Author's Note: Before I start this fan fic series, I'd like people to know that seeing how I like the characters' names in the Japanese version better than their American counterpart, I'll be using those. If you don't know which characters are which, you can e-mail me (if you want) to get a list of the Japanese and American names. Also, if you don't want to read about a few tidbits of spoilers about the Sakura Cards series (but to let you know, Syaoran hadn't told Sakura he loves her before going back to Hong Kong and the second movie never happened), then you might not want to read this. I've incorporated a little bit from that series. I've only seen the American version, so things may not really be one hundred percent accurate. Sorry!
The New Cards
Another Beginning: Chapter One
By:
SakuraA dark figure slipped into the shadows and disappeared from their sight. Syaoran whirled around, trying to decipher where it went. Somewhere behind him, he heard a scream split the silent night air. Card Mistress! He ran as fast as he could toward the sound. He stopped short when he saw her, lifeless on the ground. Her name immediately sprang to his lips.
"Sakura!"
Syaoran woke up with a start and sat up gasping. Beads of sweat rolled down his face. He took several breaths to calm his racing heart. It was just a dream. That's all. He stood up and walked over to his window and looked out over the beautiful city of Hong Kong. He closed his eyes and thought of another place, the place that he had left. "You have to go back," an inner voice told him, as Syaoran lay back down on his bed. "Go back to Japan." His thoughts turned to events that had happened in the old days…when he was still a Card Captor. How he missed them…and her…He soon fell into a peaceful, and dreamless, sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"…and he hasn't written to you since then?"
Sakura sighed sorrowfully. "No, he hasn't. You know, Tomoyo, I really miss him more than ever now that he's stopped writing to me. What am I going to do?"
"Don't give up hope, Sakura," came Tomoyo's voice over the phone. "Everything will be okay, remember? I'm sure he has a good reason for not writing. Who knows?" she added mischievously. "Maybe Syaoran will show up at your school tomorrow."
Sakura chuckled. "That'd be nice."
There was a slight pause on Tomoyo's end as she glanced at her clock. "Oh! I didn't realize it was so late. Well, good night, Sakura."
"Good night, Tomoyo."
Sakura hung up the phone with a small sigh. Kero, hearing her, flew over to her side. "What's wrong, Sakura? Still worried about that Li-brat?"
Sakura waved Kero away. "He's not a brat, Kero."
Kero folded his arms. "Then why isn't he answering your letters?"
"Leave me alone, Kero," answered Sakura, snuggling into her bed. "I need my rest. Something tells me that I won't be getting much of it soon."
Kero flew over to the lamp and turned it off. He turned his gaze outside, where the wind was howling and leaves were being blown into smithereens. "I get the feeling you're right, Sakura."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Why do I keep doing this?"
Kero lifted his little head up and eyes Sakura warily. Sakura was speeding around her room, trying to get dressed, get her school bag ready, and everything. This was the second week of high school for Sakura and she was going to be late again if she didn't hurry.
Kero sat up and yawned. "You're fourteen already, Sakura," he said. "So why can't you learn to wake up on time? It's not like you're still ten."
Sakura smiled brightly at him. "It's force of habit, I guess." She glanced at the clock again. "I have to go now. Bye, Kero!" she called as she ran down the stairs.
Kero shook his head, a half-smile on his face. "That girl never changes."
Downstairs, Sakura couldn't find her roller blades, so she opted to walk instead. After waving goodbye to her father and Touya, she hurried down the street, on her way to school.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Morning, Sakura!"
Sakura came into the school grounds, gasping, as Chiharu greeted her. Chiharu studied her. "Did you run all the way to school?" Sakura nodded breathlessly. The two girls went to meet up with Rika and Naoko inside as the bell rang.
"It's too bad that Tomoyo still can't be with us," thought Sakura as she walked through the hallways toward her locker. When it was almost time for high school to begin, Tomoyo had told her that she'd be going to a private school from then on. Sakura missed her friend a great deal.
With all her books in hand, Sakura entered the classroom. Their teacher hadn't arrived yet, so everyone was milling about and chatting with their friends or their closest neighbours. She went straight to her desk and dropped her books on top of it. Sakura, once again, sat by the window, on the second last seat. She sat down and gazed out the window, daydreaming. She was thinking back to the old days, when she was trying to capture the Clow Cards she had accidentally released. Then she thought of the time she had changed the Clow Cards into the Sakura Cards. That had been her hardest feat yet.
