Authors Notes: I apologise to anyone who had been reading for not updating in such a long time. I've been going through a very bad period in my life so I had to give up writing amongst other things. Not that I'm a very good writer anyway, but I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sakura and Syaoran meet at last.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura. It is owned by the lovely ladies of CLAMP.

Chapter 7: The Mysterious Boy

Her eyes were fixated on the ground as she walked down the pathway. Three days had passed since the incident with Ryoji and how he had betrayed her and Tomoyo. Ryoji had been both kind and generous and she had liked him a lot. But he deceived them and in the end he had turned out to be an enemy, associated with the same people that had murdered her family. Every time she pictured her family's murder she imagined him standing there smiling softly. And every time she thought about it she wanted to be sick.

Tomoyo gazed sadly at her princess. She couldn't bare to see Sakura like this, but at the same time she could understand her sorrow. It also hurt her knowing that there was nothing she could possibly say or do to make things better. She felt so useless.

"Is that her!"

Her eyes widened and instantly the ivory haired girl turned around to discover that a group of Li soldiers were running towards them.

"Sakura-chan!" Only after hearing Tomoyo's voice did she realise what was happening. She gazed around, breathing heavily with her heart racing. No, not again!

"Sakura-chan, hurry!" screamed Tomoyo grabbing hold of her hand. Pulling her along they started to run but the soldiers easily caught up with and surrounded them.

"We've got you. There ain't no escaping now!"

"Be careful! She has magic!" shouted one the soldiers. "Look what she did to Captain Aoba's division!"

Tears ran down her cheeks. "I… I don't want to fight…" she whispered fearfully.

"Look she's crying for Christ sake! And you're telling me she's dangerous? You gotta be kidding me!"

"Please, I don't want to hurt anyone! I-I don't want to use my magic. I… I…I just want things back to normal! I want to go home were Father and Mother are always busy, have Onii-chan pick on me, and have Yukito smiling kindly at me!"

"That's it!" yelled one the men stepping forward.

"Captain!"
"Now you die!" He raised his sword and slashed it swiftly, ready to cut the princess's head off.

"Sakura-chan!"

The auburn haired girl screamed and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. But after a couple of seconds she realised that the blow never came. She opened her eyes and gasped. In front of her stood a young man wearing a cloak holding a sword steadily above his head stopping the soldier's attack against her. The soldier pulled his sword away and took a step back.

"Who the hell are you! And what the hell do you think you are doing?"

"You dare to interfere in the biddings of the Emperor of the Li dynasty!" The boy smiled at the irony of the statement.

"Don't just stand there, get him!" All the men rushed towards him seemingly too enraged with the boy to really care about the killing of the Princess. They swiftly drew their swords but the mysterious boy easily dodged all attacks.

"You little punk!"

Realising that attacking the boy individually was no good, they surrounded him. "You'll regret your actions, kid."

He smirked. "Will I, now?" It had been a long time since he had challenged any of the soldiers, the only difference this time was that they had no idea who he really was. It was amused him how differently they acted when it was a strange kid they were fighting and not the future Emperor of Li.

"Well I suppose it's time to end this." Syaoran sighed as he grasped his sword. A few seconds later all of the soldiers were knocked unconscious.

"Sakura-chan we have to get out of here!" cried Tomoyo tugging on her friend's sleeve. Sakura agreed with Tomoyo completely but for some reason she found herself unable to move.

The way that boy had defeated them so effortlessly… it was just so unreal…

"Well that certainly was boring." Suddenly his sword disappeared seemingly fading into thin air.

Sakura blinked in confusion as the boy turned around to face her.

"Don't tell me you couldn't have handled those soldiers on you own?" he asked in a somewhat mocking tone.

Sakura opened her mouth to argue but soon stopped realising her position. "You mean fight those soldiers? What are you talking about? I'm just a poor wandering girl. Of course my friend and I couldn't have defended ourselves!"

"I know who you are, and if you can't defeat those guys then your little Kingdom doesn't stand a chance."

Sakura's eyes widened. Taking a step back she raised her hand and stretched out her arm in attacking position. "What do you want? Who are you?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you doing? I just saved you life and this is the thanks I receive?"

