Disclaimer: Go read the previous ones.

Thanks to everyone for reviewing last chapter.

A special thanks to Heaven wouldn't take me and Hell was afraid I would take over, for being my 666th reviewer ! -gives you a hat with two red horns and scuffles away slowly - looks like you took over hell gurl ! :3

Chapter 19:- The Elders.

Syaoran smirked, for once he seemed to be having a good day - and not the usual good day (like the ones that lasted two hours and then turned into rotten days) but the good type that stayed good all day.

The entire hometown dates had finished, and so was The Rose Ceremony. He had rejected Airo, mainly because her family were a bunch of weirdos.

Plus, she actually was idiotic enough to believe Sakura and go with her prank. His eyes darkened as he recalled the scene.

' Soon.. I'd have my revenge ' he thought a smirk gracing his lips.

Sakura on the other hand, was having a not-so-wonderful day. Ever since Syaoran had told her about his plan on revenge, she had been extra cautious. She never let her guard down when near Syaoran, any more than she would around a coiled-up rattlesnake.

Her eyes twitched as she watched Kourin and Kasumi engaged in a fierce argument.

" Urgh, no way gurl ! He would look good in brown ! " Kasumi said nodding her head.

Kourin frowned " Black is his color... Men look sexy in black " she announced with a grin.

The person whom they are referring to as 'He' and 'Him', should be quite obvious.

" The brown will bring out his Amber eyes..." Kasumi sighed dreamily " He will look very enticing "

" Especially with a fork in his head..." Sakura mumbled snidely under her breath.

Kasumi and Kourin shared a look. " Someone's cranky... " they cooed much to her irritation.

Sakura scowled " I am not cranky ! "

" Hmm.. must be love then " Kasumi said with a grin. " People in love are quite moody... "

" I am not in love ! " Sakura shouted with a glare.

" Denial..." Kasumi said in sing-song voice.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and was ready to yell when Shiefa strode in with a huge smile.

" Good morning " she said with a grin " There's only three of you now... Are you all happy and excited? "

" My heart is soaring " Sakura muttered with an eye-roll.

Kasumi and Kourin frowned at her, but Shiefa laughed. " No need for sarcasm missy " she said gently " Well, I guess I'll tell you the plans for the next date "

Seeing the eager looks on the girls she continued " Usually, we do the Dream Dates, but we changed plans. You all get to visit Syaoran's house and meet his family "

The girls squealed, except for Sakura who looked ready to scream.

"You're joking, right ? " she asked in disbelief.

Shiefa giggled and shook her head "No, each one of you will stay at the Li mansion in central Hong-Kong. It's 20 miles from here "

Sakura resisted the urge to groan. The whole meet-the-family-and-get-to-know-them-better was starting to irritate her.

" The first date goes to Sakura and then it's Kasumi and finally Kourin " Shiefa said smiling " You'll be leaving today, probably within the next hour. Bye, girls " she waved and went off.

Kasumi grinned "oooh, Sakura got the first date. You know what they say..." she began mysteriously.

Kourin looked thoughtful " First come, first serve ? " she asked with a teasing smile.

Sakura thinned her lips and watched Kasumi shake her head as a ' no'.

Kourin raised an eye-brow " All the good stuff goes to the first ones ? "

" Nope "

" I give up, what is it ? " Kourin said with a pout.

Kasumi giggled "I have no idea, gimme a minute and I'll come up with something "

Sakura gritted her teeth and stormed out of the hall, just as she came down the stairs a phone rang. She went near the phone stand and frowned wondering whether she should answer it or not.

" When a phone rings you're supposed to pick it up " a voice snapped from above.

Sakura whipped her head and saw Syaoran scowling down at her from above the stairs.

" Pick it up " he commanded with a glare.

Sakura was about to shout that she wasn't his slave or house maid, but the ringing was getting on her nerves. She threw him a dirty look and picked up the phone.

" Hello "

" Is Syaoran there ? " a gentle female voice asked on the other end.

Sakura smirked " I'm sorry, but he currently has a giant stick shoved up his butt and is being characteristically cruel. Please hold for a while ... "

" And who is this ? " the voice asked with a hint of amusement.

" I'm Syaoran's rampant sex monkey, and you are ?"

