I'm back!

A/N: Thank you for all your wonderful and not so wonderful reviews. Particularly the wonderful ones... I mean... The ones that actually say something... Though I must say I'm getting less "Update plz!!!"s Than usual, so that's great. Thanks for your bothering to write something. From the deepest bottom of my heart.

Disclaimer: Why the hell would somebody think I own Card Captor Sakura? If I did, I wouldn't be writing a fanfic, I would be writing a script for the anime.

The Plot Thickens: After a week spent on Japan, Syaoran found out that he was under the influence of a spell. He deduced that this spell was the origin of the strange feelings he was having towards Sakura and Yukito. Of course, that only meant a whole new set of questions for him. Who was behind that spell? Why? Since when? Would it ever stop? Despite a momentary feeling of relief when he found out about the cause of his weird behavior, Syaoran soon felt desperate in his lack of power to fight against the spell. So far, the closest to a hint that he got was a strange anonymous call that helped him find The Thunder.

"Character Talking"

ºCharacter Thinkingº

(Me Talking)

Nothing more to get in our way so let the story begin!

All the life on the planet is based on a magical energy called 'Mana'. The Sun and the Moon provide this mana to every corner of the planet. Those who learned to manipulate the mana are the said magicians. A long time ago, Clow Reed mastered the use of both Sun and Moon mana and created his masterpiece in the use of these types of magic, the Clow Cards. Half of them used the mana from the sun and half from the Moon. Now, after accidentally setting those cards on the loose, Kinomoto Sakura must help Li Syaoran, a descendant of Clow, and Kerberos, the guardian of the cards, to capture the cards which, not having Clow to provide them mana anymore, are going on a rampage after the magical energy they need to live.

Card Captor Sakura

Chapter 5: Sakura and the Possession

Part 1: One Month Later

July 2nd, Monday. 5:00 pm. One month after the capture of The Sword and The Shield.

Syaoran's study.

Syaoran's P.o.V.

I wrote the lasts words on the piece of paper on my desk and read it to see if I hadn't forgotten anything. There weren't much good news on this letter, but it would still be better than when I told my family that Sakura would be the future mistress of the card. That time I had been actually afraid of sending the letter. To my surprise, my mother sent a letter back sending hers and the family's congratulations to Sakura. I was still confused about that, but I wouldn't complain if that's what they wanted.

'Dear mother and sisters

I'm sorry to say that in the last week we have only caught one Clow card. And only because I got another of those mysterious phone calls. It's the fourth time this has happened already, but this man doesn't leave any trace for us to follow! He only calls from public phones so it's hopeless to try and trace him. Kinomoto-san seems to be getting more powerful everyday. I don't know what Kerberos is doing to train her, but its showing results. Other than that not much has happened, my grades are good in school, except for Japanese language, but I'm getting better...'

There was something missing in it, but it was something I had intentionally left out of my last five letters too. I still hadn't told them about the spell. I'm not sure why I didn't want to tell them. There was nothing wrong with a spell that made some kind of link between me and Sakura. I just didn't want her, or my sisters, to get the wrong idea. I didn't really have any proof that the spell was related to Sakura after all. But I didn't feel anything else wrong with me.

Except for him. Maybe he was related to the spell in some way.

I had nearly forgotten about him after a whole month of not seeing any trace of him, but the week before, he and Sakura's brother went to Tomoeda Elementary to share lunch with her. Just like the day that I met him and the day on the post office I felt myself getting tense in his presence. Maybe it was even worse this time.

He was the least of my problems though. I barely ever saw him so I didn't have to worry about that yet. My main worry was Sakura. Things hadn't change much, I still felt weird around her. There were several occasions in which I had felt that desperate urge to protect her again. Therefore, I was still trying my best to avoid her. In fact I only saw her at school or when a Clow card appeared.

I thought at first that in given time the caster of this spell would show himself, and luckily be the same person that'd been calling us to pinpoint Clow Cards' locations. After a month with no sign of anything, I was already giving up.

Satisfied with what I had written I put the letter in an envelope and went to rest in my bed. I would deliver the letter to the post office tomorrow. Soccer practice had left me particularly tired that day. I slept through the rest of the day and woke up only in the next morning.

End of Syaoran's P.o.V.

Sakura's P.o.V.

It had been over a month since I became a Card captor. For the first time since that day when it all started, I was having a mysterious dream, and it was very similar to the first one. There were lots of Clow cards flying around me. Kero-chan was beside me too. We were all scared of something. ºMaybe it's that woman with the long red hair.° I thought, but soon discarded that idea when I noticed that her aura was very warm and pleasant. What else could it be then? I looked around me to see if there was anything else that could be causing this feeling.

