"Huh…where am I…?"

A girl of about twelve stood on a rooftop.  She wore a short, high-collared white dress of a Chinese design with large sleeves and carried a pink staff set with a golden star that sported white bird wings on either side.  Her hair, which was a light brown, was pulled half-up and was parted in the center over bangs that came below her eyebrows and just above her sapphire eyes.  On her right stood a blue-eyed angel with huge, feathery white wings and long, white hair that was pulled into a ponytail in two places.  On her left was a golden, lion-like creature with silver armor set with red gems and huge, white wings, like its counter part on the girl's other side.

Adjacent of her, on another rooftop, stood a girl of about fifteen in a long, black dress of an English design with elegantly waving silver hair parted at the side and done in a full ponytail. Eyes of a pale green could be picked out, even in the shadows that the night cast on her. In her hands, she carried a blue staff set with a silver star that sported black bat wings on either side.  On her right was a red-eyed demon-like creature with black, bat wings  long, black hair pulled into a ponytail, and a patch over one eye.  On her left was a silver tiger with golden armor set with blue gems and huge, black wings like its counterpart.

"Who are you?"

The younger brunette came closer, but was stopped when a boy of the other girl's age placed a sword between the two girls, which looked one moment Chinese and the next English.  He had unruly, dark brown hair in a side part wearing elaborate green and yellow Chinese garments that matched the striking colour of his eyes.

 

"Nani…big brother…?"

***

"Shanks fer da food!"

A conspicuous gulp came from within the house and the door was flung open; then closed with a bang. Today had started out just like any other day.

She had hit the snooze button one too many times.

"Ja-a, minna-san!" a girl of about twelve roller-bladed down her street like a frightened cat, waving to her family within.  Her light brown hair came to her shoulders and curled in at the end.  It, along with a mostly white uniform (save for the cardigan), set off her tanned skin and sapphire colored eyes.

It was the last day of school before summer vacation, and the new semester always brought new prospects.  She took a deep breathe of the sweet summer air and grinned; Ayame Li was not overly fond of school, but the last day was always fun.  Today, the teacher introduced anyone coming in to the class, asking someone to show them around so that they could make friends over the vacation.  That way, new students would not be in an awkward position when they came back.

She hoped someone new would come today!

***

"Ayame! Ohio!"

"Konnichi-wa, Michiru-chan!"

"Ya, Ayame!"

"Ya, Haruka!"  Ayame waved at her other friends and greeted them, finally getting a chance to take her hat off when she took her seat next to Michiru, who was directly in front of Haruka.  She giggled at the sight of Michiru's flat, disc shaped digital camera and waved.

Michiru pushed one of her black ringlets over her shoulder and smiled at her friend, her open blue eye twinkling in delight.  "Close up on Aya…" she giggled, "Smile!" she then turned the camera so that Haruka got it unexpectedly in her face.

"Aaaaaaaaw…" the scruffy, tomboyish, chocolate haired girl covered her face with her hand, "C'mon…film someone pretty…"

"Haruka!" Michiru peeked out from behind the camera, "You're one of the prettiest girls in school! You and Ayame!" she blushed slightly.

"No way…"

"Hai hai! If only you grew your hair a bit…and wore a girls school uniform…"

Haruka tugged on her pants, "But I like this…"

There was a cough from the front of the class and everybody quieted down immediately.  "Now that I have your attention…" the young, silver-haired teacher grinned and winked, adjusting his glasses, "I'd like to introduce a new student.  Class, this is Hazinkawa Squall.  He has just moved here from England and will be joining us next semester."

"Ohio goziamisu, minna-san," the boy had jet-black hair and cool, detached look about his gray eyes that made Ayame shudder.

"Alright then, Squall, why don't you take the seat behind Ms. Li?"

"Hai, Mr. Tsukishiro," Squall strode over and took the seat behind Ayame.

Ayame looked up at her teacher as if he had just stabbed her through the heart with a sword, to which he sighed and looked sympathetically down at her.  She could feel Squall's eyes on her from behind.

"You shouldn't be afraid of me…I want to help you."

Ayame nearly jumped out of her skin at that, "N-N-Nani…?"

"Meet me outside and I'll explain everything."

Haruka's eyebrow had shot up and she was eyeing Squall suspiciously from her seat beside him.  His reply was a half-lidded smile.

"Ayame," Mr. Tsukishiro spoke up, "Why don't you show Squall around?"

Great…just great.

***

Ayame looked around warily before somewhat fixing her eyes on Squall.  "So…what's this about?"

"Your father…what's his name?"