The students' teacher, Mr. Terada, entered the classroom and everyone quieted down and went to their seats. Before checking the attendance list, he picked up a note on his desk and read it. Walking to the front of the class, he announced the arrival of two new students, one coming from Hong Kong, the other from Northern China. Sakura turned her attention from daydreaming and fixed her eyes on Mr. Terada. Could Syaoran be back? Chiharu, sitting in front of Sakura, turned around to face her.
"Hey, Sakura," she said. "Maybe Syaoran's back." Sakura blushed but didn't answer her. The door opened and Mr. Terada gestured for the two students to come into the classroom as the class looked on curiously. Sakura held her breath for a moment, but let it out when she saw the two new students. Neither of them was Syaoran.
Both of the new students were guys, and one of them caught her interest almost immediately. They both had short hair, one with a chestnut-shade, another with a hue of midnight-blue. The boy with the chestnut hair also had hazel eyes. He was the one to catch her attention. The resemblance between him and Syaoran was astounding. He could have passed for his brother, except, of course, the fact that Syaoran had no brothers, only four sisters. At first, Sakura had thought it was Syaoran, but upon realizing it wasn't, her disappointment was great.
The two students walked to the front of the classroom. "I'd like you all to welcome Li Di Shang," said Mr. Terada, indicating the hazel-eyed boy. Turning to the other boy, he added, "And Chen Chi Yuen. I hope you'll all give them a nice, warm welcome. Also, maybe someone can show them around the school later." The whole class nodded. Looking around the classroom, Mr. Terada tried to decide where to place the two newcomers. "All right, Chi Yuen, you can sit next to Kinomoto Sakura," he said, pointing to Sakura. "And you can sit behind him, Di Shang." Both boys nodded and Di Shang walked down the aisle first. Sakura looked at him, questioningly, after he smiled at her, before he settled down in his seat. Chi Yuen gazed at Sakura as he sat down in his seat, and Sakura, feeling the gaze but not turning to meet it, could feel shivers going down her spine.
Why was he affecting her like that? Sakura couldn't understand it. But she was never given the chance to think about it. As soon as the two boys sat down, the lesson began and her thoughts turned toward the blackboard.
The two new boys were also deep in thought. But neither were thinking about the schoolwork…
~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, this is the Card Mistress I've heard so much about," thought Di Shang. "Hmm…Syaoran never was one to describe things - or people - in great detail. I wish he told me more…"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Her powers are strong…but maybe not enough," Chi Yuen smirked. He would have no problem with her. Sakura's personality, combined with magic powers and innocence, made her an easy target. But he still had a real and more annoying thorn in his side. What was Di Shang doing here?
~*~*~*~*~*~
Sakura took out her lunch and sat by herself. She wanted to be alone for a change. She was sensing something, something that was out of place. It didn't make any sense to her. Suddenly, someone reached out and touched her shoulder. Sakura cried out with surprise. Rika came from behind her and sat down with her friend, opening her own lunch box. Chiharu and Naoko joined them soon after.
"Is something wrong, Sakura?" asked Rika. "You seem really nervous about something."
Sakura shook her head and pasted a bright smile on her face. "Me, nervous? Something wrong?" she stuttered. "Nope, I can't think of anything that could be the matter."
Naoko nudged Chiharu. "Maybe she's thinking about that new guy," she said. "You know, the one that looks like Syaoran."
Chiharu nodded in agreement. "Even the other guy's pretty cute. But you know," she said, as an afterthought. "He's not as cute as Takashi."
"Yeah," added Rika. "And I bet he doesn't tell as great - and unbelievable - stories as Takashi!"
"Remember the one about the ghosts?" inputted Naoko.
The three girls burst out laughing. Sakura, not wanting them to think they should worry about her, laughed with them. As her friends continued on with Takashi's wild stories, Sakura wished the day would just end.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Bye, Chiharu, Rika, Naoko!"
