"Konbanwa..."

"Tomoyo Daidouji. I'm surprised."

"Gomen ne..." Tomoyo raised her head, and looked into the intimidating person's eyes, "Only I... I seem to have, at last, come to find a wish I want granted."

"Now I am really surprised Daidouji. You have always refused."

"Teishu Kagi..."

The commanding figure, held a hand up to stop her before she began. "I already know. What will you give to me, in payment?"

Tomoyo swallowed, "Whatever it is that you need in exchange for the information I require. After all, it's my job as the keeper of the Henkou no Kagi to guide and protect her, isn't it?"

"You think that you need this knowledge for the sake of your job?"

"Hai."

"Very well, I'll take it from you. However, what I must take may effect your ability to do your job, I need you to understand that. Also, Daidouji... if Sakura ever discovers what it is I am taking from you, then..."

Tomoyo nodded, "Hai, Teishu Kagi. Wakarimasta."

Chapter Four: Sakura's Sickness

"The cathedral is so pretty, ne Tomoyo-chan?"

Syaoran sat in the chairs, watching them studying the windows. He didn't know what they wanted from the angelic image, but it was important, and he felt it couldn't exactly hurt to help them. The test they'd worried about had, in the end, been post-poned until after the weekend, and Sakura had offered to help him over the weekend, in studying. In return, he was going to help her with her maths.

But when he'd arrived, he had met, for the first time, the mystery brother.

Flashback:

Syaoran took a deep breath as he knocked on the door. Tomoyo stood behind him on the patio, camera raised. He was at Sakura's house, ready to collect her to study. Tomoyo had said; 'be careful about who answers the door, Li-kun', but he hadn't really paid attention. Anyway, how was he supposed to assure who would open the door?

"Yo," a deep voice said, and he looked up to see a tall man with very dark brown hair, and brown eyes. He glared at Syaoran immediately, his dislike instantaneous. "Who the hell are you, and what do you want?" he demanded.

"I'm... Li, Syaoran, and I'm here to get Kinomoto Sakura," he said, feeling like some dorky boyfriend. He didn't like the feeling either.

"Well go home. She's busy."

"Hey!" Syaoran growled, "That's a lie, this was already organized! She asked Daidouji and I to come to get her yesterday!" In the background, Tomoyo was laughing. Of course Syaoran and Toya would hate each other; Toya, like Tomoyo, was quickly able to perceive the truth about Syaoran.

"Too bad. She didn't mention anything to m-"

"Onii-chan what's...? Li-kun! Morning!" Sakura rounded the corner in her house.

"You know this gaki?"Toya asked, looking furious.

"Yes! He's my classmate, and the son of Lady Li."

Toya looked even angrier, if possible. "So, what the hell does he want with you?"

Sakura looked puzzled, and Syaoran was shooting death glares at her brother's back. "Eh? Well... we're helping each other study for the upcoming test, of course. He's very good at maths, and you know how rubbish I am at it, so... well, he offered to help, so I'm helping him with the rest. And Tomoyo's coming along too."

"Where are you going?" Toya went on. Sakura couldn't understand why he was being so blunt, rude, and seemed to dislike Syaoran.

"Where? I don't know, Li-kun, where're we going?" she turned her attention to him, leaning around her brother, who narrowed his eyes, peering at Syaoran over his shoulder.

"Oh... uh..." he stopped glaring, seeing Sakura, and lost the location for a moment, "Well, I thought the old cathedral. You were interested in that stained-glass window, right? So I-I..." he gulped, and finally said, "I went and researched it a bit more... I thought you'd like to know some more details..." his face was positively glowing now, and no one missed it.

"Li-kun, arigatou... I mean, thankyou... are you feeling ok? Your face is all red..." Sakura noted, and leaned closer. He flinched, stumbling backwards down the stairs, and tripping to sprawl on his back at Tomoyo's feet. "Li-kun!" Sakura cried, worry consuming her, and she darted past her brother and down the stairs to his side. "Are you really ok?"

