Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Secrets ❯ Saturn Cards Unite! ( Chapter 3 )

Notes: I know it's been a LONG time since I updated, and I'm really sorry about that. I got distracted, to say the least. But I really think I can (and should) finish this, so here we go again. This follows no continuity whatsoever, the Clow Cards Sakura currently has are almost completely random.

Chapter 3:

Saturn Cards Unite!

Tomoyo smiled as she carefully positioned the warrior elf on her pillow. "Now remember, it's your job to protect me from any bad dreams tonight. Think you can handle it, Erwin?"

The elf didn't answer, of course, but Tomoyo imagined that his brave little scowl uttered an agreeing grunt.

"And let's not forget about you, either!" Tomoyo said to her latest stuffed playmate, an elfin maiden. Hotaru had had her custom made for Tomoyo, and she was certainly worth every penny. In fact, Tomoyo was quite sure that Hotaru had spent more than a few pennies. She was no expert on dolls to be certain, but she suspected that the cost of making the doll and shipping it was enormous, perhaps even for a family like hers. It was no use trying to talk Hotaru out of it, though. She had insisted that Tomoyo keep the doll, and that the price hadn't been a problem. While Tomoyo had once heard her mother mention that Hotaru's family was just as well off as their own, she hated to think she was costing them money that would be better suited to treating Hotaru's lingering illness.

"Well, you are a pretty little thing," Tomoyo murmured to the maiden. "And I could never refuse a gift from Hotaru. Maybe you can watch over her dreams while she's staying with me."

There was no reply from the maiden, so Tomoyo tapped the little mirror she held in her tiny hands. For some reason, Hotaru had always been fond of mirrors, but had never enjoyed seeing herself in them.

* * * * *

Meiling's face lit up when the doorbell rang. "It's about time, Syaoran!" She flung the door open, only to be thoroughly disappointed. "Oh…you're not Syaoran…"

The girl blinked a few times. "No, I am not. My name is Tomoe Hotaru. You are a friend of my cousin, Tomoyo?"

Meiling would've hesitated to call herself a friend to anyone who loved Sakura as much as Tomoyo did, but at least she was a bit easier to tolerate most of the time. "Yeah, I know her."

"You are Syaoran's cousin?"

"I see you've done your homework. Did you come here just to interrogate me?"

"No. Syaoran went shopping with us the other day, and he must've forgotten this," Hotaru said, holding up a small box. "I found it mixed in with my purchases. I think he got it for you."

Meiling snatched the box from her and tore it open. "YES! My super limited edition Sailor Jupiter doll! Oh, Syaoran, I knew you wouldn't forget!"

Hotaru wisely decided not to point out, again, that Syaoran HAD forgotten. Though, considering that they been attacked by The Firey the same day, she couldn't really blame him. "You like Sailor Jupiter, then?"

Meiling looked at Hotaru as if she were crazy. "Who wouldn't?!" she demanded, a challenge in her tone.

Hotaru held up her hands in surrender. "I should be going. It was interesting to meet you, Meiling-san."

"Yeah, sure. I'll let Syaoran know you stopped by."

* * * * *

Syaoran couldn't believe what he was about to do.

He had always been one to follow the old ways, and didn't like going against tradition. After all, tradition was his whole life.

But then he'd met Sakura, and gradually found himself breaking all the old rules without realizing it. Instead of drawing her into combat, he'd allowed her innocence to befriend him. Instead of taking the Clow Cards from her, he'd helped her capture several of them. Instead of keeping to the shadows and striking without warning, he'd allowed Tomoyo to videotape nearly all of their adventures.

And it was that last one that he had need of now.

With all that had happened recently, he needed to be sure that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. He needed to be certain that Sailor Saturn was exactly what he suspected she was.

She could seal Clow Cards, she could summon the Magic Circle of Clow, and she was probably stronger than Syaoran and Sakura combined. But to be capable of any of that, she almost certainly had to be a descendant of Clow Reed herself. That she was also of the Sailor Senshi didn't mean much to him; he still considered them largely the stuff of fairy tales. If anything, claiming to be one kind of magic user just made it easier for Saturn to use her true magical talents. Although pretending to be a Sailor Senshi just so she could be a CardCaptor seemed more than a little strange.

