Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. I would have more money if it were so.

Summary: It is the story about a girl called Sakura who falls in love with a boy who saves her life (Syaoran). Unknown to her, Syaoran has a secret! By daylight he is the cold, handsome boy Syaoran, but by nightfall, immersed in the enchantment of moonlight he becomes the mysterious white wolf of the forest. Will Sakura learn of Syaoran's secret before all hope is lost?

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DM:  Helloooooo my lovely readers!!

Long time no see! Indeed, it has been eons since I last updated but I have been on the upper end of busy these last few weeks…not to mention the fact that my hair colour has undergone a severe transformation! Wicked cool, says I!!

Anyway, down to it:

Lil DuDeTte: Always a pleasure to read your reviews! Syaoran is indeed trying to find a cure of some sort for his wolfie curse. A hint for you- the seven jewels he is trying to find does play a part in this… and I have a feeling that Sakura will be discovering his secret very soon. Sshhh. I shall say no more for the moment!

Rain Owl: Actually, you're not the first person to say I hyphenate too much. I'm not really sure why it bothers people so much but if it's really hitting the proverbial nerve for you, I shall try to keep the '-' to a minimum. ^_^

heheangel kisses: Whaddaya mean "tone down the S+S fluff"?! Where's the fun in that ?! :D

kitty: As promised. One update for you. Thankyou for being such a dedicated fan of "Wolf".

Everyone: Thankyou as always for all the reviews!!! We've made it past 100!!! *Dandy Mandy hollers an obscenely happy war cry*

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Chapter 7:

The Key Lies in

Seven Precious jewels,

Set upon God's noble crown…

 '…Here be the Jewel of the Water…'

…

Syaoran sighed pensively as he watched life unfold, seemingly at snail's pace, outside the café window beside his cramped leather padded booth.

Rankwak was a small sleepy town with even sleepier residents. Though it was a town that prided itself as a tourist hot spot, its residents had a notoriously laid- back attitude toward life and generally took their time with…well, everything.

Sipping quietly from his white ceramic coffee mug, quaintly labelled "Rankwak Bakery", Syaoran stared out at the sky. It was a vast expanse of dull, even grey whose clouds swirled menacingly and threatened rain. They only seemed to accentuate his feelings of utter boredom and misery.

Once again, thoughts drifted to that of his quest; of the four jewels that awaited his claim and of the various challenges and obstacles that stood in his way. Would they be as difficult as when he had confronted Cerberus? Just thinking about it caused a lump of sickening anticipation to rise in his throat…

At that moment, a repulsive noise broke into Syaoran's thoughts; the sound of wet slurping followed by a somewhat thunderous belch, as one full bellied guardian beast reared his head from behind the stainless steel serviette dispenser on the table top of Syaoran's booth.

A waitress who had been walking past the booth (having failed to notice the presence of Syaoran's furry companion), threw Syaoran a look of disgust. Embarrassed, Syaoran muttered an apology. He then shot Kero a fierce glare who, unperturbed, gave another soft burp.

"What?" Kero grunted as he brushed flakes of chocolate pastry from his mouth.

Syaoran rolled his eyes, sighed and took another sip of his cold coffee. "Of all the noble guardians," He muttered, "I choose to get lumped with…the slob."

Kero patted his round, bloated belly appreciatively and sighed happily. "Yup. Hit the spot."

 Kero had been lying low, avoiding the attention of the waiters and other diners who might be alarmed by the sight of him. He had, for the past hour, hidden behind the serviette dispenser on the table and devoured any of the pastries that Syaoran could discreetly hand to him. Now that the café had emptied somewhat, Kero decided it would be safe to emerge from his hiding place.

He observed Syaoran with a look of curiosity. The young man had since taken to staring out the window again.

"So, brat," he began, "Apart from bribing me with very sweet things, what are we doing here? This town y'know, it ain't exactly thriving with activity."

At first, Syaoran didn't reply and Kero thought he was simply ignoring him. After a moment or two however, Syaoran turned away from the window.

"Water combs her flowing tresses that fall though not as rain." Syaoran murmured absently.

"Come again?" asked Kero, utterly perplexed.

"Where does water fall, but not as rain?" Syaoran asked patiently, "It's the clue about the location of the Jewel of the Water."

When Kero merely stared confusedly at him, Syaoran pointed outside the window to a large wooden billboard. Faded paint on the surface revealed the peeling image of smiling tourists in front of a Rankwak backdrop and the words:

Welcome all visitors to Rankwak! Home of good cheese, friendly smiles and the shire's largest waterfall!

As the expression of realisation appeared on the guardian beast's tiny yellow face, Syaoran smirked. Casually, he stood up from the booth and widened the opening of his back pack. Kero obligingly crawled inside and Syaoran made his way toward the café door.

"Time we met the next Guardian" He murmured.

