Name: eyang03
Title: One Fine Night Festival

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"Li?"
"..."
"Li! Li Syaoran!"
Syaoran looked up, startled. He had been staring out the window. "Uh,
hai... Gomen..." he mumbled.
"Next time, please pay attention. I just asked you a question! In China,
which province does Beijing belong to?"
"Ah..." Syaoran stared at his desk. "I... I forgot."
The teacher sighed. "Can anyone else name the province in which Beijing
belongs?"
Sakura raised her hand.
"Yes, Sakura?"
"The Ho-Bei province."
The teacher nodded and smiled. "Very good."
Just then, the bell rang.
"Okay class! Remember to study hard for next week's quiz! See you all
tomorrow!" the teacher shouted over the noise of exiting students. Syaoran
gathered his things neatly together and left quickly.
Sakura stood up and stretched. "Mmm..." Then she noticed Syaoran heading
out the door. "Syaoran-kun!" she called. It was too late. He had left
already. "Huh? Hey, Tomoyo- chan..."
Tomoyo was still putting her things away. "Hmm?"
"Don't you think Syaoran-kun is acting kind of... different?" she asked.
Tomoyo stood and turned to face her. "Different? Well, if you mean
strange, he's always that way!" she laughed. "But now that you mention it,
it's not like him to space out like that. Maybe he just didn't get enough
sleep the other night, eh?"
Sakura smiled. "You're probably right. That last Clow Card was pretty
tough." She looked out the window. "Well, let's get going."

*****

Syaoran was leaning against a tree just outside of the school. Maybe, he
thought to himself. Maybe I can do it. I just need some more time...
"Syaoran-kun?"
Syaoran jumped. "...?! Oh, it's you. What do you want?" Sakura smiled at
him. Tomoyo waved from behind her.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing. You seemed a little tired in
class today. Are you feeling all right?" Sakura asked.
"What?" Syaoran began to turn slightly red. He turned away. "N, no... I'm
fine."
"Well, okay. Are you going to be at the festival tonight then?"
Still facing away, he turned even redder. "...Yeah."
"Okay. We'll see you then! Bye!" said Sakura.
Syaoran watched them as they left. Maybe this won't be so easy after
all...

*****

"See, Sakura? There's nothing to worry about. He's just being his usual,
anti-social self," Tomoyo said cheerily.
"Yeah... Hey! What are you going to wear to the festival?" Sakura asked,
suddenly becoming excited.
They continued to talk about what they were planning to wear until they
reached Tomoyo's house. "I'll come to your house earlier tonight to give
you something I made especially for this occasion." Tomoyo grinned. "I
think you'll like it."
"I'll bet I will! Well, I'd better head home now. Ja ne!"
"Ja ne, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura continued down the road alone, still excited about the festival.
This'll be so much fun! Ahh... I can hardly wait!
A few minutes later, she stopped walking and looked around. Did somebody
just call me? I thought I heard my name...
"Sakura!"
Sakura turned around. It was Touya. He caught up with her and skidded to
a stop on his bike. "Hey monster. Where are your roller-skates?"
She made a face. "I left them in my room this morning. And I'm not a
monster."
"Okay, okay. Just get on, monster."
When they got home, Sakura took off her shoes and went to her room. Kero
sat up from where he was lying on the bed. "So are we going to the
festival?" he asked hopefully.
"'We?'" Sakura was puzzled. She sat down next to him.
"Yes, 'we,'" Kero replied brightly. "I wouldn't want to miss all that good
food."
"But Kero-chan," Sakura began slowly. "You wouldn't be able to eat in
public anyway. You're a stuffed toy, remember? I can always bring
something back for you."
Kero shook his head. "Nope. My mind's made up. Besides, I need to be
there just in case the brat tries to pull another one of his stunts."
"Brat? Oh yeah. Syaoran-kun said he was coming."
Kero scowled. "See? He's probably plotting something right now. Why else
would he go to a festival? He sure doesn't seem like the partying-type to
me..."
"Kero-chan!" Sakura was beginning to get annoyed. "Stop being so mean.
Anyway, I think you're jumping to conclusions. I don't blame him if he just
wants to take a break."
"..." Kero finally said nothing, but with a defiant expression on his
face.