At any rate, he needed to call Tomoyo. With any luck, they'd run into Saturn again soon, and Tomoyo would get the whole encounter on tape. If the tape confirmed what Syaoran's eyes had seen, then he would need to call his mother. He had never seen any Tomoe mentioned in the family records, and if they were really related, he would need permission to challenge Saturn, or at least some idea of what she was up to.

But he never got the chance. As he laid his hand on the phone, a soft hand covered his.

"You don't want to do that, Syaoran."

He was more angry than surprised that Hotaru had suddenly appeared next to him. "How did you get into my home?! The wards-"

"-are useless against those of the Li Clan, as you know," she replied, staring into his eyes. "Even those a few times removed, it would seem."

"And that's supposed to convince me that not to call?"

"Yes, it is," Hotaru murmured, gently pulling his hand from the phone and cradling it in both of hers. "You don't really want to call home for the answers. You really want to hear them from me, don't you? After all, even if your mother decided to tell you anything about me, there are things I would know more about than she would. There's a reason you've never heard of my section of the family."

Syaoran pulled his hand away from her, and not without great difficulty. "So talk."

"My family has always had a certain taste for dark magic. Not being able to handle it, necessarily, but using it nonetheless. It's one of many reasons we were banished from the clan so many times. But we always found a way back in, somehow: an illusion here, a love potion there, and in one case, the pure dumb luck of a mistaken identity. The point is, we understood that the closer we were to the Li Clan, the more powerful our magic would become."

"So basically, you're evil," Syaoran said after a moment.

"Dark magic can be used for good, just as light magic can be used for evil. It all depends on the person using the magic. But I have no intention of harming you, if that's what you mean."

"Then why are you here?"

Hotaru paused. "I'm not sure I should tell you that much. You could still pose a threat to my mission."

Syaoran frowned. "I meant, why are you in my house?"

"To stop you from making a mistake. I don't want you involving Tomoyo in this."

"You're too late," he replied with a smirk. "Her natural nosiness aside, Sakura could never keep anything from her. She's already too involved as it is."

"You're missing my point. I don't want YOU involving Tomoyo in this."

For some reason, Syaoran took great offense at that. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're too smart for your own good, Syaoran. That seems to be especially common in your clan."

"Just as getting in over your head is in yours?" he snapped back.

Hotaru smiled thinly. "Trust me, you and Sakura are the ones in over your heads. I'm warning you to stay out of my way. I felt obligated to do that, since you are family."

"Then I'll extend the same courtesy to you," Syaoran answered. "If you try to harm Sakura or Meiling in any way, I will be forced to remove you from my family again."

"Fair enough." Hotaru turned to leave, but suddenly found Syaoran's hand on her arm. "Yes?"

"One more thing." His grip tightened to the point where it was painful. "If you hurt Tomoyo, I. Will. Hurt. You."

"I would never hurt her," Hotaru said solemnly, pulling away from him. "But why have I never heard you call her that to her face?"

"That is none of your concern," Syaoran replied at once, "but Tomoyo is of mine. Make sure you remember that."

"I will. But really, Syaoran, you shouldn't be so protective of another girl. What would Sakura think?"

Syaoran opened his mouth to reply, but Hotaru had already vanished into a black hole, not unlike the one he'd seen Sailor Saturn use to teleport. He started to dive in as it quickly faded away, but thought better of it as he glanced into the mirror and saw that he was still blushing from that last comment. She had won this round, and it was better to admit defeat and regroup for the next encounter.

His gaze moved again to the phone, and he wondered if he should call Tomoyo, anyway. There was a very good chance that Hotaru would be right next to her if she picked up, so maybe that wasn't a good idea. While Hotaru had said she wouldn't harm Tomoyo, he didn't know her well enough to trust her. But Tomoyo needed to know that her cousin was a CardCaptor, if nothing else. He could not forget how worried Tomoyo had been during Firey's attack. At the very least, knowing might reassure her that Hotaru could look after herself just fine.

There was also the possibility that Hotaru HAD told her, and that Tomoyo just hadn't told him and Sakura, but he couldn't see any reason for her to do that. Anyway, this WAS Tomoyo. She would never be able to resist the chance to dress up both Hotaru and Sakura in ridiculous costumes and get it all on tape.

* * * * *

"A sleepover, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo was saying as Hotaru entered her cousin's bedroom. "Well, no, I guess we haven't done it in a while…"

Hotaru managed to hide her smirk fairly well. She had warned Syaoran off, but she hadn't said anything about Sakura. Of course, there was a reason for that, but she doubted Sakura had come up with the sleepover on her own, or that she'd be doing much sleeping during it.

