I am a terrible person for keeping all of you waiting for so long and I know it.
But there were problems in the Fanfiction.net itself and I had some major problems at school too.
Conferences to attend on Social Justice and all that was enough to put my head into a spin dive.
Anyway, this chapter isn't somehting that is serious or even moves the plot along a lot either.
THis is just something in the middle where I wanted to just give the characters a period of rest before more trials.
This Fic should end pretty soon. As I have to make sure that it ends before work starts to really pile up.
After this chapter, I am afraid that there would be a long wait. I have work Experience for a week and other stressful things.
I am so sorry, but I am but one life trying to survive through a thing call high school.

I do hope you enjoy and please, do leave a review. I survive on those.

Love,
Cherry Princess

*******

Sakura woke up to face the bright sunshine and smiled broadly. Everything was perfect. The most perfect thing in the world was with her, her very heart and her soul. She had everything she could have ever wanted. Though, mind you, she was weak and she was low on the magical powers still, two weeks after the ordeal with the reincarnation of Clow. But she was happy as she had ever been. Her soulmate was in no danger of disappearing, her brother finally recovered from the dangers of exchanging powers, Eriol was recovering well with the power shortage the two of them had experienced and the budding relationship between Tomoyo and Eriol was going well too. And of course, Syaoran was as good as he always was, even with the power drain she had administrated to him.

"Touya!" She yelled as she noticed the absence of her brother in her house. His familiar aura was gone. Disappeared out of nowhere, but then, she was expecting the disappearance, after all, it was his day to have with Yukito. And tomorrow was her turn with Yue. It was getting annoying for her though. The constant changes the two had to go through to even simply see their lovers was annoying Sakura a lot more than she cared to admit to others. Touya noticed though, of course, he was the one sharing with her, but he noticed her agitation and he knew of her plans to do something about it. He saw her books that were everywhere in her room, wonders her father didn't notice, and the pulsing power he saw when he passed her room too. It was almost frightening for him to see her powers at such levels even when she was weak. It was as if the ordeal with Eriol had made her stronger, and it has, he learnt from Yukito.

Sakura walked out of her room, slightly tired still from the magical workings, but it was bearable. And it wasn't as if she cared for the power loss anyway. "Touya?" She questioned more quietly near his room, quickly noticing that he wasn't there either. She shrugged gently to herself, her white clad shoulders going up and down as her jean clad legs moved her obediently to the kitchen to see the little board that had been put up there, to see where the family members were going. Her father was at work, her brother was going out with Yukito. She nodded to herself and with a mere moment of concentration called the slumbering Beast of the Seal from his bed and called the Sakura Book to herself. It was perfect time to do some experimentation and work on the larger working she was trying to do with Yukito and Yue, trying to separate the two entities. It was harder than she had initially thought though.

The thing that made it difficult was the fact the two were merged together by body and soul. Yue's soul was in Yukito's body, but then, when Yue transformed into himself, Yukito's soul was in Yue's body. So, the matter was to split the magical being from the human. But that wasn't easy as it sounded either, because Yukito wasn't human. He was a creation by Clow to give Yue a false form. And to that sense, Sakura got lost. She didn't know how she could even begin to dissect the two. To tell them apart from each other. They both had magic and if she did something wrong, the personalities, memories, powers and of course, the forms of the two can drastically change. And she couldn't allow anything bad to happen to the two of them. Just could not.

What could she do? She looked closely at the book she had brought down with the Sakura Book while her hand absent mindly mixed the egg, flour, milk, butter and other pancake mixes together. Kero fluttered down not too long after she started. Her eyes on the book, her hands in the makings of pancakes, Kero decided she looked just like any other sorcerer he had met in his life time. They were all the same, in some ways. They all had a love for books, for their powers, and to do multiple things at the same time. Regardless of the concentration one task could take away from the others. For a long moment, Kero just watched as the young sorceress kept stirring and reading, until he saw her glow, and the cards glow. And soon enough, the Windy card was stirring the mixture and the Firery card was getting the pan hot enough for the pancakes. And the Light and Dark cards were reading with her.

Kero was taken aback by the fact that she had opened four cards, without using an incantation and with her power only at a quarter of the level it usually was. Shocking, to be truthful. And of course, he knew that her powers had increased with the dangers she had gone through over the time with Eriol. And he knew that she, with only a fourth of her powers was able to support the cards and Yue, which she had taken over for her brother. And he knew that when her powers were back to full level, that she would be stronger than Clow himself. Far stronger.

He smiled at the thought. Clow had always wanted her to be stronger than himself. She was fulfilling his wishes well. Sakura's powers were growing still though, that that thought left the little guardian on the lines of thinking of how stronger her powers would get, when they had finished growing…but then a thing Clow had said came into his mind. 'A magicians power never ceases to grow, Cereberus. Their powers may stop to grow in the sense as in their magical powers don't get stronger, but magicians are always discovering more strengths about themselves and new spells that make them powerful. Don't ever thing that a magician stops growing, never. Magicians are a race of people that grow every moment of their very lives in magical and physical ways.' The thought of Clow brought the thought of the little brat with his long hair and the charming smile Clow had always had on his face.

