Location: Somewhere on the streets
Time frame: Saturday, past midnight
Point of view: Syaoran

"Six packs..." Kinomoto danced around me like I was a lamp post, hand sliding around my lower back then back round the front. "...just like the six pack of beer I bought..." She went into a high-pitched laughter, "No!—Triple six packs. Kansuke has triple six packs. WOW!"

"Uh," I barely got out as I winced at the ring in my ears that her voice had brought about.

"So, w here shall we go next on our date?" Kinomoto asked, interrupting me like the many times she had already tonight.

"How about your house?" I answered. In circumstances like these, one wouldn't have been surprised by the sarcasm in my tone, but I had intended none. It was more a plea to end the exhausting night expressed in the most neutral tone I could possibly amass in my state at the moment, more than anything.

At this early hour of Saturday, we were still attempting to find Kinomoto's place—a place I was beginning to think didn't exist. Up till this point, I had been dragged, hauled, towed—any word that described the unpleasant action of being led to one slamming door to the next.

Kinomoto gasped before blinking a few times. "You want to go to my house?!?"

Internally, I sighed heavily. She seemed surprised in her response, like it was the first time I had suggested it. I had already presented the request several times tonight, but it always slipped her mind each time we left a property so it seemed.

It had been three so far. The last one I would rather not have gone into. At the house we visited not too long ago, I had the utmost pleasure of encountering a less than dressed (a sight I preferred not to have had etched in my mind) shaggy, and highly-tempered male individual who cussed and threatened: "if we didn't get off his property right now, he'd unleash his Rottweilers after us before shooting at our heels if the dogs didn't do it!" I presumed if Kinomoto continued in the fashion, this sort of response would be more standard as we head further into the night. So, let's hope that this time, she'd be able to direct me to the right house and unleash me to my own, warm apartment before—god forbid—we actually stumble across a house that did have dogs to unleash.

"Uh."

"Alright! Then my house it is!" She then yanked me by the arm—hard—as I almost tripped over the forced steps I was taking. Kinomoto continued:
"My dad will be asleep when we get there, but you can still come over to my house. We'll have to be very quiet though..." She dipped her posture, demonstrating her point whilst she led the way in front of me, "...and sneak through the lounge so my dad can't hear us. You have to promise to stay quiet, okay?—or we'd never make it to my room."

"Uh."

"You haven't been to my room have you?" she carried on, cackling as she did so.

"No."

"We're going to have so much fun in my room!" She turned on her heel to set her face before me, transporting a bit of my attention back to the situation and away from the quiet world my mind had momentarily vacated off to. She grabbed the other hand to take hold of the both, like I was one of her girlfriends before prattling on, her tone with more excitement. "Ooh! We can have a slumber party—!"

Suddenly, she stopped in mid-sentence. Her demeanour slowly transformed; the bouncy display I witnessed a moment ago disappeared behind a side of calm. A large part of my weariness left me now as I tuned in to take note of the change in her body language. There was something about her approach that alerted me to take caution—what for, I wasn't exactly too sure of. I became even more wary when she held a gaze that seemed... suspicious.

Next, I felt my left hand drop away to my side as she let it go. She leaned in close, angling a shoulder towards me; chin, eyebrow, a corner of her lips lifting. I was in this all—too—familiar situation once again. She flicked her wrist then her index finger pointed at my chest:

"...Just for you..." then a flirtatious smile showed through. My gaze never leaving hers, I began to feel the ginger touch of her finger trace idly down my torso, over my cotton tee. "...and me," she whispered.

As she spoke those words, I had understood her meaning, standing still in my place. Her breath which formed the last word was seductively blown into me; and I had chosen to inhale at the wrong time, drawing in her breath along with mine. I could almost visualise her breath, and my breath travelling down my throat, together.

Time continued as my breathing became shallower and shallower, like the oxygen in the surrounding area had thinned all of a sudden. My chest was rising—rising and falling against hers. Her lips... they were up against my own—peach in colour, shimmering against the light...

