Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CARDCAPTOR SAKURA NOR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS NOR AM I MAKING ANY PROFIT FROM THIS. I also do not own the song "Fairytale" Norway's entry for, and winner of, Eurovision. ^_^

"Lalalalalalala!" = Speech
//Lalalalalalala// = Thought
"Lalalalalalala" = Announcer

Leoanda: I would like to thank Piggy Ho Ho for allowing me to continue this fic. I loved reading the first one, and I couldn't't wait for the second, so it is a great honour in being able to write the rest of this fic. Thank you! *Bows respectfully*

Legend of Ometin 2: Battlefield Tokyo!
"My companions are my greatest strength…"

Chapter 5

Work, Target and Good Friends

"Here."

Blinking, Jon looked down at the small, blue, plastic box that Syaoran had just given him, before blinking at the yellow plastic box that the brunette had just put into Shi Shi's hands.

"It's your lunch," Syaoran stated, scowling at his own green lunch box.

"But-"

"Hey, don't complain! It's your fault that we all have to eat like this," the scowl was firmly in place, as Syaoran moved about the apartment getting the rest of his school equipment together.

Shi Shi sat at the small table in the main living area, dressed and ready for her first full day of school. She was pretty excited, but the light yellow box that had been given to her and then labelled 'lunch' had dampened her excitement slightly. Taking off the lid, Shi Shi almost fainted by her lunch.

Or rather, the lack of.

"W-w-what is this?!"

"Bread, and a bottle of water," Syaoran announced placing his now fully packed bag over his shoulders.

"Nani?!" Jon ripped of the lid of his own to discover the exact same contents. "Why is there only this? I thought there would at least be an apple or something…"

"Well if you hadn't eaten us out of the house, you'd have a bigger lunch, so it's your own fault. I've already told you," Syaoran uttered irritably. "Right, then! We better be leaving if we want to get there early so that I can show you where you're supposed to be today."

~~I'minlovewithafairytale!~~

Sitting down for the beginning of the days register, Jon continued to silently cry over the state of his lunch. To make the matter worse, Syaoran had made them have a light breakfast of toast, cereal and the rice balls that had probably been meant to be in his lunch that day.

In front of him, Yukito and Touya swapped information on possible work for the weekend. A member of the cast for a play at the local theatre had left due to being a new father. Work was a continuous thing for them, and they both found that swapping what they knew of local part-time jobs during register was the best way of getting good work.

"So, I think that we should ask someone from class to try for it. You know, since the play last year," Yukito was smiling brightly as usual.

"I suppose so. That way, we at least know them, right? Although… It could be a bad thing… for me anyway," he muttered the last part quietly, referring to all the girls who seemed hell bent of clinging to him. He had no other thoughts than distaste for them, and so he was reluctant to even bother.

Nodding, Yukito turned to view the whole class, before spotting Jon sat behind them.

"Hello! Aren't you the new student?" The silverette asked, turning in his seat.

"You!" Touya exclaimed. He had a weird feeling about this guy, and he still couldn't figure out how Jon had managed to steal the ball in the game like he had. It got on his nerves at the easiness in which it had been enacted.

"Hullo!" Jon waved rather pathetically at them, smiling nervously. //No wonder Syaoran doesn't seem to get on with the darker one// Jon thought.

"Were did you transfer from?" Yukito asked, beaming as if the glare that Touya was sending Jon (and making the poor thief uncomfortable at the same time) wasn't happening.

"Umm… Oh! Ch-China? Yeah! China! Li Syaoran is a… er… distant relative of mine," Jon beamed back, happy that he had remembered the place that Syaoran had instructed them to say they were from.

Touya glared harder at the other teen, having noticed the hesitance in his voice. "Where abouts in China? And what relation exactly?"

"Erm… I'm a distant cousin. So is my younger cousin, Shi Shi. She's transferred here too. She's a bit younger than me, but a bit older than Syaoran. We're both from a… er… branch line of the family. Yeah. Syaoran's like.. the main line… So, we're, like, the branch members…" Sweat-dropping, Jon had totally just made that part up, hoping that such as thing occurred in Syaoran's family, and that Touya would buy it.