Sakura turned to look at her Sun guardian and smiled gently at him. "Don't dwell on the past, Kero-chan. It won't get you anywhere and this is now. And you have me, the cards and you have Yue-san. So, don't think back onto the past and regret anything. But if you want to, you can go and talk to Eriol about the past. He can help you get over it. And of course make sure that you can at least feel what it was like to be with Clow-sama." Kero nearly dropped the pancake he had been devouring as he was thinking quietly to himself. She had read his mind, he was sure. As the shock registered on his mind itself, she smiled and nodded. "I did read your mind. Your thoughts were too loud that I couldn't ignore it for the first time. Most of the times, your mind is shielded from mine, but since your thoughts were so deep, I couldn't help but overhear them. I was serious though. Talk to Eriol-san. He is Clow-sama, at least to a certain extent and he does love you so."

Eriol had asked if he could indeed talk to the two guardians, knowing and sadly having foreseen the struggle for the two guardians at his appearance in their lives again, after such a long time of grief. He shouldn't have been reincarnated. He knew that. And he had told Sakura so, as much as she read from his very minds. In the very beginning, his mind had been the only one she could not read, but slowly, he opened his mind to her, showing her that he had no secrets to hide from her. That he was her father and wished to be just that, and her friend, if she needed him.

"He's in the Reeds Manor by the way." Sakura said as she turned back around to her book and watched from the corner of her eyes the trick Firery was playing with the pancakes. "Thank you Sakura-chan." Kero said as he grabbed yet another pancake and raced out of the house, quickly changing his forms, drawing from the sun, not his mistress. Sakura watched him go, her eyes looking into the distance as she quickly contacted her friend in her mind. ~Kero-chan's heading your way. He's troubled. Talk to him and remind him of the past. And help him.~ She asked gently in Eriol's mind, knowing that it was hard for the young magician as well. Young only in the body, old with the knowledge and the power and of course, the soul.

~I will, Sakura-chan. Why hasn't Yue come to see me yet?~ Sakura considered the answer for a long moment before she was able to reply. She hadn't pried into the thoughts of her soulmate on the topic, because she had known that it was a sensitive one. One that shouldn't be touched even by her at the wrong times and in a wrong way. She knew that it would hurt him. ~Because he, even with me as his soulmate, grieves the loss of his father, friend and lover. Clow-sama was very important to Yue. More than you can ever imagine. When Clow-sama died, Yue was devastated, without with the only person he had cared for gone from his very life and of course, being without someone that understood him fully. I think he's still shocked. But soon enough, he'll go to talk to you. When he does go, be gentle with him. Gentle as you can be.~ Eriol simply sent her a nod as the Sun guardian's voice disturbed him.

Sakura allowed her mind to drift away from Eriol's and turned back to her magic book. "Firery, stop playing with the food. It will all be burnt if you keep it on a high heat, whether you flip it or not." Firery pouted a little before he placed the pancake on the plate. She smiled at him before her attention went back to the book. "What are you trying to do, Mistress? If you need help, we should ask some of the cards. Windy knows a lot about magic too. And of course, you can ask Create to show you the situation…" Sakura brightened at the thought.

That was it! She could ask Create to show her what would happen if she split Yue from Yukito. It would be perfect! She hugged the Light card and thanked her over and over. "You are a genius! That is the most perfect idea! That's all I needed to make sure that spell could happen!" Light merely smiled, the smile of a mother. To Sakura, all the older female cards were like mothers, especially Big, Windy, Light, Dark. They were the ones that were very close to her and ones that made sure that she was always mothered. While the younger cards were her friends. They were the same type as her. Most of them always happy, or at least some of the cards carried bits of her personalities. She smiled at the cards and pulled out the Creat card, twirling it in her hand and thinking for a moment.

The young sorceress was well aware that she did not, simply did not have enough powers within her that moment to really work such large magic. But she could wait, stay out in the stars and gain the powers needed to perfom the spell, she was sure. She would wait. She looked at the cards and smiled. "Thank you. Would any of you like some pancakes?" The cards all declined. They did not need to eat. And it was known to them that they probably did not possess a stomach anyway. "Answer me honestly, do you hate being what you are?" The cards thought for a moment, thinking to answer it in their own ways.

"I don't mind. You are a good mistress and you are kind to us. You are considerate and as a card, I can talk to the other cards, I have friends, therefore. And I have powers that are strong thanks to you and I can control something so fully that it is very beautiful. And of course, changing into card form and human form is annoying after some time, but that can't be helped. It's still a good life for me. Why do you ask, Mistress?" It was Light that had answered first. Sakura inclined her head to the side before she answered, the fork near her lips. "Well, I just want to know. To see what I can do for you. I mean, with Eriol around, I could change anything for you to make you happier or I can even free you from the card, if that was possible."

The cards nodded. "The cards in general don't mind being cards, Mistress. Though Create and other cards without human form had complained about it. You might like to change them first, if you get the chance. But for you, working the magic to split Yue-sama and Yukito-sama first. Isn't that so, Sakura-sama?" Sakura thought for a moment again before she answered, chewing her pancake. "True. I would have to do that first. But you guys are definitely my next project." The cards merely smiled happily and watched as she read and ate at the same time, offering her ideas, writing down the things that occurred to them and to her, and generally helping her out with her everyday things. Sakura just hoped that her dad wasn't going to be coming home early all of a sudden. Even though he was half the reincarnation of Clow, she didn't want him to know about her powers just yet, she decided. Not just yet.

