[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

9 January, 2001

Card Captors

"Dimensions II - Test of Evil"

By : The MOUSE……………………&helli p;.

Countless ancient leather bound texts and equally numerous aged scrolls lay scattered about the matted floor of the small training room. Warrior/sorcerer Li Syaoran growled in growing frustration as he tossed aside yet another volume, its contents having been deemed useless to his search. Grumbling he picked up a large scroll and began reading the ancient Cantonese brushed there in black ink, each stroke perfect. He was searching for some tiny reference, anything at all familiar with what Card Mistress Kinomoto Sakura had described about her vision almost two weeks ago. He had forgone sleep, ate and drank the bare necessities to sustain himself in this arduous task, sequestering himself from everyone in his training room ever since Sakura's Otou-san had come to take her home. For Sakura to have had a vision like she had meant the events were somehow related to Clow and the cards. It could be some very obscure relation, but a connection none the less. And if that connection existed then it had to be contained within one of these old books and rolled up pieces of parchment. This was a copy of the Li Clan's magic library. Every spell, every line of history connected to Clow or Li was amassed before him.

But out of the hundreds he had read so far not one had yet yielded the answer he was seeking.

He still had hundreds left to go.

He frowned. Mental note: Get every text and scroll scanned into a computer to create a search index.

On and on Syaoran read late into the night. He was determined to be ready this time. There was danger ahead and he wanted to know everything he could about it to better protect his beloved Card Mistress. They had been caught off guard the first time. The cards had been cunning. He would have to be even more cunning in the upcoming battle. He wouldn't let anything happen to Kinomoto Sakura this time. He loved her too much to see her get hurt again.

* * *

A low laughter filled the cavernous chamber, seeming to fill the silence. A shadow, a wisp of a form, peeled itself away from a wall and approached the object of his search. The wraith hovered for a moment in contemplation and admiration of its newly found treasure. A body devoid of life. The musculature had an understated strength, well chiseled yet not imposing. A natural strength and power seemed to radiate still from this inanimate being. The wraith smiled, pleased at this prize. It turned to the glowing being kneeling nearby, the one who had delivered this gift.

"You've done very well, my dear." the wraith chuckled. "But then, you had no choice but to obey me. The Life Card was always an easy capture, despite all the power Clow gave you."

Beautiful, radiant Life lowered it head, its long pale gold hair hiding the shame and sorrow on its face and in its eyes. It had let its guard down when it had tried to create another grove to hide itself in. It would have much rather have been captured by another magic user. The girl it had met a few weeks ago with the young warrior. She had been kind. But Life had been captured by this… this thing. It had come out of nowhere, resembling the Shadow Card. That had been the deception. Life had truly believed this was Shadow. It had been wrong. Even Shadow possessed some warmth. This wraith didn't. It had no form, no soul, just darkness. And it needed a body. So Life had been sent to find it a body, a very specific body lost in the eddies of time and space. There had only really been one who fit this wraith's criteria. Life felt pain at having been forced to play a part in this.

"I see a certain irony in this, you know." the wraith continued. "A Clow Card helping me get my revenge against Clow and his descendents." It laughed. "It has a certain sense of poetic justice to it. But Clow has to pay for abandoning me here, for burying me in this place and making it my tomb. And what greater pain than to permanently destroy his line and his work. I would have made him the greatest, most powerful, most feared sorcerer of all time, but he rejected it all after he got what he wanted from me. Now, do it!" it ordered.

Life cringed, but obeyed. Its long hair and robes wrapped around the lifeless body lying before it and also enfolded the shapeless shadow. After a moment the cocoons fell away. The shadow was gone and the body was now breathing. The revived body sat up slowly, experimenting with half remembered sensations. Then it laughed.

"Oh, well done indeed! The poor little child will never know how close darkness really is to her while I'm in this form."

Life tried to cower away, but the re-born wraith grabbed the front of its robes to hold the card in place. He near cackled with glee, the body's once beautiful amber eyes growing dark with each passing moment. Tears of shame fell from Life's eyes as the familiar looking being trembled in barely contained laughter.

"After all, why should she suspect it from her beloved Little Wolf?"

* * *

Daidouji Tomoyo heard the classroom door open and, out of habit and an insatiable curiosity, she looked up from her study-notes to see who it was. As bubbly as ever, as if nothing had happened to her two weeks ago, Kinomoto Sakura walked into the study hall. The two best friends smiled at each other as the sorceress took her seat adjacent to Tomoyo. Classmates waved to Sakura in welcome.

