DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Card Captor Sakura... Still wish I did though :( CLAMP owns this forever and ever :P

Oooh and just to explain the rating for this story is only because of stuff that may happen in later chapters :)

Chapter Four: Strange

Sakura had woken early that morning, even before her alarm had gone off. Sighing a little as she brushed her hair, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes were red where she hadn't slept well and she was pastey in colour. Groaning she finished brushing her hair and placed the brush back before heading to the bathroom to wash up.

After her shower she looked at her reflection once more in the mirror and was relieved to see that the shower had woken her face up a little as she didnt look so pale... but still had red eyes. Pulling an unflattering face she headed back into her bedroom and took up her uniform from where it had been hung. Changing into the uniform she then stood looking in the mirror, smoothing out the skirt and blouse. Moving to the vanity table again she tied her hair into one braid down her back, with her bangs framing her face (kind of like how it was when she was younger). Smiling in a satisfied fashion she then took up her bag and stood, but not before Kero peeped out of the desk drawer.

"Sakura-chan? your ready early" Kero mentioned as he flew out of the drawer and over to his card mistress.

Sakura smiled and then "Well its the first day back at school, I cant wait to see all my friends again" Failing to mention the real reason as to why she was up so early... she just didnt want Kero to worry about her all day.

Kero nodded and then "Can I-"

Sakura cut him off "No you cannot come to school with me today Kero-chan... Its the first day back and I will have a lot of new stuff to get used to, so I wont have time to make sure you are ok... Plus if you stay here theres computer games and puddings" she pointed to the large box that she had bought up earlier in the morning "and Onii-chan and Otou-san are out today so you dont have to worry about them, but dont leave this room just in case... ok?"

Kero looked a little disappointed at first when he was denied the trip to school, but cheered up a whole bunch when he saw the size of the box filled with desserts, puddings and sweet things. "Ok Sakura-chan no problem" he grinned broadly and flew over to the box, flopping down ontop of it and made a sound of pure bliss.

Sakura giggled a little as she watched Kero fall in love with the box of pudding and turned, heading out of her room "See you after school Kero-chan" and closed the door. Heading down the stairs she thought she heard a mumbled "ok" and then blissful noises and giggled again. Making her way into the kitchen she was confronted by her brother who pointed her to the table where there was a small stack of hotcakes waiting for her. Smiling brightly she sat "Good morning Onii-chan" and then looked to the photograph of her mother "Good morning Okaa-san..." before asking "Has Otou-san left already?"

Touya looked up as he sat at the table, having already eaten. "Yeah he left when you was in the shower Kaijou" Then taking up the newspaper he began to read, every so often taking a sip of his juice.

Sakura sighed sadly for a moment "Oh.. Ok" she nodded and then began to eat. The hotcakes were good, but not a patch on her fathers and she could tell Touya cooked these. Once she had finished, she took the plate to the sink and washed it up along with her empty glass and placed them back in their respective places. "I guess I best be off to school" Sakura nodded taking a look at the time and realising she had enough time to get to school and catch up with friends before school started.

"Ok Kaijou... Oh by the way Otou-san left these for you" Touya walked into the kitchen and produced two parcels, one was obviously her lunch which had a card stuck in the top, wishing her luck on her first day back to school, and the other was something that puzzled Sakura a little. Placing her lunch into her school bag she took the other parcel and sat at the kitchen table. Opening the package she blinked.

"Wow..." Sakura blinked and picked up the necklace, which had a pendant on it, engraved with a Nadeshiko flower with cherry blossom petals swirling round it. With it was a note and it read:

Dear Sakura-san

This necklace was something that your mother bought many many years ago. It symbolises how close she is to you every day. It was purchased when you were a small baby and she asked me to give this to you when I thought that it was appropriate and I do believe now is the time, since you are becoming a young lady, and times are getting harder with school especially since your now going into your second year of junior high. I thought that maybe by giving this to you now it might give you courage in the years ahead and help you to feel at peace.

Sakura smiled softly and folded the note up, placing it into her bag and placing the necklace on. Realising that it could open, she clicked the pendant open and came to see a photograph of her mother in one side and a most recent picture of herself in the other. Smiling brightly she closed the pendant and stood, swinging her bag onto her shoulder and moved forward, hugging her brother tightly for a moment before "Hoee! I best get going or I will be late!" Sakura the shot out of the room and stuffed on her skates , shoving her school shoes into her bag somewhat carefully as not to scratch them, before calling out "Bye Onii-chan!" and then she left for school.

Touya just stood there with a confused look on his face and blinked "Bye Kaijou!" he called back, before shaking his head and reading his newspaper once more.