****

"Eriol, you are the reincarnation of Clow, right?" It was Cereberus' quiet voice that came to him in almost a cautious way. "Come in, Cereberus. Come in and talk to me, my friend. The fireplace is ready for you." Feeling almost as if it was his old home, his old time with Clow, Cereberus padded silently into the room and settled himself down at the very front of the fireplace with Eriol sitting at a chair near him. "What bothers you, my friend?" Even the voice was similar, as were the words used were the very ones from Clow's mouth. A tear threatened Cereberus. It was that moment Cereberus knew why his brother had refused to see the young version of Clow. It was simply too painful to even talk to him. To hear the gentle voice of their former Master and the same words that were from his lips.

"You. You bother me, you are too much like him. Too much like Clow. And you say the same words as he does. You act like him. You smell like him!" Eriol's eyes saddened. "I know. That's my curse. I cannot stop the memories of the magician overwhelming me. I want to be just me, Eriol. But I cannot. Because my soul is his own. My memories are from him. My powers are his. My staff is his. This house belongs to him. The books I read are his. The money I spend is his. The money I have in the bank for Sakura-chan is from him. He prepared everything for her. And for me. But that doesn't help me with anything. He still tortures me every moment of my life. But the thing is, Cereberus, I can't hate myself. I can't hate the half of my soul that is his. I can only thank him to a certain extent for allowing me to meet you and to see what it is like to be happy with people that are warm and people that are loving towards me. Clow had taken away my chance to be normal, but that gave me Sakura, Yue, you and Tomoyo. He also gave me others, such as Yukito and of course, Touya."

Eriol's voice was pained, almost as he spoke of the things Clow did to him, and perhaps for him. "There are nothing in this world that intrigues me though. Because through him, I know most things in the world. The only things that were different from his time for me was the technology. And with his mind, it was only a matter of moments for me to conquer them. What I have left are the things he didn't know of. Such as love for a woman, or the love for a child. He had felt it to a certain extent, but he had not felt it from the view of a teenager. I feel the love for a daughter and love for her best friend. How could this really work out? But it does work out. Sakura is my most important friend and person in my life. But she was also in his life. She was his goal in life and I can continue to look after her, but I can also lead another life, because I know a little more than he did on the conditions of love. Do you understand me Cereberus? Do you see that I am not him? Though I know his memories, and I have his knowledge and his mind, I am not him. I can pretend to be him, but wouldn't that just hurt you more?"

Cereberus couldn't help the stare that went towards the teenager. "I don't know what to say to you. I don't know whether I should scream at you for leaving me and Yue behind so suddenly and feel sorry for your other half and comfort you. I don't know if I know what you are to me anymore. You were so important to me, as Clow, but Sakura came along. She was so gentle and so kind. She was something that was so precious that I wanted to protect her so much. And then now, when I finally started to forget about you, at least half of you is back in my life. Your powers, I can feel your magical aura around me and it hurts. And then I can feel her's with yours. It confuses me. What should I do?" There were utter loss in his voice and his face. His eyes were hurt and full of sorrow. Confusion. Main emotion in Cereberus' lion eyes were confusion that was at levels in which it did hurt to look at. Eriol gently laid a hand on the thick muscled shoulder of the lion like creature and smiled gently as he could.

"I don't know, my friend. It seems that for the first time, I don't have the answer for you. And you don't have an answer for me. I think you should think of me as the future. Just think of Clow as the past and think of me as your future. I can be what you want to be. I can help you get over the sadness you feel because of him, but I can't be him for you. This is a confusing debate we have engaged ourselves into, my friend. What shall we ever do to get out of his one?" Cereberus just smiled. "How about we change the topic, Eriol? What about the debate on how we can split Yue from Yukito? Sakura is mighty worried about that little mistake Clow made. She wants to make sure that both of them can live their lives as they wish. She is a gentle creature and it hurts to her to see two people she loves so much in pain. Do you know a way? She would appreciate your help. I mean, Clow, your past self created the two of them. Isn't it only logical to think that you know a way to split them?"

Eriol smiled slightly at the lion creature. "I am afraid that I can't help her. It was one of the last challenges Clow had planned out for the newly made sorceress. She has to work out her own spells and work a great deal of magic before she is ready to face the last thing he foresaw for her. He wanted her to be prepared, with the guardian of Moon on her side and also the little snow rabbit by her side too. Now, you can tell her that I do not know. I will leave it at that. But my dear friend, do tell me how you would think it possible. I would not tell you whether your deduction is close or not, but do tell me."

Cereberus smiled almost evilly and nodded. His brain was going into almost an overdrive, thinking on the magical things he had been taught as a pup by the great magician. He recalled several factors pretty quickly. Such as full power of the sorceress needed, a crucial point. And of course, the same time as the creation of the creature, which would be the time of full moon for Yue and Yukito. Two moon beings. Also, the master would need to have some sort of spell that was very similar to the one that had been cast before to bond the two creatures together. And Sakura would of course, need to insure that both of them had a good enough power source. More than the moon guardian, she would have to worry about the other, weaker being that could easily collapse under the pressure her magical workings could give.

