Right Here Waiting

by brokenshadow23

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to Clamp.

Chapter 14

Revelations

"Did you find something?" Nakuru asked as she happily entered the library.

Kaho shook her head, not even bothering to look at the girl. It had been a long time since she and Eriol sat quietly in Japan, and now it's time to move. Eriol's plan of taking Syaoran and Sakura with them in England was a perfect idea, but she knew nothing could happen if they would continue to observe. "Not yet. How is Eriol doing?"

Nakuru sighed. Until they arrived back in their home, she was still clueless on what Kaho and Eriol was planning to do. Sure, she helped on the process, but the whole picture remained a mystery to her. "The girl seems harmless. Why don't you just ask her?"

"I told you, Ruby Moon, that is not possible." Kaho said, eyeing on the other woman. "Things that are scary appear to be harmless most of the time. Plus, I want to search ways on how to solve the puzzle before the Master intervenes."

"But—"

"Just shut up." Spinel Sun entered, sharply. Though he appeared calm and composed, he was glaring at the other guardian—irritated with her lack of common sense. "You are just disturbing her."

Nakuru narrowed her eyes at Spinel. She hated being treated like pest. It's just that for her things were not supposed to be hard as it looks. Leaning on the bookshelf, she took a deep breath and started to argue.

Kaho shook her head, focusing on the texts before her. She had been reading sorts of books now, yet she could not find any specific way to get through the puzzle. She had been accustomed to the noise Eriol's guardians could and would cause, so she let them be until her eyes fell upon Nakuru.

"—like this for example." Nakuru said, unconsciously grabbing a book with her left hand. "You may think that this book contains so many things, but when you flip the page it simply contains few texts and—"

"Nakuru, what's that?" Kaho questioned, surprising both Spinel and Nakuru. The arguments died and were replaced by curious stares.

Nakuru shifted her eyes on the book and checked the title. "It's a book of spell written by the Master's old self."

"This is it!" Kaho exclaimed and got the book from Nakuru. "Ruby Moon, you're a genius."

"Well…" She said then stared at Spinel to make him see that she has a purpose. "So what shall we do with that?"

Kaho leaned on the bookshelf then opened the book. "I'll read it first. I'll see what spell I can do." She was about to start reading when she flinched and felt an unknown energy near them. She glared at the door. "Who's there?!" She asked, demanding. In a way, she was not afraid of the one who would appear at the door. There was no way she would be harmed, not with Eriol, Nakuru and Spinel on her side.

Then a small yellow creature appeared before them. He was flying, like Spinel Sun. Cerberus smiled at them.

Nakuru blinked, surprised. "Is that a flying plush toy?" she asked Spinel innocently.

Kero's smile vanished at the comment. He glared at the tall woman behind Kaho and said, "Look Miss. This is not my true form I—"

"Then show your true from." Kaho told him. She rose from her seat then stood back to watch. She looked at him, noting every move. Then she gazed at him in confusion. "Who are you?" She said, more demanding. She did not want him to saw her fear, her questions, but him having Clow Reed's power shook her.

"I am Cerberus, the guardian of the Clow cards." Kero introduced as his golden eyes met another golden ones. He knew he took the risk of presenting himself, but it did not matter. He was here, and based from the woman's expression, he would discover at least a part of the truth. "I am Clow's guardian until Sakura woke me up. And you?"

Kaho took a deep breath and glanced at Nakuru and Spinel. "Show your true forms." She commanded them and let Kero be surprised with the same transformation and symbol used.

"How—"

"They are guardians. Like you." Kaho said, trying to calm herself. "They are made by Eriol, the reincarnation of Clow Reed."

"What?!" Kero said in disbelief. As far as his knowledge was concerned, there was no mention to him by his previous master that there would be a reincarnation. There was no need for it anyway. His task was to find another master, in which he and Yue accepted to be Sakura. They have fulfilled it, Clow made it sure they would. It did not make any sense.

"I'm Ruby Moon." Nakuru said, in her butterfly and human form. She smiled and gestured at the dark beast on her side. "This is Spinel Sun."

"Kaho Mizuki." Kaho said, completing the introductions. Questions flooded her mind, but based from what she saw, she found Kero as non-threatening. If he and the others were of the same origin, there was no need to fight or run. "We wanted answers. Things have been calm, yet who knows what will happen soon."

Kero listened then turned his eyes on the book on the table. "That book." He murmured. "It can help us."

Kaho smiled, agreeing. "Do you know any spell we can use?"

Pondering for a moment, Kero knew he was on the lead. He was not usually into it, since Yue was closer to Clow, but at least he knew a thing or two. "Follow me." He said then began to give instructions. He let them build a circle then he placed the book on the middle and joined them. He looked down, murmuring the chants.

Book created by Clow

Tell us whether to go

We seek for answers, we want to know

With the power of Sun, please show!

With that, the room was filled with light.

