Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Upon A Dark Road ❯ Prelude Part II ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Upon A Dark Road
Episode 2: Prelude Part II

Author's Note: Man, that last one was sooooo long -_-" I dunno about this one, but I think it will be shorter ^_^" Like I said, I dunno. I do know that I forgot to have the Fun Fact for The Day last episode, but don't worry, it'll make a triumphant return this episode ^_~ Is it just me, or am I starting to sound like Kero? O_o Ah well, read the episode would ya huh, pretty please? ^_^

***

It was the beginning of the second semester at James Thomas Secondary School, and the bulk of the student body was now proceeding through the entrance doors with rather dejected looks. Inside the school, lockers were slamming and being opened all over the halls as the students gathered their materials. Inside one classroom, not too far from the entrance doors, Syaoran was putting the finishing touches to a very long algebra equation. Two blackboards long, actually, with integers and square roots tossed liberally throughout the numbers.

Syaoran, or Mr. Li as the students referred to him, was one of three resident math teachers in this school. He also doubled as an assistant in the English as a Second Language program and ran the lunchtime Self-Defense Club. The Self-Defense Club was a very exclusive club, to which only applicants that met Syaoran's prerequisites were admitted. One of said prerequisites happened to be "No previous combat experience". This was one of the ways Syaoran insured that no bullies seeking better ways to beat up their victims could get in.

The presence of a Self-Defense Club in a school would usually lead to the assumption that the general atmosphere was not altogether friendly. That assumption would be correct; James Thomas Secondary School was amongst the top 10 schools in New York for amount of violence and criminal activity. Beatings, muggings and harassments of various degrees were a daily event at the school, and simply accepted as the norm by most of the faculty and students. Syaoran's club was intended to give those who were weaker than the rest a fighting chance. He taught a mix of basic street fighting knowledge interspersed with his own martial arts techniques. He also threw in a little weight training to toughen up his pupils. He only taught students for a month and a half, unless the student either wished for more training or Syaoran thought they needed more. All of his students thus far had left after the month and a half, having either met or exceeded Syaoran's expectations.

Syaoran just finished chalking in the last integer when the first bell rang. His chalkpiece was now down to about half a centimeter long, so he just threw it into the garbage. He then dusted off his hands and sat down. Soon enough, his students began entering the classroom, some spotting the equation and groaning, others not noticing until they sat down, and others still not noticing at all because they were too busy chatting with friends. Eventually everyone was seated, some still not having seen the equation, and the bell rang to begin class.

Syoaran's more apt pupils were already copying down the equation, while the rest just sat there and stared at the various numbers and symbols in silent fear. The chatty students were still chatting away at the back of the class, and Syaoran scowled at them. One of them caught his eyes and directed the others to shut up, which they did very quickly. Syaoran was infamous amongst the student body for being probably the toughest teacher in the school. Not to mention they knew that he could beat the living hell out of any student in the school, which he'd had to prove several times in the schoolyard. Syaoran had a small gang of students who were out to kill him, all of whom were students in one or another of his math classes. He had a small collection of knives and one gun, which he'd taken from them after beating them. The gun showed just how much they hated him, since it would have to have been extremely difficult to sneak it past the metal detectors that stood just inside every entrance to the school.

The class was now completely silent, and everyone was waiting for Syaoran to speak.

Syaoran cleared his throat before he began, "First of all, welcome back" he said coldly, "I really, really hope you had a good semester break, because for the next 5 months I am going to do my best to make your lives a living hell. The assignments are going to get longer. The tests are going to get harder. And if all goes according to my plan, you will never set foot in Mr. Sowell's math 11 and 12 classes even for a second."

Almost every face in the class went white and wide-eyed with horror. Only the three smartest students in the class shot him looks which screamed "Bring it on".

Syaoran continued, "If you even hope to pass this class, I suggest you treat this as a battle. I am your opponent. To pass, you must defeat me. If you fail...well, you fail."

Syaoran's version of humor didn't usually sit well with his students, and this time was no different. They were almost all pale as ghosts now, and a few of the girls were even on the verge of tears.

"The equation on the blackboard is your homework for tonight. Copy it down and bring the answer to me tomorrow. And I want to see your work as well, written in pencil. Answers in ink will not be accepted. This is the only day you will see me so lenient, so enjoy it. If you have any questions, just raise your hand and I might answer you. That is all."

Most of the class busied themselves with unfolding their binders and scribbling down the equation, while the more defiant members of the class just scowled at Syaoran. He ignored them and plucked up a book that was lying half-finished on his desk. It was the second book of "Lord of The Rings" translated into Chinese. Syaoran liked the story very much, but he found it took him quite a long time to read it in English. Sakura was kind enough to do a translation into Chinese for him, since she was now proficient in reading and writing both English and Chinese. Not to mention French, German, Spanish and her native tongue of Japanese of course. Her skill with languages scared him sometimes, but being the assistant of the vice president of a multi-national corporation sort of demanded knowledge in at least a few languages.

Just then, the classroom PA crackled to life, and Ms. Frinch, the head secretary of the school's voice sprung out of it.

"Mr. Li?" she said questioningly.

Syaoran looked up from his book and tilted his head towards the speaker, "Yes?" he answered.

"There's a call for you in the office. Line 1."

"Okay, thank you."

The speaker clicked off and he replaced his book to its previous position on the desk. Without a word to his class, he got up and left for the office. He passed by Ms. Fletcher's science class on the way, and he noticed they were conducting some sort of lab. A young Chinese girl near the back of the class noticed Syaoran pass by and she blushed and waved at him gingerly. Her name was Anna Cheng, a student in one of his math classes, and he was pretty sure she had some sort of crush on him. He ignored her and continued on his way to his phone call.

Once he arrived in the office, he headed straight for the phone and switched it to line one, "Syaoran speaking" he said.

"Yes, Mr. Li this is Sunset Hill Hospital calling" came a pleasant female voice, "We've just received word that your wife has gone into labor and..."

Syaoran didn't hear the rest as he dropped the phone and called to Ms. Frinch, "Code S!" then grabbed his jacket and bolted out of the office. He tore across the schoolyard to the parking lot with lightning speed, and with one quick flip, cleared the 7-foot wire fence that separated the two. A few students who were smoking in the lot gaped at him, their cigarettes dropping to the ground. Soon he reached his car and with one quick, fluid motion, he unlocked the door, opened it, entered the car, closed the door, put on his seatbelt and started the car. Seconds later he backed speedily out, stopped, and then was screeching the tires into forward motion.

Elapsed time of Syaoran's exit from office to exit of parking lot in car: 15.29 seconds.

***

Tenma stood in the center of the large rune circle in the middle of the Magnification Chamber. All about him the other sorcerers were busy muttering incantations to activate the various smaller rune circles about the room. Tenma himself was in the process of completing a very long incantation to prepare his spirit for the Soul Transmission. The circle below his feet hummed silently as he neared the end of the incantation.