*****

Later that evening, the doorbell rang. Sakura checked her hair in the
mirror one last time. "I'll get it!" she shouted as she ran down the
hallway. She opened the door. "Oh!" Sakura blushed. "Good evening,
Yukito. You look nice..."
Touya popped up from behind Sakura, dressed up as well. "Oh, hey Yukito.
Yeah, that outfit suits you. What about you, monster? How come you're not
dressed yet?"
Sakura looked past Yukito out the door. "I'm waiting for Tomoyo-chan. She
should be here soon. I think she wants to me to wear something she made
herself."
Yukito smiled. "How nice of her."
Touya and Yukito headed for the kitchen to sit and talk, but Sakura excused
herself to go back to her room.
Kero looked up when she entered. "Are we leaving?"
"No, not for a while. I'm still waiting for Tomoyo. She said she'd be
here earlier."
"Maybe she forgot," he said while setting up the video game.
Just then, the doorbell rang again. Footsteps were heard lightly stepping
across the floor. The door creaked open. "Oh, hello Tomoyo. Sakura's in
her room. I'll go get her," Touya's voice said.
"That's okay. I'll just go to her room," replied Tomoyo's voice.
Seconds later, Tomoyo entered Sakura's room. "Wow!" Sakura exclaimed.
"You look wonderful!"
And it was true. Tomoyo wore a dark purple kimono with butterfly patterns
skillfully stitched in dusty pink. Her hair was down as usual, but on one
lock of hair she wore a jeweled hair pin. Tomoyo smiled. "Wait until you
see yours! Here," she said, handing Sakura a thin, brown package. "I had a
lot of fun making this one. In fact, I just finished a little while ago.
That's why I was late."
Sakura sat down on her bed and opened the package on her lap. She gasped
as she held the kimono up in front of her. It was gorgeous. The pale
yellow kimono was delicately sewn with flowers all over the edges in a
vibrant green. The ribbon was green as well, with white lace entwined into
it. "It's beautiful, Tomoyo-chan! Thank you so much!"
"I'm glad you like it," Tomoyo replied happily. "Let me help you put it
on."
While Sakura was getting dressed, Touya knocked on the door. "Hey monster!
We're leaving soon! Hurry up!" he called.
"...Okay! I'm ready now!" she shouted back. Then she turned to Kero, who
was still playing the video game. "Hey, Kero-chan. Come on, we're going."
"Wait!" he complained. " Just... one... more... AHHHH!!!" His head sunk.
"I can't believe I lost again..."

*****

Touya, Yukito, Tomoyo, and Sakura headed out for the town square, all
dressed in traditionally Japanese clothing. "You know, Sakura," Touya
began slyly. "I still don't see why you brought that little stuffed animal
of yours. Are you planning on selling it?"
Sakura and Tomoyo laughed. Not because of Touya, but just the idea of
selling Kero as a doll was unthinkable.
When they reached the town square, it was already set with strands of
Japanese lanterns everywhere, hanging in pinks and oranges. The market,
food, and game stalls already had plenty of customers forming crowds and
chatting amongst one another amicably.
"Looks like everyone else got here earlier, hm?" Yukito commented lightly.

"Hey monster," Touya called over his shoulder. "You and Tomoyo can look
around by yourselves. Just be back home by 10:00 or I'll get in trouble
with dad."
Sakura smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know. See you guys later! C'mon,
Tomoyo-chan."
Tomoyo and Sakura had walked along the stalls for a little bit when
suddenly Tomoyo spotted Syaoran trying to blend in with the crowd. She
waved to him while Sakura was looking at some clay pottery. When he saw
that he had been found out, he panicked for a split second and quickly made
his way past the stall into the woods.
"Hey, Sakura-chan. I just saw Li-kun over there," Tomoyo said, pointing
towards the stall across the lane.
Sakura looked up. "Really? I don't see him anywhere..."
"I know he was there! He was the only one wearing Chinese clothing. Let's
go look for him."
They walked over to the stall where Tomoyo had last seen him at, but he was
no longer in that crowd. "Hmm... I think he went this way," Tomoyo said
slowly, gesturing to the woods just past the back of the stall.
Sakura hesitated. "But.. It's dark out there. I don't like being in the
dark..."
"Don't worry," Tomoyo said reassuringly. "Kero-chan and I will stay here
and wait for you. If you get scared just look back at the lanterns."
As soon as Kero had made sure that nobody else was close-by, he whispered
fiercely, "No way! I'm telling you, Sakura, the brat is up to no good.
Don't bother looking for him. And if you must go, I'm going too!"
Tomoyo plucked Kero from off of Sakura's shoulder and held him firmly.
"Sorry, Kero- chan. We don't need you attacking anyone tonight. You're
staying here with me."
"What?!"
"But why do I have to go alone?" Sakura was confused.
"Well," Tomoyo began. "I think Li-kun wants to talk to you. And we can't
have Kero- chan all over him, can we? I need to keep an eye on him here."
Kero finally gave up. "...Can I at least get something to eat?"

