A/N: This is sort of an AU fic I guess. This story takes place in the medieval times PLUS there's dragons and stuffs. Ano...I'm thinking of having dragons and stuffs in it anyways. ^_^ Syaoran is a knight (sorry, he's not a prince although, being in the clan they are pretty rich. Just work with me here) and Sakura is a princess. This is a story of love between two pretenders. ~_^ I hope you like it. This is my first CCS fic. S+S forever!!!!!! Remember, this is an AU fic so I can make anything possible!!!!! Oh yeah!! Sakura and Syaoran are both 16. AU means Alternate Universe. Am I right? I always forget so if I'm wrong, do remind me. ^_^ Arigatou!

Disclaimer: CCS is not mine!! It's CLAMP's so don't even think about it suers!!!! giggles That sounds funny!!!

Before you read: There are still the Clow Cards, but some of them are different and are caught in different orders. The Clow has already been opened and so Kero is friends with Sakura and she has already caught three cards. (Plus having Windy with her.) Fly, Shadow, and Jump.

Vocabulary:
kaijuu = monster
arigatou = thank you
ano = um
hoe = Sakura's exclamatory word
kawaii = cute
hai = yes
gomen (gomen-nasai) = I'm sorry
sugoi = wow

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"talking"
thoughts or emphasis

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Shinrai
by: Sally Fox

Chapter 1: Friend or Foe?

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Sakura Kinomoto sat in front of her vanity mirror and sighed. She was said to be the most beautiful girl in all of Japan. (A/N: ^_^ just pretend) Every knight was after her and even the commoners were after her. She hated it when the knights told her that they'd win the tournament just for her and her beauty. It made her sick. Sakura didn't especially like jousting all too much but she had taken a big interest in swords as soon as she became a Card Captor. She learned many moves from it.

Her mother had died from a severe sickness but her father still had the throne and didn't force her to get betrothed to anyone she didn't love. That's what she loved best about her father. Touya, her older brother, was next in line to take the throne. He was very over protective of Sakura although she could defend herself. After all, she was a Card Captor now. Touya also teased Sakura and called her a kaijuu which is what's so annoying about him.

Just then Tomoyo Daidouji waltzed gracefully into the room. Sakura had been best friends with Tomoyo since they were little. Tomoyo even found out about Sakura's card capturing adventures. She was a great help and an even better friend. Tomoyo tended to get carried away with herself though, when it came to Sakura. Always the best for her Sakura-chan! That's another reason Sakura loved Tomoyo. She didn't address her by her royal title. Tomoyo sewed weird costumes for Sakura, making her look like a court jester sometimes plus making short dresses that were inappropriate for a princess. Of course Tomoyo didn't care anything about that. She thought that Sakura was just so kawaii no matter what.

"Guess what Sakura-chan?" squealed an excited Tomoyo.

Sakura smiled thoughtfully. Tomoyo always seemed to know when Sakura was feeling down about things and always seemed to cheer her up somehow.

"What?" Sakura asked feeling a little better.

"I'm finished with your ball gown for tomorrow night!!!" Tomoyo plastered a huge smile on her fair face.

"Tomoyo-chan, you didn't h..."

"Of course I did!!! You're worth it Sakura-chan!!" Tomoyo walked up and hugged Sakura.

"Arigato Tomoyo-chan. Ano...where is it?" Sakura looked around herself hoping to see a hint of some amazing fabric somewhere.

Tomoyo giggled. "It's a surprise silly!"

"Hoe? No fair Tomoyo-chan!! Why'd you tell me it was done then?" Sakura pouted as she sat on her bed.

"I couldn't wait!!!! You're going to love it!!"

Sakura looked at Tomoyo pleadingly with a glint of sadness in them. "Please?? Will you show me the dress?"

Tomoyo just smiled and cocked her head to the side. "Sakura-chan!!! I told you, it's a surprise!!!"

Sakura smiled. She could never fool Tomoyo. She was about to suggest going on a run around the castle when a familiar sensation filled the air. "Tomoyo-chan, let's go for a walk. I sense a Clow Card."

"Is it strong?" Tomoyo asked a little worried but excited at the same time.

"Not very." Sakura stated trying to concentrate where it was coming from.

Tomoyo squealed in delight. "It's a good thing that I have your next outfit ready!!!" Sakura sweatdropped at this. "Let me go get it!" Tomoyo started skipping happily out of the room. It was certainly a good day.

