A/N: Look at this, the ideas are finally flowing!

L-chan: Oh no! I can't let *anybody* start to figure this out! This is my only "Keep 'em guessing" fic! Oh, and I think you know what's going to happen to Touya. ~evil cackle~ I think you know....

Kira: I'm glad you enjoy what I write! Thanks for driving me forward when I otherwise would have given up. Who knows...maybe one of my fics ("A Day in the Life of..." probably) could reach 100 reviews! And it's thanks to you for sticking by me.

Ruby_servantof_eli: Thanks! I write as fast as I get ideas and post as fast as I write. Every review helps me write faster. J

Dark Ice Angel: THANK YOU! I'm not worthy! You're so sweet to leave so many reviews for a fic of mine that hardly gets any! Now write more. I like your bad guys better. Hehe (Soku talks back too much and says "Eeewww" when I talk about writing het couples. I'll bet Nikki would NEVER dream of doing that!)

Yes, I'm evil. What's the fun in being the puppet master if I can't be evil to my characters?

Silent Eyes

Between Unseen and Hidden

Touya was late coming home. Yue tried not to admit it, but he was worried instantly. He needed Touya right now. Five minutes, fifteen minutes, finally an hour and Yue was so frantic that he was about to go searching for his love...and he walked in the door.

The relief was instantaneous, but short lived.

A blue haired kitten was perched on Touya's shoulder. Yue somehow knew they were lost...they were all three lost....

~~~~~@~~~~~

Sonomi had never seen a ghost. The only time she had wanted to was over ten years ago when her beloved cousin, Nadeshiko, had died. She had long since resigned herself to the idea that it wasn't meant to be.

She stopped cold as she walked into her bedroom, more surprised than she had ever been in her life.

"Sonomi-chan."

It was her sweet voice, the voice of angels and songbirds in the spring. No one has called me that since Grandfather died, Sonomi thought as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Nadeshiko, is that really you?" There was a vulnerability in Sonomi's voice that hadn't been there in years. Only two people had ever heard that note in her voice--Nadeshiko and Tomoyo, the two people she had ever loved with her entire heart.

"I'm sorry, but appearing to you has taken more energy than I have on my own." It wasn't a complaint, just an explanation. "I wish I could have been here for you sooner...."

Sonomi fell to her knees staring at the spirit of her lost love, her cousin, her best friend. "Nadeshiko. We have right now, and I will treasure that for the rest of my life."

"I know you will." The sweet smile was exactly as Sonomi had pictured it all these years, untouched by time. "This is the only time I have though, and it's not much. I can not waste it."

"But, nothing is going on now. We saved Sakura-chan and she's home safe, recovering."

"I'm sorry, no. Her life is still in danger."

"What? How! I mean, what can I do, and why are you asking me?"

It pained Sonomi to see Nadeshiko look so sad, but that was nothing next to the pain of hearing what was going wrong. They had all been betrayed, Sakura was still suffering, and even Tomoyo hadn't been there to help Sakura in her darkest hour. How had this happened? More magic. Only a small handful of people hadn't been brought under the spell of the new threat, and Sonomi was the only one that could help.

Nadeshiko spelled out a plan that sounded insane, but Sonomi would do anything...anything...that her cousin asked.

~~~~~@~~~~~

Syaoran was starting to get worried. Eriol had stepped out of the study an hour ago and hadn't returned. They were doing the last minute details, going over things one last time to make sure there would be no mistakes. The thought of losing Sakura forever consumed him, terrified him more than anything else in the world. He woke up in the middle of the night since the kidnapping with the same thought pounding through his brain...Sakura was dying and she didn't even know. He couldn't face her, he couldn't look her in the eye without wanting to cry and spill the horrible secret. If she knew she would lose the battle for life that much sooner he was sure.

He paced, impatient and wanting to double-check the spell with Eriol one last time. It would require both of them as well as an act of will by Yukito and Yue. It was complex, difficult, and would drain each of them tremendously. They would be helpless for at least a day whether they succeeded or not.

He hoped they succeeded.

How would he live without his Sakura, his little angel, his blossom? He had been away so long with only the thought of seeing her again. He was so sure that the next time he saw her he would find a happily ever after with her. He had only found the beginning of the worst nightmare of his life.

The door finally swung wide open and Syaoran turned to demand an explanation. Standing in the doorway was not Eriol, but Sonomi. Syaoran jumped, shocked and very unsettled by this.

"You need to trust me. Grab the book the spell is in and come with me. Sakura's life depends on it."

"What?"

"Tomoyo is getting Sakura right now, but we must go now while they are still distracted."

Syaoran did what he was told, but hesitated at the door. "Without Eriol the spell book is useless. The spell requires two sorcerers."

"We'll have to find another way then, because Eriol has fallen under the power of the enemy. Now hurry."

They were rushing for the door while Syaoran wondered what the hell Tomoyo's mom had to do with this and what enemy she could possibly be talking about when...a distinctive sound emanated from one of the rooms upstairs. Syaoran blushed, confused and dismayed. "What the--?"

"The distraction I mentioned. From the sound of things we don't have much time, now hurry!"

