Friendship's Bondage
Sakura, Syaoran and the Gift of Friendship
By: MjCc
Comments welcomed at: smilie_smilie@hotmial.com

Disclaimer: All characters in story are the property of Clamp. Story is written entirely for entertainment. No violations are intended.
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Li Syaoran had just walked out of sight when Sakura finally regained her senses and closed the door. She slowly walked up the staircase and into her room. Without a word, she pulled off her dress and changed into her pajamas. She brushed her teeth then headed to bead still in shock from what she had just heard. Kero was sitting on her desk still grouchy and narrow-eyed studying Sakura carefully.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Sakura ignored him. She went up to her bed when she saw the bear Li had given her earlier that day. She picked it up and gazed at it and remembered the story her friends had told her about teddy bears. If two people cared about each other and each gave a teddy bear they made and named it after each other, they would certainly be together. She remembered that day when she went with Eriol, Li, and Tomoyo to the crafts store to pick up a bear-making kit and later that night when Li was controlled by invisible strings. She remembered sewing her own teddy bear and letting Eriol fix it before handing it Yukito but the bear grew into a monster and she had to fight it. Her tattered bear remains on the corner of the desk. Sakura turned back and looked at the bear Li had made. The bear was made neatly and carefully. Li had put a lot of effort to it. It was comparable to the ones she saw at toy stores. Her mind was in a jumble now. She was exhausted from fighting the fiery lantern and using all her magic to control the watery card but with the recent turn of events, her mind was clouded with thoughts.

"What happened?" Kero demanded once more.

As if she finally noticed Kero, Sakura turned to face him as she placed the teddy bear on the nightstand. "Nothing"

"How come I don't believe that?" Kero asked in more menacing voice than Sakura had ever heard.

Now Sakura was too tired to even concentrate on the events to tell Kero. She slipped into her bed and drifted into a long, deep sleep.

***

Sakura's head still throbbed per heartbeat preventing her from thinking clearly. She wanted to be left alone in silence to her thoughts but the pounding simply wouldn't stop. Then there was the constant ringing and the loud beeping. People were calling her name but she couldn't hear what they were trying to tell her. They sounded distressed and annoyed but she didn't know what why they were reacting badly.

"SAKURA!" she heard. The voice sounded familiar but distant and muffled. There was a pounding noise that followed. It was the voice of Touya, her brother.

Someone was tugging at her arms which poked out from the comfort of her warm blanket. "Wake up!" called another voice. This one was much more distinct than the other. She gathered that this one was from her room. Then the voice must be that of Kero.

"I'm going to barge down this door!" Touya yelled.

"Arg!" Kero let out a short scream and fell by Sakura, his limbs stiffened and his eyes fixed on a spot in the ceiling.

There was a loud crash as Touya stood at the doorway and glared at his little sister before noticing the limp Kero next to her. He studied the "stuffed animal" suspiciously before proceeding next to Sakura and yelled into her ear. "You're going to be late!" Touya let out an exasperated sigh and clicked his heals heading back downstairs. "There's leftover breakfast on the kitchen table, I'm going to school," he added before exiting the room.

'School!' Sakura thought. Classmates, teacher, friends were all elements of school. The last item of that list disturbed her, though. The concept of friendship was very simple: friends would keep her company and be helpful and supportive. Yet last night, in her tiredness and in all the excitement, the meaning of friendship and significantly became more complex. Her friends did all that for her but then there were emotional ties now. Sleep did not help her clear her mind as she had hoped but only temporarily delayed the inevitable moment when she had to confront her problem and the definition of friendship she held for Li Syaoran. She had stood there stoically without a reply last night, but she simply could not let his affection unanswered. Sakura shot out from bed frantically picked up her alarm clock which was buzzing on the floor and looked at the time eye-widened. "I'm late again!"

"Finally! That alarm has been ringing for an hour! Now I can get some sleep," Kero sighed as he flew back to his bed in the drawer of Sakura's bed and drifted off to sleep.

***

Sakura skated in record speed out the house and desperately trying to catch up to her brother. His bicycle was finally in sight as Sakura increased her speed to catch up to him. As usual, Yukito was biking along side with Touya and the two were chatting casually about homework and classes.