"So, how're you feeling?" the videographer asked the Card Captor quietly.

"I feel great." she smiled broadly. "I talked to the coach and she said I could rejoin the cheerleading squad without problem. After everything, I'm ready to start the daily routine all over again."

Tomoyo laughed. "I should've known nothing could keep my girl down." Then, "Hey, Sakura, have you seen Li around lately?"

"Not for the last two weeks, no. Why?"

"Well, I haven't seen him either. Meilin says he hardly ever left the training room in his apartment since your Otou-san picked you up. He's surrounded by books and scrolls and stuff."

"Sounds like he's probably doing some really intensive research. Let's just hope he had time to study for his exams too."

She suddenly stiffened, her eyes taking on a distant look as a tingling sensation invaded the edge of her senses, growing in intensity. Tomoyo was worried at her friend's reaction. This sort of thing usually preceded a danger of some sort, the arrival of dark or powerful magic.

"A Clow Card?" she asked in a whisper.

Sakura broke into a smile, recognizing the presence arriving at the High School. It was warm, not at all like the Clow Cards. This feeling was something, someone, closer to her heart. "No, nothing dangerous." she answered her friend. "Well, depends who you are. Syaoran will be coming in soon, that's all."

"Oh." The videographer smirked at the cheerleader. "You know, I envy Li's and your ability to be able to sense when he's near or when you're near. Makes me a little jealous, but at the same time I find it so kawaii."

"I guess it has something to do with the fact that we both have Clow magic."

"Or the fact that you're soul mates." she grinned.

Sakura felt a hot blush begin to creep up the back of her neck and she smiled sheepishly. "To tell you the truth, Tomoyo, I'm still not quite sure how to take all of that."

"I say feel blessed about it, Sakura. I mean, how many girls out there can rightly say they're soul mates with a totally gorgeous guy, ne?" she teased lightly.

The teen Mistress of the Cards blushed deeply with a shy giggle. She was so right. True, there were a lot of handsome boys at their school, but none of them really stood out like the young warrior. He was one who didn't care what others thought of him, who could be satisfied with just sitting in a quiet corner to meditate in silence. Strength and a relative peace radiated all around him. Sakura allowed herself a tiny smile at the thought of her beloved warrior. A soul mate was indeed a rare person to find and she had been fortunate enough to have had found hers in the only man who could make her blood boil from a single gaze. The more she thought of Syaoran the more she questioned the link they had always seemed to share. Being soul mates explained their ability to sense each other's presence. And they had merged into one being, a sensation she wasn't about ready to ever forget. It was sheer, unadulterated bliss. Silently she wondered what other abilities they possessed together and if this was now the door she needed to bare her heart to her partner.

"So are you going to admit to him that you love him?" the violet-eyed teen grinned as if reading her thoughts.

Sakura blinked in shock. "Shhhh! Tomoyo!" and she looked around quickly to make sure no one had heard.

"Nani? I know you love him, you can't hide that from me. How could you not? He's sweet--"

"Tomoyo, hush!" she whispered urgently.

"He's gentle and intelligent--"

"Onegai, not so loud, someone might hear you!" she hissed.

"And you know he's so totally hot, hunky and sexy in the outfit." and she winked conspiringly.

Sakura's blush deepened even more. "Tomoyo, stop!"

"You ladies talking about me?" came a smug male voice off to their side.

Both teens jerked their heads up in surprise only to find Higato Allan grinning smugly like some proud peacock ready to strut for a mate. Sakura felt a deep frown knit her brows at the tall, blond captain of the basketball team. Just her luck to have to share a study hall with the self absorbed cretin. Tomoyo, too, was frowning at the interloper.

"What makes you think you were the topic, baka?" she snapped.

Allan didn't seem to notice her tone of voice or the frowns of the two girls. "Let's see, you said sweet, gentle, intelligent, hot, hunky and sexy." he listed off. "You were describing me perfectly."

The Card Mistress groaned in annoyance, but Tomoyo was nearing livid with anger. "How dare you listen to a private conversation between Sakura and I! And for your information we were talking about Li!"

The basketball star scoffed. "That gaki doesn't even come close to comparing to me."

"You're absolutely right." Sakura stated rather calmly as Tomoyo gave her a shocked look. She then fixed the arrogant male with a glare. "He's at least a million times better than you."

He seemed to ignore the last bit of the comment, seeing the first half as an opening to lay on the charm. "You got my messages, beautiful?"

