Thankyou to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. in particular, Chihoko Okimi, who reviwed several times!!! Thankyou, and please say thankyou to your brother for reviewing my NGE fic, it means alot to me.
"Sakura must have magic!" Syaoran paced restlessly up and down his room. "There's no other explanation! How else could her nose look so...perfect, if I broke it?"
Eriol looked thoughtful. "Yeah, I can sense magic in her, but now I think that she's not the one we're looking for, her magic is too pure." She stopped suddenly, staring out the window, a small smile on his face. "Either that, or she's bluffing. But judging by the company she's keeping I highly doubt it."'
Syaoran joined is cousin at the window and saw Sakura and Tomoyo walking down the street with Kiandra, talking and laughing. "I don't get it."
Eriol sighed. "Because of who she is, it's hard for Kian to make friends with normal people. But Kian's very sensitive to magic, and those who sense it in her find a kindred spirit. But because of what she is, even those of sorcerer's blood often desert her."
He suddenly grinned as Kian opened the front gate of the house next door. "C'mon." he said to Syaoran and began to race downstairs.
"So tell me, what is Kiandra exactly?" Asked Syaoran. Eriol's face darkened. "For now, it's better you don't know... but you've given me an idea." He said grimly.
When they went out the front door, Eriol called loudly, "I can't believe it! I can't get rid of you can I?" he laughed delightedly.
Kian grinned cheerfully. "Speak for yourself. It's not easy living next door to you when there are mini explosions coming for your room at all hours of the night! What about the time you completely destroyed your room with fireballs. I believe a rogue one came through my window, would I be correct in saying?"
Syaoran looked disbelieving. "Him?!" he said, pointing at Eriol, "You must be kidding me! Are we talking about the same guy here?"
Eriol looked sheepish. "Heh, heh, heh. Yeah, I guess that was me. Although I paid for that one later." He said ruefully.
Kian laughed wickedly. "You better believe it!" she smiled. "You two wanna come in?" she asked.
"I dunno..." Syaoran said doubtfully, casting a furtive glance at Sakura and Tomoyo from the corner of his eye. He still felt guilty about hitting Sakura the day before.
"C'mon! It'll be fun!" Eriol said brightly, he grabbed Syaoran by the arm and towed him around the fence boundary and into the Fisher's front yard. "And I want to talk to you." He added in an undertone to Kian.
Kian showed the group into the family room. "Eriol, why don't you help me get the drinks." She motioned him towards the kitchen.
Eriol closed the kitchen door behind them. "Okay Kian." He said quietly. "The reason Syaoran, Meiling and I moved here six months ago was to investigate an evil presence here in Tomoeda." Kian nodded grimy, she knew where this was going. "That evil presence wouldn't happen to be you would it?" he asked.
Again, Kian nodded. "Yeah, that was me." She sighed, "I have a rough idea of who it effected." She cast an involuntary glance at the door leading back to the living room.
"Sakura?" Eriol guessed.
Kian nodded. "Yes, in some way, but not directly... Oh!" she gasped suddenly, feeling sick to her stomach. She remembered Eriol telling her, about a year ago, how Syaoran was in love with the young Clow Mistress, and about his own meeting with her three years previously.
But then why was Syaoran acting as if he hardly knew her? And why was Eriol pretty much ignoring bot Sakura and, more to the point, Tomoyo, whom Kian knew that he had liked for quite some time.
"Eriol, do you remember telling me about your run-in with the Clow Mistress?" she asked urgently.
Eriol looked at her blankly. "Huh? I've never even met the Clow Mistress Kia! Let alone had a run-in wither her!" he said, confused.
"Hmmm... I thought as much. Oh crap! Oh crap!!" she muttered, grabbing the tray with the drinks on it and swiftly leaving the kitchen. "Here you go!" she said brightly. "I'm just going to go upstairs... to my room to...Check... something out. Yeah, that's the one. Heh, heh, heh..." she added vaguely.
Kian was up the stairs before any of the others could get a word out. In her room, she pulled out an ancient spellbook she had inherited from her Grandmother. Flicking through the pages, she quickly found what she wanted... and it wasn't pretty.
"Oh...My...God..." she said, hardly able to breathe. "Dad!!!" she yelled, running into his office. Her father, who worked from home, was on the phone. "Yep, sure. Not a problem. All right mate, I'll talk to later." He said when he saw is daughter come bursting into his office.
