Author's Note: Well, since I'm on a roll, may as well update another chapter. Easter became relatively boring when my grandmother died, so here's an extra treat!
Neko sighed. She'd moved to China only a year ago, and was bored out of her twelve-year-old mind. The Li clan seemed to do nothing except study magic and skills associated with it. Her home was the Li mansion, in which she had received her own room, bathroom, an entire closet of new clothes, and an appreciation of privacy. No matter where she went in the house, there was usually someone else in the. This had forced her to turn outside for solitude and a place to calm her thoughts. That was when she'd discovered her tree.
The property had several large gardens, and there was a wooded area on one side. A few large trees were allowed in the yard, and it was in one of these that Neko had found a particularly comfortable niche between a few branches. She escaped from her meditation and martial arts lessons here, and did her own kind of meditation. It was safe here, in her tree, and no one could bother her. Content, she closed her eyes and hummed a tune.
Inside the house, in a special case in her room, the Sakura book glowed.
Rita, Neko's cousin, answered the door to find a stranger holding a couple of boxes. When he smiled at her, it reached his pale blue eyes and they shined. "Hi! Is Miss Neko Li home?"
Rita stepped back to let him in. The wards hadn't gone off, so he wasn't a Kurai. "She has lessons right now," Rita said. Of course, Neko was always at lessons, trying to catch up with her peers. Rita led the guest into the first parlor and offered him a seat. With a bow, she said, "I will go check if she may come." Rita slowly closed the door, then ran to her grandmother's study. She knocked and came in. "Ma'am, there is a man here to see Neko."
Yelan looked up from her book. "I see. Go find Neko, I believe she is skipping her lesson again today." Rita silently cursed and left to find her errant cousin.
"Stupid Neko! She'll never master the Cards, so why does she get to keep them?" Rita said to herself as she ran outside. Usually Neko emerged from the garden when called, so best to check there first.
Neko woke up alert. She waited. "Neko!" Neko stretched and looked down. Her cousin, the one with hazel eyes, was standing below her tree with a frustrated look on her face. As Rita passed, Neko hopped down from her branch, landing with a nearly silent thump. Rita walked a few more steps, then whirled around. "Neko! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry," Neko said, not sounding the least bit regretful. Rita calmed down.
"There's a guy here to see you. He's got a couple of boxes with him, too."
"What's his name?"
"Uhh…" Rita remembered that she hadn't asked. Neko waved a hand.
"Never mind. Where is he?"
"The first parlor next to the entrance." Neko took off at a run for the house. As she neared the front door, she slowed. There was something strange here. She felt a little dizzy and muddled, as if she had a fever. Deciding it was a result of her midday nap, she went in and turned the corner to the parlor.
Inside was a man with black hair, pale eyes, and a couple of boxes. He stood as she entered, and bowed. Neko returned the gesture and when she looked back up he said, "It is an honor to finally meet you again, Miss Neko. I work for Mrs. Kelly in Japan, and she asked me to bring you a couple of things when I visited the area." He picked up the two boxes, one was two feet by one foot by one foot, the other looked like a large shirt box.
Neko picked up the top one and sat down in one of the chairs. She cut the tape with a fingernail and lifted the lid. Her eyes went wide. Inside was a costume. She recognized it instantly as similar to one her mother had worn, but where it had been pink this one was purple. The outfit was trimmed with pink and included long gloves to match. There was even a hat and pair of shoes.
She traced the edges with a hand. "It's from Mrs. Kelly? Aki's mom?"
"Yes, and then there is this…" Neko noticed he was holding the last box carefully. She set the clothing aside and picked up the other bow. She almost squealed when whatever was in it shifted. Neko's heart was racing as she lifted the cover, catching a glimpse of newspaper through holes in the lid. She looked down at a gray kitten, a smoky gray kitten. It turned its amber eyes up to her and she smiled. It was exactly what she'd always wanted. Neko reached in and lifted it out. She was amazed to see it had left no mess in the box.
She held it up to her face and said, "It's perfect!"
Then her little kitten said, "Of course, I'm not a normal feline." Neko gasped and dropped the cat onto her lap. It shook itself and sat on its haunches, looking up at her. Neko looked up at the delivery boy, but he was gone. "Don't bother, Sapphire will be back once he's needed. Until then, you're all mine."
Neko swallowed. "And who are you?"
The kitten's tail swished. "I am Kiri, one of your guardians." She hopped down to the floor and mewed at the door. Neko rose as the handle turned. Her grandmother entered.
"Grandmother!" Neko said, bowing her head.
The lady of the house looked around. "Has your guest left already?" Neko nodded. "Pity. Who is this?" Neko looked up from her feet to see Kiri sitting at her grandmother's feet.
"Her name is Kiri, she's one of the gifts Aki and her mother sent to me."
"I see, and what was the other?"
Neko picked up the first box and opened it to show her grandmother the outfit. Yelan stroked the cloth and said approvingly, "Quite the master of battle costumes, Madison Taylor Kelly is. This is her work, similar to what your parents wore." Neko nodded. "I trust you'll be responsible for your pet? If so, then we'd better arrange for some necessities." Kiri became a permanent resident of the Li household.