"I don't know what I could do to help her though. As it is, I don't know what to do with the spell. But, what is supposed to be done is pretty obvious. To be held during the night of a full moon, with her powers at the max they could be at, and of course, something of an opposite spell or if she was strong enough…that's it! If she was strong enough, just her will would be enough to break through Clow's spell! And she could unbind them. But I'm sure she already knows that though. But what she is worried of is what would happen if the spell was to be cast. Yue, no matter what, would always need a false form. She was talking about it before. How he needs to have something that resembled a human to change into. And she talked about how she could make him like Ruby Moon. I mean, that girl can change into her guardian form and change back into a normal human and be aware of everything. There are no changes. And she was talking about the fact that she could easily keep Yue's form the way she wanted or the way she wanted. She's done it before. Given Yue waist length white hair, and changed his clothes into the normal clothes of today. And she also made his wings disappear. But he could make it appear anytime he wanted to. She could make it happen!"

Eriol smiled gently as he watched his excited friend. "She could. That's what we are waiting for her to do now. But I am afraid that she would take her time about it. After all, she needs to regain her full powers. And if she keeps using her powers as she is right now with the Create Card to see what you happen after she used the method you have mentioned. The card is showing her the right thing by her, but she wants to run through it with a couple of more scenarios, just in case. That is wasting her power a lot quicker than she could probably take. But the cards are being wonderful to her. As are the energies from the closest star."

Cereberus's eyes went wide as he thought of it. Of course! How could he forget that his mistress did have the power she could take from the Sun! The sun was a star! Of course, it wasn't much as what she could get from a night full of the brightest and the most beautiful stars, but it was enough for her to keep a simple spell with the cards going, he was sure. "Sakura is very good with her powers, isn't she? She's already mastered the cards. And it took Clow twenty years to get them all under full control and to make sure they came to him at his mere wish or word. But Sakura has done that a week ago, already knowing what the limits of the cards were, as well as the way she could make them come to her and understand everyone of them as they understand her. They respect her, love and they would gladly protect her with their lives. Anyone around her would."

Eriol could only smile at the passionate comment from his friend. "I would highly agree with you, on that, Cereberus. She does draw on that protective side of all, doesn't she? She made everyone of the cards love her, to feel like they belonged to someone so important and special that they would gladly offer what is left of their existence to her safety and probably for a sweet word from her mouth. But then you would be the same. In even more of a personal level. She means the world to you. If you decide to ignore your video games and the food for a moment, you would give her the world, if that was possible."

Cereberus shrugged in a non-committed. His face contained a barely hidden smile, but that didn't mean that it wasn't there. Eriol hid his own smile and nodded. "So would Yue. And so would I, in fact. I am also sure that my guardians would be willing to protect her more than they would protect me." Cereberus smirked. "Of course they would. After all, you would have brought them up from babies with stories of Sakura's life, showing them all the things about Sakura, her pictures, and making them love them, by showing the love she showed to others. That's what Clow did to us. I swear it was propaganda, if it wasn't such a sweet thing. And they would know, wouldn't they? That you would rather die than let even a single hair on her head be hurt? They protect her for that reason, you must realise." Eriol just nodded wisely.

"But you must go back to your mistress now. She's working on something she shouldn't be at this time and stage with her powers so weak. And the night won't be very light and full of stars today. You must go and stop her from hurting herself." With just the first couple of words, Cerebrus was gone, rushing out of the mansion as if all of the fires of hell were after him. Eriol wished he could go, but he didn't want to seem like he was stalking her very life. And it would seem like it to her from time to time, he was sure. And also, that she would never do the same for him. And he wouldn't, if he had a choice.

But the choice for him had been gone from the moment Clow's soul had awakened in his body and had taken it's own direction with his body and mind. Even sought to control his heart to a certain extent, but he was sure that Clow would never have fallen in love with the beautiful purple haired girl that sang with her wonderful voice and that gave the present of friendship to Sakura. Watching Cereberus's flight from his chair, Eriol wondered. Was Clow within Fujitaka reacting at all to the presence of Sakura's magic in the house, or the guardian beast of the seal or even the guardian of the Moon that of course, visited the house at times. Somehow though, Eriol was convinced that the side Fujitaka had taken of Clow was the side he already had. That of a father and of a friend to the girl that had every reason to be protected.

Without the presence of his friend, Eriol was left alone to think of the other threat that would soon make herself known to Sakura. After all, Eriol had been aware of the threat for a long time and had been trying to prevent the ultimate showdown between her and Sakura, but it was impossible to change. Fates and destinies had decided on the way they would meet and hopefully allowed their final showdown to be within Sakura's favour. And Eriol would have prayed on that, if he had been naïve, but he knew of the ways Fates worked their magic. They would never allow one of the competitors have the winning tide. They always allowed the humans, the magicians, the animals or the immortals to fight it out for themselves, and never sent a smile to anyone. It was the only way the Fates could be fair. Fair to all that ever came upon their cloth. Sighing slightly, Eriol leaned into his chair and closed his eyes, concentrating lightly to bring up the sun backed magical circle underneath his feet.

****

Sakura was just about to open the Create Card when she felt the pull of her powers suddenly and so strongly that she could not even think, but handed the power over to the being that needed it. At first, she had thought that it must have been her soulmate, changing his form, but as the being came closer to her, she saw that it was Cereberus, with a growl on his lips. "Sakura! What were you thinking? Using the Create card to the scale you were about to use, with the power you have on you now, is a death wish! You must learn to consider the amounts of power you have within yourself and the amount that would be needed for a spell before you dare to cast it. Do you understand me?"