Ryoko stood at the entrance to the room, watching silently the activities of the other sorcerers. Ryoko herself was nearly as skilled as her husband in the art of magic, so she kept vigilant during his incantation to make sure the other sorcerers activated the runes correctly. It was not a difficult task, but the slightest mistake gone unnoticed could be disastrous for Tenma. And it needn't be said that the sorcerers were slightly nervous.

Tenma muttered the final word of the incantation, and as he did his body began to put forth a dim blue glow. He slowly opened his eyelids, revealing the blue pools of light that were now his eyes. Ryoko tensed slightly, knowing full well that her beloved husband was right now teetering on the edge of death.

Tenma seemed to sense Ryoko's concern, "Do not worry my love" he said soothingly. His words sounded as if they were spoken from only inches away, yet he stood at least 50 feet from her.

"How can I not?" she breathed, "Your energies feel no different than that of a dead man, my love. It is rather unnerving."

Tenma nodded, "I can understand that. But you must remember why I am doing this."

Ryoko closed her eyes in silent thought for a moment, "I know" she said finally, "For the children."

"Their future must remain secure. I do not want them to experience the world as I have experienced it. Hiding away in these accursed mountains, living in fear of a clan that, back in the time of my ancestors, was nothing more than mediocre street magicians at best."

"They are street magicians no longer" Ryoko said, "They have grown to great power during our exile, my love. With the Mistress of the Cards in their family, and Syaoran ready at any time to assume leadership of the clan, they have become the strongest force in the entire magical world."

"Yes" Tenma half-snarled, "But with one swift stroke, we can take that power for ourselves. Reclaiming our lost prestige has been the dream of the Yamijiri Clan for over 5 generations, and I cannot in good conscience allow my own thoughts of self-preservation to stand in the way."

Ryoko knew there was nothing more she could say, so she simply whispered, "Come back to me, my love."

The sorcerers finished activating the last of the runes, and then watched as a pillar of red light engulfed Tenma, lifting his blue spirit form out of his body and sending it to the far reaches of the outside world. They immediately gathered around his body and began concentrating on masking his aura.

As Ryoko watched, Tenma's distant voice came floating into her head, "That I shall, my love. That I shall."

***

Sakura was being wheeled down a flat white hallway, with doctors and nurses bustling about all around her. The masked doctor following alongside her stretcher did the best he could to keep her calm, but again and again she found herself yelling, "Where's Syaoran? I need Syaoran!"

The nurse pushing the stretcher rubbed Sakura's forehead, "He's been alerted, Mrs. Li" she said comfortingly, "I'm sure he'll be here shortly."

Just then another contraction racked Sakura's body in pain, and she cried out in anguish. Her muscles tightened to try and fight off the pain, and after it was gone she relaxed again, sinking further into the scant cushioning of the stretcher.

After a few more meters, an orderly appeared out of a doorway and motioned for the stretcher to be wheeled in. On the door was a small metal panel labeled "Delivery Room 3". Sakura was quickly wheeled over to the bed and lifted onto it. Immediately the machines were plugged in and switched on, and Sakura had various devices placed on her. A nearby display screen came to life with the various numbers and fluctuating lines of Sakura's vital signs.

Her heart rate was very fast. Not surprising, since she was nearly hysterical with worry. Why wasn't Syaoran there yet? Did something happen to him? A car crash? Murdered?

"SYAORAN!!" Sakura screamed, startling everyone else in the room.

A nurse recovered first and gently took Sakura's hand, "Don't worry Mrs. Li, please. I'm certain he's on his way" she assured her, gently patting her hand.

As Sakura looked at the nurse, she could almost picture her as Tomoyo, sitting beside the bed and holding her hand as she so often did. Sakura held onto the picture, drawing strength from it. She could get through this. Any minute now, Syaoran was going to arrive to be by her side. To be by her side for the first moments of their child's life.

***

Sand sat in an oversized armchair in the recreation hall of the Yamijiri Clan's secret hideaway, her eyes fixated on the man by the fireplace. He stood as motionless as a rock, hand on the hilt of the katana sheathed by his side. He, like Sand, was a member of the Yamijiri Clan Warriors, an elite group of magically amplified warriors created by Tenma. Her eyes traced the lines of his dark blue fighting robe, following them until they disappeared and gave way to his handsome face, and revealed his piercing red eyes. His extra long black hair was tied into a tight braid that reached down to his waist. A few short strands dangled by his cheeks, completing the look.

Sand couldn't help but smile at the visual feast displayed before her. Everything about Sword attracted her; his piercing gaze, his near-perfect physique, and, above all else, his cool and collected demeanor. Not many things in this world bothered Sword, and the things that did were usually quickly dispatched with a single swipe of his blade.

As Sand stared at Sword awestruck, Illusion watched quietly from his perch. He was currently in the shape of a medium sized parakeet; something he liked to be during his off time. He was well aware of Sand's affection for Sword, and quite often exploited it for his own amusement. He had to be in the mood though, and unfortunately for Sand, he was currently in that mood.

As Illusion snuck his way toward Sand, the Twin sisters were bounding up and down in perfect unison around Shadow. Shadow himself was in deep meditation, and the antics of the twins were not even in the same reality as him. Not that the twins could have seen a reaction anyway; Shadow had his large black cloak drawn over his head, hiding his face.

Soon enough the twins became bored with Shadow's oblivious manner, and they bounded and flipped over to Jump, who was hanging upside down from an exercise bar on the wall. He smiled at the two young girls as they performed handstands against the wall and joined him. All three of them, Jump and the Twin sisters, were probably no more than 14 years old.

Across the room from the playful trio stood Fly; her light blue wings tucked in against her back and her deep blue eyes peering out the window. The weather outside was calm for once, and she was enjoying the view the snow-covered mountaintops had to offer. On several occasions she'd had the pleasure of soaring in and around the mountain range her clan called home, taking in the sights while feeling the chill wind rush through her blue hair. With all that was happening in the clan right now, she wished that she could just open the window and make a quick pass over the mountains to quell her anxiety. Such a thing would no doubt be looked down upon by her superiors though, so she contented herself with merely looking.

In the middle of the room were two large armchairs, which were occupied at the moment by Time and Shot. Time, the leader of the Yamijiri Clan Warriors, was a little over 30 years old. His short black hair was always slick and in perfect order, and his Grey eyes shone with wisdom well beyond his years. He was of an average size for a Japanese man, and fairly good looking as well.

A small, polished wood table sat in between the two chairs, an elegant glass chessboard and matching pieces upon it. Time and Shot were in the middle of a game, or more accurately, Time was in the middle of trouncing Shot. It was Time's move, and he was debating on whether or not to prolong Shot's suffering, or just end it now. As it was, Shot had only 4 pieces left: a rook, a bishop, a pawn and his king. Time's only casualty was his queen, which he had sacrificed in order to dispose of Shot's queen earlier in the game.

