sighed as he rubbed his eyes. “Okay a hug is—”

“I know what a hug is! It’s like this!” And without warning, Sakura opened her arms and threw herself onto him, hugging him tightly around the neck.

“Oh so—WHOA!!” Syaoran cried as he fell backwards onto the bed with Sakura. “S-Sakura, wha-what are you doing?!”

But Sakura just smiled happily as she lied on top of his chest, snuggling closer to him. Is this it? This is what I do to make others happy…? Why… why is it making me so happy, then…? What is this feeling…? As if… electricity is shooting through my body… could this be dangerous? Maybe, too much friction due to the—

“Sakura…” Syaoran mumbled, distracting her thoughts. “Get up please…”

But Sakura just closed her eyes as her grin stretched wider. She didn’t understand the feeling yet, but she enjoyed it. “Nooo… let’s stay like this all night…”

And Syaoran, to his own surprise, didn’t mind her idea at all, as he put an awkward hand around her waist, trying to relax.

Sakura felt a calm serenity washing over her… the sensation was very similar to the feeling she felt in that dream of hers when she was near that boy. What could this mean…? But she didn’t have enough time to ponder before a voice rung in her mind.

Sakura.

Sakura was instantly alert. Tomoyo…

Sakura, come home.

Sakura didn’t have to be told twice. Despite how comfortable she was right now, despite how ever fiber in her body wanted to stay the way she was, Tomoyo needed her. Sakura’s heart beat increased just the slightest… What could’ve had Tomoyo asking for help? And she was not about to let her one and only friend and family down. Sakura rose from Syaoran’s chest abruptly.

His eyes snapped open—clearly he has yet to relax completely. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve got to go.” She said bolting off his bed and towards the stairs.

“S-Sakura?” Syaoran followed after her, confused.

“I’m really sorry, believe me when I say I really want to stay with you.” Sakura said once they reached the door. “So don’t be sad, ne?” Sakura faced him with a bright smile as she gave him a quick hug. “See you tomorrow, Syaoran-kun!!”

Syaoran waved after her fading figure, still not quite sure what had just happened.

When she disappeared around the corner, he walked back into the house and slumped onto the couch, thinking about what had just happened.

Had it been any other girl he would’ve pushed her off without hesitations. One thing he hated was those lecherous girls… they made him feel uncomfortable. So then… what the hell just happened?! Syaoran groaned into his hands. “I’m screwed up…” he mumbled miserably.

--

The moment she was out of Syaoran’s house Sakura dashed through the trees in the nearby park at an inhuman pace. She cut through the park in less than a few seconds and was at her house within a minute.

Walking into her house, she couldn’t help but to feel a wave of unwelcoming coldness, so very different from the atmosphere she felt in Syaoran’s house.

Tomoyo.

Sitting on a chair in the middle of the dining room, Tomoyo was covered by the shadows created from the curtains. “Sakura…” Tomoyo mumbled, looking up slowly, her beautiful hair falling off her shoulder.

Sakura rushed over quickly and sat on the chair next to her friend. “What’s the matter, Tomoyo?” She whispered in a voice so quiet, a normal human being would not hear it. A deep frown planted within her features.

“I-I think… something’s wrong with me…”

Sakura’s frown deepened. “If Eriol did anything—”

“No, no, Sakura… we agreed to this at the beginning… remember how they said something about having to see 18 other girls along with us throughout the year…?”

“Yeah. So? They see—”

Tomoyo shook her head quickly. “I don’t think we understood completely… ‘seeing’ other girls apparently doesn’t mean just looking at them… it means treating them the same way they are treating us… meaning having to spend time with them, and be close to them…”

“… Are you sure? I was with Syaoran all of today, he was not close with any other girls at all…”

“Not at the same time, Sakura… at different times. I was with Eriol today, till he had to meet… one of those other girls. And I… when I saw them… I don’t know why… my… my heart began to feel a little weird. I don’t know if there is anything wrong with my health, but I’m afraid of that feeling… and I thought that girl he was with caused it, and so I asked her to stop seeing him… and she said to me, ‘no, and what are you going to do about it?’”

Sakura shrugged. “Okay, kill her.”

Tomoyo shook her head more rapidly. “T-That’s the thing… I-I don’t think it works like that here… I-I don’t think we can just, kill off whoever stands in our way…”

“Why not? Back at the lab we—”

“That’s back at the lab, Sakura. Here, rules are very different, and we don’t want to attract unwanted attention to ourselves, ne?”

“I-I understand the rules are very different, but how do we find out what the difference is, without seeming too unnatural?”

Tomoyo sighed heavily, her hair falling over her face. “That is my problem… I do not wish for Eriol to see other girls, for it seems to make me have pain in my chest… at the same time, I do not know how to deal with this problem… I am faced with a difficult task, and I do not know how to solve it, and… and it makes me frustrated…” Tomoyo mumbled, her eyes betraying a thousand different emotions. “I, I think… I want Eriol to only spend time with me…”

Sakura stared at her friend’s form with deep concern. Despite how still Tomoyo was, Sakura could feel the turmoil within her. And it tormented her because she couldn’t help Tomoyo in any way. And so, she did the only thing she could.

She wrapped her arms gently around Tomoyo’s shoulder, allowing her friend to rest her head on her shoulder.

--

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--

Author’s Note: Gahh, sorry for the rushed chapter :( I’m literally writing it about half an hour before I have to leave for my flight… n.n; but I am proud I got to update!!

Anyways, leaving for China right now, and I would appreciate it if you guys could help me make a decision: WHEN TO COME BACK?!

I have a choice of either July 27th or August 28th.

Coming back July 27th means staying in China for 3 weeks. Considering I have relative in 3 different cities and I need to reserve about 3 days for mountain climbing, I will get no leisure shopping/relaxing time with my cousin. Aka a very rushed tripped. 48 something hours on the plane and just ending up doing all necessities without a chance to slow down and relax. Not to mention I’m going off to university next year, which means I won’t see my relatives for at LEAST another 5 years.

Choice 2, come back on August 28th. With that plan, assuming I’ll arrive august 28th at noon and all, I’ll have lots of leisure free time (mom’s leaving on July 27 which means all “need-to-be-done” visiting will be done by then, and everything else is just my own free time) to relax, be with my family and stuff. But, my orientation week for university starts September 1st, and I need to move into the dorms completely by that point. That’s really rushing things for when I come back. Not to mention my university is kinda far off so I want to spend time with my friends before I disappear there. AND, if flight is delayed or something and I end up coming back august 28th at NIGHT, it would mean I spent my BIRTHDAY dying on a plane… n.n;;

So guys… help? n.n;

4857 words, all right I guess.