For the first time in her life, Sakura saw Cereberus angry and she wished that she hadn't. He was still panting by the time he had finished and after a final glare to her direction, he gave back what power he had taken from her in a sudden pull and nuzzled her. "Sakura, you are far too young. And you need to learn now of the dangerous. Or you'll never get into the habit of it all." Without a word, the honey brown haired teen leaned down to give a kiss to the guardian of the seal on his forehead, gently stroking his ears with gentleness that he was sure, came from the soul.

"I wanted to see what would happen with Yue and Yukito-san when they are separated. I guess I should wait a little bit, until my powers are recharged before I do, right? I mean, I guess I got too excited to really think about my power levels and how much it would take me to do the spell. I'm actually getting somewhere with this and I can't help but feel a glee because of it. I'm just so happy that there is a chance at least of me being able to do this. I want to make sure that he two of them don't suffer as much as they do now. And he only way for me to do that is to assure that they can lead separate lives. Yukito-san is obviously getting sick of waking up in places he does not know, next to someone he does not love. And that goes for Yue as well. I don't want to see either of them suffer. You know that. Shorter their suffering, the better, I would say. But I promise that I won't try anything stupid until my powers are to the level capable of performing what I want to perform. In fact, I'll ask for your permission."

Cereberus nodded at her words and changed his form to another, knowing that the weather would not permit his young mistress to see the stars again for another night or two. She would need everything he could give.

"Kero, I was wondering, you know how you get your powers from the Sun? And yet, when you transfer your magic to me, it becomes of the stars, how does that work?" Kero had to admit, he could see where the quite innocently placed question was heading. Somewhere he did not want to go with the conversation, he was sure. He gave Sakura a look, to which the teen just shrugged and smiled her best innocent smile. He chose to ignore it quite purposely. It would not do with weaken his heart against her attacks. "Sakura, you must understand that you can't just perform the magic you propose to perform with just my magic aiding you. Whatever you want to do, you have to be at full power. You can't even hope to do the type of thing you wish to do with the powers of a guardian. That's all I am, Sakura, a Guardian. I am not a magician or a sorcerer. Though I do have the knowledge and is very strong with my magical powers, that is merely due to the way I was created and the way you have strong magic. That is all. Do you understand that?"

Sakura nodded. Of course, she had been well aware that her friend would catch her meaning and scold her for it, but of course, there was a another meaning for her question. She did not want the guardian to feel that she planned to use his powers to do he magic she needed to do in order to separate the two entities that resided in one body. Her soul mate and her friend would need to be separated with her powers, and probably her powers only, but if she was to learn of how the power that came from him, she could perhaps work out a way for her guardian, the other to use the same way to gain the magic from the sun as well. Perhaps than, Yue, wouldn't have so much trouble with his magic. Which was the mistake Clow Reeds had made when he created the Moon Guardian. He had forgotten for a split moment that the Moon guardian would not get enough powers to support himself without another, with just the moon, which got her powers from her brother, the Sun. It wasn't enough. And perhaps with the splitting, Sakura could settle that problem. The power of the Moon, of course, was very similar to those of the stars…

"Just tell me. I need to know for a reason that would be good enough for your standards." Though he looked at her with disbelief, he decided that she, as his mistress probably was asking for a good reason and decided to tell her. "Well, the thing is you are my Mistress. And the energy, after it is gained, is all the same. Sunlight, which is what I gain my magic from, is at the end, just energy. Pure energy. And if you think of it, the Stars are also suns. And therefore, your energy is same as mine in a way, just that your powers are in a larger scale and you can't draw as much from one star as I could. And of the Moon, for Yue…that's what you are asking isn't it? How you can transform the powers of the Sun and all that to help Yue, right?" A simple nod came from Sakura. "Well, in that case, the power Yue gets is something like a cooled down version of the energy from the Sun, which is similar to you. So, if you can somehow connect him to the sun, he could get energy from there and also, his personality might change though. Probably to be brighter."

Sakura had to agree. After all, that was why Yue was so cold. Because he had been fashioned after the coldness of the moonlight. The cooled down lights of the Sun. "I think I understand now. Oh, would you like some pancake?" Sakura asked, having forgotten the food she had cooked moments before, but Kero hadn't. By the time she offered it to him, they were all gone already. "I had enough, thank you." With that, the little guardian of the seal burped, amusing his mistress. "Off with you. Out of the kitchen before dad comes to find you here and I have to answer strange questions once again. At a larger scale, mind you. At least my brother had seen what is magic before, with himself as well, but my father probably doesn't believe a single thing about magic." Kero smiled broadly, reminding her of a child before he flew off. Sakura smiled and turned to the cards, who, obediently, without a word, turned into their card forms and disappeared before she could even say anything to them. Sakura smiled as she gathered the cards and made her own way up the stairs, just turning to see that the kitchen was clean.

Her life was as perfect as it could be. She knew that she would be happy. And that everyone around her would soon be happy. But a dark thought did make it through her mind. The darkness of something that was rather foreign to her sweeet mind. She did not pursue it, but just allowed the forwarning to settle in and to enjoy what was to come. She would allow her instincts to play a vital role. After all, she was the most powerful sorceress in the world. And her instincts took the power from her. That meant that whatever was warning her knew what it was talking about. She was sure.

