An Unfinished Task: Part 8/Interlude
By: Starlight Rose
Rated: PG
Email: starlighto_rose@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: I wish I owned CCS but alas I don't own it. It's
owned by CLAMP, Kodansha, Nelvana, and maybe a few other
companies that I don't know of.

Well here's the next chapter. Special thanks goes to Meg for helping me with the spells Syaoran uses. This chapter is very Syaoran-centric. Most of this chapter will give a sense of what he was willing to go through for Sakura. Very depressing part. Oh yeah if you don't hate Christian yet, I think you will after this chapter. As usual please read and review and comments and criticisms are welcome. Former chapters can be found at:

http://www.fanfiction.net/master.cfm?action=Directory-
AuthorProfile&UserID=18865

Translations:
Ka Shin- Fire God
Rai Tei Shou Rai! Rai Geki! - Thunder God, Come Forth!
Nani desu ka? - What is it?
Uso - Lie (roughly translated, That's a lie or that's not true."

*****************************

Clouds rolled across the sky obstructing the sun and darkening the
previously blue sky. Syaoran walked away from the scene of Sakura
about to kiss Christian with painful tears of heartbreak stinging
his eyes. He was completely oblivious to the storm approaching, too
caught up with the storm in his heart. He walked without knowing
where he was going, just knowing that he needed to get away and be
alone.

Finally he awoke out of his stupor as he felt cold moist drops of
rain hitting his face. Looking up at the sky he smiled bitterly at
how the weather seemed to parallel his mood perfectly. He stood
silently watching the rain fall. Gradually the rain picked up as
rain and winds howled around him and wrapped around his solitary
figure, Syaoran let his tears fall. But the tears did not remain on
his face. Instead they were washed away by the rain like he hoped
they would be. But no matter how many tears the rain washed away
more streamed down his anguished face. 'It's over now." Syaoran
thought, "I've lost. Sakura loves Christian and I will not stand in
her way. At least I have my answer now.'

Sadly Syaoran reflected on the years of intensive training he went
through just to see her again, but for what? To see her happily in
another boy's arms? Eight years he had undergone arduous training,
suffering countless cuts, bruises, and broken bones. Every night for
eight years he had gone to bed sore and dead tired in hopes of
completing his training and returning to her. He had been trained to
wake up before dawn each day and purify his soul by mediating. Then
to purify his body he bathed beneath an ice-cold waterfall in the
pre-dawn morning. After purifying himself he had a light breakfast
and then his training began. He first underwent magical training,
learning new spells that either sapped his energy or backfired and
turned against. But he couldn't stop, not until he had mastered the
spell. After training in magic he had to train against several of
his relatives all, faster, stronger, and bigger than him, and all
freshly rested while he had just come from his magical training.
Finally once the sun had begun to set he washed himself under the
waterfall once more and went in for dinner and then went to bed with
all his energy spent and additional bruises, cuts, and burns to add
to the previous day's injuries.

Syaoran endured it all never complaining and never giving up because
he knew once he was strong enough he would be declared as head of
the Li Clan and then he could ask for anything he wished. He could
ask to return to Japan and the elders could not refuse him. Whenever
he had felt like giving up hope he had just imagined seeing Sakura's
smiling face and her bright green eyes. The thought of her and being
able to see her again gave him the extra energy he needed to
complete his training. He trained everyday becoming faster,
stronger, and more powerful until he was told it was time for him to
attempt the final stage of his training. His final task was also his
final test.

It was a quest. Syaoran had to travel to some mountains in China to
search for the Dragon's Eye, a mystical stone that had not been seen
since the days of Clow Reed. This was the most difficult task that
any potential head of the Li Clan had had to perform since the days
of Clow Reed. The stone had been claimed by Clow Reed for his final
test and had not been seen since his death, but the stone had
suddenly reappeared at a Buddhist temple in some mountains in China.
The monks that ran the temple also guarded the temple stone with
their lives. It seemed that the elders had desperately wanted him to
fail in asking him to perform such a task. But Syaoran would never
give them the satisfaction of seeing him fail once more.

