Hi everyone we are back with the latest installment of Archangel. Sorry for the wait blame creative differences between the two of us over story pacing and event necessity vs character development. The creative process both fun and sometimes long.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or any related characters or properties. They belong to Clamp.

Speech"

'Thoughts'

Seen Change…

Archangel

Chapter 9: Rika and Naoko

Protecting Sakura on this journey was already proving to be more difficult than Syaoran had anticipated. He did not expect to have Caleb and his gang on their tail. Syaoran had dealt with the Mercer Family on several occasions but never to a decisive end. They were difficult opponents and he did not know if they knew Sakura had the cards. If they discovered that fact and took that information back to the Demon King… he could not let that happen.

In an attempt to lose their pursuers Syaoran decided to detour from their strait eastern advancement and turn northeast to try to throw the bounty hunters off. It would add time until they reached rebel territory but not to the trip as a whole. He originally wanted to go strait east until they reached Militia controlled lands for safety and then turn north to the High Mountains but hopefully a more direct approach would save them further confrontation with the Mercer Family.

Sakura was thrilled when they finally came to a town. A couple weeks of camping had left her longing for civilization even if it meant risking the Vanguard. She and Syaoran were not be sure if their description had been circulated by the Mercer family but they could hopefully obtain news in town.

With Pegasus off hiding in the woods and Kero tucked away in her bag the two walked into the large town of Napua unnoticed. Unlike the time they were in Sanaa, Napua was alive with commotion. Strings of flowers and lanterns adorned the town square and every home and shop appeared to be decorated on the outside. A festival like atmosphere was radiating from everywhere.

The two rouge mages were assessing their surroundings when the delighted squeals of children grabbed Sakura's attention. She wandered toward a large stone fountain that appeared to be the center of the town. The fountain was round and had a large stone flower at its center. Water poured from its five petals into the pool below. A dozen or so children sat on the fountain staring up at a small cart situated next to it and the woman who stood behind it.

The woman had a petite built and looked close to Sakura's age. She had brown eyes behind her glasses and shorter than normal brown hair that framed her head and neck. She had puppets on her hands and appeared to be telling a story.

'A Bard.' Sakura would have moved on if she had not heard a surprising line in the story.

"The brave Mercer Family prepared to subdue the terrible rouge mage Fang in the name of our beloved King Kengan."

Curiosity got the better of Sakura as she found a place among the growing crowd of young and old onlookers. Getting a closer look at the puppets Sakura noticed they were poor but cute interpretation of Syaoran and Caleb. Caleb puppet had his two swords with two dots for eyes and a squiggly line for a mouth making the puppet look angry. The Fang puppet wore a miniature cloak with a rather good interpretation of the wolf embodiment that was on real Syaoran's cloak. The hood was sown down over the puppet's eyes but the mouth was visible and looked like it was frowning.

'Well she got that part right.' Sakura looked on as the woman continued her story.

"Caleb Mercer a powerful and brave mercenary had offered up his services to the King. He and his family had flushed out a group of militia rebels' right here in our very own Napua. After the Vanguard raided a meeting these sneaky rebels were having, the militia leader was eliminated before the public. Caleb and his men were rounding up militia loyalist and preparing to take them to the Vanguard for their well deserved punishment.

However the mysterious militia leader had also done the dishonorable, by hiring a mercenary of his own, to safeguard the escaping militia agents. This mercenary, known only as Fang, fought the Mercer Family leader and prevailed allowing many to escape the King's justice." The story teller moved her puppets in time with her story making the toys fight with each other.

"To this day Fang is the only rouge mage known to have escaped the Mercer Family and they remain embittered by their humiliation. Caleb Mercer swears he will catch up to Fang one day.

But let this story serve as a warning, disloyalty to the king is meet with harsh consequences. Should you behave foolishly Caleb Mercer may come for you." The bard spoke in an ominous voice that frightened many of the listening children.

"But since I know none of you would be disloyal you must be vigilant." The bard stopped talking for a moment while looking at the crowd for a moment Sakura thought the story teller was looking at her but she soon realized the story teller had actually locked eyes with Syaoran who had come to stand next to Sakura. The story teller smiled and continued. "You never know where the terrible rouge mage Fang will appear to make trouble for the Vanguard and the King just for a profit."

The crowd clapped at the end of the story. Children ran up to place coins in the bag and purchase puppets of the story characters on the stand. As the crowd dispersed Sakura was surprised when instead of turning to leave Syaoran walked up to the stand and picked up a Fang puppet.

"Really? You made a puppet?"

