As promised, i'm back on my computer and uploading the chapter i finished a while back... umm, i'm going to edit the next chapter, and if my computer doesn't crap out on me you'll get the rare but not unheard of occurance of 2 chapters in a row!!!
Cardcaptors and Fruits Basket do not belong to me, and so far no characters introduced have been original. but enjoy anyway....
Yuki sat beside Li, who had taken the back corner near the windows. The strangers had arranged themselves automatically so that the girl with the braids sat next to the shorter girl, who sat in front of Li. By the time the class had set themselves up, the seat next to the boy and the one next to it where the only ones left. Kyo and Tohru settled themselves in front of the two girls, and though Tohru did glance back to him with a worried expression she didn't switch her seat next to him. Yuki sighed as the boy looked over at him.
"Don't worry Yuki." Li didn't smile, but the reassurance in his eyes was clear. "We don't gab on our friends."
"Who said I was your friend?" he wasn't trying to be rude, but Li knew that and chanced a rare grin.
"Even if you don't want to be friends with us, we're friends with Kyo, and we won't chance it. So…" Li looked up at Kyo and Tohru, "Whose the girl?"
"Tohru? She lives with us and our cousin Shigure." Yuki looked up and watched her as she laughed at something Sakura said. Two girls had taken the seats in front of Kyo and Tohru, and seemed to be close to the conversation as they giggled too.
Li looked over at the girls as he noticed the flatness of the gray boys glance. He knew that flatness, it was a shield he wore before he admitted his feelings for Sakura. Poor boy, he also knew that it wasn't going to be easy, for the girls gaze rested on Kyo like she already knew.
What she knew was something only a girl could explain, and something every guy with eyes could recognize. Apparently Kyo was going around blind.
"Who're those two?" Li asked, trying to take Yuki's mind of his brooding.
"The blond with the long skirt is Arisa Uotani, she used to be a thug." Li frowned slightly and smirked, " And the creepy girl sitting next to her is Saki Hanajima, She's a psychic."
"A psychic? And she hasn't figured out your secret yet?" Li took a breath and concentrated. The girl had a deep purple aura, yet the color was secondary to the electric impulses that scattered through and around it happily. Abruptly he cut his sight as the girl shifted to stare at him. It was very like the look his mother gave him when he was being irritating. He gulped and melted into his chair. She nodded to him, then turned her attention back to Tohru as she waved her hands and laughed at something Uo had said.
"Your right."
"Huh?"
"She's creepy."
"Welcome class!" a bright cheery voice cut through the chatter and made Li sit up straight as his hand tapped Sakuras shoulder. Sakura grinned brightly as the teacher set his briefcase down. "This is your senior year, and I hope that with this new school and the eagerness I can feel from… most… of your minds," he locked eyes with Li, who smirked into the mans blue gaze. "That this year will be the best year we can possibly make it." He picked up a piece of chalk from the blackboard and wrote his name in precise English followed by kanji. Eriol Hiiragizawa. When Tomoyo began to giggle the teacher set down the chalk and smiled broadly. "Miss Tomoyo? Is something funny?" he unclasped his briefcase and took out a large stack of papers.
"Sorry Mr. Hiiragizawa, Sensei." She took a few deep breaths to gain control of herself and folded her hands neatly on the desk before her.
"Ok then, let me pass out these, and we'll get started with todays lesson."
"Oh. My. God!" Sakura chattered as the class began to pack up for the day. Yuki moved up to rejoin Tohru and Kyo, and Sakura almost bumped into him as he passed. "Oh!" she jerked back sharply, and looked up into his panicked eyes before she bowed and apologized.
"That's ok." Yuki nudged her shoulders back so that she could look at him. "Just… Um, be careful, please." He bowed slightly and, telling Tohru that he would walk her to her job, left the room.
"Kyo, are you ok?" Tohru asked as she gathered her things.
"Yeah, I'll pick you up, I think Yuki's going to be busy tonight."
"Ok, it was nice meeting you all." Tohru bowed, Sakura bowed back, and the girl left to meet Yuki in the hall.