The weather was nice this morning and as Sakura skated down through the the cherry blossom trees, she stared in wonder at how the sun gently seeped through the branches and the dainty cherry blossoms fluttered down around her. Skating a little more, she reached the corner that, when she was in elementary school, she used to meet up with Yukito with her brother and take her journey to school with them.

Sighing somewhat sadly she remembered the various times she would meet here and the talk that would happen. The fun and the giggling and now she was older she missed those times. Alot had changed in the last few years. Yukito and her brother were now in college and next year would be heading into University, she was now in junior high, Meilin was in Hong Kong -with him- and she kept in somewhat regular contact with her and there hadnt been a threat to her safety (Clow Cards or otherwise). To summarise; Things Had Changed, and Sakura missed some of the things that had changed, it just made her realise how growing up can be sometimes disappointing and sometimes not.

While she had been thinking about these things she had now reached Tomoeda Elementary school. Stopping for a moment she watched as children made there way into school. For some of them this was their first day in their first year and for others it was their first day of their last year here. Smiling wistfully she remembered all the fun times... catching the Time card in the clock tower, the Shadow card in the playground, the voice card on the school roof... Coming back to her senses she sighed happily and continued on her way to Seijou Junior High.

Soon enough Sakura had made it to school and was now seated in the homeroom with Tomoyo seated next to her, listening to the chatter of her classmates, the same classmates that she'd had since elementary school, some talking about where they had been during the holiday and others talking about what might be in store this year.

"So Sakura-chan... you going to be continuing with cheerleading this year?" Tomoyo asked her distracted friend.

"Possibly Tomoyo-chan... are you going to be joining the choir again this year?" Sakura asked turning to Tomoyo with a small smile.

"Of course Sakura-chan! singing is my passion! aside from making outfits for you of course" she smiled brightly, absentmindedly playing with the end of her long braid, which today was hung over one shoulder.

Sakura smiled softly and looked around the classroom once more, wondering who their new homeroom teacher was going to be and sure enough as she was thinking this, the homeroom door opened and in stepped "Terada-sensei?" Sakura blinked. After they left Tomoeda Elementary he had decided to stay and teach there but now it seemed to be that he would be teaching them for homeroom. Glancing sideways, Sakura caught the look on her friend Rika's face, she seemed just as suprised as the rest of them. Maybe he didn't tell her? Maybe it was a secret? Or maybe it had only just been decided.

Sakura looked to Tomoyo and blinked a little "Tomoyo-chan? I wonder what Terada-sensei is doing here? I thought he was meant to be teaching at Tomoeda Elementary still"

Tomoyo shook her head "I dont know Sakura-chan... Maybe he missed teaching us?"

They both shook their heads and watched as Yoshiyuki Terada made his way to the front of the homeroom and smiled brightly at the class before him. "Good morning class 2-2, I see that all my students from Tomoeda Elementary are in this class along with a couple of new faces" he paused looking over in Rika's direction before continuing "for those of you who do not know me I am Terada-sensei" he proceeded to write his name on the blackboard "I am your homeroom teacher for the while as your original homeroom teacher is unable to make it here for a few weeks" there was a moment of chatter between the students before he continued "So I hope to see you all working hard over the next few weeks, as I expect that a few of you may not be working as hard as you are able, but for now you may talk amongst yourselves until the bell for first lesson."

Sakura blinked and looked over at Rika in time to see her rush to the front with a few other students to talk to Terada-sensei. "Hmm I must have been imagining things then" looking a little down trodden. Tomoyo saw this and sighed.

"It seems that way Sakura-chan, I'm sorry" Tomoyo leaned over and gave Sakura a hug before sitting back in her chair. At that moment the homeroom door opened and another teacher beckoned for Terada-sensei to come outside. The class watched on as they could see him talking to the other teacher, before coming back into the class shaking his head a little. Making his way back to the front of the class he cleared his throat and the class fell silent.

"Well it seems some things dont change" he smiled brightly "We have a new exchange student joining us today" Sakura's eyes widened and she gripped Tomoyo's hand under the table while muttering Hoeee... under her breath and felt Tomoyo squeeze her hand in a comforting manner. Terada-sensei continued "This student comes to us all the way from Hong Kong and will probably be recognised by those of you who went to Tomoeda Elementary" He looked towards the door "Please welcome to the class... Li Meilin"

Sakura's hand dropped from Tomoyo's and an excited expression spread over her face as Meilin waltzed in and stood at the front, a bright smile on her face as she scanned the classroom. Meilin had changed somewhat, she was taller and had begun to get a figure. "Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan!" she squealed and rushed down to the back of the class and seating herself at the empty desk next to Sakura. Terada-sensei just blinked and smiled. Shaking his head he then continued to talk to the gaggle of students surrounding his desk.