"No touching." The bard complained while snatching the puppet back.

"Fang is one of my best sellers second only to the Archangel puppet. You missed her story; speaking of stories I hope you have more for me. I need some new material about the terrible rouge mage Fang." She took the puppet from him and waved it in front of him. "People want to know who is defying their king and getting away with it. It's so enthralling people just can't seem to get enough!"

"You know I've heard rumors of Fang and Awai's Archangel being seen together. If something isn't done these rumors could spoil Fang's loner persona. Worse, sales of his puppets among single girls could decline."

Sakura watched the bard girl as she continued to banter on. Did Syaoran know her too?

"They are not false rumors." Syaoran stated gesturing toward Sakura

Sakura flinched when the bard turned toward her and got an excited sparkly look in her eye. She pointed a trembling finger at Sakura.

"Is that..?"

"It is." Syaoran cut the bard off already knowing what she was going to ask.

The bard stifled a scream and ran over to Sakura grabbing her hands.

"It's you, it's you, it's really you! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! This is so exciting, I am so excited!"

"Naoko!" Syaoran interrupted the squealing girl. "Maybe we can do this someplace more private." Syaoran now gestured toward people who were giving the three curious glances as they walked by.

"Right… sorry." Naoko, as Sakura just learned was the bard's name, reluctantly released the flustered Sakura's hands and turned to pack her cart up. Once it was loaded up she gripped the handles and began to push it down the street telling Syaoran to follow.

Syaoran gestured for Sakura to follow but Sakura was hesitant. The tone of Naoko's story and the strange reaction/greeting she just got put Sakura on edge.

"Wait Syaoran, who is she?"

Worried about people looking their way Syaoran caught Sakura off guard when he placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to his body in what must have looked to others like a lover's embrace. He bent down whispering in her ear looking to others like he was whispering sweet nothings to her.

"It's too complicated and sensitive to explain out in the open. I'll explain when I'm sure we are safe and can't be overheard. I hope you trust me by now Angel."

Sakura just nodded and followed without another word. He did not have to ask such a question. Of course she trusted him, she was not sure when she started to trust him but she knew she did.

Sakura was surprised when they reached their destination, coming up to a large building that to her surprise was labeled Library. Naoko pushed her cart around the back and led the trio inside the back door.

Sakura was immediately amazed by the site. The Library in the Capital City was closed to the public and Tomoeda never had one so Sakura had never seen a Library from the inside before. The sheer number of books and scrolls that lined the walls took Sakura's breath away. She had never seen so many books in one place.

"Wow, it's huge." Sakura commented walking over to a shelf and running her hand along the books to better exam the stored titles.

"You think so?" Naoko questioned in a confused tone. "I always thought our collection was too miniscule for a real library. You should see some of the collections the bigger cities have. Though some of the truly amazing Libraries like the Royal family's Great Library in Awai, have been closed to the public. It's unforgivable, that fake king thinks' he can control our right to share knowledge and take away the history and legacy our ancestors so painstakingly preserved for us in glorious written form. It's absolutely outrageous."

"Naoko please lower your voice, anyone could walk in and hear you." Another girl spoke as she entered the room catching the attention of the group.

"Sorry Rika, I can't help it. It's hard enough trying to tell my stories in a way that makes the Vanguard think I support the King while trying to convey the true heroism of the rebels and still make them sound like the misguided villains."

"But look who I found to make it up to you." Naoko pointed at Syaoran who nodded in acknowledgment.

The girl named Rika smiled a beautiful soft smile that complemented her lovely reddish hair and brown eyes. "Fang, it's good to see you well."

"And it's not just him." Naoko interjected running up next to Sakura. "Do you realize who this is? I think I'm going to die any minute!"

"Hoe?!" Was the only response Sakura could muster.

Once they got settled in the little kitchen that connected the girl's home and the library Sakura and Kero still hiding in her pocket were given the full story of Syaoran's associative relationship with the two girls. Naoko Yanagisawa and Rika Sasaki were, to Sakura's amazement, the twin's Masaya and Ryou's lovers.

Apparently the story that Naoko had told about militia agents being caught in this city and rescued by Fang was actually a watered down but true version of what happened. Masaya and Ryou's father had been the group's leader and was trying to establish ties with other groups. In doing so he made the mistake of trusting the wrong person. Caleb Mercer and his men were unknown to the man and worked their way into his confidence. This gave the Mercers the names of all those who were working under him.