" His mother "

Sakura clapped a hand to her mouth and stared in horror at Syaoran who just came down.

" Who is it ?" he asked with a frown, apparently he didn't hear her chat.

" It's for you " Sakura said with a nervous laugh and shoved the phone into his hands.

" Hello?" Syaoran asked curiously, before his expression faded slowly into realization, and finally, irritation. He covered the phone and glared at her. "You - stairs - get ready - now !"

Sakura didn't need to be told twice and quickly picked her way across the room, and went up the stairs. Ignoring the questioning looks of her two friends, she bolted inside her room and got dressed.

She walked out and down the stairs to see Syaoran looking positively livid and still talking into the phone.

" Get in the car ! " he barked covering it once again and threw the keys at her.

Sakura nodded and went outside towards his silver Escalade and dived into the car. When she settled inside she finally allowed herself to grimace.

The temptation to just drive away without him was amazingly strong, and she had to sit on her hands to keep from reaching over to take the wheel.

Only moments after she had actually gotten herself seated in the car, Syaoran appeared, not looking at all like a particularly happy bunny.

He yanked the door open rather harshly plonked down in the drivers seat and slammed the door after him -Sakura winced at each loud noise.

After a moment he released his clenched fists and turned a low glare on her. " I'm very much tempted to kill you right now..." he gritted out angrily.

Sakura scowled at him "What's stopping you ? " she asked defiantly.

" The promise to your brother " he said with a smirk " I told him I wouldn't kill you, even if you act like a bitch. "

Her eyes flashed at the insult " Why you arrogant bas- "

" That's what I told him at the end, ' I won't ' as in I won't kill her " Syaoran lied, cutting in smartly with a sadistic smile.

What he really promised to Touya was that he wouldn't hurt Sakura. ' But damned if I ever tell her that ' he thought darkly.

Her fist clenched in barely suppressed anger and she willed herself not to claw his eyes out.

" Give me the keys, I'm driving " he told her.

Sure enough Sakura had a look of sheer terror on her face. "You're d-driving ? "

"Yes...that's what people do when they sit in the drivers seat...they drive the car " He explained extra slowly, as if she was the biggest fool in the world for asking the question in the first place.

Sakura was oblivious to his jab " You mean I have to stay in the car with you driving TWENTY MILES ? "

Syaoran nodded smiling wickedly, and this caused Sakura to panic.

She quickly swung open the door and bolted out. Syaoran predicting this, went after her and grabbed her waist, dragging her towards the car.

"Noooo! Let me go ! " Sakura struggled from his hold " I want to live ! "

" No need for theatrics " Syaoran said with an eye roll.

Sakura seized her struggle and Syaoran let go of her, sensing her calm down. He walked ahead towards his car and Sakura followed him at a slower pace.

Syaoran stood next to his car and frowned looking at her, she appeared to be talking to herself. When she came within the hearing range...

" ...And I'm sorry for that one time I stomped Oni-chan and dropped a bowling ball on his toe. Please forgive me of all of my sins and grant me another day of life..."

"... I ask that you would keep us from colliding with objects that could kill us, and it would be really great if you would strike and impair Syaoran with a lightning bolt before we pull out of here. Amen. " She finished as she slowly got in the car.

Syaoran was giving her the evil eye the whole time.

Throwing the keys at him, Sakura kept her eyes clenched shut during the entire trip, but she could tell from the amount of swaying and careening around that Syaoran was still driving like some drunk maniac.

OoOoOoOoO

After sometime sensing the car slowing down, Sakura opened her eyes and her jaw dropped.

They were passing some rich neighborhood, with houses that could only be described as gigantic! There were even security guards placed in and out of the house.

In the distance, she spotted a gorgeous, white mansion built to perfection and almost isolated from other houses .

Syaoran turned into a road leading to that mansion, which also led to the main gates. The main gates made Sakura gulp because the gateway consisted of ten feet brick walls complete with barbed wires on top.

If she had considered The Li mansion, where she and the girls were staying, as big...then this one was Super Huge !

After the guards opened the gate, Syaoran drove down the long stretch of road leading to the beautiful mansion.

They pulled to a stop and Sakura got out dazedly.

The house was a gigantic three stories high and it seemed to stretch on forever. Huge fountains trickled merrily and a garden full of white and pink roses was placed on the side.

