Chapter Two

  Through the duration of the classes, Sakura couldn't concentrate. She finally found him.  And he was in all her classes too. So buried in her happy thoughts, she jumped at the sound of the lunch bell. Following Ami to a cherry blossom tree on campus. There, sitting on the tree branches were Andrew and Syaoran, eating their lunch.
      "Li-kun, get down here! I have someone for you to meet!" Ami called up to Syaoran.
     Syaoran sighed, annoyed, and jumped down, soon followed by Andrew. "Li-kun, this is my cousin Sakura. Sakura, this is L—." 
      "Li Xiao-lang, I know," Sakura cut in softly.
     Syaoran's head snapped up, amber eyes narrow. Who was she? How did she know his Chinese name? The only person other than his family was Sakura, but it couldn't be, could it? His eyes drew to her neck. As if to confirm his thoughts, he saw the black orb and the key of clow. "Y-Ying Fa?" he stuttered. "Is that really you?"
     Sakura nodded, her emerald green eyes sparkling with happiness and her long, silky auburn hair bouncing as she did so. Then she flung her small, lithe body at him, backpack and all, hugging him tightly, crying slightly.
      "No fair, I'm only up to your chin!" she whined. Then her smile left her face. "Where were you these two years? I missed you so much!"
      "Mother made us move a week after you did," Syaoran answered turning slightly red as he hugged her back.
Suddenly, a small yellow bear with wings—Kero—popped out from the backpack crushed between the hugging card captors.      "Sakura!" he whined. Then he noticed four shocked faces. He sighed softly, flying over to Sakura and sitting on her head. "I made a big booboo, didn't I?"
      "Yup, you did, stuffed animal," Syaoran replied for Sakura, smiling slightly at the sight of the guardian beast.
      "Chinese Gaki!" Kero greeted. Even with the name-calling, they were good friends. "What's up?"
      "Hoe, after these five years, you still won't give up the name-calling?" Sakura complained.
      "Nope," Syaoran grinned, surprising his friends even more. They've never seen Syaoran smile. "Even after four hundred years he'll still be a stuffed animal to me."
      "Yeah," Kero agreed. "And he'll still be a Chinese gaki to me!"
      "Uh, what is he?" Ami suddenly asked timidly, backing up.
      "He's Kero-chan. Don't worry, he's harmless," Sakura said, smiling.
      "Hey!" Kero got out before Sakura smothered him in a hug.
      "Well, you are unless you're a desert item or a bad guy," Syaoran reasoned.
      "What's going on?" Jin spoke up.
     "Um, where do we start?" Sakura asked, sweat-dropping.

     "It all started with the greatest magician of all time, Clow Reid…"


     "And that's what happened in Tomoeda," Kero finished.

      A  girl with long blond hair, baby blue eyes and a thin, lithe body walked up to the group now sitting under the tree, Kero hidden back inside Sakura's open bag.
      "Hey, Li-kun, wanna come to the cheerleading tryouts to give me support?" she asked.
      "Uh, no thanks, Horagawazzi-san. I'm busy," Syaoran replied.
     She turned around and walked away, fuming silently. How could he refuse her? All the other guys would have killed to be in his position. So why was he being like that? Once again, she vowed to herself to make Syaoran hers if it was the last thing she did.
      "Cheerleading tryouts?" Sakura asked curiously when she was sure that girl was out of earshot.
      "Yeah," Ami replied. "You should try out!"
      "I don't know," Sakura said shyly. "I don't think I'm good."
      "Come on," Syaoran pressed. "You should at least try. You were captain in Tomoeda. I'm sure we'll come and support you."
      "But aren't you busy after school?" Sakura asked, confused. She cocked her head to the side.
      "You and Ami-chan are sleeping over my house for the week," Syaoran said, ruffling her soft hair affectionately. "I was gonna walk you home."
      "Oh," Sakura said, wrinkling her rose adorably. "I guess I'll try then."
      "Yay!" Ami and Meiko cheered.

      "Hey, isn't that Li, Xiyu?" her best friend Xiefu said, pointing at him.
      "Yeah," Xiyu replied. "I guess he didn't have anything to do after all." She jogged over to where Sakura, Syaoran and the others were sitting, ecstatic. Before reaching them, she heard that new girl Sakura say, "Syaoran-kun, I'm nervous. I don't know anyone here."
      "It's going to be okay," Syaoran soothed, much to Xiyu's horror. "Just think of it like you being back in Tomoeda with Takashi-kun, Chiharu-chan, Naoko-chan, Rika-chan, Tomoyo-chan and Hiiragizawa-kun." He smiled to Xiyu's surprise.
      "Hoe," Sakura whimpered. "It's just not the same, Syaoran-kun."
     That was the last straw. Why would he let that new girl call him by his real name? He didn't even let his friends call him that. She stomped ungracefully over to them and stood in front of them, hands on hip, fuming angrily. "Why does that new girl get to call you by your first name and all us others don't?" she demanded harshly, glaring at Sakura.
     As Sakura let out a feeble whimper, Syaoran glared at Xiyu. "She's my best friend and was since we were five, Horagawazzi-san," he spit out. "And it doesn't concern you."
     The blond grade 8er shrank visibly. "Oh," she said quietly. She turned and left, hearing that Sakura girl say, "Mou, Syaoran, why were you so mean to her?"
     Xiyu slowed down, wanting to here the response.
      "She gets on my nerves, Sakura. She treats me like I'm her own personal property. I don't even like the girl," he replied softly. "She has such a big ego."
     Xiyu's anger flared up again. She was determined to beat that new girl no matter what. She glared at her, who wasn't looking at her, and turned away, walking back to her spot.

     "Sakura Kinomoto!"

     Sakura whimpered, then squared her shoulders. It was time to face the piper.

     As she gave it her best, she felt a very familiar aura, but couldn't place it. It was dark, but not evil, and comforting, almost fatherly. Then, it disappeared. Shaking her head inwardly, she concentrated on giving the coach a reason to choose her.

     Sakura walked back to her seat, saying softly to Syaoran, "I sucked out there."
      "No, you didn't, Ying Fa," Syaoran assured her. "You were the best one out there."
      "Yeah, so now that you're done, can we get going?" Kero said from inside Sakura's backpack.
Sakura laughed. "Okay."

     As they left, ice blue eyes burned their backs. "I WILL beat her," a bitter voice vowed. "Syaoran will be mine."