The plan was to gather enough people to their cause to over throw the local Vanguard chapter and establish connections with the larger militia forces to the east for protection and security. It was a plan that had worked for many other places in the east that were now considered free from the king in what people were calling rebel territory. Caleb had 'volunteered' to be a go between and establish contact with militia agents in the east. But instead of militia agents the Mercers brought back a larger group of Vanguard soldiers instead.

Napua was a critical port town for trade and travel so it was spared collective punishment. But almost 70 people were implicated and rounded up to be executed for treason. These people included not only plotters but their families. The bodies of the first few executed including Ryou and Masaya's father were left on display hanging from the flower fountain for a week. They executed people five at a time once a week and left them hanging from the fountain as a warning. Over 50 people were killed this way over a 10 week period. The carnage would have continued if Fang had not come and helped those still held captive to escape.

Syaoran told Sakura he had been hired by Eriol aka Panther and the Prince to do it. By now Sakura was sure Eriol was the prince, he was involved in seemingly everything involving the Militia, but she did not say anything so Syaoran could keep up the pretense in front of Naoko and Rika.

Caleb tried to stop the captives from escaping and ended up fighting Fang who was protecting the unarmed fleeing rebels. Syaoran won of course and Caleb has apparently been obsessed with finding and defeating Fang ever since. The two had multiple clashes and even with his team to back him up Syaoran always managed to escape. Now Sakura better understood the intense encounter at the hot spring. Caleb had a vendetta against Syaoran like she had against Asaka.

As sons of the rebel leader Ryou and Masaya were implicated and set to be executed along with their mother on the last round to serve as the final warning. But they were able to escape along with the remaining captives the night Fang came. Unfortunately Ryou and Masaya's mother had been killed in the fighting that ensued using her body to shield another mother and her child while escaping. Ryou and Masaya decided to join the militia in the east after their escape.

Sakura could not believe the two fun loving young men she met could have such a painful past. Despite everything they were still believed in the hope and future the Militia Rebellion promised.

Unfortunately everyone knew who they were and what they looked like so they could not return to Napua. Rika and Naoko were spared implication because Ryou and Masaya stated the two girls knew nothing of their father's plans or actions. It was a lie but the Vangurad who interrogated the family believed them, figuring the then teenage boys had no reason to tell their teenage girlfriends about a rebel plot. Still the girls were quarantined to the village and forbidden to ever leave. If they ever tried their relatives were sure to pay. The two girls both had large extended families and were not willing to risk their relative's safety even to be with the men they loved.

Still the girls found a way to fight back. The two girls became the Library's caretakers, a job that once belonged to Ryou and Masaya's family as a way to rebuild a contact point in Napua for the Militia and create a place for their lovers to come home to when the King fell. This position while small allowed sparse correspondents from the boys that occasionally made it through the Militia intelligence network. This was also were Naoko got many of her stories from. She was an avid lover of literature and worked to preserve copies of material that was banned and confiscated by the Vanguard.

Their courage and sacrifice of the lovers was admirable to Sakura. But their sad story made Sakura burn with rage, felling like her new friends' story resonated with her own. She hated how the Vanguard just went around ruining peoples' lives and causing so many to lose the people they loved. All in the name of the Demon King's fake justice.

The injustice occupied Sakura's mind even as she toured the town with Rika and Naoko who insisted on showing her all the activities to be found at the town's spring festival. Ever the anti-social Syaoran opted to stay back at the Library while the girls showed her about.

Napua was having its annual Flower Festival, to welcome the spring season. The town was decorated in pastel colored décor all around. Booths and concession stands were going up to sell to the people who would come from both local and afar to revel in the activities. The festival would be full of games and activities but there were two main events that travelers and locals would be coming out to see. The first being a huge firework displays that was shot out from ships just outside the harbor. It would be a grand display that could be seen for miles. The fireworks were said to grant a young girl's wish if she was kissed beneath them. The second big attraction was the Couples Relay.

Rika began to explain the Couples Relay when Sakura inquired about the long line of people she noticed waiting before a pop up booth. Naoko and Rika excitedly explained the old town tradition that went back to its founding. The contest was for lovers to pair off and race through town solving riddles and challenges to lead to the next check point. The challenges required cooperation and teamwork. The winning couple got a huge cash prize collected from local venders. Many winners will get married after the competition because legend says winning couples never split up.

"That is so sweet." Sakura stated while envying at all the excited and loving looking couples signing up for the competition. "Did you two ever get the chance to compete?"

"Of course not." A mystery person spoke from behind them in a smug voice.

