Disclaimer: Cardcaptor does not belong to me. The rightful owner is Clamp. And it's no use suing me. I have no money or valuable assets.

Onward to Treasure
'Explained'

Silence hovered over the four of them. Touya looked annoyed. Yukito looked resigned, but was smiling reassuringly at Sakura. Sakura had nervous written all over her face. Syaoran maintained his bland expression.

Touya made the first move. "Kaijou, go look for Kero, but make sure no one sees you. Get Tomoyo and meet at my room." Sakura made no protest and for the first time, did not stamp at her brother's foot for calling her a kaijou. She dashed down the hall. Touya sent one last glare at Syaoran, as if was entirely his fault, and strode down the hall in the opposite direction. Yukito followed, motioning to Syaoran to do the same.

No one said a word as they walked down the hallway Syaoran had just recently cleaned. Touya opened the last door and walked inside. Syaoran followed and let his eyes scan the spacious room. A large desk dominated most of the space, situated in the middle of the room. There were three round windows allowing enough sunlight to filter through. On the left wall was covered with a bookcase, filled with a large collection of books. Most of them seem old and battered. On the other side was a double bed. There weren't a lot of personal items scattered in the room apart from a photo of an unknown couple, which was placed on the table.

Touya coughed, snapping Syaoran out of his observation. Touya sat behind the large desk and motioned for Syaoran to sit in the chair directly in front of him. Yukito stood behind Touya. Syaoran felt like he was about to be interviewed under the intense stare, but refrained from fidgeting. He was taught to never show nervousness.

Once again, silence engulfed them. Even Yukito's easy smile could not relieve the tension between Syaoran and Touya as they glared at each other. Syaoran was never one to back out of a battle and he wasn't about to start now. It seemed like the pirate captain was the same.

Minutes passed before the creek of the door interrupted their silent battle. Touya broke off his gaze first as his eyes shifted passed Syaoran's shoulders.

"What took you so long, kaijou?"

Syaoran turned around slightly enough to still be able to keep an eye on the captain. He wouldn't put it past Touya to stab his back while his attention was reverted. After all, the two of them didn't get along very well.

Standing before him were two girls who looked about the same age. However, the object floating above them captured Syaoran's focus more. Relatively speaking, it looked like a stuffed animal with wings. However, a regular stuffed animal shouldn't be able to float in mid-air.

"What are you looking at, kid?" Stuffed animals weren't supposed to talk either.

"Kero," the girl by the name of Sakura admonished. "Be polite."

The stuffed animal fumed as it crossed its arms. The expression on his face looked a lot like the captain's. "I don't like him."

Syaoran remained silent as he shifted his gaze to the girl. His open observation made her nervous as she reverted her gaze to the side. She was around his age and looked relatively normal. Her hair was cut shorter than was fashionable and was the colour of honey. Her face was pretty and well-sculptured, but would have been easily forgettable if it weren't for a pair of startling green eyes.

As Syaoran focused on the last remaining stranger in the room, he was surprised to find that he was also under observation. The remaining girl met his eye and smiled. He ignored the greeting. Instead, he quickly took in the long, ebony hair and pale face.

"Are you done?" Touya growled, obviously growing impatient.

Syaoran turned back to his opponent and nodded.

"Before I explain about our…circumstances, there are a few questions I'd like to ask you." Touya didn't wait for a reply because one wasn't necessary. "What's your real name?"

"Syaoran Li."

"Where did you come from?"

"Hong Kong, China."

"Why were you on that ship?"

"I wanted to make some money."

Touya narrowed his eyes. "What's your purpose for joining this crew?"

Syaoran shrugged. "It seemed like a good opportunity."

Touya fired more questions and each time, Syaoran would give him a vague, but reasonable answer.

"Where are you family?"

"They're dead."

Touya paused, not sure if you pry further. He glanced at Syaoran's unchanging expression and was about to proceed when a hand rested on his shoulder.

"To-ya, don't you think that's enough?"

Touya glared at Syaoran. "I still don't trust him."

"Whether or not you trust him is not the issue at hand. He should at least be informed as to why he can't tell others about what he has seen."

Touya sighed. Sometimes, he really hated Yukito's logic. He lazily sprawled on his armchair and just stared at Syaoran, as if looking for something to convict him of. Everyone waited with anticipation. "I suppose you've heard of the rumour revolving around the Clow Treasure. You would have to be deaf otherwise."

Syaoran shrugged. "There are numerous rumours about it."

Touya sat up straighter, his expression serious. "I'm talking about the one where they say that the Clow treasure is magical."

