Once Upon A Time

                                                                                In China

A CardCaptor Sakura Fanfic By CardCaptor Schlueter (aka Syaoran-kun)

"CardCaptor Sakura" is a trademark of CLAMP and Kodansha Publishing.

Chapter One: The Fifth Child of Yelan Li

            I guess the best way to start is at the beginning. The thing of it is that I'm not entirely too sure of some of the details myself. It's been almost fourteen years since I first went to Tomoeda and my life before that isn't entirely something that I remember brilliantly. To write this I had to go back and look over some old home movies taken by my father (and some were taken by others). My mother never cared for that sort of thing. She especially didn't care for my sisters playing around with it. Mind you, when I was born, home movie cameras were a lot bigger, clumsier and had far less features than the ones that I would eventually see time after time in the hands of Tomoyo Daidouji. Granted, none of them were particularly good with the camera (my sisters sometimes seem to have invented home video motion sickness), but they could be just as annoying as Daidouji sometimes was.

            I probably shouldn't say things like that, after all, Tomoyo has been a wonderful friend.

            For, starters, I guess I should say that my mother, Yelan, and sisters really aren't as bad as I've sometimes said they were. Mind you, I've had some doubts about my sisters sometimes.

            My eldest sister, Fuutie, was about eight when I was born. My other sisters, Sheifa, Fanren and Feimei, were all born within maybe a year of each other, That was enough for my parents for about four years. Looking back on the videotapes, my sisters wasted no time in trying to get there hooks into me. You can just hear them chattering away like little birds as my mother walks in carrying a blanket wrapped bundle, which is in fact me. Almost immediately, Fuutie began to jump and start pleading with mother to let her hold me. Even Feimei was anxious to try it and she was only five at the time. Thankfully, my mother was level headed enough not to let me fall into their hands. At least, not immediately. But, that was how the whole mess started. From the very beginning I was their "cute little baby brother", a living breathing doll for them to play with and torment as they saw fit. The one thing I can always remember very clearly about my childhood was my sisters squealing and trying to see who could hug me the hardest without actually breaking my ribs.

            I'm not actually sure when the training started, but I know it wasn't long after I learned to walk. Wei was more or less in charge of my life at that point. Whenever my mother wasn't around, Wei was in charge. For the record, Wei is actually our butler, but he's also a respected member of the Li clan, although I'm not sure I can remember how he fits in off the top of my head.

            At first I wasn't sure how all of this training was supposed to affect me. Mother had never given me a reason or purpose for it. But, I continued all the same, hoping that someday it would all become clear to me.

            And one day, it did.

            One day when I was six I remember passing by the conference hall where the elders held there meetings. I heard my mother speaking to the elders and I stopped at the doors to listen.

            "So, we have our first lead?" my mother said.

            "Yes," said one of the elders. "The first trace is somewhere in England. Our contact was somewhat vague in his first report. However, it's been almost two years since the book left the country. Tracking it down will take some time, especially if it keeps moving around like this."

            "It would be good if we could get it back while it's still sealed," said another. "It will be easy enough to convince the international court that the Clow book is rightfully our property, but still… The prophecy that was foretold to us has given us new reason to make haste of our search."

            "Prophecies speak only of what may be," my mother replied coldly. That tone always gave me a chill.

            "Perhaps," said the first elder. "But unless we have a candidate who can lay claim to the power of the cards, our mission will be in vain."

            Cards? I thought they were talking about a book. I listened as the elder continued. "None of your daughters have the necessary magic skills to do that yet, Yelan."

            "They will someday. But, I'm certain my son will be the one to claim the cards." There was a distinct murmuring amongst the elders when my mother said this.

            "But, Yelan, Syaoran hasn't even begun training in magic yet," one of the elders argued.

            "He will begin in a matter of weeks," my mother replied in a matter of fact tone. "He shows great natural aptitude for the art. Wei has been teaching him well."

            "But will he be ready in time?"

            "He will," my mother replied.

            Ready for what? What was so important about this book? Whatever it was, it seemed to be very important. But, that wasn't what worried me the most. My mother was so certain I could do this, and no one else seemed to think so. Even for the head of the clan, it could be a serious problem to cross the elders. That meant only one thing, whatever mother needed me to do, I couldn't fail.

              It wasn't exactly a nice realization to come to. It was a lot of weight to suddenly feel on my shoulders. I was still trying to get a grasp on what I had overheard when the door opened.

            "Syaoran?" It was my mother. I quickly brought myself back to reality. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

            "I was looking for you," I said. "Sheifa told me you would be here."

            "Oh? What is it?"

            "I… I wanted to speak to you about my training schedule," I said. My mother's face suddenly became concerned. "I… I don't believe that my current sessions are challenging me enough. I was thinking… maybe I should be spending more time on my studies."

            My mother smiled slightly and placed her hand on my shoulders. "Well, I'll have to talk to Wei about that," she said. "In the meantime, I'd like you to call your sisters for me. I'd like to speak to them."

            "Yes, of course," I replied. She kissed me one the forehead before sending me off. I still wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing, but I didn't have any choice anymore.

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Next: Syaoran's first meeting with Meiling, and the search for the Clow books continues.

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Author Notes:

I have to confess, I'm kind of winging it on some of the details here. It took forever just to find out what the names of Syaoran's sisters were. sweatdrop. I know they made a cameo appearance in the series somewhere…