Naoko and Rika quickly turned and bowed with Sakura following their lead. Syaoran was always telling her the best way to blend in was to watch and follow the locals. Sakura could see a young woman in a long expensive looking dress. The dress looked regal and out of place among the travelers and shipping people that made up most of the people around them. The woman herself was unappealing in Sakura's opinion. Not to say she was ugly, but something in her small brown eyes seemed dark... darker even then her short cropped black hair. Next to her was a towering young man with a bushy face that was desperately in need of a shave. He was dressed in a Vanguards uniform.

That's when Sakura realized why everyone was stepping aside for the over dressed young woman. She was a woman of the Vanguard; probably not a soldier judging by her clothes, but someone who knew or was related to someone important enough that she could push her weight around. That air of selfish, self right importance is probably what made the girl so unappealing to Sakura's eyes. The girl fluttered a cloth fan in front of herself as she walked talking louder than necessary making sure to attract attention.

"No one wants one of these two sad little girls." The young Vanguard girl spoke as if she was telling Sakura something obvious. "After all they were both unfortunate enough to have dated two traitors. Even most of their relatives distance themselves now. I personally don't know why these two even bother to leave that smelly paper storage house they call a library. In fact they should just burn the dump down along with themselves and save their relatives the disgrace of their existence."

Rika and Naoko just kept their eyes averted and said nothing. Sakura however felt a growing sense of loathing for this girl at her words. Before Tomoeda was destroyed Sakura felt she could never hate anyone. But every day since, she met people of the Vanguard that continued to showed cruelty and malice to others that even she could not forgive.

The Mean Girl, as Sakura mentally nicknamed her, turned toward Sakura and looked her up and down sizing her up.
"You're not from around here. I bet you think you're prettier than me." She emphasized while poking Sakura with her fan.

"Of course she is you loud mouth sow…"

Sakura punched her bag to silence Kero, fortunately the mean girl nor the Vanguard soldier knew where the voice had come from judging by the way they were angrily scanning the crowd.

"Who said that?" The soldier yelled as he began stomping towards the small crowd of onlookers.

Stifling her anger Sakura bowed to the mean girl. "Please madam, I could never think so highly of myself in your company."

Sakura could tell Mean Girl was pleased with her timid flattery as she turned and reopened her fan to flutter.

"Good, I thought you might be full of yourself considering the clothes your wearing. Modern attire like that, you must come from further south."

Sakura mentally flinched, good thing Syaoran was not here or he would lecture her about her clothes attracting attention again. Was a girl in a short skirt and leggings really such an odd thing? Tomoyo always said every girl would be dressing this way soon. Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by the mean girl talking again.

"I saw you come into town this morning with your baby faced man..."

"What does that mean? Wait does she think Syaoran and I… why would she think… he's not my man he's barley tolerates me… and"

"I just want you to know my fiancé and I will be taking first prize in the Couple's Relay. It is a pain to have too many competitors running around, so just do yourself a favor and stay home. Outsiders never win anyway so I personally can't stand when they come here to compete in the relay. It's annoying."

Mean Girl and the Vanguard soldier then turned to walk away seemingly satisfied that her speech made a large number of couples leave the line.

"She should stay home and shave her ugly fiancé."

Rika and Naoko giggled softly, finally lifting their heads.

"Who said that?" Rika whispered her question.

"I didn't hear anything." Sakura answered punching her purse again.

Back at the Library…

Sakura was helping Rika and Naoko make lunch. The Library had a small apartment like area build in where the girls lived. Her two friends made no fuss about what transpired at the fairgrounds but Sakura was getting angrier by the minute. She had only known them for a few hours but it was clear how kind her new friends were. On top of that she really liked Ryou and Masaya and hated that the girls they loved were being treated so cruelly and unable to do anything but accept it. To add shame to insult, the relatives they stayed in this town to protect largely stayed away from the girls, too afraid of the Vanguard to stand beside them.

"You know Sakura, I could really use a new story for my act. I bet the exciting meeting and love story of the rogue mages Fang and Archangel would really get the crowd going."

"Hoe…" Sakura was so shocked by Naoko's statement she dropped the napkins she had been folding all over the floor.

"No, no, no, no… you've got it all wrong. We are just working together on a job for Panther. That is the only reason I'm with him."

Sakura felt guilty looking at Naoko's disappointed face but what she said was the truth, it was a fascinating story but lacked the romantic component the girl was clearly fishing for.

"Awww, that is so boring. I was hoping for something more romantic like the mysterious marauding Archangel swept down from the sky and rescued the terrible rouge mage Fang from his righteous punishment at the hands of the King's noble Vanguard."