Syaoran traveled to a small village close to the base of the
mountain. Once there a kind old man had offered to drive him to the
base of the mountain after finding out where he wanted to go. But
the base of the mountain was as far as the old man could take him
and he let him off once there telling him, "The temple up there has
isolated itself from the outside world for over a thousand years
now. They are completely self-sufficient and never come down here.
Many wonder if there is anyone still alive up there or if they are
all ghosts. The only people that go up there are people that wish to
join them whether as a living person or as a ghost, I don't know.
There used to be a few poorly tended dirt paths that led up there,
but even those have been destroyed by the earthquakes that hit this
area about fifty years ago. The mountain is full of dangers from
wild animals to landslides. Be careful kid. Good luck, I hope you
find what you are searching for."

Syaoran thanked the old truck driver gratefully and prepared to make
his way up the mountain. All he brought with him was a backpack
carrying food, water, and some clothes and his sword and a few
magical items like his ofudas to defend himself with. He was
prepared to sleep on the ground and underneath the stars and if he
ran out of food and water before he reached the mountain's summit he
was prepared to savage for food along the mountainside. Securing his
backpack to his back, Syaoran began making his way up the mountain.

Early on his quest, as in the first night, Syaoran learned that it
was not a good idea to sleep on the ground. Although he had started
a fire before he went to sleep and had slept next to the fire
allowing its warmth and light to comfort and protect him, during the
night the fire had apparently gone out and Syaoran awoke to the
rustling of some bushes. From the bushes leapt a tiger and Syaoran
barely had time to summon his sword before the tiger struck him. He
blocked the blow with his sword and barely kept his throat from
being ripped out. The tiger leapt back and circled him warily before
attempting to attack again. Again Syaoran blocked but he felt the
exhaustion of his day's travel heavily upon him. When the tiger
attacked again Syaoran wasn't fast enough in blocking and the tiger
managed a successful swipe at his arm. Blood oozed from the wound,
but Syaoran just gritted his teeth and held his ground. If he lost
this battle then he would lose his life. Like a wold backed into a
corner Syaoran gained strength from desperation and an idea suddenly
struck him. Rushing to his bag he pulled out an ofuda and chanted,
"Rai Tei Shou Rai! Rai Geki!" just as the tiger leaped at him again.
A thunder bolt struck the tiger and he fell mid leap. As Syaoran
summoned several more thunderbolts the tiger slowly backed away from
the young magician and ran into the forest leaving Syaoran alone to
tend to his new cut. From that night on Syaoran slept in the trees.
Sure it was less comfortable than the ground, but at least he was
safe from the attacks of wild animals.

It took him over a month of travel to reach the monastery. Several
large rainstorms kept him from traveling for several days and added
to his troubles by further washing away the nearly non-existent dirt
path he had been following. Landslides nearly crushed him more than
once and he found himself hopelessly lost more often than that, but
eventually he did reach the summit and warily made his way to the
temple. The monks at the temple greeted him with surprise, but
welcomed him in. They helped to treat his numerous wounds and fed
him the first real meal he had had in over a month. After that the
head of the temple came to him and asked him why he had come.
Syaoran explained his task to him and the monk's demeanor
immediately changed from friendly to foreboding. "The Dragon's Eye
is a powerful item that was given to this monastery many years ago
to guard. Many people older, more powerful, and wiser than you have
attempted to claim the Dragon's Eye for their own and have failed. I
suggest you give up on your quest and go home for the penalty of
failing to claim the Dragon's Eye is death. You are young and I can
see that you have a good heart and I would hate to see you waste you
life like this. Go home."

"No!" Syaoran shouted then more quietly, "I must get the Dragon's
Eye. I've gone rough too much and come too far to give up and fail
on this final test."

"I see you are determined to claim the Dragon's Eye, but may I ask
you why you want to claim the stone? Is it just for the power it
grants you or is it to claim the leadership of your clan? If it is
that then you might as well go home and not needlessly waste your
life because you will fail."