-Kaho's POV-

"What the?" I mumbled as I slowly opened my eyes and let the white flash of light vanish. I looked straight, finding myself in a long hallway. Then it hit me, I was in Tomoeday elementary.

I took a step forward, hoping to know what on earth was happening. I peeked at the door on my right, and to my surprise, I found myself there too. I was teaching Math, and my eyes were set on the two kids at the back of the room. The girl was smiling at me, while the guy was constantly glaring at my teaching figure. I did not recognize them at first, but the bright emerald eyes that held too much trust made me remember.

Sakura Kinomoto. Li Syaoran.

I felt my throat went dry. I stepped back and, "Ugh." I groaned, feeling a sudden pain on my head. I shut my eyes, but this time, I heard the classroom sounds fade.

Slowly, I opened my eyes once again then saw a different view in front of me. I was at the shrine near the Tokyo tower. Like earlier, Sakura and Syaoran were there, though this time another girl was with them. A yellow creature named Cereberus was on Sakura's side and all of them where staring at the sky.

I looked up, finding a full moon. I shifted my gaze on the tower, seeing a man in white clothes. He held a cold gaze, even though he looked like and angel. His figure was familiar to me, but I could not remember his name.

"I am Yue, the moon guardian." I heard him say. "And now, we will start the judgment. If you little girl would have the right to be called the New Master of the Cards."

I watched them fight and found that Sakura was the one who holds the Clow cards that moment. I saw her transform her staff from a new one and in the end the girl succeeded. She has the smile on her face again, telling herself that nothing will go wrong.

That pain again was there. I shut my eyes, thinking that I would already go back to the physical world. But when I opened it again, I saw Eriol, Sakura and Syaoran together with the guardians in their temporary form.

This time, I saw Eriol congratulating Sakura for being the real owner of the Clow Cards or no, Sakura cards that she transformed with her own powers. Eriol was the one who did simple happenings that would make the girl use the cards once again. However, besides that, I saw the difference between the Sakura and Syaoran I first met and the ones at the moment. They had not only grown magically, but in other terms as well. There was something between them, on how they look, smile and talk to each other. It had become warm and comforting. It was not only me who noticed it, but Eriol as well.

Then I realized, Eriol cared for me that time too, but he was discovering new feelings on his own.

"Kaho. Kaho." A deep male voice called out worriedly.

Kaho opened her eyes, meeting it with sapphire ones. She kept silent at first, trying to figure out if she was in the real world or still in a dream. Then she realized that she was on her own room with Eriol sitting beside her.

"What happened?"

That moment, Kaho tried to remember everything, every detail that she saw. Yes, she was still confused on what was happening, but this time, she was glad to find a portion of it. "We need to talk. Along with Li and Sakura."

Eriol stared at her for a moment, and then nodded. He did not know what came into her, but the woman was determined. "Ok. We'll meet you at the library in ten minutes." He said, and then rose to find the two friends.

Sakura massaged her temples as she tried to calm down. She was definitely disturbed.

Few minutes ago, she was relaxing at the garden, until she felt a sudden surge of power inside the house. She did not act on it, not with Eriol and Tomoyo on the view. Then when things pipe down, Kero began insisting to go back to the library then now, Eriol called upon her and Syaoran.

"It seems like we have the same experience after all." Kero murmured as he hid behind Sakura's hair. It was safe since Tomoyo decided to sleep for the afternoon and she believed that others gathered in the library.

"What do you mean Kero?" Sakura asked.

"Nakuru and Kaho."

Eyes widening, Sakura wanted to strangle her guardian for being so careless. "You mean, Ms. Mizuki and Nakuru saw you?!" she hissed, feeling a bigger trouble coming up to her.

Kero nodded calmly. "You'll know the whole truth soon."

Syaoran and Sakura stopped at the huge door and knocked. They both went in, with Eriol sitting on a huge red chair similar to the one he has in Japan. On his hand was a small dark blue creature while Kaho and Nakuru stood near him, both with expectant and waiting gazes.

"You don't need to hide, Cerberus anymore, Sakura." Kaho broke the silence. She saw the hesitation on Sakura's eyes, but was glad that she did as she was told. "And if you may, please use the sleep card on Tomoyo so she won't get suspicious."

Surprised, Sakura could not do anything but to follow. She was in their territory after all. Plus, knowing her former teacher and Eriol, she tried to convince herself that they would cause no harm. With that, she summoned the Sleep card and nodded.

"Now," Syaoran began in a low voice. "What the devil is going on?"

Instead of reacting negatively to his tone, Kaho smiled. She gazed at his amber eyes. "You still did not change from the little boy I have known." She said, catching his surprise gaze. Then she smiled softly Sakura. "I clearly remember the past now."

Sakura and Syaoran remained silent, giving her the floor to speak. However, hearing that gave them relief since that would mean that they would be safe in their hands.

"I don't really know how to explain this but," Kaho paused then studied the two. "All of us here in this room have forgotten a part of our memories in the past.