Naoko had stars in her eyes as she spoke causing a sweat drop to appear on Sakura's head. "That is an interesting way to describe it."

Rika giggled before speaking. "Naoko has to make it sound like she supports the King even though what she is really trying to do is tell the stories of the brave people, like yourself, who are fighting against the regime. But Naoko is it not the lady who is supposes to be rescued and swept off her feet in a romantic love story."

"That's too traditional, its way more fun to imagine it the other way around. With our little Archangel here carrying a love struck Fang off into the sky."

All three girls and a still hidden Kero laughed themselves to tears at the mental image created by Naoko's story.

A short time later Sakura burst into the guest room she and Syaoran were given to share with both his lunch and her determination. She walked over to where he was sitting looking over a map and slammed the sandwich down over the spot he was looking at to get his attention. Their eyes met for a second before Syaoran picked up the plate and returned to eyeing the map. "Why are you so upset?"

Sakura recounted the encounter with the mean girl at the fairgrounds, convinced that when she was done Syaoran would share in her outrage. Her annoyance with Syaoran quickly grew when he expressed a disinterest in her story.

"They are in a tough situation but there is nothing you can do about an uppity Vanguards woman who has decided tormenting others is fun. They are not in physical danger and I'm sure they have learned to cope with…"

"There is something we can do; we can prevent Mean Girl from claiming victory in the contest."

Sakura took his lack of a reply as agreement and continued. "We enter and win the contest so she can't win the glory. It won't change the situation but I'll be satisfied knowing I defended my friends. For some weird reason she was under the impression that we are a couple and came here for the contest so you have to enter with me."

Sakura gripped Syaoran by the arm and tried, without luck, to pull him from his seat. "Come on, we have to go sign up together before registration ends at sunset."

Syaoran stood and looked Sakura strait in the eye before speaking. "No"

"Why not!" Both Sakura and Kero yelled in unison. The guardian beast flying out of Sakura's purse to join the conversation.

"Look the fact that this girl, who is clearly associated with the Vanguard, has noticed us is bad enough. May I remind you that we are both wanted by the Demon King with sizable bounties on our heads? Our best course on this mission is discretion; we need to attract as little attention as possible as we make our way east so we can avoid conflict with our enemies. I know you are not use to keeping a low profile, hell your actions in the capital could not have been more flamboyant, but we cannot afford to draw more attention to ourselves then apparently we already have."

"But don't you want to help your friends and see a person like that put in her place?"

"The only thing I'm curious about is why we stood out so much? Especially considering the amount of people coming through this place right now."

Sakura was of course not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing it was her clothes that caught the girl's attention like he was always warning her about.

"Stupid kid, I would help Sakura put that mean girl in her place if I was human."

A light went off in Sakura's mind at Kero's words. She smiled a mischievous smile as she turned back to Syaoran.

"You are going to help me, and if you don't Kero and your body will." Sakura dramatically pulled out a card from her bag and held it in front of Syaoran.

Syaoran debated ignoring Sakura for a moment until he took a second look at the card she was holding. There was something strange about it. Most of the cards she used were elemental manifestations of the environment in a humanoid form like Windy and cards like that. Others served functional purposes like Create and had object forms, but this card had an animal on it. The creature pictured was in the form of a lizard, but the card did not say anything he would associate with such an animal, it said Change.

Syaoran had no fear of lizards but something about the way Sakura was looking at him and the way Kero was praising her brilliance with such exuberance began to make him really nervous and he starts to back away.

"What are you up to? What does that do?"

"Change is a very special card. It can swap the souls and bodies of two people, or in this case, the mind of one little wolf and one guardian beast." Sakura slowly began to advance on Syaoran as she spoke.

Syaoran's eyes grew wide as he began to process the meaning of the very non-angelic girl's words.

"If you don't agree to help me I am going to use this card to put Kero in your body and have him help me instead. You can stay here in his body and stare at your maps all day without hindrance."

Kero was spinning around Sakura's head full of excitement.

"Oh yeah! I have always wanted to see what it would be like to be human. I can buy all the awesome food and check out all the awesome sights and play all the awesome games and not be stuffed in a bag. Do it Sakura. Do it!"

Syaoran backed into the wall as a smirking cardmistress and her equally evil looking guardian beast advanced. Horrible images began to run through his mind. He saw himself in Kero's body tied to a post watching helpless as the food crazed beast did humiliating things in his body. Gorging himself shamelessly on sweets, dancing on tables, and running on all fours like an animal all while an amused Sakura followed. He knew he would never be able to show his face in public again.