Finally, Time made his move, moving his rook down parallel to Shot's king, "Check" he said smugly.

Shot twitched. Behind his king was his last rook, and Time's rook was protected by a bishop across the board. His king had to move, and the rook was defenseless. In other words, he'd just lost his last rook.

Shot groaned as he moved his king to safety, "I don't know why I keep agreeing to play this silly game with you" he muttered as Time killed his last rook.

Time smirked, "I have a theory that perhaps you enjoy being beaten" he chided, "Or perhaps you think you might get lucky some day."

"Or maybe I'm just an idiot" Shot added.

"That thought also crossed my mind. And this, my friend, is checkmate."

Time moved a pawn into killing position on Shot's king. Since Time's second rook protected the pawn, and Shot's king had nowhere else to go, the game was over. Shot groaned again and then gently knocked over his king, acknowledging his defeat.

"Bah! Give me Go any day."

Time laughed, "I believe we have a set around here. Would you care to play that?"

Shot shook his head, "No thanks. That demolishing was enough for one day. I think I'll head to the target range and practice a little."

"Very well. I will alert you if there is any news of master Tenma."

"Thanks. See you later."

As Shot lifted himself from the chair and left the room, Time turned his attention to Illusion, who was ever so slowly and stealthily making his way over to Sand.

He opened a private channel to Illusion, ~Leave her alone, Illusion~ he said sternly, stopping Illusion dead in his tracks.

Illusion squawked dejectedly (he was still a parakeet after all) and fluttered back to his perch. He whistled and squawked "Spoilsport" a couple times before ruffling his feathers and settling in for a nap. Time just rolled his eyes. He didn't mind a little harmless fun now and again, but Illusion had a history of going overboard with his pranks.

Sand, of course, was completely oblivious to everything around her. She hadn't even heard Illusion's squawks or Shot's exit from the room. Nothing existed right now except Sword standing by the fire. She continued to stare at him, even though he hadn't moved an inch for about an hour or so.

There was a very good reason for his lack of movement though. He was deep in thought over what was going on at that very moment in the Magnification Chamber. He could feel the straining energies of the sorcerers working to hide his master's aura. He could feel the energy of the lady Ryoko, standing as motionless as him beside the limp form of master Tenma. Master Tenma's energy was already far away, well out of range of Sword's senses.

The energies of the other sorcerers in the Magnification Chamber were strained and labored. Sword wondered whether they would be able to handle the strain of concealing an aura that was so far away. If they couldn't, not only would master Tenma be in extreme danger, but they would undoubtedly be discovered. Surely any member of the Li Clan would have been raised to know the energies of the Yamijiri bloodlines, and Syaoran Li would be no exception.

Sword opened a private channel to Time, ~Sir, I must voice my concern over the abilities of the sorcerers~ he stated.

Time's response was immediate, ~I understand. But as we do not possess the necessary energies to assist them, I would suggest you occupy your mind in another manner.~

The connection was abruptly cut off then, surprising Sword a little. He turned to glance at Time in the middle of the room, and could instantly read from his eyes that he was worried as well. Best not to bother him then. In his state, he would most likely be easily agitated.

Sword instead decided to turn his attention to Sand, who'd been burning an even deeper hole into him with her eyes since he moved. He swung round briskly and met her gaze, causing her to go wide-eyed and blush. She composed herself shortly and turned her gaze away, pretending to become interested in what Jump and the Twin sisters were doing.

He couldn't deny the fact that she attracted him. She was enchanting to behold; golden eyes and hair, shapely face, and a body that bordered on perfection. Her attire was reminiscent of the harem girls of Egypt, much like the Clow Card which she was modeled after, albeit with a couple minor modifications. The material was at least twice as thick in order to shield against the colder temperature of the mountains in which they dwelled. Her footwear was also designed to be well suited for unarmed combat; thin metal sheeting in strategic positions added to the impact of kick attacks.

He was well aware that Sand had genuine affections for him, but he wasn't sure if she knew that he reciprocated those feelings. He wanted to tell her, but when it came right down to it, he was just plain shy. In matters of combat he was possibly the best there was, but in matters of romance, suffice to say that calling him an amateur would be an exaggeration.

He decided to try his luck, and casually approached the chair that Sand occupied. She turned her gaze to him at the last second, and his will gave out. He abruptly turned and took a seat in the chair beside hers, placing his gaze on the flames flickering in the hearth. If only she hadn't turned at that moment, he was sure he could've done it that time.

Beside him, Sand seemed a tad confused. She was sure that Sword was about to say something to her, but then he turned away. Oh well, best not to wonder about it. It was hard to tell what Sword was doing sometimes, what with his face fixed in a look of intense concentration all the time. He was probably just tired of standing.

Jump and the Twin sisters watched the events near the fireplace with keen interest, and let out a silent groan when Sword failed, yet again, to confess to Sand.

"I think they need a little help" Jump whispered to the twins.

The twins nodded in agreement.

Time watched them in silent amusement as they whispered their plans to each other. He knew they had been rooting for Sword and Sand to get together for quite some time, but he never thought they would decide to take an active role in making it happen. It would be interesting to see how things unfolded. Very interesting.

***

The glass entrance doors to Sunset Hill Hospital swung violently open, and through them dashed Syoaran at an almost blinding speed. His car keys still jingled in his hand, since he hadn't bothered taking the time to lock his car after parking it.

The hallways of the hospital were fairly crowded, so Syaoran had to do quite a bit of expert dodging to avoid knocking people over as he sped towards the reception desk. He leapt over a stretcher bearing a heavily bandaged man coming through a door, and landed expertly in front of the receptionist. She jumped a bit when Syaoran slammed his palms onto the countertop.

"Sakura Li!" he yelled a little too loudly, "Having a baby. Now. Where?"

The receptionist casually shuffled a few papers before answering him, "May I ask your relation to the patient?" she questioned, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Husband!" he snarled.

The woman took her time checking the computer, then when she seemed to have found the information, she turned back to Syaoran and said, "May I see some identification?"

Syaoran held back an urge to rip the monitor from it's anchoring, and instead took out his wallet and handed over his driver's license. The woman took is as slowly as possible, then did several comparisons of the picture to Syaoran.

"This doesn't look like you" she said finally, "I'm going to have to see some more ID."

That was it, Syaoran began to see red. He snapped his arms over the countertop so fast the woman didn't even have time to blink, grasped her by the collar of her shirt, and with uncanny strength, pulled her closer to his face.

"Listen lady. My wife is having my baby right now, and if I keep having to fuck around here with you, I'm gonna miss it. So either you tell me where Sakura Li is, or things get VERY unpleasant. Understand?"

The woman could have called security, the buzzer being right by her hand and all. But something about Syaoran's eyes told her that he might not hesitate to kill her if she did. Instead she simply mumbled "Delivery room 3" in a pitch that would probably leave a dog howling.

Syaoran let her fall back to her chair, then collected his license.

"Thank you" he said with a pleasant smile.