"Right…" Touya replied sceptically.

"Wow! Really?" Yukito said in awe. Yue may have been informed of Ometin and the CardCaptors adventures there, but Yukito had no idea to the current goings on.

"So, how come your last name isn't Li?" Touya asked, smirking.

//Uh oh! Busted! No, wait… Maybe…// Jon continued to sweat drop.

"My… mother… is a part of the Li family, but my father is an Evergreen." Jon was beaming once again at his exceptionally good excuse. And before Touya had a chance to question the other teen further, the teacher began to call register.

~Eventhoughithurts!~

Sitting under their usual tree, Touya was only slightly annoyed at first that Yukito had asked Jon to join them for lunch. But as he soon learned, their new friendship solidified when Jon practically announced how much he loved food.

Opening their lunch boxes, the tears from that morning resumed for Jon as he recalled just how pitiful his lunch was.

"Is that it?" Yukito exclaimed. From what Jon had been telling them, Yukito had thought that Jon would have a lunch at least twenty times bigger. Much like his own.

"That's even less than mine," Touya added in. He wasn't too bothered really, but he didn't want another scalding from the silverette for being rude.

"Syaoran said that we have to eat our food sparingly. He says that we have to keep a budget, and me 'eating like a hippo all the time' isn't keeping to it." The dark haired teen continued to cry, wondering just how he was going to survive the rest of the day on a starved stomach.

Completely sympathizing, Yukito set about combining and then separating all of the lunches so that all three of them had a third each.

Every one of Touya's complaints, however, landed on deaf or uncaring ears.

Digging into his newly acquired lunch with much gusto, Jon hummed his thanks quite happily, receiving a beaming smile from his fellow food lover.

And so the 'bond of the big eaters' (I love this phrase! ^__^) had been formed.

"You know, you can't keep doing this," Touya pointed out, referring to his disgruntledness of having his food replaced. "You have to bring your own proper lunch."

"I know, but Syaoran says that we have to keep to a budget. And with Syaoran, what he says, goes."

"He's a gaki! Ignore him! Or better yet, hit him," he snickered.

"He isn't a gaki Touya. You should be more polite to him, since he and Sakura-chan are pretty good friends," Yukito intervened.

"Look, Syaoran isn't a bad guy. He's just got a lot of pressure. I mean, from the sounds of it, his mother has got him totally whipped," Jon nodded, recalling a particular conversation he had 'accidently' overheard the other night.

"I don't care. He just better stay away from my sister," Touya growled, before biting down on his sandwich.

Sighing, Yukito knew that Touya's mind never changed when it came to his little sister, so he decided to address the more important issue.

"So, are you going to be eating that small lunch everyday then, Jon?" the silverette asked.

"If Syaoran gets his way – which he most likely will – then yes," tears had re-appeared at the corners of his eyes at this. He looked down pitifully, hoping that some miracle would occur.

Well, Yukito is notorious for being a secret angel.

"There's a place going at the local theatre that you could apply for."

"What place?" Jon asked, eyes lighting up in hope. Work meant money. Money meant food. Well, if he wasn't allowed to steal it anyway.

~'CauseIdon'tcareifIlosemymind!~

It was kind of funny really.

In a way.

The 'place' was a small theatre road show that was set up seasonally for children to come and watch the performances with their parents/guardians.

Touya had landed the role of the amazing Hero: Red Ranger. And Yukito's polite yet active voice had gotten him the role of the announcer.

With Yukito's recommendation, Jon had been made the shows Monster: Monzolla. It had solved the road show's company time and money on finding a new person to play the part, and it had solved Jon's money problem.

All in all, it was a good arrangement. Even Syaoran had approved.

It was Sunday, and the first performance was about to start in five minutes. Dressed up, you couldn't tell that the hero was Touya. He was wearing a red lycra suit with gold and silver stripes moving diagonally across his chest and full helmet. The red boots and gloves completed the look.