"Alright but don't forget the cloaks too!!" Sakura called after her excited friend.

"Don't worry, I won't!"

"Wait!! Have you seen Kero-chan?!?" Sakura yelled, hoping Tomoyo heard but no one else had.

"Nope!" she heard a faint reply. Sakura sighed. Oh great. I have to go find Kero-chan plus put on Tomoyo's outfit and still catch up with the card before it gets any stronger.

"Kero-chan!!! Oi!! Kero-chan!!! Where are you?" Sakura shouted as she started to exit her room.

"Over here Sakura! No need to shout!!" Kero spoke from atop Sakura's windowsill.

"Oh. Gomen. I didn't know you were in here. You were just so quiet." Sakura muttered to Kero as she saw he had stolen some food yet again from the kitchen. "So you heard Tomoyo-chan and me talk about the Clow Card right?"

"Hai. We better get a move on before it causes havoc in town. You don't want that, right?" Kero said stuffing the last of some chocolates in his mouth.

"Right." Sakura nodded. Tomoyo came back into the room and shoved Sakura into the bathroom to get dressed. Sakura hated to have people dress for her and she hated it when people gave her baths. She preferred to do everything herself since she was little and was very stubborn about it. If she needed help then she'd ask for it.

Sakura and Tomoyo wandered around outside a bit, taking in the fresh air and just enjoying things here and there while Sakura tried to figure out where the Clow Card was. After a while of wandering around, Sakura sensed another aura other than the Clow Card's. It was green and seemed to be much more closer than the Clow Card's but still far away. I don't sense it being an evil aura, but then again you never know. Sakura shrugged off the feeling of that aura being there and said, "I think it's coming from over there." She pointed towards the fields and up a little towards the forest.

"At least it's not in town," stated Kero from inside Sakura's brown cloak. Tomoyo and Sakura had to wear brown cloaks so first of all, no one would think Sakura was a weirdo wearing some weird outfit and second, so no one would get the hunch that it was the princess. Not that Sakura got to go outside often except for the events of jousting and such. Not very many people would notice her being the princess but she did attract a lot of men from her beauty so a lot of men knew her from the events. Lately, she had been trying to hide in the shadows during the events but someone always seemed to notice her.

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Syaoran Li awoke from a long slumber in the grassy fields. Being a knight was tiring and he hated it. He was so glad that he decided not to be a prince although being a knight wasn't really the best thing either. Even though he was a knight he was still betrothed to Meiling. Of course he was surprised that they didn't make him be prince but he was surprised that they'd do that rather than break of the marriage of him and Meiling. It's not that he didn't like her or anything it's just that she was so annoying and not to mention his cousin!!!! Of course they probably didn't break off the marriage between us because of how Meiling is. She'd probably have a fit. "As long as you're not head over heels in love with someone else, I'm going to marry you." Syaoran played the thoughts back into his head until he was snapped out of them.

Oh yeah. I almost forgot, my mission. As a knight and clan member I have to retrieve the Clow Cards. Blah blah blah. I wish I could just lead a normal commoner life or something. Syaoran stood up and started walking towards the card's aura when he sensed another one. It wasn't very close but he could still sense it. It was pink and didn't have a hint of evil to it. "Maybe it's the person with the Clow Cards, but then why is one of them free?" Syaoran muttered to himself, but shrugged it off and continued to walk towards the Clow Card as he took out his sword. The card seems to be near the forest.

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As Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero reached the fields they removed they're cloaks. Kero floated freely about, having a very good time. Sakura looked up ahead and saw a speck of green in the fields heading towards the Clow Card. She sensed that same green aura. It seemed actually very friendly to her and she couldn't wait to meet whoever it was. For some reason that aura got her all excited.

"Come on you guys!! Let's hurry!!" Sakura lunged forward with a sudden spur of excitement and adventure.

"That's the spirit Sakura-chan!!" Tomoyo piped up as she threw the heavy cloaks at Kero and ran after her friends.

As the trio reached the Clow Card they saw a small fire starting as a young man fought against what looked like, lightning. Lightning seemed to be weak so Sakura took sudden action.

