Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura does not belong to me. It is the property of the wonderful women of CLAMP.

Phase I: The Shining Sun

"Saaakuuuuraaaa…"

"Mm…"

"Sakuraaaaaa…"

"Five more minutes…"

"SAKURA!"

"Hoeeeee?!" Awakened by the shout of a little yellow plush toy, the sixteen-year-old girl fell out of bed, landing with a thud on the bedroom floor. Kinomoto Sakura had grown quite a bit in the last three years since the battle against the Master of the Harbinger Cards, more in charm and cuteness than in height, though. She no longer tied her auburn hair into twin bunches on both sides of her head; rather she let it fall loosely down, nearly to her shoulders. Some things still hadn't changed, however: the young Cardmistress still didn't wake up early in the morning.

"Geez, you're already sixteen!" Kero complained, floating above her as she stared at the ceiling in confusion. He landed on the bed, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "You really need to get more organized."

"Kero-chan! I noticed you're still a glutton!" Sakura glanced at the clock, shocked by the time. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!"

With record-breaking speed, she changed out of her pajamas into the Seijou Koukou High School uniform. "Bye, Kero-chan!"

She didn't forget to do what she had always done for the past several years. Stopping by the framed picture of Kinomoto Nadeshiko, Sakura smiled. "Good morning, okaa-san."

"Ah, good morning, Sakura." Fujitaka came out of the kitchen, a tray of breakfast in his hands. He set it down on the table, smiling.

"Good morning, otou-san!" she said, seating herself. As she had done in elementary and middle school, the young Cardmistress devoured her food swiftly but neatly. After a very short fit of coughing from choking on some hastily swallowed food, she dashed to the doorway, slipping off her slippers and putting on her roller blades. "Ittekimasu!"

"Itterashai!" her father called out as she sped off. This time, Sakura had no time to enjoy the scenery on her way to school. She really would be late if she didn't hurry.

To the teenager's surprise, she encountered both Ametori Koryu and Hanenendo Aiko at the school gates. The mage still had unruly dark green hair, though his chocolate-brown eyes no longer held the slight cold gleam they once did. His eyes had softened quite a bit over the past three years, mostly because of Aiko. The girl's hairstyle hadn't changed much, but she wore a bracelet on her left wrist whose links looked suspiciously like her eight elemental daggers.

"Koryu-kun! Aiko-chan! You aren't in yet?"

"No, Koryu forgot to wake me!"

"Sorry, I was kept up by Solarus! That wolf is still addicted to videogames!"

"Same as Kero-chan! Well, we better hurry, then!" As a group, they rushed in, quickly exchanging their shoes (or in Sakura's case, her rollerblades) for the school shoes. Aiko waved goodbye as she headed for her classroom on the first floor; she was only a first-year after all. Sakura and Koryu both went up to the second floor, being second-years, rushing.

"Almost there!"

"Hurry, Koryu-kun!" Just as they set foot in the classroom, the bell rang. "Yatta! We did it!"

"You cut it very close this time, Sakura-san, Koryu-san." A handsome boy with navy-blue hair and sapphire eyes smiled at them, pushing his glasses a little further up the bridge of his nose. Next to him, a beautiful girl with raven hair and shining amethyst eyes agreed.

"Eriol is right. You haven't changed much Sakura-chan! But I am a little surprised about you almost being late, Koryu-kun."

"Blame a certain little wolf," Koryu said, setting his bag down as he got into his seat. He was taken by surprise when a fist lightly rapped the top of his skull.

"Hey, I don't see how it's my fault."

"Syaoran!" Seemingly forgetting about her other classmates, Sakura leapt at her boyfriend, hugging him tightly. "Good morning!"

"Ah… S-Sakura!" Even after being her boyfriend for so long, Syaoran's face still turned a bright red. A girl with nut-brown hair tied into small braids on both sides of her head laughed, with her boyfriend Takashi Yamazaki smiling openly.

"But it's good we're all in the same class again after three years, isn't it?" Sasaki Rika asked her friends. "Last time we were all like this was back in eighth grade!"

"And some things still haven't changed," Yanagisawa Naoko commented. "And some things have! But Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-san do make a great couple!"

Tomoyo blushed, but Eriol, in his usual calm manner, said, "Perhaps, but second only to Sakura-san and my darling relative."