Syaoran smiled at her gawking expression and steered her towards the entrance. As they neared the door, they heard someone running towards them from inside.

He grinned and kneeled down flailing out his arms, just in time to catch a blur that jumped on him with a squeal.

" Uncle Syaooooraaaan ! "

Sakura watched with wide eyes as a small girl embraced Syaoran smiling happily.

" I missed you "

Syaoran laughed and placed a small kiss on her forehead " I missed you too Yuiren "

" Hey what about me ! " a boy questioned coming towards them, he looked a lot like the small girl, but he was a bit more tall and older.

Syaoran got up and ruffled the boys hair, earning a protest " You too Chuie ! "

Chuie grinned and turned towards Sakura " Is she your girlfriend ? " he asked curiously.

Sakura blushed.

" You're very pretty... I like you... " Yuiren said and giggled.

Syaoran groaned " I swear she's starting to sound like her mother " he said, his cheeks a suspicious shade of pink

" You say that as if it's a bad thing ! " a voice teased.

They all looked up and saw three young woman standing near the doorway with smiles on their face. When they caught sight of Sakura, all of them squealed and rushed towards her.

They were pinching her cheeks and saying random things like: " You're so sweet ! " " Kawaii! "

Sakura blushed furiously and sweatdropped at the same time. Syaoran rolled his eyes,

" These are my sisters Xifie, Futie and Fanren. That's Xifie's daughter Yuiren and son Chuie " he introduced tem when he noticed her questioning gaze.

A familiar face walked up to them from inside and smiled at the person happily.

" Wei-san ! Nice to see you again " she greeted with a bow.

Wei smiled gently " Nice to see you too Miss. Sakura and Welcome to our Li mansion "

Sakura smiled back and they all made their way inside. Her mouth dropped as she slowly went in.

"Oh my god... " Sakura whispered breathlessly, her eyes wide as she eyed the hallway.

There was a long carpet checker-styled leading from the doorway to the back of the long hall, where Sakura could see a set of stylish stairs leading to the second floor.

Right behind the stairs were long, tall windows showing the outdoor room of the whole estate, which included a swimming pool which Sakura didn't doubt was heated, a Jacuzzi, and numerous other delights---all enclosed in a room made of glass, so that the sun could shine through the glass ceiling on a hot day, but kept out the rain on a cold day.

The walls of the halls were decorated with paintings of the strangest things, varying from Chinese artifacts and paintings.

Beautiful crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling at different lengths and Sakura looked up at them thoroughly marveled. She looked like a dead fish as she stared at all the interesting things that captured her attention.

" No drooling on the carpet " Syaoran teased her.

Sakura immediately shut her mouth and shot him a glare.

Wei turned towards her " You will stay here for two days. We have about five or six spare, you may choose whichever one you like the most "

OoOoOoOoO

Sakura was smiling so much, that she felt her face hurting. She had chosen her dream room and it was perfect.
Absolutely perfect.

She squealed happily as she grabbed the incredibly fluffy, downy pillow and hugged it to her chest. She had checked all the rooms before, and this one was the one that stood out to her the most---not to mention it was enormous.

It was bathed in shades of baby blue, pink and white. It was definitely an odd combination of colors, but the decorator definitely put a new meaning to the word fabulous .

She had chosen the room overlooking the extra room with the swimming pool and Jacuzzi. If there wasn't a glass ceiling there, Sakura had wondered whether she could have dived into the pool from the second story.

Her bed had white sheets adorned with pale blue hibiscus flowers. She had more pillows than she had pairs of dresses...and Sakura had lots of dress, all thanks to Tomoyo.

She ran a hand over the couch and realized the material was soft. Jumping over the couch, she landed in its cushions and immediately understood what people meant by heaven on earth. The couch was absolutely... comfortable...

It was situated plop next to the bed, which was facing a huge flat screen TV.

Eight different colored star-shaped lamps hung from the ceiling in a swirling pattern. Directly opposite of her bed, the wall was decorated with pots of white and baby blue fake flowers.

She also had a walk-in wardrobe, which was empty, but Sakura didn't care at all---it made her feel happy just by having one.

