Against All Odds

Author's note: Hello, this is Enchantress101! Wow, someone is reading my little fic?! Author nearly faints. This is soooo cool! Anyway, my fanfic is called 'Against All Odds'. It basically takes place when everyone is seventeen and Syaoran is about to become the Head of the Li Clan. My story surrounds mainly Sakura, Syaoran, a couple of his sisters, his mom and Mei-lin. Anyway, skip the disclaimer (unless you own CCS- I don't wanna get sued or whatever) and read the story! Please R+R.

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Disclaimer: No, I don't own any part of CCS. But I do own the plot and all situations and stuff.

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*~* Chapter One *~*

Syaoran took several deep breaths, his legs crossed, his eyes closed. Before him, a giant fire roared, heating the small room. He shifted on the mat on the floor, trying to concentrate.

Picture the vision. Remember the smells, the noises, the feeling you had when you saw it.

The stench of death, horrid, shrill screams, the feeling of despair, fear, loneliness . . .

The sights. What did I see?

Nothing. Just darkness. I was surrounded . . .

Call upon your strongest element . . .

Lightning . . . tell me the meaning of my vision . . . please!

Danger . . . in danger . . .

He opened his eyes and stared deep into the flames of the fire. "Lightning beast . . . Riju . . . tell me the meaning of my vision . . ."

Syaoran closed his eyes again and felt warmth surround him. He could see something! But it was all blurry.

He could make out some sort of building . . . and a few people. Suddenly, the image began to sharpen. He made out . . .

"SYAORAN!!!!!!"

Syaoran snapped out of his trance, growling in frustration. Almost!

"Syaoran!! Hey, what're you doing?" Mei-lin bounced into the room containing a small shrine where Syaoran was sitting.

"Great!" he huffed, standing up. He glared at his cousin.

"What?" she gasped, looking confused. "Did I interrupt something?"

He rolled his eyes and stepped past her and into the snowy garden behind his house. He'd been soooo close! And then that crazy cousin of his had come and messed things up.

Mei-lin ran up to him, shivering. "Gee, S-Syaoran, it's cold out s-side and you're n-not wearing a c-coat!"

"I'm used to this kind of weather. Besides, no one told you to come out here," muttered Syaoran, purposefully taking the long way back to the Li Clan's mansion.

"Not true!" she huffed, racing to keep up with him. "Your mother told me to come and bring you inside. She said that the future Li Clan leader can't be sick." Mei-lin paused. "What were you doing out there, anyway?"

"Training." He lied. She didn't need to worry about his vision.

The vision . . .

The strange thing was, Syaoran had never had a vision before. He usually left those kinds of things to Sakura when he was back in Japan.

He really missed Japan where everything and everyone had been so friendly unlike here. He couldn't do anything without someone breathing down his neck and telling him what to do. Syaoran just wanted to be normal for once . . .

" . . . soooo pretty! I know you'll like it!" Mei-lin gushed, then glanced at Syaoran. He was staring into space.

"Syaoran? Did you here one word I just said?!"

"Huh? Wha . . ."

Mei-lin turned red. "I was TALKING about your upcoming birthday party, Syaoran. It IS in five days, you know."

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I haven't noticed all of the people wandering around here. And you've been talking about it nonstop for days!"

"More like weeks! You're supposed to announce your engagement to me!" Mei-lin told him. "Don't tell me you've forgotten!"

Syaoran inwardly let out a breath of relief as he saw the house just a few feet away. "No, I haven't. Can we drop this?"

Mei-lin stomped her feet. "Whatever, Li Syaoran!" She went inside.

Syaoran sighed anime style, then followed her.

*~*

Syaoran immediately went into the kitchen, desiring a glass of lemonade. He froze when he saw his other annoying cousin sitting at the kitchen table, eating a sandwich.

He was just about to turn around when Alan called out to him. "So, what's my favorite cousin doing today?"

Syaoran growled. He hated living in this house. "How should I know?"

Alan laughed. "Good one. Well, I'm just trying to be friendly. After all, your mother told me to watch out for you, with you being who you are. We wouldn't want our future leader to tire himself out."

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Hmmm," he muttered and headed up to his room.

All of the Li Clan knew that Alan was jealous of Syaoran's position. It was so obvious. Although Alan was older than Syaoran, he possessed no magical powers like Mei-lin, therefore making him ineligible.

Syaoran felt no lost love between him and his cousin- they never really liked each other any way.

He pushed the door open to his room and plopped down on his bed. He covered his eyes with his arm.

He thought about that vision. Who was in danger? Was it someone he knew? And that building and those people . . . they seemed familiar.

Syaoran suddenly sat up. It was so familiar . . . because he knew . . .

He pulled a wide metal safe from underneath his bed and put in the combination. He opened the door and shuffled through a stack of photos.

And there it was.

He and Sakura stood in front of their elementary school building on the day before he'd left. She was sort of leaning on him, a smile on her face. As usual, he was blushing furiously, glancing down at her.

This was what he'd seen during his reading. So, someone was in danger that was in this picture. Was it him or Sakura?

To be safe, he had to keep an eye on her if she WAS in danger. But how?! She was all the way in Japan and he was in Hong Kong.

Then, it was like a light bulb went of in his head. He would invite her here for his birthday. Syaoran logged onto the internet.

*~*

"Hey, Sakura," called Kero. "You got E-mail!"

Sakura shuffled into her room, drying her hair with a towel. "Really? It's probably Tomoyo."

She opened the mail and frowned. She didn't recognize the address.

"Who's Green Wolf?" asked Kero.

She shrugged her shoulders and scrolled down. "It's Syaoran! He actually E-mailed me!"

Kero growled. "Delete that junk, Sakura. He's not worth your time. Why's he gonna contact you after all these years?"

"At least he did." She began to read.

Hey Sakura,

How are you? I'm doing fine. I know I haven't reached you in a while but I've been busy with my training. My mother's stepping down from the position of 'Head Li' so that I can take over. Anyway, the reason I mailed you was because I want to invite you to my 'birthday' party. And I will also be 'crowned' as the top Li. I would really like for you to come. Mei-lin will be here and so will my whole family. And maybe you could stay for your Christmas break?

It would mean a lot to me.

Syaoran

Sakura stared at the screen, shocked. Thoughts raced throughout her mind. Why did Syaoran, after six long years, suddenly contact her? What had his last line meant? And something told her that he had some sort of ulterior motive for asking her to stay in Hong- Kong.

Kero, who had just finished reading the message growled. "WHAT?!!! NO way are you goin' to the Li home for the whole break!"

Sakura smiled. "Why not?"

"The Li Clan is like a pack of wolves, Sakura." Kero frowned. " They're the most ruthless, devious, scheming family that has ever lived. They'd eat you alive!"

She shook her head. "It sounds like fun to me. After all, everyone else is going somewhere else and I'll be stuck at home with Touya! Like I want to see his face all day long."

She clicked the REPLY button and began to type.

Dear Syaoran,

I'm flattered at your offer. And what a surprise! I never thought that you would write to me after you left. As soon as I can squeeze a yes from my Dad, then I'll give you my reply and you can give me the details.

P.S. Tell Mei-lin I said hi!

P.S.S. What a cute screen name!

Sakura :)

Sakura sent out her message. She was so excited!

"Hey, Dad . . ."