"Meilin-chan!" Sakura and Tomoyo managed at the same time. "How was Hong Kong?" Sakura asked, hugging Meilin, hoping that Meilin would say Syaoran had been to visit Tomoeda at some point.

"Hmmm boring as usual..." Meilin sighed "Syaoran has decided to continue his studies in Hong Kong, and spent the entire holidays training with the elders"

"So... he never left Hong Kong?" Tomoyo asked, spying the look on Sakura's face.

"Not even for one day, he was either training with the elders at the main house or he was helping me with my holiday homework, or helping with shopping, or being tormented by his sisters... why do you ask?" Meilin questioned, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"Oh no reason" Tomoyo smiled brightly, nudging Sakura in the ribs, as she currently had a look of pure dispair on her face.

"Sakura are you ok?" Meilin asked leaning over brows furrowed in concern, taking note of the look on Sakura's face.

Realising that she had to make something up fast Sakura blinked and looked up at Meilin with a smile. "Nothing Meilin-chan, I just realised I left my best pen at home..." a small sweatdrop sliding down her face as she spoke.

"Now come on you two... you dont expect me to believe that everything is normal do you?" Meilin asked raising an eyebrow "theres something going on isnt there? tell me!"

As Sakura opened her mouth to speak the bell rang to signal the end of homeroom. "We will go to the fountain at lunch... we will explain then" Sakura nodded gathering up her bags. "It's not something to be discussed around other people in lesson time"

"Ok ok at lunch" Meilin smiled and followed her two friends to the first lesson. It was just coincidential that they all had the same lessons together, this just meant they could stick together a lot more.

Soon enough lunchtime arrived and the three girls arrived at the fountain, before moving to sit on the grass not to far away from it.

"So Sakura-chan, Tomoyo-chan whats going on?" Meilin asked opening her bento box and smiling happily at the contents inside.

"Well..." Sakura started "Im pretty sure... not 100% that I may have seen Syaoran-kun this holiday..." Sakura sighed "and I dont know if I am imagining things because I felt his presence... I'm sure of it, plus I have felt another presence before that and thought maybe he might have felt something too... but he was strange, I saw him in the library and he didnt say a word to me... like he didnt recognise me and then he was gone"

Meilin blinked "Wow... but thats not possible... Syaoran was in Hong Kong the entire time" She shook her head and then "But I must say he had been acting strangely the last couple of weeks, seems very distant, like when hes plotting something."

Suddenly Sakura's eye went wide and she began looking around frantically. "Sakura-chan whats the matter?" Tomoyo asked as Sakura stood and looked around slightly alarmed and slightly annoyed.

"I just felt this massive presence" Sakura blinked "and now its gone..." she sat back down and then heard her handphone vibrating in her bag. Pulling it out she answered and was greeted with "Sakura-chan did you feel that?" it was Kero. "Yes Kero-chan but its gone now... Yes... Yes ok if I feel anything else I will ring straight away... yes... o-... ok Kero-chan... yes... I know Kero-chan... yes Kero but-... ok ok I promise if I feel or see anything strange I will let you know... Ok Kero-chan bye!" and Sakura hung up. "Kero-chan felt it too... He wants me to keep my eyes open for anything strange... and he means anything at all..."

Meilin nodded "anyway... Lets eat!" and the three girls ate their lunches together like back in the days of Tomoeda Elementary school.

Soon enough though they were back in homeroom for the afternoon attendance register. Once that had been completed Terada-sensei sighed and stood at the front of the room "Today just seems to get more familiar" he smiled clearing his throat to get the attention of the class. Once that had been attained he looked towards the classroom door and spoke "Well... It seems as thought we have another exchange student joining us... This student will also be recognized by those who attended Tomoeda Elementary.. coming to us from England in the United Kingdom, please welcome to the class... Hiiragizawa Eriol"

Sakura's jaw litterally dropped in shock as before them stood Eriol. Looking towards Tomoyo she could see a light blush decending upon her best friends face and Sakura giggled lightly. Looking back to Eriol she could understand why Tomoyo was blushing, Eriol, had grown alot since they had last saw him and he looked simply gorgeous.

"Eriol-kun!" Sakura exclaimed as Eriol came and seated himself in the empty seat next to Tomoyo. "How are you?" Sakura asked scrabbling out of her seat and hugging him.

Eriol chuckled slightly and then, once Sakura had let go of him, spoke "Well I have been good thank you, I hope that you three lovely ladies have been well in my absence" Meilin, Sakura and Tomoyo all giggled at that. Eriols eyes scanned the classroom and then "Hmm no Syaoran?" he asked frowning a little.

