Disclaimer: The usual. –sniffles- Nothing will ever be mine...

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Tomoeda
By Semmerie

In the middle of the city, towering majestically over the rooftops of even the highest buildings, was a sculpture of a giant falcon. No-one knew how, or when it was built. Touched by neither the most violent storm nor the strongest winds, no stain ever marred its smooth, metallic surface, though no-one ever bothered to clean it. Glowing almost orange in the sunlight, the bird itself was a picture of beauty, wings frozen in a graceful arc and its head tilted, as if it was looking down on the city itself. Gravity- defying steps led the way up into the clouds. If you climbed them, you would reach a small platform directly over the head of the sculpture, and you would be able to see the whole of Tomoeda in one glance. It was no surprise that the ministers from Magistrate Silver dismissed it as a mere watch tower, built by people from long ago. But if one looked carefully, at the top of the birds head, there was an indent in the shape of a diamond and from it, carefully carved lines which extended down the bird's body, onto its wings, onto its legs...and beside it, an inscription written in beautiful calligraphy...

...Nigarae Miracle...

Was there more to this than the ministers thought?

Not far away from where Sakura was long-sufferingly trying to pay attention...

Syaoran stared up at the huge metal-bound doors before him. Yelan stood beside him, an arm around his shoulder. His four sisters crowded behind them, unnaturally silent. Yelan reached into the pocket of her green robes, and pulled out an entrance card. Inserting the card into a slot beside the door, she pressed a series of buttons on a keypad. The tension was immense, and you could slice through the silence with a butter knife.

Code accepted. Welcome to Magistrate Silver.

The doors slid open, and the family walked in together, instinctively sticking close to each other. Making their way down the seemingly endless hallway, they reached a counter, where a minister of the Magistrate was sitting.

"You all know why you're here, aren't you?" The group nodded.

"The prestigious Li Family... You've worked your way up from oranges to blues, and the government holds you in very high respect. Mister Li passed away a few weeks ago, am I correct?" Yelan nodded.

"He was of good use to the Magistrate, and in return for his service, you are being upgraded to Greens. Do you accept?" Syaoran remained stoic. Yelan nodded.

The minister smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He sounded tired, as if he had rehearsed this speech a hundred times over. "Please collect your new garments from Lady Nakuru at Exit A. Kindly burn your old clothes once you reach home. You may go." The family turned a corner and moved towards the exit, the sound of their footsteps echoing eerily in the hallway. The place was totally deserted.

They were met by a hyper-active Nakuru at the Exit. Her brown hair tied up into a ponytail, she winked at Syaoran before handing him his bag of clothes. "Have a nice day, and don't forget to brush your teeth! Congrats on getting upgraded!" She showed them out of the building and waved enthusiastically before going back in.

Syaoran observed each of his family members. Yelan's face held a smile that he hadn't seen in a long time—one of relief and comfort. His sisters wore identical expressions on their faces; excitement. Squealing, they showed off their new clothes to each other...even though they were the same...looking at his own packet, he raised an eyebrow at the clothes. Maybe this way, they would lead a better life, instead of having to scrape together money all the time to buy things. He let a small smile slip onto his lips. Maybe green wasn't such a bad color after all...now that he was one...

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Sakura pursed her lips and squinted at the blackboard before her. The notes on the blackboard were written in Sensei's messy scrawl, just as always. Her vision blurred and the chalk-written numbers seemed to meld together in one weird white blotch.

"Ugh..." Muttering a moan of defeat, Sakura shook her head repeatedly and her vision soon went back to normal. Why was it that –everyone- could decipher Sensei's handwriting except her? Why?! Gripping her pencil in a death-hold, she ground it's nib into a page of her notebook in frustration. Looks like she had to consult Tomoyo again...Eyes flicking about warily from side to side, Sakura made sure that Sensei had her back turned before leaning slightly to the right, where her best friend was sitting.

"Psst, Tomoyo!"

The head of raven hair turned. Amethyst eyes twinkling, Tomoyo gave Sakura a look of amused understanding and tossed a leather-bound jotter book into her friend's hands. Sakura shot her a look of thanks before turning back to her desk, scribbling all the math notes into her own notebook with a pen, only looking up occasionally to check whether the Sensei was looking. Then, finishing five minutes later with a flourish, Sakura smiled smugly to herself and handed the notebook back. Then, she reclined back into her chair and examined the notes, which of course, she fully understood.

Wait a second—density?! We didn't learn anything about density...

...Most of the time.