Syaoran could feel everyone's eyes on him, gauging his reaction. Syaoran weighed his words carefully. "Are you trying to tell me that it's true?"

Touya remained silent and then, with his face as serious as ever, said one simple word. "Yes." He then sat up suddenly and strode towards the bookcase. Without even searching, he grabbed one particularly battered book and tossed it to Syaoran. Out of reflexes alone did Syaoran catch it.

Syaoran frowned as he ran his hand across the cover. There was a symbol of what looked to be a sun and a moon eclipsing around a circle. He glanced at the captain and Touya nodded. Syaoran flipped open the first page and studied the strange writing within it.

"Do you know what you're holding there?" Touya asked. Syaoran didn't answer because one wasn't necessary. The obvious answer was that he didn't. "That is Clow's Journal. Now, you're probably wondering how I got my hands on such a legendary item." Touya crossed the room and took the book from Syaoran's hands. "Our father was a researcher and was fascinated with pirate history. On one of his longer expeditions he came across this, and spent the rest of his life trying to decipher what was written inside. However, he never completed it. He did know that something in the pages contained a clue as to where the Clow Treasure is located." Touya stopped to look at Sakura. "Sakura found this in an old trunk in the basement. To make a long story short, that stuffed animal flew out of it and told her she's the rightful owner of the Clow Treasure. He told her that Clow Reed was a great magician and over time, gathered a large amount of magical artefacts. He entrusted his treasure to Sakura."

Kero nodded his head. "His last words were that the next time I wake up, I'd see my new master."

Syaoran frowned trying to piece together the information. "If she is the rightful owner, why have you not found the treasure yet?"

Touya did not look happy with the question, but he was not the one to speak.

"I do not know where it is." Both Syaoran and Touya turned to Sakura, surprised to hear her input. "Kero said that it will come to me over time." Her voice wavered slightly as all attention turned to her. "I'll know where it is located when the time is right."

"In the mean time, we're trying to gather all the clues we can." At seeing Syaoran's sceptical expression, Touya turned to glare at him and used his superior height to tower over him. "I don't care if you think we're all insane or if we're making this story up, but if one word of this gets out into the public, you have my solemn swear that I will kill you."

Syaoran stared back at Touya unflinchingly, but inside his head, he was thinking madly. 'How could this be?' He turned to stare at Sakura. 'This girl…'

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Touya barked.

One of the crew members came dashing inside. "Captain, there's something outside you should see now. It's important."

Touya sighed and began to walk towards the door. "Yuki, watch over him." The door closed behind him.

Syaoran continued to stare of Sakura, but a motion caught his eye. The stuffed animal flew towards him. Syaoran's eyes followed it as it circled around him.

"Kero…" the girl spoke cautiously, but she was ignored. It continued to observe Syaoran.

"There's something not right about you," it said as its eyes narrowed. "There's a disturbance around you, but I can see what."

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kero snorted. "That's not surprising, but I will be keeping an eye on you."

"Kero!" Sakura said more firmly. "That isn't how you treat people." She turned to Syaoran and for the first time, looked him in the eye. "I apologise…" She trailed off.

"Li."

"I apologise Li-san for both Kero and my brother. They're both very protective, but," she hesitated, but continued on, "I will place my trust in you."

Syaoran narrowed his eyes, unsure how to interpret that statement. 'Could someone truly be that trusting? Or is it a trap?' Syaoran chose to say nothing even though an answer was expected.

Yukito smiled. "Li-san is very quiet."

Syaoran shrugged. "I was taught not to say more than what's necessary."

"That doesn't make for very lively conversations though," the stuffed animal inputted with a snort. After making that statement, he was scolded upon.

Once again and awkward silence passed amongst them until the door opened and Touya returned. In a hurried voice, he ordered, "Sakura, Tomoyo, return to your rooms. Yuki, we're needed on the deck," and then as an afterthought, he said, "you too gaki."

Surprised by the sudden change of mood, everyone followed Touya's orders without a word and swiftly. Syaoran looked out the window and was surprised to see there was a raging storm outsidewithout him ever noticing. Sakura took a fleeting glance and her brother. While he looked composed and calm on the outside, she saw the firm line of his mouth, which symbolised worry. She frowned. She sensed that something horrible was about the happen, but she pushed the feeling aside and dashed to the safety of her room.

To be continued...

This chapter was difficult to write because all that went all was talking amongst the characters and not much action took place. However, it was necessarily in order for me to explain some background information. The plot will be getting more interesting in the next chapter.

Thank you FlowerLover, Yukimi the Ice Goddess and Tizabelle for your lovely reviews. Please keep them coming.