Author's Note: Well, here's another chapter. I should note that the Kobato references will be minimal and that Ioriyogi is friends with Kero for the most part off-screen. Touya just shows up in the Kobato anime at one point and it leaves you with the feeling that it takes place in the same world as Cardcaptor Sakura. Or Clamp's just messing with us again. XD

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review. I always, always, always appreciate it. :)

TimeAndRhythmDoesIndeedSleep: It is because Touya has more power than Sakura. In fact he has reserves of power that no one knew about, because he point blank gave it all to Yue in the manga. Sakura never did check to see how much power he had and at a certain point when she fully mastered her powers, he didn't have his magic anymore. It's my best reason anyway for why he had an easier time of it. Though the cards are a bit more willing to enter into contracts when he asks them to instead of demanding it. ;) I'm glad you like my stories. I love it when new people find them and read along. :) Your feedback still meant quite a bit, I assure you. All reviews are important when you're writing a fic of any kind, never mind a lengthy one. lol

Gemini24: Thanks for letting me know about the spelling error. I did fix it, so Meiling's name is now correct. :) Thanks! I will. I hope you enjoy what's in store in this next chapter. And what's to come. lol ;)

SecondtoNon: Well Sakura's first time back in school actually goes pretty smoothly as Tomoyo is there to look out for her and help her readjust to everything. That and all of her friends are happy she's out of the hospital. Most of this happens off-screen and she doesn't really realize who Eriol is yet until later on as a result. It will come up later though, after Sakura's been there a while and caught up thanks to the tutoring sessions Fujitaka is having her attend. She does meet Syaoran though, and that turns out to be very important. ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Puppet Prince: You're very welcome. Thanks for reading. :)

Aristana: That might happen later, with Nakuru I mean, you never know. ;) Yes, Li is having hard time with her right now as she's decided he's the new target of her intentions, poor boy. Though he does have several ways out. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

Enjoy!

Sakura's homecoming was nothing less than huge relief for everyone involved. Sonomi had arranged for a car to drive Sakura and Fujitaka to and from the hospital. Fujitaka tried to thank his former student for her kindness, but was waved off with an excuse about the delicacy of Sakura's health. Touya, Yukito, and Tomoyo had all skipped school to get the house ready for Sakura's return. They managed to bribe Kero and a few of the Clow Cards into helping with the cleaning by promising them cake. Something that amused Tomoyo to no end.

"I had no idea your cards were so easily persuaded" she commented with a whimsical smile.

Touya shook his head.

"They're mostly Kero's subordinates" he explained "so it makes sense they'd love it as much as the little furball does."

"He does have great taste in sweets" Yukito said as he finished sweeping out the kitchen. "Though Yue disagrees with me."

"That's because Yue likes sour tasting deserts" Touya replied. "He's almost the complete opposite of the plushie at times."

"Wait a minute! Are you saying it was Yue who finished off that lemon meringue pie last week?" Kero asked boisterously. "How could you let him eat it all?"

Touya snorted.

"When you actually start paying for this stuff I might let you argue your case" he said with a tinge of sarcasm. "Until then, your brother gets half of any and all deserts."

"But I eat more than he does!"

"I know" Touya said with a certain irony. "Maybe then you'll learn to leave enough for the rest of us."

Kero pouted visibly.

"Just for that you're now my least favorite master."

"I think I'll live."

Tomoyo giggled behind the counter and Yukito just patiently shook his head. Some things would never change.

When Sakura did finally make it home from the hospital everyone got in a quick hello and goodbye before she was shuffled off to bed, being nearly exhausted from the drive home. Sonomi and Tomoyo headed for home shortly afterwards. Touya decided to stick around for the night in case of any emergencies, citing that he would sleepover at Yukito's the next night since he'd already been invited. He knew eventually that he, Yukito, Yue, and Kero were going to have to deal with Clow Reed's reincarnation and that any backlash might have distinctly negative effects on Tomoeda. However, right now all Touya wanted to do was enjoy the fact that Sakura was well again and that things were distinctly quiet on the Li front. Life was good, for now anyway.

00000000000

Sakura woke up the day after returning home from the hospital to a knock at her door.

"Hey monster?" Touya

"Don't call me that grrr..." Sakura answered in a surly voice.

"I need to talk to you about something important" Touya said putting a hand on top of her head and sitting down on the edge of her bed. "I took something that should have been yours and I don't know how to fix it."

"Nii-san? What did you take? I don't see anything missing and all of my plushies are still-"

"That's not what I meant Sakura" her brother said cutting her off. "I took something that was your birthright by accident and now it's with me to stay."

Sakura blinked as a shocked expression appeared on her face. He'd called her by her first name, something he rarely did even in moments of anger or annoyance.