If her bedroom wasn't enough, her bathroom made her feel like she had been thrown right in the middle of the ocean. The walls were decorated with semi-transparent light blue tiles and the whole room had a toilet, shower and hot tub.

Although Wei had insisted it was small, she was sure half the rooms upstairs her house could fit in this small bathroom.

' God, the Li's are a very wealthy family ! No wonder Syaoran grew up so arrogant and mean ' she thought with a scowl.

But as far as she could remember, Syaoran had never mentioned or flaunted about his wealth... and his sisters didn't come across her as snobs either, quite the opposite really...

' Then what made him grow so bitter ? ' she wondered wrinkling her eyebrows.

While Sakura was lost in thoughts in her new found room, on the other side of the mansion Syaoran and his sisters where sitting in the hall listening to him shout pacing around.

" But why are they coming ? " Syaoran shouted with a glare.

Fanren rolled her eyes "For the last time Xiaolang, they're the Elders ! Their decision is very important "

His two other sisters nodded in agreement.

" They need to meet the girls, and see if they are fit to be the future wife of the Li clan leader " Futie said firmly.

His mood darkened as memories of his childhood whizzed past him... his fathers death...training to be the Li clan leader... He couldn't help but bitterly realize that The Elders were present in every single one of the memories...

Syaoran shook his head, this was not the time to dwell on the past.

The prospect of making the Elders meet the girls, sounded ridiculous to him. And what ticked him off more was that they didn't even bother to inform him of their arrival.

" You know what I hate ? " he asked grumpily.

" I have a list somewhere..." Fanren muttered sarcastic.

" Dogs ?" Futie said from where she was sitting on the couch.

" No " Syaoran frowned at her.

" Love letters " Xifie guessed wildly.

" No! "

" The color pink ? " Fanren shrugged.

" Babies " Futie guessed again.

" The next door neighbor when they leave the kids in our house saying they're visiting a sick person, but in actual they're just going out to a party " Fanren nodded " I know you hate that."

" No !" Syaoran grouched. "I hate it when-"

" When the Elders come without any warning assuming they know better and interrogate your date ? " Xifie asked with a smirk " Feel free to bitch, Xiaolang. My husband and I suffered the same fate "

Syaoran's eyebrow ticked. "Actually... I absolutely hate it when people drown kittens."

OoOoOoOoO

Sakura had never been so nervous in her life, but here she was pacing in the room and cursing a certain Bachelor.

Syaoran had barged into her room a while ago smokes practically pouring out his ears. He rudely told her to stop gawking and get ready to meet his Mother and Elders.

Who or What the Elders were, Syaoran didn't explain. But from the way he said it, Sakura realized that they were very important.

But what made Sakura nervous, was the prospect of meeting Syaoran's mother. Thanks to her incredibly stupid behavior in the phone early morning, the thought facing the woman sacred her to the end.

From the way she answered in the phone, Sakura knew that his mother was very gentle...but still there's no telling what will happen during the meeting.

After-all she did tell Syaoran's mother that she was his sons RAMPANT SEX MONKEY !

" Oh god..." Sakura muttered hopelessly " I feel like I'm waiting for my death "

" That's because you are " a voice said from the doorway.

Sakura snapped her head to meet Syaoran.

" A death from boredom and..." a small smirk graced his lips " Mortification from your little stunt this morning "

"Geez, thanks for soothing my tension. I feel so much better now ! " Sakura said sarcastically.

Syaoran's mouth twitched with held back laughter " Yes well, people do say that I have an usual talent of helping them..."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him and he shot her a smile. Together they went along the long halls towards the meeting place.

" Hm..." an Elder with a green Chinese robe murmured watching Sakura.

They were now sitting around a table with the five Elders.

They had a long white moustache that framed the two side of their mouth and ended down the chin. Their eyebrows were white and sharp, and their long hair was tied into a bun on top of their heads with two brown sticks holding their place.

" You are the card mistress... But you do not quite appear the way we had imagined... " he said entwining his fingers on top of the table.

Sakura's eyebrows ticked ' Geez, what did they expect ? I should have a giant tail and two horns on my head for being a card-mistress ? '

" No matter " another one said in the same dead tone. " Let's get to the important matters shall we ? "

Without waiting for an answer they continued.

