Sakura had passed the final battle, which meant they had to go to Japan for a few months. Eriol didn't mind as Tomoeda had a rather large garden that hosted tea time with butterflies. Besides, he had always wanted to see Japan's famous cherry blossom trees in bloom. Seeing Clow's memories of them just didn't do them justice.

"Oh wow!" said Eriol.

They had come to Clow's old mansion, still in the family and near the town. Thanks to his visions, Clow knew where the next master would be so he had made sure to have a home nearby.

"You get to pick your room."

"Really?" said Eriol, "Come on Spinel, let's go find our new room!"

Clow smiled. It was good to see Eriol finally act his age.


"Everyone! We have a new transfer from England. You can come in now," said the teacher.

Eriol walked in, wearing his brand new uniform. He had a new pair of glasses on too.

"Konnichiwa. Watashi wa Reed Eriol," said Eriol in his best Japanese. He was still getting the hang of it. His accent was a bit off though, but they still understood the basic gist of what he said.

'Reed? I wonder if he's related to Clow...' thought Sakura.

"Eriol here recently moved to Tomoeda with his father and older sister. His Japanese might be a bit off, so please help him out."

"Hai!"

Eriol spotted Yue's human form first. Clow had asked him to prank his former Guardians (the minute she beat Yue they became Sakura's guardians) so Eriol grinned. He sent a shot of Clow Reed's magic and made the teen stumble a bit before his eyes flashed to ice blue.

Yue felt that magic, and he wanted to know why Clow was showing up now. Too bad Sakura hadn't brought her cards with her...Eriol could have wrecked some havoc and started her off.

He went back into class, but the damage was done. Yue knew something was about to happen.


"Ready Spinel?"

"Ready."

Eriol got onto Spinel Sun's back and they took off. Time to cause some chaos. Eriol's face was hidden by a rather clever mask, one that made him look like a smiling cat. He even had a pair of kitty ears on his head, to Clow's open amusement.

Sakura would be unable to tell who he was, especially since he planned to speak English instead of Japanese. Keroberos could translate for her.

Eriol selected three cards. RAIN, THUNDER and SHADOW. He planned to give her a light scare.

"Key that hides the forces of the Night

Show me your true form!

By the covenant, I, Eriol, Command you!

RELEASE!"

Clow had modified his staff so that it had a similar activating phrase to the one Sakura had. If Sakura was going to be a starry beacon, then she would need the night to make her light clearer to others. And Eriol's power was over the night. The two would make a formidable team.

"RAIN! THUNDER! SHADOW! Create a storm to draw her out!" said Eriol.

He slammed his staff onto the middle card and all of a sudden a dark and forbidding storm formed. It was clearly magical in origin, and Eriol was riding above it, waiting for Sakura to see it and come out.

It didn't take her long, though he did have to wonder about the costume. She was riding Keroberos because of the wind, but once she was above the cloud line she activated FLY. Eriol stared in disbelief...before he face-palmed.

"I knew you were a greenhorn, but this? Haven't you learned how to use the cards correctly yet?" he said loud enough for Keroberos to hear and hopefully translate.

"Who are you and why did you create this storm?" shouted Keroberos in English.

"I am Midnight. I have come from Europe to challenge your Mistress' claim as Master of the Clow Cards. If she wants this storm to end, she must prove she can actually use them correctly."

He wasn't just going to test her knowledge, but also her reserves. Yue flew up above the clouds, only to be blocked by Ruby.

"Uh-uh big boy! You'll have to play with me instead!" said Ruby with glee. The shocked look on Yue's face was priceless.

Eriol looked at Sakura, who was understandably nervous. Still, she brought out her Star Key and tried to make 'Midnight' dispel the storm.

It was over before it began. She was such a greenhorn that it would have made any serious practitioner weep. However, since Eriol was just there to push her in the right direction and help her truly master the cards, he just sighed as he dodged yet another attack by Keroberos.