"You mean there was something waiting around for me to be born in order to...find it?" she asked, still unsure of what he could be talking about. She'd always considered her life to be highly fulfilling and was very grateful for her loving friends and family.

Touya shook his head and took the Clow Cards out from his coat pocket.

"Dad had a book in the basement with these cards in it. They're called Clow Cards, because a powerful wizard named Clow Reed created them over two hundred years ago. When he thought it was his time to die, he sealed the cards away in a special book so they could wait for a new master. That master was supposed to be you" Touya explained. "Then I went looking through Dads book collection with Yukito while you were in the hospital and I accidentally knocked over the book. The cards came out and so did Kero..."

"That yellow cat guardian you keep in your room even though you think Dad doesn't notice?" Sakura added.

"How did you know about that?"

Sakura grinned.

"Dad told me and then Yukito might have mentioned something" she said teasingly.

"Traitors" she heard her brother mutter. "Getting back to what I was saying. The yellow plushie is alive and very real. According to him, his real form is much bigger and magic is keeping it sealed away for now. I'm working on breaking the seal." Touya replied. "He was the one who told me and Yukito that we had to find the Clow Cards, even though you were supposed to have been the one to find them, or there would be dire magical consequences. I thought he was exaggerating, but we went along with it anyway. I had let them out in the first place, even if it wasn't on purpose."

"So that's what you've been doing since I was gone" Sakura said holding a finger in the air. "You did seem busier than usual and much more tired when you came to see me. You're even friends with Tomoyo now. And her mother."

"That also happened by accident" Touya said. "She was helping us hide from Li."

"Who?"

"He's this kid mage. Name's Syaoran Li and he's in your class at school with Tomoyo. He's got some Chinese fire magic that he's been using on us to try and get us to give up the location of the Clow Cards. Somehow he figured out that we've got a few of them. More than that now. Though he could be hunting monsters instead" Touya answered with a mocking grin.

"That's terrible! Are you okay Nii-san?" Sakura asked with great concern.

"We made a deal with someone to keep him away from me and Yukito as well as our homes" Touya explained. "Though we had do something in return."

"Wh-what did you have to do?" his sister inquired curiously.

"I kissed him Sakura. I'm sorry" Touya said turning away. "I know that you like Yukito and-"

Sakura started to cry a little, but pushed her tears back as she realized that he brother looked sad as well.

"Nii-san, do you like Yukito? Is he your most important person?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm happy for you" Sakura said as she watched a look of surprise and definite relief spread across Touya's face. "I do like Yukito very much, but Nii-san doesn't have that many people. You have me and Dad and Yukito. Now Tomoyo's your friend and family. Sonomi too. I have a lot of friends around me and I know how happy Yukito makes you. You didn't used to smile that way, Nii-san."

"Sakura I...I don't know what to say. I've taken everything from you..." Touya said guiltily.

Sakura gave him a sad little smile that would have been cute had Touya not felt that it was completely his fault.

"I still have everything Nii-san. You've always looked out for me, even when you're being a jerk. I love you and so does Dad. I never had those cards and I didn't have Yukito either. He's always been my friend, but that's it. Yukito was always Nii-san's friend too. I always saw him with you." Sakura explained. "Even when I'd see him places, he'd seem happy and cheerful until you showed up or called him. Then he'd smile so much better and I didn't realize that that was because he cared about you too. You're his most important person too, Nii-san. You should tell him how you feel."

"I did." Touya admitted. "You...were right about everything you just said."

Sakura put on a cheerful smile and hugged her older brother over her blankets.

"I'm glad. You don't have to be scared then, Nii-san. I'll protect you from Li. I'll help you. I'm glad that you and Yukito are happy." She said. "I'm glad you're not alone anymore."

Touya surprisingly had to fight the tears that began welling up in his eyes. He willed them down fiercely, determined not to let Sakura see him cry. Not when she was being so strong about such a difficult situation. It was jarring, coming to the realization that she'd been worried about him all these years, while he isolated himself after his mother's death and Kaho's abrupt exit from his life. She really was the best little sister he could have asked for. Even if they did tend to get on each other's nerves nearly all the time and he had instilled a fear of ghosts in her at a very young age thanks to a few exaggerated stories about things he'd seen.

"You have magic power too, you know" Touya put in as he hugged her back. "We just have to figure out how to get you to use them."

"Maybe Kero would know."

"Or Yue" Touya said automatically. "Um...he's Yukito's other self. He's a guardian of the Clow Cards like Kero."

Sakura nodded, though confusion was evident on her face.

"Kero had magic related to the sun and Yue, the moon. They were created to rule the Clow Cards together and guard them any type of harm. Clow Reed also treated them like his children, then his friends and finally with Yue..."

