Disclaimer: I do not own Touya, Sakura, or any of the songs in this story. I DO own Lauren (seeing as she's me), Sandi, Mrs. Reynolds, Emilio, Trestena, and all of the other people who aren't CLAMP'S

An: Hiya everybody! I'm back! Thanks to those of you who have reviewed, I really appreciate it! ( I write all of this down in a notebook before I type it up, and I have over twenty pages of that stuff, so all I have to do is TYPE TYPE TYPE like a slave woman. Fun! (

Saturday

Lauren smoothed her short pleated skirt, v-neck tank top, and her ponytail. She looked around to make sure nobody was watching and knocked on the apartment door.

"It's open," Touya's voice called from within.

Lauren opened the door and went it. She dropped her purse in the corner and took off her shoes. "Good morning." She looked over at Touya. He was sitting on the couch in his jeans and a white T-shirt, his long legs stretched out in front of him. He was wearing glasses and reading the newspaper.

"You're earlier than I thought you'd be, Lauren-chan." He set down the newspaper and removed his glasses.

"Sorry, but you said the morning so I figured around nine would be fine." Lauren kept standing, not knowing what to do.

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with it, I'm just surprised. I wasn't sure if you'd come at all." Touya grinned and swung his legs off the couch.

Lauren smiled. "I completely trust you not to do anything to me, and if you did I would kill you!"

Touya snorted and got up. "Would you like something to eat or drink?"

"Thanks but no thanks, Touya-kun."

"Why don't you sit down, then." Touya went to his kitchenette and put the teapot on. "I wanted to talk to you about." ~Oh god, should I tell her? Should I let it all out?~ ".the song."

Lauren raised her eyebrows and sat down on the couch, resting her arms on the back of the couch. "Is that really it, Touya-kun?"

Touya sighed and turned to look at her. "It isn't, you're right." He poured the boiling water into a cup and plopped a tea bag into it. "What do you. What do you feel about me?"

Lauren's heart caught in her throat. "I, um." She turned to sit on the couch normally and looked at her lap. ~Should I tell him?~ "It's hard to say, Touya. But tell me, what is it that you think about me?"

"I." Touya approached the couch and went around to face Lauren. "You. You drive me." He rested his hand on the back of the couch and leaned down to look into her eyes. "Quite wild." He smiled. "Do you want me to kiss you?"

A smile began to grow on Lauren's face. "You don't just ask somebody that, Touya."

"Mm, I've got a smart girl on my hands. Good answer, I wouldn't have kissed you anyway." Touya went back to get his tea. "Your turn." He leaned against the counter.

Lauren leaned her head back and looked at the ceiling. "I've never cried over or liked anyone more, sensei. I shiver whenever you get close to me." She looked over at him and smiled. "You drive me wild as well." She got up and walked over to him. She reached up and put her hand on the back of his neck. He set down his tea and put his hands on her waist.

"Ano, Lauren-chan." Touya scratched his head. ~She has to know if we're going to go any further.~

"Mm?" She shifted her hands to his waist. "What is it?"

"I think I should tell you about Kaho and Yukito. As much as it's going to kill me." He sighed and led her over to the couch.

Lauren sat down and stared at him expectantly. "Go on, I'm all ears."

Touya sat down next to her. "I've been hurt quite badly twice. First by Kaho, who moved to England and broke up with me. I really loved her and it was a blow to me." He paused and looked at Lauren. "Are you sure you want to hear the rest?"

Lauren nodded quietly and pressed into him, resting her head on his shoulder. ~Don't push me away, don't push me away, Touya!~ "It's ok, go on."

Touya smiled at the fact that he didn't HAVE to move away, but immediately sobered again. "Well, when Sakura was collecting the- er, when she was younger I was friends with a boy named Tsukishiro Yukito. Foolishly I, um. I sort of fell in love with him." He swallowed and hurried on. "Later, though, I found out that I was only attracted to the magic in him. I. I told him how I felt and he said that he had never loved me at all. He became scared of me because he was just too uncomfortable around me. And I lost my best friend."