"I can't fail. I won't fail." Syaoran stated confidently, "If I fail
I'll never see her again and I must see her again. If I don't even
try then I will never be allowed to see her again either. Either way
my life is not worth living without her."

"Her? Who is this girl that you are willing to give up your life to
see again and what does seeing her have to do with this quest of
yours?"

Syaoran looked at the old monk's compassionate face and debated
whether or not to tell him about Sakura. Finally after a few moments
of silence he decided to tell the old man about her hoping he would
understand and allow Syaoran to attempt to claim the Dragon's Eye.
When Syaoran finished telling the old man about his reasons for
wanting to claim the stone, the old monk nodded in understanding and
said, "I see. If that is your reason and your mind is set then I
shall no longer try to persuade you otherwise. All I shall do is
wish you luck, which I have never done for any person seeking the
Dragon's Eye before. But I think you shall succeed where few other
have succeeded and certainly none other in my lifetime. You have
pure heart full of love, courage, and hope. You are doing this for
love and not power. Rest now. You shall go before the elders of the
temple tomorrow to ask their permission to take the tests. I shall
support your request and you will gain their permission and their
blessings. Then you will be sent to your tests.

"Xie, xie. I will try my best." Syaoran replied solemnly.

"I'm sure you will." The old man said before getting up and leaving
the room.

The next day came and things occurred just as the old monk had told
him it would. Syaoran went before the monastery's council and asked
their permission to take the tests. After some words on his behalf
by the old monk, Syaoran was granted permission to take the tests
along with the council's blessings. Syaoran was led to a small room
where the first test was about to take place. From the shadows
stepped a young man about Syaoran's age. The young man smiled
cheerfully and said, "I am your first opponent. You must defeat me
in order to pass onto the next test. If you fail you will die."

Syaoran nodded his head in understanding and the young man attacked.
The strength, agility, and power that his opponent possessed amazed
Syaoran. At first he was able to block and occasionally press an
attack, but as he continued to fight he slowly tired while the young
man seemed to be completely untiring attacking with the same speed
and strength as when the battle first started. 'Inhuman!' Syaoran
thought.

As the fight progressed Syaoran knew that he would lose as he felt
his arm giving way underneath his opponent's attacks. He had long
ago stopped attacking seeing as how futile it was since it was only
wasting his energy, and soon he realized he would no longer be able
to block. Finally as the young man struck him again, Syaoran's tired
arms gave way and his sword was sent flying to land with a loud
resounding clank several feet away. His opponent gave a feral grin
and prepared his sword to strike the final blow. Syaoran closed his
eyes and prepared to feel his opponent's sword pierce him, but a
picture of Sakura crying flashed through his mind and his eyes
snapped open as he screamed, "NO! I will not die! I will not let it
end like this!" His normally amber eyes glowed with the intensity of
his power coursing through him as a visible green aura, a
manifestation of his power, flowed around him. His aura seemed to
extend outwards to grab his sword just as his opponent's sword was
about to strike him. The opponent's sword glanced harmlessly off him
as his aura created an impenetrable shield around him. His sword
flew to his hand as his aura retracted itself back around him and
Syaoran struck his opponent's sword with such strength and force
behind the blow that the young man's sword went flying and landed
harmlessly on the other side of the room. Syaoran held the tip of
his sword threateningly before his opponent's throat.

The young man smiled cheerfully and said, "Good job. You have
defeated me. Few others can make such a claim. You may now pass onto
your next test. All you need to do is walk through that door," the
young man said pointing to a door that had not been there before.
"Be careful though. Through that door are numerous traps meant to
kill any who enter. There is one path through that room of traps and
only someone with a pure heart and hope will find their way through
that room without being harmed. I don't think you have anything to
worry about though, but I will wish you good luck anyway."

Syaoran nodded his thanks at the boy, but was astonished to see the
boy begin to fade away right in front of him. The boy saw the
shocked expression on Syaoran's face and said, "Don't worry, what
you saw of me was merely a spectral image. I was never alive during
this fight, that's why I never tired, but since you have completed
this part of the test there is no need for me until the next
challenger arrives. I will go rest now. Thank-you for our fight, I
enjoyed it immensely. I will watch you in the rest of your trials
and hope you succeed." After saying that the boy disappeared.

