A/N: Here we go, all – last chapter! Well, I've enjoyed this … I think I needed to harp back to the old days whilst resolutely trying to get over 179. Thank you to all of you who have been kind enough to leave comments – heart-shaped cookies to you all!

And for anyone needing a Tsubasa Valentine's fix, might I recommend the first episode on the Shiritsu Horitsuba Gakuen drama CD? Syaoran-kun is the cutest thing in that …

Anyway, enough from me. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Tradition

Chapter Three: The Tradition Continues

"This is the worst world we've ever been to."

When considering some of the awful trials the group had been through in the multitude of worlds they'd visited – demons, dictators, children-stealing doctors – one would assume the current world they were in to be truly horrific to justify such a statement from the ninja.

To Kurogane, it was horrific. To Fai, it was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"It's VALENTINE'S DAY!" he squealed ecstatically, leaping about and throwing pink confetti in all directions (no one asked where he'd got the confetti from).

"It's what?" Kurogane snapped grumpily, frantically brushing the pink atrocity out of his hair.

"I know, I hadn't heard of it before either!" Fai cried excitedly. "But I was talking to this nice lady in the grocery shop, and she told me all about how you buy people chocolate and flowers and jewellery – doesn't this sound like fun?"

"No," Kurogane answered shortly.

Fai ignored him, turning to Sakura instead. "Sakura-chan, did you have a Valentine's Day in your world?"

"Um …" The princess screwed up her face in concentration as she tried to remember. "We had something, I think. But it was a little less … ah …"

"Pink?" Syaoran suggested.

"I like the pink," Fai mused, throwing more confetti in Kurogane's direction.

"Mokona had a Valentine's Day too!" Mokona crowed. "Yuuko loooooves Valentine's Day! And so does Mokona, because Mokona gets lots and lots of chocolate!"

Mokona celebrated this fact by emptying an entire packet of confetti on Kurogane's head.

There was a pause that lasted all of three seconds, before the ninja roared, "SHIROI MANJUU!" and leapt after the creature, toppling the sofa backwards in the process.

Sakura turned wide eyes in Syaoran's direction. "Syaoran-kun? Do you remember what Clow's Valentine's Day was like?"

Syaoran blushed furiously, causing Sakura to become even more interested. "Um … it wasn't that big a deal, hime."

"Oh, please!" she begged him. "Please tell me about it! I can't really remember, but I know how much I loved it and looked forward to it … though I'm not sure why …"

The blush increased, but Syaoran resolved to do his best for the sake of his princess. "Uh, well … it was a lot less material than it is in this world. It was just a celebration of … uh … l-love."

"Oh, it sounds wonderful!" the princess swooned happily.

"Everyone would make chocolate from scratch," Syaoran explained, feeling somewhat sad as the memories of their previous Valentine's Days assaulted him. "And then … you'd give the chocolate to the people you love, and give them a hug and a kiss …"

Five. You gave me five kisses.

It was a lot harder for him to explain this to her than he'd thought it would be. A very, very small part of him wanted to show her, to teach her in the manner she had taught him on their first Valentine's together. He could make her chocolate and give her the kisses, explain why he kissed her where he did, and they could start a new tradition …

Except thoughts like that had to be stopped. He was worse than a commoner now, he was a stranger to her, and his lips certainly had no right to touch her skin.

He drifted off for a short while, remembering the Valentine's Days they'd spent together and the kisses he'd received. The fact that he might never feel those kisses again was like an arrow in his heart. Sometimes he felt as though giving up Sakura's memories of him had been the easy part – it was the silly little things he missed, like her dragging him around, and calling him 'Syaoran', and her kisses …

"Hyuu!" Fai cut in, seeing the look on Syaoran's face. "That sounds like fun! Doesn't it sound like fun, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes!" Sakura agreed.

Fai got a sudden manic gleam in his eye, and Kurogane groaned out loud. "I know!" the mage announced. "Sakura-chan, why don't I show you how to make chocolate? Then we can give it to the boys when they get home!"

"Home from where?" demanded Kurogane.

"I don't know. Wherever you're going," Fai beamed, dragging the both of them to their feet.

"B-But, Fai-san," Syaoran stammered nervously, "We weren't planning on –"

"Go and ask about the feather," Fai suggested happily, opening the door wide and shoving Kurogane out of it.

"But we already know –"

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine," Fai sang happily, giving Syaoran a firm push as well. "Sakura-chan and I will find a way to survive without our big, strong men to protect us!"

"Mage …"

"Bye! Come home safe!" Fai called happily, as Mokona bounced off his shoulder and onto Kurogane's head, crowing about all the fun they would have together.

Fai slammed the door shut and turned to Sakura with a huge smile. "So. Shall we make some chocolate?"

xxx

Unfortunately the house they were staying in was rather modern – it belonged to a kind old lady who had taken them in when they'd told her they were planning to take away the feather; an object that had caused a war in this world that had killed her son. This meant the kitchen was full of shiny appliances that Sakura and Fai struggled to control. However, after several failed attempts the two had produced a decent batch, and they wrapped them up ready to present to the rest of the group.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" Fai asked the girl kindly – she had taken to twisting her apron nervously in her hands.