She continued to frown at him, Tomoyo marveling on how tightly she kept her cool. "What messages?"

His smile faltered slightly, but didn't let it show or slow him down. "The notes I taped to your locker for the last eight weeks of school."

"Ah, so that was you."

The proud smile returned full force. "You read them all, ne?" and he shot a confident smirk to his friends standing across the classroom from them.

"Actually, no, I just threw them out as I found them."

Allan's head snapped around to face her, his expression one of shocked disappointment, noting how Tomoyo was trying her best to stifled her laughter. "You… you what?"

"I threw them out. They weren't worth my time."

Tomoyo laughed outright, desperately wishing she had her camera with her to record such a precious moment such as Allan's expression of pure surprised shock. Then his expression changed from sickeningly sweet to terrifying in the blink of an eye. Allan was furious at having his advances rejected by Sakura yet again. In his mind, no girl could ever resist his charms. In a fit of rage he grabbed her wrist harshly and forced her to her feet. She tried to pull herself free from his grasp, but his grip remained firm. His hand squeezed harder, almost to the point of crushing her wrist, causing a small cry to escape her lips as she winced. Everyone in the classroom went silent and watched the happenings, too afraid of Allan and his temper to be able to help the young sorceress.

"Now you listen to me very carefully, Kinomoto." he ground viciously. "My reputation is on the line here. No girl, not one, is allowed to say no to me. You will be my girl or I can make the rest of the school year very uncomfortable for you. Got it?"

"Your so-called reputation went down the hole a long time ago, Higato." she retorted. "I'm not some object you can just lay claim to because you feel like it. Now let go of me right now."

"Or else what?" he sneered.

"Or else you'll be reacquainted with the wall!" she snapped, a pleasantly familiar tingle growing in intensity against her senses.

He laughed. "A puny thing like you can't throw me."

"Maybe she can't, but I can." a new voice challenged from behind Sakura.

Allan looked up in surprise only to be confronted by the carefully checked fury contained in Li Syaoran's wolf-like eyes. His perpetual scowl made him look even more frightening and dangerous. Behind the Chinese teen's right shoulder stood Li Meilin Rae, fire burning in her deep crimson eyes. Sakura felt Allan's grip tremble at being confronted by the two newcomers. The basketball player's eyes flickered to the cheerleader he still restrained, noting how she didn't seem at all surprised that Syaoran was standing behind her suddenly. He released her wrist, deeming it wise since he was now out numbered. No one would back him up against these two teens. The Card Mistress instinctively sought refuge behind her soul mate, gingerly rubbing her wrist as she watched both males stare each other down. The tension in the air was very tangible, but it was clear Allan was losing this match.

"So, the gaki is back from Hong Kong." began the basketball player. "What caused you to run back home to 'Kaa-san?"

"My duty to protect the honor of my Clan, Higato. Duty and honor. Two things you obviously have no notion of."

Allan blinked. "Oh-- Oh yeah?" he came back lamely.

The tiniest of smiles quirked up the corner of Syaoran's lips. "I'm only going to give you one warning, Higato. Leave Sakura alone." he ground low in a clear menace.

"Or else what?" the teen challenged.

Syaoran took a step forward to add emphasis to his next threat. "Or else you'll be walking funny for the rest of your life."

Higato Allan's face paled slightly at the warning and backed away slowly, awkwardly, his reputation destroyed. "This is far from over, gaki."

"This was over before it even began." and he satisfied himself by glowering at him, cautioning him off from any further action.

The class continued to stare at the quartet at the back corner of the classroom, expecting something more from them. The young warrior/sorcerer glared at them all, a silent signal to them to go back to what they were doing before the whole mess started. When the last pair of eyes finally turned away Syaoran could now focus his attention on his beloved Mistress of the Cards. His wrist had begun to hurt, as if it was being crushed, only moments before he entered the classroom. Somehow he knew this pain was from Sakura. Were they somehow linked now because of their experience as a merged soul? To the warrior, this thought was appealing. To be linked with the one woman he loved more than life. There was a romanticism there that didn't escape him. But how was it possible they were linked? He blinked, pushing the question to the back of his mind, and returned his attention to his soul mate. Tomoyo stood by her side, patting her shoulder in a gentle act of comfort, while Meilin checked the sorceress's wrist for injury.

The terra cotta eyed girl sighed in some relief. "You'll bruise before the end of the day, but luckily nothing's broken."

