Well, after a serious bout of writer's block, and not posting for several days, a week I believe, I decided to get the eighth chapter out nice and quick. Thanks to all those kind enough to review my story!!

I don't own anything Clamp has made So please don't try and sue Anyway if you did, you wouldn't get paid Enough of disclaimers! Time to meet the CCS crew!!

"speaking" 'thinking' [[psychically communicating]]

~*****~ change of scene ~^^^^^~ flashback ~~ Change into/out of first person POV



He Has Returned



Chapter Eight- Until Someone Gets Hurt





It looked like their fun was over; they saw hundreds of strange eagle-like creatures flying through the air at incredible speeds, apparently attempting to get through something. The creatures had human, or maybe humanlike, creatures on their backs, all of who were holding electrified war hammers, and throwing them at an invisible wall. As soon as these thunder hammers hit another would form in their hands.

"EVERYONE BACK TO THE HOUSE!!!" Eriol shouted urgently

Everyone complied, not bothering to pick up his or her stuff. However, as soon as they left the flying warriors broke through the barrier and rushed towards their targets. These riders quickly surrounded them, cutting off their path. Eriol sent an energy blast through the trees, creating a makeshift path, one that was wisely followed. But fate was not on their side. After following the path for several minutes it had lead them to the edge of a cliff. The riders stepped off the bird-like monsters they were riding. They were trapped. Syaoran let out a growl of frustration. He quickly turned around and stepped in front of everyone, sword in hand. Eriol stood next to him, calling forth his magical staff. Behind them, Yamazaki, Shen, Meilin, and Tomoyo had taken fighting stances. The rest formed a protective circle around Sakura. She struggled to get in front, next to Syaoran, but her friends and family would not allow her. Their attackers smirked when Syaoran spoke out.

"If you want her, come and get her."

Placing his palms together, he let loose a fiery stream of magical flame. It was a second away from striking its target when the rider threw his hammer against the attack, completely disintegrating it. The riders' smirk vanished when Syaoran pulled out an ofuda. They even took a step back. Syaoran and the group were slightly puzzled, seeing as how their opponents clearly had the upper hand, that is, until they turned around.

"Whoa"

There were hundreds of fighters, just like Ryo, all wearing white or silver armor, holding a special shield. They all had swords drawn, ready to strike at the attackers. Ryo was leading them, holding his scimitar out in front. He put it down then raised his hand, letting loose a blast that vaporized the first line of enemies. The battle had begun. The riders charged at the Guardians, resulting in a huge spectacle of white energy beams versus lightning attacks. A group had landed next to everyone, and without a word carried Sakura and the others away from the battle.

"Ryo, what are those things?" Syaoran called out

"Those are Gryphon Riders, deadly warriors of Demonyo Unawa. We sensed them as soon as we left the Guardian Sanctuary."

"Where are we going?" Eriol asked

"To Hong Kong, to the Li clan."

Meilin and Syaoran both looked surprised about this.

"But what about our stuff, and all the things we left behind in Japan?" Chiharu asked next

"They are already in Hong Kong by now, I covered for you, saying the Kinimotos were moving due to Fujitaka-san's job, and the rest of you were part of a year long group foreign exchange program."

"What about our families?" Shen asked

"They have already been informed, and since they have no knowledge of any of this, they will be safe, for the time being."

The rest of the Guardians had joined them, but it looked as if they had been severely harassed. In front of them, another group of beaten up Guardians joined them, among them included Nakuru, Suppi, and Kero.

"Sir, there are too many, they overpowered us." One of Ryo's subordinates told him, flying up

"Don't you think I know that?"

Ryo's men followed behind as fast as they could, and, from time to time, would launch an energy attack behind them.

"What should we do sir?" Another Guardian asked

Ryo concentrated, going over every possibility.

"Learner Arojo. Go ahead of us. Contact every base within twenty miles of our route. Tell them they to launch reinforcements immediately."

"Yes Master"

~*****~

"Lord Unawa, our Gryphons are successful in harassing Ryo and his battalion."

"It is not over yet general. He has a sharp mind. The only reason we have been this successful is because he has not yet fully participated in the battle."

"Yes Sir. Shall I send the Gryphons reinforcements?"

"Yes. Have them drive them south, away from Hong Kong. Get the current Gryphons to keep them changing course, it will be harder for them attain help."

"Yes sir."

'You may have a quick mind Guardian, but mine is quicker.'

~*****~

The large group of Guardians and magicians were flying as fast as they could, but were hindered by the attackers that still followed them. It was extremely difficult for them to stay on course. Then the unthinkable. Reinforcements.

For the enemy.

"Oh shit." Syaoran said, looking ahead.

"DAMNIT!!!" Ryo yelled

The group of Guardians had dwindled from nearly sixty to just twenty five.