Sakura frowned and lowered her arm slightly. "Gomen, I just-"

"I swear some Princesses are nothing but spoiled little brats…" he mumbled in an annoyance.

Tomoyo frowned. "How do you know that she is a princess?"

"Are you with those soldiers?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Are you really that thick? If I was with those soldiers then why the hell would I have saved you?"

Still Sakura held her guard.

He gave a faint chuckle. "What, you're going to kill me for saving your life? If you can't even defeat a small bunch of guys like that then how in the hell do you expect to even hurt me?"

"Who are you?" she asked warily.

"Tenjou Syaoran." he replied, obviously aware not to use his family name.

"Why did you save us and how do you know who I am? Did you hear the rumours about the escaped Kinomoto Princess and generously decided to save her life?"

"No I knew about you years ago."

Both girls blinked in confusion. "Years ago?"

"I know of the power the Kinomoto clan possess and of how only those with Kinomoto blood can open the chamber of Clow."

Sakura stared, shocked. "How-how did you know that? Are you from Li!"

"If I was from Li then I would have just done the exact opposite of what I just did. No, I come from a family who for hundreds of years have practiced magic. My ancestors were good friends with your ancestors and so the legend of the Clow chamber was known to them. Thus the story has been passed on from generation to generation just in case a situation such as this one arose; were someone other than the Kinomoto clan would attempt to open the chamber…"

"But isn't it only Sakura-chan who can open it?" asked Tomoyo still grasping on to the other girl.

"Yes, but the Li clan must think that the only way to open it is through the destruction of the Kinomoto family."

"But why would they think that?"

"Well throughout the magic community there have been many stories about how the Clow chamber can supposedly be opened. I imagine that the Kinomoto clan and those close to them would have kept the secret of how to open it heavily guarded. The Li clan must have mistakenly heard one of the rumours and believed that it was the true way they could open the chamber."

Tightly Sakura clenched her fists together, realisation sinking in. "So what you're saying is that my family died for no reason at all? That they died all because of some lie? Why couldn't the stupid Li clan have believed one of the other rumours! My family died for nothing!" She fell to her knees, and clutched on to them as if by holding tightly on to something the pain would go away. "They didn't deserve to die…"

The boy shrugged. "They probably would have died anyway. I mean if the Emperor of Li had found another way to supposedly open the chamber then he would have no doubt killed them eventually."

Sakura looked up at him shocked.

"How can you say such a thing!" shouted Tomoyo angrily. "Dear Sakura-chan's family just died and you are making it sound like it's nothing at all! If your family were so close with the Kinomoto clan then surely you should be showing some remorse over their deaths!"

He sighed and turned to Sakura. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. What I was trying to say is that bad things happen all the time, things that are fated; inevitable."

"So God willed it so that my family's fate would be to die for nothing." stated Sakura with no hidden remorse.

Slowly she picked herself up and turned to look at the road ahead. "I promised myself that I would avenge their deaths and that is just what I am going to do."

She turned to the other girl. "Tomoyo-chan, I think we should leave now."

Tomoyo nodded. "Hai."

With that both girls picked up their rucksacks and started to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going! I just saved your lives!"

"I know, and I thank you for doing so." replied the young princess with a bow. "But now we must go."

"I shall come too."

Sakura gave him a confused look. "Why?"

"To protect you of course, there are a lot more dangerous things in the world than those incompetent soldiers that attacked you, and if you can't even handle them then you definitely won't last very long out there."

"That is very kind of you but I'm not sure I can trust you."

"What! After all that I explained to you, you still won't believe that I'm not trying to kill you! Well it's good that you're not naïve, but…" He stopped and blinked, suddenly taking into account of the other girl with the Princess. "Uh, who is she?" he asked pointing.

"Daidoji Tomoyo." said the ivory haired girl with a small bow.

"You won't trust me, but you will trust her? How do you know that she isn't the enemy?"

"Because Tomoyo-chan has been with me before and after I left Kinomoto. Tomoyo-chan's been with me the whole time, she took care of me when I was hurt and stayed by my side when I was in danger. I trust her with my life."

The other girl blushed. "Sakura-chan…"

"This is going to be more difficult than I anticipated." thought Syaoran. "Perhaps, Eriol-sama was right. Nonetheless I will carry out my duty as planned. It is the only way I can prove myself worthy to the Emperor and my Mother."