Sakura smiled in thanks, then had a morose chuckle. "So much for getting out of writing exams."

"Always looking for the silver lining of things." the teen sorcerer accused gently, a smile present in his voice despite its absence on his face.

She grinned at her partner, then blinked at something she noticed about him. "When was the last time you slept?" she asked in concern.

He winced. "What gave it away?"

"The bloodshot eyes."

The warrior rubbed his sore and tired eyes. "Maybe I should've used eye drops this morning before leaving."

She touched his arm gently to get his attention. "Is that research of yours that important?" she questioned softly.

Honey amber met bright jade and he nodded. You can't imagine just how important, My Love, he thought silently.

She blinked, looking somehow surprised at something, and arched a questioning eyebrow. "Did… you…?"

"Nani?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. What was your research about?" she dismissed.

He quirked an eyebrow, but didn't press the subject. "Something about what you told us yesterday, about that temple in your vision. It seemed familiar. I thought I saw something similar during my training, a description in one of my Clan's history scrolls."

"Did you find it?"

"Early this morning." he nodded. "I managed to get it all translated before coming here. All of it, including the original scroll, are in my pack."

"Let's see it then." and a smiling Tomoyo nearly dove for his backpack slung over the back of his chair.

But Syaoran stooped her with a patient expression. "After the exams are over for the day, Tomoyo, when we can concentrate on it without having to keep all our notes straight in our heads."

"Hai." she smiled sheepishly. "Gomen, I'm just anxious to capture another adventure on tape."

He gave her a small frown. "You and that camera."

Sakura knuckled his ribs gently in chiding, causing him to squirm. "Be nice, Syaoran. After all, we all have our obsessions, ne?"

He blushed a deep shade of red from this comment and the bright, innocent smile she flashed him.

* * *

From across the classroom, Higato Allan watched the small, tight knit group with a frown. He was completely oblivious to the teases and jokes from his so-called friends from the basketball team. His near gray eyes were solely on the cheerleader who had dared shun his advances.

How could she? he growled inwardly. Every girl in the school is dying for just one of the chances I'm giving her. She'd be the most popular and envied girl here. How can she refuse the offer?

Sakura seemed to smile her brightest when she was around the gaki, Li Syaoran. The Chinese student was always so much kinder and open with her. He protected her openly from anyone, including his Cousin when she had seemed to want Sakura dead, and only the lovely cheerleader could make Li blush that particular shade of bright red when she smiled or talked to him. She also didn't seem to mind one bit how close he stood at her side, their hands occasionally brushing by accident. As Allan watched them Sakura suddenly seemed to remember something and pulled her necklace free of her shirt. She presently wore two necklaces. One was a strange key-like pendant. The other was a black sphere, which she held out to Li.

"Thought you might want your defenses back, Syaoran." he heard her tell Li.

Defenses? And she calls him by his real name!

In a purely graceful move Sakura slipped this strange necklace over Li's head to have it hang around his throat. Both Meilin and Tomoyo smiled dreamily at the touching scene between their friends. Allan frowned. Sakura covered the pendant by laying her hand flat over it and smiled up at Li. Her voice was too much of a whisper for Allan to hear over the noise in the study hall, but he could read her lips.

"I kept it warm for you." he saw her lips form.

Li Syaoran held her hand where it lay and smiled softly in thanks. Allan blinked in shock. Li? Smiling? In the few school years he had known the teen he had never seen him smile for any reason. Tomoyo squealed in delight, happily hugging Meilin out of some joy. The lithe teen tolerated the move with a small, pleased grin to her Cousin. Both Li and Sakura blushed deeply, each quickly taking a step back in embarrassment. Allan's world turned red at this.

That gaki has no right to be so charming to my girl! She's going to be my girlfriend, no one else's! Especially not his!

This meant war.

* * *

Li Meilin Rae collapsed on the couch at her Cousin's apartment, a tired groan escaping her lips. "Remind me again why it is I'm taking Chemistry this year?"

Daidouji Tomoyo grinned at her from the other end of the couch, panning her camera around to capture the exhausted teen. "Magical shortcomings." she answered simply, a playful glint in her violet eyes.

Meilin winced. "Oh, yeah. Domo for reminding me."

She shrugged. "You asked."

She growled low and lobbed a pillow at Tomoyo's head.

"I just find it ridiculous that they make us show up at the beginning of the day when our exams are at the end of it." Kinomoto Sakura griped softly as she massaged her temples to stave off the impending headache.