Classes were over for the day and Sakura left the school, but she didn't go home the usual way. For some reason, unknown to herself, Sakura wanted to pass by Syaoran's old apartment building. She never stopped retaining the thought that he would return and that she could finally tell him how she felt…
Deep in thought, Sakura wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings and crashed into the person in front of her. She sat up and rubbed her head. Looking up, she saw a hand outstretched in front of her. The person connected to that hand was Di Shang. He smiled at her.
"Here," he said. "Let me give you a hand." Sakura took it wordlessly and Di Shang helped her to stand up.
"He looks so much like Syaoran…" she thought. Sakura blushed. "I'm sorry about that," she said aloud. "I can be a little clumsy sometimes."
Di Shang laughed easily, a sound that would had been emitted very little from Syaoran. "You?" he said. "That's hard to believe." He smiled warmly at her. "I don't think we've been formally introduced. Hi, my name's Li Di Shang." He shook her hand.
Sakura, not noticing that she still had her hand clasped to his until he shook hers, blushed and said, "I'm Kinomoto Sakura. Nice to meet you."
"Would you mind if I walked you home, Sakura?"
Sakura looked away for a moment, her cheeks turning a brighter tint of pink. She turned back to face Di Shang with a smile. "That'd be really nice. Thanks." The two walked together on the sidewalk, towards Sakura's home.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Who was that, Sakura?" asked Touya, as Sakura was walking into the living room.
"That was Di Shang," she replied. "He's new in school."
"Hmm…" thought Touya, as he watched Di Shang walking down the street. "He looks a lot like that Li-kid…" It had been three years since Touya had seen Syaoran, and the longer, the better. He didn't like the fact that Syaoran was getting so close to his little sister. Touya didn't trust him one bit. After all, he did try to hurt Sakura on the first day he met her.
Sakura passed through the parlour and walked into the kitchen. "Hello, Yukito," she called cheerfully to her brother's best friend. He seemed to be in the middle of an afternoon snack.
For a moment, Yukito's eyes turned blue as he gazed at Sakura, but instantly they turned back. Yukito smiled at Sakura. "So how was school, Sakura?"
Sakura had noticed the change but she couldn't mention it to Yukito just yet. "It was okay. There are two new boys at our school."
Yukito put down the mug he was using on the table. "What are their names?"
"Well," she started. "There's this one boy who looks a great deal like Syaoran. His name is Li Di Shang." Sakura looked at Yukito hopefully. "Do you recognize the name?"
Yukito looked thoughtful for a moment. "It's like I should know this name," he said finally. "But for some reason, I can't remember where I could have heard it."
Sakura decided now wouldn't have been the best time to discuss this with Yukito. Perhaps if he was Yue…but he couldn't transform, especially not with Touya in the next room. "That's okay," she said. "If you ever do remember, let me know." Sakura picked up the small plate of food she had been preparing and went to her room, to give it to Kero.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kero stared long and hard out the window.
For some reason, the winds had been blowing out of proportion lately, especially at night. Also, Kero had begun to sense another set of powers. Could there be more Clow Cards? "That's impossible," thought Kero. "But still…"
Sakura was lolling over her math problems, not really keeping her heart into it. Something didn't feel right. She got up and walked over to where Kero was, by the window. "Kero," she said. "Do you sense something…strange?"
Kero turned to Sakura. "Do you?" he asked.
Sakura looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I seem to be feeling some sort of power…"
"And how do they feel?"
"Well…" she started, trailing off. Sakura closed her eyes and blocked out other common senses. She tried to isolate the lone force she kept sensing. Her eyes flew open. "It feels like a Clow Card!" Kero just nodded. "But, Kero, we captured all the Clow Cards, didn't we?"
Kero nodded again. "And then they became the Sakura Cards. I think we have a new set of cards to deal with here." Kero indicated to the window. "Come on, Sakura, let's go."
Sakura nodded. "Right!" She opened the window, but was immediately pushed to the other end of the room. The winds were especially harsh and blew everything out of balance. Taking out her Star Key, Sakura changed it into the wand and called out for the Fly Card. A pair of wings sprouted from the wand and sitting on the wand, with Kero holding on to her jacket sleeve, she tried to fly out of her room. After many attempts and many crashes, Sakura finally succeeded flying out the window and she flew straight into the wind.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The wind was strong. Far stronger than either Sakura or Kero had anticipated. Fly was useless now. Sakura called out for Watery, but it wasn't strong enough. A wind attack flew toward Sakura, ready to dash her to the ground. Kero transformed to Cerberus, and tried to protect the Card Mistress, but the wind tangled him up and his wings were useless. Falling to the ground, he transformed back into the little doll we were all so used to.