"We should land, perhaps we can lose them in the forest!" Eriol suggested to Ryo.

"One problem- We're still twenty miles from shore!!!"

"Let's do this, Kero, carry Touya, Suppi, carry my dad and Meilin. Syaoran carries Yamazaki, Eriol carries Shen, Yue carries Rika, Nakuru carries Naoko and I'll carry Tomoyo. That'll free up you and seven other Guardians." Sakura said

(A/N- Sakura, Syaoran, and Eriol can fly)

"Good idea Sakura." Ryo said

They set their plan into action, performing very dangerous maneuvers; one slip and it could be the end of their friends. Ryo gave Meilin a quick kiss before setting her down on Suppi.

"You guys head over to shore as fast as you can!! The Guardians and I will rendezvous with you in Hong Kong." Ryo yelled as he flew with them, "Make sure you keep your auras suppressed and keep a low profile. Once you get to Hong Kong immediately go to the Grand Hyatt, two Guardians and Li Yelan will be waiting for you in the lobby. Good Luck."

"Good luck Ryo" They all said

Sakura and the others waved as Ryo and the other Guardians split, one group heading towards the Gryphons in front, and the others taking care of things behind them.

~~ Ryo

I can't believe I just did what I did. I have just taken twenty-five men on a suicide mission. I doubt we can pull this off. The only way we can survive is if my apprentice gets our reinforcements on time

~~

~~Meilin

I just kept looking at my fiancée until we couldn't see them anymore. As soon as we left him I had a bad feeling, like he was going to die or something. But I have to have faith in him. He is the most powerful Guardian after all.

~~

The group of magicians landed right on the Chinese shore south of Hong Kong unnoticed. They all quickly transformed to make themselves less conspicuous. Kero and Suppi immediately went to their "stuffed animal" mode. Nakuru and Yue returned to their human forms. Syaoran, Sakura, and Eriol transformed out of their magician's clothing. They all suppressed their auras and started to make their way to the city. They were all very cautious, they spoke to no one, and found their way to the Grand Hyatt Hotel, led by Syaoran and Meilin. They looked around the lobby and were met by Li Yelan and two men, one very old and wrinkly, the other looking relatively young.

"We are glad to see that you have arrived safely. Ryo has protected you well." The old men said, "I am Master Lakas, head of the Guardian Council, and this is Master Lee."

"We must get you all to our mansion immediately. Your belongings are already there." Yelan said, ushering them out of the hotel lobby and into two limos.

~*****~

The limos were being escorted by several black hummers. The horrible Hong Kong traffic just seemed to clear for the convoy.

"Where are Ryo and the other Guardians?" Syaoran asked the two Guardians, but no answer came.

~*****~

The battle between good versus evil raged on. The five hundred or so Gryphon force had shrunken to less than three hundred, mostly due to the handiwork of Ryo. Ryo's own force however also dropped, falling from the measly twenty-five it was to only twelve.

"SHIT!" Ryo yelled, getting out of the way of five attacks just in time. He returned fire, but could only hit one of the Gryphons. He reviewed the battle, but unfortunately, most of his men had fallen. It was undisputed that they were the most well trained troops of the Guardian Force, but against over three hundred enemies, not even the council could hold their ground. They formed a small circle, shielding each other against attacks, only having a few precious seconds to launch their own.

"SIR, REINFORCEMENTS ARE ON THEIR WAY!!" One of his commanders yelled.

Ryo looked to the east and smiled when he saw the remainder of his battalion, the famed Archangel battalion, and four other battalions, a force that totaled over five hundred men hurtling towards them, with his apprentice, Learner Arojo, in the lead. The Gryphons, knowing that they were now outnumbered and outclassed, turned an ran for it, leaving behind several hundred Guardians.

Ryo cheered alongside his men.

~*****~

"The Guardians have won their battle." Master Lakas stated, sensing the Guardians cheering.

"But not without some losses." Master Lee said solemnly

Everyone in the limo looked fearful, especially Meilin and Syaoran, afraid that Ryo had perished in the fight.

[[Master Lakas, we were successful in holding back the Gryphons, tell my friends I shall join them at the Li mansion in four days]] Ryo communicated telepathically

[[Good work as always Ryo, I shall be sure to inform your friends.]]

"Ryo is alright," Master Lakas assured," In fact he has told me to inform you of his arrival in four days time"

"Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

~*****~

"DAMN!! HOW COULD YOU LET THEM ATTAIN REINFORCEMENTS?!?" Unawa yelled at his commander

"Lord, Ryo was just too powerful. I doubt he even showed his true power yet." the commander said, shaking

"No matter. I have accomplished what I wanted, with Ryo out of the picture for a few days, the Clowmistress and her friends shall crumple beneath my might."

