CHAPTER SEVEN: TRUCE

They all meet back at Tomoyo's. After a while, Eriol excuses himself to return to his hotel and offers to give Syaoran a ride to his apartment.

Syaoran accepts and Eriol brings him to the address. It's a building down the street from Sakura's.

"How long has she been planning this?" Syaoran says incredulously.

"Sakura is the sister Tomoyo does not have," Eriol replies. "Nothing is too good for her."

Syaoran waves good-bye to the young man who is in fact the reincarnation of his ancestor and enters the apartment.

It is furnished in the standard manner of Japanese apartments except for the photographs sitting on the mantelpiece. They are all of Sakura, Tomoyo, Eriol, and him.

"Nothing is too good," Syaoran mutters to himself. He gets settled in.

He is fixing himself a sandwich (there's even stuff in the fridge) when the phone rings. Startled, he drops the sandwich on the counter and picks up the phone.

"Li-kun," Eriol says, not Sakura as Syaoran had expected.

"Yes, Eriol-kun?" he says curiously.

"We didn't really have time to talk before... Syao-san, I need your advice," Eriol informs him.

"Advice?" Syaoran repeats. Eriol needs advice?

"Yes," Eriol confirms, a bit of embarrassment creeping into his tone. "It's about Miss Daidouji-san..."

Syaoran is puzzled. "What about Tomoyo-chan?" he asks.

"I..." Eriol says uncomfortably, "I rather enjoy her company, and..."

Syaoran laughs to himself.

"You like her!"

"Well, yes..." Eriol admits. "But... I don't really know how to court a girl... And Clow Reed didn't either..."

Well, Syaoran thinks to himself, Doesn't that cut the cake? Eriol-san wanting his advice... He really wasn't the best person to ask, having almost botched it with Sakura...

He tells Eriol as much.

"Do try, anyway," Eriol implores him.

"Well... okay. First of all, getting on a first name basis is a good idea. Not 'Miss Daidouji-san,' try 'Tomoyo-chan...'"

Meanwhile, Sakura is gabbing with Tomoyo.

"So... how was The Kiss?" Tomoyo asks, eyes shining.

Sakura flushes. "Amazing..." she breathes.

"Sakura-chan is in love," Tomoyo says happily.

Sakura takes a glance at Tomoyo. "Tomoyo-chan is too," she observes.

Tomoyo claps her hands together. "You noticed!" she says admiringly.

"It wasn't hard for me to recognize," Sakura says wisely.

Tomoyo's face falls. "I don't know if he likes me, though..."

"Has he made any advances?"

"Well..."

Sakura and Tomoyo finally finish picking through the nuances of Eriol's words and actions, and she heads on home.

She smiles. The only thing better than herself being in love is her best friend being in love too.

When she unlocks her door, she gasps in amazement. There is someone sitting on her couch...

Sakura summons her staff, figuring that if a card wouldn't work, then a knock on the head probably would.

She sneaks up on the person. That tousled hair almost looks familiar... No matter.

"Sleep card!" she yells. The card activates and the person sitting sedately on her couch falls over, snoring.

She moves around to the front of her "burglar" and realizes with a shock that she had magicked Touya!

"Oh no!" She claps her hands to her face.

She moves back behind Touya and recalls the card, not knowing what she will say to him...

Touya sits up and yawns. "Sakura!" he says, turning around. "What--?"

"Uh... I came in and you were asleep," Sakura says quickly.

"Oh..." he says. His eyes narrow. She had done something funny to him, he thinks. Just like she used to do when she was younger... Never mind. She had promised that they would talk about the Chinese gaki, and talk they would...

"Kid," he says shortly. "Talk."

Sakura sits down beside him.

"Talk about Syaoran, you mean?"

"Yeah. Him. What's he doing here?"

"Syaoran has come back for the summer," she says cautiously. I will tread lightly through this verbal minefield...

"Why were you with him?" Touya demands. "You know how I feel about that gaki."

"Syaoran is not a brat!" she protests. "I.... I love him, Touya." Oops... stepped on a mine...

"But he's hurt you!" Touya rages.

"People change, Touya," Sakura says, helplessly trying to explain.

"I don't trust him." Touya is immobile in this decision. He folds his arms across his chest.

"Touya! You must understand!" She seeks eye contact. "Think about Koneko."

Touya is puzzled. What does his beloved wife have to do with anything?

"Would you like Koneko's brother to forbid you to be with her?"

"That's preposterous!" Touya says.

"Onii-chan... Dear brother, that's what you're doing to me," Sakura says unhappily.