"I'm..." he grit his teeth, massaging a bump on the back of his head, one eye closed in pain, "Fine, 'k? Are we going, or not?"

Toya scowled, and slammed the door. "Sakura!" he yelled through it, "I'm quizzing you when you come home, so you better study hard!"

"Hoee..." she muttered, "hai, onii-chan..."

:End Flashback

And so, they'd reached the cathedral, and Sakura had been filled in on everything Syaoran knew about the window now, leaving her to study it for a while, before they hit the books.

"You said the window was made a few years before you were born?" Sakura clarified.

"Yeah. The old window smashed, so they replaced it with this one. I asked around for the guy who made it, but I couldn't find him anywhere... sorry."

She turned, flashing him her famous smile, "No, that's ok! I'm really grateful to you for going to all this trouble. Really, really, thankyou Li-kun!"

His cheeks burnt, and he ducked his head behind the seat in front of him, "S-sure, no problem..."

"Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked, bending over beside him, "Why are you hiding behind the chair?"

"Oh I-er... I thought I dropped something... wrong, I guess..." he shifted awkwardly, and Tomoyo decided to leave him alone... question him about it later.

"I think we should start working now. Onii-chan will be really mean to Li-kun and I if I do badly in the quiz he's gonna give me," Sakura said at last, "So, what will we start with? Runes? Uhhh... magic studies? History?" she made a face, "Maths?"

Syaoran stifled his amusement, and groaned. "They all sound so... depressing," he admitted, and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"How about we take a look at maths first, okay?" Tomoyo suggested, "Since Sakura needs help with that, and you do sort of understand the magic stuff, right? You just don't like it."

Syaoran clenched his fists, and gave in. "Fine. What's first, Kinomoto?"

"Um... heh heh, extended algorithms?"

"Sure, let's start." He leaned over the book, and Tomoyo sat opposite them, on the other side of the aisle, filmling. Always... filming...

"... and then, you add these two together..."

"Hoeee! Demo - I mean but - didn't we just multiply here...?"

"Yeah, they're extended Kinomoto. You multiply them first, and then you add the two answers together. Understand?"

"Oh! I think so..." she looked so cute, trying so hard to understand, to concentrate.

"If you don't get it, we can start again," he muttered, but she shook her head.

"No, that's ok. I really do think I sort of get it now... besides, we've still got so much studying to do, and it's getting closer to lunch now..."

"Ok, your choice. What's next then?"

"Urm... area, perimeter, volume..." she sighed, "This is gonna take forever. Li-kun, let's take a break from all these numbers, my head hurts. How about we take a look at magic studies? I know you hate it, but it's easy, right?"

He shrugged, and allowed her to shove the nasty mathematics books aside, opening a thick leather bound text book, showing it to him. "Right! Spells I can do, ne, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Yes Sakura." 'So can I. In theory.'

Syaoran banged his head on the seat in front of him. He needed to stop doing that, as it was quite painful. However, this subject was just so... he slumped. Pathetic.

"Li-kun, sit up and pay attention. I mean, I hate maths, and I still listened! So now it's your turn!" Sakura said determinedly. "Come on," she crooned, tugging on his sleeve. Reluctantly, he sat up, and turned to the book sitting between them.

"Chapter one," he read, "Healing... oh hell no," he groaned, "Come on Kinomoto! Do you honestly believe in this?"

"Yes, Li-kun. Of course I do, I often practise it! I know all about it. Maybe you should trust me on this one. Please, I'm begging you to concentrate!"

"Yeah, fine, whatever, just get on with it already."

"Healing is essential knowledge for obvious reasons..." she began.

---

"Man, I thought we'd never finish Kinomoto," Syaoran groaned as they wandered through the town back to Sakura's house. It was about 4pm, and her brother would be furious if they were much later. On the other hand, Sakura, in a rare fit of rebelliousness, decided they were all going to go and get ice creams.