Yukito was tall and thin with glasses and smoky gray-silver hair. He was not only cheerful and kind but also talented and smart. Sakura had thought he was the vision of perfection since she first met him. Unlike Touya, Yukito was always kind to Sakura and always listened to her problems and advised her. However, he was only the false form of another creature, Yue, the moon guardian of the cards. Yue was the entire opposite of Yukito. He was harsh and stoic. However, Yukito is entirely lost to Yue's existence. He wouldn't remember anything Yue did or said or even Yue's relation with Sakura. Sakura was glad for t hat because she was certain now the Yukito she likes is not because of Yue's influence.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she finally skated next to Yukito and Touya. "Finally!" she exclaimed.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan. How was the festival last night? Touya said there was a huge confusion but he couldn't recall what happened. Seeing how you slept in, you must have had lots of fun," Yukito greeted and smiled at Sakura.

Sakura gave a menacing glance at Touya "Why didn't you wait for me?!"

"I tried but you wouldn't get up, squirt!" Touya said not turning to Sakura.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at Touya which made Yukito giggle. "The fair was fun but there was a confusion. I don't remember much about it either," she lied to Yukito.

"That's too bad. I really wanted to know what happened. I'm sorry I had so much work to do and couldn't come with you," Yukito said kindly.

"That's all right. I had someone else to go with me," Sakura replied.

Touya's eyes narrowed and glanced sideways at Sakura. In a harsh monotonous voice as though he was almost afraid of the reply Sakura was going to give, he asked "Who did you go with?"

Sakura halted for a bit taken aback by her brother's tone of voice. "Thanks for the treats you gave me," she said trying to change the topic.

"Who did you go with?" Touya insisted on asking.

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura whispered quietly hoping that no one would hear. Sakura could hear her brother gag for a bit unable to reply. She was thankful however that they have finally reached her school. She breath a sigh of relief then skated towards the school building.

"Sakura-chan!" Yukito called out behind her.

Sakura stopped and turned to face him to see that Yukito didn't seem at all surprised by Sakura's companion to the festival but Touya was still narrowed eyed, gagging and staring at the floor. Yukito gave Sakura a kind smile and reached into his school uniform jacket pocket for a candy. He tossed it to her and said "See you after school!"

Sakura beamed as she caught the candy in her hand. "Thank you!" she called out to Yukito and skated towards the school playground.

Yukito turned around to see Touya's face still red with envy and smiled at him. "You still hate that Li Syaoran, don't you?"

"Who wouldn't," Touya replied tonelessly.

"He's Sakura-chan's friend. Be nice,"

"No one comes near my little sister who has hurt her in the past," Touya stated insistently.

"Ever heard of little-sister complex?" Yukito teased as he began peddling to the high school building.

***

Sakura had put away her skates in her locker when she headed into the classroom. Most of her classmate had already arrived but she couldn't help to notice that the seat behind hers which is usually occupied by the prompt Li Syaoran was empty.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo greeted. She was sitting next to Sakura.

"Good morning," Sakura replied as she took out several books from her bag.

"I see you're feeling better today. That's nice,"

Sakura smiled back at her best friend and saw Naoko, Rika and Chiharu heading towards her.

"How was the fair? Chiharu-chan said there was a huge chaos but she couldn't remember exactly what happened," Naoko said as she came up behind Tomoyo.

"It was really nothing," Tomoyo reassured Naoko who looked back at her suspiciously.

"I didn't see you at the fair last night. I thought you didn't go," Chiharu said to Sakura.

"I looked at the floats all night," Sakura smiled and replied.

"Oh! It was too crowded there. Takashi-chan and I were just looking at he different booths. I had to drag him away every time he began telling ridiculous stories about the origin of the festival to the tent owners," Chiharu sighed.

"Did you have a good time though, Sakura-chan?" Rika asked.

Before Sakura could answer that question, the back door of the classroom slid open. Li Syaoran walked slowly towards his seat staring at the ground. He plopped his bag onto the desk as he pulled out several books and sighed.

"Good morning, Li-kun," Tomoyo, Rika, Chiharu and Naoko beamed.