Touya blinks. Is he really...?

"sakura, I'm afraid that he'll hurt you again," Touya says earnestly.

She reaches up and puts a hand on his cheek. "Touya, you can't be my protector anymore," she says softly.

He jerks back as if slapped.

"No, no, hear me out... You've got a life and a family. Let me have a life of my own... Let Syaoran be my protector now," she says gently.

Touya opens his mouth as if to speak, then closes it. What could he say? She has a point...

"We'll see," he says gruffly. "I must leave now... Koneko needs the car to go shopping." He gets up to go.

"Touya?" Sakura says, moving to block his exit. "Truce?" She stares up at him hopefully, but she doesn't have to crane her neck anymore...

For a moment Touya sees her as others do: a tall young woman out on her own.... When had his little sister grown up? Perhaps she was right...

"Truce," he says, then runs his hand through her hair, mussing it. "Now, get out of the way, squirt!"

"Onii-chan!" She laughs, however, and lets him go.

Finally, Syaoran hangs up the phone. He has done his best to help Eriol.

He laughs to himself again. Clow-san? In love?

But he understands Eriol's confusion.

"Women," he sighs. "Can't live with 'em (thinking of his sisters), can't live without 'em (thinking of you-know-who)."

There comes a knock at the door and Syaoran, startled, answers it.

"Who is it?"

"Kid, it's me... Keroberos. Look, just let me in before someone comes down the hall."

"Why should I?" Syaoran is not in the mood for sparring with Kero.

"We need to talk. Come on, let me in or I'll knock down your door!"

Well, Syaoran certainly doesn't want to anger the landlady by breaking her door, so he lets the guardian of the Sakura cards in, albeit reluctantly.

"What do you want?"

"Look, kid, I'm--"

"Don't call me kid!"

"Look, Li-kun-- is that better? Good. Anyway, I'm kinda beginning to think that I've misjudged you..."

Syaoran's mouth hangs open. Kero admits he's wrong? Was he dreaming?

Kero flies over to the couch and settles his little self on it.

"Yeah... Well, don't let it go to your head, ki-- Li-kun, but I think you're good for Sakura..."

"I thought you hated every aspect of my being!" Syaoran says, shocked. He would ride this one through to see where it led....

"No, no, no.... Actively disliked you maybe, but not hated... Anyway, it's easier being around a happy Sakura than a depressed one. Half the time she forgot to feed me!"

Syaoran snorts. He knew that food would come into it somewhere...

"So you like me, because when I'm around, you get regular meals," Syaoran states.

"Yes... And the cards are more restless when their mistress is unhappy..." Kero nods sagely. Then he jumps up from the couch and grabs onto Syaoran's arm, sobbing (you know what sort I mean, not sad sobbing, 'I lost at my video game' sobbing...).

"You've got to help me!"

"Why should I help you?" Syaoran asks. He tries shaking Kero off of him, but Kero doesn't move.

"I've got to have regular meals! You can't leave at the end of summer, or I'll starve!" Kero says with a passion.

Syaoran peels Kero off of his arm and says dutifully, "I must return to lead my clan." Or I would stay forever...

"Then take me with you!" Kero pleads. "You've got a lot of women in the house. Surely one would feed Keroberos, guardian--"

"Of the Sakura cards," Syaoran finishes. "Guardian of the Sakura cards! Which stay with Sakura!"

"Oh yeah... Good point. So take Sakura with you!"

"If it were only that easy..."

"And why isn't it?" Kero demands.

"The elders wouldn't approve." Syaoran sighs. If only...

"You don't think they'd approve? What standards do they use?!? I approve of her, Yue approves of her, even Clow Reed-san himself! Besides... who's living your life, you or the elders?"

Kero makes some pretty good points...

"She won't want to come back with me." He turns his face away.

"I think she would... If..." Kero smiles slyly.

"If?" He takes the bait.

"If she comes as your fiance," Kero says wisely.

Marry Sakura? What a wonderful thought...... Syaoran daydreams...

"All ya gotta do is ask her!" Kero insists.

"It's not that easy, Kero."

"Four little words, Li-kun!"

"You've obviously never been in love."

"Do you see any magical female guardians around here? Anyway, you've got all summer to find your courage. I'd better go in case someone misses me... And Li-kun? Don't mention this to anyone, but... Truce?"

"Truce, Keroberos." They shake, paw to thumb and forefinger.

Then Kero leaves and Syaoran is left along with his thoughts.

Would she be approved? Does she love him enough to join him in Hong Kong? Could he ask her....