Suddenly, realisation struck me hard at what I was beginning to think, to do—and it was wrong. There were milliseconds—seconds that were filled with confusion and wonder; I was struggling to comprehend the origins of this most bizarre, unacquainted feeling.

I looked away, retreating from them—from her, to create more room between us; the lack of space between our bodies was becoming a perilous position for me to be in. When I finally stood a comfortable distance away, I hesitated in directing my attention back towards Kinomoto, afraid those lingering thoughts would strengthen again.

She stayed in position, wearing an innocent smile; I moved behind to take her bare shoulders, encouraging her to keep moving. "Let's get to your house."

"Oo-ooh, well—someone's in a hurry to get to my place!" She giggled as she twisted and turned her shoulders in my grasp. "Okaaay..."

"No... that's not—It's getting late." She continued to smile and I found myself desperately in search of something to divert the topic of conversation. "You're cold..." I quickly took off the jacket I wore and placed it over Kinomoto before I insistently moved her along further before anything else happened.

The night had reached one o'clock in the morning. I had turned into a long street a while back and was half way down it. This was the nineteenth hour of my day and my energy had long been depleted. I desperately wanted to flop down right here and now. I would not care for the cold, hard (and probably damp) ground beneath me, or the rather bitter wind that I detested; so long as I could rest, I'd bear it all for a bit of shut-eye—but then there was still Kinomoto. I had yet to get her home.

She was still as energetic and as unpredictable as she had been in the hour or two she had been with me. She had been like an alarm clock for me, jolting me out of a deep sleep, much like the instrument. Every so often she'd shatter a few of my brain cells with her shrilling screams, or she would alarm me when she did her sudden takeoffs.

My mind then told me to lift my head to check up on her. To my surprise, Kinomoto was walking quietly on my right, appearing more subdued than she had been a moment ago. Then my brow vexed as I was slow to catch on to what was happening. Her posture arched and she had her hand cupped over her mouth. She stopped walking and lowered her body even further. That was when I knew what she was about to do.

Quickly I motioned to help her, moving to assist her from behind. I leveraged her by the arm and stomach as I waited for her to expel the contents from her system. Moans of discomfort shortly followed thereafter.

"Are you alright?" I asked. A languid half-nod responded me before I felt weight being applied to the hand that supported her stomach. She wanted to crouch.

I descended along with her, and not before long, she went into another round. This time it was not as heavy as the first, but there was still quite a lot of it. I watched her for a few seconds for her progress before looking away briefly to my surroundings to fill the idle time.

It was of course dark, there was no one in the surrounding area as one could imagine at this time; all lights were off in households. Off in the distance though, clearly there were still some who were up. I could hear the traffic coming from the main road, frequent sounds of cars passing through. I could also hear a very low, rumbling sound of train wheels on tracks. That's right—in the area there was a railway route not too far from here, just several blocks from the gas station I worked at.

Then I heard moans from Kinomoto again. I turned my attention back towards her. The spell was short, but understanding the unpleasant feeling of having one's stomach emptied, I tried offering alleviation through the rubbing of the back. I leaned in before softly asking again, "Alright?"

"Yeah." She had moaned the word through, head still towards the ground, breathing slightly heavy.

"Good." I then went into the right pocket of my trousers, reaching for the handkerchief I always kept with me and placed it in front of her view. "Use this to clean yourself up." She didn't take it. Instead she wiped over her mouth with the sleeve of my jacket. I figured during the vomiting episodes, some of it had most likely splattered onto the jacket already, so it seemed pointless in even worrying about the sleeve now.

Feeling the night march on further, I got her to her feet once I decided for myself that she was fit enough to get back on track. "Let's get going," I called to her.

Kinomoto obliged under my steer before she lost her sense of balance; I allowed her to fall back onto my shoulder. All her earlier activities, the alcohol, and the throwing up must have taken up quite a bit of her energy. She must finally be falling to the effects of the both.