Jon's monster costume was actually quite good, in that the suit had a tail that easily swished at the slightest movement, and the helmet at least looked a little threatening. It was a kid's show after all. The only complaint – that he didn't dare voice – was that the suit was really hot.

"Okay, two minutes and you're on!" The director yelled to everyone.

Smiling, Yukito wished Jon and Touya good luck, and telling them that Sakura-chan, Daidouji-chan, Li-kun and Jon's cousin – who the two had still yet to meet – were sitting in the audience.

"Oh, great!" Jon sighed.

"Just what we need," Touya agreed, scowling.

~'CauseI'malreadycuresed!~

Snickering, Shi Shi and Syaoran sat on one of the middle benches so that the adults could sit at the back, and the younger children could sit in front. Sakura sat on the other side of Syaoran, with Tomoyo sat next to her.

The amethyst eyed girl's camera was in her left hand, as she continued to alternately listen and chat to her three companions.

"This is gonna be good!" Shi Shi continued to giggle from her seat as she waited for the performance to start.

"At least he has a good reason for doing it," Sakura noted sympathetically. She recalled her own role in the play that she and Syaoran had taken part in so earn enough money to continue their journey through Ometin.

"Yeah, but we're never going to let him live it down," Syaoran snickered.

"And I'm going to tape the whole thing! Awww, if only Sakura-chan was performing! I'd have to make the costumes then! And I even have the perfect idea for it!" Sparkles had appeared in her eyes, and as always, Shi Shi had become fascinated by this. No one she had ever met before could do that and still know every word they spoke while she continued to daydream.

"No, I'm glad that I'm not in the play. I can finally see it from the audiences' point of view! And Touya isn't playing the female part this time," at this they all giggled – or in Syaoran's case chuckled – at the memory. Shi Shi had been informed of the 'Cinderella' incident, and the image that had formed was hilarious.

"Ladies and Gentleman! Please take your seats! As the Grand Opening Performance of The Red Ranger's is about to begin!" Yukito's voice came across the speakers, instantly quieting any further conversation from the CardCaptors.

The younger children in front cheered as the curtains opened to a cardboard town, and soft music began to play.

Three towns people walked onto the stage dressed in peasant clothing.

"The town of Galad was a humble town, where people went to the market and bought and sold food and clothes. However, one day a week, a horrible and nasty monster began to rampage through the town! Destroying the market and homes of the people!"

Here, Jon came on dressed in costume and began to knock over some of the 'houses', moving towards the other actors who began to 'scream' in horror. You could just make out Shi Shi and Syaoran trying not to laugh over the cheers and boos of the children in the front.

"For many years, the town of Galad had lived in terror of the fearsome monster, Monzolla!" Yukito's voice was excited, and deepened slightly to add emphasis to the 'fearsome monster' that made the children shout out again. "But there was a wondering hero who had been travelling from town to town who had heard of this Monzolla."

Here, Touya came on stage dressed complete in his red costume, and this time you could hear Syaoran and Shi Shi laughing in the background.

Standing in a 'heroic' stance, hands on hips and head lifted to the side, he moved to the front of the stage near the children.

"I have travelled far! And I seek to destroy the monster, Monzolla! But I can't find him," Touya announced to the audience. The children all began to bounce and point at 'Monzolla' who was still 'rampaging' behind him.

"Can you help me find him?" Touya asked.

"He's behind you!" The children yelled. At this point, all four of the CardCaptor group had let go and were laughing out right, with Sakura occasionally joining in as Touya continued to ask the kids where Monzolla was.

"With help from the audience, the Red Ranger made his way to the town of Galad where he saw Monzolla destroying the town! Oh, what will our hero do?"

~YearsagowhenIwasyounger!~

Seated near the back of the crowd, but near enough to the stage that he could see the characters and the small group of CardCaptors at the same time, Edison watched nervously as the CardCaptors continued to laugh or join in with the shouting.

It seemed so nice to have friends that close. And surely, there couldn't be anything wrong with having a little fun?