Syaoran stared at the spot the boy had been standing in and shook
his head to free himself from the shock and walked through the door
that the boy had told him to enter. Once on the other side, before
him he saw nothing but darkness. Removing an ofuda he chanted, "Ka
Shin" but as soon as the ofuda caught on fire the fire immediately
went out. From somewhere in the room he heard the old monk's voice
telling him, "Magic will not help you get through this test. You
must open your heart and have faith in yourself. Allow your heart to
guide you to the end of this test. Be careful though because opening
your heart can be more difficult than you think."

Syaoran stood rooted to the place he stood as he tried to open up
his heart to let it guide him, but to no avail. He felt nothing to
help guide him through the trap-ridden room and he dared not plunge
heedlessly ahead. 'I guess my heart is not pure enough,' Syaoran
thought. Closing his eyes in frustration, Syaoran tried to calm
himself the best way he could and imagined Sakura's smiling face and
bright green eyes. He unconsciously smiled. As he did so he felt
something gently tugging at him. He followed the tugging upon his
heart and finally found himself in front of another door. Pushing
the door open he entered.

When Syaoran stepped through the door he blinked in surprise.
Thinking that because he had been in the dark so long that his eyes
were playing tricks on him, he tried rubbing them but the image
remained. Before him sat a large twenty feet long dragon with
shimmering bluish-green scales and glowing green eyes. The dragon
seemed to smile welcomeingly at him, but the smile was anything but
welcoming in Syaoran's eyes thanks to the fangs that the dragon
revealed when he smiled. Syaoran gulped in nervousness and realized
that this was probably the final test.

"Welcome Li Xiao Lang. You came here seeking my power and have
passed all the previous tests showing that you possess courage,
determination, hope, and faith. Now you must show me your soul for
me to judge whether or not you are worthy of possessing my power."

"Now show me your soul." Syaoran heard the dragon command in his
mind.

"How? What do you want me to show you?" Syaoran asked.

"Show me your soul." The dragon commanded again.

Syaoran thought of what made him who he was, the battles he had gone
through and the training he underwent. He thought of his role as
heir to the Li Clan. He tried showing the dragon that he was strong
enough and responsible enough to handle its power. Suddenly the
dragon lashed out at him and a sharp claw tore it's way through his
arm. Immediately Syaoran took a defensive position ignoring the pain
in his arm.

"Stay where you are." the dragon said imperiously, "The only way to
pass this test is to allow me to judge your soul and to do that you
must show me your soul. The penalty for failure is simply death, but
it will be a quick death. I will give you another chance. Show me
your soul."

Again Syaoran tried to show the dragon his soul, thought of pain and
suffering he had endured or failures and mistakes he had made that
had nearly cost him his life ran through his mind. He tried to show
the dragon that he was wise enough to accept failure and learn from
it and strong enough to endure any suffering he might have to go
through. The dragon struck out again; this time bearing two claws
that slashed across Syaoran's leg. Syaoran fell to his knees as the
blood flowed freely out of his wound. He did not try to staunch it
but instead just stared defiantly at the dragon.

"I will give you one more chance. Now, show me your soul."

"I can't show you anymore!" Syaoran shouted. "What more do you want
me to show you? If you are going to kill me then just kill me!"

"Very well, you have failed the test." The dragon stated calmly and
apathetically as he readied all three claws of one of his arms and
aimed them at Syaoran's heart intent on ripping it out.

Syaoran closed his eyes and thought, 'Sayonara, Sakura.' Images of
Sakura flashed through his mind. He saw Sakura and himself sitting
on the beach talking to each other. He saw himself fighting
alongside her capturing cards. He remembered her in those ridiculous
outfits that Tomoyo made for her. He remembered how beautiful her
smile were and how her eyes would light up when she was happy. He
remembered how gentle, sweet, and caring she was. He remembered when
he held her and comforted her. He remembered how she had cheered him
up when he was sad. Sadly he knew that he would never be with her
again, but he comforted himself with the fact that at least he could
now see her and watch over her in death since he couldn't in life.
He waited patiently for the dragon's claw to tear his flesh, but
instead of feeling shape claws penetrating his skin he felt a cool
hand touch his chest.