Tomoyo beamed as she finally noticed her cousin and waved her over to the bed. "Yes, that does sound like fun! But when…tonight? That's kind of sudden, but I guess if I let the cook know now…"

For her part, Hotaru practically pounced on Tomoyo and nodded eagerly.

Tomoyo laughed into the phone. "Well, since you and Hotaru have me outnumbered, I guess it doesn't matter what I think! Okay, see you tonight! Bai bai, my Sakura-chan!" She clicked off the phone and batted Hotaru away with her pillow. "I didn't know you liked sleepovers so much! Well, with anyone but me, anyway."

"Normally, I don't," Hotaru replied honestly, hugging the pillow. "But I do like Sakura. And so do you, apparently. What's this `my Sakura-chan' business, juumai?"

Tomoyo grinned. "It's just something I say to make her blush; she's so cute when she does that!"

Hotaru smiled and shook her head. "I think I would blush, too, if I were in her place. You're positively manipulative when you get an idea into your head."

"Speaking of ideas, I couldn't help but notice the way Syaoran was staring at you when we went shopping…"

A look of sheer terror appeared on Hotaru's face. "I'm sure he was just struck by how pale I am," she said quickly. "It happens often when I meet new people."

"Juushi, you're blushing!" Tomoyo cried in rapture, pointing at her cheeks.

"I am not!" Hotaru insisted, doing her best to look angry.

"You know, it's okay if you like him," Tomoyo said in a rather unconcerned manner. "I mean, Syaoran IS cute, even if Sakura hasn't noticed. And he's a perfect gentleman, once you get him to stop scowling."

"He doesn't like me," Hotaru said at once. "I asked a small favor of him today, and he jumped down my throat. He couldn't be the one for me, juumai."

"He did the exact same thing when he first met Sakura, and you see how they are together."

"That's even more reason to avoid him! I could never hurt Sakura that way."

"She'd barely even realize she'd lost him at first," Tomoyo pointed out. "Sakura is so sweet, but she's also…hmm…"

"A little slow?" Hotaru hazarded, already prepared to flinch from Tomoyo's wrath.

"Hmm…yes, I suppose," Tomoyo answered eventually. "She doesn't even realize how much she likes Syaoran. Maybe seeing him with someone else would make her see what she's missing."

"But why should that someone be me? And I thought you said he had to marry Meiling?"

Tomoyo waved away her concern. "He talked her out of it, but to hear Meiling tell it, the wedding is still on. But that's more in her mind than anyone else's. Don't let it bother you; you've got a better chance with Syaoran than Meiling or Sakura at this point."

"You're crazy, juumai," Hotaru muttered.

"No, I'm manipulative," Tomoyo reminded her with a wicked grin. "Now do as I say, or I'll be forced to prove it."

* * * * *

"I don't see how this is going to help," Syaoran complained.

"You wouldn't," Meiling sighed as she sorted through a pile of video tapes.

"Can't you just tell me everything you know about the Sailor Senshi, instead of making me watch all of those?"

"I could," Meiling replied absently. "But I won't."

"Why not?!"

"Well, either I tell you everything I know in a few hours, or you spend all night watching my entire Senshi collection...with me." She smirked at him. "Which would you choose if you were me?"

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Meiling, this is serious! I need to find out everything about Hotaru's magic that I can! If she tries something while we're here-!"

"But she won't, because she'll be at a sleepover with Tomoyo and Sakura, remember? I doubt she could pull anything without one of them noticing."

"It wouldn't matter what they saw, if she could--I don't know--erase their memories!"

"Well, she can't! At least, she couldn't in the anime," Meiling replied with a frown. "But she wasn't a CardCaptor there, either..."

"All the more reason for us to hurry this up!" Syaoran pointed out at once.

Meiling muttered something under her breath as she put in the first tape. She, for one, did not share Syaoran's concern. She had met Hotaru, after all, and seen Sailor Saturn up close. They were two sides of the same coin, but the fact remained that in either form, she was still the same coin. Meiling didn't think that Saturn was anymore capable of harming Tomoyo and Sakura than Hotaru was. But then, if she really could erase memories, there would be no need to harm them. And when she looked at it that way, maybe it WAS safer if Hotaru just erased their memories.