"Good morning," he muttered back barely audible. Sakura bent down trying to meet his eyes but he has hidden his expression well.

"What's wrong, Syaoran-kun?" she asked tenderly but then Terada-sensei stepped into the room as Naoko, Chiharu and Rika scrambled back to their desks. "We'll talk later," Sakura reassured Li before turning to face the front of the room.

"Settle down, class!" Terada-sensei called out as the rest of the class stopped chattering and gave their full focus to the teacher. Terada-sensei picked up a piece of notice and sighed then looked up at the class again. "Before you leave today, please say good bye and good luck to Li Syaoran. He will be leaving back home tomorrow on Saturday,"

The entire class gasped as all eyes turned to face Li who continued to look at his desk. Sakura gazed at Li unable to say a word. Li didn't meet her gaze but his fists were clenched tightly as though he was trying to hold back tears.

***

The school day was coming to a close but Sakura had managed to avoid Li the entire time. He had left earlier than her for lunch and she had no idea where he had gone. During gym class, he sat at a different group and didn't talk to her. Now everyone was packing their bags and were bidding Li farewell as they exited the classroom. Takashi had told Li another ridiculous story on the origin of airplanes as he was leaving being dragged out by Chiharu. Naoko and Rika and bid him good luck. Eriol had wished him goodbye and best of luck to which Li merely grunted in reply. Even Tomoyo had said good-bye and left. The room was now completely deserted with the exception of Li and Sakura.

"When will your plane be departing tomorrow?" Sakura asked as she packed the last of her books into her bag.

"At noon. I'll have to be at the airport by ten," Li replied simply. There was a short silence that followed but eventually broken by Sakura.

"Well, Syaoran-kun, good bye and good luck," Sakura said as she tossed her backpack behind her back.

"Yeah, good bye," Li replied.

Sakura stared at Li for a while. She wasn't prepared to leave the room and realize she would never see her friend again; at least not without a formal explanation.

"Why are you returning home tomorrow so soon?" Sakura asked as Li stood up and flung his backpack behind him.

"My mother called me back. She said I am needed elsewhere at home. Now that the cards are all sealed and you are the master and have control over them, there is no longer a need for me to be here anymore," Li explained.

"But I need you here! You helped me capture the cards!" Sakura protested. "The recent events with all the strange phenomenon that's been happening! I need you here to help me!"

"You needed me here," Li corrected, "The cards are all captured now and I can't help you with the conversion to Sakura cards because it requires only your magic,"

Sakura fell silent. Li was right. No matter how hard he tried to battle, he can only temporarily divert the attention of the phenomenon away from her. In the end, it was Sakura who converted the cards and who defeated the oddities like the fiery float they had encountered yesterday.

"You hadn't been needing my help since the Judgment," Li continued "Your powers have grown a lot since then and your mastery over the cards have also been improving. I haven't been of much help lately and I don't think I know how to help you. You did perfectly fine yesterday using the watery card. You'll do just fine after I leave,"

Sakura looked the aground unable to meet Li's gaze as he spoke to her. Her eyes watered as tears dripped onto the floor. She shut her eyes tight not wanting him to see her sad.

"You'll do fine. Don't worry about anything," Li gave one final reassurance to Sakura before turning around to the exit of the classroom. "Good bye, Sakura-chan. I am very happy to have met you," He gave one last look at Sakura then turned to leave.

***

Sakura skated by herself back home occasionally wiping the tears away from her eyes. She had not only failed to answer Li's affection but also failed to bid him good-bye. As she flung the main door of her house open, she ripped her roller skates off her feet and tossed them aside as she ran past the kitchen up the stairs and into her room. She slammed the door shut as she threw herself on her bed crying hardly. Meanwhile leaving the confused Touya and Yukito behind in the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Kero asked as Sakura sobbed on her bed. Kero dropped the game console and flew by her.

Sakura didn't speak a word but just continued to sob and cry. She picked up the teddy bear Li had given her the night before and gazed at it as more tears flooded her eyes.

"Did the brat do something?" Kero asked.

Just then, there was a knock on her door. "Sakura-chan? May I come in?" It was Yukito. Sakura pulled up from her bed and wiped her eyes clean. "Yes," she said her voice hoarse from sobbing. Kero once again flew over by the rest of Sakura's stuffed animals and let his body fall regid.