Startled Syaoran opened his eyes to see the dragon gone and a boy of
about nine or ten standing before him. The boy had pale bluish skin
and wore flowing blue ancient Chinese robes tied at his waist with a
dark blue sash. His long blue hair was tied back into a loose
ponytail with another dark blue sash. The boy looked at him with
glowing green eyes that possessed thousands of years of life. With a
start Syaoran realized that the boy was the dragon. They possessed
the same eyes. The boy removed his hand from Syaoran's chest and
whispered softly, "Thank-you for showing me your soul. It is
beautiful. She is beautiful. That girl, Sakura, is a part of you.
You gave your entire heart and soul to her and because she is pure
and beautiful your soul is also pure and beautiful. You are worthy
of possessing my power."

Winds swept around Syaoran and the boy's body that had seemed solid
just moments before seemed to fade and become translucent. In the
boys hand was a small green stone that glowed with the same light
that the boy's eyes had. The boy opened the palm of Syaoran's hand
and placed the stone in it saying, "This stone is the physical
manifestation of my power. You do not yet have the ability to use
all of my power, but the stone will allow you to call me and it will
allow you to focus and amplify your power. Use my power to return to
her and protect her." With that said the boy's spectral body
disappeared.

When the boy disappeared Syaoran felt like he was falling and when
he was conscious of his surroundings again he found himself in bed
with his wounds bandaged. The old monk was standing by his bed and
smiled at him. "Congratulations." the old man said, "You succeeded
just like I thought you would. Now you can return to find your love
and you also now have the power to protect her. The other monks and
I will combine our powers to return you to wherever you need to be."

The monks did as they promised and returned him to the clan's
council room. Syaoran had succeeded in his final test and was
declared head of the Li Clan. He had gone through so much just to
return to Sakura, but all he did had been in vain. Sakura loved
another. He had been too late. Tears of bitter heartache streamed
down his face and mixed with the rain pouring from the sky. The rain
soaked his clothes, but he didn't care. Syaoran couldn't care about
anything anymore. His heart hurt too much to care. Syaoran collapsed
to his knees and began punching the ground in frustration crying,
"Why Sakura, why him? Why not me?" Over and over he punched the
ground until his hand began to bleed and his tears and blood mixed
with the rain dripping down onto his shirt staining it bright red.
Exhausted, Syaoran just sat on the ground numb letting the rain fall
upon him soaking through his clothes. Suddenly the rain stopped
falling upon him. Syaoran looked up into the concerned eyes of
Tomoyo and Soujiro and whispered, "Daidouji-san, Ogata-san..."

*****************************

Tomoyo walked through the rain with Soujiro. Her arm was looped
through his as she admired the beauty of the falling rain. It was
Soujiro that had taught her to appreciate the beauty of the rain and
it's healing qualities. Soujiro was much like the rain she realized.
He was calm and gentle most of the time, but could be strong and a
force to be reckoned with at other times. He carried a large
umbrella to shelter the two of them from the rain.

Tomoyo was happy that she met Soujiro. He was a good influence on
her helping her to give up on Sakura. Tomoyo had always known that
Sakura and Syaoran belonged together so she had always tried to
support the two even though she loved Sakura with all her heart. But
because Sakura loved Syaoran, Tomoyo's love was never destined to be
returned as anymore than friendship. Tomoyo had thought that she
could live with that as long as her best friend was happy and she
was sure that she would eventually be because she trusted Syaoran to
return for Sakura. But that left Tomoyo alone without someone to
love her and whether no matter how calm she acted it hurt her.