There he was, protecting me from whatever was the menace. Syaoran was standing in front of me, in his usual green robe. He was full of bruises and cuts and there were also some cards flying around him. And his aura... That was his real aura, I was sure of it. Unlike the aura I had felt in the past month, this aura fitted him, it felt right.

I had asked Kero about Syaoran's aura on several occasions, but he avoided the subject no matter how much I insisted. I was sure they were hiding something from me. Even so, asking Syaoran was impossible. Since the day we caught the Sword and the Shield, he had somewhat changed. I felt like he pretty much ignored my existence when we were not after a Clow card. He still greeted me every morning and answered me when I spoke to him, but it was all so empty.

The Syaoran in my dream felt completely different. When he was around I felt safe. Not just because I knew that he could protect me, but in my dream, I knew that he wanted to. Was it really something that was bound to happen like Kero-chan had said?

"WAKE UP!"

End of Sakura's P.o.V.

"Ouch!"

Sakura fell out of her bed at the shout that had obviously come from Touya, with her face flat on the floor. "Can't you wake up with a normal call like any other normal girl would?"

Sakura clenched her fist, still lying on the floor. "I have an alarm clock for that!" She said, pushing her face away from the little, round carpet with her open hand.

Touya smirked. "Your alarm clock was set for fifteen minutes ago, and if my ears are still working fine, it ringed properly." He said. "But it was obviously not enough to wake up the monster."

Sakura looked at her alarm clock. She gasped when she saw that Touya was in fact telling the truth.

"Hoe! That means I'm going to be late again." She quickly pushed Touya out of the room, finding no resistance from the boy. "I have to hurry!" After slamming the door shut she started to prepare herself at an amazing speed.

Kero, who was acting as a doll until now, flew towards Sakura. "How come you didn't wake up with that loud alarm clock?" He asked very annoyed. "You bought it just because your old one wasn't waking you up, but even so it's still not enough." He said dodging the pajamas that Sakura was throwing off.

"You mean you woke up?" Sakura asked.

"Of course I did!" The guardian answered blatantly.

Sakura frowned at him. "Then why didn't you wake me up?"

"I tried to, but it was just a waste of time."

ººººFLASHBACKºººº

Kero was sleeping inside a large drawer in Sakura's desk. His sleep was interrupted however with loud ringing of Sakura's new alarm clock. He jumped up startled and his head hit the drawer above him. "Ouch!" He cried in pain but then closed his mouth instantly. After slowly opening the drawer to make sure nobody had come to check on his yelp, he made his way to a still sleeping Sakura.

"Sakura, wake up." He said poking her cheek. But got no response. "Sakura. Wake up, you're gonna be late for school." He slapped her face a bit, but there was still no response. "Wake up!" He tried to pull her eyelid open. Sakura mumbled something that he couldn't understand and punched him, sending the little creature to the other side of the room.

ººººEND OF FLASHBACKºººº

"...and after you punched me for the third time I gave up. A few minutes later your brother came in." Sakura sweat dropped. "I know it's been exhausting for you to go after the Clow cards, especially now you've captured so many strong cards like The Freeze, The Big and The Wood, but you still have to get much better if you want to sustain all the Clow cards someday. If you're getting this tired now..."

Sakura sighed. Kero was always saying things like that. She couldn't say that he wasn't being a great help when it came to learning to control her powers, but he could remind her a little less often how much work she still had ahead. "I know." She said while running a comb through her hair. "But what can I do about it?"

"You have to train more. I can't help you much cause I still haven't got my powers back, but there are plenty of ways to do it without me." He said. "If only the brat weren't so stubborn you'd have a practicing partner."

Upon the mention of Syaoran, Sakura's dream popped back into her head. "Oh yeah. Remember the dream I had on the day you appeared?" She said. "This night I had that same dream again."

"You mean the premonition dream?" Kero asked curiously.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, but this time I could see things much clearer. Li-kun was very hurt and the cards were all around us, it looked as if we were fighting something, but it wasn't a Clow card. You were there with us too, and... There was a woman." Kero's expression was very serious by now. He was taking each word that Sakura said. Upon the mention of the woman his look turned to one of surprise.

"A woman?" He asked raising a brow.

"She had long red hairs and was holding something in her hand." Sakura tried to remember the object but the image escaped her memory. "I don't know what it was."

"Long, red hair..." He thought for a couple of seconds. "Try to forget this for now." Sakura sighed, that's what Kero always said when she asked him something. "If it really is a premonition we can just wait for it to happen. Right now we should..."