He made a quick reference to the hospital map nearby and then he was on his way. The receptionist sat frozen to her seat for quite some time after Syaoran left, droplets of cold sweat trickling down the side of her face.

***

The spinning and twirling tunnel of light seemed to be coming to an end, and Tenma braced himself for his emergence back into the material plane. A wall of white light slammed into him, and after a few moments of shock, his vision returned and he could plainly see the city of New York below him. Multitudes of lost spirits wandered the ethereal pathways weaving through the city, muttering nonsense they couldn't even recognize from when they were alive. Sadly enough, the dead spirits were almost non-recognizable compared to a great deal of the living ones.

"This city is an empath's worst nightmare" Tenma remarked, "How am I to find the Mistress in time with all this riff-raff scuttling about?"

He tried sensing her energy, but there was so much interference he could barely feel his own energy, let alone anyone else's. He huffed angrily.

"I shall have to do it the old-fashioned way then. Let's see...she will most likely be in a hospital, so that would be the most logical place to look. I should be able to sense her once I get close enough. To work!"

With a single thought, Tenma descended to a few meters above ground, and then began his search. A few dead spirits gave him odd looks, but they quickly dismissed him in favor of continuing their ramblings. Tenma paid them no mind. If they got in his way, he would destroy them, but he preferred to stay focussed on the task at hand. It was going to take quite some time to find the Mistress in this mess.

Out of nowhere, a spirit appeared and grabbed Tenma by the shoulders, "Oh mister, mister! You have to listen! Listen! Listen! Listen!" the man screamed, nearly frantic.

Tenma's hand glowed for a split second before he raised his palm and a blaze of energy struck the spirit down. The energy subsided, and there was no trace of the spirit. Tenma snorted, then continued on his way.

Consequently, he wasn't bothered again after that.

***

"What if he doesn't make it?" Sakura asked the nurse by her bed.

"You shouldn't think that way, Miss" the nurse answered, "He'll make it. Even if he has to wade through traffic, he'll make it."

Of course, the nurse really didn't know whether Syaoran would make it or not. But it was part of her job to console the patients, so console she did. It seemed to be working for the most part, but Sakura was gradually becoming more and more disbelieving. To top it off, her contractions were getting very close, and the doctor had said she was already fully dilated. Just her luck to be in labor for such a short time when Syaoran was at work halfway across the city.

Another contraction hit her, and for a moment it almost seemed like she blacked out. When she came to, the doctor looked rather edgy.

"Mrs. Li, it's time. If we delay any longer there could be complications" the doctor said.

Sakura's response was immediate, and very stern, "NO!" she yelled, hurting her own ears and everyone else's, "Not until Syaoran gets here!"

The look in Sakura's eyes sent chills down the doctor's spine. He hesitated for a bit before responding, "Alright. But let this be on the record that I was against waiting any further."

Tears began to well up in Sakura's eyes. She knew she couldn't hold out much longer. Where was Syaoran? Was he really going to miss everything? No, she refused to think that. Syaoran would be there for her. He always was.

Out of pure instinct, she yelled once again, "SYAORAN!!"

And this time she was answered.

"SAKURA!" came Syaoran's voice from just down the hall.

Sakura's heart leapt into her throat as Syaoran appeared at the door to the room. The nurse quickly grabbed a mask for Syaoran and opened the door, handing him the mask.

"Sir, I'll have to ask you to where this" she said hurriedly.

Syaoran nodded and slipped the mask on, then bolted to Sakura's side.

"I'm here Sakura-chan. I made it" he said, cupping her hand with both of his own.

Tears were streaking down Sakura's cheek as she answered him, "I knew you would."

Another contraction, and this time Sakura gripped Syaoran's hand, very very hard. His fingers were mashed together in rather obscure ways, and most of his knuckles popped out of place before the contraction passed and Sakura released her grip. Instead of removing his hand though, he reached up and stroked her hair. The pain in his hand was ignored.

A nurse tapped Syaoran on the shoulder, "Excuse me Mr. Li, will you be wanting ice for that?" she asked, eyeing his heavily damaged hand.

Syaoran didn't answer her, but simply shook his head. The nurse gave him a quizzical look, then returned to her duties.

Sakura was readied, and the doctors readied themselves, "Mrs. Li, on this next contraction I'm going to have to ask you to push, alright?" one of them said.

Sakura nodded. She could already feel another contraction coming, and she braced herself. Syaoran gathered his strength and prepared for his hand to be crushed again.

"It's up to you now, Sakura-chan. Be strong, be..."Syaoaran's words of encouragement were cut off as the contraction hit. The pressure Sakura was placing on his hand was enough to render him speechless. His vision started to swirl, but he fought it off. The contraction passed, and again his hand was released.

"Good, Mrs. Li" the doctor said, "You're doing fine."

The nurse dabbed Sakura's forehead with a bit of warm water. Sakura's hair was completely matted down with sweat, and her face shimmered as the light shone on the tiny droplets making their way down her cheeks. The gown the hospital staff had put her in was stuck to her skin like glue.

Before Sakura even had time to recover, another contraction came welling up.

"Push!" the doctor instructed her.

Sakura complied and let out a loud yell as the pain rattled her to her core. She pushed as hard as she could, all the while squeezing the life out of Syaoran's hand. Despite the damage she was doing to his hand, he still squeezed her hand back. It was the only real support he could give her in this situation, besides just being there.

The contraction passed, and again Sakura slumped back into the bed. She was aching all over, and it felt as if twenty sledgehammers were being pounded against the inside of her skull. She was breathing very heavily, and her lungs felt as if she'd just run a marathon. Her matted hair was also starting to get into her eyes, and even a bit into her mouth. Syaoran noticed this and smoothed it back from her face.

"Arigatou Syaoran-chan" she wheezed between breaths.

The nurse was trying to coach her along with the proper breathing techniques, but Sakura found that her own way was much better. There was a breathing technique that Syaoran had taught her once, intended mostly to help open the body to magical energies. Sakura found that it was working wonders for her right now, though it was a bit difficult to maintain with the constant pain.

Another contraction hit, but she was ready for it this time. Before the doctor could say a word she bore down and pushed as hard as she could. This time, she could feel something move. The contraction passed, and her head met the serenity of the pillow once again.

"We're in the home stretch, Mrs. Li. You're doing wonderfully."

Syaoran massaged her hand, "Almost there Sakura-chan. Just a little more and then you can rest. Then we can both rest."

Her resolve hardened, and her expression changed from pain to determination, "Hai. Just a little more, and then we get to see our daughter for the first time."

"Daughter? Are you sure?"

"Hai. I can feel her, Syaoran-chan. She can feel us too."

"How long have you known?"

"Since the day we created her, silly."

Syaoran paused, "A daughter...somehow I'm not surprised."

"With how many sisters you have, I'm not surprised either. It must be in your genes."

The doctor interrupted them, "Alright Mrs. Li, we're almost there. A few more contractions and it should be done."