"Well if you won't allow me to accompany you then I guess I'll just have to follow you instead."

"What?"

"I can't risk the little Princess getting hurt now can I?" he replied with a smirk.

"You can't follow us!" shouted Sakura becoming irritated.

"Oh and just how are you planning on stopping me?"

"Well..." Damn. He was right. There nothing she could do to stop him.

"Look I'm only doing what my clan ordered me to. I cannot defy their wishes."

Her eyes widened slightly upon hearing this. "That was exactly what Ryoji had said… But when he had said it, he was going against us... But this boy, he wants to help… Can I really trust him?"

"Well?"

Sakura turned to Tomoyo. "Let's go."

"Hai."

With that the two girls quickly walked away leaving the boy standing there puzzled.

"Why do women have to be so difficult?" he asked, sighing.

As Sakura and Tomoyo walked on, they found themselves within a small woodland area.

"It's quite pretty isn't it?" spoke Tomoyo. But Sakura however wasn't paying attention; too busy wondering if that mysterious boy was following them. If he was, then he was very good at concealing his presence. It actually made her feel slightly uneasy.

She looked about anxiously as they got deeper into the trees. "It-it's really quiet… Don't you um think it's a bit unnerving?"

"I'm sure if we run into any trouble then Tenjou-san will help us." Tomoyo replied with a small wink.

"Why, can you hear him following us?" she asked curiously.

"No, but from the determined look on his face I imagine that he is."

Sakura snorted. "I don't need his help. We don't even-" Suddenly she stopped, opening her mouth wide and letting out a deafening scream.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong!"

Immediately out of nowhere Syaoran appeared. Raising his sword he quickly brought it down piercing it sharply into the ground.

Sakura was cuddling into Tomoyo, terrified and shaking.

"Hey, it's okay. I got it."

Tomoyo blinked in confusion, having no idea what was going on. "Got what?"

Syaoran held up his sword. Attached to the bottom was a dead snake's corpse. "See?"

"Ha-hai..."

"I'll go get rid of it." He said before wandering into the bushes.

Tomoyo stared down at Sakura who was practically crushing her. "Now, now, don't worry. Tenjou-san killed the snake."

Sakura let go. "Tenjou-san?"

"Hai, the moment you started to scream he leapt out from the trees and pierced it with his sword."

"You sure scare easily." said Syaoran returning snake-free. "When you screamed I thought it was something serious, like you were being attacked."

"But snakes are scary!" declared Sakura shuddering. "I get frightened just thinking about them."

The chestnut haired boy sighed. "You could have easily gotten rid of it with your magic, you know."

The girl sweatdropped. "Oh I never actually thought of that..."

"And here the fate of an entire kingdom lies with in this girl's hands. The people of Kinomoto definitely don't have anything to worry about."

Sakura frowned. "I'm trying the best I can."

"What level would you say your magical abilities rate?"

"What rate? Um, well I'm not really sure…"

"Well then what can you do?"

"I uh can fire small attacks at people… and uh… oh and a shield seems to form around me when I'm in danger! It throws people back when ever they try to get near me."

"And?"

She blinked. "And what?"

He sighed yet again. "Your other abilities?"

"Oh, um that's really all I can do…"

The boy stared in disbelief. "The-the person who is able to open the Clow chamber only knows two simple spells!"

"Hey, I only actually learned how to use magic no more than a week ago!"

"What in the world was Clow-sama thinking when he made it so the Clow chamber could only be opened by a direct member of the Kinomoto clan bloodline? I mean they don't even practice magic anymore, yet the power to open it was given to them!" he muttered ignoring the girl's presence.

Noticing the sad look on her friend's face, Tomoyo spoke up. "I think that Sakura-chan's powers are really amazing! On her first time using magic it appeared that she knew exactly what she was doing!" she said admiringly.

"Let me guess, the first time you used your powers you were about to be attacked, right?" asked Syaoran turning back to Sakura.

She nodded. "Hai."

"And you were angry?"

Again she nodded.

"Anyone with magical abilities can easily use magic when they're under a large amount of stress. The real ability lies in controlling your powers."

"Controlling my powers?"