"Is this truly the best Clow's successor can do? This is disappointing. I will let you leave for now, Sakura-san, but until you learn how to use those cards correctly this storm stays," said Midnight, his disappointment in her performance evident in his voice.

Sakura, when she heard the translated version from Keroberos, looked very upset that the storm wasn't going away. Even after she had transformed three cards and was at her limit.


Eriol sagged into his bed.

"How did it go?"

"She's beyond green. She could barely do three cards, and we both know that changing their allegiance is infinitely less taxing than creating new ones," said Eriol.

Clow looked at the 'storm' outside.

"That bad?"

"She was riding her key with FLY for crying out loud!"

Clow winced. He hadn't thought she was that much of a rookie.

"You will point her in the right direction won't you?"

"Of course I will! I'll give her a hint as to which three I used so she can 'counter' them with hers. Once she gets the idea of this game she should get a little better."


Sakura was inside eating lunch when Eriol sat nearby.

"Can I sit here?"

"Sure! This storm is awful isn't it?"

"It's certainly different. Who knew that Japanese storms cast such long shadows. Or that there would be so much thunder without any lightning?"

Sakura stopped eating and actually looked at the storm. The shadows were rather deep, but she knew from flying up with Kero that the clouds were very thin. Too thin for this to be a natural storm. Seeing one of the shadows touched the ground her eyes widened in realization.

"Did you know that some fortune tellers actually combine their cards to get a more accurate reading?" asked Eriol.

Seeing that Sakura was still very clueless that he knew more than he let on, Eriol winced.

This girl wasn't inspiring any confidence in him as a fellow sorcerer.

Midnight made a second appearance and watched as Sakura figured out two of the three cards used. Really, she should have guessed the third by the fact it hadn't stopped raining once. At all.

She stopped the lightning and the dark clouds, but the rain was still going on.

"You missed one," he deadpanned.

Sakura looked at the clouds and turned STORM. Midnight face-palmed.

"WRONG. Use your head!"

Sakura tried again, this time using RAIN. Finally it stopped and the three cards were again in Midnight's hand.

"Stop! Who are you? Why did you do this?" demanded Keroberos.

Eriol's limited patience with idiots nearly snapped. Fortunately Spinel growled to remind him he had a job to do.

"Are you really that naïve? The girl has the potential to be a sorcerer. Why don't you figure out my real motives on your own!" said Eriol before they left.

Keroberos was startled at that news. Clearly he needed to cut down on the sweets and remember his true nature if he hadn't sensed that.


Eriol was bored. Aside from the tests he gave Sakura (and for some reason Yue and Keroberos had yet to figure out it was him causing all this trouble) he had nothing to do.

Clow refused to have any practical magic lessons so long as the guardians were unaware of him being around. And the homework was far too easy for someone who had already finished high school.

So he went exploring...and found a school for Japanese martial arts.

"Hello! Interested in martial arts?" asked the sensei.

"I know some Chinese Kempo...but my sensei said that while I'm adjusting to school I'll have to wait until things calm down before he teaches me anymore."

"Does he have anything against you learning a new art?"

Eriol shook his head.

"He'd probably be thrilled. He's always telling me to learn new things... Dad's always trying something new," said Eriol.

"Your teacher is your father?"

Eriol nodded.

"He's half Chinese, and he learned it from his mother. And I'm learning from him!"

"My next class is in a hour. Why don't you call your father and let him know first, then you can join," said the teacher.

"Hai!"

Clow was all for it, and Ruby came over to watch Eriol.

Eriol enjoyed learning new forms. It kept life interesting.


"Eh? You're learning a new martial art Eriol-kun?" asked Sakura the next day.

"I found a small dojo and Otou-san said it was fine. He said it was a good way to get acclimated to Japan, since we're originally from Europe," said Eriol.

"What sort of style did you use before?" asked Tomoyo.

"Chinese Kenpo. Otou-san learned it from his mother, and he's been teaching me."

"Sounds a lot like Li-kun," said Tomoyo.

"Li-kun?"

"He was a student here a few months ago, but his clan called him back for a while," explained Tomoyo.