***

"Yue, I need you to transfer what power you got from my brother and come back to relying on me. Can you do that?" Yue looked at her with his catlike eyes. "I can, but can you handle the strain?" Sakura nodded. She looked at the cards in her hands and she looked at him. "I can. Trust me. Clow Reeds wouldn't have made it impossible for me. He should have known. I can do this, Yue. So just trust me and do as I ask, please." Yue nodded, sending his silver hair into a frenzy. He turned to Touya, who stood, watching the conversation with interest. Yue walked closer to his Mistress's brother and gently kissed Touya's neck, sending his powers back. Immediately, Yue sagged against Touya, forcing the boy to hold the immortal creature up. Sakura, quick to the rescue sent all she could towards her soulmate, giving him her powers in a rush. Yue recovered after her power exchange and looked at Sakura, who hadn't even broken out into sweat. "You can handle it?" Sakura nodded confidently and looked at her brother. "Your powers before were more or less dormant. Now, they are not so dormant anymore. Because Yue had used them, now, you have to train the powers you have. They are pretty powerful and you can't just leave them to be. So, I think Yue or Eriol will be the best teacher for you. I can't teach…"

Touya grumbled a bit, but didn't say much more as he nodded and went back into his room, leaving the two alone. "Are you sure there isn't a strain on you?" Sakura smiled and shook her head. "There is no strain whatsoever. Yue, you don't know how extensive my powers are. The cards and you and Cereberus are only drawing on what seems to be only a quarter of my powers. Of course, that's just raw magic. And I can't do the things you can do with them, but the raw magic is still there. And energy is there and I have enough to last me a life time. Now, in a weeks time, when my magic is at it's peak, we'll do the separation. I asked Eriol to be there with us, just in case I do something wrong, in which case he could jump in and help. But I saw what would happen with the cards. They think that it'll work perfectly. I know what I have to do and how to do it." Yue looked at the serious face of his soulmate and fought the laughter that threatened to rise in his throat. Her small face and the jade eyes were contemplative. And the way she was dressed in the simple pair of jeans and the long white sleeve shirt didn't seem very serious at all.

Smiling, he walked over to her and engulfed her small form into a big hug. She just smiled, closed her eyes and leaned in, comfortable and happy knowing that he was there for her. He gently kissed her hair and then her neck, burying his face into her neck and smiling as he was quickly drunk on her scent. She was beautiful. And innocent. And a genius too. Quick learning. And she was quickly than he had ever thought possible, turning into the wonderful sorceress he had wished to see. A beautiful sorceress with powers beyond human imagination. She smiled and pulled back, looking into his eyes. "Yue, I promise to make sure that you don't have to share a body with another anymore. I'll make sure that you can be free to do what YOU want to do. So far, you and Yukito-kun had to sacrifice so much and I don't think it's fair. And I don't want you to be in danger of disappearing anymore. I want you to be safe and to have whatever you need even without me."

The 'without me' part caught his ears and he looked at her. But could not see her face, as she had buried it quite purposely in his chest. He, however pushed her back to look into her eyes, the worry clear in his eyes as they were in her eyes. He knew what she was worried about and he too worried about it. The strange dreams she had been having, the presence of a very powerful dark being that threatened her. He knew all of it as Eriol did. He hoped that she didn't have to know about it and worry about it beforehand, but even with his great powers, he could do nothing to help her. All he could do better than her, anyway, was to attack with his magic and the experience he had as a magical being that could always help her. And the fact that he could use spells while his young soulmate could do nothing more than send her magic to do her biddings in the form of a card or in the form of her pure magic doing what she wanted them to do.

"Sakura, don't worry about the dark being you saw in your dreams. She is nothing compared to you. You can fight her and win easily. So, don't worry yourself to death about it. And don't think that a future will exist when I am left without you in the world with me. Without you, I would die. Soulmates and the fact that you are my Mistress still stands in all situations. So, please, go back to your happy self and stop worrying about the magical workings." She smiled and nodded. Changing to make him look more teenagerish, she dragged him outside into the park and they sat down, simply talking about nothing and everything while they sat there, watching the people as they walked by and the small fountain that was in front of them. Their talk didn't get anymore serious other than what the cards thought about the whole thing with their forms locked into that of a card most of the time. Sakura swore that if she ever got to have a big house, like one Eriol had, she would let the cards out and do their own thing. She wanted them to have freedom as he and Yukito and Touya would soon have with their magic. And Yue promised that he would teach Touya how to use his powers. And Yukito too, if the split allowed him to have powers too. Sakura couldn't ask for more.

"But Yue, do you think Touya would like the magic he has? He's pretty powerful. Actually, more than pretty powerful, but do you think he could control the magic like you could? I can't see what he's capable of yet. Without the cards, is he going to become a magician like Eriol?" Yue smiled at her many questions without a breath from her. He thought for a moment before he answered. And as he thought of answering, her mouth opened again and he gently kissed it to stop her asking another question to add to the list. When she smiled and shut her mouth, he started to answer her many questions. "First of all, Touya is powerful and I really don't think that he has a choice on whether to like his magical powers or not. You have them and you can't get rid of them or seal them once they are free. And controlling magic shouldn't be too hard for him with proper guidance. The cards aren't the only ways to do magic and I am sure that he would find his own way to bind the powers he has in some sort of a key or another, like the ones you and Eriol have. Magical things are best as a control if the magic user is still inexperienced. So, I would highly suggest that you give him something of yours that is magical to help him his first weeks, or ask Eriol. He should know where Clow kept all the magic devices he handed out to beginners."