Sakura was shocked, "What? Already?"

Just as she finished speaking another contraction hit. She pushed again, and could feel the baby make a significant movement.

"I can see the head now" the doctor informed them, "One more big push should do it."

Sakura and Syaoran both braced themselves. The contraction hit, and Sakura pushed with all her might. She squeezed Syaoran's hand harder than ever before, and this time he didn't squeeze back. The pain had finally got the better of him and he passed out, hand still locked on hers in a gentle death grip. Near the end of the contraction, Sakura made one last powerful surge, and felt the baby come free.

Then something very peculiar happened. A wave of energy smashed her sixth sense like a nuclear blast. The wave overwhelmed her, sending her mind reeling, her senses spinning, but before she passed out, she recognized the energy as something very familiar to her.

It was just like the aura of the Sakura cards.

***

"CURSE THIS BLASTED METROPOLIS!" Tenma screamed at the top of his lungs, drawing the attention of all the nearby spirits.

They gawked at him with faces tinged by both curiosity and fear. Spirits weren't usually so passionate about something unless they'd gone crazy. This spirit didn't seem crazy at all, and he didn't seem entirely dead either. A sliver of life still danced in his eyes.

Tenma gathered a ball of energy in his hands, "Perhaps one of you spirits may be able to tell me where the Mistress hides" the ball grew larger, "If you do, I suggest you tell me. The doors to limbo are easily opened by one such as I."

No answer was given, instead dozens of heads snapped their gazes westward. Tenma followed their gaze just in time to see the energy wave smash into him. The other spirits were blown away like leaves in the wind, but Tenma managed to hold his ground, just barely, as the shockwave passed over. As it passed, he could feel the distinct energy of a new life being formed. A life that possessed magical potential. And if the force of the wave were any sort of gauge to this life's potential level of power...

"The Mistress..." Tenma murmured after the wave passed, "It must be. Her child has entered the world. By the dark gods, it's power is immense! I must destroy it now!"

He took off at top speed in the direction the wave came from. Already he could lock on to the child's substantial aura, though it was growing weaker. No doubt the initial surge of magical energy was subsiding.

After passing through a few buildings, he beheld the hospital that contained the child. He stopped, and took a moment to pinpoint the strongest auras. The Mistress and the Li boy both appeared to be in a room quite far away from the child. They were both unconscious, a lucky break for Tenma. A nurse was tending to the child. It's aura still pulsed a little too strongly for such a small child.

"I must work fast. The Mistress and the Baka will no doubt have been rendered unconscious by the shockwave, but not for long. Prepare yourself child; Tenma Yamijiri the twenty-first is here for your soul."

A sinister smile pursed his lips as he approached the hospital.

***

The sorcerers all cried out in pain as they experienced the shockwave that had impacted Tenma's spirit. It would not have reached them normally, but the shockwave had been transmitted through the link between Tenma's body and his spirit, following the pathways that linked to the spirits of the sorcerers. It was quite a jolt, even after passing through so much "interference".

Ryoko ran to one of the sorcerers who had fallen, "What has happened!?" she yelled, standing over the fallen man.

The sorcerer was slow in responding, still gripping his head in obvious pain, "A shockwave of some sort my lady. Very powerful."

Ryoko's concern grew, "What sort of shockwave? What did it feel like?"

"Like...like a new life my lady."

"A new life....the Mistress has given birth! Is Tenma still in good health?"

"Hai, my lady. He was able to resist the shockwave. But our contact has been severed. He is exposed, my lady."

Ryoko's eyes widened, "No...you must reestablish contact! He must not be detected by the Mistress or the Li boy or all is lost!"

"Hai. But it will take a bit of time" the sorcerer stood up, the pain in his head finally subsiding. All around the room the fallen sorcerers slowly got to their feet and began the process of reestablishing contact with Tenma's spirit. The magic circles began to glow once again as the sorcerers charged their energies and channeled them outward.

Ryoko noticed one sorcerer had been rendered unconscious, and she quickly moved into the circle he'd been occupying, "I shall assist this time" she said when some of the sorcerers looked at her questioningly.

They nodded and then returned to their work. Ryoko quickly channeled her spirit through the circle, then began the search for her lover's spirit. She decided that the best plan of action would be to follow the path of the shockwave that had slammed the sorcerers. It would leave a trail of residual energy for a short time that they could follow. As she wound her way down it, she could feel the other sorcerers following her lead.

Soon enough they were near the source of the shockwave, but just as they were about to get a lock on it, an outside force of some sort stopped them dead in their tracks. It was immensely powerful...and familiar. The other sorcerers' connections were broken almost immediately, but Ryoko managed to keep hers long enough to identify the energy, and then her connection was severed as well.

She slumped to the ground, her heart beating rapidly in her chest, her breath coming in gulps. Cold sweat trickled down her skin as she struggled to speak the two words her clan had come to both fear and hate.

"Clow Reed."

***

The child lay motionless in front of him, sleeping soundly. It's aura pulsed steadily, the bright glow of magic expanding and contracting rhythmically to the pace of the child's breathing. Tenma stood hovering above it's crib in the baby ward. Other babies occupied the rest of the cribs all around the room, not even one of them possessing any sort of magic potential.

"All this new life, and all of it ignorant to the ways of magic save one" he commented, looking about the room, "What a pathetic place this is."

The baby below him stirred slightly, and Tenma's senses went on alert. He froze, suppressing his aura as much as he could, lest the baby sense him and wake up. The baby shifted, moaned softly, and continued to sleep. Tenma relaxed.

"Time to get this over with" he said, taking a long last look at the little girl, "A pity, really. You would have been very strong, and very beautiful."

Tenma quickly muttered an incantation and then dove into the baby's body. He could sense it awake as he entered, and the baby's aura instantly reacted to attempt to expel him. It was too late though; he was already through the spirit barrier.

He wound his way through the little universe that was the baby's spirit, finally coming to a stop in front of the bright white ball, which was the core of the baby's soul. Energies of various colors swirled about the white sphere, each representing the different emotions. Tenma gathered his strength, then began to form a black sphere between his palms.

The core reacted to the presence of the black ball, and began to whip out tendrils of crackling energy at him. He dodged them all easily; this was the soul's natural defenses. The baby was not yet old enough to have control over it's spiritual defenses. He could not be too careless though; if one of the tendrils should hit him, he would be forcefully expelled, maybe even destroyed, since the child's spirit was so powerful.

The black ball grew stronger and stronger as Tenma continued to dodge the tendrils almost effortlessly. One last dodge, and then the black ball was complete.

He took aim quickly, and then pushed the ball forward with all the will he could muster. It shot towards the core at lightning speed, but just as it was about to connect, a large golden staff struck out and smashed the ball aside.

"Whaaaat!?" Tenma roared.

A calm, almost melancholy male voice came from behind the core, "I'm sorry" it said, "but I can't let you do that."