She had met Soujiro during her junior year when he transferred to
her school. Then he was cheerful and friendly, but very shy so
Tomoyo and Sakura had tried to help him make new friends. She and
Soujiro had become friends easily due to the similarity in their
personalities and Tomoyo often found herself confiding in Soujiro
about her feeling for Sakura and whenever she felt sad because she
hadn't wanted to bother Sakura with her troubles since Sakura had
troubles of her own. Soujiro had been kind and understanding and
Tomoyo slowly found herself developing stronger feelings for him.
She still loved Sakura, but in a more resigned way. She had given up
on Sakura because she knew Sakura's heart belonged with Syaoran.
When she finally told him her feelings for him, Soujiro was his
typical understanding self and revealed he felt the same about her,
but he didn't want to pressure her. He knew her feelings for Sakura
were very strong so he didn't want to push her. For the first time
ever Tomoyo felt like she had someone that loved her the same way
that she loved them. It was refreshing and comforting and she was
truly happy.

Soujiro filled a void in her life and Tomoyo was thankful that she
had met him. In a lot of ways Soujiro reminded Tomoyo of Sakura. He
was gentle and kind and he also possessed an innocent naiveté that
Tomoyo found very attractive and endearing. She smiled up at her
boyfriend trying to show him how appreciative of him she was.
Soujiro seemed to sense her mood and smiled down at her.

The couple continued to walk arm in arm across the campus intent on
getting back to their dorm, but Soujiro stopped suddenly and pointed
to a figure sitting forlornly in the rain. The figure reminded
Soujiro of himself many years before after his parents had abandoned
him in the rain, but he had been rescued and comforted by his
current parents. He was glad he had them and he felt that the figure
needed someone too. When Tomoyo looked to see what Soujiro had been
pointing at, she gasped as she recognized the figure as Syaoran.

"Li-kun..." she gasped.

"I think something is wrong. Let's go help him." Soujiro suggested
Tomoyo nodded in agreement and the two made their way to Syaoran.

They stood over him for a few moments before he acknowledged their
presence. Looking up at them he whispered, "Daidouji-san, Ogata-
san..."

"Syaoran-kun, nani desu ka?" Soujiro asked gently.

"Where's Sakura? Aren't you supposed to be on a date with her?"
Tomoyo asked.

Syaoran looked up at the two with a bleak look in his eyes and
whispered, "Sakura is out with Mauler right now. She likes him and
he likes her. I saw the confessing their feelings for each other
when I arrived. If she likes that guy, I will not stand in her way."

Tomoyo wanted to say something to comfort him. She wanted to tell
her friend that Sakura loved him not Christian, but she remained
silent. She knew that nothing she said would have helped. He
wouldn't believe her. She just wondered what had really happened.
Instead of saying anything she just held out a hand to him. Syaoran
looked at the hand and took it allowing himself to be pulled up.
Soujiro placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and he tried to
smile weakly up at the couple, but couldn't so he just looked down
at the ground.

"Let's get back to the dorm now. You need to get out of those
clothes or else you'll catch a cold." Soujiro suggested.

Syaoran merely nodded and walked back to the dorm with them.

*****************************

Tomoyo sat in her room anxiously waiting for Sakura to return from
the concert. Kero-chan saw the anxious expression on her face and
assumed that she was worried about Sakura's date with Syaoran.
Trying to comfort her anxiety he flew over to her and settled his
little stuffed animal body onto her lap and said, "Don't worry I'm
sure Sakura and that kid priest are doing fine."

"That's just the problem Kero-chan. Sakura is not out with Li-kun
right now. She's out with Mauler-kun."

"Mauler? Is he that creepy foreign exchange student from Germany?
What is she doing with him? She should be out with that gaki."

"I don't know what happened but Li-kun thinks that she likes
Christian and he is really depressed right now. I couldn't comfort
him because I don't know what happened."

"That's not good. I don't like the kid priest too much, but I have
to admit that he's good for Sakura. He can make her happy and he
cares about her and can protect her."

"Un." Tomoyo agreed sadly as the door to her room creaked open and
Sakura stepped in. "Sakura-chan! Where have you been? Why weren't
you with Li-kun? What happened?" Tomoyo asked in one breath.