"Are you going to start the tape or not?" Syaoran asked, breaking into her thoughts.

Meiling took a seat next to him on the couch and pressed Play on her remote. "Get comfy, Syaoran. This will take a while."

Syaoran sighed, his head in his hands as the theme music started up. "Of that, Meiling, I have no doubt…"

* * * * *

Sakura couldn't help but be disappointed when she woke up in Tomoyo's bed. The one thing that Syaoran had insisted she remember about this night was that under no circumstances was she supposed to fall asleep. He had kept telling her that this was a mission, not an actual sleepover.

Only it HAD been an actual sleepover, and there had been nothing even remotely mission-like about it. Well, unless you counted hours of Tomoyo's prized footage, featuring Sakura stumbling around in outrageous costumes. Thankfully, all the tapes that Tomoyo presented were edited for normal viewing, and the most magical thing about any of them was that Sakura had managed not to die of embarrassment in any scene. And while Hotaru did pay close attention to all the tapes, she had the decency not to laugh once in Sakura's presence. Of course, Sakura imagined she'd be rolling in the aisle on the plane ride home.

Sakura couldn't remember when she'd nodded off, but it must've been before the other two, since she'd been sitting on the floor at the time. She had brought a sleeping bag, but that wasn't required with Tomoyo's sleepovers: her bed was easily large enough for five people her size, and she refused to let her guests sleep on the floor when there was plenty of room. And since Tomoyo was curled up right beside Hotaru, Sakura had more than enough room to work with. She watched them for a few minutes, making sure they were both asleep before deciding to slip out of bed.

She headed straight for the bathroom, both to use it and to figure out her next move. The problem with Syaoran's plan was that it depended entirely on Hotaru doing something suspicious. But Sakura had watched the girl all night, and the only thing she'd figured out was that Hotaru was a perfectly nice girl. It was still very hard to believe that she could be Sailor Saturn, but Meiling had explained that some sort of magic aura usually protected the Senshi's true identities. That was indeed part of why Sakura didn't want to accept that Hotaru was Sailor Saturn, but deep down, she was more afraid of having to fight Hotaru for the Clow Cards. Kero had made sealing the Cards her responsibility; even Syaoran and Meiling had admitted that eventually.

Still, that was no reason to assume that Hotaru was evil. Kero had made vague mentions about something of a partner he'd use to have, but had never gotten around to mentioning a name. It was possible that Hotaru had been sent by this partner to do something with the Cards that Sakura couldn't, but what? And if that was the case, why not just say so? If Hotaru was only trying to do good, then Sakura would have no problem letting her capture the rest of the Cards. But Syaoran was so suspicious of her, and it usually paid off to listen to his instincts.

Sakura was just about head back to Tomoyo's room when a hand came down on her shoulder. Naturally, she did the first thing that came to mind.

* * * * *

Hotaru actually hadn't expected Sakura to scream. All the same, she had been prepared for it.

That was how they both ended up in Tomoyo's backyard an instant later.

Sakura blinked slowly and shut her mouth, finally noticing she hadn't been able to hear herself scream. The reason for this soon became clear as she turned around.

Hotaru stood a few feet away, holding a Clow Card in her outstretched hand. "I didn't mean to frighten you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura bit her lip as Hotaru put The Silent away. "Hotaru-chan…why did you bring us out here?"

"I only used The Silent to keep you from alarming anyone, and to give us some privacy." Hotaru took a few steps forward, putting her in arm's reach of Sakura. "I need to ask you a favor."

"I'm listening," Sakura said hesitantly, fingering the miniature Key of Clow around her neck..

"I need you to give me The Shadow."

The color drained from Sakura's face. "Why?"

Hotaru blinked, apparently not expecting that response. "I can only tell you that I need it."

Sakura took a deep breath…as well as a step back. "I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan. But I can't give you The Shadow unless you tell me what you need it for."

"Fair enough. But as I said, I do need it, and I can't tell you why." Hotaru took another step forward. "Give it to me."

"No," Sakura whispered as confidently as she could. It was odd how she'd been completely at ease around Hotaru before, but at that very moment, she'd only felt so threatened by the more violent Cards.

"I will take it from you in battle, if I have to," Hotaru warned her.

"Please don't do this, Hotaru-chan," Sakura pleaded. "I can't fight you. You're my friend!"