The amber-eyed boy glared at the calm teenager who was Clow Reed's reincarnation. "What have I said about calling me that?!"

"Ahem." They all turned to see a man with neat graying hair and a short little moustache giving them a knowing look. "It's time for class to begin."

"Sorry, Tateyu-sensei," they said synchronously, and went to their respective seats. Soon after, class began.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0

It was lunchtime now, and they were all gathered underneath the shade of a tall tree. It reminded them of the one back at Tomoeda Elementary, which they knew was being used by a new group of kids.

They were soon joined by Aiko, and prepared to have their taste buds numbed. The girl had recently taken to cooking, but she wasn't as bad as Sakura used to be. She was worse. And guess who her poor taste-testers were? Yup, you guessed it.

"This time I tried making something simpler, like you had suggested Koryu," she said softly, looking at her love. He nodded, not really feeling like saying anything. No matter how simple the dish was that she made, he would still be worried. "I hope it's good…"

Not wishing to give offense to their friend, Rika, Yamazaki, Chiharu, Naoko, Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Eriol, and especially Koryu each took one. Secretly exchanging scared looks, they plopped the little delicacies into their mouths. And were shocked.

"It's good!" Rika exclaimed, and the others shared her sentiments.

"Thank you," Aiko said. "I made more, if you want."

The remaining school hours swiftly passed, and Aiko was only too happy to give her friends some of her takoyaki to take home. Koryu grinned at his girlfriend. "I think simple dishes suit you better, love."

"You think so?" Aiko replied, blushing. Tomoyo giggled.

"He's right, Aiko-chan."

Eriol glanced at Sakura, asking, "Sakura-san, have you received word from your brother and Yukito-san?"

"Hai, they said they're doing really well in America!" Sakura replied. About two years earlier Toya and Yukito both moved to America to get jobs, but they had promised to keep in touch. Though she missed them, she knew they were happy.

Syaoran, though, was now beginning to feel that letting Yukito move so far away was not a good thing. He remembered his dream from earlier that day, and shivered.

"Syaoran? Are you okay?"

"Eh? O-Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Hey, everyone! Look at this!" Koryu and Aiko were staring at one of the television sets in the window at the local electronics store, which was showing the news. Sakura, Syaoran, Eriol, and Tomoyo all went over to see what the matter was.

"Last night, the Atsuta Shrine in the Aichi Prefecture and the Ise Shrine in the Mie Prefecture both were left in ruins," the reporter said. "Here is Nanashi-san reporting live at the remains of the Atsuta Shrine."

"Arigatou, Hanata-san," a young man said. "There were no witnesses to this unforgiveable and meaningless destruction of the Atsuta Shrine, but officials believe it was done to steal the sacred sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi, which was rumored to be within it. The Ise Shrine, which was said to hold the mirror Yata no Kagami, is believed to have been destroyed for a similar reason. But the scene at the Ise Shrine slightly differed from here, as Kimiko-san will show you."

The view on the television changed, now showing a different area. A young black-haired woman was at the scene. "Thanks, Nanashi-san. Here at Ise Shrine early this morning, seventeen people were found unconscious for unknown reasons, six of them being students of the local middle school. When they were admitted into the hospital, it was found that they were apparently in comas, but how this occurred is a mystery."

Aiko looked worried. "The Kusanagi and the Kagami were in those shrines. I know this because Arya remembered seeing those sacred treasures when she visited those shrines." Being the reincarnation of the sorceress Arya Hitoraumi, she could access her memories. "And those two objects are very powerful, as is the Yasakani no Magatama. If in the wrong hands, the sword and the mirror would prove to be very, very dangerous."

"What if," Tomoyo was almost afraid to say the words they all were thinking, "what if this is the beginning of the disaster that Aiko-chan foresaw?"

Author's Notes: Oh dear, that wouldn't be good now would it, Tomoyo-chan? I hope Sakura-chan and the others are ready for this... but maybe Syaoran's dream is a bad omen? Could it be? Do you really think I'm going to tell you before the time comes? -laughs- If you said that I won't, you're right! And so, while we wait for me to stop being lazy and finish up the second Phase... cookie, anyone? -holds out tray of freshly baked cookies- STAY TUNED!!