Yukito appeared at the doorstep with a tray in hand. He smiled kindly at Sakura as he set the tray on the floor and motioned her to sit across form him. Sakura nodded and moved to kneel down across form Yukito. Yukito had brought with him a tray full of snacks and sweets from fried squid-balls to chocolate brownies and fruit tarts. Kero's eyes watered with envy as he studied the tray of goodies. Yukito poured two cups of tea and handed one to Sakura and smiled.

"I was coming here to study with your brother," he began "I had some left over from lunch which is very uncommon of me since I always finish all my food. I must have packed a little too much thinking that girl in our class, Nakuru-san, would join us. I hope you like them,"

Sakura nodded and forced a smile on her face.

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" Yukito asked gently.

Yukito always seemed to have time for Sakura despite his busy schedule. Yukito was always kind in offering help to her and listening to her problems. Yukito always looked out for her just as her father does.

"My friend will be leaving tomorrow. He's going to someplace far and I won't see him again," Sakura began meekly. Tears began flooding to her eyes again as she thought of Li.

Yukito smiled gently at Sakura and took a sip of his tea. "Don't be silly. No one really leaves anyone,"

"Huh?"

"Not even in the old days when the mail was unreliable and there was no telephone. No one can truly leave another," Yukito reassured, "You see, as long as you think about that person and that person thinks about you or if you cherish that person's memory, then that person can't have left you. For example, you think about your mother all the time, right?"

Sakura nodded.

"Then she didn't leave you. You think about her and her memory is close by you," Yukito smiled. "As long as you keep the memory in your heart, no one can ever leave you. You just have to say everything that you have to say to your friend before he leaves because sometimes things are hard to explain over the phone or in a letter, and keep him in your mind, then your friend will be near you all the time," Yukito paused. "The old chapter of your friendship will end an a new brighter one will begin because now you both realize how much the friendship means and how you had taken the presence of each other for granted,"

Sakura gazed at Yukito at the wisdom of his words. Yukito was correct in that if she thought about Li then Li would be near her even though he wasn't physically there. She stopped crying and wiped the last of her tears away form her eyes and smiled.

"Good! I'm glad you're feeling better," Yukito smiled as he finished his tea and stood up. "I have to go study now. If you want to talk to me, don't hesitate to ask," he said as he turned to leave Sakura alone in her room.

Sakura looked at Yukito as he was about to head out. Yukito always made her feel much better no matter how sad she was. Like her father, Yukito always cared for her. Yukito was not only the friend of her brother but also a parent when her father was away.

"Yukito-san?" she called out to him.

"Yes?" he smiled and turned back to Sakura.

Sakura mouth opened to say "I really like you" but the words never came out. Somehow the words no longer mean what she had originally thought. They were more in a brotherly affection than in a friendship way. Yukito was her guidance when her father was not there to help her. Yukito filled the void where Touya had held up as a tough older brother. Sakura smiled at Yukito and said "Thank you,"

As soon as Yukito was out the door and had closed it behind him, Kero let out a sigh of relief and flew over by where Sakura was sitting. His eyes widened at the variety of delicious treats Yukito had brought up but he resisted the temptation of diving into the food tray to focus his intention on Sakura.

"So who's leaving?" Kero asked as he turned his attention away from the pastries.

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura replied quietly as she stood up and walked towards her desk and reached for the tattered teddy bear she had intended to give Yukito.

"The brat's leaving!" Kero cheered as he finally delved towards the tray and picked up a fudge brownie and began eating it happily.

Sakura looked at the bear for a bit and picked up the ear that she had cut off. She pulled out a sewing kit form her desk drawer and turned on the light and began to sew.

***

Sakura was dreaming again. This time, all the cards have been turned into Sakura Cards and were dancing around her as they fed off her magic. Sakura smiled in triumphantly at the cards as they continue to swirl around her. She smiled at each of them as they continued to move up, down and all around. Then suddenly, there was a loud ring that shook all her senses. It was the annoying beep of her alarm clock. 'It's Saturday, I don't have school,' she thought dreamily to herself. Sakura had fallen asleep on her desk in an effort to completely patch and fix her teddy bear. 'School' she thought. That was where she first met Li. School was where she met all her friends. 'Saturday' she thought. 'Syaoran-kun's leaving on Saturday'.