Lauren could see that it was hard for him to talk about Yukito. "Touya-kun, you don't have to go on."

Touya looked down at the top of her head. "You don't hate me and think that I'm weird and insane, do you?" ~Oh please oh please.~

"Why would I? Yes, I'm surprised, but I understand that it hurts you a lot and I can be sympathetic to that. I like you a lot, Touya, I care about how you feel about things." Lauren sat up and yawned. "Sitting like this is making me tired, let's go do something."

Touya stared at her with affection shining in his eyes. ~She doesn't hate me for liking a guy? I must be dreaming! She's not pushing herself away from me, or leaving.~ "We can't really be seen in public together because of certain stupid laws." Touya stood up.

"Come on, Touya-kun!" Lauren protested. "Teachers and students have lunch together and socialize all the time!"

"Mm, I guess you have a point." Touya thought for a moment. "Hey, let's go to the new CD store that just moved into the old bank. Maybe we can find some nice music to consider for the school song."

Lauren stood up. "Perfect! Let's go." She laced her hand into his and smiled up at him.

Touya blushed. "Don't do that." He took his hand away. "Not that I don't want you to."

"I understand, Touya, don't worry about it!" She looked at Touya and laughed. "You're going like THAT?"

Touya looked down at his ratty jeans and T-shirt. "Mm, good point. Hold on a second." He went into his room and came out wearing dark blue jeans and a shirt that said "Jo Jo Tech University Music Department" on it. He got his light blue windbreaker from the closet and grabbed his keys from the table. "Let's go."

They stepped out into the hall and Touya locked the door behind them.

"There is a school dance coming up," Lauren observed rather to herself.

"I'm not going to be around," Touya said sadly. "I have to go to visit my father. I leave today and I won't get back until Tuesday night."

Lauren shrugged. "I wasn't going to go to the dance anyway. It would torture me to see all of the people paired off."

"Don't you consider." Touya trailed off. ~.Us a couple?~

"What?"

"N-nothing, it's irreverent." Touya watched his feet as they walked. "OH, come to think of it, Sakura-chan said she might stop here on Wednesday to visit. Do you think she could stay in your dorm with you?"

"Sure," Lauren replied. "Touya, do you want to know about my family? It seems strange that I know so much about you but you don't now very much about me."

Touya nodded. "Yes, that would be nice. We hardly know each other, really. I guess it's our love for music that brought us together." He looked around. "Don't tell anybody, but you are a very mature, smart girl. And you're so cheerful all the time. Well, most of the time. And yes, I have to admit to you that I think you are very pretty."

With every word Touya said Lauren's face grew redder. "Stop it, you're embarrassing me."

Touya laughed and had to grab a hold of himself to keep from putting his arm around her. "So, tell me about your family."

"Well, first of all there is my mother. She." Lauren looked up into the sky for a moment, her eyes narrowing, but she went on quickly. "She's really been a help to me. She's almost like my best friend. Both of us share everything with each other."

"Oh." Touya's eyes quivered slightly.

Lauren really wanted to put a hand on his shoulder and hold him right then. "I'm sorry, Kinomoto-sensei, I heard about your mother. Sakura-chan told me about her. We both told each other lots about ourselves on the plane ride. It was a long flight."

"Don't worry about it," Touya said quietly. "Go on."

Lauren seemed to be growing uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything about it to Touya. ~Ahg, this feeling. Damn, I don't want to leave Touya, but.~ "Well, my father works a lot to take care of the family so he's always travelling all over the place." A chill ran up her back and she clenched her hands. ~I can't ignore it anymore!~ "Touya-er- Kinomoto- sensei, I have to go now, I'm sorry. I, um, promised o-er- Reynolds-sensei that I would check out something for her."

Touya raised an eyebrow. "Okay, see you later."

Lauren thanked him and hurried off.