"Let me guess, you worked out what you did, didn't you?" he asked. Kiandra nodded tearfully and began to explain what she had found out to her rather bemused father.
"So, let me get this straight, "he said slowly. "You think your other personality wants to defeat the Clow Mistress and take the cards?"
"Yep." Kian answered. "And she's doing it by making all Sakura's dearest friends and allies forget that they ever knew her. And eventually making her forget the cards herself."
"Hmmm. Typical of you really isn't it?" her father said with grim humour. "Never face anyone directly when you can win by being sneaky and underhanded."
Kian grinned wryly. "That's true, but if I can undo the spell before Sakura forgets, I'll have now choice but to face her directly. Either that, or get Miss Evil under control before she becomes too much stronger."
"That won't work Kia, it's too late. She's already too powerful." Her father shook his head.
Kian sighed. "Oh well, lucky for me, I know how to lift it now." She said glumly.
"That's the spirit!" her father said cheerfully as she left to return to her friends.
But when she closed the door behind her, Simon Fishers put his head in his hands. "This is either going to save her, or kill her." He said to himself. "And by God I hope it saves her.
"Okay, sorry about that!" Kian said with false cheerfulness as she sat down between Sakura and Syaoran, feeling that he tension between the two was almost crippling.
She noticed with a small grin that Tomoyo and Eriol were chatting away amiably. Both were blushing a little and Kian guessed that Eriol was rediscovering how much he and Tomoyo had in common. Apparently too, it seemed that Tomoyo had come to terms with their friends' memory loss far better than Sakura had and was using the opportunity to get reacquainted.
Sakura's phone suddenly rang. "Hello? What? They're here? Okay, I'll be right there." She hung up and then turned to her friend. "We gotta go Tomoyo-chan." She said. "Thankyou for the drinks, Kiandra-san."
"No problem." Kian replied. "But call me Kian or Kia-chan. I'd prefer it." She grabbed Eriol and whispered something in his ear that made him blush again.
"Ah...uh...erm, Tomoyo..." he stuttered nervously. "Will you go out with me?"
Tomoyo cast him a sad, wistful look. "No. I won't." she said softly and began to walk away. Sakura waved quickly and followed her.
When she caught up, Sakura looked at Tomoyo curiously. "Why did you say no Tomoyo-chan?" She asked. "You've liked Eriol since forever, why say no when he finally asks you out?"
"I like the old Eriol Sakura-chan, not this new one who always has a new girlfriend. I don't want to be the newest addition to his list." She answered.
"Maybe so," Sakura said. "But the old Eriol is still in there somewhere Tomoyo. You didn't see the devastated look on his face when you turned him down."
"If he really likes me Sakura, he'll prove it to me." Tomoyo said matter-of-factly, and then changed the subject. "Why are you in such a hurry to get home? Who called you?" she asked.
"Kero-chan." Sakura answered. "Nakuru-chan and Suppi-chan arrived this afternoon. They're at my house."
When they arrived at Sakura's house, Nakuru opened the door. "Hi!" she said brightly, hugging both the girls tightly. "Suppi's upstairs with Kero-chan playing video games." She said.
"Typical." Sakura rolled her eyes. "So, why are you here?" she asked
"To work out why Eriol, Syaoran and Meiling don't remember any of us." Nakuru explained.
"Well, we don't have the answer to that yet, but here's something you might find interesting, an old friend of Eriol's started at our school yesterday." Tomoyo said.
"She's got really strong magical powers." Sakura added.
"Kia-chan's here?" Nakuru guessed. The other two nodded. "Ah, that explains a lot." She said. Seeing the confused looks on their faces, she began to explain. "About six months ago, did you sense an evil presence around?"
Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I did a sweep of the area, but there was nothing unusual around."
"That evil presence was sensed by Suppi and myself the night before Eriol lost his memories of us." Nakuru said.
"I see... but what's this got to do with Kiandra?" Tomoyo asked.
"Kia-chan has a split personality." Nakuru answered. "She's Eriol's best friend, they've been inseparable since they were in Elementary School. But her dark side has been getting stronger every day." She continued
"Maybe she's finally gotten strong enough to take away Kia's control of her own body. At least long enough to cause a lot of damage. Before long, Kia will completely loose control, and when she does, my guess is she'll come after you. But if she can make you forget she won't have to. She'll be the owner of the Clow cards and you won't even know they exist. If not...she'll win by taking your allies, one by one." Nakuru finished.