"Sorry. I'm really grateful though, that you actually had the patience to go through it all with me. Onii-chan has tried..." she looked put off.

It wasn't as if Syaoran had lost it once or twice. But he'd stuck at it, because as long as he was teaching her the maths, she wouldn't pull out the magic stuff again. Tomoyo had, for once in her life, grown bored of filming them after a while, and decided to roam the cathedral. It was old, and out of use, now that they used the shrine further into town. But it may as well have been another planet for all the times Syaoran visited.

"The bell towers are quite beautiful," Tomoyo had said, "Have you been up there, Li?"

"Eh? Oh, uh, when I was a child," Syaoran sighed, as they approached the ice cream shop, "But it never really interested me."

"Oh! Hey, Chiharu-chan, Naoko-chan, Rika-chan!" Sakura called suddenly, and Syaoran jumped, desiring nothing more than to melt into the ground. What conclusions would the three girls reach if they saw him wandering around town with these two?

To his surprise, they simply didn't notice him at first. "Hey Sakura, Tomoyo." They smiled, and that was when they noticed him, standing just apart from the girls, glaring pointedly at the ground, trying to blame all his troubles on the earth. "Li-kun!" they cried in shock, "What are you doing?"

He shifted uncomfortably, and mumbled, "Studying."

"Really?"

"Well, not anymore," Sakura amended, "We're getting ice creams, but we spent all day in the old cathedral doing maths... I'm really bad at it, but Li-kun's good so..." she smiled brightly, and they stared at him in wide-eyed stupors.

"Li-kun, you were helping Sakura to... do her maths? In the old cathedral?"

"What about it?" he snapped, "It's none of your business what I do, right? Don't get any ideas. I just needed a hand with my history..."

"Li-kun," Sakura said cluelessly, "You did really well in the history. In everything, even if you did grumble all the time..."

"Shut up!" he spat, "Just drop it!"

Looking hurt, she bowed her head. "Fine."

The other three girls, seeing that somehow they'd caused trouble, decided to leave, and the moment they were gone, Syaoran grudgingly turned and muttered, "Sorry Kinomoto..."

She looked stunned that he'd bothered to apologize, and broke out into a ghost of a smile. "Never mind. Let's just go grab those ice creams and get home, right?"

He nodded stiffly, and followed both girls inside the store.

On the other side of the street, the three girls giggled. "Wow," they mumbled. "Who'd have thought Li would ever apologize?"

And another pair of eyes surveyed the scene from their safe location, a smirk on the owner's face. Something very fun was bound to happen, that, they were sure of. There was a momentary haze, and then, the eyes were gone.

---

"You. Are. Late." Toya stood in the doorway, arms folded over his chest, glaring down at Sakura and Syaoran on the front step. Yet again, Tomoyo stood a safe distance away, camera poised.

"You didn't set a time, onii-chan," Sakura argued, pouting. Syaoran avoided looking at that.

"You know I don't like it when you come home after 5!" he snapped, "And it's 5:02!"

"Oh big deal," Syaoran breathed, but apparently Toya heard, because he grabbed Syaoran's collar, and hauled him up to his eye level... Syaoran's feet dangled uselessly above the ground.

"What was that, gaki?"

"Onii-chan!!" Sakura yelled, but she was ignored. Syaoran struggled in the bigger man's grasp. "Toya!" Sakura shrieked, crushing his foot beneath her own. He dropped Syaoran at once as his eyes widened in pain. Syaoran landed, for the second time that day, sprawling on the ground outside Sakura's house. "Li-kun, are you ok?" Sakura asked concernedly, grabbing his arm.

"Y-yeah," he coughed, massaging his throat. "Sorry we were late... I didn't mean for you to get in trouble."

She stood up, and held out a hand to help him to his feet. "No, it's not your fault. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, but onii-chan's just like that. Oh, and I was the one who suggested the ice creams anyway so, I'm sorry, Li-kun."

