So here it is! The 7th episode! I hope you enjoy it, I tried to make it as interesting as possible. It's a little weird, but hey, weird is good XD!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Cardcaptors, I am just a fan!

Episode Seven: "Sinking Sand'

Ritsuka and her friends, Tanner and Allison, were all outside for lunch time with their bento boxes.

"Remember; Thursday after school, my place." Allison reminded, stabbing her chopsticks in her food.

"Uhhh...Allison, you do know what you just did with your food is wrong, right?" Tanner pointed out.

"Hm?" she then looked at her sticks. "AHH! Shoot, I wasn't paying attntion!" she then slipped off the food with her fingers and used her chopsticks properly.

Ritsuka slightly laughed. "Yeah, I'll be there. I'm sure Maddie won't mind. I'll call you if she says otherwise."

"Why aren't I invited?" Tanner asked.

"Well, uhh..." Ritsuka looked at Allison.

"You can't cook." Allison said bluntly.

"What do you mean? I made my own lunch!"

"No, you didn't. Your mom made you lunch. All you did was pack it in."

"Hey! I also helped her make it!"

"Yeah, by handing her the ingredients."

"Guys, cool it!" said Ritsuka, preventing an all-out war. "This is stupid. Besides, I doubt Tanner would want to help, even if he could cook. It's alot of work."

"He just wants to feel included." said Allison. "Okay, Tanner, you can come. But don't just stand around and do nothing!"

Suddenly, the bell rang. It was time for students to return to class.

"Oh man, now I can't finish my sushi!" Allison complained. "So by the way, what was it like being trapped inside the school yesterday?"

"Ummm...shouldn't we be getting to class now?" Ritsuka said nervously, a sweat drip slinking down her head.

"Yup, nothing to see here." said Tanner, pulling Allison up and pushing her forward.

"Hey! Tanner, stop that!" Allison commanded.


Ritsuka stared at the chalk board as their Math Teacher, Mrs. Chiyuri, was writing some problems on the board. She was a young teacher, and new to the school, only being 27 in age. And she was very sweet, always smiling, and she had a sort of soft-spoken, but slightly cutesy, voice.

"Now, I need two volunteers to come up here and try to solve these problems I've just written down." she said, smiling with closed eyes.

Everyone started looking at each other, until Tanner shrugged and raised his hand. "I'll do it!"

He got out of his chair and the teacher handed him a piece of chalk. Mrs. Chiyuri then lookled about the rest of her class. "Anyone else?"

Suddenly, Ritsuka was hit with a wave of tiredness. Her eyes began to feel heavier, and she slowly started to drift off to sleep. Allison noticed and whispered, "Ritsuka! Hey, are you OK? Ritsuka?"

Her voice began to fade as everything faded to black...

Ritsuka stood in a void place, with only some light surrounding her. She could hear splashes, as if water was dripping into a small puddle. The sound echoed throughout the void, but it had a magical sound to it. Ritsuka lifted up her head, seeing ripples on the mirror-like floor she was standing upon. She could see her reflection in the still water. Yes, she was standing in a small pool of water that was widespread as far as she could see. But it barely reached the top of her feet.

"Where...am I?" she questioned. "What is this place? Is anyone even...here?"

A soft breeze began to blow, and there was a slight whistling sound carried upon it. Flower petals began to rain down out of nowhere, blowing the direction of the wind. Ritsuka put her hand out to catch the petals. "These look like cherry blossoms. But...where are they coming from? There's no trees here."

She looked around and caught a glimpse of someone standing in the distance with her back turned. She slightly gasped, "Who is that?"

She appeared to be wearing a dark colored kimono with pink flower prints on it, most likely branches with cherry blossoms on them. She just stood there, not saying anything.

"Hello!" Ritsuka called, slowly walking towards her. "Can you tell me where I am? What is this place and what am I doing here?"

Still no answer. She just stood there, her kind of long, slightly wavy brown hair blowing in the wind.