"When faced with a strong opponent you would use a larger portion of your powers, whilst with a weaker enemy you could get away with using a lesser percentage of your power."

"Um I think I use the same amount with each person…"

Syaoran stared furiously at her. How the hell could such power be left in the hands of such an incompetent family? The Li clan was far superior in every single way!

Sakura gazed back fearfully. He looked so angry that it was actually making her feel very intimidated. And this was the guy who was supposed to be protecting her from danger!

"Anou Syaoran-san…"

"Baka! You really are useless! How can such a power belong to such a hopeless and futile person? I wouldn't be surprised if the chamber couldn't even be opened because of your obvious lack of power!"

Sakura was now just as angry as he was. "If you think I'm so useless and unworthy then why don't you go search for the guardians and open the chamber yourself?"

"I would if I could but for some uncanny reason only those of Kinomoto blood can open it, something which I obviously don't have. So the only way for me to insure the safety of Kinomoto is to accompany you and protect you from harm."

Sakura sighed. "So that means you'll follow and protect me until I find the guardians and open the chamber?" He nodded.

"Well if you are going to be Sakura-chan's protector then I think you should show a bit more courtesy and respect for her. She is a princess after all." added Tomoyo.

"Yeah, stop being so mean!" Sakura had never demanded respect off anyone just because she was a Princess, but this guy was seriously beginning to annoy her.

"You're one to talk about being rude Princess! I save you life and instead of receiving a kind thank you, all I get are idiotic suspicions that I'm trying to kill you!"

Tomoyo sighed in the background as the pair continued to argue. "My, my, we certainly did get off on the wrong foot…"

A few hours passed and deciding that it was stupid to have Syaoran hiding from them when they knew fine well that he was following them, they allowed him to walk with them. Tomoyo had been worried that they would continue to argue, but in actual fact they hardly said anything at all. She had a feeling that Syaoran was naturally always quiet but Sakura on the other hand she was worried about. Perhaps Syaoran's words had hurt her.

Sakura-chan doesn't need to go through anymore pain that she has all ready been through…

"It's getting dark, I think we better settle here for the night." announced Syaoran.

"All right then." agreed Sakura.

"I will go get the food out of our rucksacks." offered Tomoyo kindly.

"I guess I'll go collect some wood for a fire in case it becomes chilly." said Sakura, standing up.

"No need." replied Syaoran as held out his hand.

Staring at it, Sakura was startled when small ball of fire shot from it. Placing his hand on the ground the small flames grew to the size of a normal campfire.

"Su-sugoi!" cried Sakura in disbelief. "But didn't the flames hurt your hand?" she said, looking to see if there were any burn marks on it.

"No. I control it. It's a useful spell and quite easy to do."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think even an inexperienced amateur like you could learn to do it."

"Hey!" She stopped and sighed. "Yeah I guess it would be really great if I were able to do something like that."

"I'll teach you sometime." replied Syaoran, yawning.

Sakura's eyed widened a little, surprised that he would offer to show her. It was the first time he had been sort of nice to her since they had met. She smiled. "Arigato."

Maybe he isn't so bad after all.

"So are any of the guardians you sense close by?" he asked curiously.

"Sense? Umm…Well actually I haven't been able to sense anything at all!" she replied in light hearted voice trying to conceal her worry.

Syaoran stared. Then: "WHAT?"

"I-I…"

"You're saying you have no idea where the hell they are? That for all you know they could be in the completely opposite direction from us?"

"Ha-hai…"

Syaoran collapsed to the ground.

"Gomen! Gomen! I promise that I'll try harder!"

Tomoyo returned with some food and with Sakura panicking and her protector lying awkwardly on the ground she couldn't help but sigh once again. "My, my…"

Syaoran too, sighed, a sweatdrop handing from his head. "God this is pathetic…"

Eriol gave a small laugh as he watched his young student through a portal.

"This is definitely better than any book!" exclaimed Nakura, standing behind her master, shoving crackers into her mouth.

"I agree. It looks like our little wolf is going to have much more difficult time than he first anticipated." he replied, smirking in amusement.

Authors Notes: I hope that was alright and not too bad. The next chapter should be out fairly soon. Reviews and any advice on how I could improve my writing are greatly appreciated. Arigato for reading.