*****

"Syaoran-kun! Syaoran-kun? Where are you?" Sakura called. There was no
reply. Sakura began to feel fear creeping over her and tensed. It's okay,
it's okay. There's nothing to be afraid of. Just look for the lanterns...
She quickly turned to look back at the lanterns and sighed a breath of
relief. Though a quarter of a mile away, they still shone as calmly and
gently as ever. Feeling a little better, Sakura continued deeper into the
woods. "Syaoran-kun!"

*****

Syaoran looked up. Was that Sakura's voice...? Oh no... he thought
nervously. Well, I have to sooner or later...
When he heard Sakura coming closer, he stepped out in front of her. She
screamed.

*****

Tomoyo jumped. "What was that?!"
Kero tugged at Tomoyo. "Did you hear that? Sakura's in trouble! Come on!"
Tomoyo nodded and entered the woods with Kero leading the way. That was
Sakura, all right, but what's happening now?

*****

"Oh, there you are!" Sakura said, trying to recover her breath. "Y...you
scared me to death!"
Syaoran himself had had quite a scare when she had screamed in his face out
of the blue like that. "I..." Syaoran could feel his heart pounding hard.
"I, uh, didn't mean to. Sorry about that..."
Sakura stared at him, surprised. He's apologizing...? She also noticed
something else. "Is something wrong, Syaoran-kun? Your face is all red."
Every fiber in his body wanted to bolt from the spot, but he stayed, with
obvious effort. "Listen..." Syaoran swallowed hard. "I..."
Suddenly, he stopped. Why can't I continue? Come on, just say it!
Sakura looked at him expectantly. "What?"
"I... I..." Syaoran sighed. ...I can't do it, that's what, he thought,
exasperated.
Finally, he turned his back on her and said, "...You look nice."
Sakura smiled. "You really think so? Tomoyo-chan made this for me."
"SAKURA!!!"
Kero flew over to them and smacked Syaoran in the head. Tomoyo caught up
with them,
laughing at Kero.
"Ow! What the...?!"
"Admit it! You were trying to attack her again, weren't you? You lured
her here so that you could be alone with her and attack her!" Kero raged.
"What? No, I--"
Tomoyo just kept on laughing as Kero beat down relentlessly on a bewildered
Syaoran.
"Kero-chan! Stop it!" Sakura shouted. "He wasn't attacking me or even
trying to!"
Kero reluctantly removed his teeth from Syaoran's finger. "Hmph! You got
off easy this time, kid," he muttered. "So what were you doing?"
...?! That's it. Time to go! he thought, fleeing the scene.
Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero stared blankly after him while he disappeared off
into the distance and the dust around them subsided. Tomoyo cleared her
throat. "Umm, okay... So if nothing happened, why did you scream? We were
worried about you."
"Well, when I was looking for him, he found me first. I was kind of
surprised, so..." Sakura smiled. "...I screamed, but when I realized it
was only Syaoran-kun, I wasn't afraid anymore."
Kero frowned and said nothing.
"Oh, come on, Kero-chan. Lighten up! Sakura's all right," Tomoyo said,
poking at Kero. She turned to Sakura. "Anyway, let's go enjoy the rest of
the festival! There's still time left."
"Okay!"
Tomoyo and Kero went on ahead, but Sakura stopped and looked back into the
woods. I wonder if he's feeling okay? And why did he run off like that?

*****

Syaoran walked down the road back to his apartment, still breathing
heavily. I guess I wasn't ready yet. Maybe next time... he thought, while
an image of Sakura smiling flashed through his brain. He turned red again.