"Focus on the cards." Sakura said, completing the sentence she had heard too many times. "I know that."

Later that morning, at Tomoeda Elementary.

Sakura sighed in relief as she entered the classroom, she had arrived just in time.

"Hi, Tomoyo-chan." She greeted her best friend before taking her seat and a deep breath to calm her body down from all the rush she'd been in.

"Sakura-chan, I finished editing the tape from The Freeze card!" Tomoyo said excited. "You have to see it. I think it was your coolest capture so far." She handed Sakura a VHS.

Sakura giggled at Tomoyo's excitement. Ever since Tomoyo had given her that little cellphone she had been able to video tape nearly all the card's Sakura captured. Thankfully, only in a few cases there was time for her to put an outfit made by Tomoyo. Sakura felt really embarrassed in those garments. With a few exceptions she thought cute and a bit less flashy, she'd never put anything like those vests if it didn't make Tomoyo so happy.

"I'll watch it today." Sakura said, taking the tape. "I'm sure Kero-chan is going to love it."

They both giggled. Kero indeed loved to see himself in action. He was overwhelmed by his 'coolness'.

Terada entered the classroom. "Good morning, everybody." He said.

"Good morning, Terada-sensei." The children choir greeted back.

Sakura noticed a strange absence from the boyish voice behind her. "Hoe? Where's Li-kun?" She said looking at the empty desk where Syaoran's usually sat.

"I don't know." Tomoyo answered. "Do you think he found a Clow card?"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't think so. I can't feel any Clow card auras, and ever since I learned to feet auras I've felt every card that showed up."

"Kinomoto-san, Daidouji-san. Pay attention please"

Meanwhile, Syaoran was lying on his bed, with a thermometer in his mouth and a piece of cloth full of ice on his forehead. He had woken up with a very high fever.

Wei was sitting by his side, waiting to take the thermometer back. "I don't know what could have caused this. You've always had such a fine health." He pointed out, feeling very concerned and responsible for the boy.

Syaoran didn't answer. He was breathing heavily and trying to avoid any waste of air. Though he did feel terrible apart from the fever. He didn't like depending so much on Wei. It made him feel like a little kid, which he knew many people would say he was, but he hated it.

Wei took the thermometer from the boy's mouth. "Let's see here." He looked at the marker. "Oh my! 40 degrees!" He put the thermometer on the cupboard and stood up. "I'll go get some more ice, and call a doctor."

"Wait, Wei-san!" Syaoran said, making a lot of effort for each word he spoke. "Could you take the letter..." He paused to catch some air. "I wrote to my mother... to the post office?" He reached out for his cupboard, where he had left the letter last night. He searched a bit with his hand but couldn't find it. "Huh? Where is it?"

"Don't worry Li-san, you probably left it lying somewhere. I'll look for it." Wei said before leaving the room.

Syaoran watched as Wei left, and despite the relief of being left alone, he was a bit concerned for his health too. He was panting and sweating, even though he felt extremely cold. Not only that, but he felt as if his bed was spinning and trying to throw him off, and his head was hurting bad.

Before Wei came back he had already lost consciousness.

Later, after classes had ended, Sakura and Tomoyo were standing at the school gates, and a limo was parked near the sidewalk.

"So Sakura-chan, are you going to visit Li-kun today? After your cheerleading practice I mean." Tomoyo asked.

Sakura was caught off guard by that question. The week before, Tomoyo told her she had seen Syaoran get embarrassed around Yukito again and was once again stuck with the idea that Sakura should talk to the boy about it. Sakura wasn't very fond of the idea, but she knew Tomoyo would corner her into doing that sooner or later.

"Visit him? Why would I do that?" She asked faking obliviousness.

"You know why." Tomoyo said smiling sweetly. "The sooner you do it the sooner you two will stop acting like strangers around each other. I'm sure of that." She said.

Sakura didn't find any arguments to protest. As always, Tomoyo knew exactly what was going through her mind. ºAnd maybe she's right after all. Maybe that's why he always acts so weird.º

"So, will you go?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll try and talk to him."

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow then Sakura-chan." Tomoyo said.

"Bye." Sakura said as Tomoyo entered the Limo.

"Li's residence. May I help you?" Came the voice on the speaker.

"It's me, Kinomoto Sakura." Sakura said looking up to the little camera above the speaker and waving her hand.

She heard a muffled 'What?!' and then a sound that resembled a heavy object hitting the floor coming from the speaker.

"Li-san, are you... I'm sorry, please come up Kinomoto-san." Wei said. A clicking sound was heard and Sakura was left staring at the speaker in confusion.