Sakura gave the book her best scowl before going on to examine the next set of equations. But after a few engrossed seconds later, she jumped three feet into the air when Sensei's hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. Looking up fearfully, she met Mr. Terada's mirthful brown eyes.

"Er—Sensei!! How nice...to...er...see you here!" Tomoyo held her head in her hands, sighing. Mr. Terada raised an eyebrow, and tapped Sakura's shoulder with a pen.

"I'm glad you're concentrating, Kinomoto. You'd better study those equations carefully—the exams are coming up next week and I expect a pass from you...for once." A titter ran through the rest of the class and Sakura found herself fuming. Looking at her Sensei's retreating back, she rolled her eyes at him before slumping back into her seat, pouting sullenly.

Mr. Terada faced the class and grinned. "Well, before class is dismissed, I would like to make a very special announcement." At this, some students perked up, leaning forward in their seats. Any announcement, no matter how special, was a welcome break from the normal routine. "Today, a new student is going to join our class!" There was a slight pause before the class erupted into cheers. Sakura herself couldn't resist and smiled, breaking out of her bad mood, as she eyed the seat beside her hopefully. It had been very lonely since Takashi-kun left a week ago. Maybe this way, she wouldn't have to copy from Tomoyo so much...

Mr. Terada smiled and gestured to the door. "Please come in, Li." The figure outside the classroom walked in silently and stopped beside the Sensei, observing the class with intense amber eyes. Sakura almost shivered when his gaze turned on her, and she prayed fervently that he could sit beside her. The new student was dressed in the per-normal school uniform, navy blue in color. He had a mop of messy chocolate brown hair, and together with his eyes, Sakura mused, they made a good combination. Mr. Terada didn't hesitate to begin the introductions.

"Well, class, this is the new addition to Tomoeda High, Syaoran Li. Please welcome him and make him feel comfortable here. Even though he is the only green in the class currently, I hope you will make friends despite your different ranks."

Even though he is the only green in the class currently...

Even though he is the only green in the class currently...

Even though he is the only GREEN in the class currently?!

Sakura's eyes widened and her emerald eyes caught the green symbol on the side of his school shirt a moment too late. She then started to pray fervently again for Syaoran to –not- sit beside her.

But her efforts were futile, as her Sensei focused his gaze on her.

"You may sit next to Kinomoto. Kinomoto, please raise your hand. I hope that both of you sitting together will have good results—I hear that Syaoran is quite good in math. He might be able to help you improve." Sakura cursed and raised her hand reluctantly, eyeing Syaoran with resentful eyes as he walked towards her. Syaoran in turn raised his eyebrows and promptly ignored Sakura, only moving to sit down.

Sakura growled, a little angry that Syaoran had not even bothered to acknowledge her, even if it –was- her fault. She muttered under her breath.

"Welcome? Ha! I'm gonna give you more than just a welcome, Li Syaoran...I'm gonna give you the worst year you've ever imagined." Then, with an unnaturally sadistic smile, she put her notebook under her desk.

And thus was the start of a lovely enemyship.

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The day was not going well for Syaoran.

Moving up a rank was tough; and so was changing high schools. Standing outside the classroom he was fated to be in for the rest of the year, he had felt sick to his stomach; almost nervous, really. He was slightly comforted when Mr. Terada had called him in, and had chosen to retain his silence as he stood in front of the class. The people there were pretty friendly...but some of them –too- friendly, if you knew what he meant.

But Kinomoto? She was bad news.

He recognized that look she gave him when he made his way towards his new seat. ...That expression of prejudice and resentment. Syaoran couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at the girl's obvious lack of social skills. She hadn't even bothered to get to know him before judging him...stifling a sigh, he chosen to ignore her. Kinomoto was obviously not planning to be friendly.

The lesson continued. Syaoran was bored, having no notebook at all to copy down notes. Frowning to himself, he drummed his fingers onto the table softly. His pride refused to give in—there was no way on EARTH he was going to ask –her- to lend him some paper. Nope. A determined expression settled on his face and he continued staring at the blackboard, trying to commit all the facts to memory. The bell was going to ring in five minutes anyway—he could just grab some notebook paper from the school bookshop after school.

...And to his delight, the bell rang.

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At the sound of the bell, the whole class burst into chaos. At the speed of lightning, students dumped the contents of their decks into their book bags with flourish, before running out of the room at top speed, littering the class with used scrap paper and pencil shavings. Mr. Terada waved the students off as they went, sweeping the floor at the same time.