"Shadow card! Release and dispel! Shadow!" Shadow came out and engulfed Lightning. "Now!! Lightning! Return to your power...confined!!" The Lightning turned back into a card and floated towards Sakura. (A/N: I know that Syaoran didn't really help but Sakura is 16 and smarter. She's still dense though. ^_^)

"Sugoi Sakura-chan!!!!" Tomoyo yelled with joy. "That had to be your best card capture yet!!"

Sakura blushed a little. "Arigatou Tomoyo-chan."

"Ano...," a deep baritone voice sounded behind Sakura and Tomoyo.

"G-gomen-nasai!! I-I forgot you were there!!" Sakura stuttered as she turned around. She saw the most handsome man ever to be seen. He had beautiful brown eyes that matched his unruly hair that swayed in the breeze. Of course Sakura never judged anyone by there outer appearance, but Tomoyo seemed to be taken aback by his good looks. His green robes and hat gave him an even more handsome feature as Tomoyo noticed. She didn't really quite get taken with men by their looks either, but his handsome features just stood out so all she could do was stare.

"Ano...hello. I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Kinomoto Sakura and this here is my best friend, Daidouji Tomoyo. We're commoners." Sakura added a little hastily.

Syaoran just looked at her. She was very beautiful with her soft auburn hair and green eyes that seemed to have a happy glint in them that never went away. She wore the most absurd outfit he had ever seen. It was pink and black with a cat tail attached and cat ears. Even though she was very beautiful Syaoran didn't judge people by outward appearance and he wasn't much of a people person anyways. He noticed she was waiting for him to respond so he bowed. "I'm Li Syaoran and I'm also a commoner although I'm from Hong Kong, China." Syoaran stood upright and raised an eyebrow. "You two don't really look like commoners."

"Eheh! What do you mean? Of course we're commoners!! Right Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura elbowed Tomoyo.

"Hai!" she responded, smiling politely at Syaoran.

"Whatever. Kinomoto-chan I..." Syaoran started but was cut off by Sakura.

"Please, call me Sakura." Sakura smiled happily at Syaoran. Syaoran blushed although he had no clue as to why he did.

"Ano...Sakura-chan, I didn't really need your help back there you know. I'm here for the Clow Cards so hand them over!!" Sakura just looked at him confused and a bit hurt. "Well? You have caught some, haven't you?" Syaoran asked getting a bit impatient. Just then Kero flew up.

"Why do I have to carry your stupid cloak Sakura?!?!" Kero spat angrily.

"Who the heck is that?" Syaoran asked, pointing towards Kero.

"Oh. This is Kero-chan." Sakura said casually.

Syaoran's jaw dropped. "Y-you mean to tell me that t-this stuffed animal is Cerberus?(did I spell that right?) Guardian of the seal?" Syaoran asked with his jaw still dropped.

"Hey!! Watch it buddy!!" Kero yelled at Syaoran.

"First a pathetic Card Captor and now this? You people are so weak!" Syaoran said as he rolled his eyes.

Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes. Had she just heard him right? Had he just called her a pathetic Card Captor? It wasn't as easy as it looked and besides, she had pretty much saved Syaoran. "Li-kun, I think you should think about people's feelings before letting pride get in the way." Sakura whispered and ran off, followed by Tomoyo and Kero after biting Syaoran's finger.

Syaoran looked at their backs as they ran. His eyes softened and he felt a bit hurt. She's right. And she didn't even yell at me. Maybe I should protect her. Syaoran shook his head. Why do I have those thoughts? What makes me think that? She's just a little girl that doesn't understand a thing. His thoughts didn't hide the hurt that still shown on his face as he walked slowly towards town. Maybe I should apologize. No! That shows weakness. I'll just practice sword fighting until I'm ready to compete.

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As Sakura ran she couldn't stop thinking of Syaoran. Why? Why did I react like that? I never react like that to anyone!! Why do I feel hurt inside? It's not like I feel anything for that guy. I just met him! But where will he stay the night? It seems he just got here since I never really sensed his aura before. Why should I care anyways? Sakura sighed as she debated with herself whether to go back for him or not.

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A/N: Well...that's it for chappie one!!! I'm trying to make the chapters sorta like one episode. So what did ya think? Yukito and Touya are out sparring...somewhere else in Japan so they aren't around. Plus, Sakura doesn't LIKE like Yukito and neither does Syaoran in my fic. ^_^ R&R if you would. If you totally think it's boring then please tell me and I won't continue. Yes, this is definitely S+S!! It might also be T+E cuz I think they make a kawaii couple too!!