"And you know they're doing it again tomorrow." sighed her best friend since the beginning of elementary school, not relenting with her video taping.

The newest friend to the group groaned again. "Gah! Adult conspiracy!" and ducked just as Tomoyo tried to hit her with a pillow.

"We're not exactly kids anymore ourselves, Meilin." Li Syaoran pointed out practically, sipping from his tea, hiding his grin behind the rim of his cup. "When did the stuffed animal say he'd get here?"

"Syaoran, it's been five years. Can't you at least call him Kero?" the Card Mistress sighed as she leaned back in the low loveseat.

"The day I use his name is the day he stops calling me gaki."

"Fine." she sighed again. "He shouldn't be much longer anyway. It'll give us all a chance to decompress before we get down to business."

He nodded. "I have to admit, that was one tough Math exam."

Her shoulders dropped with a look of horror crossing her features. "I knew it! If you, Mister Math Genius, thought it was hard then it's official. I failed!"

"You didn't fail." Tomoyo tried to soothe.

"I did. I know I did." she protested.

"You did not." Syaoran assured as he heard a soft tapping at the balcony window. "Finally." he muttered under his breath, opening the sliding door enough to let the Guardian Beast of the Seal fly in. "Anyone order a frozen cotton ball?" he quipped.

Kero shivered from cold, shaking off some snow that clung to his yellow fur, choosing not to notice the warrior's jest. "Brr, you'd think the Snow Card was on the loose again. It is really coming down out there."

"You can warm up with your Mistress while you try to comfort her."

The flying creature blinked. "Comfort? What happened?"

Meilin chuckled. "She's convinced she failed her Math exam."

"Oh, is that all." Kero flew over to the young sorceress and snuggled up against her throat, causing her to squirm from how cold he was. "Mmmmm… warm…" he sighed softly. Then, "You know, you really shouldn't worry so much about that test. You studied so hard these last two weeks that I wouldn't be at all surprised if you aced it."

The cheerleader cuddled her diminutive guardian with a smile. "Arigatou, Kero."

"No problem." Then he turned to face Syaoran who had regained his place, kneeling next to the low coffee table. "Now, what's so important that you had to get me here through a blizzard, gaki?"

"This." The young warrior placed an aged scroll on the coffee table and unrolled it. Tomoyo stood to get a full view of the scroll's contents.

The Card Mistress fell off the squat loveseat to her knees in shock at what was revealed on the scroll. It was a diagram of a temple, but not just any temple. "That's… that's the same as in my dream!" she exclaimed

He looked at her with a grim expression. "By Kami-sama, I was hoping this wasn't the case, that maybe I was wrong about this."

She blinked at him in confusion. "Why?"

Kero, who was carefully scrutinizing the images and writing on the scroll, suddenly gasped in surprise. "Mummaro's Gate!" he exclaimed and dove behind Sakura in unmistakable fear.

"Who's gate?" Tomoyo questioned.

"Mummaro Lang. A second dynasty dark sorcerer in China." Syaoran explained, seeing as Kero was too terrified to. "Legend has it he was kicked out of the Inner Circle, a very elite and powerful band of sorcerers, for his practices of the dark arts. Angered and disgraced he wanted revenge so he built this thing to be both the temple of his new order and a kind of giant magic battery for dark energies. Dark powers are drawn here after the user's death and are stored in supposedly a series of crystal rings, creating a kind of gateway, a nexus of such raw power. My Clan history has it that Clow Reed found the Gate during his travels prior to creating the cards. He studied it for several years, trying to learn it's secrets, then discovered what it really was. He nearly drained all his magic burying it deep underground so no one else could find it and tap the energies stored there."

"It is that dangerous?"

"Tomoyo, think of it this way." Meilin answered. "This thing has been around for a few thousand years just sucking up and collecting dark magic. It's not really a question of someone finding it and using the powers. It's more like someone finding it and releasing whatever's in there."

"What do you mean?"

"Strange things tend to happen to large amounts of untamed magic after so long." replied the golden eyed warrior.

Sakura shuddered in sudden insight. "Like it comes to life."

"Something like that."

Kero landed on his Mistress's shoulder with a tiny frown at a memory. "Hey, I don't remember seeing any notes on Mummaro's Gate in Clow-sama's study."

"Clow Reed probably hid them all magically to keep them out of the wrong hands." Syaoran supplied. "His notes were as good as any map."

