Li Syaoran was currently moving at excessively high speeds towards the Kinomoto residence. So fast, in fact, that if one was to stand by the path he was taking, a faint *pop* could be heard following the breath of wind that was the Li clan's future head.

It was actually quite interesting; after coming home from school that day, he had detected a strong aura coming from her house. When he had scryed, he had discovered that it had come from a teddy bear. This, of course, was enough to hook him in.

It was a simple matter of prying open the window and lowering himself into her room (I think I have to talk to that useless stuffed animal about protecting the Mistress), where the bear was perched prominently on the desk. He thought for a second about rearranging her covers, currently on the ground, but stopped when he got a good reading. She was so swathed in her brother's protective cloaking that in his magical eye, all that could be seen was a solid sheen of brown.

On the roof, he pulled out a pick from his hat and began the slow process of opening the stitches holding the ear in place. Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut…cut…wrapped up in stitches, he barely noticed when a figure landed on the roof. It was only when it tripped his circle and cursed softly that he spun around, his sword at the person's neck.

"Onamae wa?" The figure moved into the light of his circle. Syaoran's eyes opened.

"Hiiragizawa Eriol des. Demo…" he moved closer, his voice dropping an octave "Clow Reed des." Syaoran narrowed his eyes and pryed carefully into his magic centre. Sure enough, the remains of his famous ancestor gleamed a brilliant blue.

"What do you want?" Eriol smiled.

"Just a little something…a loan, really." And without warning his hand shot out of his pocket and into Syaoran's chest, where it came back with a thick band of green. Syaoran buckled in as if his lungs were being pulled out. When Eriol seemed satisfied, he broke the cord and Syaoran slumped onto the ground. He swiftly rolled it up and pocketed it, then raised his descendent into a sitting position.

"Gomen-nasai, Li-kun," he said softly, his voice back to its original pitch, "demo…Sakura-san needs to do this on her own. Actually, I think you might have let her anyway, from your performance during the Judgment, but…as much as I loath to admit it, for my end scheme, this," he patted his pocket, "will be quite necessary." Eriol sat up and shimmered for a second, and reappeared in Syaoran's apartment. He stood still, then shot around and threw out a binding spell.

It bounced back at him, thrice enforced. Eriol fell, narrowly missing the sleeping form of Syaoran. Within seconds, a tall figure loomed over him.

"Onamae wa, and what did you do to Syaoran-sama?" Eriol's mouth formed words that he did not want to speak; damn the old man's mesmer.

"I am the reincarnation of Clow Reed, Hiiragizawa Eriol, and I have taken three-quarters of Li-sama's magic to help me in my end scheme and to prevent him from assisting Sakura-san too much." The man looked at him and then released the bind. Eriol sat up, massaging his arms. He looked at the man.

"But you will not tell." The man smiled and handed back a line of blue fire, his mesmer.

"I would not tell anyway, Reed-sama. May I apologize for attacking our revered master?"

"Oh, no, please. Hiiragizawa is just fine."

"Konbawa, Hiiragizawa-sama. Li Wei des." Eriol smiled.

"Not the infamous Li sensei?" the two men laughed, as if at an inside joke. Then Eriol turned serious.

"Wei-sama, I have been noticing…an abundance of power here in Tomoeda. Do you have a slight suspicion that Tomoeda might be the…?" Wei placed a finger to his lips.

"We shall know in time, we certainly shall."

~*~

"Look at that fog, To-ya," Tsukishiro Yukito pointed as he accompanied his friend back to his house, his sister on his back. Kinomoto Touya glared at it.

"That's no fog, Yuki."

"It's so thick…we won't be able to get Sakura-chan home!" Touya looked at it even harder.

"My imouto is running a fever. No damned fog is going to keep me from getting her to our house!" With those words, he stepped out. Almost immediately, the fog thinned along the road, enabling the two men and a few desperate bikers to continue on their way home. As soon as they left that street, it fogged up (and a few groans could be heard), but the next cleared up. Yukito glanced at his friend hesitantly. Touya sighed.

"It's okay. I just want to get her home, k?" Yukito smiled.

"Seems like someone has a pretty strong sister complex…"

"Shaddup."

~*~

"No baka! You're sick! Why are you out here?" Sakura looked into the angry eyes of Syaoran weakly.

"Demo…there was the presence of Clow…" Syaoran made a noise within his throat. Why else was he here? And she shouldn't have needed to come…but there was something wrong…

"Sakura!" Syaoran stared at his hands, where moment before the Card Mistress had lain. Mentally cursing, he sat down and pulled out his compass. Placing his hand in the middle, he focused on getting a power reading. When the board heated up, he lifted his hand and swore. Where did it all go? This is just fog! He clenched his fists tight, his nails digging into his palm. The fog around him thinned somewhat reluctantly, but thickened almost immediately. Slumping down again, he passed his hands over the cuts in his palm.

What the hell is going on?