Sakura nodded and tried to take in all the information that came her way. Secretly, she decided that she wanted to see how her soulmate would teach another. It would be something interesting. Yue…the once cold creature. How good would he be as a teacher? A very cute one, she decided and fought the smile that rose to her lips at the thought. Her beautiful angel of a soulmate. A teacher! Well, Yukito was in the way of becoming a teacher, she had heard, but perhaps that had rubbed off on the beautiful moon creature too. She could only hope. "So, you don't object to teaching my dear brother?" Yue frowned slightly. "Am not overjoyed about it. Don't you mistake me for that. But I suppose, I wouldn't really complain about it. He is a nice person and he is good to both you and Yukito." Sakura merely laughed. Her beloved guardian's sentences were getting longer and longer. And she was loving it. It wasn't nice before, not that she ever complained, that she felt as if she was talking to a statue. But this Yue has learned what socializing is. And she was forever grateful about it.

***

Sakura stood before them all, dressed legally in the robe she usually fought in. The beautiful dark pink with silver stars. Her wand she held casually in her hand and the Book was set on a table near her. The spell was also on the tale, neatly written out, though she had learnt it off by heart. Well. Cereberus was by her side, warm and gentle. Eriol was off to the side with her brother and Tomoyo was a bit further away, being without magic, it was too dangerous for her to be near. Syaoran was also there, holding his sword in front of him. Eriol's guardians were there as well, holding their position near their masters. Yue was in front of Sakura, watching her with warm gentle eyes. The seven magical beings and magicians were all in their formal clothes. Even Touya was forced into a dark brown robe. Underneath the people around Sakura, excluding Tomoyo, was the large, glowing design she had created. Sakura smiled at all of her friends and loved ones.

She had to complete her task without fail. She had to make sure that the two entities could be separate without any harm heading to the way of both of them. She smiled reassuringly at her soulmate and breathed in deeply. The others followed her pattern. They started to breath in and out. Regularly counting, they started to draw into themselves. Sakura could feel the strength of the magic all around her. In her was the most powerful that could ever be on the planet of Earth. She felt her own power and trembled at it. It frightened her, as much as she enjoyed the power she held in her tiny little hands, she trembled, afraid of the damage and the harm it could do, should she decide so. She pushed that unsettling thought away from her and once again concentrated. Her eyes closed by themselves without her command or the will to keep them open. She started to gently pull the strands of her magic from her core. She could feel the warm strands wrapping themselves into her hand and into her very fiber. But she didn't allow them to go back into her body, but held firm. She slowly pushed them towards the one body that was in front of her. In her eyes she could see the magic lacing from her and to him.

In fact, she could see cords of her magic heading to all of the people in the room. Her love had bound her magic to them too. To protect them and to make sure that they could never be harmed by her magic, if it be accidental. She had done all that without even knowing about it. Though surprised, she pushed that thought away too. She only looked at the scroll she could not see with her real eyes, for they remained closed. But she could see the silvery glowing letters that had embedded itself into her mind. Slowly, she started to recite them. From memory and the copy in her mind, she started to say the words that would change everything in her life. For good or for bad.

'By the power of the Stars.
By the cold fire of the Moon.
By the warmth of the Sun.
As they are bound as one now,
Let them be free of each other.
Let them have individuality.
Let them have their own lives.
Moon, call on your Guardian, Yue.
Sun, call on your Spirit, Yukito.
Stars, call on their separate bodies.
So Mote it be!'

Sakura had to admit as the power rushed from her like she had never felt before and she started to feel the dizziness and the loss of balance coming into her system, that the spell wasn't the best sounding one in the world. It wasn't poetic or even sweet, neither did it rhyme. But looking at Yue, standing there fully with his wings and his robes, and standing next to him Yukito, in a simple white robe, she knew that it had been done. She felt the warm power from her soulmate and from Yukito. And she felt Yue's slightly alternate form hiding in his body too. She smiled to herself as she felt her eyes close and floor felt overwhelmingly close to her. However, she did not feel the impact as she allowed her consciousness to slip away from her.

Yue looked down at her, at the sixteen year old sorceress who had completed her first major magic wonderfully. He had to admit, Clow had much more poetic sounding poems, but they were long and tedious. He liked Sakura's better. Not only because she was his soulmate, but because he wouldn't have to listen to hours of a simple lighting spell that his master decided sounded good. Sakura was right to the point. He smiled at her sleeping form. He could feel the reserves of her magic had been drained, but the stars were out in plenty that night. It was a beautiful night. A night in which Yukito and Touya, Sakura and himself should separate. He found the date out from the calendar as he climbed the stairs in Eriol's house once again. He would make it his birthday. He had another one, but that was of the past. It did not matter anymore. He would make the date of his freedom into the date of his birth. Birth to be with Sakura and protect her, and love her.

The Moon guardian particularly did not like being in Eriol's House. Or rather, Clow Reed's house. It was not that it was a wonderful house, but just that it brought painful memories he did not like to think about or even have flashbacks about. But the magic had to be worked at the place, there wasn't much of a choice. And Eriol did have a big enough house for all of them to stay comfortably…in fact, stay and not bump into each other for whole day, if that's what they wanted. Of course, the house itself was spelled. It was built on a grid of magic that made sure that any magical working done there was safe. And no one with tainted magic could enter the place. That's the reason Eriol had offered the house. He had wanted Sakura to be safe during her magical workings. And Sakura had gratefully accepted. It was wonderful to be in the house of her father anyway. But she was unconscious, and Yue was the one walking into the room Clow had made for her, a room that was filled with undying Cherry Blossoms. Everything, almost was pink. There was even a wardrobe for her.