"And just who are you that you presume to interfere in my affairs!" Tenma questioned the hidden assailant, his aura flaring a fiery red from anger.

"Perhaps this will answer that question."

A powerful aura slammed into Tenma, thrusting him back from the core. He had to take a moment to recover, but once he did his eyes widened in both hatred and fear. That aura was quite well known to him and his clan.

"Clow Reed!? Impossible! He perished long ago!"

"Indeed he did."

From behind the core, a young man wearing glasses stepped out. He held Clow Reed's staff in his hand, and he was wearing an outfit similar to what Clow Reed wore. A pleasant smile was present on his face.

"My name is Hiiragizawa Eriol. Pleased to make your acquaintance" he said, bowing deeply.

"You!" memory flooded back into Tenma as he recalled the trials of the Mistress at the hands of the boy named Eriol, "Now I remember. The boy who possessed Clow's aura and manipulated the Mistress into changing the Clow cards."

"I prefer the term 'aided'" Eriol corrected him, "But yes, you are quite right."

"And now you seek to prevent this child's destruction" Tenma mused, smiling, "How quaint."

Eriol's face turned serious, "There is more at stake with this child than you can possibly know. Far more than your pathetic quest for revenge."

"Oh, really?" Tenma stated mockingly, "And let me guess, you cannot tell me what that is."

"On the contrary, I can tell you exactly what that is. If you destroy this child, it will set events in motion that will eventually lead to the very destruction of every living thing on this planet. Your clan, which you so wish to protect, will die slow painful deaths, and there will be nothing you can do but watch and wait until your turn comes. Yours and everybody else's soul will be hurled into a darkness so deep, so absolute, that they will simply cease to exist."

As Eriol finished, Tenma started to chuckle lightly. Then he began to laugh, and within a few seconds he broke into a loud, hysterical laughter. Eriol's eyes narrowed in annoyance as he watched Tenma just stand there and laugh. After a bit, Tenma composed himself, but still continued to chuckle silently for a few more seconds.

"You have quite the creative mind my boy" Tenma chided, "But I am going to have to ask you to get out of my way now, before I am forced to destroy you."

Eriol smirked, "It would seem you are unable to listen to reason. Very well. If you wish to destroy this child, you will have to destroy me first. And I guarantee that will not be an easy task."

Eriol spun his staff and then grasped it with both hands, aiming it toward Tenma. His expression went from its normal softness to rock solid. Tenma watched the display, and then just shook his head.

"Foolish young man. You may possess Clow's aura, but do you really think you stand a chance against my power? My dark gods will..."

Tenma was unable to finish as Eriol sent a blue tendril of rippling energy flying from the end of his staff toward Tenma. Tenma dodged aside, and then sent a flurry of red sunbursts towards Eriol. Eriol dissipated them all with a single wave of his hand, then brought his staff swiftly upwards. Below Tenma, a purple wave of energy rose up, and he just barely evaded it, receiving a light burn on his left arm.

"Not bad, boy!" Tenma growled, "Not bad at all. But let us see what you do with THIS!"

Tenma fired a large red net from his hand that engulfed Eriol. The net began to shrink rapidly, threatening to crush Eriol where he stood. From inside the net, Eriol began to laugh. Then there was a flash and there Eriol stood, the net destroyed. As of yet, Eriol hadn't received a single scratch.

"Pathetic" Eriol said coldly.

Eriol let go of his staff and it began to twirl at amazing speed. Eriol pointed both his palms forward and began firing dark blue sunbursts into the twirling staff. The sunbursts separated into dozens of tiny smaller sunbursts as they exited the staff, and flew towards Tenma at blinding speeds. Tenma had only enough time to raise his arms in defense, and then the sunbursts began to strike him. Again and again they struck, burning him deeply and knocking him farther away with every blow. Just when Tenma felt he couldn't withstand another hit, the pummeling ceased.

Tenma looked up from his cover, and there Eriol stood, staff in hand, smiling pleasantly once again.

"So are you going to leave now?" he asked kindly.

Tenma's eye began to twitch with rage. This Eriol was powerful, far more powerful than he should have been for his age. He'd known sorcerers that were almost 100 years old who had not attained the kind of power Eriol possessed. How was it possible?

"Tell me something, young one" Tenma said, a hint of ice in his tone, "How is it you have come upon such power so early in life?"

Eriol shook his head, "Why do you try to stall me?" he said, somewhat insulted, "I asked you a question. Please answer it, otherwise I'll take your answer to be no."

For just a moment, Tenma's eyes met Eriol's, and in them there was no fear, no remorse, and not even a trace of apprehension. The next round would be Tenma's end if he didn't think fast. Perhaps if he could level the playing field. Eriol's magic was obviously the strongest, but perhaps his strength lay in magic alone. Tenma was not only a great sorcerer; he was also a very strong swordsman.

"My answer, young one" Tenma said, gathering his strength for his spell, "is NO!"

Tenma thrust his left palm outward, and from it a thick blue mist came forth. It engulfed the entire area around he and Eriol within mere moments. The whole scene turned various shades of blue before their eyes, and as the spell finished, Tenma summoned forth a sword made of pure black energy, and then took his stance.

Eriol looked about him, and for the first time, Tenma could see apprehension leak into his eyes.

"An anti-magic cloud" Eriol commented, turning his gaze back to Tenma, "Clever."

Tenma's lips curled into a dangerous smile, "You seem a little more tense than before" he chided, "Could it be that I have gained the advantage?"

Eriol glared at Tenma, "Not as big an advantage as you might think."

Eriol grasped his staff firmly and then swung it hard to the side. In an instant it transformed into a golden katana that sang as Eriol swung it through the air.

"I should probably tell you" Eriol said, "An anti-magic cloud isn't quite anti-magic. It still allows for very minor spells. If you have enough power that is."

Tenma growled, "I need no lessons in magic, young one! Have at you!"

Tenma drew up his sword and raced toward Eriol. He arced his blade downward at Eriol, and Eriol raised his sword to parry. The blades sent off swirls of magical energy as they collided. Tenma swung again and was parried again. Again and again the swords collided, neither fighter gaining any ground on the other.

Tenma's next parry was followed immediately by a swift spinning strike, and he was rewarded with a small gash on Eriol's chest. Eriol retreated a couple steps, and Tenma pressed his advantage. He swung harder and faster, forcing Eriol back more and more, until finally Eriol's back was nearly touching the core. He could retreat no more.

Tenma thrust with all his might, and Eriol's parry was too late. The black blade pierced through Eriol's left shoulder, and he yelled out in pain. Tenma smiled sadistically as Eriol lost his grip on his blade and it fell away. Tenma twisted the blade just a fraction, and Eriol clenched his teeth to hold back a yelp.

"You are skilled, young one" Tenma said, his eyes pools of icy death, "But I'm afraid this is where your meddling ends."