"But why now?" the Card Mistress suddenly questioned the group. "Why did the Gate and whatever's in it decide to come out of the shadows now after all these years? It couldn't have grown so powerful since Clow Reed buried it, could it?"

The male Card Captor shrugged sheepishly at a loss. "There's probably an answer in Clow-sama's notes. But, to get those, I need to find which spell he used to hide them with." He sighed, getting to his feet. "And knowing the amount of spells he knew this could take a while. All we have is speculation."

Tomoyo grinned as she watched him sit in the seat Sakura had vacated, making sure to keep her camera focused on the two from that moment on. "Answers often hide amid speculations." She chuckled softly. "This is becoming so epic!" she whispered excitedly.

"Worth a try." Kero agreed and flitted off to stand on the center of the scroll. "What would whatever this thing is want?"

Meilin sat forward, elbows on her knees. "What's the saying? Power begets power. The more power it has the more it would be unstoppable."

"But without something to focus its power it could never exist outside the Gate." Kero added. "As it is the only reason any of it exists now is because the Gate is acting like some huge focal lens for it."

"So it can't get to us?" Sakura questioned hopefully.

"Well, not physically, no, but it can still get to us in different ways." her guardian replied.

"What ways?"

"The power of dreams, the power of suggestion… Little things we take for granted that we wouldn't notice right away."

The young sorceress groaned tiredly. "And here I was hoping things would stay quiet for a while with just the cards to capture."

"No rest for the weary." Syaoran told her gently as he took her shoulders and began to knead them soothingly.

The urge had just been too strong to even try to deny. He knew she needed to relax. Stress was a killer to a Card Captor and she had already come close enough to dying from it. And he would be damned if he let it happen again when he could stop it. He could feel the tense and tight knots under his fingers, bunching her neck and shoulders painfully. He had already felt the mirrored pain in his own shoulders. At least, he thought it was from her. For all he knew his muscles were painfully tense as well. With each gentle squeeze he focused a part of his energies through his fingers to her. A blissful and soft sigh escaped her lips, all her tensions being worked away by the world's most incredible pair of hands. She could hear Tomoyo, Meilin and Kero continue to discuss things about this temple and its creator, but she didn't pay attention to the words. She was melting under his tender ministrations, her eyes closing of their own accord to better concentrate on the feel of his talented hands and of his warm aura mixing with her own. A tiny smile adorned her lips as she realized the subtle change in how he acted towards her. There was a new certainty to his actions, a confidence in his words. It was a tenderness that both thrilled and confused her. It thrilled in the way that it told her he really cared for her. It confused because she was sure he loved someone else, he had said as much. She pushed away the confusion and leaned back against her beloved soul mate's washboard stomach. Sakura titled her head back to look up at him. Syaoran merely smiled down at her, a warm, shivery smile.

Will I ever know your heart someday, My Love, the warrior whispered in his own mind.

Sakura blinked, surprise and wonder appearing on her face. He arched an eyebrow at her sudden change in expression. It was as if she heard something, but before he could question her about it there came an insistent knock at the apartment door. All five of them stared in the direction of the sound, all silently confused.

Tomoyo was the first to break the thick silence. "Were you expecting someone, Li?"

"Um… no. Meilin, were you?"

"I wasn't expecting anyone." she admitted. Whoever was behind the door knocked again. "I'll get it." the Chinese teen volunteered, leaping up from her spot on the couch.

Syaoran shrugged off the impromptu visitor and continued the wholly pleasant endeavor of relaxing his adored sorceress through a massage. Under his gifted hands Sakura felt herself melt yet again, quickly forgetting all worries past, present and future. She vaguely heard Tomoyo laugh at them from across the coffee table.

"You keep that up, Li, and she'll end up falling asleep."

Syaoran chuckled softly. "And the problem with that is… what?"

"Touya, if his little imoto doesn't come home tonight."

"I don't care what Touya thinks." Sakura mumbled as she turned slightly to lean her cheek on her partner's thigh. "I'm eighteen, there isn't much left in my life he can have a say in. My Otou-san trusts me, why can't he?"

"It's not a matter of trusting you, Sakura." the young warrior began as he tenderly caressed her head. "It's more a matter of trusting who you're with."

I trust you with everything I am, Syaoran, Sakura thought with heartfelt conviction.

The sorcerer blinked. "Did…?"

The sorceress looked up at him. "Nani?"

He shook his head and waved off the question he had started to ask. "Never mind."

She pulled away to kneel up and face him, concern in her bright green eyes. "You were going to ask something."

"Ask what?" he near grinned.