Sakura was one of the fist ones to get out of the school, and of course, she rushed back home straight away. The roads were particularly congested at this time of the day, but Sakura expertly maneuvered herself through the gaps between the vehicles and not before long, she could see the white washed house she recognized so well. Screeching to a top outside the porch, she twisted her keys into the lock and slammed the door open.

"I'm back, okaa-san!"

Shuffling was heard from the kitchen and Nadeshiko's head poked through the door, smiling tenderly at her daughter. The raven-haired woman looked as pretty as ever, even though she was nearing her forties and was absolutely covered with flour from head to toe.

"Welcome back, Sakura!" Nadeshiko made her way over and gave Sakura a flour- ridden hug. Sakura wrinkled her nose, wiping a smudge of white off her nose with a finger.

"I won't ask what you're cooking." She promised her mother. Nadeshiko smiled, putting a finger to her lips.

"Don't tell otou-san—it's a surprise." Then, she popped back into the kitchen, leaving Sakura to deal with her now flour clogged clothes. Sakura sighed, setting her book bag onto the floor before heading upstairs. The upper floor of the Kinomoto residence was tastefully decorated, the walls colored gaily in different pastel hues. The window at the end of the hallway was open, letting the breeze in and allowing the sunlight to fully illuminate the house. Sakura walked up to a pink colored door, and twisted the door knob.

Sakura had decorated her room herself, and she was very proud of it. The walls were painted a cheery pink and were covered with numerous posters of rock stars. Hanging her jacket onto a hook on the wall, she flung herself on her bed, enjoying the comfort of her duvet. Her ceiling was covered with glow in the dark constellations, and they were fabulous to look at when it was dark. Then, Sakura stood up and went over too her desk. Looking around to make sure no-one was around, she took out a small key from her pocket and unlocked a drawer. Lifting a thick book out of it, she closed the drawer and locked it with the key again. Only after she had done this then she set the book onto the desk.

Clearly, the book was not an ordinary one.

Both it's front and back cover was adorned with painstakingly hand-drawn symbols and pictures, joining together to form an intricate pattern. It was colored a dull red, and it glowed slightly in the darkness. The book was bound shut with a bronze plated clasp. On the front cover, engraved in solid gold, were two words.

The Clow.

Sakura unclasped the book, and took out a pack of cards. Her hands ran down the each card's edges, feeling their rough, papery texture. These cards had a distinctly ancient feel to them—they had obviously existed for a long, long time. Sakura drew out a random card from the deck, and read its name.

"Windy..." She muttered, stroking its surface gently with a finger. On the card was the picture of a woman, with wisps of wind surrounding her. The card itself was the same shade of red as the book it was contained it. Sakura sighed and put the card back into the book, and locked the book back into the drawer. Ever since she had found The Clow in her father's library not too long ago, she had kept it in secret, looking and admiring the cards after school when she came back home. Strangely, being with the cards comforted her somehow. They felt like a part of her. In fact, there was something...almost magical...about them...

Sakura shook her head. There was no such thing as magic, not in Tomoeda, not anywhere. Changing into a new set of clothes, she rushed down to meet her family for dinner. Slamming her room door shut, a loud clatter signaled that she had already made her way down the stairs. It was already evening, and Sakura's empty room began to darken.

The only source of light to be found came from the locked drawer which Sakura had put the book in, which had started to glow a steady green...

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Far to the east, approximately a thousand miles away from Tomoeda, a person lay slouched in a cave. Feral red eyes glinted maliciously in the darkness as the figure drew out a small pendant from his cloak.

"The day has come." The man's voice was said in a whisper, yet emanated through the cave. The figure was clearly not of this world.

The man raised the pendant up into the air, and it emitted a green glow, bathing the cave in an eerie light. Looking out of the cave and into the wilderness before him, the man cocked his head and smirked evilly as his eyes detected rumbling in the distance. The slow tremor shook the ground, the rumbling grew louder every minute. The figure chuckled, showing his sharp canines.

"The queen's soldiers have arrived, and the downfall of the Master shall be at hand...I can't wait..."

Then, with a swish of his cloak, the man disappeared in a flash of light.

The rumbling grew all the more louder.

To be continued

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A/N: -sweatdrops- Sorry about the Tomoeda typo in chapter one. I'm not really a spelling person—I was without the internet at that time, and I absolutely couldn't remember how it was spelt, so I guessed. =) It's fixed now and you may enjoy a tomoeda-typo free chapter now. Please review, folks! –points to the purplish button down at the corner-