Cherry Blossom's Wolf: Sakura-X-Syaoran (Cardcaptor Sakura FanFic)

Chapter 1: Drifting Apart? (Illness Arc 1/5)

"Tomoyo-chan," she greeted warmly, giving her friend a tired – but sincere – smile.

"You'd better do something, Sakura-chan," her friend giggled, gesturing to the group of boys gathering around Syaoran and someone she couldn't see. "Yamazaki-kun is teasing your boyfriend again, and Chiharu-chan is in her math class."

"Teasing?"

"About deodorant, you know it smells pleasant to us, but it was originally invented as a means to keep the human-faced dogs away. It smells quite awful to them."

"Human-faced dogs? They have such an animal in Japan?"

Several boys snickered amongst themselves at the boy's gullibility, but said nothing to make him any the wiser. A few girls took pity on him, however, and sighed before leaving; presumably to get the only person who could stop the compulsive storyteller once he'd started.

"Oh yes," Takashi continued, "they are, of course, the chosen pet of ghosts, demons, and other oni, but they will occasionally take an interest in people. Once this happens, their apparition master will go into a jealous rage and kill the man or woman their beloved familiar has chosen over them. To prevent this, we created-..."

"Yes, with the usual lies, of course," Tomoyo stated brightly, but Sakura was busy clinging to her friend's waist in fear.

"Hoeeeee! It's a lie! It's a lie, right?!"

The dark-haired girl only smiled warmly, unperturbed by Sakura's predictable fear of ghosts. "Yes, yes," she patted the teen's head absentmindedly.

Syaoran was nodding his head in understanding, seemingly as taken into the story as Sakura had been. Takashi didn't have the chance to continue, however, as Chiharu suddenly burst in to come to the hapless pair's rescue. "More lies?" she demanded, clonking the boy on the head before literally dragging him – still rambling – out of the room.

The bell chose that moment to ring, signaling their freedom, and Tomoyo approached the amber-haired boy with her smile still firmly in place, Sakura trailing listlessly after her. He looked confused.

"It was a lie?"

Tomoyo hid her chortle behind a careful hand, and Sakura just looked miserable after all this talk of spirits. She was almost certain she had a fever, now, too, and could feel her body wilting by the minute.

Ever the vigilant one, Tomoyo noticed the change in her energy immediately and placed a cool hand to her forehead that felt like it was on fire.

"Oh my, you seem a little warm, Sakura-chan. The limousine will be waiting for me, shall I have them take you home as well?"

Putting on her best rendition of a smile, Sakura pumped her fists in front of her exuberantly, "Don't worry, I'm fine!" The last thing she wanted to do was put her friend out, but she also secretly wanted some more time alone with Syaoran, in the hopes of working up the courage to ask him about his odd behavior towards her, lately.

"Besides, Syaoran-kun always walks me home. I won't collapse," she said determinedly, jade eyes sparkling and cat-like smile firmly in place. However, that last 'reassuring' statement only succeeded in bringing up twin looks of alarm from her companions.

Syaoran nodded, getting up and putting his hand on her shoulder, and she relished in the now-rare physical contact as his thumb stroked over her skin affectionately.

"Yeah. Let's get you home."

The skies over Tomoeda were darkening when the couple started on the pathway home, the clouds heavy and swollen with impending rain. Sakura hated this kind of weather; thunderstorms had scared her ever since she was a little girl and her mother had passed away in the hospital during one.