Sakura pouted adorably, lightly punching his shoulder. "That's right, get me all relaxed just to frustrate me like this. Tell me."

"My, my, curious, aren't we?" he grinned playfully.

She couldn't help but smile. "Very curious. Tell me!"

"Nope."

"Tell me!" she insisted, gently poking at his ribs.

He squirmed, trying to hold in the spasms of hilarity. "Nope."

With a smirk Sakura continued to tickle him relentlessly until he couldn't hold in the throes of laughter anymore. Syaoran writhed and laughed uncontrollably from her devilish assault. To the young warrior it actually felt good to laugh this hard for no more reason than that the woman he loved dearly was tickling him. Laughing until it hurt was such a needed release of built up worries and tensions.

But her playful attack didn't leave him completely helpless.

In a lightning fast move Syaoran grabbed her wrists, being careful of her bruised wrist, and spun her around. She shrieked in surprise and mock struggled against him. He crossed her arms, pinning them against her chest, her back pressed tight to his own chest. She shrieked again and laughed when he growled low into the crook of her neck making her squirm. Video taping the entire scene Tomoyo had to laugh. Kero just looked on with barely contained annoyance.

"So this is the reason you do not want to return to Hong Kong." a woman's voice concluded in Cantonese, carrying over the laughter.

Kero fell over limp as the three startled teens leapt to their feet. There, before them next to Meilin, stood a tall and elegant woman with long ebony hair tied up in an elegant bun. Her intense golden eyes took in the scene before her with a slight grin, noting how Syaoran stood before the auburn haired teen protectively. The young sorcerer could only stare at this woman in barely concealed shock. He was completely stunned by her sudden appearance at the living room entrance. Only one word made it out of his quickly drying mouth.

"Okaa-san…?"

* * *

Li-san had to grin at the look of pure surprise written on her youngest child's face. She hadn't told him she was coming to see him. She had wanted this visit to be a surprise. And by the expression her Son sported she had succeeded beautifully. She gazed at him fondly, noting how he had grown in height and build in the last five years. He had come to greatly resemble his Father. Same understated build, same determination and fire in his eyes, same manner of standing as if on guard. The proud streak of the Li Clan's men.

Her eyes then drifted to the two teen girls standing with him. One had long, charcoal black hair and tranquil violet eyes. She stood at some distance from Syaoran, but still close enough to be in his range of protection. A small frown twitched at the matriarch's brow. This girl knew her Son could fight. In her hand was a small digital camera. Li-san blinked.

Her Son was allowing himself to be video taped?

Her eyes then looked to the other teen girl. This one had short, auburn hair, the lithe physique of a gymnast, and the most stunning of green eyes. Both girls were lovely, but this particular teen was by far the most captivating. She stood right behind Syaoran's left shoulder, her hand unconsciously clutching at his school blazer. Li-san's frown deepened. She could feel a very powerful and magical aura surrounding this girl. Was she a sorceress? Focusing her thoughts a little more Li-san could feel her Son's aura mixing with the aura of this girl. There was no way these two could not have felt this happening and yet they allowed it. Why? And why was he subconsciously jumping to her defense?

Li-san's deep golden eyes then noticed the scroll laid out on the coffee table, her eyes going wide in disbelief. Her Son had unrolled the history scroll about Mummaro's Gate. This was a secret. No one save their clan was supposed to know about the Gate. It was too dangerous to let outsiders know about it. What was he doing showing it to these two?

"Xiao Lang, the scroll! This is private Clan matters!" she snapped in Cantonese. Then she noticed inanimate Kero lying on the scroll. "And what are you doing letting one of them leave a toy on it?" and she tried to rush forward to snatch up the little being.

Syaoran blocked her way before she got too close. "No, Ma-Ma, matte! Move, you stuffed animal, or you're liable to be ripped apart!" he quickly shot to the Guardian Beast of the Seal.

Kero sprang to life and flew up to the ceiling light fixture, out of reach and harm's way. "Wow! Now I know where you get your temper, gaki."

Li-san stared in shock. "Nani…?"

"Ma-Ma, please, calm down. Let me explain all of this." Syaoran tried to placate, laying a gentle hand on her arm. "Please, sit down."

Her eyes fixed on the diminutive creature hiding on the ceiling lamp, Li-san let herself drop back into the couch. Over the years she had gotten the occasional letter and phone call from her Son and her Niece, but both had omitted to mention the existence of this creature. Magic radiated all around it in powerful waves, all under strict control. It looked down at her with a wary frown of mistrust.

