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“You’ll do it, Sakura-chan? Thank you so much! I’m sorry this is so all of a sudden!” Sakura’s phone vibrated with Chiharu’s excitement from the other end.
“That’s okay, Chiharu-chan! I hope you and Takashi-kun are going to have a wonderful date!”
Chiharu’s voice dropped to a whisper. “He is so bad at keeping secrets I already know where he’s going to take me.”
They both laughed.
“I guess you and Syaoran-kun are having a different kind of date too, huh?” Chiharu teased.
Sakura blushed. She did not have the heart to tell Chiharu that she and Syaoran had been planning on staying in and watching a movie together. But Syaoran too knew that Takashi had been planning this date for a while, so when Sakura called to cancel their plans, Syaoran was more than happy to postpone their date. He even offered to help Sakura babysit.
“I’ll be coming over right from kendo practice though. Do you think Mihara-san will be okay with that?” he’d asked.
“Let me ask! I think Chiharu won’t have any problem at all!” she’d texted back.
But when she brought it up, she detected a slight pause from Chiharu. “Of course, Li-kun can come right after kendo practice! We have a guest bathroom that he can use to clean up,” she assured Sakura. “Although Tadashi-chan has been watching a lot of samurai movies recently, so Li-kun might want to keep his stuff away from him. My little brother… can get really excited about stuff he’s into.”
Sakura tried to picture Syaoran in a situation where he had to deal with a really energetic nine-year-old. She was worried that Syaoran would regard Chiharu’s little brother as nothing more than a nuisance.
She texted him. “It’s okay if you’re too tired after practice. Don’t force yourself!”
“Not at all! I’m more than happy to help.” He added, “Is anything the matter?”
“No. It’s just, won’t Chiharu’s little brother be too much trouble for you?”
“I actually have a plan.” Syaoran added a smiley face.
His demeanor—calm, gentle, kind—was a warm blanket snuffing out all of her worried thoughts. Why did she ever feel the need to doubt Syaoran in the first place? She felt some warmth creep into her cheeks. Maybe Chiharu was right—tonight’s going to be its own kind of date!
“Don’t worry at all, Chiharu-chan. Tadashi-chan will be in good hands!”
*
“Nee-chan! What are we going to have for dinner, nee-chan?” greeted Chiharu’s little brother as soon as Sakura stepped into the foyer.
“Tadashi!” Chiharu scolded him. “You’re being impolite. Say ‘nee-san.’ This is your first time meeting Sakura-san, remember?”
The boy ignored his sister, insisting on calling Sakura “nee-chan.” Sakura could only laugh.
Chiharu sighed. “Just don’t make any trouble, okay? Remember, be nice to—Takashi, get your hands off me, you idiot!”
Takashi had snuck up behind Chiharu and put his hands over her eyes. As soon as Chiharu recovered from her surprise, she immediately realized that she had uttered an inappropriate word in front of her little brother. She looked down to find Tadashi looking up at her with a mischievous grin.
“Nee-chan, you said a bad word!” he exclaimed.
Chiharu sighed while both Sakura and Tadashi could only laugh. Even after the couple had been walking for a couple of blocks, Sakura could still hear Chiharu’s voice berating her boyfriend.
“Now, Tadashi-chan, let’s make our tonkatsu!”
Tadashi certainly reminded Sakura of his sister when they were still in elementary school. He had the same large, honey-brown eyes and the same soft auburn hair that she, Tomoyo, Naoko, and Rika used to take turns braiding.
Sakura’s mind wandered to that time she accidentally turned Syaoran into a baby with Rewind. Baby Syaoran was absolutely adorable, but he still had all of Syaoran’s mind, so that still didn’t answer the question of what, say, five-year-old Syaoran had been like. Was he like that even as a baby—independent, unfussy, well-mannered? Was that even possible?
She felt a tug at her elbow. “Nee-chan, can I chop the cabbage?” Tadashi asked, brandishing a cleaver.
Sakura immediately panicked. “Uh—no—maybe—wait a second, Tadashi-chan…” She looked around and spotted the sauce bowl. “What if you mix the sauce instead, Tadashi-chan? Can you do that for me?” As the boy became distracted, Sakura stealthily relieved him of the cleaver.
She sighed. For now she’d better keep her focus on this child.
*
Syaoran headed towards Chiharu’s house straight from kendo practice, so he was still in his full gear. Practice was tiring as usual, but he had decided that tonight was an important night. Tonight was going to be the night when he was going to impress Sakura with his maturity. He was going to be a big brother to Tadashi.