I surveyed my surroundings, wondering if any one of these houses were Kinomoto's. If her house was not around the area, I concluded that maybe it'd be a more sensible option to take her to my apartment instead of staying out here in the night any longer, looking for her place.

"How far is it to your house?" I asked her, but once again she didn't reply as her head and body slumped into mine—cheek to chest.

My apartment, I suppose.

"Okay. Let's go, Kinomoto." I turned her around and draped one of her arms over my shoulder. "We're heading to my apartment," I informed her before we got going.

Finally I was making a start on getting home. I would have never predicted I'd have to bring Kinomoto home with me at the end of tonight, but at least this day of mine was coming to a close and I could finally rest easy.

Tomorrow was another story though. Kinomoto was happy to see me today, but that was due to the fact that she thought I was that guy and she was drunk. However, tomorrow when she wakes up, I'd most likely have to explain to her to why she was at my apartment and not her own place.

Exasperatedly, I sighed: tomorrow I was no doubt going to have to deal with the side belonging to the popular-girl Kinomoto.

I took my cell phone out from my trouser pocket for the time. Hmm... there was a message on my screen—I'll have to get that later. Looking past the message, I scrolled to the block of numbers below: another ten minutes had passed since I last checked. I should be home by one thirty.

Slipping the cell phone back into my pocket, I continued down the sidewalk towards my house. Kinomoto let out a quiet giggle before mumbling a couple of words. I directed an eye to the corner to see a contented smile on her lips. Then I prepared to turn back to the front, but just as I did so, her words cleared up—

"Why don't you notice me?"

I snapped my head towards the question. The sadness in her tone was strangely curious. She backed away then stood upright and faced me with eyes that were filled with what was in her intonation.

"You like me right...?"

"Umm..." I stood there, gazing at her, unsure of the reply.

"...More than that girl?"

I wasn't that guy she thought I was. How was I to answer that question? Although she was under the influence of alcohol, whatever I told her would probably not be retained through to tomorrow—but still... Her gaze was firmly set on me. She really wanted an answer and I felt this—obligation—to give her one, but I couldn't possibly give an answer to something I didn't know.

The best option was not to answer it. I dismissed it, and instead, answering with this: "We should be at my home in ten more minutes. We should get going."

She seemed hesitant for a while as she stood; reading me maybe; before she made a move to walk. I followed alongside her, feeling strangely guilty of not having given her the answer she wanted. At the moment, I could sense something exert from her. The vibe was unpleasant.

I saw her rub at her arms. "Are you still cold, Kinomoto?"

There was a slight twitch to her head, as if to respond, but then she decided against it. Instead, she retorted with an angered response, "You don't give a damn about me!" She turned sharply in my direction as a rock of her heel in the periphery of my view caught my attention. "Why don't you just go back to that girl with the pants you were trying to get into?!"

I frowned at what she was revealing to me, at the hurt I heard in her tone; and it had taken me by surprise. It just never occurred to me that Kinomoto would have any problems, particularly not concerning this matter. Yet—she was telling me all of this, and it was all in vain.

Her eyes became heated and before I knew it, I felt two hands shove at my chest with force; she had pushed me away out of her own frustration with her problems.

"Hey—"

I was about to call for her to settle down, but in result of her actions, she had clumsily fallen to the concrete paving. She sat there dejected and probably feeling unwanted—quite a pitiful sight for what I was used to. I knelt to the ground, softening my tone to sympathy.

"Hey," I called to her, "come on now, get up." Kinomoto stayed on the ground, continuing to drown in her desolation. What followed were soft weeping sounds; she had begun to cry.

...She was crying.

Sobs continued to escape her. Not knowing what to do, for a few moments, I watched her with unease. For anyone to be reduced to such a state, a great deal of distress must reside within. I didn't like to see anyone cry; I hated it.