Yue put her down gently onto the bed and covered her up well after her outer coat had been taken off. Her light pink Chinese dress was very beautiful, he decided as he watched her shift into a comfortable position and sink deeper into sleep. Yue smiled as he watched her and walked away towards his old room. He was surprised to find that it was still there. With all the clothes Clow had said that he would need, both then and in the future. And so Yue changed into his false form. Or the form with his long white hair only waist length, violet cat eyes into violet depths, wings to a beautiful smooth body. He looked like a very beautiful man that just happened to be very angelic at the same time. He took out some clothes he had left in the draws, after wondering why Clow had wanted him to have such clothes. But he changed into them. The white shirt and the black pants were his first choice. He didn't tuck the shirt in. Sakura didn't like the tucked in shirts deal. And he looked around the room again. It was beautiful as it had always been. Everything was either bluish purple or white. That was the way with the angel of the Moon. Clow had been careful when he had chosen a room for Yue. It had been the room that was the closest to the Moon as possible. And the room had been spelled by Clow to bring warmth of the Moon as close to him as possible.

As Yue thought about Clow Reeds, he realised that for that first time ever since his death, thinking about Clow didn't hurt him. But it was just like a memory of the pang that had once been. He could almost feel happiness as he thought about the magician he had loved so much. Fondness at the memories that swept through him in his every sense. He no longer felt the dear pain he had always thought he would feel whenever he thought of the magician. Sakura had replaced those memories with her happy ones. The sad ones with Clow had been replaced by the happy ones with Sakura. And that was everything he could want. And Eriol had helped to change his memories as well. Eriol had talked to Yue patiently and as kind as he had been in the past. Eriol was not Clow. Yue knew that. And Eriol, Sakura and he all knew that if Yue wanted to, he could have found Eriol to be Clow enough and rely on him. To sink back to the times when his love for Clow was too great for him to even think about moving on or even consider a future.

The Moon Guardian of the Sakura Mistress quickly chased his thoughts away and continued to the room he could feel Eriol's, Syaoran's, Touya's, Nakuru's, Cereberus's and Spinel's power signatures from. The only one he could feel nothing from was the video taper. She was the one without magic, but enough talents to last her a life time that was more valuable than whatever magic she could possibly have. He walked into the room, feeling yet another power in there, the power he had thought of feeling, but had never thought would be so sweet and powerful. Yukito's aura wrapped around him, like a child seeking the warmth of it's parent. Yue smiled when he felt the warmth and he encouraged the magic to come to him, to ask him for support. The power was enough to match Touya's. Of course, the power level was nothing like Sakura's or even Eriol's, but it was enough to fight against most magicians in the world.

Yukito was looking towards him with his warm brown eyes. He smiled and Yue smiled back at him. Both of them knew that they were thinking the same thing. How strange it was too see each other. Yukito looked at Yue and smiled beautifully, his eyes going over the every inch of the man he once shared his body and even parts of his soul with at times. Yue knew that they had a closer connection with each other than most others in the room ever would. Perhaps Touya and Yukito were soulmates, and thus their connection would be stronger, but Yukito and Yue had shared bodies. They had felt each other's souls so close that they had almost meshed a couple of times. And they had both had protectiveness and love for only one girl in their lives. Sakura. They were common in many things. And even if they were separated, nothing changed the fact that they were like twins. They were too very close people that would be able to tell what they other is feeling just by a change in the voice or change in the aura of the person. That would be the way for both of them in the future. Sakura had made sure of that.

"When will she wake up?" As usual, it was the overprotective brother of her's that was asking the question on her safety and health. Eriol looked at Yue and both of them consulted each other with just looks and then at Cereberus before they all blurted out at the same time. "Four days." Touya and Yukito's eyes nearly popped out, Yue noticed with amusement. And Eriol saw that his beloved lady had almost dropped the clothes she had been sawing with the shock. "What else do you expect? She had used up every little ounce of her magic to insure that we would be separated the right way and give us enough power to make sure that we can survive at least a month or two without her powers, for the time being. So, Yukito, no magic for the moment." Yukito nodded solemnly and leaned against his loved one. Touya gently wrapped his arms around the boy and the group noticed a slight curve on his lips.

"When she wakes up, I think she needs to remain here for time more. Her magic is quick to recover from great use, but the room she has in the Manor is the one Clow had made especially for her. The powers in the room and the special glass he had set up for her would make sure that she gets all of the star light she needs to recover nicely." Eriol told everyone and especially towards Touya. It would be up to him to come up with a reason why Sakura couldn't be home without his father noticing that he couldn't even get her on the phone. He would have to come up with something drastic. He sat there and thought, with his love in his arms. Everything was going to turn out perfect, Touya thought to himself. He had his Yukito in his arms. And Sakura had her Yue. Even the brat boy had his own loved one, and so did the best friend of his little sister. What more could he want in life? But there was something….something strange that tugged at the edge of his instincts, mind and soul. Something dangerous was coming their way. And it would be something that he or Sakura would be prepared for. But he ignored that thought. It was supposed to be a happy day. So he thought happily, kissing his Snow Bunnie's baby soft hair.

*******

That was just sap and more sap...but I hope you enjoyed!

Please leave a little note (review) that way, I can see where I should change things^^

Love you all!

Cherry Princess^^