…

"Okay, so just how is it that you know all the things you do?" Kero panted, beating his wings furiously as he struggled to keep up with Syaoran. The moment the latter had stepped out of the township boundary and away from the viewing public, the guardian beast had emerged from the back pack in favour of flying along beside him. "I mean, I'm a Guardian, but even I don't know where the other jewels are or how to open Lehn's Gate!"

"This." Replied Syaoran as he raised the decaying black book in his hand.

Kero slowed his tiny white wings so that he hovered level with the book. After eyeing the worn dust jacket, its deteriorating spine, Kero scrunched up his nose with puzzlement.

"Eh…what exactly am I looking at here? A bible?"

Syaoran tripped over (anime style ^_^) and sweat dropped.

 "No, Fool. It's…well, I don't actually know what it is, I bought it from a stranger in the Shadow District…it wasn't cheap."

Kero's eyes widened with astonishment. "Those shady folk? I think you were ripped- off."

True that Kero was an old creature and one that had spent a good century asleep in the warm underbelly of a volcano, but he knew about the likes of the Shadow People. They weren't to be trusted.

Syaoran shrugged dismissively. "Well, whatever it is, it's gotten me this far. It helped me find the first two jewels and it helped me find you."

At that moment, Syaoran stopped in front of another sign posted on the desolate roadside. Another picture was painted on its surface; of more tourists, this time, waving in front of a waterfall backdrop. The words printed in sun- bleached blue paint read:

Whildryan Falls (200m)

A crudely painted arrow indicated a narrow winding dirt path by the side of the road that led down the mountain slope and into the shaded Rankwak Valley. Syaoran strode briskly toward the path and began his descent down to the valley. Again, Kero fluttered his wings erratically, trying in vain to keep up with his human charge.

The descent, though a mere two hundred metres, proved to be more challenging than first perceived. True that the Falls were usually teeming with keen tourists and amateur photographers in the warmer season but the winter would see the opposite effect. At this moment, the valley was completely deserted and the foliage on either side of the path had become overgrown. After twenty minutes of cutting through prickly bushes, becoming tangled in thick vines or stumbling over fallen logs, Syaoran and Kero came upon the waterfall. Initially, they had heard its song; the soft melodic hiss of icy water droplets trickling down mountain side and bursting upon rock. They continued to push through the shrubbery, following the source of the sound until they emerged from the path and met a breath taking spectacle.

Whildryan Falls stood in all its magnificent glory before them; a colossal sculpture of crystalline ice sheets beneath which a flow of glimmering, clear water cascaded into a rippling icy pool at the base of the waterfall.

Syaoran, in awe at the beauty of the Falls and having almost forgotten the true reason he was here, cleared his throat and strode toward the limestone cliff face behind the waterfall. Kero followed wordlessly behind.

When Syaoran dipped his head toward the cascading icy water of the Falls, Kero nearly shouted in alarm. But rather than sticking his head under the sub- zero mountain water and receiving massive brain freeze, Syaoran stepped behind the waterfall where there was a narrow ledge, well- hidden from the average onlooker. Just as he had expected, the prophesy runes were carved into the surface of the rock wall:

'…Here be the Jewel of the Water…'

Syaoran felt his pulse quicken and the sense of nauseating anticipation, of dread that he had felt earlier that day, return to him. Kero watched the young man tense and almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"I can't help you, you know, even if I wanted to…which I don't…and even then, only for dessert," said Kero quickly.

Syaoran stared at the winged creature blankly.

"What I mean is," Kero began, blushing a little, "I can't help you fight your fights. Ever since you took my Jewel I have been powerless, and I will remain that way until the Gate is opened and my powers are restored… the best I can do is give you advice."

Kero cringed. He couldn't believe himself. Was he actually offering to help the brat? The very Gaki that had defeated him? Why should he?! Was it…pity?

Syaoran gave a small, grateful smile. "I understand. Thankyou Cerberus."

Syaoran turned and placed his fingers tentatively over the cool engravings of the runes and chanted softly:

"Powers of the Guardian of the Water,

 I, lowly earthen- bound Seeker of the Key,

 Evoke thee!"

In an instant, the runes glowed pale, iridescent blue and the very engravings appeared to crystallise to ice and crumble away.

The mountain side gave a violent shudder, causing sheets of jagged ice to fall from the partly frozen waterfall and splinter into a million fragments on the surrounding rocks.

Syaoran watched in awe and trepidation as part of the wall before him gave way to reveal a small opening in the cliff face, just wide enough to accommodate him.

With a last, backward glance at Kero, Syaoran dove into the hole and disappeared into its black depths.