Being the youngest of five, and the only boy besides, often made him feel as if he was destined to stay the baby of the family forever. In fact, a big part of his decision to return to Tomoeda by himself was based on this reason. So when Sakura passed on Chiharu’s warning about Tadashi, he knew right away what he had to do. He asked his sensei if he could bring home his bamboo sword along with a smaller one. He was going to teach Tadashi some basic kendo. That would take the boy off Sakura’s hands and give him an outlet for his newfound fascination with sword-fighting. It was the big brother thing to do.
He rang the doorbell, and Chiharu’s little brother opened the door. Of course, he was still going to be polite to a nine-year-old.
“Good evening, Tadashi-san. Thank you for having—owww!” Syaoran felt a sharp pulse in his shin, where the boy had kicked him.
“Syaoran-kun, is that you?”
“It’s an enemy samurai, nee-chan!” Tadashi said.
“Oh my,” Sakura said when she saw what happened. “Tadashi-chan, this is not an enemy. He is my friend Syaoran-kun.”
The boy crossed his arms. “Then why is he dressed like that, nee-chan?”
“Because he came straight from practice, silly,” Sakura said. “Are you alright, Syaoran-kun?”
Syaoran got up, still wincing from the pain. “It’s alright. I’m alright.”
Even during dinner, the boy would not stop glaring at Syaoran.
“So what house are you from?” Tadashi asked Syaoran, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“Uh, er, let’s see…” Syaoran tried to come up with the oldest-sounding name he could remember. “The house of Murasaki?”
The boy nodded in satisfaction, as if Syaoran had somehow revealed himself to be a worthwhile match. He proceeded to stab a slice of his tonkatsu with a fork.
Sakura nudged his foot. “So what’s your plan?” she whispered.
“I brought a spare bamboo sword. I thought I could teach him some kendo,” he whispered back.
“Aren’t you tired?”
Syaoran shook his head. “I also thought it would take him off your hands for a while.”
He suddenly found Sakura staring at him. Then, a smile slowly spread across her face the way, he thought, a pat of butter slid across a warm pancake. She stole a quick glance in Tadashi’s direction and, when the boy was busy with his food, leaned over and gave Syaoran a peck on the cheek. “You’re very thoughtful, Syaoran-kun.”
Anyone looking at Syaoran at that moment would have thought he was fighting a fever to save his life.
“Owww!” A foot, definitely not Sakura’s, stepped on his.
The boy pointed his fork across the table at both of them. “Hey, no conspiring against me, enemy samurai!”
*
The spring night was cool and bright. Sakura had brewed herself some tea and sat herself on the veranda, watching Syaoran teach Tadashi some basic kendo stances and strikes. Syaoran was a natural at this, she could tell. After he’d shown Tadashi the bamboo sword he’d brought for him, the boy dropped the enemy samurai routine. Now, Syaoran was a traveler from far away who had come to his kingdom bearing the gift of a new fighting technique.
“Are you already tired, Tadashi-sama?” Syaoran said with a mock bow.
“Not yet, Syaoran-sama,” the boy replied, stroking his hairless chin. He seemed to have been swept along in Syaoran’s theatrics. “Please present me with your fighting uniform!”
“Ah, right away, Tadashi-sama. I will have to warn you that they have been recently worn so they might not be as clean as one might wish.”
“That will be no problem at all, Syaoran-sama.”
Seeing Sakura sitting on the verandah with her cup of tea, Syaoran felt a swell of warm pride in his chest. It must have shown on his face because, as he was walking back to the house, he could see Sakura smile back at him.
“How is our oji-sama doing?” she said.
“He’s a natural, just as I’ve predicted. How’s your tea?”
“Chiharu-chan’s got some good tea. Do you want some?”
“Maybe later.”
“Where are you going? Do you need any help?”
“No, don’t worry,” he called back. “Tadashi-kun just wants to see my uniform.”
Syaoran’s kendo uniform was obviously far too big for Tadashi, so Syaoran had to roll up the cuffs and the sleeves. Tadashi tried on the protectors, but it was obvious even to him that they were too heavy.
“Magnificent, Tadashi-sama. Your enemies will tremble before you.”
“Thank you, Syaoran-sama. Unfortunately,” Tadashi sighed dramatically, “I am currently short of enemies.”
“You are right, Tadashi-sama.”
It was a while before Syaoran realized that Tadashi was jerking his head in Sakura’s direction.
“Hmmm, Tadashi-sama, I don’t think that will be a good idea.”
“Why not? Because she’s a girl? I can fight girls.”
Syaoran thought for a moment. “Don’t you know, Tadashi-sama? That hime-sama is famous all over the land for her superior sword-fighting skill.”
Sakura, oblivious to all of this, took another sip of her tea.
“Then, Syaoran-sama, I have found an enemy worthy of mine.”