"Li," she said slowly, "Li Shaolan."

"And your mother?"

"…"

"Your mother…?"

"Li Sakura."

Squall nodded slowly, "Just as I suspected…you have an older brother too, don't you?"

"…Hai…his name is Rensuke."

"Well…he's the one with the problem here."

Ayame rolled her eyes emphatically, "You didn't have to tell ME that one, genius…"

Squall smiled slightly, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but this is a real problem that could involve his life.  You see, he's g - "

"Hazinkawa! Li!" a teacher pointed to the clock, indicating that the bell had rung.

Before Squall could finish what he was saying, Ayame had run off.

***

"Daaa-ddy!"

Ayame skipped in, snaking her arms around her father's neck and presenting him an angelic smile.

"Konnichi-wa, Aya-chan…how was school?"

"It was good! But I need a book for my summer project…can I go down into the library and pick one out?"

Ayame hadn't noticed that her father was currently immersed in his newspaper and was paying little to no attention to her, "Sure," he said, "Now give me a kiss and go have fun," he turned to his daughter and smiled.

"Arigatou!" she planted a kiss on his cheek and skipped off.

Li Shaolan smiled to himself, lifting the cup of steaming coffee off the table and to his lips.  He had just gotten back from work at the law firm he headed (his arguing skills had stayed in top condition over the years) and coffee was exactly what he needed.

"Where was she off to?" a woman with short brown hair and green eyes descended the staircase, a letter in her hand.

Shaolan shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee, and while he did not move his head, his eyes moved to glance at her, "From the academy?"  His upbringing prevented him from being very thrilled with the fact that his wife worked, but if it made her happy, he was not going to stop her.

Sakura nodded, "It's a request…they want me to do the lead in the performance of Swan Lake this December," she smiled, "I think I'll take it.  You know…" she glanced after Ayame, "You really should have listened to her more carefully…"

Shaolan grunted indignantly, but grinned, "She said something about the library…"

"Ummm…Li…" Sakura tapped a slender index finger to her cheek.

"Hmmm…?"

Sakura coughed.

"…"

His wife nodded.

His eyes went wide as saucers and an elegant arch of coffee sailed across the kitchen.

Sakura nodded approvingly, "I think that's the longest one yet…very impressive.  Want me to get that for you?" she nodded towards the now empty cup.

Shaolan's face turned red and he coughed, "…I'll take care of it…"

***

"Now which one do I pick…?" Ayame stood on a chair set up near the bookshelf and glanced around at the books, "Hmm…oh, what a pretty binding!" she moved to her tiptoes and tried to reach the desired book.  Frowning when she found it was too high, she stretched out her arm as far as possible and switched from tiptoes to balancing precariously on her toes – ballet style.  "Just a little more…got it!" as soon as the words had left her mouth, there was a loud clatter as the chair fell back and left her on her backside.

"…Owie…" Ayame rubbed her rump, closing one eye in a wince. "That HURT!" She sniffed and stood up, dusting herself off. "BOOK! Where's my BOOK!" She turned back and forth sweat dropping. "Waaaaaaaaai?"  Finally, she spotted the book lodged between the back of the fallen chair and the ground.  She fell to her knees, lifting the chair off it and picking it up.  It was old – although in nearly perfect condition.  Her hands moved along the gold lettering on the cover.  "The Clow…?" she blinked, "Weird title for a book…wonder what it could be about…hmmm…" Finally, she opened the book and was startled into a shriek as a flash of black light leapt from the book and disappeared.  When it was gone, the book was still on her lap, opened, as if nothing had happened.  "That's weird…" she blinked, and then noticed the card placed in the first page, "The Light…hmmm…pretty! But," she turned the card over and frowned, "It kinda looks like a Barbie card…" she closed the book and looked at the cover once more.  It sported a winged lion behind a chain with a sun in the middle.  The impossible began to happen once more when the winged lion glowed and began to rise from the cover, gaining significantly in size as it did so.

Once materializing out of the book and appearing before Ayame majestically, it spoke.  Its voice was deep, masculine, and commanding, "I am Keroberos…the guardian beast of these cards," he looked down at Ayame, "What is your name?"

Ayame sweat dropped, "Barbie has a guardian…"

Keroberos came closer and frowned, "Your name…is Barbiehasaguardian…?"

"Eeeeeeeeeep…" Ayame sweat dropped once more.

"Its Eeeeeeeeeeep…?"

"N-n-n-no…its just…you're…you're…HUGE!"