Sakura's eyes glittered with determination. "I won't let that happen! I'll lift the spell and free Kian if I can!" she said.
The grim silence faded into gales of laughter when they heard a shout from Sakura's room.
"Yeah!!!! I beat you Suppi!! I kicked your furry little butt!!" Kero yelled.
"Oh shut up you stupid yellow furball!"
"What! Say that again! I dare ya!"
"Stupid – yellow – furball!" Came the insolent reply.
"What! You're asking for another beating!"
"Bring it on!"
Minutes later, the laughing trio heard an indignant scream.
"I can't believe it! You beat me! Why you little punk!"
"Kero,"
"What?"
"Never call me Suppi."
I can't believe she turned me down!" Eriol said dejectedly. Syaoran patted his shoulder in sympathy, not really knowing what to say, as he had never been in the position of being rejected... yet.
"What's this?" Meiling asked delightedly, "Eriol-kun got rejected? Unbelievable! Who's the girl?"
"Sakura's friend Tomoyo." Syaoran answered. Eriol nodded glumly.
"Ah, well there's your answer." Meiling said thoughtfully.
"Huh?" both boys said in unison, Whaddaya mean?" Eriol demanded.
"Tomoyo's different to the girls you normally date." Meiling explained. "She wants the real thing, not a two week fling that adds her to your list. She's not the type of girl who'll date you just because she can."
Syaoran and Eriol stared at her. 'This coming from the girl who's not much better than us.' Syaoran thought to himself.
"How can I get her to date me?" Eriol asked. He'd never felt like this about any girl before. The only time he'd ever come close was a few years ago when he'd had a massive crush on Kiandra, not that she knew that of course.
"This may sound corny or sappy or whatever, but first, you need to sort out your own priorities. Are you willing to commit to her alone? How do you feel about her? Stuff like that." Meiling answered. "Secondly, you need to prove it to her."
"How do you know all this Mei?" Syaoran asked, slightly in awe of his cousin.
Meiling shrugged. "It's a girl thing I guess. It's what we all want, eventually."
Meiling had given Eriol a lot to think about. "Am I able to commit to Tomoyo-chan?" he asked himself as he closed his bedroom door and flopped on to his bed. He grinned when he realised he had unwittingly called her Tomoyo-chan. it felt so natural, to call her that.
He reflected back on the second question, how did he feel about her? He closed his eyes and pictured her. Her long dark hair and captivating violet eyes. Just thinking about her made his breath quicken and his heart race. This was so different to what he had felt for the other girls, which was nothing.
He slowly got to his feet and walked down the corridor to Meiling's door. When she answered his he whispered, "I think I love her."
Meiling nodded and smiled. "I know you do." She answered softly, mysteriously, like she knew something he didn't.
Eriol ran back to his room and opened his drawer. He took out a very long piece of paper. Meiling may have only been speaking metaphorically when she mentioned the list, but here it was, live and in person, for now. Silently thanking the Gods that he'd fireproofed his room (Things are known to spontaneously combust in his presence, causing a large rate of fire damage.) he conjured a small flame and torched the list, watching it burn until it was nothing but ashes.
And in that moment, the spell lifted, and he remembered.
But he soon discovered that Syaoran and Meiling did not. He came through the front entrance of the school about half an hour after Syaoran, and heard yelling. Apparently, Syaoran had pushed past Sakura in the crowded hallway, throwing her roughly against the lockers without even noticing. When he heard the crash, he turned and saw Sakura leaning against the lockers, holding her arm.
"Sakura, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you! Here, let me help you." He said, offering her his hand.
"Stay away from me." Sakura snapped irritably. "You cause nothing but trouble."
"Excuse me!?" Syaoran spluttered indignantly. "I'm trying to apologise!" he yelled.
"Well don't!" Sakura yelled back. "This happens way too often, Syaoran Li! Sorry isn't good enough anymore!"
Eriol reached them before Tomoyo, who was approaching from the other direction. "C'mon Sakura, I'll take you to the nurse." He said, leading the furious girl away quickly. But instead of taking her to the nurse's office, he pulled her into an empty classroom.
"Why are you so hard on him?" he asked her softly. "He still feels guilty about the other day."