This would be the exact opposite of what he had been trying to achieve all night. But then again, Syaoran had seen his own share of Sakura’s fights, and he became undecided over whether he wanted to let Sakura end the night in peace or give Tadashi a chance to see some of Sakura’s moves.
“Very well, Tadashi-sama,” he whispered. “Here is what we need to do.”
*
Chiharu came home to the sight of her friends and her brother engaged in a three-way sword-fight. Sakura had the yard broom, while Syaoran and Tadashi each had a bamboo sword. For a moment she was afraid that an actual battle was taking place, then she realized that she had never seen Sakura in any kind of combat whatsoever before. Yet it also looked like Sakura had several years of fighting experience behind her.
“Sakura-chan! Li-kun! Tadashi-chan!” she called out.
Tadashi ran towards his sister and gave her a hug. “Nee-chan, we’re in the middle of a fight to the death!”
She patted his head. “I can see that. What are you wearing?”
Tadashi chattered on while Syaoran and Sakura approached her.
“How was the date, Chiharu-chan?”
“It was nice.” The smile on her face told Sakura that she had a lot to tell her later. “I’m sorry Tadashi-kun apparently wanted to fight both of you to the death.”
Sakura shook her head. “I was having so much fun. Weren’t you too, Syaoran-kun?”
Syaoran nodded. “We were all having a great time.”
Chiharu drew back and glanced back and forth between Syaoran and Sakura. “Oi, the two of you need to stop being so perfect together. Have a fight once in a while. It’ll do both of you good.”
Upon hearing this, Syaoran and Sakura looked away, blushing.
Chiharu gave Sakura a nudge and winked. “I’m kidding, of course. I can’t thank both of you enough for babysitting my little brother. I’ll bake you a cake!” She turned to her little brother. “It’s time for bed now, Tadashi-chan!”
“Aww, nee-chan, can I play with nii-chan some more?” the boy pleaded.
“Now, now. You need to rest so you can fight some more tomorrow.” She turned to Syaoran. “Isn’t that right, Li-kun?”
Syaoran patted Tadashi’s head. “That’s right. You need to listen to your onee-san, Tadashi-kun. I’ll teach you some more next time.”
Syaoran was expecting some more resistance, but far from being disappointed, the boy looked back at him, all smiles, and offered up his pinky finger. “Do you promise, onii-chan?”
*
“Do you think Mihara-san was right?”
Despite her protestations, Syaoran had insisted on walking her back home.
“Huh? About what?”
“Do you think we should, er, get into a fight once in a while?”
Sakura was silent for a while. Obviously, Syaoran was not the only one giving the seemingly ridiculous proposition some thought. In the end, she could only wonder. “I don’t know. It’s a little weird to be planning for something like that, isn’t it?”
The street was quiet. The spring night had become chilly.
Sakura gave Syaoran’s shoulder a little punch. “Although I never thought you two would sneak up on me like that. I should’ve known when you asked for tea for both you and Tadashi-chan.”
Syaoran laughed. “Here’s what I was thinking,” he said. “Who’s the better fighter? You or me? I decided it was you, so I didn’t want Tadashi-kun to miss out.”
Sakura chuckled. “Well, if that’s the case, maybe we can use some more actual fighting.” She slipped her arm around Syaoran’s. She was expecting him to slightly tense up, perhaps out of habitual embarrassment, but she actually felt his arm relax into hers.
“Anytime,” he whispered.
They were finally getting to Sakura’s block.
“Syaoran-kun.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m glad you surprised me tonight.”
Syaoran almost stopped. “What do you mean?”
“I—I—knew you’re always kind and nice,” she stammered. “But I liked watching you be a big brother to Tadashi-chan. I guess I never saw you with small kids that much before.”
“Th—thank you,” Syaoran muttered. But then he regained his voice. “That’s actually part of the plan. I guess I’m used to being the baby of the family, what with my sisters and my mom and Wei and all. I guess I just want to prove to myself that I can be other things too.”
They stopped in front of Sakura’s house. The living room light was still on. Sakura reminded herself that she had texted his father and Touya that she would be coming home rather late.
“Well,” she said and looked up at Syaoran. “I always knew you could.” She leaned over and kissed Syaoran right underneath his left eye.
“Good night, Syaoran.”
“Good night, Sakura.”
*
Syaoran didn’t walk right back home. Instead, he roamed around, trying to keep walking with his back to the night breeze. It seemed silly, but he didn’t want to risk cooling down the patch of warmth that Sakura’s kiss left on his face.
So he walked around Tomoeda for hours before finally heading home. A lapse in the mind made him worry for a fleeting second that he had made Wei stay up for him. Then he remembered that he lived alone.