Back at the Fairgrounds…

A defeated looking Syaoran signed the registration form for the Couples Relay. Sakura was standing next to him with a huge smile on her face.

"This is going to be so much fun right honey?" Sakura hugged Syaoran making a huge show of it.

"Yes Angel I can't wait… we will win with the power of our love." Syaoran's response was monotone and unenthusiastic. He mumbled "Sadistic witch." Under his breath when he turned back toward her.

"What was that my love?" Sakura asked in a sing song voice. She leaned in to Syaoran by the arm and held the Change card discreetly in her hand where only he could see it.

"Nothing Angel."

Inside Sakura's bag Kero sat with his arms crossed mentally moping.

'It's no fair! I can't believe the kid caved. I wanted to be human for a day. I would have been a way better partner Sakura.'

The Next Day in Town…

The next day the Vanguard captain commanding the town stood on a raised stage in the town square. The pudgy old man was smiling and almost looked kind as he stared down at the ten couples who had signed up for the Couples Relay.

Rika and Naoko told Sakura that the vanguard commander loved games and was really into the festival which was probably the only reason the tradition continued after the Demon King's rise. Sakura has also discovered why Mean Girl could do what she wanted; she was this man's daughter.

Fortunately he had nothing to do with setting up or monitoring the relay so Sakura knew she and Syaoran still held a chance for victory. If only he would stop looking so melancholy. People would never believe them to be a couple with that sour look on his face.

The contest was designed to eliminate contestants as it progressed. The couples would have to work together to win each event. Volunteers would be monitoring the course to insure the participants followed direction and no cheating occurred.

Once the rules were explained the Vanguard commander announced the first event, a three legged race up the hill to the first check point. Sakura found herself delighted to be playing a game she had not done since child hood. For all his complaining Sakura found herself impressed with the effort Syaoran put into the challenge. She assumed his competitive side just took over. The two actually worked really well together and fell into almost perfect step pulling far ahead from the other tripping couples, including Mean Girl.

A silver haired woman waited at the first check point. She untied their legs and gave them the ribbon that had bound their legs as proof that they arrived.

"Ok young ones for the next leg of the race run hand in hand without letting go to the place in town where you shall never be sick."

The silver haired woman smiled at their confusion.

"A riddle?"

The woman nodded.

"Not sick? The doctor?"

Sakura asked but the woman did not respond. Sakura took this to mean that they had to solve the riddle and proceed. Getting the riddles wrong and ending up in the wrong place must be how contestants were eliminated.

"I don't think that's it." Syaoran spoke turning her attention to him. "You go to a doctor when you are sick. She said a place where you shall never be sick."

'A place you can't be sick."

"I got it!" Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand and took off in a run. He just followed along hoping she knew where she was going.

While they ran Syaoran stole a glance at her face. Her eyes seemed to shine with childish enthusiasm. Of course Sakura would be into these kinds of silly games. Coupled with her smile she looked very beautiful.

'Too bad her personality is so intolerable.'

Sakura led them to a remote part of town that had a small old well that had been decorated for the festival. The well had long ago dried up but people still came to make wishes in it. The well had been one of the first things built and the town sprang up around it.

An old man in a chair sat next to the well and waved at Sakura and Syaoran as they approached.

"Congratulations you are the first to make it to the second check point. May I see the proof of passage from the first check point?"

Syaoran showed the old man the ribbon before glancing at Sakura.

"How did she…?"

Sakura giggled seeing the stupefied look Syaoran was giving her.

"If you are not sick you are well. Rika and Naoko showed me this wishing well and told me all about its history when they gave me a tour of the town yesterday."

The old well man gave them yet another ribbon and a new riddle.

"To find the next place carry your lover on your back and remember the riddle may not be what it appears."

"Great now I have to carry you on my back! And what is the next riddle?"

"I just told you the riddle young man."

"What? No you didn't."

"I know it." Sakura shouted jumping on Syaoran's back without warning almost making them both fall over. "Hurry and run that way." Sakura shouted her directions from her new Syaoran perch.

Syaoran just followed her directions without further argument. She had been right about the first riddle after all.

Sakura led them past the main harbor to an off shoot of the river. There they found a small pier that was no longer used thanks to the larger more modern main port. An old looking fisherman is sitting on the end post with his feet dangling in the water. The old fisherman almost looked annoyed at being forced to stand when they arrived.

"Oh my back, I can't believe I got talked into this… welcome to check point three show me the proof of check point one and two."