~*****~

The convoy arrived at the Li mansion unscathed. Master Lakas and Master Lee had to leave because of important business, but they left behind a small number of Guardians to help guard the mansion.

"Be careful Clowmistress," Master Lakas warned," Mangkukulam's men are very powerful, they have much experience fighting in wars. You must be wary, and expect the unexpected."

Sakura had a hard time processing his advice, but it sank in eventually.

"I ask all of you to help keep an eye out for her." Master Lee said to the rest of them

They all nodded and Syaoran put his arm around Sakura's waist pulling her closer to him.

"I wouldn't let anything happen to her." Syaoran said

"I have no doubt you will do everything in your power to keep her alive." Master Lakas said. "Ryo will arrive in four days, he just needs to finish an after-battle analysis."

The group nodded, then after a last set of goodbyes, the two Guardians telerported.

~*****~

The group seperated into their rooms, all of which were seperated. Touya had made loud arguments that Syaoran should be kept in a seperate house in Brazil, but to no avail, Syaoran's room ended up next to Sakura's. They all laughed when Touya tried to kick Tomoyo out of her room, which was on the other side of Sakura's. They laughed again when she had to resort to hitting him with her trusty camera to shut up.

"Serves you right Touya," Tomoyo said, standing over him with a camera, "You better not try and stop any kawaii moments between any of the couples or I'll hit you so hard you're the one who will be wishing he lived in Brazil."

Touya crawled away to his own room, cursing and clutching the large bump that had formed on his head.

~*****~

After they had all settled down in their rooms and finished unpacking, Yelan called them for dinner.

Yukito looked slightly disappointed when he saw there was not much food on the table, though in reality there was enough to feed about one hundred people. Everyone was eating slowly, savoring the well-prepared food, while Yukito just happily shoveled food down his mouth by what seemed like the gallon. Everyone sweat-dropped when they realized Yukito had finished nearly half the food by himself in the same time it took all of the rest to finish one plate of food.

The attention turned away from Yukito's amazing feat for a second while they discussed what they would do in Hong Kong and why they were here.

"Ryo discussed with me exactly what he wanted you all to do. Fujitaka will stay here at the mansion, and help me decipher an ancient scroll, Touya and Yukito will be attending a small university nearby, while the rest of you attend Hong Kong High (A/N gomen, I couldn't think of a better name!)." Yelan stated. She was about to go on when Syaoran, who had been suspicious of something while she spoke, finally realized what was bothering him.

"Wait...you're not surprised at all about this? You know, Ryo being a Guardian and all?" Syaoran asked

"Well of course not, I knew since his first visit here when you first came back from Japan Syaoran." His mother said, almost surprised that Syaoran never knew

"He told you, but he never told me? His best friend?!?" Syaoran yelled surprised

"And he never told me either!!!" Meilin spoke up

Both of them were shooting daggers at their elder, who nervously backed away from the table.

"He never actually told me," Yelan said, "But the first day he stayed here I saw him train while he was in his Guardian form. I asked him about it afterwards and he told me everything. He also told me not to reveal his secret."

"oh" Meilin and Syaoran said together, but were still a little perplexed

"As I was saying," Yelan went on," You all have these four days off before he returns and starts training you. When he comes back he will train you all as a group then after about three weeks I think he will start individual training."

They all nodded and chatted amongst themselves, wondering what the training will be like. When Touya started to tease Sakura about how she wasn't going to be able to handle Ryo's training, Yelan once again spoke up.

"And don't think he's left you out Touya," she told him, smiling. "And that goes for you four too." She added, nodding towards Nakuru, Suppi, Yukito, and Kero.

They all quietly chatted about yesterday's events, and Meilin and Syaoran briefed the rest of them on how high school would be like. After going throughout dinner being civilized and even quiet most of the time (Syaoran suspected it had to do with his mother) Fanren, Sheifa, Fuutie and (whats the last sister?? I can't remember) Tell ME!!) burst out in a torrent. They first attacked and glomped Sakura and her friends, then moved on to Touya and Yukito.

"GIRLS!! They have had a very rough day, and I ask that you show just a little more control until tomorrow."

They all let go and walked away quietly.

"How did you do that??" Syaoran asked, amazed

"I told them the truth. They can glomp you guys all they want tomorrow." Yelan simply stated

They all sweat-dropped and fell down

They continued on to there rooms. When they got there they all said

"See you all tomorrow"

~*****~

"Yes my little children, until tomorrow..." A dark man said, looking into a cloud which showed all of them going into their rooms and sleeping.

"Until tomorrow, until your doom..."





WELLL? What do you think??? I like it, but not that much though. Someone please tell me the names of all of Syaoran's sisters

Thank you and REVIEW!!!!!!!!!