"Oh, um … y-yes," she replied anxiously.

"It'll be fine," Fai soothed her. "You know Syaoran will love whatever you give him, as long as it comes from you."

Sakura blushed furiously, but nodded her head in response.

"We're home!" Syaoran called from the hallway.

"Mage, this better be worth it!" Kurogane roared. "I couldn't go to a bar because the kid's underage – what stupid rule states that kids under twenty-one can't drink? – and so I've had to wander round playing Kick The Manjuu for the last two hours!"

"Waaaahhh!" Mokona wailed, bounding into the kitchen and leaping into Fai's arms. "Fai, Kuro-pon's being mean!"

"Hmm," Fai sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't give him his chocolate them. We mustn't reward bad puppies."

"After what I've been through you'll give me chocolate, even if I have to beat you up for it!" the ninja scowled, collapsing at the kitchen table.

Fai laughed happily. "Whatever you say, daddy –"

"How many times, DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"– Sakura-chan, do you want to give them the fruits of our labour?"

"Um … o-okay," Sakura stammered nervously. She went up to Kurogane, handed him a box, and then somehow worked up the nerve to kiss him quickly on the cheek.

The ninja looked at her in surprise, and she blushed. "Um, don't worry – I won't hug you or anything."

"Good," Kurogane grumbled, but there was no conviction in the word. He busied himself by ripping open the box and cramming a few chocolates in his mouth.

"And for Mokona!" Fai announced, handing another box to Sakura who held it out to the creature.

"Here you go, Moko-chan!" she smiled happily, picking Mokona up and kissing it on its furry little head. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Mokona began to squeal its thanks in a voice so rapid and high-pitched that it was impossible to decipher what it was saying – but it was obviously pleased, and that was good enough for Sakura.

The princess suddenly produced a third box out of nowhere, and handed it to a surprised looking Fai. "For you, Fai-san," she said, blushing prettily.

The mage looked genuinely touched. "Sakura-chan … thank you. When on earth did you make these?"

Sakura beamed, looking proud of herself. "When you were upstairs decorating Kurogane-san's room with the streamers and balloons."

"WHAT?"

"Don't ruin the moment, Kuro-chii!"

"It's okay?" Sakura asked, smiling shyly at the mage.

"Of course," Fai said gently, enveloping the small girl in a hug.

Sakura leaned up and kissed Fai quickly on the cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day, Fai-san!"

"You too," he smiled at her, handing her the last box and nodding in Syaoran's direction.

"Oh … uh …" Sakura stammered, flushing bright red before turning nervously to where Syaoran was sitting at the kitchen table. "T-These are for you, Syaoran-kun," she said, walking over to him and placing the box in his hands.

"I …" Syaoran trailed off, blushing too as he accepted the box. "Thank you, hime."

Sakura leaned closer to him, whispering in his ear, "I gave you the biggest box."

He wanted to laugh for her, but the line was just so achingly familiar that he couldn't bring himself to.

"C'mon, Kuro-wanwan!" Fai yelled out suddenly, leaping onto Kurogane's back and wrapping his arms around his neck. "Let's go check out your gorgeous new sleeping arrangements!"

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Oh? Such a shame," Fai said, sighing heavily. "And I so wanted to show you the pretty pink hem I stitched onto your cloak …"

Fai got Mokona thrown at his head as he ran out of the kitchen, laughing his head off, with the ninja in hot pursuit.

Both Sakura and Syaoran knew they'd been left alone on purpose, but neither was quite sure what to do with that time.

The princess stood in front of him for quite some time, fidgeting with her hands. She felt like she should kiss him like she'd kissed the others – she wanted to kiss him, more than anything. But would it be all right? Would it make him uncomfortable?

Suddenly she came to a decision, and she leaned forward and kissed Syaoran gently on the cheek. But for some reason she couldn't stop there. As if of their own accord, Sakura's lips moved to his other cheek … then to his forehead, then his nose.

And then she placed a hand behind his neck, tilted his head upwards, and laid her lips softly on top of his in the briefest of kisses.

Though he knew his cheeks were red, though he was sure the kisses meant more to him than they did to her, Syaoran felt as though he was walking on air. It wasn't the same, knowing that she didn't love him like she had on all their other Valentine's Days, but it was the most amazing thing to have her lips fluttering all over his face, like he meant something to her again.

The second she took her lips away, Sakura's eyes widened in embarrassment, and she buried her face in her hands. "Oh! Oh, Syaoran-kun, I …" She wanted to apologise, but she wasn't sorry for what she had done, and so she couldn't. How could she be sorry when her lips still tingled and his scent still lingered on her skin? "I don't know what happened," she whispered, looking mortified. "I guess I got … carried away …"

Mokona squealed and suddenly skipped into the room, chanting: "What the heart forgets, the body remembers!"

Syaoran smiled at Sakura gently, before taking her hand in his and squeezing it. "It's okay. Thank you."

She smiled back weakly. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Syaoran nodded, the look in her eyes giving him hope. No matter what they went through, what world they were in or how much she remembered about him, Valentine's Day would always, always be theirs.