~3 weeks later~
Neko scowled at the paper in front of her. How was she supposed to learn English and Latin in addition to improving on her Chinese and Japanese? Her adolescent temper was getting the better of her and she fell back on her bed with a sigh. Kiri chose that moment to join her. "You know, Neko, you should concentrate more on your meditation and schoolwork. It is very important for you to be able to handle every possible situation in a battle without losing control."
Neko sat up and looked at her cat. "You know, I haven't done any magic since I got here. Maybe it's gone away and all this is just a waste of time?"
Kiri shook her head. "Neko, you were born with it, and it won't just go away. You have to take this seriously." She walked to the edge of the bed and sat. Neko felt her head get muzzy and rubbed her temples. Then she noticed the Sakura book was floating in front of her pet. Kiri turned to face Neko, then looked back at the book and said, "Key of the seal, There is someone wishing a contract with you. The daughter, Neko, to whom you are familiar. Oh key, grant her the power! Release!" Neko gasped as a wind picked up and swept her hair into her face. Looking down, she saw a large design glowing on the bedspread at her feet. A ball of light appeared in front of her, and she extended her hand.
A strange pendent with a star shape in it fell onto her palm and the glowing symbol and the wind died. Neko stared. She recognized this, it had been her mother's. Neko sat down heavily, bouncing a bit on the mattress, and asked, "Kiri, were my parents powerful magicians?"
Kiri shooed the book away. "They were, but not as strong as some. The most powerful, Eriol, is the reincarnation of the man who originally created the Clow Cards. Sakura, your mother, collected them all and turned them into her own. As her daughter, you could use them temporarily. Soon, however, you will have to do something to seal them to you."
Neko said nothing. She just studied the pendent for a time and then asked, "Kiri, is there any way for the magic to be—well—less flashy?"
Kiri paused. "I suppose. Plenty of magicians can use magic without the flare your mother used, but that was more linked to the cards." She tilted her head to the side and said, "I wonder if Clow Reed ever dealt with this." They talked about magic for a time, but eventually Neko went back to work and Kiri resumed her cleaning.
Their quiet comfort was shattered with the sound of an explosion. Kiri and Neko were on their feet in an instant. "What's that sound?" Neko asked, she felt it in her bones.
Kiri blinked her golden eyes. "It's the house's wards, they've been breached."
Neko bit her lip. "Is it—them? The Kurai?"
Kiri waited a moment, then nodded. Neko's hand balled into a fist and then she ran from the room. Kiri raced after her shouting, "Wait! The Cards!" Neko stopped, ran back to her room and took out the book. She opened it and snatched the cards before turning tail and racing back down the hall. As she ran downstairs, she was stopped.
A semi-transparent woman with light brown hair and dazzling green eyes stood on the landing. She wore an unusual gown of green and yellow, and had a cherry blossom pin on her front. Neko stared at her. The woman held up a hand. Neko frowned. "What, you don't want me to go?" The woman said nothing. "But I can't just sit and do nothing!"
"Neko!" shouted Yuki. The woman vanished and Neko turned to see Yuki coming up the stairs. He looked slightly winded. "Neko, get to the basement, it's heaily shielded and will protect you. Your cousins are already down there, go!" He turned and jumped off the stairs and raced down the hall.
Neko was stunned. What was she going to do? "Neko! Let's get going! You're never going to get to change the cards if you just stand here!" Kiri said. Neko broke free from her paralysis and continued down the stairs. She turned towards the front door, but was stopped by an invisible barrier.
"Kiri, it's blocked off! I can't get through!" Neko touched the barrier again. "I think…I think it's Grandmother's." She wondered how she could know, but it was an inner voice.
Kiri touched it lightly with her paw. "I see. Perhaps we will sit this battle out. Let's go to the basement." They turned and went to the basement as Yuki had told them. Indeed, Neko's entire generation of the family was down there. She slipped into a corner of the vast space and stroked Kiri's back. Kiri wriggled. "Perhaps we should review the Cards so you are prepared for the time when you must call upon them to take their power from you."
Neko looked at the deck of cards and opened her fingers. The cards flew into the air and formed a rotating ring around her. As she watched them spin, she noticed a small gap after 'The Hope' card. "What card is missing?" she asked. Kiri sat and examined the cards present.
"Well, I'm not sure—oh yes! When your parents were young, they had a bit of a problem with 'The Void' card. In the end it was absorbed by your father." Her tail twitched. "I wonder where it is now…"
Neko hugged her knees and watched the cards go by, Time, Sand, Loop, Sword, Voice… Magic did not need cards, she knew this. If the cards were just a more convenient and organized method to contain these specific aspects of magic, couldn't she just absorb them as her father had done with that other card? Besides, it sounded like the cards were more troublesome free than magic had a right to be.
Deciding to try her theory, Neko reached under her shirt and pulled out her star key. Kiri was facing the cards and didn't notice anything until Neko had entered a deep state of meditation. Her breathing all but ceased and her heart slowed. She immersed herself in her magic, and called out to her key.
"Oh key of the Cards, honor our contract and unlock to me the powers present. Free the old to become one with the new and grant me dominion over their will." Her eyes opened, they were shining a bright emerald green. "Release!!" she said aloud.
Kiri leapt back as the same symbol as before appeared on the floor below Neko. The girl stared straight ahead as she began to float a few inches above the floor. The Cards circled around her faster, and Kiri stared. What was she doing?