Kero watched him go with a small frown, feeling…that feeling again. Pity. It had to be pity. Whatever that boy faced down there would not be pretty, and even for an immortal…he'd be lucky to come out alive…

…

Syaoran slid unceremoniously on his buttocks down a cold, dark chute carved out of smooth limestone. After several minutes of sliding in the dark, followed by several terrifying seconds of freefall as he emerged from the chute, Syaoran landed with an audible splash into a deep pool of water. When he lifted his head to the surface, gasping for air, he noticed a number of things.

Firstly, he had arrived in some kind of underground cave. Though not unlike that in which he had summoned Cerberus at the volcano of Mt Jhuls, this cave was constructed purely from white glistening limestone. Pearly, mineralised water dripped noisily in the distance, its sound reverberating through the wide hollow space of the cave with its high, cathedralesque ceiling; a white labyrinth of dripping stalactites and stalagmites.

The second thing Syaoran noticed was that unlike the icy water of the Falls beyond the cave, the water in which he now waded was surprisingly…warm. He seemed to have fallen into an underground spring!

Syaoran spent a moment or two staring around in wonder at his tranquil surroundings, a moment disturbed quite suddenly by the sudden drop in water level. Syaoran swam quickly to the edge of the pool and climbed onto the safety of a flat stalagmite.

The spring began to churn, twisting violently as though a plug had been pulled in the enormous limestone bathtub, releasing hot wafts of steam as it did so.

After several minutes, the centre of the pool began to bubble and an uncannily bright blue light began to glow from somewhere beneath its depths. There came an unearthly scream, high- pitched, siren- like and Syaoran clutched his ears as the cave vibrated once more, sending limestone pillars crashing down.

And then at last, the Guardian emerged.

First a dark blue- skinned face with fanged teeth and pointed ears appeared, its long mane of dark blue hair cascaded down from the crown of its head. This was followed by the smooth blue of its torso and arms and at last, a shimmering blue scaly fish's tail.

Syaoran thought it looked like a mermaid…a very, uh, fierce looking mermaid. (DM: In case you hadn't worked it out by now, the Guardian of the Water is actually the "Watery" card spirit from Card Captor Sakura).

Watery glared at Syaoran with its eerie blue eyes and hissed at him.

Syaoran's eyes flickered briefly to Watery's forehead. He had expected the Guardian to be wearing the Jewel on its head piece the way Cerberus had but when he saw none, he momentarily panicked.

Suddenly, Watery struck out in attack; its webbed hands lashing out at Syaoran as he dove behind the cover of his stalagmite.

Furiously, the Guardian struck out again, this time, sending a deafening jet of water hurtling toward its challenger. Syaoran barely had time to dive into the water before his stalagmite was blasted to pieces on impact.

Syaoran was beginning to fret…well actually, that was an understatement. He was downright wigging- out!

True that he was immortal; it meant that he had unnaturally fast healing powers for ordinary wounds and that he would maintain his youthful appearance long after the effects of time had aged others. Though he could potentially live for ever, it did NOT make him immune to magical attacks, (remember that burn that Cerberus gave him?) and let's face facts, there was NO coming back from, say…drowning or decapitation!

Syaoran swam down into the depths of the warm, dark water, watching as debris from the cave's walls and ceiling collapsed somewhere above him.

Where IS the Jewel? he thought frantically, Was the Guardian hiding it?

Just as Syaoran made toward the surface for air, he felt a sharp tug at his leg.

Watery had wrapped its webbed fists in a death grip around Syaoran's legs and was beginning to pull him toward the bottom of the pool.

Syaoran clawed frantically at Watery's arms; punching, kicking and struggling in vain to free himself. The Guardian of the Water held its grip relentless and Syaoran found himself sinking into blackness; his oxygen- starved brain slowly clouding.

No…the Jewel… I…have to find it…Syaoran's mind called, though the voice was growing softer, more distant.

I have to find it…for Sakura…

Would his quest become a fruitless endeavour? Was it possible that he would die before he ever held his precious love in his arms again?

 Syaoran's life force flickered, but as it did, a tiny, shimmering something caught his eye, somewhere in the dark water before him.

One single scale on Watery's tail flickered, so faintly that Syaoran might never have noticed; one scale that was glowing a pale azure light. Finally, it had occurred to Syaoran that the Jewel might not actually take on the form of a jewel at all, but something far less obtrusive.

With a final burst of strength, inspiration and determination, Syaoran swung forward and gave Watery a hard kick in the face. The surprised Guardian momentarily lost its grip and Syaoran broke free. He swam furiously to the water's surface and inhaled sharply as cool air and oxygen filled his lungs once more. Now, he only had seconds to execute his plan. It had to work. It just had to!

Syaoran scrambled out of the spring and began to climb up a steep, slippery stalactite, back up the chute from whence he had come. Carefully, slowly, Syaoran inched his way up the dark limestone tunnel; pressing his hands and feet up against the walls to support himself. It was a painful process and after several moments Syaoran's arms and thighs were aching furiously.