Tenma removed the blade, and Eriol fell to his knees. The wound emanated a menacing black ooze, and Eriol did the best he could to stop the leakage. Tenma raised his sword and admired it.

"My blade has sapped your strength, young one. I would be surprised if you could even cast the simplest of spells now."

Eriol hated to admit it, but Tenma was right. The blade Tenma was using was a powerful one, and it drained the magical energy of anyone it wounded. In just a matter of seconds, the sword had sucked nearly all of his energy. His best estimate was that he maybe had enough left for a simple fireball, but nothing more. His astral form was already starting to feel the pull back to his body.

"I see your astral self is eager to get back to it's body now" Tenma said, seeing Eriol's form flicker, "Shall I send you on your way?"

Eriol knew what he had to do. If he could just disconnect the core, the soul would be able to flee the body. The chances of it finding another suitable body in time were almost non-existent, but they were still better than if it stayed here to be destroyed by Tenma. Eriol would have to overdrain himself though. And with how much power he was going to need to pull this off...he predicted he'd probably be in a coma for the next 10 years or so. Even after he woke up he was going to be very weak for quite a long time. But it was worth it; this child had to survive, no matter what.

"I only wish I could help you more, little one" Eriol said under his breath.

"What was that?" Tenma asked sarcastically, "Begging for mercy?"

Eriol's gaze turned upwards. His eyes were engulfed in red light, "Hardly" he growled.

Tenma stepped back as wild red energy erupted around Eriol's body. Eriol rose up, his arms outstretched crucifix style, and began muttering an incantation. Tenma didn't recognize the incantation, but he could tell that Eriol was overdraining his magical energy. Was the fool doing some sort of suicide attack? Whatever it was, his anti-magic cloud was powerless to stop it.

And then Eriol exploded.

Torrents of searing red energy flew in random directions from ground zero, and Tenma quickly erected a barrier to save himself from destruction. He had to continuously pump the barrier back up with his energy to keep it from collapsing, and by the time the energy dissipated, he felt nearly as weak as Eriol must have been. His black sword flickered, faded, and then disappeared.

"What in all the hells?" Tenma gasped, dropping the barrier.

Something didn't feel right. The energies of life that he should have been surrounded by were no longer present. He looked about him, and saw that all the colors had faded or disappeared completely, and where the core used to be there was only empty space. The child was...dead?

"No, it can't be. Why would he destroy that which he was trying to protect?"

A thought occurred to him. What if Eriol hadn't destroyed the core, but simply broke it's bonds to the body? The core would be able to escape.

"Of course. He has made a desperate gamble that the core will be able to find another body. Ha! The fool! The chances of finding another suitable body in time are nigh impossible! He has only delayed the inevitable! Ha ha! I must return to my clan and inform them of the joyous news!"

He gathered what was left of his strength and invoked the spell of return that would guide him back to his body. The shimmering pathway appeared, and he began the long journey back. He could not help but smile as, all around him, the energies of the child slowly flickered, faded, and then went out.

***

Sakura awoke and sat bolt upright in bed. Her heart felt like someone had just ripped it in half. The air was heavy, her vision was blurry, and deep inside, she could feel that she had just lost something very dear to her.

She looked around, and spotted Syaoran sleeping peacefully in a chair beside her bed. His hand was heavily bandaged.

Sakura reached over and touched his hair, causing him to awake in an instant.

"Sakura-chan" he said with relief, "How long have you been up?"

"Not long" she replied, "Is your hand okay?"

"It's alright. How are you? You look a bit pale."

"It's nothing, I just...have a strange feeling."

"What kind of feeling?" Syaoran said a little more seriously. He knew all too well that when Sakura got a feeling, it meant something might be up.

"It's like...like I've lost something. Something very dear to me."

"Any ideas?"

Sakura shook her head, "No, not really. Maybe my head is just a little messed up from whatever it was that knocked me out."

"You mean the life surge?"

Sakura's eyebrow raised quizzically, "Life surge?"

"When someone with magical potential is born they send out a life surge through the spirit realm. The stronger the surge, the more powerful the person will be. Our daughter's life surge was enough to knock the both of us out."

"I guess that means she will be pretty powerful when she grows up. Ne?"

"I would say so. I remember my mother mentioning Clow Reed's life surge once. Apparently it was strong enough to knock out any sorcerers who felt it for about a mile or so."

"Wow. Clow Reed sure was an amazing man."

"Sakura-chan, our daughter's life surge went for about two miles."

Sakura's eyes widened, "How can you tell?"

"Because I can still hear the spirits talking about it."

Sakura cringed at the word "spirits" reflexively. Mistress of the cards or no, ghosts still made her nervous.

A knock came at the door to the room, and then a doctor entered. Both Syaoran and Sakura read immediately from her expression that she was bringing some sort of bad news.

"Mr. and Mrs. Li?" she asked tentatively.

They both nodded.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. It's about your daughter."

Now Sakura knew what that feeling was.

"She's gone isn't she" Sakura said before the doctor could continue. Syaoran's face went rigid at Sakura's words.

"Yes, I'm afraid so" the doctor said, "I'm very sorry."

"How?" Syaoran managed to choke the question through the lump in his throat.

"We're not entirely sure. The most likely candidate is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but the baby was so astoundingly healthy it's hard to imagine."

Tears began to well up in Sakura's eyes. Her baby was gone. Before she'd even had the chance to hold her in her arms, she'd been taken away.

Sakura wiped away her tears, "Can I see her?"

"Yes, of course. I'll contact the counselor."

"No, that won't be necessary. Just take me to her."

The doctor seemed a bit hesitant, but since it really wasn't his decision he had to comply. He called for a nurse to bring Sakura a robe, and then the three of them left down the corridor. Sakura and Syaoran were dead silent as the doctor talked about SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and how painfully common it was. If he was trying to be helpful, he was failing miserably. He couldn't really be blamed though, this was supposed to be the job of the counselor.

After a short walk the doctor stopped and directed them towards a door, which lead to a surgical room, "Through here. You're sure you still want to see her like this?"

Syaoran and Sakura both nodded.

"Very well. I will wait here. It is not my place to go in with you."

Again they nodded, and then proceeded to the room. Each step to the door was more and more painful to take, but they couldn't stop. Their baby deserved to be seen, no matter its state.

Syaoran opened the door, and then entered, Sakura following right behind him. Both lost their breath as they gazed at the surgical table that held their daughter's lifeless form.

Her eyes were open and colored a dull gray. Her skin was pale as snow, and her mouth was opened slightly. Sakura turned away and covered her mouth to stifle a sob, but Syaoran stared at the baby intensely.

"This" he said hesitantly, "This was no syndrome"

Sakura turned and looked at Syaoran with an extremely confused look, "What do you mean?"

"Look at her eyes. They're gray" he swallowed hard, "Someone took her soul."

"Took...her soul?"