No, it isn't just a little fun though, is it? Idipus spoke quietly, unimpressed with the show. Who would laugh and jest at those who only wish to make young children smile and laugh? It's a cruel thing to do.

They aren't doing anything wrong though… Are they? Edison queried. Their just having a little fun. No one is hurt because of it.

Not yet, anyway. Idipus continued. It was hard having to explain why every plan needed to happen, and in the way that it happened. But someone always ends up hurt. We should interfere before it happens. You have the power after all.

What should I do? Edison asked, uncertainly.

Inside, Idipus smiled.

Focusing all of his concentration on 'Monzolla', Edison understood what he felt he had to do.

~IkindoflikedagirlIknew~

It wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be really. Jon was actually enjoying himself. He didn't have any lines to remember except for the occasional 'Rraaawww!' and he was allowed to 'stampede' across the stage so long as he didn't actually break anything.

So, it was because he was having so much fun that he didn't notice, at first, the slight tingling that surrounded him. But he did notice that his arm moved of its own accord when it broke one of the 'houses' down, causing him to wince and the crowd to scream.

After turning to face Touya, who had noticed the stage actually being destroyed, Jon involuntarily moved to hurt the other teen, pushing him harshly and continued to destroy everything in sight.

Jon let out a scared and worried scream himself as his body – or rather the costume – did things he really didn't want to do.

"The monster fought fiercely, and the Red Ranger had to step away to try and fight of the terrible rage that Monzolla had gone into!" Yukito had gone off script by this point, and he was trying to accommodate the actions in the hopes that they would get back to the play soon.

Jon swiped at Touya again, who had come back to try to knock Jon down, but the suit dodged his attacks, and the costume eventually managed to kick Touya off stage and into the crowd.

Children screamed as the moved backwards, luckily none of them had been hit, and Monzolla moved into the crowd, where most of the children, some of the parents and the CardCaptors had stood. Monzolla moved through the groupings of children, and grabbed a hold onto Syaoran, who yelped out in surprise and annoyance.

"Get off!" The brunette shouted.

Something was wrong, and before Jon had started fighting with Touya, Sakura, Syaoran and Kero – who had hidden in Sakura's bag – had felt the passing of strange but familiar magic.

"Hey! Are you listening? Put me down!" Syaoran continued yelling. He became slightly panicked when Jon replied.

"It's not me! I can't stop it! The costumes moving on its own!"

Sakura, Tomoyo and Shi Shi overheard this, as 'Monzolla' carried Syaoran back onto the stage, crushing him in its arms.

"We have to do something!" Shi Shi spoke, hopping from one foot to the other.

"I'll use my cards! I have to save Syaoran-kun," Sakura took out her key, more than ready to summon it and her cards.

"Wait! I have the perfect costume with me!" Tomoyo whipped out her bag from under the seat, and dragged the two girls behind the stage so that the green eyed Card Mistress could change.

Back on stage…

"The monster has taken a villager hostage! And only the hero of the hour can save him! Oh, where is our hero?"

By now, Touya had recovered and he had gone backstage. 'Monzolla' had Syaoran in a hard grip under one arm, and was beginning to set fire to the cardboard town. The costume's magic had rendered Syaoran almost useless since its aura was trying to put him to sleep. But Syaoran's own magic prevented sleep completely, so he let himself be moved about in a dazed state.

//It's kind of odd//, Syaoran thought, //No magic except my mothers can make me sleep this easily. Not even Clow Reed's// His mind drifted in and out of focus, but not once did he actually sleep.

"Someone! Anyone! Red Ranger! Help the villager!" Yukito was trying to get Touya back on stage and things under control. He had noticed the fire, and was hoping that it was just special effects that they hadn't been told about.

"I'll save the villager! And the town of Galad from the evil Monzolla!"

Coming onto the stage front, a young girl dressed in bright red, with a gold mask covering half her face, and her pink star want out, called out to the audience.

"Be gone, Monzolla! You will be defeated today!" She yelled out, receiving cheers from the crowd.

"Yes! It's the mighty heroine! Little Red Ranger! She's here to save the day!" Yukito called out happily.