They ran from the house and into the car waiting. Syaoran was shaking with emotion, not sure what to make of what had just happened. There was an overwhelming feeling of magical power being used for twisted purposes. A very strong magic. It had felt both strange and familiar, seductive and sickening. And the sounds...the sounds...he was sure that one set of moans was coming from Eriol, and another set of moans was coming from another man. Moans that obviously were produced during...during...during....

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Sonomi spared him a glance as she drove, the threat implicit in the look in her eye. "You have a weak stomach then. I'd hate to see how you handle the rest of what's happened."

"How do you know so much?"

"The ghost of Sakura's mother told me. She's very worried."

"This new adversary...who is it? Wait," he began immediately after the question left his lips. "It's that kitten thing, isn't it?"

"Yakusoku? Yes, he is our new enemy."

Syaoran swore under his breath for a minute. "Who else is under his spell? Just Eriol?" He had a sinking feeling though that if it were just Eriol, Sonomi wouldn't be the one that had pulled him out of there.

"Fujitaka, Touya, Yukito, Yue, and now Eriol. To some extent Sakura is under his power too, though not in the same way. Nadeshiko said that she can't tell exactly how, or why it's different for Sakura, but the men seem to be under absolute control while Sakura is only connected to him and influenced by him. Also, it seems that Korvath, though he had once been Yakusoku's master, was taken over by Yakusoku recently. It was a set up to get us to trust him and let him in."

"So what do we do now?"

"We try the spell anyway."

They had two days. Only two days left until the spell could be done. He could possibly find another mage, maybe help the other learn half of the spell, but then? The spell could not work without the full and active cooperation of Yue and Yukito.

Syaoran thought again of his beloved Sakura. Her brilliant and trusting green eyes. Her soft, light brown hair. Her infectious smile. Her absolute trust that everything would be fine. He steeled his resolve, setting aside every problem and instead searched for solutions.

~~~~~@~~~~~

Tomoyo carefully walked into the house, feeling guilty about not waiting for someone to answer the door. She had waited five minutes though while ringing the doorbell and there was no answer. Sakura had to be home, she just had to be.

"Sakura-chan!"

The call died in the still air, sounding much softer than even her normal quiet voice. It was as if all sound had been sucked out of the house, all life, all motion stilled.

The hair stood up on the back of Tomoyo's neck, and a shiver raced through her body. She absently toyed with a lock of hair as she slowly climbed the stairs. She knew Sakura's house inside and out, having spent so much time with her best friend over the years. Really, it was an easier house to get to know than her own house. She smiled slightly, a little envious of the warm comfort Sakura's house had always seemed to exude.

Until today that is.

Today the house seemed so much colder and empty. There were secrets hidden here. There was deep sadness. The shadows were deeper and even places touched by sunlight seemed dim.

Finally she reached Sakura's door, shaking off the effects of her imagination. This was no time to give in to flights of fancy. She wouldn't have much time before Sakura's dad was due to return home from work, and she needed to get Sakura out of this house.

"Sakura-chan? Kero-chan?"

Tomoyo tapped on the door, then slowly opened it.

Sakura and Keroberus were in bed, sleeping deeply. A small ache settled in her chest as Tomoyo gazed at the beautiful innocence her best friend had in repose. She swallowed, blinking back tears, admonishing herself for her selfish thoughts. It would not be right or fair to try to act out the scene from the play they did in fifth grade where the prince kisses awake the sleeping princess. She sighed, then wished that this wasn't the one time she didn't have her camera with her. Such a vision of loveliness should be on tape where she could watch it over and over....

No. It would only add to the torture of letting go, and besides, this was Li-kun's face to cherish. Replacing her usual happy expression she reached over to wake her friend and the small sun guardian.

"Wake up, both of you. Mother wanted me to invite you two for dinner."

Sakura stirred, her eyes peeking open. Those eyes were hollow, haunted at first, but they immediately brightened when she saw who was there.

"Tomoyo-chan! I've missed you so much!"

"I'm sorry I've been so busy with choir lately. I wanted to make supper for you to make up for it. We even have two cakes, chocolate and strawberry."

That was enough to wake up Keroberus.

"Cake? What? Where?"

The girls laughed together, but Sakura's ended in a yawn. "I'm sorry, Tomoyo-chan. I've just been so tired lately. Maybe I should finish this nap and maybe come over later, or tomorrow...."

"Not a chance! The food is already cooked, and I have another rehearsal tomorrow, so I wouldn't be able to. Besides, we already said the 'c' word in front of Kero-chan."

"That's right you did! I want that cake! Sakura, you've been sleeping too much lately as it is, so getting out of the house will do you some good. Let's go!"

Tomoyo felt a nervous flutter as Sakura looked like she was searching for another excuse, but finally she couldn't find one. The relief Tomoyo felt was so strong that Keroberus noticed and gave her an inquisitive look, but Tomoyo simply smiled and shook her head. They had almost made it to the front door, Sakura already seeming more like her old self, when the distinctive sound of a car pulling up in the driveway turned Tomoyo's blood to ice.

Sakura's dad was home, and Tomoyo couldn't help but remember that he was under the power of the enemy.