"Is he by any chance related to the magical clan known as the Li? Masters of the traditional Eastern magical arts?" asked Eriol. Clow was from the Li clan...and he had sensed a second possible master that had a familiar Eastern feel towards it.

"You know magic?" asked Sakura.

"My dad had magical training. He's been teaching me, but since I'm still adjusting we've been limited to book work," said Eriol. He looked at Tomoyo, "You have magic too, though it's nowhere near as strong as Sakura-san's."

"I have magic?"

"Enough to rate as a hedge-witch, though if you practiced enough you might make a full one," confirmed Eriol.

"Hedge-witch?" asked Sakura.

"There are several levels of power. In Europe the female class is called Witch, and the male is called Wizard...though if they use too much dark magic they get classified as Warlocks. I can see if Otou-san would let me show you some magic later, or at least get you in contact with the local schools."

"What's the bottom and the top?" asked Tomoyo.

"Lowest of the magicals is the Squib, according to the European Ministry. That's someone born of a magical clan without the ability to use it. They can still get past magical barriers and the like, but they can't use it themselves. At the highest of any ladder, Eastern or Western is the Sorcerer. Or Sorceress if they're female. Sorcerers have the ability and magical core strong enough to create new magic, though without the proper teachings they have great trouble doing it. One of the last naturally born sorcerers was Clow Reed, a man who was born of both Eastern and Western magical branches from two pure-blood families."

"You know Clow Reed?" asked Sakura.

"I know his entire history. His work has always fascinated me."

"Can we hear more about him?" asked Tomoyo eagerly.

"Maybe later. The lunch bell is about to ring," said Eriol.


In Hong Kong...

Syaoran was nervous. His clan had called him back shortly after the test and he was afraid that they would cast him out nameless.

"Son."

"Mother."

"I assume you wish to know why you were recalled?"

Syaoran nodded.

"We have sensed the return of Clow."

"Sakura took possession of the cards."

"Not his legacy... I speak of the man himself. There is another as well, one much stronger but weaker at the same time. We needed to insure that you were ready to handle the task of finding out what is going on."

"Clow Reed has returned?" said Syaoran in shock.

"There is more. The soothsayer has had another vision. One that involves you," said his mother. That had been the primary reason they had called him back.

The last time that line had a vision about the Li clan, Clow had been born. And the Li took over the Dragon clan as one of the top clans in the country.

"Syaoran Li, the soothsayer has spoken of you. She says that you will keep the Li clan above the others because of your work with the Cards," said the Elder.

Syaoran blinked. He had failed to get the cards at all. Why had he been picked?

"She has spoken of a girl, one who will take Clow's place as his heir. She says that you alone have a tie that could bring the bloodline back," said another.

"Sakura is Clow's heir?"

"There is also the matter of someone who claims to be the Son of Clow. The goblins have confirmed that there are two inheritors of the Reed clan... this Sakura, for taking full possession of the Clow Cards...and a boy who has taken the mantle of apprentice and son."

"But Clow Reed is dead!" said Syaoran in shock.

"There have been rumors in Europe that he was brought back. For what reason we do not know...but if he has returned you are to find out why."

"For that, we are sending you back to Japan. Keep a close eye on this new Card Mistress and for this Child of Clow Reed," said the Elder.

Syaoran's mother, the Matriarch of the clan, pulled him aside.

"Syaoran, this is a very important task. I believe that the soothsayer speaks of a red string that connects you to this Sakura child. If that is the case you know what must happen."

Syaoran blushed. He had nothing against Sakura personally, in fact he rather liked the girl. But he was too young for marriage.

"I won't force you to marry her. At least not until you are both ready for such a burden."

"Japan's laws say that you can get married as young as sixteen without your parents consent. I heard that was how Sakura's mother Nadeshiko married her father," said Syaoran blushing.

"Well hopefully it won't have to come to that," said his mother smiling. She rather liked the girl...she was such an innocent and cheerful child.

Syaoran prepared to return to Japan...and this time he had no idea when he would return to Hong Kong.