"Watery Card!" Summoning the card, the fires that were spreading fast were put out, and with a sigh, Sakura began to face off with the costume.

"Sword Card!" Calling on her experience, Sakura ran at the costume that was Jon, and swiped at the free arm, careful not to aim at Syaoran. Dancing backwards, she spun the sword in her hand, before diving in again.

The claws on the costume swiped back at each movement and potential blow, exchanging hits and misses with the Card Mistress.

Swipe, step back, push forward, clang, hold ground, jump back, thrust down, miss, slid under the swipe, spin and hit the claws...

Jumping back, Sakura stopped to catch her breath and then aimed for a potentially very dangerous spot of the costumes left shoulder, the arm that held the dazed Syaoran.

Slamming down, the force of the blow cause the costume to momentarily loosen it's arm, and Syaoran fell to the floor with an "Umph!"

Grabbing her boyfriend, Sakura jumped away from the costume as it regained it composure, and she left Syaoran to Shi Shi and Tomoyo who were just off stage. With Syaoran safe, Sakura sighed, and mentally prepared to attack the costume again.

"It's the thing..."

"What?"

Spinning around, she caught sight of Syaoran sitting up and looking directly at her. The magic that had been forced onto him was still present, so Syaoran still couldn't think straight, although he was starting to sound and feel somewhat normal again.

"It's the costume... Not Jon... You need to... purify it... somehow... like before... at the... school..."

Understanding suddenly flooded through her. It was that same magic, and it was trying to hurt her Syaoran! Again! Narrowing her eyes, determination took over and she held her wand up high over the costume.

Placing both of her hands on either side of the wand, the wings expanded in a glittering light, and the crystal glowed just as brightly sending a wave of white light through and around the costume.

"Purify!" She shouted.

The white glow, and the flecks of her pink magic, swarmed around the costume, pulling it this way and that, pushing out and in most places shredding the magic, and in turn, the costume in order to remove the dark aura.

"After and amazing battle with the terrifying monster, our heroine has sent the final blow to Monzolla! Purifying the evil of the monster!"

Spinning down, the purifying light began to dissipate leaving Jon on stage, face bright red and slightly terrified, in his boxers and the remaining shreds of the now completely destroyed costume.

"Horaayyyy!!! Little Red Ranger has defeated Monzolla and released the curse that had transformed one of the villagers into a monster! Thanks to Little Red Ranger, he has become human again!" Yukito explained to the crowd over the microphone. "Thank you, Little Red Ranger! Thank you!"

Standing heroically before the audience, Sakura bowed deeply, sweeping she short skirt(s) into a curtsy. Sending a relieved and knowing look at Jon, she bowed gracefully once again and then went backstage.

Smiling, Sakura rushed over and hugged Syaoran who was now stood, having shook off the last of the drowsiness, at the sidelines. Holding her, he smiled, his face going bright red.

~Shewasmine,andweweresweethearts!~

It was much later in the day, and Sakura and Tomoyo had taken Syaoran back to his apartment, Touya and Yukito following so that the 'damn gaki' wouldn't do something 'weird' to his sister. Touya and Yukito apologised to Jon and promised to meet up and talk tomorrow.

Shi Shi waited outside the main office, where she could hear yelling from the manager/director, with not a sound from Jon. She could just imagine him with his head hung low – despite it not being his fault – and a small pout on his face. Smiling, she waited for him to finish.

It wasn't long before he slunked out, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Hey, Jon! Great show! Well... except for the whole rampage thing," leaning back on her heels, toes pointing upwards, she nodded to herself, trying to cheer him up so that she could get to the point of why she waited.

"I couldn't do anything though. Syaoran was almost hurt, and I'm lucky I didn't get hurt," he muttered more to himself than to the younger girl. His shoulders were slouched over, and he was pretty upset.

"Aww, cheer up! It wasn't so bad. And Sakura totally kicked some butt!!" She bounced back onto her toes, then her heels and back again as she recalled some of the cool moves the Card Mistress had used.

"Yeah... I suppose..."