I placed a hand on her arm. I searched for her eyes, encouraging her to look at me; she found my gaze and I guided her head upwards, allowing me to squarely look at her.

"I like you."

A sniff preceded the smile I currently saw, "Really?"

I smiled back—just glad that she had stopped crying. "I don't hate you," I replied. Her expression remained a smile for a moment before she broke into a delighted giggle. She was happier.

Alright. "Shall we go?" She agreed with a nod.

She stood up in the same fashion as the previous times I had helped her to her feet, swaying and unbalanced. I had noticed whilst we ascended, she had held my gaze all the way to the point to when we were standing, and was still holding the gaze. I thought nothing of it as I turned to face ahead to begin making another move towards my apartment. But then, my face was turned back to its previous position by a hand of Kinomoto's.

Puzzlement filled me as to why she had forced me to face her again. She stood there without a word being spoken, motionless and continued staring. She took a step forward to stand closer to me. Then her height increased as she stood on her toes before leaning into me.

"I recognise those eyes," she said in a whispering voice. I continued to stand in my place, waiting. "I've... seen them before. They belong to..." She leaned into me further, just several inches between her face and mine now. "Those eyes belong to... the Loner."

Hmm... Kinomoto finally realised that I wasn't Ashida.

She stepped back from me and she was off down the footpath, speedily moving off without me. "Hey, wait."

"You're so slow, hurry up, slowpoke!" she shouted in the distance, her laughter reverberating through the neighbourhood.

I sighed. She was strange—even for a drunkard. I followed briskly to catch up before my brow arched in reaction to her entrance into a property. To that, I ran after her. When I made it to the property in a panting heap, I saw Kinomoto sitting on the porch outside of the house.

"What are you doing?"

"This is my house."

I had doubts. After all, previous experiences had told me that she wasn't at the best in recognising her house when she was intoxicated. I looked around. This place was clean and well-kept—at least the areas of the property that were illuminated by the security light had been. It could be Kinomoto's place.

Suddenly, breaking my thoughts, I heard the sound of a lock of the door being turned. Kinomoto stood up, apparently waiting for it to be opened; I joined her, ready to greet the person behind the door.

"Sakura! It's almost two in the morning." An enraged man stood at the door. This guy had dark hair, lean, and looking not too much older than Kinomoto. I assumed it was her older brother.

We had found Kinomoto's place.

"Where have you been?" he continued.

"Touya! What are you doing here? Where's Dad?"

"Dad's not home... And you're drunk."

"No I'm not," Kinomoto replied, letting an awry smile show through.

Judging by the grumbling sound from deep within his throat, he was not happy with her state. He shot a quick glance at me. Most likely, he was registering me as the next person in line to be dealt with. He returned to Kinomoto. "You better get inside."

She headed inside unsteadily. He watched her head into the house before his attention was directed towards me. "Who are you?" he asked, his tone lacking any signs of courtesy.

"I'm—"

"Kansuke, aren't you coming in?" Kinomoto interrupted, coming back out to hover around the frame of the door.

"No," I answered.

"Is that jacket yours?" The guy was referring to the jacket I had offered to Kinomoto.

"Yes."

He nodded before turning to her, "Sakura, can you give him back the jacket?" Sakura obliged and took it off. He was about to give it back to me, but he halted in his actions, looking at it for a couple of seconds. I wondered what he was doing.

"Do you want me to have it cleaned?" He must have noticed the vomit stains. It appeared that this guy did have some courtesy after all.

"It's alright. I'll do it myself."

"Alright." He then handed the jacket to me. "Thank you for bringing my sister home." Then without a second more, the door was slammed shut in my face. I had spoken too soon.

Kinomoto was finally at her home, and now it was my turn to head home. Fortunately, the distance to my apartment was not too far from here. Relief streamed through me at the thought as I proceeded to make my way home and really end this long day.

Sleep.