"He's in Hong Kong" Meilin nodded matter-of-factly crossing her arms over her chest.

Eriol nodded slowly looking around the classroom again and looked as if he was about to speak before Sakura cut in "So what are you doing back here Eriol-kun?"

"Well..." Eriol began "a little while back I became a little worried... I felt that something wasnt right and right when I turn up here theres a massive presence"

Sakura's eyes widened "you felt that too?" and then slapped herself in the forehead, of course Eriol would feel that! he's one part of Clow Reeds reincarnation... how stupid of her. "I mean... of course you would... silly me..."

Eriol laughed a little just as the bell went for afternoon classes. They stood said there goodbyes for afternoon class and went to their respective lessons.

Later that day...

Sakura was at home, school had finished and she was now talking to Kero about the presence and what Meilin had told her. "...and so that is what happened Kero" Sakura sighed flopping backwards onto her bed.

"Hmmmm" Kero floated from one side of the room to the other and back again repetitively, trying to work this out in his mind "So the firey Li-kid didnt think that the Li-brat had left at all?" looking over to Sakura to see her shake her head "and she also said he has been acting strangely?" Sakura nodded "then theres that presence" Sakura nodded more "and now Eriol turns up?" Sakura nodded again "Something must be afoot!" Kero decided striking a pose that resembled something of a superhero and Sakura sweatdropped.

"I kinda figured something was up Kero... I just dont know what" Sakura sighed looking at the ceiling "Its just really strange... when I thought I saw Syaoran-kun he ignored me and turned from me like he didnt know me, or didnt want to acknowledge me... and Meilin-chan says hes been acting stragely at home and theres been two times that presence has been felt and then Eriol-kun turns up... so yes Kero-chan I would imagine something is going on... Eriol-kun doesnt just turn up over nothing"

Kero nodded "Your right Sakura... we just gotta work out what it is that is going to happen"

At that moment Sakura's handphone began to ring. Picking it up she answered to "Sakura-chan?" it was Tomoyo.

"Hi Tomoyo-chan whats up?" Sakura asked sitting up so that she could get more comfortable

"Well... your never going to believe this..." Tomoyo started

"Believe what Tomoyo-chan?"

"turn your TV to the news channel" Tomoyo prompted

"Ok..." Sakura picked up the remote and changed the channel over to the news channel, it was a special breaking news bulletin "why am I watching a breaking news story about a fire thats happened three towns away?" Sakura asked shifting the phone slightly.

"You must have missed it... I will send a car to collect you... see you shortly" and -click!- the call was ended. Sakura blinked and grabbed Kero with one hand and her bag with the other, stuffing both Kero and her handphone into her bag and rushed down the stairs, reaching the front door she stuffed on her shoes to be greeted by her brother.

"And where do you think you are going Kaijou?" he asked folding his arms.

"Tomoyo-chan has invited me over for dinner" she nodded pulling a jacket on, knowing full well it was her brothers turn to cook tonight.

"Hrmph" Touya grunted, shaking his head "Fine have fun at Daidouji Tomoyo's house... but dont be back too late Kaijou!" he called to her as she zipped out of the front door.

Sighing softly Sakura waited by the front gate for Tomoyo's car to turn up for her and sure enough after only a few minutes of waiting a black limo pulled up and the door opened. Tomoyo stepped out "Come Sakura-chan, quick" Sakura ran over to the limo and got in with Tomoyo.

A little while later, Sakura was sat in Tomoyo's private theatre room, on her floor of the mansion where she used to watch and edit Sakura's card captures and stuff. "So what did you want to show me Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked leaning back in the chair as Tomoyo dashed about, loading different things up. Finally Tomoyo seated herself next to Sakura with a remote control in her hands.

"Watch this" Tomoyo pressed a button on the remote and the news bulletin from earlier came on. Tomoyo let the segment run and sat in silence until she pressed the button to stop it. "did you see that?" she asked turning to face Sakura.

"See what?" Sakura asked tilting her head a little, wondering what on earth Tomoyo had spotted.

Tomoyo sighed and played the segment again but pausing it at just the right moment "this..." she then zoomed in on the area she was talking about and then pointed.

Sakura's eyes scanned over the paused picture and then "But Tomoyo-chan... how can this be true?" a confused and upset feeling decending over her.

"I dont know Sakura I really dont know..."

Ha! Cliff-hanger! :) Thought I would leave it as a suspenseful ending, just to keep you on edge :) just let me know what you think by reading and reviewing! :)