"So, what did he say? The manager guy."

"He fired me. 'Shredded suit, public nudity – and in front of children no less! Destroying and setting fire to the set! Going off script! And then some little girl had to save the day! What happened to my Red Ranger? Replaced by some little twerp! You went against health and safety regulations so many times I lost count! What the hell you think you were doing-!' and he just went on and on," Jon moaned, having impersonated the guy pretty well.

"That doesn't matter, you'll find work elsewhere. Anyways," Shi Shi said turning serious, "it's about Syaoran."

"Yeah. Whatever it that magic aura thing is, it's after him," Jon conceded, coming out of his slump. Shi Shi was right, he had more important things than a job for money. His main job was to protect Syaoran, especially now.

"We need to tell Syaoran. And Sakura," Shi Shi said, as they began to make their way towards the apartment.

"No. No, we don't need to tell Syaoran, or Sakura, or anyone. We keep this to ourselves, for their sake and safety if nothing else," Jon said. Nodding to himself, he clapped his hands together. "We need to dig into this, and investigate further."

"So, we work behind their backs?" Shi Shi asked unsure.

"No, we just keep a closer eye out. There's no need to upset them, and with the amount of stress that Syaoran's already going through, we don't need him paranoid as well as exhausted," the purple-blue haired teen confirmed.

"Okay!" Shi Shi agreed, the bounce coming back into her step. "But, we will tell them if we find something else, or if it get too dangerous, right?"

"Of course! This is just a precaution. We need to protect him and Sakura, that's what we came here to do in the first place."

"Yeah. I'm sure we'll be able to protect him," she said a lot more confidently than she felt.

~Thatwasthen,butthenit'strue!~

Walking into his bedroom, Syaoran sighed, almost collapsing onto his bed. The shower he had just had had relaxed him some what, but the incident was still on his mind. He had been targeted, or at least more specifically than the others had.

Was it just a coincidence that these attacks were more focused on him? Or was just because he kept putting himself in the way?

If the previous use of the purification crystal had hurt the last time Sakura had used it, it had left a lingering ache in his chest that was still fading despite the incident having occurred over an hour ago.

He had been too tired, and un-admittedly afraid, to try to command the costume to see if it would act as the fluff had at the school. What was happening to him?

Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!

"Huh?" Sitting up, he reached over he picked up the phone, expecting it to be his mother wanting another daily update of Japan's goings on.

"Moshi Moshi, Li residence," he spoke, polite and almost as coldly as when he had first moved to Japan. His mother always demanded utmost respect, and a simple correct greeting always went a long way with her.

"Hi. Erm.. is Evergreen Jon there? It's the manager of the Red Ranger Road Show Production Team," the hesitant voice spoke, sounding almost scared at the tone he had just been addressed with.

"Just a moment," Syaoran inwardly sighed, relieved. He wasn't sure how he was going to keep Jon, Shi Shi and Ometin a secret from his mother, but he always informed her of the strange goings on, and this was no exception.

"Jon! The manager of the Red Ranger is on the phone for you," he called into the main living room. "Take it on the desk phone."

"Okay!"

Having to wait for his turn for the shower – Shi Shi had just pushed poor old him out of the way to get it first – he had been sat on the couch, and so he only had to move around the table in order to reach the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jon? Yeah, err... You up for coming back this weekend?"

"What? But you fired me. 'Public nudity, on stage prop destruction, shredded suit-' "

"Yeah, yeah! But, the ratings were up! The parents are bringing their kid's back for a second showing... So, it all worked out... I guess. If you come back, I'll let you off paying for it all, and you just make the new costume and help rebuild the set, and we'll call it even."

"Deal!" Jon beamed. "Thank you! I'll see you soon! Bye!"

Putting the phone down, the thief's mood had just brightened considerably.

"What was that about?" Syaoran asked, coming out of his room.

"I'm going to have a full lunch tomorrow!" And he was singing such all night.

~I'minlovewithafairytale!~

Leoanda: I hope you enjoyed it! And I hope if fulfils expectations! Thank you! *Bows*