Sakura hung her head. "I know, and I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
"Don't tell me, tell him." Eriol said with a smile. "Here, let me fix that." He saw Sakura rub her arm and wince. He touched his magic to the injury and let it heal. "He really cares about you Sakura-chan." he murmured.
"No, he doesn't." Sakura replied sadly.
"But he did, and he will again." Eriol said with a wink and a nod when Sakura's eyes widened in realisation.
"Oh my God!" she whispered, then she laughed delightedly. "You remember!" he nodded again.
Sakura threw her arms around him in a huge hug, still laughing and he hugged her back, laughing too. "I missed you Sakura." He said.
"I missed you too." She replied. She let him go, and looked up into his blue eyes. "You have to tell Tomoyo." She told him. "She'll be so happy to have you back."
"Do you think she'd go out with me if I asked her again now?" Eriol asked hopefully.
Sakura looked doubtful. "I don't know. You've got to prove you care about her, even with your memories back, who's to say that you're the same guy she once knew, she wouldn't know if you've ever cared about her at all."
Eriol looked pained. "I love her." He whispered.
Sakura smiled. "I know. But don't tell me, tell her." She threw his line back at him. "Go find her, and tell her." She pushed him out of the room with a happy grin.
At recess, Eriol dragged a protesting Syaoran and a smiling Meiling towards Sakura, Tomoyo and the rest of their group; Chiharu, Rika, Naoko and Yamazaki, (the lone male of the group) who was being strangled, as always, by Chiharu, his girlfriend of six months. Kiandra was with them and she waved her best friend over.
"Hey y'all!" Meiling said hyperactively, feeling at home in the group.
'without really realising why.' Though Eriol with a small smile.
"Hi!" everybody answered with a grin.
Eriol sat down beside Tomoyo and looked at Sakura, who nodded and smiled encouragingly. Very carefully, Eriol lifted Tomoyo's hair back and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened and she smiled happily. Eriol whispered something else and her face fell and she shook her head. She whispered back and the look of devastation was evident on Eriol's face.
Sakura went over to Syaoran and touched his shoulder to get his attention. When he looked at her, she spoke before he could open his mouth. "I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier." She said shortly.
He looked at her oddly. "Nah, it's my fault. I should've been more careful in the first place." He answered.
Sakura shook her head. "No, I was out of line. I'm really sorry." She replied stiffly, then left before he could say anything and sat back down next to Kiandra.
"So, how are you settling in?" Sakura asked her with a smile.
"Really well actually. Everyone's been really nice." Kian replied.
The conversation carried on light-heartedly for a few minutes, then Kiandra's body suddenly went rigid and her normally sapphire coloured eyes began to turn a fiery red.
Sakura had a rough idea that this is what Nakuru had been talking about; Kian's dark side was taking over. A soft "Uh-oh!" from Eriol swiftly confirming her suspicions.
"I will destroy you, Clow Mistress." She hissed, in a voice as cold as ice. "Then I alone shall wield the ultimate power of the Clow cards!"
Eriol ran to his best friend's side. "Fight it Kia! Fight it! You're better than this... better than her!" he murmured constantly into her ear. The others could see the internal struggle between good and evil raging inside her body, then she relaxed, and leaned heavily against Eriol.
"What was that?" Naoko demanded.
"Yeah! What was all that about?" Rika questioned.
"Maybe it was a..."
"Shut up Yamazaki!"
"Damn. Bad timing." Kiandra muttered. She lifted her hand. "Forget that you ever saw that." She ordered, and magic flowed from her fingers. Their friends froze for a moment than looked at each other blankly.
"Well, I'm glad you like coming to school here." Chiharu said cheerfully.
The bell went and the three girls and Yamazaki got to their feet and wandered to their next class. Those with magical knowledge stayed to help Kian to her feet and make sure she was okay. "I'm so sorry Sakura, but I can't help it." She whispered tearfully.
"It's okay. We'll do what we can to help you. We will free you." Sakura answered her grimly.
Kiandra gripped her arm in thanks. "It's more than I can hope for." She replied sadly. "I have lived with this curse all my life." With a small smile, she began to walk shakily to class.
"Thanks for your help Sakura-chan." Eriol said. "Now I'll have to find those incorrigible guardians of mine." He sighed. "What a pain."
That made Sakura laugh. "Maybe I can help you there." She said.
The end of another chapter! please review if you like it. i do accept constructive criticism.