"I'm Ritsuka." she told the strange woman. "Ritsuka Showron."

Suddenly, there was a huge gust of wind, blowing a thick swirling of petals between her and the strange woman. Ritsuka covered her face with one arm, until the window stopped. While the strong wind was blowing, she heard voices echo throughout the darkness. They were familiar, she's heard them before. Their lines were exactly the same, as if this were the same scene being repeated.

"Sakura! Fight 'em off! Fight 'em off!"

"I can't! I can't move, Li! I can't do anything!"

"Element, Wind! Come to my aid!"

"Goodbye Li, I'm so sorry..."

Ritsuka uncovered her eyes, and when there were no more petals, the strange woman was gone. But now standing there was someone else, a man who appeared to be the same age as the lady who was standing there. She couldn't see his face because it was shadowed. He wore Chinese clothes and was holding a sword. Ritsuka took a step back in fear.

"Wh-Who are you?" she asked, frightened.

He held his sword up and Ritsuka winced. "I will find her, no matter what."

"Ritsuka? Hey, Ritsuka!"

"What?" Ritsuka shot up.

"You fell asleep again." Allison told her.

"YOU'RE KIDDING ME!" she screamed. The whole class started to laugh.

"Miss Showron, are you sure you're feeling OK?" asked Mrs. Chiyuri.

"Oh, uhhh...yeah! I'm just fine!"

"Okay then, let us continue with our lesson..."


"See you tomorrow!" Allison waved goodbye, walking back home from school.

Tanner and Ritsuka waved back and then looked at each other.

"So, Ritsuka..." Tanner began. "Why did you fall asleep?"

"I just felt so...tired all of a sudden." she said. "It's hard to explain, but I had another one of those strange dreams again."

"How was it strange?"

"Well, I was standing in a dark place, and there was a thin layer of water on the floor," she began, explaining the dream to him. "There were...cherry blossoms raining down out of nowhere, and I saw this woman. I kept trying to talk to her, but she wouldn't answer. Then there was this huge gust of wind and I heard these voices calling out to each other. And then I saw this man standing in front of me, saying something about finding her no matter what."

"Man, you weren't kidding when you said it was weird!" Tanner commented. "I can't make any sense of it."

"Neither can I." said Ritsuka. "Maybe Kero knows what it means. But...I also don't want to worry him, either. So for now, I think I'll keep it to myself."

"Well, I better get home. I promised Nina I would play with her after school. See ya!" he told her, walking away.

"See ya!" she waved goodbye.

It was still a bright day, so she decided before returning home that she'd head downtown to check out the local bakeries. She thought maybe she could buy a surprise treat for Kero.

'I wonder if Kero likes chocolate pudding cake. Or maybe dessert rice balls. Or what about rice cakes? It's so hard to choose! But...I think he'll like whatever I give him...'

Lost in her thoughts, she wasn't paying attention and ended up bumping into somebody. They both fell back on their bottoms. Ritsuka felt totally embarrased. "Ohh! I am so sorry!"

"Don't worry about," said the person, rubbing his eyes and then putting his glasses back on. The young man had gray hair and yellow eyes, and his face seemed very kind. He got off the sidewalk and put his hand out. "Need help getting up?"

She reached for his hand and took it, and he pulled her up. "Thanks!"

"You must of been pretty deep in your thoughts to have walked into me like that. Were you daydreaming about something?"

"Uhhh...not really," Ritsuka replied. "I was just thinking about what I was going to buy for a friend. I'm heading down to the bakery!"

"Hey, I know of a really good bakery just down the street. Would you like me to take you there?"

"Yes, please! Thank you!"

"Alright then, follow me."

She walked right behind him and it wasn't long until they reached a local family-owned bakery called Miyuki-Chan. Ritsuka stared at the display window in awe. "Wow!"

She looked up at him. "Thank you so much! Now I know of a really good place!"

"I hope you'll find what you're looking for in there." he told her. "By the way, it was nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you, too!" she smiled with closed eyes. "Oh! My name! It's Ritsuka! Ritsuka Showron!"