"Forget?" Sakura echoed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Remember when you saw me in the shrine? You told me I know you but I can't remember a thing. I forgot that you, Sakura Kinimoto are the new master of the cards made by Clow." Kaho told her then faced Eriol. "Even Eriol himself forgot about his adventure on Japan during you fifth grade."

Eriol nodded. "I know I have forgotten, Kaho. I already know before you told me that Sakura has the powers made by my former self. Although I need to see what really happened before."

Syaoran gazed at him. "You know our existence."

"Not exactly." Eriol answered then gave him a small smile. "Take a look at this." He said calmly, grabbing a yellow key. "The key that holds the power of Darkness, show your true from to me." Then yellow circle with Clow Reed's mark surrounded him. "I, Eriol, do this under our contract. Release!"

With that, the key expanded into a wand.

"Why do you have that key?" Kero said, narrowing his eyes at the dark haired man. He knew that key, that aura, that power.

Kaho looked at Kero. "Have you forgotten what I told you earlier?"

"It is okay, Kaho. I'll just introduce myself to my friends as a sorcerer." Eriol stood up with a smirk on his face. "I, Eriol Hiiragizawa, am the reincarnation of the most powerful Magician, Clow Reed."

"What?!" Syaoran said in surprise. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I just thought maybe it was a good start." Eriol answered, still smiling. Though he knew that it was not the right time to fool around, Syaoran's reaction was an amusement to him. "But then destiny still made its way for us to go back on the path we should go."

Sakura understood, knowing that Eriol has a point. If she discovered his powers first, it would be difficult for her to approach him since the world of magic could be a world of deceit too. She turned her gaze to Nakuru. "Then does it mean that Nakuru is your guardian."

Eriol nodded. "Go back to your true form, Ruby Moon. Spinel Sun." he commanded.

With that, Nakuru stepped forward, followed by the little creature on Eriol's lap. They closed their eyes and wing appeared on their backs to envelop them. Sakura watched, realizing that they were the counterparts of Yukito and Cerberus.

"So that will explain why you have Clow Reed's painting." Syaoran pointed out.

Eriol nodded. "It's not surprising that you recognize your ancestor." He said, but Syaoran remained silent for explanations. "I did not know that you are related to Clow Reed's mother until I discovered Sakura's power first."

"So are you saying that, in a way, we knew each other from the past?" Sakura asked, not believing what was happening.

"Most probably." Eriol answered, smile vanishing. The chances were likely, considering that he, Sakura and Syaoran were circulating under Clow's power. It was impossible that his old self would not allow them to meet once again. If there was one thing he was sure off, it would be that there was no way Clow Reed would not let their fates cross. Being his reincarnation, he was sure that his sole purpose was to help Sakura. "After the final judgment by Yue, how did you transform the Clow Cards into Sakura cards?"

Sakura pondered for a moment, but to no avail. It had been almost eight years, but things were not clear. "I…can't."

"See?" Eriol said, knowing that it convinced them. "I, myself, can't remember what happened during the fifth grade."

"Is that even possible?"

"You know, it is Sakura. We are in the world of magic too."

"But how?" Sakura continued to ask. "I mean, Clow is the most powerful magician in his time. You are his reincarnation, and I hold at least a portion of his power. Won't we able to feel that before hand?"

"I agree," Syaoran said, confused as Sakura. Each power has its own limitations, but if there were some sort of power circulating around Tomoeda, was not there a possibility that they should figure it out? "Either you or Sakura should have discovered it."

"Unfortunately, we didn't." Eriol told him, sighing. "Though it seems to me that whoever or whatever it may be, he or she are stronger than us. There is really nothing we can do but to wait for its power to show up."

"At least we discovered a part of what is really going on." Kaho said, comforting them. In a way she knew that it was disturbing them more than she was. Although, she knew that the feeling they had that moment was nothing compared if they discovered the whole truth. "However, we must first try to regain your memories. That way we can find answers."

Sakura nodded. "That would be a great move, I suppose. And soon we will find out everything."

With that, Sakura undid the spell and took her leave. Others followed, leaving Kaho and Eriol alone in the library. Eriol was silent for a moment then he eyed at Kaho. "What is it?" he asked, voice calm and low.

Kaho met his gaze, still contemplating whether to tell him or not. However, in the end, or in simply few more days, everything would become clear to him, Sakura and Syaoran. "In the past, you have been the instrument of Clow Reed to help the Card Mistress. During those times, you have helped Li discover his real feelings for her too."

"I know."

"You know?" Kaho asked, confused. "How did—"

"I know he has feelings for her way back before. It's just that he did not realize it until now. That was the reason why I tried to back off from her. Those two have feelings for each other ever since. Even they don't remember, things were still falling in its real place." Eriol explained, more to himself than to Kaho. That was the reason why he did not see Sakura the way she saw him.

Kaho smirked, understanding his point. "Will you be okay?"

"What is it that you saw Kaho?"

Taking a deep breath, Kaho studied the waiting eyes that were staring at her. "Back then, you were discovering your true feelings for the Card Mistress too."