I guess I could have been clearer in the last chapter… a Ninja is a kind of motorcycle… a very sweet one. Also, Sakura is not upset that Syaoran killed her family because she has grown to completely trust him. She saw the vapor disappear from Rika before she died, so she knows that something must have happened to make Syaoran kill them, but not what or why. Syaoran attempted to tell her, but Eriol interrupted. Perhaps we'll find out more in this chapter… Strange how I started procrastinating on this story after my finals were done. Curious…

A fire crackled in the hearth of the fireplace of the scarlet-themed room. It was a cavernous hall with blood-red silk drapes dripping from the ceiling in voluminous streamers, partially veiling the gothic architecture, softening the otherwise cold and dark room. Eriol puffed a cigar with satisfaction as he sat comfortably on a high backed chair at the center of the altar, his legs swung out over to the side as he leaned back sideways, tapping his foot to an inaudible melody, his sapphire eyes flicking up in front of him to a gleaming circle of light blazing in the air. It had a bright blue fire crackling along the outer edge, but inside, he could see Sakura clinging to Syaoran on the bike desperately as they avoided the spirit hunters' bullets.

"Safe as can be, Sakura-chan," he grinned before taking another drag on the cigar.

Sakura collapsed weakly onto the luxurious gold brocade sheets of the canopy bed in the hotel room. Syaoran went straight for the large picture windows, drawing all the drapes, and taking a small peak through the flap of the curtains. Sakura turned slightly on her side to look at him, her long hair mussed as she straightened, resting a hand on her hip, the other propping her head up. She coughed slightly for his attention, and he turned to her, trailing his eyes over the accentuate curve of her hips and legs.

"Are we safe?"

He nodded, and grinned as he sat down next to her on the bed. He wordlessly stroked her hair, smoothing it down behind her ears as he gazed into her glittering jade eyes. She blushed, clearing her throat as she raised a critical eyebrow at him.

"Care to explain what that was all about?" she asked.

He got up and fixed himself a drink at the minibar, not saying anything until the ice began to clink into the short glass he set on the marbled counter top. He returned with two glasses of rum and coke, handing one over to Sakura as he sat across from her on the plush white couch, taking a sip before starting his story…

"500 years ago in China, there was a powerful magician named Clow Reed. He was a mysterious man, and the villagers disliked him, even though he kept to himself and didn't cause anyone harm. Nobody knew what he did in his mansion on the hill that overlooked the town, but it was perhaps best that they didn't. Clow didn't practice dark magic, but he liked to experiment… and the results weren't always good. One in particular, was a deck of tarot cards he had enchanted to help the villagers with daily chores. It was a noble effort, to help those who only hated him, but it proved disastrous. After Clow released them, the cards obeyed none but the ones who proved themselves of high magic caliber. And in a small village of peasants, you can imagine it was rare. Fortunately, there proved to be a young woman who protected the village with a pure heart, and was able to capture all the cards before they did anyone serious harm. As a gift, he let her keep the deck of cards, knowing that her purity would guide her to do only good with the magic.

"But the villagers were furious, and set to chase Clow out of their town. They gathered in a mob in front of the mansion, and Clow was forced to make magic barriers around his property. The mob never gave up, and daily threw things at the barrier, as if testing its strength to decide a best time to attack. Clow was very sad, as he only wanted to help the villagers… His depression made him decide that even he wasn't good enough for his powers. He arranged for final plans, including a will that equally divided his mansion's wealth among the poor villagers. He also created a final magic servant that would protect the young woman who caught all the cards. He planned for the servant, whom he called Yue, to love the young Chinese woman, and guard her with his life… The last spell he cast as Clow divided him into two individuals… one retained all the memories as Clow, but only half the magic. The other had the rest of the magic, but led a normal life as a human, his powers latent." Syaoran paused here to take another sip of the drink. Sakura could tell he was readying himself to tell her something huge…

"The one that retained his memories… his name is Eriol Hiiragizawa."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "You're telling me your boss is 500 years old?"

He nodded. "His spirit is. He reincarnates himself into another being on the first full moon after his death, and still retains all his memories. But… more importantly, the other fellow with the half of the powers… His name was Fujitaka Kinomoto."

Sakura froze. "That's my father's name."

"I know." His voice was expressionless, maybe slightly melancholy. It did not have the comfort she needed, so she took another long sip at her rum and coke.

"As Eriol Hiiragizawa reincarnated after the first full moon after the previous body's death, Fujitaka Kinomoto reincarnated as well. But leading a normal life, he was never aware of it."
"He's been dead for a few years."
"His new reincarnation is three years old."

She snorted. "My father, a three year old."

"With every reincarnation, he was also blessed with a daughter, the reincarnation of that same Chinese woman who caught all the Clow cards when they were released," Syaoran continued.
"Bullshit. I'm the only daughter he has."
"I know."
"… So you're saying that I'm the reincarnation of this powerful Chinese woman from 500 years ago?"
"Yes."
"The only Tarot cards I've seen in my lifetime belonged to a fortune-telling crone at the school festival. And she smelled."
"You still possess the power over the Clow cards. They will recognize the woman in you and listen to only you, Sakura."
"You still haven't told me about the people who were after us. And what was that purple stuff that went away after you killed Rika?"

Syaoran winced slightly. With every death of her close family member, he felt the pierce of his magical sword as deeply as he had delicately stabbed them.

"Your have been blessed and cursed, Sakura, with incredible powers. The shadows after us are Soul Hunters."
"Let me guess, they're hunting my soul?"
"They are invisible to common humans, but they feed on their souls. They replace that soul with their being, and control their moves, their thoughts. They work under a higher being only with the gratitude of feeding off human souls. Should the Soul Hunters capture your soul, theoretically, they possess the power of the Clow cards."
"Why not just possess me?"
"Although you have not proved yourself the Mistress of the Clow Cards yet, their magic is loyal to only you. They protect you, and you can not be directly possessed. That's why the Soul Hunters possess the bodies of those closest to you, so that even if they should fail in killing you, they will have succeeded in causing you pain, making you more vulnerable to their attacks."
"Prove myself as the Mistress of the Clow cards? I thought they were already captured and safe."
"Every reincarnation of the Card Captor needs to pass the test. Yue has decided himself judge. He is immortal, and has his own brand of magic that releases the cards from the book when he senses the soul of the Card Captor."
"Syaoran, I don't think I can capture cards right now."
"You're right."

Sakura stared at him. "You said—"

"I know what I said. You can't control them right now. You need magical training to capture them first."
"I don't know if anyone in the world specializes in a crash course on capturing Clow cards."
"The Order of the Clow will train you."
"Order what now?"
"The Order of the Clow is a secret society dedicated to your protection and training, Sakura. You must prove yourself as the true Mistress of the Cards and capture them, and use the cards to defeat the evil behind the Soul Hunters. And if you should fail…"
"I die?"
"And worse. The balance of magic would be upset, and the world will collapse upon itself. God will destroy Earth."
"So no pressure?"

"No pressure."

Next chapter, you can look forward to meeting the high priestess of the Order of the Clow, high-speed racing, and more sweet scenes of Sakura + Syaoran. :)