Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Like We Used To Be ❯ Setting Off ( Chapter 1 )

Eriol counted his five daughters as they lined up by the front door, bags in hand, "Akiwe, Eira, Himeka, Kirie, and… where's Myka?"

The five year old hopped down the stairs, her two black ponytails bouncing, and into the entrance hall where the others were, "I had to get Mr. Cat." In her small arms, she held the new gray, white-pawed kitten she had brought home that Tomoyo had allowed her to keep. The five girls stood side by side, all looking like slightly altered copies of the others. Eriol could only tell them apart by subtle differences. Akiwe liked to wear purple all the time, Eira had a white hat (the kind usually associated with French painters) that she wore all the time, Himeka liked plaid skirts, Kirie wore a crystal, heart-shaped pendant around her neck, and Myka always wore her two ponytails. They all looked more like Tomoyo, except they had more of Eriol's eye shape and color.

None of the girls minded the trip to their grandma's. Grandma was the person who bought them anything they wanted and had all the neat stuff in her house. Akiwe looked at her father seriously, "Dad, will you finally admit that you're just getting rid of us for awhile?"

Eriol looked at her, thinking she was way too mature for a five-year old, "Your mother and I are just taking a vacation." She shook her head in agreement as if he had confessed.

Myka looked at him with a small pout, being the baby of the group by a few hours, "You want to get rid of us?"

"No, I just said it was a vacation. Akiwe, you knew you'd upset your sister!" he sighed as she simply shrugged, and Kirie, the peace-maker of the group, comforted her sister.

Eira stood tapping her small foot, "When are we going to leave?"

"When mommy gets down," Himeka told her, "Don't be stupid."

There was a gleam in Eira's eyes, "Who are you calling stupid?"

"You!" Eira went at her sister, and the two of them started grappling on the bottom stairs. Kirie covered her mouth with one hand and looked on the scene with worried eyes. Akiwe rolled her eyes at the immaturity of her siblings. Myka was too busy playing with the kitten to do anything.

Eriol ran a hand through his hair, then said something and held out his hand. The two girls stopped fighting. Eira glared at him, "No fair, daddy! You used magic!"

"If you really want to fight with your sister, then you can. But then I'd have to ground you and take away your things…" While he was speaking, Eira turned away, her arms crossed and didn't say anything else.

Tomoyo finally came down the stairs with her luggage in hand. She looked tired, though extremely well-groomed. She wore a simple lavender dress with a chain at the waist. "Is everything okay?" Nobody talked, so she just settled her hand on Myka's head. Myka blinked. "Did you call my mother?" Tomoyo asked. Eriol nodded.

"Grandma promised me a pony!" Myka told her excitedly, only her mother's hand on her head keeping her from bouncing up and down. The rest of the girls smiled brightly as they remember that their grandmother had promised them horses.

"Grandma's the best!" Eira exclaimed. Eriol and Tomoyo watched as all of their kids agreed.

Myka tugged on her mother's skirt, "Mommy, could you go to grandma's with us?"

Tomoyo bent down and hugged her little daughter, "No, honey, but you have twice as fun without me, okay?" Myka nodded, petting the kitten somberly.

-----

Six year old Sashiko listened to her parents explain the situation to her and her three year old brother, Sajirou. As they finished she sat determinedly on the ground, "I'm not going anywhere! You can't make me!"

Sakura looked at Syaoran. "What do you expect me to do about it?" he asked her.

"She gets it from you, and you always know how to appeal to her," Sakura sat down on the couch and leaned back and crossed her legs, signaling to Syaoran that she was finished with the discussion. He glared at her for a moment.

"Sashiko, why don't you want to go?" he pleaded with his daughter.

"I hate Uncle Touya, and you know he's at grandpa's a lot. Besides, all my stuff is here!"

Sajirou, without saying a word, sat down besides his sister, showing he was on her side since he didn't like to talk. "Sakura, I give up. If you want to, you can try."

She got up and walked over to her children and sat in front of them, "Okay, Sashiko, what if I let you take a few of the cards with you. You know how to use them." Sashiko considered it, chewing on her thumbnail.

"Sakura, I thought we discussed this," Syaoran complained from behind her.

She turned to him, "You couldn't handle the situation, so I am. You can't complain about that." Her voice was cooler than Syaoran appreciated. Syaoran motioned for her to come talk to him. She sighed and got up and walked over, "What?"

"I don't appreciate the way you're just ignoring what we decided together about the cards!" he scolded her in a low voice.

Sakura glared, "You made me take off of work to go on this break, and I'm going to have it no matter what it takes! If you would've just settled this like I told you to maybe you could complain, but you didn't do anything!" Syaoran went and sat down stormily on the couch, refusing to look at her.

Sajirou was starting to get upset over his parent's arguing, and he started whimpering. Sakura picked him up in her arms, "Come on, Sajirou. There's nothing wrong." He continued making noise, apparently not believing her. "Syaoran, you're upsetting our son!" Syaoran didn't even glance towards her. "I'm sorry, alright?"

He softened and got up from the couch. Syaoran put his arms around her waist, "I'm sorry too."

He kissed her. "Ewww!" Sashiko exclaimed from the floor, covering her eyes with her hands. Sajirou squirmed, being stuck in between his parents. Sakura and Syaoran both got an idea at the same time. She put Sajirou down, and Syaoran kissed Sakura as dramatically as he could. "Ewww! Ewww!" Sashiko buried her face in the pillow, and her voice came through muffled, "Stop! Stop and I'll go!"

Sakura and Syaoran pulled away, smiling complacently to themselves. Sashiko pouted, knowing she had been tricked, but unwilling to do anything about it. Sajirou looked up at Sakura, his emerald eyes teary, and hugged her leg. "Oh, Sajirou, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, taking her son's small hand. He didn't answer but just kept staring at her.

Syaoran sighed, "Well are we ready to go now?"

Sakura looked over the two kids and nodded, "I think so."