As though that last thought was a bucket of icy water, Sakura's eyes snapped open. She pulled herself up and looked at her mended teddy bear. It wasn't as neatly done as she had hoped but it was nonetheless mended. She picked it up and tossed it into a gift bag before dashing down stairs past the kitchen where Touya was flipping pancakes for breakfast.

"I'm late!" she called out as she snapped on her roller blades.

"What's gotten into you, squirt? It's Saturday!" Touya teased as he placed another pancake on his plate.

"I've to go to the airport in half an hour!" Sakura said "I need to bid a friend good bye and tell him things before he leaves!"

Touya sighed and looked at his sister. He knew the person Sakura was referring to was Li Syaoran. He had hoped that Sakura would never e attached to him but she did. Sakura was frantically pulling her gear up and was ready to dash out the door. Touya shook his head not believing what he was about to do next.

"Take off your skates," he said as he turned off the stove and walked towards the front foyer of his house to collect his keys.

"Huh?"

"Take off your skates! You'll never make it to the airport on skates in half an hour! Maybe in two hours," Touya sighed as he took out a helmet and tossed it to Sakura.

"Huh?"

"Get on the motorcycle. I'll take you there,"

***

Touya had dropped Sakura off at the main entrance of the airport so he could find a parking space. Sakura dashed in and ran frantically around all the check-in points. The airport was crowded and full of people bidding their loved ones goodbye. The thought that she may not be able to bid the person she cared about most farewell frightened and pained Sakura. She didn't want to imagine Li leaving without her confession and a formal good bye. It was already eleven and Li's plane would begin boarding soon. Sakura had almost given up hope when she saw Li lining up at the immigration point with a backpack and his passport ready to show to the officer.

"Syaoran-kun!" she called from afar hoping desperately Li would hear her.

Li hesitated in handing his passport to the officer "Huh?"

"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura called out again running up to Li.

Li picked up his passport and exited the line to meet the exhausted and panting Sakura. "Sakura-chan? What's wrong?" He asked looking at Sakura confused.

"Here!" Sakura said as she handed Li the gift bag. Li poked his hand in and pulled out the teddy bear. He smiled kindly at it.

"Did you make that?" he asked.

"Yes," Sakura smiled. "Syaoran-kun, Yukito-san said that you could never truly leave me if you think about me and I think about you. I think he's right about that," Sakura said as she recovered her breath.

Li simply nodded and replaced the bear in the bag and gazed at Sakura.

"Syaran-kun, he also said that as you leave, we should say everything we can to each other. It's much harder to communicate through a letter or a phone call particularly on topics that are hard to explain,"

Li blushed and smiled at Sakura.

"Syaoran-kun, I wanted to say that I'm sorry to telling you this late and that I couldn't say it earlier but the person I like most too," she paused, "is you,"

Li looked wide-eyed at Sakura obviously surprised by her reaction.

Sakura didn't look at him back. She was blushing heavily now. She tossed herself onto him in a warm embrace. "I'll miss you, Syaoran-kun and I'll think about you every day and name the teddy bear Syaoran," she whispered in his ear.

Li blushed as he took Sakura into his arms. "I'll think about you always. I'll name mine Sakura," he whispered back with a gentle smile.

Sakura finally pulled back from the embrace her eyes now watering from tears of bittersweet joy from finally sorting her feelings and from the departure of a close friend. "Good bye, Syaoran-kun,"

"Good bye, Sakura-chan," Li said with a smile as he picked up his bag and returned to the immigration line.

Touya stood from afar and looked on as Sakura bid her final farewell to Syaoran slightly jealous. As Syaoran finally disappeared past the immigration gate, Sakura bid farewell once last time "Good bye Syaoran-kun! I'll be waiting! Till the day we meet again!"

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Now the story is all over!

Friendship's Bondage
Sakura and the Valentine Float
By: MjCc
Comments welcomed at: smilie_smilie@hotmial.com