There was another clicking sound and the gatekeeper's voice was heard through the speaker. "Alright, little girl. Go right ahead." He said. Sakura bowed to the man before walking down the path that led to the building.

Meanwhile, at the apartment.

Syaoran was still lying on his bed, under piles of covers and looking just a little better than he did that morning. The fact that Sakura had chose to visit him wasn't helping him feel much better though.

"So... how long was I out?" He asked Wei.

"The whole day. It's a quarter to five already." Wei answered.

Syaoran was very surprised by the answer. He looked through his window and saw that the sun was indeed going down already. Returning his head to the normal position he took a deep breath. "So, did you send my letter?"

Wei shook his head. "I'm sorry, I couldn't find it anywhere."

Syaoran sighed. "That's OK, I'll write another one."

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Wei said, leaving the room.

Syaoran couldn't see Wei anymore, but he could clearly hear the door being opened and the conversation that ensued. "It's a pleasure to have you here again, Kinomoto-san." Wei said.

"It's nice to see you again too, Wei-san." He heard Sakura answer.

"Please come in." Some footsteps could be heard, and after a short moment of silence Wei spoke again. "If you're looking for Li-san, he's in his room." He said. "I'm afraid he won't be able to talk much though. He has a very high fever and is not feeling well."

"Hoe? That's terrible!" Sakura said, as the sound of footsteps got louder.

"I'm sure he will be very happy that you have come to visit him. Don't let his cranky face fool you." Syaoran heard Wei whisper to Sakura. He wished he hadn't though, but he was pretty sure that Wei meant for him to hear it.

Finally Sakura entered his room. They looked at each other for a split second and then looked away. Syaoran was relieved to see that Sakura was feeling uncomfortable too.

"I'm going to prepare something to drink." Wei said, leaving the room.

Sakura walked slowly to the chair beside Syaoran's bed and took a seat. After staring at her own feet for a while she felt that she should break the silence. "Hi Li-kun, are you feeling OK?" She asked. It was only then that she realized how bad the idea of going along with Tomoyo was.

Syaoran was staring at the ceiling, trying to focus as much as he could on anything besides the conversation. "I'm fine." He said absent mindedly. "Uh... Why did you..."

"Oh!" Sakura jumped out of the chair. "I came to bring you today's homework! Just that! Nothing else!" She said rather quickly. She opened her backpack and took a notebook out of it. "Here, you can give it back to me tomorrow." She said.

"Thanks." Syaoran said reaching out for the notebook.

He was about to touch the object when a dizzy feeling crept up in the back of his head. For a second his vision went blurry and he felt extremely light. Sakura let go of the notebook when she thought Syaoran had a grasp on it, but the notebook slipped past his fingers and fell on the floor.

Syaoran stared blankly at the object, with a confused look. "I'm sorry." He said, trying to reach out for the notebook, but nearly falling off his bed in the process.

Sakura jumped to help Syaoran from hitting the floor. "Li-kun, you're really bad aren't you?" She said, looking at the boy with concerned eyes.

Syaoran's eyes were still blank, expressionless. He put a hand to his head, frowning, leading Sakura to think that he had a headache.

After breathing deeply a couple of times, he removed his hand, looking much calmer. He looked at Sakura with an empty expression, his eyes looking almost dead. "Kinomoto, could you please leave now?" He said, resting his head back in the pillow.

"But you..."

"Please!" He said sternly.

"Alright." Sakura said meekly. She turned around to leave. "Bye."

It was only when Sakura was out of sight that Syaoran closed his eyes and fell into unconsciousness again.

"I'm home!" Sakura said as she entered her house.

"You're late." Touya greeted her. "Monster." He said, smirking, ready for their trademark brother-sister teasing.

Sakura walked past Touya, looking down. "I'm not in the mood for that." She said.

Touya looked at her with concern. "What happened?"

She ignored him and went straight upstairs. Touya stared at her back in disbelief. ºWhat the...º

His attention was drawn away from Sakura when he felt a human aura standing right behind him. A familiar one.

"Excuse me. I think I can explain what's going on."

"It's about time." Touya said, turning around to face the source of the voice.

"Exactly."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Done. Not much to say here, except that if you're used to Fahrenheit degrees, don't be scared at Syaoran's temperature. They are in Celsius which is the conventional unit for Japan (and most of the world for that matter.). Just to satisfy your curiosity, I believe that 40ºC is the equivalent of 104ºF, but I' m no temperature expert, so correct me if I'm wrong please.

Anyway, bye. I'll have a new chapter next week.