"If she's the one who spawned the gaki then I don't trust her one bit." the yellow being growled.

"Kero, be nice!" the auburn haired girl chided. "We're guest here, show a little respect!"

"Why should I show them any respect?"

"Because, if you don't, no more Zylon Warriors."

Kero cried out in an emotion akin to terror. "Blackmail! No! No, you can't!" he pleaded.

"I mean it, Kero."

"Onegai!" and he landed on her shoulder, begging. "I'll do anything! Just don't take away my Zylon Warriors!"

"Promise to be nice?"

"Hai, hai, I promise!"

She smiled and, to Li-san, the room seemed to suddenly brighten. "Alright then."

"Yeah!" and he hugged her neck tight as best he could with his short paws.

The Li Clan's matriarch could only look on in stunned curiosity. "Kero…?" she questioned, unsure.

"Um… Hai, Ma-Ma. This is Kero, short for Keroberus." Syaoran answered in Japanese so his friends could follow the conversation.

His Okaa-san stiffened. "Keroberus? The Guardian Beast of the Seal? The beast with the golden eyes?" she queried further in surprisingly fluent Japanese as well.

"Hai, Ma-Ma."

A broad smile began to spread across her face. "Then you have the Book of Clow if Keroberus is here! Oh, I knew you could find it! The elders were right, you are the strongest of all our warriors and sorcerers! Tell me, how many of the Clow Cards have you captured? All, I wager."

"Um… no. Six." he answered sheepishly.

Her smile faltered. "Six? You have been in Japan for five years and you only have six Clow Cards to show for it?"

Syaoran frowned. "All my letters and phone calls clearly mentioned someone else as the Card Captor."

She made a dismissive gesture. "Hai, hai, but I was hoping that you would have convinced this other to give up to you, that you were the rightful Card Captor."

He cast a frowning smirk to the green-eyes teen standing at his side. "She's too stubborn."

The girl grinned shyly in response, a light blush coloring her cheeks.

Syaoran suddenly blinked at a thought. "Oh, but where are my manners? You've already met the stuffed animal--"

"Hey!" Kero balked.

"Deal with it, cotton ball. That's our unofficial videographer, not by choice, Daidouji Tomoyo-- And before you say anything, Ma-Ma, hai, I tried to stop her from taping the captures, but as you can see it didn't work."

Tomoyo giggled. "Because I, too, can be very persistent. And you guys are just too kawaii to pass up taping." She then bowed in respect to the adult in the room. "An honor to meet you, honorable Li-san."

The future leader of the Li Clan then nudged the girl next to him forward a step, a hand to the small of her back. "And this is the Mistress of the Cards, Kinomoto Sakura."

Sakura bowed elegantly. "You honor us with your visit, honorable Li-san."

The aging matriarch could only stare in shock and wonder. This fragile looking young lady was the Mistress of the Cards, the lone being on who's shoulders lay the fate of the world. No, not just her shoulders. Li-san noticed the way her Son stood with the Card Mistress. He acted like her protector, her partner and equal. They relied on each other. There was no petty rivalry between them on who could catch the most Clow Cards. There was only respect. She could feel it. Meilin's letters had often spoken of this girl, calling her only Kinomoto, and spoke of the spell she seemed to have woven around Syaoran's heart. Truth be known, Li-san had arrived ready to perform a number of counter spells to free her Son from the witch, but a spell was hardly the case here even though she could feel the subtle connection between her Son and the teen sorceress. The matriarch had learned to recognize this particular spell quite well. It was hardly magical in nature. Only spiritual and emotional. But her Son being affectionate towards someone?

"Now, why are you here?" Son asked Okaa-san, breaking her silent musing.

With a slight shake of her head to clear her mind she met her child's questioning honey amber eyes. "Your ten week silence has worried our Clan's elders."

"Humph! They worry if I breathe wrong." he scoffed with a deep frown directed to the thought of the elders.

"They have a right to worry about you, Xiao Lang. You are our anointed one, the future leader of our Clan and--"

"And the honor, destiny and continued strength and unity of our line and Clan rest with you. Hai, Ma-Ma, I know the rhetoric." he sighed. "I'm tired of the same platitude. Is that why you're here? To make sure I'm alright and quell the elders' worries?"

She smiled broadly. "No, I am here for a much happier and wonderful reason. I was sent by the elders and, at their direct request, I am here to finally bring you home."

To Be Continued…