"How did you?"

"It's just like the guy said the clue was not what it appeared… a pier, get it? Rika and Naoko also showed me this pier on our town tour. It was the original pier built when the town was founded." Sakura smiled with triumph at Syaoran. For some reason she was really happy that he seemed impressed.

"I have to admit Angel you are a great deal smarter than I first took you for."

"Thanks… wait does that mean you thought I was dumb when we first met!"

Syaoran just laughed in response making Sakura swing at him in fury. Syaoran caught both her hands before they could connect.

"I hate to interrupt young love but do you two want to continue or not."

Sakura and Syaoran turned back to the old both blushing and apologizing for their rude behavior.

The man handed them another ribbon before he continued to speak.

"For your next stop ferry across the river where you will find a bridal the lady must wear until you reunite with its mate."

While thinking the clue over Sakura and Syaoran hopped in a boat that was tied to the pier and rowed to the other side of the river. On the other side they found a fence with several bridal veils and horse's bridals hanging together in sets.

"They can't be serious."

"Now Angel you heard the man the bride must wear…" Syaoran waved the veil and horse bridal in front of Sakura. Gotta love karma."

The two followed the road to the next place. Sakura had the veil on her head and the bridal around her waist with Syaoran holding the reigns like he was steering a horse around. His laughing was embarrassing her with every step.

"Can you just shut up until we get to the stables?"

"This contest really was a good idea. Now you can't argue when I call you a nag."

At the town stable the stable master met them with a chuckle and another ribbon.

"Nicely done, you young'uns are in the lead. But let's see if you can stay that way. For the next to last stop you have to push that wagon of hey up to the place where wild passion blooms to the song of romance."

'Oh no, I have no idea what he is talking about.'

For the first time since they began Sakura was completely confused. To her surprise Syaoran touched her shoulder and signaled her to follow him. Together they pushed a small but heavy wagon uphill to a meadow that stretched on the outskirts of the town.

All across the meadow flower buds swayed in the breeze. Sakura looked at the field and then to Syaoran.

"These flowers are called Passion Lilly. The town was named for them."

"That's right what a bright young man." A short old woman who was sitting in the field on a blanket greeted them.

"Are you the checkpoint person?" Sakura asked the flower grandma.

"Yes young lady." She responded "However you won't be getting a ribbon from me. To prove you reached this point you have to bloom a passion."

"What?" Sakura stepped away from the old lady with her face burning red.

What did that crazy old lady mean? Were they suppose to kiss or something? Sakura had not counted on having to fake physical affection. Why would this be part of a race? She was shocked to hear Syaoran laughing at her obvious distress.

"Relax Angel, I don't even want to know what you're thinking with that look on your face."

Sakura watched Syaoran pull out his reed flute and play a few soft notes. As the music played a few of the nearby flower buds began to glow with the warm familiar presence of magic. The flowers suddenly opened and bloomed into beautiful silver lilies. Sakura gasped at the flower's beauty while Syaoran put his flute away and picked two of the flowers.

"Some people call these flowers Melody Blooms. The flowers have internal magic that reacts to music. They bloom whenever someone plays music near it."

Syaoran placed one of the flowers in Sakura's satchel with the other checkpoint ribbons. He then surprised her by taking the other and placing it in her hair on the side of her head using the hair clip she was wearing to secure it.

"A blossom for a blossom… just to keep up appearances." He whispered in her ear as he pulled away from her reddened face.

The old flower grandma clapped with hearts in her eyes.

"How sweet it is said that the magic found in the passion lily is good luck to lovers you know. Congratulations you have almost won…just one stop more, leap frog your way to where lily pads grow but only after your quarry has gathered together."

"Wait I thought this was a race now you're telling me we have to wait for the other…"

Sakura put her hand over Syaoran's mouth to silence him.

"I think I know what she means come on." Sakura bent down in front of Syaoran who stood still giving her strange looks.

"Weren't you listening we have to leap frog there."

The two could not help laughing a little as they played leap frog back into the main section of town all the way to the large stone flower fountain in the center.

Sakura pointed to the water. "See it's full of Lilly pads and made of stone which you gather from a query."

"Bravo young lady." An old lady dressed in a nun's habbit stood from the place she had been sitting on the fountain holding out a large twisted rope. "I can't believe you two got here so quickly. You must have an exceptionally strong bond. Here young man, tie this around your bell and ring out your victory together."

"I definitely know where this goes. Hurry and tie it around my waist."