She let go of his hand, "I'd better go now, but I'll see you tomorrow at school, ok? Good luck on the test."

"A-and you," he answered, and her brother slammed the door.

"Cheer up Li-kun," Tomoyo said, hurrying to his side, "Kinomoto-san doesn't exactly like many people..."

"I don't care," he grunted, and stalked past her. Tomoyo rose an eyebrow, slightly miffed, and followed him. After all, her house was a little way from Syaoran's, which was why he'd picked her up on his way to Sakura's that morning.

"Sure Li, sure."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?" he hissed, and she laughed.

"Nothing."

He clutched his head, containing his irritation, and then ran away. He ran. Away. He ran away??? Well, he attempted it. But Tomoyo was equally speedy, it seemed.

"Wait, Li-kun! You wouldn't let a lady walk home unescorted, would you!?" she called, and he stopped, groaning in defeat.

"Fine."

"By the way, Sakura wanted you to leave this on your doorstep tonight, if you could," Tomoyo added, passing him a bottle of ramenade (A/N: god I love that stuff! It should be more available dammit!). He took it, frowning.

"Why...?" he sighed, dismissing it as some magic custom they had. It was becoming his own custom to believe that whatever he didn't understand about the girls was associated with magic. "Whatever."

"That's very sweet."

"What is?"

"You don't question Sakura's wishes."

"So?"

She pouted. "Oh fine, have it your way Mr I-won't-admit-the-truth!" her pace increased so that she was walking ahead of him.

"Oi, wait! What truth? What the hell are you talking about?" However, she only laughed, and rounded the bend to her home, leaving Syaoran in the middle of the road.

'I don't get these people! Especially her!' he thought, angrily striding over to his own mansion, and setting the bottle down on the doorstep. 'Why does she want me to leave that here anyway?' he wondered, but brushed it off, entering the household.

"Syaoran, welcome home," a strict voice called, and he looked up to see his mother at the top of the stairs. He stiffened out of habit, and made a light bow. "How did the studying go?"

"It went well, mother." A crease of sorrow crossed the beautiful woman's face as she heard the respectful tone in her son's voice. But it was gone almost immediately.

"You look a little untidy, for simply studying," she noted.

"Oh... that's Kinomoto's brother's doing. We were late. I'm sorry."

Yelan paused to consider those words. Who was Kinomoto? Syaoran had only told her that he went to study for the day, not that he would be accompanied. "Kinomoto?"

He winced, realising his mistake, "Yes, mother. A classmate who needed help with their maths."

"Oh I see. And why were you late?"

"We..." he hesitated, "Overstudied."

It was progress, she thought, that he had at least spent time with someone. So she dismissed him, and he calmly walked to his room, leaving his mother on the stairs. She would have to find out who Kinomoto was.

---

Syaoran stepped out onto the front step, and adjusted his bag strap as he looked around nervously. If Kinomoto had tricked him with that bottle, and somehow summoned a trap with it... he blinked. The only strange thing was that the bottle had been opened and drained. Unusual, but not deadly, so he pushed it to the back of his mind, and made his way to school. Test. He had better not fail...

---

"Good morning Li-kun," a calm, almost soothing voice greeted him as he entered the classroom. Tomoyo was sitting in her usual seat, diagonal from him, and beside Sakura. She had somehow persuaded Chiharu to move next to Yamazaki, and had taken the seat.

"Morning Daidouji," he said bluntly, and casually noted, "Kinomoto is late."

"True. But that's not unusual for Sakura-chan," Tomoyo told him, "It's a miracle she hasn't been late at all this past week. But then, she did have her brother waking her every morning, and now Kinomoto-san is busy... he got himself a part time job, you see?"

"I see." He made no further comment as he took his seat, and waited for the green-eyed girl to arrive.

"Take your seats!" Mr Terada called out as he entered, and Syaoran frowned. Sakura was always this late?