~If only I still had my sixth sense. I have reasons to believe that Lauren has magic and she just sensed something.~ Touya sighed and continued on towards the CD store.

Lauren hid behind a tree and closed her eyes. ~I DO sense some sort of evil magic. It's in the air.~ She reached under her shirt and pulled out a necklace. The pendant was a golden musical note. She unclasped the necklace and closed her hand over the pendant. "Note of magic under the protection of the stars, break your seal of dormancy and come forth. I, Naru Suzu, command you under out contract. Release!" The note had been glowing and then it suddenly burst into a bright light. It grew into a staff. The staff was only about two and a half feet long with a glass orb at the top. Inside the orb was a quarter note with a sunburst around it. The staff was navy blue with a gold cap on the bottom.

Touya stopped in his tracks and felt something pass through him. Suddenly it felt as if all his senses had been sharpened, and, to his surprise, he could sense a large source of magic. "My powers are back!" He turned and tried to find where the magic was coming from."

Lauren reached up and pulled her hair scrunchie out. Her hair fell from its ponytail onto her shoulders, rippling like a river down to her waist. She clenched her wand in two hands and looked up at the sky. It was beginning to cloud over, and she could hear thunder rumbling in the distance.

Something suddenly whipped by her, creating a tornado-strength wind. Sand from the ground stung her legs like pins. "Shield!" She yelled, bringing her staff down upon a card. The card was not a Clow card, but it was similar. This card had a picture of a shield on it, and around the shield there were bars of music. There was a border around the edge, and a plate on the bottom or the card read 'shield.' The back of the card had a magic circle on it.

A bubble sprang up from the ground and surrounded Lauren, cutting off the wind and stinging sand. "Ow, the hurt." Lauren hopped around and inspected her legs for injuries. "Good, I'm not that hurt." She suddenly became serious again. "That was a demon for sure. A wind demon, I'm willing to guess."

Touya was caught by the wind as well. He squinted his eyes but he wasn't able to move.

Lauren ran over and brought him into her bubble. "Don't ask questions now."

Touya nodded and watched Lauren think for awhile. ~She looks so pretty with her hair down. But it seems as if she's suddenly one of the most serious people in the world.~

~How do I stop a wind demon?~ Lauren glanced at Touya and Clocks came into her mind. She hummed it absent-mindedly as she thought.

"You could use time," Touya suggested quietly, stepping forward slightly.

"I." Lauren looked at him. "I don't have enough magic. It would drain me."

Touya walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Learn the words of my sister. "Zettai daijoubu dayo. Everything will definitely be all right." When Lauren looked uneasy, he put his other hand on her other shoulder. "I am here with you. Have faith."

Lauren's face slowly grew happier. "Hai." She turned to face the wall of the shield. She held out her hand and touched it. The shield began to ripple outwards from her hand like water. When the whole shield was rippling, she stuck her staff through it and it disappeared.

Touya came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder, having to lean down slightly to do so. "Do it."

"Card under jurisdiction of the moon lend your powers to the star of Naru Suzu." Lauren held out her hand.

~Naru Suzu? But that's.~ Touya tightened his hold on Lauren's waist.

"Time card come forth." A card appeared in Lauren's hand similar to the shield card but with a picture of a sundial on it. She threw it into the air and touched it with her staff. "Time!" Time stopped in a wave spreading outwards from them. Only Touya and Lauren were able to move. Lauren suddenly coughed a strident cough.

"Daijoubu desu ka?" Touya held her tighter. (Are you okay?)

"D-demon of the wind go back to the evil dimension from whence you came! Banish!" The frozen swirling wind suddenly took on a solid form and then exploded. "Time release," Lauren whispered. She stayed standing until the last thing was unfrozen and then she fell limp in Touya's arms. Her staff shrank back to the note pendant.

Touya lifted her legs over one arm and somehow managed to pick up the pendant. He carried her back to his apartment using back roads so that nobody would see them.