"I know," Hotaru said simply as the Silence Glaive appeared in her hand. "Give me The Shadow."

Sakura considered her options as she continued to back away. She could call Syaoran and Meiling telepathically, but she didn't want them to hurt Hotaru, or get hurt in the process. She certainly didn't want to involve Tomoyo, but if anyone could stop Hotaru, it would've been her. Of course, she'd have to get past Hotaru first to do that.

"Taking care of the Clow Cards is my responsibility! That includes protecting them from untrustworthy people!" Sakura said.

"Then I'm sorry to learn I've lost your trust…but you will give me The Shadow."

Sakura took the Key of Clow in her hand and instantly enlarged it. "Neither of us wants to do this, Hotaru-chan. Just stop now and we can pretend this never happened."

"I wish I could," Hotaru said softly, with a hint of regret in her voice. "I have no desire to hurt you, Sakura-chan. But I must have that Clow Card, and if you won't give it to me…then you leave me no choice."

"That's just what I was thinking," Sakura whispered, drawing a Clow Card from her pocket.

Without warning, Hotaru surged forward, attempting to snatch the Card from Sakura's hand. Instead, her fingers closed on air as the Card slipped quickly into Sakura's sleeve.

Sakura grabbed Hotaru's arm, twisted around and tried one of the more basic throws that Syaoran had taught her. If her hunch was right, it would barely even slow Hotaru down, but every second it did buy her was worth it.

Unfortunately, Hotaru was prepared for such a maneuver, and as Sakura was trying to throw her, she planted her feet firmly on the ground and brought the double-pronged blade of the Silence Glaive up to Sakura's throat. "I would have to advise against that, Sakura-chan," she whispered softly in the other girl's ear. "You really don't want this slipping so close to your neck."

Sakura closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "This can't feel right to you, Hotaru-chan. You're threatening your friends, stealing from them…and if poor Tomoyo found out, it would break her heart."

"No, it doesn't feel right. All the more reason to get it done quickly, so we can go back to being friends."

"Are you serious? I can't trust you after this!"

"I realize that. But you don't want Tomoyo to find out, either. So you'll continue to act as if we are friends, won't you?"

"I wish I didn't have to act," Sakura murmured.

"So do I. Now, give me that Card up your sleeve."

"You're going to regret this, Hotaru-chan," Sakura promised as she slipped the Card into Hotaru's waiting hand.

"I already do," Hotaru replied. She looked at the Card, and then her eyes widened. "Wait. This isn't-"

"JUMP CARD!" Sakura shouted, grabbing the Card and shoving Hotaru away.

Hotaru stumbled back, only to see Sakura launch herself high into the air, propelled by pink, winged boots. "I gave you a chance to surrender The Shadow, Sakura-chan. But now you're just delaying the inevitable."

* * * * *

Tomoyo woke up to an empty bed and a worried feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sakura running off she was used to, and Hotaru was always vanishing like a ghost, but never at the same time. It made sense to think that they were together. Probably Sakura had seen that Hotaru was gone first, and went out to look for her.

"TOMOYO!!!" a familiar voice shouted.

"Sakura-chan?!" Tomoyo cried as her best friend tumbled in through the open window. She jumped out of bed and helped Sakura up. "What happened?!"

"I…it was…" Sakura began to say, but then she caught sight of Tomoyo's worried expression.

"What? What?!" Tomoyo demanded.

Sakura swallowed noisily. "I…I lost control of a Clow Card," she said, unable to meet Tomoyo's eyes. "I was afraid it might've hurt you."

Tomoyo blinked, not saying anything for a long moment. Finally, she asked, "Which one was it?"

"Um…Jump," Sakura replied hesitantly.

"And…how would it have hurt me?"

"Well…I guess it couldn't, really…but it might've made you jump really high, and I know you don't like great heights, so…you would've been really scared, and-"

"Sakura-chan, you're a terrible liar," Tomoyo said softly, cupping her best friend's face with her hands. "Now, I don't know why you're lying to me, but I trust that you wouldn't do it unless you had a really good reason. So even though it hurts me to know you're not being honest with me, I'll still forgive you."

Sakura started to say something, but decided against it and buried her face in Tomoyo's shoulder. "I didn't want to lie to you, Tomoyo-chan. It's just that…just…"

"You can tell me when you're ready," Tomoyo replied, patting her back. "But in the meantime, do you know where Hotaru is?"