"You're all aware, of course, that the test is today, and I hope you seized the opportunity to study over the weekend," the teacher continued, "But before we begin that, I'll call the roll. Arashi?"

"Here!"

"Arikea?"

"Here!"

"... Daidouji?"

"Hai... I mean, here!"

"Kinomoto?"

"..."

"Kinomoto?"

"..."

Syaoran and Tomoyo glanced anxiously at the seat where Sakura should have been sitting. Tomoyo looked worried now. Very worried. The teacher shrugged, and contined calling the roll.

"Daidouji," Syaoran whispered, "Is she usually so late?"

"No... I'm afraid she isn't coming to school today..." she looked to be in a good deal of pain over this news.

"So, maybe she just caught a cold, or something?" Syaoran suggested.

"No, that can't be it. I mean, it's not that it's impossible. She could have, but it's more like, if she had caught a cold, she would've healed very quickly. Unless she was injured, or too weak to use her own magic, in which case, the responsibility of healing her would fall to me but..." she cut herself off, shaking her head, "I'm hoping there's another, more reasonable explanation to all this..."

Syaoran wet his lips, for they had become incredibly dry, and his face was very pale. "She could be hurt?"

"It's possible..." she turned her head to him, giving him a searching look. "Li-kun, can you do me a favour?"

"What?"

"Will you come with me this afternoon, to check on Sakura? I know she'd like it if you would."

His face changed quickly from white to red. "Why would I...? Why should I...?"

"Please, Li-kun. I truly need you to come with me."

He groaned. These two girls clearly had him wrapped around their little fingers. "Fine, Daidouji - "

"Li, Daidouji! Pay attention, unless what you're discussing is something very important for the rest of us to hear?" the teacher snapped, and they shook their heads, turning to what was written on the board.

"I will come though," Syaoran murmured out of the side of his mouth, "Not because I'm worried though, but because you seem like you really need me to, or something."

"Thankyou."

---

A leaf fell on his head as he followed the anxious woman down beyond the cathedral. "Daidouji..."

"This is a different route to her house."

"Yeah...?"

"We're taking it because it is faster."

"Oh. What do you need me for anyway?"

She was silent for a moment, but then she stopped, and turned slowly to face him. "Li-kun, for someone who doesn't believe in magic, you have an awful lot of it... in your life."

"Uh... maybe because everyone else believes in it?"

"In our language," she rose an eyebrow, "Mahou means magic."

"That's nice..." he said, trying to work out where she was going with this.

"And I'd like to add, that your little town here is not the only town in the world to believe in where we come from. However, they... have the ability to move on, and maintain their beliefs. Mahou is frozen."

"Where are you taking this?"

"I only mean to say, Li-kun, that you live in a very magic atmosphere, and I find it difficult to believe you truly have given up on your faith. A part of you must still stand by it."

"Wrong," he growled, "Don't try to force that stuff on me, you hear?"

"Yes, Li-kun. I hear you."

His heart pounded wildly. She had come so close to the truth, he was glad she had dropped it. "Good. Then, let's hurry up. If Kinomoto is hurt, you'll need to be there to do something about it, right?"

"Only if I'm capable of this so-called magic," she teased, but he felt a more serious undertone to the words, and grew sombre as a result. They arrived at Sakura's house in silence.

They knocked, and a tall man with silvery-grey hair answered the door. He wore glasses, and an unchanging smile. "Hello," he said, opening his eyes to see the two young people on the door step. Syaoran couldn't help wondering just how many men lived with her. "Ah, Tomoyo!" the man cried, "You're here to check on Sakura, right? And..." he glanced at Syaoran.

"Li, Syaoran."

"Tsukishiro, Yukito. You're also here to see Sakura?" he nodded, "I wasn't aware she'd made any friends yet... but it's not unlike her!"

"Is Sakura-chan alright?" Tomoyo asked, dropping her usual air of mischeif. Syaoran did not lower his guard; this girl seemed to enjoy taunting him, for one reason or another.