He was about to stand and try again when a stiff magic-laced wind picked up and blew all the fog away. Instantly, he saw Sakura below him, and jumped down. She was laying there, without a fever, wearing a coat…

~*flashback*~

"And this is a painting of Our Revered Master Clow Reed in semi-formal dusk fall wear…note the delicate stitches around the high collar and the fitted sleeves…and see the buttons, each laid down in perfect golden angles to the hidden basting used to hold it together…"

~*end flashback*~

Syaoran glanced over the collars and the sleeves, noting the same details that the museum keeper (a great-step-uncle one and a half times removed, he believed) had explained once with such energy. This was Clow Reed's coat, no doubt about it.

Quarter magic or none, I am going to track him down.

~*~

"Eriol-sama! You're enshrouded in a spell!" Eriol hung up his school coat and faced his sun guardian.

"Very good eyes, Spinel. There's a Chinese tracking spell set on me, and I thought it wise to hide myself." Spinel checked behind his master.

"That is no normal Chinese tracking spell. That is a full-fledged Q'tar Follow Dragon. Dare, Eriol-sama?" Eriol smiled.

"It's my very persistent and dear descendant." Spinel frowned.

"But you reduced him to quarter capacity…and if he was unable to dissipate the fog, how could he summon that?"

"Seems like he has been concentrating and focusing his magic very hard, for a number of days now." Spinel snorted.

"Very hard, indeed. He's going to work himself sick* if he keeps this up!"

"I know, Spinel, I know."   

~*~

"Syaoran-kun! Daijoubu?" Syaoran blushed further upon receiving the attention of the Card Mistress, when did nothing but blend into his already flushed face.

"Hai. Nandemonai, Sakura-chan."

"Hontou?"

"Hai…"

"If you're sure…" Sakura walked off to catch up with her friends and Syaoran dropped his head down on the table again. After a week at the tracking spell, he had given up, apparently not quick enough. And with Wei at the Li estate, soothing the Elders over loosing the Cards, he would be on his own to cook…and suddenly, even rice was loosing itself upon our young magician.

Syaoran sat on his sofa, his stomach grumbling all the while. He had to get up…he had to get up… The doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts. Dragging the quilt along with him, he shuffled to the door.

"Syaoran! You liar!" he perked up upon seeing the concerned face of Sakura at his door. She bustled in, closing the door and pushing him to the sofa as she took out something that smelled wonderful from a bag. Of course, in his state that cake-type-thing that had arrived in the post from Meiling had also smelled wonderful, but still…

"Hai," a bowl was pressed into his blankets, filled with noodles and pieces of chicken. She had already left to the kitchen, and the chopsticks were sitting on the table. By now, he was shivering if he tried to step outside his cocoon, so he just closed his eyes tightly.

She was back within a minute, and she hurried when she saw his state.

"Oh, Syaoran-kun, do you have any idea how sick you are?" She clucked and placed a thermometer in his ear, pulling it out a second later.

"Hoe! Thirty-eight point eight!" she pulled out the chopsticks and fished out a piece of chicken with some rice, "say ahh!" Syaoran willingly obliged, as his stomach was currently threatening to pack up and move to the Kinomoto residence.

She took his temperature again after a half-hour; by the look of it, it was nothing but bad news. Her brow was furrowed as she walked to the phone. Syaoran caught a glance at he thermometer: 41.1. Lightening crashed at that moment, and the light flickered and then shut off. There was a small scream from the phone, and Syaoran forced himself up.

"Dai-daijoubu?" Sakura put back the phone and hurried him back to the couch.

"Syaoran, you cannot get up! Did the medicine work?" She jammed the thermometer into his already-sore ear.

This time she looked near to tears. Syaoran peeked at the screen, although his eyesight was getting fuzzy.

"Nani?" Sakura pushed it into his face. Forty-two point three. Syaoran sank back. His magic was faded, used up from his summoning the dragon for an entire week. He knew that somewhere it was written that the dragon was only to be summoned thrice a year, for no longer than forty-hours, total…but he had felt the person grown weaker…even as he did…

An hour later, he had broken forty-four. Sakura was now not trying to hold back her tears as she quite liberally shoved medicine down his throat and applied cold compresses. But they might as well have been water and coals, for all the help it did.

At this point, all that was preventing him from overheating, he knew, was his magic, and it was loosing fast… Even his life-magic, worked into his very being, was perilously close to zilch. If it died, he'd pass into unconsciousness until he replenished, but in the meanwhile…

There was a knock on the door, and Sakura ran to it. A tall figure stood there, draped in a cloak. Four others, all of who entered without welcome, followed her. They started towards the living room, and Sakura held up her hand.

"O-onamae wa?" The first figure just brushed aside the hand and spoke in an authoritative, feminine voice.

"Ying Fa… everything will be all right," she brushed back her hood to reveal herself as the Li matriarch. The four figures lowered their hoods also, and revealed themselves as the four Li sisters, "Fuutie, Xiefa, Fanren, Feimei! Set up the circle!" the four scuttled away, placing various precious stones polished to perfection around their sleeping brother. Li Yelan turned to the Mistress.