"Syaoran-kun never showed up. I waited for him for a while, but he
didn't come. Instead Christian-kun came and said that Syaoran-kun
couldn't make it so he came in his place and we went to the concert
together." Sakura replied dejectedly.

"Sakura-chan. Li-kun was there. He was running late. He said that
when he got there he saw you and Mauler-kun confessing your feelings
for each other. He thinks that you like Mauler-kun so he left the
two of you alone."

"Oh no!" Sakura cried. "He misunderstood. I just like Christian-kun
as a friend. I guess he didn't hear me say that. I have to go talk
to him now!"

"Un. He's in his room now I think." Tomoyo replied helpfully.

Sakura raced out of her room and ran to Syaoran's room. She knocked
forcefully on the door and waited impatiently for someone to open
it. Her heart fell when she saw Christian open the door instead of
Syaoran. "Is Syaoran-kun here? I need to talk to him." Sakura asked
urgently.

"Gomen nasai Sakura-san, demo Syaoran-kun is out right now."
Christian replied.

"Oh..." Sakura replied dejectedly. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Gomen nasai, demo I don't know."

"Can I wait here for him?"

"If you want to, of course you can. But Sakura-san you like Syaoran-
kun right?" Sakura looked down shyly and nodded her head.
"Hmmm...That's too bad. I really don't like hurting you like this
but I don't want to see you even more hurt later, but I think
Syaoran only thinks of you as a friend. I know a lot of girls chase
him and the reason he cancelled your date tonight was because
another girl asked him out."

"Uso..." Sakura whispered. "Syaoran-kun wouldn't do that."

"He did. I didn't want to hurt you so I didn't tell you earlier. You
don't know him as well as you think you do. I live with him so I
know."

Tears formed in Sakura's eyes as she felt her heart freezing over.
She felt numb. Was Christian telling the truth or was Tomoyo. Sakura
didn't dare trust her heart anymore. She was afraid. Her doubts and
fears overwhelmed her as she thought, 'Tomoyo-chan was wrong. He
doesn't care about me that way. He's probably happy that Christian
took me out. He could go on his date with that other girl.'

"Thank-you Christian-kun." Sakura said turning around to go back to
her room.

Once there she saw Tomoyo's anticipatory face fall at the site of
her forlorn face. "What happened Sakura-chan?"

"Christian-kun said that Syaoran-kun wasn't there. He said that
Syaoran-kun was probably out on a date with another girl.
Oh...Tomoyo-chan....Syaoran-kun doesn't like me after all."

"I think Mauler-kun was mistaken. I'm sure Li-kun likes you." Tomoyo
said as she hugged her friend trying to comfort her.

"I know he doesn't. Why would he?" Sakura cried in her friend's
arms.

"He came back to Japan just for you."

"No. He just came back because he like it here."

Tomoyo looked at her friend sadly realizing that nothing she said
you convince Sakura that Syaoran liked her. At a lose of what to do
she just hugged her friend and let her cry on her shoulder.

*****************************

Syaoran stood in the shower letting the warm water wash over him,
warming him. While he was in there he heard the door open and
thought bitterly, 'Looks like the jerk's back.' He continued his
shower until he heard someone knocking on the door and then the door
opening and muffled voices talking. He continued to let the water
run over himself not minding the conversation going on in the other
room. Finally he turned off the shower and stepped out drying
himself off. He bandaged his hand and dressed then entered his room.
He saw Christian sitting gleefully on his bed. "Who was at the
door?" Syaoran asked coldly.

"Oh it was just Sakura-san coming to tell me what a wonderful time
she had at the concert. I ran across her waiting for you and since
you were twenty minutes late already she invited me to come with
her. By the way why weren't you there?"

"None of your business." Syaoran replied turning away from Christian
to hide the pain on his face at the mention of Sakura.

*****************************

A.N. Anyone still not hate Christian? I sure hope not, otherwise I'm
not doing my job properly. Yes, I am purposely dragging this out and
making them suffer and yes I mean for Christian to be that evil.
Cruel aren't I?