Keroberos sat back on his haunches, looking down at himself.  His meeting with the Clow Mistress was VERY different from the last time…he'd forgotten how big he was, since by the time he'd actually transformed, Sakura had gotten used to him.   "I don't think I'm THAT bad…"

"Well…" Ayame gave him another look-over.  Just then, the door to the basement swung open.

"Hey! M - "Nani…?" the teenager at the top of the stairs looked down in disbelief, "You're…you're…"

Keroberos sweat dropped, "…Huge…?"

He descended the staircase, frowning, "Aren't you Keroberos…?"  He had dark brown hair that came to the bridge of his nose in feathery locks and he had piercing green eyes.  His skin was dark and he wore a light blue, suit style school uniform.  "What are you doing here, monster?"

Ayame growled to herself.

Keroberos flicked an ear, "Your name is Monster…?"

"NO!" Ayame shook her head rapidly, an indignant shade of red on her face, "My name's AYAME!"

"Ah! Ayame!" Keroberos brightened, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ayame!"

"Thanks! Wait…" Ayame frowned, "Rensuke, how did you know his name?"

"You mean they didn't tell you."

"They didn't tell me WHAT?"

Rensuke smiled smugly, "Well…mom and dad obviously don't care enough about you to bother explaining, now do they…?"

"HEY!"

"You know…" Keroberos frowned at the teenage boy, "You really should learn a little respect."

"Why should I respect her?"

"Do you want five good reasons…?"

"Sure…" he folded his arms, "Why not?"

"Alright…" Keroberos, who was still seated on his haunches, lifted his right paw, "One…" the first claw shot out, "Two…" the second shot out, "Three…" he extended the third, "Four…" the fourth was unsheathed, "Five," upon extracting the fifth, he jumped on Rensuke and swiped the teen across the face, "Is that good enough for you…?"

"…Holy…" Resuke's emerald eyes went wide as he felt the large gash with the tips of his fingers. It was bleeding badly. "You…you wait until my mother hears about this!"

Keroberos jerked an eyebrow up, "Oh…? And what's she going to do about it…?"

The brunette mimicked the seal beast in expression, "Do you realize who she is…?  I thought monster over here would be enough of a clue…"

"Nani…?" Keroberos turned to Ayame and frowned, "Wait…your mother is…"

"The former Kinomoto Sakura.  Yep, you got it."

Ayame blinked. "What about mom? How do you know her?" The pre-teen placed an index finger on her lower lip.

Keroberos sighed, "And I suppose your father is Li Shaolan…?"

Rensuke nodded.

Keroberos grumbled, "Well…in that case, I know both of your parents very well, Ayame…" he frowned, "A little more than I'd like to, in your father's case…"

Ayame blinked once again. "Phwee…?"

"Well…" the winged-lion coughed, "You see…these cards, now called the Sakura Cards, were created a long time ago by a powerful sorcerer by the name of Clow Reid.  Each card contains an entity that the Mistress…or Master, as the case may be, can release.  The entity's use is to fight.  Your mother was the last Mistress…and a very good one.  Your father was a descendant of Clow Reed on his mother's side and the Master of sorts."

Ayame nodded, eyes wide, "But…why didn't they tell me…?"

Keroberos smiled, "They probably just wanted to wait until you were older, maybe in a year or so.  If the magic was sealed away, I don't think your parents really saw the point."

"Squall…this must be what he was talking about…"

"Squall?" the winged lion and her older brother had spoken at the same time.

Ayame looked thoughtful, "Hai…Hazinkawa Squall.  He's the new boy at school…I'm supposed to show him around."

"Hazinkawa?!"

"Yeah…Hazinkawa…something wrong, Keroberos?"

Keroberos groaned, "Who told you to show him around?"

"My homeroom teacher, of course," she blinked, "Mr. Tsukishiro."

"Tsuki…shiro…" Keroberos facefaulted, "Yukito Tsukishiro?"

"How did you know?"

The winged lion sighed, "Do you remember that sorcerer I told you about? Clow Reid…?"

***

A figure stood in the moonlight on top of a tall building, its cape billowing mysteriously in the wind.  A curling lock of long, silver hair escaped from under the hood and was tossed around so that it looked like an aurora.  Open in the figure's feminine hands was a large, thick book, which seemed to beckon to a streak of black light that whipped across the star-mottled sky and disappeared into it's pages; leaving behind a momentary faint, deep purple glow.

"So…" the figure spoke in a rather thick, upper-class English accent, voice betraying her female gender, "Dark has finally returned."  A look of determination could be picked out on her dark lips from beneath the hood that shadowed nearly all of her face.

"Then it's begun."