"There is no more time to spare. Come, watch." Sakura sat in a corner as Yelan took her fan and preformed some complicated passes and turns, finally drawing a large 'X' and shattering a yellow screen that had arisen from Syaoran. As soon as she finished, she flipped and turned towards the window. In a blink, she vanished.

The four sisters gathered around Syaoran who was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. They widened upon recognizing the four in front of him, and he tried to dive and duck away a moment too late. Sakura smiled and walked to the window.

Yelan appeared to be talking to someone, but she was in front of him/her…Sakura couldn't quite make out who it was…

"You did something to my son!" Yelan brandished her fan under her chin, ready to attack at the slightest provocation. Eriol shook his head slowly.

"I have stood guard all night to ensure that if necessary, your son's life magic could be restored, keeping him alive until I could perform the ceremony myself, if needed."

"But you do not deny that you stole some of his magic anyway? Do you not know the penalties that you could charged with due to stealing his magic?"

"I am well aware of the charges, but there is a loophole in the law that allows me to perform my duty. I wrote that law, you know." Yelan's face did not change as she encompassed this piece of information.

"Someone has been blocking my Sight from the area of Tomoeda. I have had to direct my power here to be able to See. It is lucky that I decided today to focus. I have not had to focus in a long time to See anything. All things appear clear to me." Eriol nodded.

"True it is lucky, and it has been me that blocked any Sight. I am duly impressed at your ability to break through my shield." Yelan laughed.

"Shield? Boy, that was no more than a hand covering a mountain." Eriol smiled.

"I then hope that you will help me keep an eye on the doings of Tomoeda?"

"I shall do more than that. I shall give you an eye." With that, she produced a golden eye on a chain, "This is the Eye of the Summoning Dragon, Q'tar. It will help your weak Sight, as it is not your strong point – nor your predecessor." Eriol looked at her.

"You know the mistakes Clow made. And you know that now my son has to live with the results." Eriol bowed his head until Yelan left. When she was gone, he quickly shimmered back to his house.

"Kaho? Kaho!" the red haired woman floated down and looked around wildly.

"What? What!" Eriol fixed her with a glare.

"You never mentioned how damn difficult it is to get a good night of spying in, without a million people slapping bindings on you and interrogating you!" Kaho just laughed.

"You just be glad that you haven't met Kinomoto Touya as yet," there was a loud knock that shook the entire house, "or maybe I spoke too soon!" She smiled and drifted up as she disappeared. Eriol walked to the front and looked up.

"Ah…Ohayo gozimasu, Kinomoto-san? AAAAH!"

~*~

AN: Well, this was much longer than usual…I'm so sorry for not updating in so long! It's so unlike me, and I'm sorry. Gomen.

This turned out macho long. I mean, for a second, I almost considered just chopping out the sick part and turning it into a one-shot story, it's so long!

*the sickness: well, I'm also sorry to saw that I switched around a LOT between manga and the anime show. For those of you who don't know:

- In manga AND anime: When Sakura transforms the Fly and Sword, she is tested with a huge bear that destroys things. I made it so that after Eriol helped her make it, she waited a day before giving it.

- In manga: When Sakura transforms the Windy card, it's because Eriol creates a heavy fog that she dissipates.

- In manga: Sakura is actually sick during the fog sequence (that's why Touya and Yukito are taking her home), and Eriol feels bad because he didn't know (not having attended school that day), so he dissipates her fever and covers her with his cloak before he leaves. Syaoran takes this cloak and tries to use a tracking spell to find Eriol. I tweaked it a bit, adding the Q'tar Follow Dragon, which is a mythical dragon that tracks things, but extensively powerful, so Syaoran shouldn't have used it for that long. Although Yelan begs to add that all Li members could call the dragon for way longer than a week, just Syaoran wasn't powerful enough due to an [censored] [censored] [censored] Eriol.

Yelan: Damn right!

Fuutie, Xiefa, Fanren, Feimei: Yes ma-ma, come along now…

- In a side-manga: Not really part of the story, but there's a short sequence where Syaoran gets sick with a fever and Touya makes food so Sakura can go give it to poor wittle Syaoran…well, I made that a bit AU, but still!

Oh, and in some magics, setting up circles is a very hard and powerful job, so the sisters aren't pushovers either!

I have no idea if there is anything more I want to really add, besides the ending…well, I'll watch the anime for suggestions, since this chapter was almost entirely spawned out of reading the second Master of the Clow manga. And the Q'tar Follow Dragon looks something like earth's Shelong, from Dragon Ball. I like that series, cause Goku is all little and cute! KAWAII!

Tomoyo: YAY! KAWAII!

Nakuru: Oh, me too! KAWAII!

Rest of you: Dear Kami-sama, help us…

Review! I love you all!

wicherwill ^_^

P.S. Poor Eriol…