"Well... not really. Come inside..."

"Don't let that gaki over the threshold Yuki!" Syaoran was immediately on the defensive. He knew who that was, and he didn't bother to ask what 'gaki' meant; it was clearly an insult, and that was enough.

"Eh? Toya... why?"

"I don't like him, alright? He shouldn't be anywhere near Sakura!" Toya shouted, charging to the door. Tomoyo looked pleadingly up at him.

"Kinomoto-san... please, you must allow him through! He needs to see Sakura..." Toya narrowed his eyes, seeking the other meaning in Tomoyo's words. Apparently, he found it, because he reluctantly stepped aside.

"Fine. Just this once, ok?" she nodded, and Syaoran stepped through. He could feel Toya's glare on his back, and could hear Yukito's voice as he tried to calm him.

"Hey, Daidouji... why do I need to be here, again?" Syaoran asked, jogging to catch up to her. He didn't spare the house a glance, totally uninterested in the scenery right now, when Tomoyo kept giving such vague answers.

"Li-kun. I know your secret, or, at least, I know most of it, so I guess it's only fair that you know some of mine. Therefore, I promise to tell you... as soon as Sakura is well. Until then, I must beg of you, your trust. Please?"

He slumped against the stair railing, "Sure, Daidouji. It's not that I do or don't trust you, but..." he opened one eye, "I'll go along with this. I've come all the way out here now, so I might as well see it through, right?"

She smiled lightly, "Thankyou." They continued up the stairs, and along the hallway to Sakura's room; quite obvious, decorated as it was in pink and white, with cherry blossoms carved in, along with her name. Tomoyo reached up, and knocked softly.

"H-hai..." Sakura's voice floated through the wooden blockade, faint and forced.

They opened the door, and Sakura sat up in bed, looking dazed. "Tomoyo... Li-kun...?" she stared at them blankly.

"Hey, Sakura-chan... we noticed you weren't at school today, and we were worried, so we came to check on you," Tomoyo supplied.

"Oh... onii-chan said it's just a fever..."

"But, if you've got a fever, you should have healed already..." Tomoyo bit her lip, knowing this must be her fault.

"Only if I'm strong enough. I'm resting till I feel I can do it..." Sakura said, and turned to Syaoran, "And thanks for worrying about me, but I'm fine."

"I-I... I wasn't!" he insisted, "Daidouji told me to come along."

"Eh? Why, Tomoyo?"

The dark-haired girl backed away a little. "Because, if you were sick... I would need his help. Because I... can't do this myself... and he can."

"Do what?"

She took a deep breath. "Well..."

---

AN: Sorry for ending it there! Heh heh, I bet some of you have already guessed what Tomoyo's secret is now, right?

So, there's a few things to address in this chapter... um, the bottle of ramenade will be explained later, and has more significance than you might think... lil' white raven might hazard a guess, however ^_^ Then there's Syaoran's secret... which is a big one too. And... the Teishu Kagi. No gender, because that makes it harder to guess!

Thankyou to ShadoWolfDemon for pointing out that 'Kagi of Henkou' should actually be 'Henkou no Kagi' and I've mended that mistake in this chapter. I'll keep it that way! Naturally, I still can't tell you what either of those mean.

Thanks also to lil' white raven, for pointing out that Tomoyo needs to be a bit more of a tease; I watched some more episodes, and saw that you were correct, for she does subtley tease Syaoran a lot. And thanks to DN angel and cardcaptor sakura (did I get the name right?) for reviewing on each chapter, it's really appreciated!

Now, words in Japanese to check up on:

Konbanwa - good evening
Gomen ne - (if I am not mistaken) I'm sorry
Hai - yes, or, here (giving)
Wakarimashta - I understand
Onii-chan - big brother
Gaki - (I think I'm right, from what Toya says in CCS) kid, or, brat. (It might just be kid though...)

Anyway, as always, please review!!

Kura