"Oh. You mean he was Yue's boyfriend" Sakura said. "I understand. So why are Yue and Yukito the same person? Is Yukito possessed? Did Yue die?"

Touya shook his head.

"No. Yue was sealed away along with Kero and the other cards, but somehow he was released two years ago and hidden from everyone. Yue himself was still sealed away and so the magic created a fake identity for him and a whole other person to inhabit his body. Even though that person was still a part of Yue himself. That person was Yukito. Yue was supposed to awaken after you'd captured all of the Clow Cards and judge whether or not you were the right person to be their master. My magic kind of messed that up and made it so that Yue didn't have to judge me in order for me to be their master." He said and Sakura twisted out of his arms in order to look at him.

"Is he still Yukito too?" She asked worriedly.

"Yeah. Yukito's fine. He and Yue are sharing a form and getting along alright" Touya replied signaling with his hands for her to calm down. "His grandparents aren't real though. It took him some time to come to terms with that."

They spent most of the day talking about what had happened while Sakura was in the hospital and though it was difficult, Touya felt better now that he'd been truthful with his sister. His feelings of guilt had finally come to a head once more and she'd forgiven him in a way that only she could. They would move on from there, as always, and attempt to figure out how to unlock Sakura's own magic.

0000000000

Li felt all of the energy drain out of him as he made one final leap away from the roof of the Tsukimine Shrine. In a last effort to drive the red haired spirit off, he held up a fire seal and summoned the flames to answer his call. The spirit simply dodged his attack and glided onto the pavement before moving even closer to him.

"Nii-san! It's over here!" Sakura shouted as she dragged Touya up the steps to the shrine. Yukito and Tomoyo followed behind them.

Yukito was pushing Touya's bike along the path as his friend had been whisked away by his little sister before he could get it off the school rack. Tomoyo and Sakura had met them at the entrance to Sejyo High School and insisted that something was going on at the Tsukimine Shrine. Sakura had begun to sense strange happenings after connecting with her inner Air element. According to Yue she was strong with magic in two elements, air and water. It had taken her a little over a week to activate her powers after attempting use a number of minor magics, upon Yue's instruction, to unlock her magical core. This had unnerved Touya slightly, because he had still been worried about her coming to harm while performing any type of magic. It was still a relatively new to all of them, except Kero and Yue. Yue being the most reliable expert on it's usage, while Kero inserted helpful, sometimes confusing comments here and there.

Sakura sensed a disturbance at the shrine and seen vague images of a confrontation in any source of water within view, which explained her urgency to get help and bring them directly to that location.

Touya saw a beaten down Syaoran with a very smug Ruby Moon standing over him and, despite his dislike of the kid, took out his staff and transformed it almost immediately. He knew that this person, despite having a different appearance, was Nakuru Akizuki, he could sense it. It wasn't surprising to learn that she was actually inhuman after all, since she'd to attach herself to him at every given opportunity and attempted to steal bits of his magic each time. Now she had gotten greedy, and after many failed attempts with Touya, Akizuki had found another source of magical power for the taking. Li was annoying, but a brat was still a brat. Touya couldn't let a kid face off against an older person trying to drain him dry of his magical ability, it went against any and all of the ethics he firmly held dear.

"Clow Cards I ask that you answer my call!" Touya said before pulling Windy, Illusion, and Dash out of his pocket. Windy created a minor gale that moved Nakuru further away from Syaoran, allowing Touya to grab the boy by the arm and as well as Sakura. Then he set them down and set Illusion to recreate an image of them standing there making small obvious movements before using Dash to get them all safely down the stairs of the shrine to where Tomoyo and Yukito were waiting. His staff tightly gripped between his teeth the entire time.

Yukito took his cue from Touya and beat a hasty getaway with Tomoyo in hand and Touya's bike in the other. The scene would have looked incredibly awkward to Ruby Moon if she'd been able to see him, but the Illusion card had done his job well. Once their master was far enough away from the shrine, the cards disappeared from the shrine and resumed their place in the deck.

0000000000

Yukito proceeded to use first aid on Syaoran after they'd managed to get him back to Touya's house. Much as Touya was loath to take the kid mage anywhere near his home, they had just rescued him from a scary looking Akizuki. Something the Cardmaster had found more than a little disconcerting. Now he knew that Akizuki and Kaho were both involved with the Clow Cards somehow and it was extremely likely that Nakuru was also involved with the wizard's reincarnation as well. Li, for all the trouble he'd caused, was apparently not in league with them, or at least if he had been, he wasn't anymore. That was enough to set Touya's mind at rest for now, even if he didn't like the brat getting within fifty miles of Sakura at any point in time.