Still he climbed, somewhat blindly, as he groped his way through the dark, praying that he reached the opening of the chute before Watery regained its senses.

At last, fresh icy air met his nostrils and the weak light of the fading, clouded day touched his face. When he emerged from the chute he was met with Kero's small, concerned face.

"Kid?" Kero asked worriedly

"Kero, Move out of the way!!" Syaoran shouted, pushing the stunned yellow creature aside.

A thunderous rumbling sounded from behind the waterfall and in an instant, a column of opaque water burst explosively through the chute from whence Syaoran had emerged, blasting effortlessly through the sheets of ice that laced the frozen waterfall.

One small, blue head belonging to an extremely disgruntled Water Guardian appeared at the entrance of the chute. Watery slid snake- like on its belly onto the frozen surface of the pool at the waterfall's base where Syaoran stepped tentatively, calculating.

Syaoran glanced briefly down at the ice and having found what he needed, inched slowly toward the centre of the frozen pool.

Watery hissed aggressively. Just as the Guardian lunged forward at Syaoran, arms flaying wildly, Syaoran rolled quickly out of the way.

Ice cracked. The cool solid surface beneath Watery gave way and the Guardian plummeted with a deafening screech into the arctic waters below.

Panting both with exhaustion and apprehension, Syaoran peered carefully into the cavity now severed into the ice. Below him, just beneath the surface of the sub- zero waters, Watery was trying to thrash its arms and tail, fighting to reach the surface but to no avail. Something was very wrong with its body…it was becoming harder and harder to move!

Whatever was happening, Watery didn't like it at all. All it knew was that boy was responsible- that boy had to pay!

In one final furious attempt to attack Syaoran, Watery swept its tail with all its might above the water's surface, one final blow delivered to the impostor! But then…nothing happened.

Syaoran sighed with relief. His plan had worked.

The reason Watery had chosen its warm refuge of an underground spring that winter had been simple, and Syaoran had discovered it.

Outside the cave, at this altitude in the mountain along with the drop of temperature brought with the rain in winter, the water froze much faster than most other days.

It seemed that the cavity through which the Guardian had fallen had frozen over, trapping Watery in a prison of ice. Its dark blue tail however, jutted rigidly through the frozen surface.

Kero watched in awe as Syaoran bent down beside Watery's tail and gently plucked the still- glowing scale from its fin. As he stroked the smooth, shining surface of the scale it turned a hotter, brighter blue and began to change shape.

A resplendent azure stone appeared in Syaoran's hand. The Jewel of the Water's true form.

"Kid…Woah. You did it." Muttered Kero breathlessly as he fluttered over to him.

Syaoran frowned guiltily down at Watery's frozen tail. "Will it be alright?" He asked.

"Yeah," Kero replied with an air of casualness, "The ice will thaw by morning and Watery will probably retreat back to its cave and sleep, at least until it gets its powers back."

Syaoran nodded and turned to admire his new Jewel once more. It felt cool and smooth as liquid against the palm of his hand.

Suddenly, Syaoran smiled and thoughts drifted once again to a certain girl with beautiful turquoise eyes, soft creamy skin and laughter so melodic that it rivalled the song birds.

Kero watched the human with bewilderment. "You would risk life and limb for these Jewels…for what?" he asked with uncharacteristically gentle sincerity.

Syaoran pressed the cool blue Jewel softly against his lips and closed his eyes serenely.

"Her." He whispered.

…

Nearby, perched unnoticed in the high branches of an old elm tree, a solitary figure watched Syaoran and his guardian beast as they headed up the path toward the township.

A small, malicious smile crept onto the girl's pretty face and she allowed herself a soft chuckle.

"Ah my love. My clever, precious Syaoran…I shall never leave you again." She whispered.

Her ruby red eyes flashed dangerously.

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DM:

Okay, raise your hand if you're feeling confused! *Dandy Mandy scans the room and frowns with somewhat dismay*  Awww crap!

I realise that there is a lot happening in this story right now, a lot of questions and not many answers…

IN SUMMARY:

1) First, there's Syaoran's quest. We know that he's looking for seven Jewels that will somehow open a mysterious Gate. We know he needs to confront the Guardians in order to obtain the Jewels and we know it has something to do with his Wolf curse. What we DON'T know is where the Gate leads to.

2) We know that a powerful magician called Eriol is somehow involved and Syaoran wants to find him. We DON'T know who Eriol really is, whether he was the giver of Syaoran's curse or is the giver of the cure.

3) We know Syaoran is immortal, it means he can heal most of his own wounds and he doesn't age. But he CAN still die in some circumstances…sounds like a contradiction doesn't it? ^_^

And NOW, a strange girl with ruby red eyes and a not so pleasant agenda has arrived in the picture. Things could get ugly!

You guys know the drill- REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! A happy writer is an updating writer!

If anyone is confused about any part of the story, feel free to post me questions!