" Syaoran Li is the leader of our clan. As per the tradition he should have been engaged and married by this age " Sakura noted the disdain entering his voice " Seeing as how he apparently failed to do that... we had to take measures "

Syaoran clenched his fist and his jaw hardened in held back anger.

" Hence, we agreed on him participating in this show. Shame, how a person in a powerful position as a leader could not even find himself a decent suitor till now " one of them said shaking his head in disgust.

Sakura glanced at Syaoran through the corner of and she felt a deep pang going through her inside. His pose was rigid, a stance Sakura knew he only did when angry and his eyes...they seemed so cold and hard.

Memories of seeing Syaoran's photos as Shiefa gave them, flashed through her mind.

He had looked so innocent and carefree as a child...but then, something had changed... the pictures she saw of his 7 year old self, weren't similar to the ones before..

Gone was the carefree look...the heart warming smile... replaced by emotions far more painful for a little child.. sadness, longing and loneliness...

Her chest clutched in pain, as slowly realization dawned on her.

' It was them ! ' Sakura thought with a jolt ' They were responsible for this...their harsh words...their authority. They were the ones who took away his innocence.. his smile.. his childhood...'

Her eyes flashed as anger bubbled within her.

" It's not like you're any better! Trying to run his life and berating him at the same time, if this isn't the lowest degree of a shameful act, then I don't know what is ! "

The words were past her lips before she could stop them and an instant shocked silence settled in the room.

" Such insolence ! " one of the Elders said angrily. " How dare a pathetic excuse for a card mistress like you- "

He never got to finish the sentence for Syaoran had slammed his fist loudly on the table.

" Enough ! " he shouted harshly " Sakura proved herself worthy of the cards and her magic is more powerful than Clow Reeds. If anyone is pathetic in here then it's obviously all of you, for you showed disrespect to the Card Mistress. "

Everyone in the room could feel Syaoran's powerful green aura flare with subdued rage. " And never insult Sakura in front of me again, I will not tolerate it ! "

Sakura's eyes softened " Syaoran... " she whispered barely audible, touched by his words.

A loud cough brought their attention back to the door way and they saw an elderly woman, wearing a Chinese traditional red dress standing there, her aura practically radiated wisdom and power.

She came in and cast the Elders a reproachful look, the one that appeared clearly because she had witnessed everything that happened inside.

" I'm Yelan Li, Xiaolang's mother " she said coming near Sakura, whose eyes widened with surprise. Yelan noted with amusement that Sakura gulped a little and a look of embarrassment crossed her eyes.

" Please forgive us " she continued apologetically " Such rude behavior towards a woman and the Card Mistress no less is unacceptable "

Sakura felt the last part of the sentence was directed more at the Elders than her, but she still nodded her head as ' yes'

Yelan smiled at her gently and turned to face the Elders with a stern expression " The meeting is over you may leave " she said firmly.

The Elders looked among themselves and silently if not a bit hostile stood up and left the room.

OoOoOoOoO

When the Elders had left, Syaoran's sisters had barged in each looking in awe at Sakura and Syaoran.

They had immediately pinched Sakura's cheeks and hugged her telling how happy they were for ' getting the old geezers off their high horse and whipping their sorry little wrinkled ass '

This earned a laugh from Syaoran and an eye roll from Yelan. After that they all had lunch together, during which Sakura grew am instant liking towards Syaoran's mother.

They had talked a lot, especially about her The Sakura cards and her adventures in transforming them.

Even though Yelan had teased on having an interesting conversation with Sakura on the phone before, she didn't press the matter any further. Not only that, but Sakura found out that many of their interest match as well.

Shiefa had called later in the evening, announcing their plan to shoot an episode of Syaoran and Sakura having dinner with his family.

Sakura's eyes twitched as the camera zoomed in on her walking towards the dinner table. Even though Tomoyo constantly recorded her, Sakura still found the prospect of someone capturing all her moves on camera a bit disturbing .

With a barely suppressed groan she sat down on a chair. Syaoran's niece and nephew had already gone to bed, worn off from playing with Sakura too much in the evening.

" Oooh, Sakura ! I have got just the thing to show you ! " Futie said showing a red book, which looked like a photo album to Sakura.

The sheer look of terror on Syaoran's face, who sat opposite to her, confirmed Sakura's suspicion.