Syaoran did as he was told. Once the rope was secure Sakura grabbed his hand and ran pulling him with her. He followed her lead to the town's large church that had a bell marking the entrance. A crowd of spectators including Rika and Naoko lined the path to the church cheering them on.

At the door they showed the Vanguard commander the checkpoint ribbons and the flower.

"Congratulations to you… dame my daughter is going to be a living hell tonight." He mumbled the last part under his breath but it still made Sakura smile. Upstaging Mean Girl to spite her for how she treated Rika and Naoko was her original goal after all. It was just a bonus that she and Syaoran had fun doing it.

The Vanguard opened the door to the bell tower and Sakura continued to pull Syaoran up to the top. Syaoran secured the rope around the bell lever and handed the swinging rope to Sakura. Sakura placed her hands alongside his on the rope.

"We are supposed to ring it together as a couple." Realizing what she said Sakura began backtracking to clarify. "You know for show…because we're not a real couple, but they all think we are, and we need them to keep believing we are until we leave and…"

"Shut up and pull the stupid rope Angel."

The two pulled down on the rope causing the church bell to ring and the town to erupt in cheers.

Later that night back in the Field of Passion Lillis

Sakura and Syaoran sat together on the hill top away from the main crowd which had gathered to watch the firework show that would be the conclusion to the festival. Naoko and Rika were down closer to the town where most of the kids had gathered to tell stories and sell puppets. Kero was hidden in a picnic basket eating treats Sakura had purchased as reward for good behavior all day. Syaoran had wanted to leave while night fell but Rika had convinced him that it would look suspicious if the winning 'couple' was not seen at the closing fireworks ceremony.

Besides that Sakura had never seen fireworks before. With a little begging she convinced Syaoran to stay one night more but they had to hit the road early tomorrow. From their isolated vantage point Sakura could see families moving around trying to find a spot to watch the festivities. It lifted her heart to see that there was still happiness to be found even under Vanguard occupation. It reminded her of Tomeoeda before.

"You ok you got a weird look on your face."

Syaoran's interruption of her inner thoughts took her out of her oncoming sad mood. Now was not the time to be thinking of her sad past. After all they had a fun day, won some prize money, and best of all Mean Girl had been livid about outsiders winning. Her victory today would not change the unfortunate position Naoko and Rika were in but at least Mean Girl was unhappy today too. Rika and Naoko had also enjoyed watching Mean Girl stomp around and argue about the race results with her father. Naoko, and Rika took Sakura and Syaoran all around the festival events so the winning couple could be seen by all.

"I was just wondering about the story Naoko told me about the fireworks." Sakura lied not wanting to tell Syaoran about her fleeting sadness over her lost village. A past she still was not ready to share with him.

"Naoko is a bard she always has a story to tell."

"But this was more of a legend. She told me that if a maiden is kissed under the fireworks and makes a wish it will come true."

"Sounds like the goofy kind of thing girls will believe."

The fireworks began to light up the night sky and Sakura's eyes lit up with them. The dazzling display rang out like music causing the whole field of passion lilies to bloom and paint the field in a stunning silver glow that reflected the color of the fireworks. This really was worth staying an extra night to see. It was an amazing site. Something like this surly created some kind of magic.

"Do you think it's true? That the fireworks will grant your wish with a kiss?"

"Alright already Ill help you test it out."

Sakura turned her head to look at him intending to harass him further for teasing her. But her witty rebuttal was lost after her heart skipped a beat and her mind shut down. Syaoran had leaned over and given her a short but all too soft kiss on the lips leaving Sakura speechless and blushing.

"There now make your wish and let's see if it comes true."

"Hoe! Jerk, you can't kiss a girl without asking." Sakura turned away in a huff to hide her blush and regain her composure. His smirk told her he was messing with her and he was not going to him the satisfaction.

"People may be watching got to keep up the pretence." His nonchalant answer annoying her further. "So go ahead and make your wish Angel."

Sakura looked down to where Naoko and Rika were before she closed her eyes to make her wish.

'I wish every person in the kingdom could live in happiness with the people they love again, just like I was before.'

Syaoran looked toward Sakura who had her eyes closed and her hands clasped clearly concentrating on her wish.

'This whole day was crazy. I don't get this girl sometimes. She still does not get the danger she is in being the Card mistress. She is like a child sometimes. It should make me angry but for what ever reason, it just makes me want to protect her.'

Napua means flowers in Hawaiian. A lot of this chapter was inspired by events in the Cardcaptor Sakura anime. I wanted some time to let Sakura and Syaoran build their relationship as well as introduce characters and conflicts that will be relevant later on.