He slightly gasped with wide eyes. Ritsuka blinked. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head and smiled again. "Not at all. I'm Julian, by the way. It's nice to meet you, Ritsuka."

"Yeah. Nice to meet you, too!" she nodded.

"I have to be going now." he started to walk away, but then waved and said, "I think we'll be seeing each other again very soon. Take care!"

"Huh?" Ritsuka stood there, blinking, as she watched him walk away. "What does...he mean by that?"


It was nightfall. Ritsuka had just finished eating dinner. She went into her room, closing the door behind her, holding a plastic bag.

"Ritsuka! Where've you been?" Kero asked, floating over to her.

"I stopped by a bakery after school. I would of handed this over to you earlier, but I had chores to do. Then Maddie came home and I had to eat dinner. Anyway, here you go..." she held out the bag.

Kero gasped in delight. "Ritsuka, you shouldn't have!"

He snatched it up and flew over toward the bed and started digging through it. "Yeah! Cake! Chocolate cake!"

Ritsuka giggled. "I wasn't sure what to get you, but I figured you like practically all sweets, so..."

"Oh, do I ever!"

While Kero was munching down, she sat at her desk, sifting through all of the cards she currently has.

"So, sense anything strange lately?" Kero asked.

"Not since yesterday." she replied. "I really hope to have a break from capturing. At least until after the festival."

"Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way, Ritsuka. You're gonig to have to be ready for anything. A card could strike at any moment!"

"I know that, Kero. But it sure would be nice."


"Alright! Let's start baking!" Allison said.

"Why did yesterday have to go so fast?" Ritsuka momaned.

"What did you do yesterday, anyway, Ritsuka?" asked Tanner, laid out on the couch.

"Hey! Don't you remember what I told you on Tuesday, Tanner?" Allison shouted. "I said you can be here if you don't sit around doing nothing!"

"You already said I couldn't cook, so..."

Allison groaned and then sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry. I shouldn't of judged your cooking like that since I actually haven't tasted your food. There! Now will you help us?"

"Okay, but first, I'm still awaiting Miss Showron's answer."

"Eh, I sat around doing nothing." she replied. "Had no chores to do, since I got them done the night before."

"So, you were busy on Tuesday then?"

"Sort of. I bought treats for Kero, no, I mean, uhhh...Maddie! I bought them for Maddie."

"Let's just get this over with." said Tanner, putting on an apron. "Allison, do we have any...white aprons?"

She smirked. "What's wrong, Tanner? Don't you think you look lovely in pink?"

"Get me a white apron, Allison."

"Hehehe!" she laughed evily. "Okay, okay. Here-" she held it up and he quickly snatched it and put it on, tossing the pink one on her head. "Hey! Watch where you throw things next time!"

"If we keep fighting, it'll take really long to get this done!" Ritsuka pointed out.

"Hey, at least we got the day off from school today to do this! Or else it'd be nightfall by the time we're done!"

"That's true." Ritsuka smiled with closed eyes. "What should we start on first?"

"Let's do the kiwi strawberry tart. Then we'll start on the cupcakes." replied Allison.

"And what about me?" Tanner asked.

"Why don't you crack some eggs for us?"

"Not a problem!" he stretched his arms, snapping his fingers in place. He threw an egg in the air and tried catching it, but it cracked on the floor. "Uhhh...whoops!"

Allison narrowed her eyes. "Go clean that up!"


Ritsuka stretched after a long day's work. "Finally! We're done!"

"Wow, you actually managaed to make it taste like dessert this time instead of giant sugar cubes!" Tanner said, after he took a huge bite out of one of the sample cupcakes.

Allison elbowed him. "Shut up!"

"Well, I better get home before it's dark." Ritsuka said, putting on her jacket. When she opened the door, the sky was covered in clouds.

"It's already a bit dark 'cause of those clouds!" commented Allison.

"I could walk home with you, Ritsuka." Tanner offered.