"Kero!" cried Sakura. Pulling out another card, she called, "Jump!" Little wings grew out of her shoes as she strove to dodge the wind's attacks. The wind turned into a visible form. It reminded Sakura of the Windy Card. Gusts of wind blew in her direction. Sakura held up her arms to cover her face, her wand clutched tight in her hands.
"Lightning! Strike!"
Sakura dropped her arms lower to see who had called out the attack. The winds changed direction and was now attacking someone else. The boy was moving with excess speed, skilfully dodging every attack by the winds and continued to counterattack with Lightning. It was hard for Sakura to see who it was, for all that she could see was someone wearing blue robes. Were they Chinese ceremonial robes? The winds, giving up on their target, changed their direction again and were now aimed for Sakura. Sakura hadn't noticed the change until it was too late, but the boy swept by and pulled her out of harm's way.
Sakura looked up at her rescuer and gasped aloud. "Di Shang!" she exclaimed.
Di Shang nodded. "That's right, Card Mistress." He smiled at her. "Are you all right?"
"How did you know I was…"
"A friend told me," he answered. "You may remember him as Li Syaoran." Sakura's surprise was even greater at the mention of his name. Di Shang helped her to stand up.
Sakura bowed slightly to her new friend. "Thank you for saving me."
Di Shang headed back toward the winds. "Come on," he said, turning to look back at her. "We have a card to seal." Sakura nodded in agreement. Di Shang motioned for Sakura, together with him, to attack on both sides of the wind. "It's the Gust Card," he shouted. "The only way to seal this card is to trap it somehow. Try the Shadow Card!"
Sakura pulled out the Shadow Card. "Shadow!" she cried. The card turned into its visible form and attempted to trap the wind with its shadows. Di Shang was off to one side, trying to distract the Gust at the same time, so Sakura could seal the card, but all in vain. The Gust threw the Shadow off its back and the Shadow became a card again. The Gust then formed balls of energy in its hands and shot them at Sakura.
Sakura was struck hard by one of the orbs and was pushed into the distance, heading toward the big penguin slide in the middle of the park. Di Shang tried to go after her, but the Gust cut him off. As Sakura closed her eyes and prepared for impact with the slide, someone caught her. The person gathered her into their arms and then landed neatly on the ground.
Sakura partially opened her eyelids to see who had saved her. For a moment, she couldn't see who it was. On a closer inspection, she saw that the person who saved her was a boy of about fourteen, with brown eyes, which were filled with anger directed toward the Gust. He wore green Chinese ceremonial robes and had a hat to match, topping off his usually unruly brown hair. "Syaoran?" she whispered softly, with astonishment. Syaoran turned to face her. The anger left his eyes and his expression softened.
"Are you all right, Sakura?" he asked her.
Sakura nodded mutely. She didn't know what to say. Syaoran…he had come back to Japan! After three long years…Finally finding her voice, Sakura uttered her thanks. The emotions she felt were spinning out of control inside of her.
Syaoran nodded. "It's not over yet," he said. "We have to defeat that card. Do you have your Thunder Card with you?"
Sakura pulled it out of her pocket and the card spun before. Using her wand, Sakura released the Thunder. Syaoran pulled out his sword and called upon the forces of Lightning. Some distance away from the pair, Di Shang also called out for the powers of Lightning. Lightning shot out from two different sources and attacked together with the Thunder Card. The Gust, easily weakened by such opponents, could barely defend itself and fell to the ground.
Sakura immediately went to the card and attempted to seal it, but it was much more difficult than she expected. Sealing the Clow Cards hadn't been that hard before, but these cards were different. She found herself losing energy and she wouldn't be able to seal the card if she didn't have enough strength. And if she didn't seal it, the card would be lost. After a few moments, Sakura began to feel light-headed and collapsed. Syaoran stepped forward and she fell into his arms. Di Shang went over to the Gust. Taking his sword, he was able to seal the Gust and turn it into a card, but not without some trouble first. Picking up the newly sealed card, he walked over to Syaoran and Sakura.