"He seems to have calmed down now" Yukito commented as he entered the room, shaking Touya from his thoughts. "You don't have to worry about him coming after the Clow Cards. Yue just gave him a stern lecture about how you rescued him and that he hadn't been able to find any of the cards in the first place. I think he was a bit too harsh with him, but that's Yue for you. He's very protective of his master."

Yukito winked, which caused Touya to snort in response. He'd been giving the Cardmaster hints about Yue's possible feelings for a while now. Touya knew Yue needed time to re-acclimate himself and to get over Clow Reed, if he did. He was another part of Yukito, his other self and despite Touya's own relationship with the grey haired teen, he had reason to doubt his chances of entering into an equally intimate relationship with the moon guardian. At times it felt like part of Yukito loved him, while his other half was determined to stay entrenched end of his past romance forever. Touya knew he liked Yue, maybe even loved him, but he wasn't willing to push the guardian into admitting what his feelings toward him were. There was no point in treading already shaky ground. Yue was completely loyal to Touya as one of his guardians, but romantic feelings were another avenue entirely.

"He's right though" Touya replied. "Li shouldn't be interfering with anything now that the cards have decided. He's been a nuisance since day one."

"Well at least he seems to be getting along with Sakura and Tomoyo now" Yukito commented. "They were talking about school when I left them."

"Maybe he'll be less of a problem after this" Touya said. "We'll find him some type of seal against Akizuki so we won't have to deal with that situation again. Hopefully he'll take the hint and just act like a normal kid from here on out."

"He saw the changed cards Touya when you summoned them. I'm sure he's given up by now." Yukito put in.

"Good. We'll send him to another shrine or-"

"Nii-san! Come quick! This woman just appeared in our bathroom!"

Touya sat bolt upright and both he and Yukito made a mad dash down the hall to the bathroom.

"Well well" Yuko said cheerfully as she stood there in long black dress traced with moon and star patterns. "Long time no see."

Touya groaned.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked more annoyed than ever.

"He summoned me" Yuko said pointing to Syaoran.

"He did it before we could stop him" Tomoyo said holding up her hands defensively.

"We didn't know Nii-san. I'm sorry." Sakura said, still in shock at Yuko's sudden appearance.

"You couldn't have" Touya commented lightly before looking up at the witch and summoning his staff. "What did you have to go and do that for kid! We don't need her here in our house."

Syaoran had the decency to look slightly guilty. Clearly he hadn't thought this part through either.

"I only wanted a seal" he muttered.

"Yeah well there are other places to get one. Better places." Touya answered as he glared at his unwelcome guest. "You're the only one who can get rid of her right now."

"Can you make it so that anyone can't take my magic from me if don't want them to have it?" Syaoran asked as he gulped nervously.

"I can" Yuko answered coolly. "The question is, are you willing to pay the price?"

"What is the price?" Syaoran asked warily.

"There is some unfinished business that Clow Reed left in your homeland" Yuko said. "He sealed a woman away from the world and now her ghost attempts to lure unsuspecting magicians into setting her free. She must be dealt with by Clow Reed's successor, whomever they may be. You will serve as a guide and provide housing and protection for this successor and his companions while they fulfill this quest."

Touya put a hand to his head. Just what he needed, more of Clow Reed's unfinished business. He turned just as Yukito put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Do you agree to this?" Yuko asked in serious tone.

"I do. It's the least the Li Clan can do to help out" Syaoron answered. "My mother would insist that it was our duty to provide help and finish what our distant relative started."

"You do owe Nii-san one" Sakura put in, causing Syaoran to take on a rather miserable expression.

"It's the right thing to do" Yukito whispered to his boyfriend. "We can't just leave this person. They might become dangerous even if they don't mean to."

"We'll take care of it during the next school break" Touya answered finally. "Can you at least give us the name of the person we're trying to find?"

Yuko looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I will, for the price of a single piece of your father's homemade cake. "

"Fine."

Once Yuko received her slice of cheesecake, she did as she was bid.

"The young woman in question is known as the Madoushi, Su Yung. She was once a fortune teller in Hong Kong before meeting Clow Reed. Well, I must be off. The cake was delightful. I envy the lucky woman who marries such a talented cook."

Then with a wink Yuko was disappeared, much to Touya's intense relief. Though he wasn't sure how he felt about the witch's subtle mention of his father's marital status. It was too ominous to really take any greater meaning from, yet obvious enough that it played to his own perceptions of his family's possible future.

Touya shook his head to clear it and left the room with Yukito following close behind. Sakura, Tomoyo and Syaoran vacated the bathroom a moment later, with the latter two heading for home. Sakura wandered off to her room, leaving her brother and Yukito to their own devices. The teens talked for a while about their mandatory upcoming trip before falling asleep on the couch wrapped in a close embrace.