Disclaimer: All characters are borrowed from the anime/manga Cardcaptor Sakura except for Karime, Sasabe, Hameji, and all unimportant supporting characters. However, the plot and setting belong to me. I rewrote the whole story since the writing sucked.

Deceptions
by Golden Emerald

Ch. 1: The Disappearance that Started It All

"Bye Sasaki! See you at work again tomorrow!"

The speaker was a brunette, tall and thin, with hazy chocolate eyes, who was slowly vanishing from sight, back to his abode far away. He had slightly pale skin, along with a strong built figure, but no one would ever squeal about his looks here in Roquain, the domain of the protectors. Why would they? All the guardians could have been top models with the right training down there in the other world. Every guy was drop-dead handsome, at least to the standards of the humans and the guardians. They each had a toned form, dazzling eyes, decent height, and flawless skin. Their female counterparts were just as stunning, possessing all the desirable physical attributes a lady could have: thin, tall, and well-shaped figures, smooth, glowing skin, and mysterious, captivating eyes. Everywhere one would look, there would be masses of handsome people all around the place.

They were called angels down there on Earth, but those tales… they really flattered the Roquanians, (which they called themselves), since they didn't think as highly of themselves as the humans did. Roquanians thought their jobs were pretty simple and minor: watch over what was going on down on the planet in order to gather information to help the creatures maintain peace and order in times of need.

"Goodbye Syaoran Li, we wish you all the best…" mumbled Rika Sasaki, one of Li's few friends in Roquain, the world of the penates, guardians, angels, guides, or whatever anyone wished to call them, as Syaoran disappeared from view. Rika stared at her departing friend longingly, and when he vanished from her field of vision, Rika slowly murmured, "Kam says that our safety and happiness will be granted if you go: everyone's safety, including ours and the humans', but I'm sorry for not telling you... Hopefully, this entire land will not meet peril without your care…"

"That won't be a problem; I'm taking his place tomorrow, right after he leaves. Besides, you know that Kamire's predictions are never wrong… except when he's staring at Mizuki over there like that."

The mystifying male with a gleaming indigo cap of hair then looked over at a daydreaming blond youth who had sparkling turquoise orbs and the cutest face in the land… according to a vote done by all the females, that is. That man was gazing quite blatantly in the direction of another female "angel" who was organizing her reports on how the Earth-dwelling birds' migrations were turning out to be.

"Are you sure about this Eriol? He's been doing this job since… since…" Risa stuttered, "…the assignment was ever given, and man, that's a long time."

"I'm absolutely positive. Hameji and I have this covered. Everything will stay like it is, and nothing will go wrong, so don't worry Rika," Eriol Hiiragizawa replied, as he flashed his charming, overused smile at his concerned companion.

Eriol's POV:

"Hey Mister, are you okay? Wake up!"

Oww…. Which of Syaoran's pranks am I going to face this time?

Reluctantly, I awoke to see a blur of peach, brown, gray, and red. I attempted to focus my shut eyes, then opened them, blinked again, and what I saw flabbergasted me. A girl of about fifteen years was hovering over me, while I was laying face-up on the unusually cold and sodden ground. That's rather odd; I expected it to be one of Li's stupid jokes. In addition to that, the girl looked rather bizarre. She had pale and wrinkled skin covered with pimples and moles, dull gray eyes, and a frail body, but after closer examination, something about her seemed quite puzzling and intriguing.

"Mister, I know that you're probably injured and all, but stop staring at me while I'm trying to help you."

Great, everyone just loves to disturb my thoughts. I can't even remember what was so special about her now. Meh, I'll just think about that after going back home to finish preparations…. Wait a minute. Where were the notes that I made for the planning? I probed my mind for answers, but none seemed very reasonable, since that girl also called me 'Mister' and injured. I thought everyone in this land knew me….. Plus, a displeasing visitor seemed to be distorting me from the outside in. Ah well, it's time to get up and trudge back home for a break from the office anyway. Trying to get up, I attempted to sit up and stand. Weird… it seems that I can't.

"Stop moving, can't you see that I'm trying to treat your wounds here?"

Hm? What did she mean by wounds? She's not possibly talking about those blemishes that humans get from careless actions, right? Sure there were wet, crimson stains on my usually clean clothes, and some dark purple blotches appeared to be placed upon my skin, but the whole situation was quite perplexing at the time. She was dabbing away at those colorful marks with a piece of cloth crudely torn from her pants. While trying to decipher the meaning for this action, I felt a firm grip on my legs. Seconds later, the darkness engulfed me agonizingly slowly, until the world as I knew it transformed into the starless night sky.