" Wasn't he such a precious baby ! " she cooed, quickly getting up from her chair and running to Sakura's side to
show her an old photo of a baby, who she guessed was Syaoran.

Her stomach clenched on looking at it and she tightened the hold on her glass of water.

Sure, Syaoran was very cute but there was a little problem. There was not a single bit of clothe on him, and a rather nasty trail of nose drippings was on his face.

Sakura's mouth twitched a bit uncertainly, she was stuck somewhere between being horribly amused and disgusted.

" Futie ! " Syaoran jumped to his feet and lunged in an attempt to grab the album from his sisters hand.

But she merely giggled and moved out of the way, thus causing him to land on Sakura instead. The impact made the chair fall backward and they both toppled to the ground with a thud.

The glass of water on her hand flew and hit the floor splashing everywhere, Wei who had come to help Syaoran and Sakura up, accidentally stepped on it and slipped.

The trays full of food he was carrying catapulted and landed with loud smacks on Xifie and Fanren's head dumping noodles and gravy all over their face and dress.

The entire room went silent, except for the cameraman who was recording all this with choked up laughter.

" Well, this will make a wonderful story for my future grand children, no? " Yelan said with a chuckle.

This started led everyone in the room to start laughing heartily, much to the embarrassment of Syaoran and Sakura.

As soon as the dinner was over, Yelan and her daughters excused themselves and the cameraman left still chuckling.

Syaoran searched wildly about the room as they made their exit.

Sakura watched him curiously " What exactly... are you looking for?"

" My dignity. Have you seen it around ?"

Sakura laughed " I think I saw it crawl out after Futie showed the album "

He nodded back with a wry smile " I thought so "

OoOoOoOoO

Sakura and Syaoran were standing in the backyard gardens of the mansion. They came here to get some fresh air and relax after the events of today.

" Hey Syaoran, The Elders...where they always like this to you ? " Sakura enquired furrowing her brows.

" Yes "

" But why...?"

His was voice was soft as he spoke, and Sakura noted the sadness in them " After my father died, they thought the best way to treat me to be a perfect leader was that manner. Cold and Harsh "

Syaoran could not understand why he was telling her this, why he hadn't already changed the subject, why he simply couldn't tell her that it was getting and that he needs to go to sleep. Why was she asking him all of these questions?

And yet, her expression was so innocent, so open, so honest, that he knew there was no hidden agenda, no attempt to wrench painful secrets from his past. She was simply curious, and concerned.

She cared.

" Wei trained me in martial arts and Meilin was also a student there. The Elders never let me do things on my own, and they constantly watch over me to see if I'm progressing. Since you released the cards, I was told to go capture and retrieve them from you "

His eyes hardened " But I didn't exactly succeed in that did I ? "

Sakura bit her lip and was about to say something but he continued.

" After I came back, I knew they were disapointed in me for not passing Yue's test. So in-order to please them, I trained myself harder and got excellent grades. But no matter what I did, they always seemed to be dissatisfied. They still don't believe I'm good enough to be the Li clan leader..." he trailed off bitterly.

Sakura's felt her heart constrict at the sight of him: eyes closed, his bangs covering his expression, lips thinned to a line, fists clenched...

He looked so broken, so alone... Before even realizing that she had moved, her arms were around him, her head buried in his shoulder.

Syaoran's eyes flew open, at the soft warmth that suddenly enveloped him. He looked down to see Sakura hugging him tightly.

Words were not needed between them, for he understood the true meaning behind the simple gesture.

A genuine smile graced his lips as he entwined his arms around her small frame. He buried his head between her soft hair and breathed in it's unique sweet scent.

They stayed this way for a long time..

As though time had stopped and nothing existed but them and this moment...their emotions contrasting greatly with cold snowflakes that continued to fall down from the sky.

To be able to feel the warmth of someone important to you. That's an extraordinary blessing…

A/N: I believe the Eldersare quite heartless for they forced Syaoran to train at such a young age... from the anime we only know Meilin was his friend right? And Syaoran was a down right jerk at the beginning.. I'm guessing the Elders were responsible for all this...

READ: I'm moving away to Australia for my college, so it may take a while for me to adjust there and update...it's going to be really hard to make time, but don't worry I'll update this fic...eventually ;P