"No, it's OK!" she told him. "It's just some cloud cover. The worst that could happen is it might rain on me!"

"Bye Ritsuka, see ya tomorrow!" Allison waved.

"See ya!" she waved back.

As she walked down the street, Kero popped out of her backpack, gasping for breath. "Wow, I thought we'd never get out of there!"

"Huh?" Ritsuka stared at him in horror and then quickly grabbed him,, looking around. "Kero, you were in my backpack this whole time?"

"Well yeah, I wanted to try some of those treats you were making!"

"What were you thinking? What if Allison saw you?"

"I was quiet!" he said, crossing his arms. "I've had years of experience."

She rolled her eyes. "Just get back in my backpack."

"It's not like anyone's here right now!"

"I know that, Kero, just get back in..." she stopped. "You're right, no one's here. That's strange."

"Something strange is going on around here..." said Kero.

Ritsuka gasped. "Feel that? It felt like an earthquake!"

Suddenly, the ground beneath her began to split and there was a growing whirlpool of sand spinning. Ritsuka screamed as she was being pulled below, sinking in the sand. "Kero!" she called. "Kero, help!"

She looked around, but he was nowhere to be found. "Kero?"

Suddenly, she saw the shadow of something flying above her. In startlement, she closed her eyes. Whatever it was swept down and pulled her out of the sand. When she opened her eyes, she found herself on the back of a tiger with wings!

Ritsuka screamed. "Who are you? And what have you done with Kero?"

"You don't have to worry, Ritsuka," the creature told her. "He's right here."

"Right here? What do you...Wait a minute?" she looked at him and gasped. "Kero? You mean...this is your true form?"

He nodded.

"B-B-But...how were you able to change? I thought all the cards had to be collected before you had enough power to do that!"

"That's what happened when Sakura was capturing the cards, but only because the previous master had passed away." he explained.

"But then...how? How were you able to return to your original form?"

"Returning to my true form means that the current master is still alive."

She gasped. "Sakura..."

"Listen closely, the name of the card that is swallowing everything up beneath us is the Sand Card."

"The Sand Card? How am I suppose to capture it?"

"Hurry, Ritsuka,, it's growing fast."

She nodded, taking out the key. "Key of the Star, With powers burning bright, Reveal the staff, and Shine your light! RELEASE!"

She threw a card in the air. "Fly!"

A pair of wings grew upon her back and she got off Keroberos and flew over the whirlpool. "Sand Card, I command you to-AH!" a shot of sand headed towards her and she dodged it. She pulled out the cards and looked at them. "I need some way to block it's attacks, but how?"

Another sand shot came towards her, and she flew out of the way. "I need to some how capture it, but I can't if it keeps shooting me!"

Suddenly, it came to her. "I got it!"

She took out a card. "Shield Card, block the sand blasts from hitting me!" she then slammed her staff to it. "Shield! Release and dispel!"

Instantly, a magical shield engulfed her within a bubble. The sand card continued to blast, but she was protected. "Sand Card, I command you to return to your powers confined, Sand Card!" slamming down the sealing wand, the card was sucked into the staff and formed back into a card.

Ritsuka landed, and the Shield and Fly faded away, returning to cards themselves. Kero flew over to her, back in his barrowed form. "You did it, Ritsuka!"

"I couldn't of done it without you, Kero! You saved my life!" she then opened her backpack. "Now let's get back home before someone sees you."

Kero flew into the bag and she zipped it up. It suddenly began to rain and she sighed. "I knew I said that the worst that could happen was that it would rain, but this is nothing to what has just happened."

When she turned her head, she slightly gasped. In the distance, standing there looking at her, was Julian holding an umbrella. He then looked straight and started to walk away. Ritsuka turned her head, watching him walk away. How long had he been standing there? Did he see her and Kero? Does he know about the cards?

END A/N: Just to note, Julian's age appearance, though he'd technically look older than Ritsuka's parents, looks still like a young adult because...well, you all know who he is so I assume he wouldn't age much :P