At that moment, there were three sharp knocks on the door.

Not even looking up, Tomoyo called out, "Come in, Robyn."

Tomoyo's bodyguard entered the room. "Tomoyo-chan, you should come downstairs at once."

Tomoyo looked at her curiously. "Is anything wrong, Robyn?"

"That remains to be seen. There is…a woman downstairs that claims to be Hotaru's mother."

Tomoyo's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Is her hair dark green? Or-"

"It's closer to cyan, I think."

Tomoyo grabbed Sakura's hand and all but dragged her downstairs, with Robyn bringing up the rear. At the bottom of the steps, they were met by a woman matching Robyn's description. In her arms was the unconscious form of Hotaru.

"So nice to see you again, Tomoyo-chan," the woman said, smiling pleasantly. "Although I wish it weren't under these circumstances."

"Auntie Michiru, Hotaru didn't tell me you were coming with her!" Tomoyo replied, obviously a little distracted by the state of her cousin. "But what's wrong with her?"

"I didn't come with her, Tomoyo-chan. I came because of her. As for what's wrong, Hotaru is in big trouble." She paused, her gaze landing squarely on Sakura. "But I imagine some people might know that better than others."

"Are you really Hotaru's mother?" Sakura asked, instantly regretting asking such a rude question.

Michiru smiled at her. "I wasn't always, but rest assured that I am now. Which is why it's my duty to find out what you've all gotten yourselves mixed up in. There's no time to do it gently, unfortunately." She looked towards the ceiling and said, "Rain, could you please bring Hotaru around for me?"

Instantly, a small cloud formed over Hotaru's head, and tiny raindrops gently peppered her face.

"How did you do that?" Sakura asked.

"I may not have much in the way of your kind of magic," Michiru replied, "but you'd be surprised how far being friendly can get you. While I haven't actually sealed this Card, it agreed to help me out, since we seem to be kindred spirits."

"I'm never going to find all the Clow Cards if they keep going to other people," Sakura murmured sadly.

Michiru laughed softly. "Don't worry, Sakura. I'm sure Rain would have no problem going to you once this is all sorted out. First, though, we have to get some answers out of Hotaru."

"I don't think that's going to be too easy," Sakura said hesitantly.

"She'll talk," Tomoyo said confidently. "Between me and Auntie Michiru, she'll have to open up. We're two of her favorite relatives."

Sakura decided not to argue the point. She still didn't want to tell Tomoyo that Hotaru had been seconds away from attacking her. But from the knowing looks Michiru kept giving her, she had a feeling that she might not have a choice in a few moments.

"Sakura," Michiru said softly. "Why don't you tell Tomoyo what happened tonight?"

She could tell from Michiru's tone that one way or another, Tomoyo was going to find out what Hotaru had done. With a sigh, Sakura begin to tell everything: how Hotaru had used The Silent, and then demanded that Sakura surrender The Shadow, even under the threat of violence. She ended with how she'd used The Jump to leap into the sky and escape.

"What I don't understand is why Hotaru didn't come after me. I didn't think heights would bother her."

"They don't," Michiru answered. "Hotaru didn't chase you because she couldn't. I stopped her."

"You did? But I never saw you…"

"You weren't supposed to. I asked Rain to provide some cloud cover. Didn't you notice how quickly the clouds moved in behind you?"

Sakura blushed. "I was a little too busy running." She turned to her best friend, who hadn't said a word in some time. "I wanted to tell you, Tomoyo-chan, but I couldn't. I was afraid that you wouldn't believe me. Even I didn't want to believe that Hotaru would hurt me, but I can't forget that cold look in her eyes."

Tomoyo took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "So you lied to protect me from the truth about Hotaru?"

"Yes. I didn't want to, but I didn't want you to find out about her that way. I thought maybe Syaoran and I could convince her to tell you the truth." Sakura paused and took Tomoyo's hand in hers. "I'm sorry. But you know it's my job to protect you."

Tomoyo couldn't help the smile that came to her lips. "I know," she said simply.

* * * * *

Continued in Chapter 4: The Return of Clow

Hotaru tells all. The reincarnation of Clow reveals himself, as well as a dangerous plot involving two Sakura's close friends. But can she save them both, or will she be forced to sacrifice one?