"Yes" Syaoran's eyes flashed with deep concentration. Soul magic was outlawed by the clans a long, long time ago. Even worse, it took a very powerful sorcerer or sorceress to pull off the removal of a soul. Who, with that much power, would want to destroy their child? As far as he knew, they didn't have any enemies, especially ones that were that powerful.

"Sakura, our child didn't die from SIDS. She was murdered."

"Why? Who would want to hurt us like this?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know. But whoever it is is extremely powerful...and to use one of the outlawed magicks, very evil."

Just then, a familiar voice entered the room, "You are correct Syaoran" it said, "your daughter's soul was removed, but it was not in the way you are thinking."

Sakura recognized the voice, "Mizuki-san?"

"Hello again, Sakura. It has been a long time."

"Mizuki-san, do you know what happened here?" Syaoran asked, his eyes hopeful.

"I do. An assassin attempted to destroy your daughter while you were both unconscious. He would have succeeded, but Eriol was able to intercept him."

"Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked amazed.

"Yes. He fought to protect her against the assassin, but the assassin managed to strike him with a very powerful spell. His energy was drained, and rather than leave her defenseless, he severed her soul's link to the body and she escaped. Eriol is in a coma now, so I cannot tell you who the assassin was, but I can tell you that your daughter's soul is safe for the time being."

"What do you mean 'for the time being'?"

"Since her soul is not inside a body that can contain it, her life energy is slowly dissipating. If she cannot find a suitable body in time, she will fade away."

"Is there any way for us to help?" Sakura said, panic in her words.

"I'm afraid not. Were Eriol not in a coma, even he would not be able to lend any aid to her. And I'm afraid that he will not wake up for quite some time. He expended a far greater amount of magical energy than he possessed to save her."

Syaoran was a bit surprised at this, "He overdrained himself?"

"Yes. A very dangerous thing to do, but from what he told me, the death of this child was something that could absolutely not happen."

"Well...he is able to see into the future isn't he?" Syaoran asked.

"Yes, but he would not say what he saw about your daughter. Whatever it was, it caused him to go quite panicky. Coming from Eriol, that definitely means something."

"Mizuki-san, do you think our daughter will be able to survive?"

"If she is anything like her parents, I have no doubt that she will."

"Arigatou Mizuki-san" Sakura smiled.

Syaoran's eyes began to burn with an inner fire, "I'm going to hunt down whoever did this and make them pay for it. I swear it."

"Now that's just the kind of attitude we can't have. If you start acting like you know something's up, the assassin is going to go to ground and just disappear. Then you'll never know who did it and why."

"Well, you can't expect me to just sit back after someone does this to my family can you?"

"No, that would be asking too much. I don't suppose you could open the window right about now could you?"

"Eh?" Sakura said, confused, "I suppose so."

Sakura opened the window.

"What was the purpose for that?" Syaoran asked.

"Nothing much."

At that moment a bluebird landed on the windowsill. It started to sing, and Sakura and Syaoran both felt that some sort of spell was contained in the tune.

"I'm very sorry you two" Kaho said, "but it's best you don't remember these things."

Syaoran and Sakura passed out once again, and when they awoke, no memory of the last ten minutes resided in their minds.

The little bluebird chirped happily and then flew off.

***

The little ball of light flitted desperately about; it's senses on full alert. It didn't know why it had to leave it's home, but it might have had something to do with the bad presence it had felt earlier. Someone had invaded it's home and then tried to hurt it, and then someone else invaded and saved it. Then the someone else went away and it found itself able to escape the bad someone.

Now it was in a strange place, filled with all sorts of other someones that acted very strangely. They had homes, and yet they didn't. It was all very new and strange and scary, but it couldn't afford to be afraid right now. It had to find a new home or else it would fade away. It could already feel itself losing energy as it wandered around without a home.

The strange someones couldn't help it, since it couldn't talk, and some even seemed to be afraid of it. Had it done something bad? Maybe that was why the bad someone had come to hurt it; it had done something bad and the someone was sent to punish it.

It pondered the thought for a few moments, but then it had trouble thinking. It was getting very weak from all this travel. Dangerously weak. It needed a new home and fast. But what would make a good home? It didn't quite know what to look for. It's old home was very fresh and new, so would it need another fresh and new home? That seemed right enough, but where would it go for another body as fresh and new as that?

In it's panic to escape the bad someone, it hadn't really taken notice of where it was going. The place where it's old home was was a very alive place, full of good energy and lots of someones. The place it was now was not very good at all. Lots of dark someones and subdued life. It didn't like this place, but it didn't think it had enough energy to search anymore. It had to find a new home in this place or fade away.

It thought it caught sight of a fairly fresh life, but when it got there, the life wasn't fresh at all. The someone was big, sure, but their life force wasn't much more mature than it's own. It was very odd, but it didn't have time to wonder about it. It resumed it's search.

In a nearby place, it found a someone that actually had two someones. One was very little and very fresh, like itself, the other was a big someone. The big someone seemed to be in a lot of pain, but the little someone was perfectly fine. Was the little someone attacking the big someone? That wasn't very nice.

The little someone started to move inside the big someone, and it watched as the little someone came out of the big someone. Now that it could see the little someone, it realized that the little someone wasn't very strong at all. It was almost ready to fade away in fact. Maybe it could ask the little someone for it's home?

It approached the little someone, and the little someone looked up at it. It tried to tell it as best it could, since it couldn't speak, and the little someone listened. The little someone said that it felt very weak, and it suggested that maybe they could share the home and that that would maybe make it stronger. The little someone thought about it for a bit, and then agreed.

It entered into the little someone, and began to search around the little someone's home. It eventually found where the little someone lived, and the little someone greeted it.

It thought that, since they were going to share the home, they would probably have to become one, since home's usually only had room for one. The little someone agreed, and so it started to melt into the little someone. The little someone felt different than it did though; different energies. It realized that they weren't quite compatible, so it would have to make some alterations to itself. The little someone suggested that maybe it could just stay in the background and let the little someone do all the work. It thought about that for a second, and since it couldn't come up with anything better, it agreed. It and little someone were now merged, and little someone pushed it back to a safe place and kept it there. It's life force recharged the little someone, and it became fresh and new like it once was.

The little someone's home changed a bit when it had finally fused with the little someone. Nothing major really, just enough to show that there was more than one someone here.

It was very tired now, having spent so much energy trying to find it's new home. It snuggled itself deeply into it's little hiding place, and fell asleep.

The little someone was happy to have been allowed to not fade away, and it could feel a strange new energy coming from it's friend. The energy made the little someone feel quite strange, but it wasn't a bad strange. It was a good strange. The little someone could also feel that the arrival of it's new friend had changed the home somewhat. The things it had decided to call eyes had changed color.

They were now an emerald green.
________________________________________________________________ _______
Author's Note: ..................Dude, that was really damn long. I don't think I can really add any more to this. Oh yeah, and about the fun fact for the day thing. I've decided not to bother with it anymore. Especially if the episodes end up turning out to all be this long ^_^" Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed writing it. See ya next time.