Sakura was unconscious for lack of energy. Syaoran and Di Shang looked at each other wordlessly, each wondering how this could have happened to the Card Mistress. Hearing a groan behind them, they both turned around and Syaoran was whacked in the face by a speeding Kero. Syaoran glared at the little guardian.
"What was that for?" he demanded.
"That was for letting Sakura get hurt." answered Kero, folding his arms.
"I didn't let her get hurt," Syaoran shot back. "Besides, where were you? Asleep again?"
Kero was about to answer that when Di Shang clamped his little mouth shut. "Don't argue, both of you," he said. "I don't think the Card Mistress would really appreciate that." He let go of Kero and presented to him the Gust Card. "Here, Kero," he added. "Give this to Sakura when she comes to. She deserves it. Even if she didn't succeed in sealing it, she weakened it a great deal so I could seal it."
Kero accepted the card and looked at Di Shang skeptically. "Who are you, anyway?"
"His name's Li Di Shang. Have you forgotten already, Cerberus?"
Yue glided down and landed smoothly on the ground. He knelt down by Sakura's side and placed his hand on her forehead. The worry in his blue eyes dissolved. "She's just lost a lot of energy," he said. "She'll be okay."
"How many descendants does Clow Reed have, anyway?" Kero muttered to himself. "We better get Sakura home," he said aloud. "Her brother could have walked into her room at anytime and noticed she was gone. I don't think he'll be too happy." The two cousins nodded, standing up.
Yue picked Sakura up and held his Mistress in his arms. He immediately spread his wings and took off into the night sky, with Kero, after casting one final glare at Syaoran, trailing behind him.
Di Shang watched them go before turning to Syaoran. "Well, cousin, it's time we left." Syaoran nodded curtly, but didn't answer him.
As they walked back home, Di Shang watched Syaoran's back intently. He stopped for a moment. "Why did you come?" he finally said.
Syaoran answered him, but didn't stop walking. "The Card Mistress was in danger and I had to be there for her."
Di Shang smiled at his cousin's tone. "You had that dream again, didn't you?"
Syaoran ignored the question and walked into the apartment complex and headed for his room. Syaoran currently resided alone. His cousin also lived in the same building. The two could have shared the same apartment, but neither wanted to. There was far too much rivalry between them.
Back when they were little, they (and Meiling) had trained together and they were all close, but with some rivalries for sport. As they grew older, the competitions became more and more serious. Di Shang had been exceeding angry when the Elders chose Syaoran to recapture the Clow Cards instead of him and since that moment, their relationship was strained, and whatever closeness was left, vanished.
In his bedroom, Syaoran put his sword on the table and heaved a small sigh. Sitting down on the edge of his bed, he held his head in his hands. He had failed to help Sakura. He wanted to kick himself for his mistakes. He wasn't supposed to let her get hurt! If anything were to happen to her…He couldn't let anything happen to her. Whatever the threat was, he would do his best to - no, make sure to protect her from everything. That was a promise.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Yue gently deposited the Card Mistress on her bed. Pulling a sheet over, he gently put it over her to make it appear as if she were in bed. Hearing footsteps coming from the hallway, Yue immediately took his leave. Sakura was now slowly coming to. "…Syaoran…?" she murmured.
Kero shook his head. What was he going to do? Sakura obviously still cared for that brat and nothing he said could change her mind. The door opened a crack and Kero instantly froze into a doll, dropping onto the desk. Touya peeked into the room. Sakura was turning about in her sleep, calling out for someone.
Touya walked into the room and settled by the side of the bed. He placed his hand on Sakura's forehead and tried to soothe her. For some reason, his little sister was calling for Syaoran. He thought that kid had gone back to Hong Kong three years ago, so why was Sakura dreaming about him now? She soon quieted down into a peaceful sleep. Touya watched her tenderly for a minute, then leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Afterwards, he got up and left the room. Kero breathed a sigh of relief and flew over to Sakura. He settled down on the little shelf over the bed, curled up, and fell asleep.
Author's Note: The first chapter to my first CCS Fic is complete. Feedback would be nice and greatly appreciated =). Does anyone know if Meiling is the name of Syaoran's cousin in the Japanese version? If it isn't Meiling, I'll have it changed for the coming chapters…
*Sakura
~The Animé Archives Team