"She's nice Kyo." Tomoyo grinned and patted the boys hand, "I can tell you like her, its nice to know you have good taste." Kyo looked over at the braided menace and sputtered,
"Bu- its… you…" he sighed heavily, and gave up, "You still scare me." he admitted.
"Kyo, it is kinda obvious." Sakura agreed, then smiled as the teacher came to join their circle. "So, Eriol… I mean, Hiiragizawa dono…" she bowed as the teacher smirked.
"Well, I can see that you're all still getting along." Eriol patted Sakura's head kindly, "its good knowing you took my advice to heart." He bowed to Li who bowed solemnly back.
"Ancestor." Li smiled gently.
"Ancestor?" Kyo looked up at the man, who's unlined face was chuckling at the puzzlement on his face.
"Ah, young Sohma, I didn't expect this." He grinned at Sakura who chuckled, "I guess that proves my foresight abilities aren't as sharp as they used to be."
"What are you guys talking about?" Kyo bristled.
"Oh, don't worry young cat. You met me before but I couldn't allow you to remember and mess up the schedule I'd laid." Eriol laughed and patted Kyos head as his face turned red.
"Kyo, don't worry, Eriol is like us. Actually, he's the reincarnation of Li's ancestor, Clow, the man who invented the cards I use."
"Oh, well that explains everything." Kyo drawled sarcastically.
"Its all right Kyo." Li smirked, "He probably knows more about your family than you do. Eriols got his fingers in every pie available to them." He looked up at the man and shook his head, "How'd you grow so fast?"
"I held myself back so I could help Sakura through the change. Once I split with her father I really didn't have enough power at my disposal to stay, and I really didn't have the desire to stay that way forever either." He ruffled Kyo's hair, his hand still on the boys head, and laughed, "Besides I have a girlfriend who was just a bit disconcerted to be dating a fifth-grader!"
"Miss Mizuki!" Sakura giggled.
"Sakura, you do have the most amazing ability to fish out the truth." He took his hand from Kyo's head and tapped Sakuras nose.
"The last letter she sent told me she was going to visit relatives to tell them she met a great guy and to expect a present from her to arrive shortly." She laughed, "She didn't tell me my present was going to be a tall foreigner!"
"Ah, but I'm only half the present." Eriol pulled a box from his briefcase and handed it to the girl. "She told me that she would like you to have it, and that you'll figure out why soon enough." Sakura glanced at Li, who nodded, having sensed the pulse of magic within.
"Can I open it?" She asked carefully. Eriol laid a finger on the gold foil of the wrapping paper and muttered quietly. Kyo jumped as a sharp light flashed brightly where his finger laid, and had to concentrate on his breathing to quiet his heartbeat.
"It's safe enough; but requires a bit of watching." Eriol lifted his finger and stepped back while Sakura carefully pulled back the wrapping paper. She handed the foil to Li, who folded it and put it in his back pocket while Sakura pulled the top off the box. It seemed a sigh went through the group as the tiny charm was revealed.
A tiny, but brilliant sapphire rested on a cloud of cotton, set in a small silver disc and connected to a long pink ribbon. Around the gem, on the silver where etched meaningless symbols to Kyo's eyes, but obviously they meant something to his friends.
"Those are the symbols that surround me when I'm doing my magic!" Sakura smiled, warmth spreading over her chest as she recognized the five elements.
"Metal, Earth, Water, Air, Fire." Li agreed with a solemn nod. "They keep the amulet free from corruption."
"Protecting it?" Sakura asked Li, then looking over to Eriol she frowned gently. "From what?"
"From curses." Kyo blurted out, then realized he'd been easing away from the group since the second Eriol removed his hand from the package. "It scares the cat." His shoulders shook as Sakura reached to pat his arm soothingly. He snatched it back as she made contact. "Its really afraid." He looked away and closed his eyes, trying to calm the clawing panic inside.
"I'll put it away, Kyo, its all right." She placed the cover over the box and put it away in her pocket. Suddenly it was like the little charm didn't exist. "My cards will protect it, and you." This time when she placed her hand on his arm to sooth, it worked. The cat calmed, and settled down in the pit of his stomach, where he could always feel it sleeping. He took a few deep breaths and smiled shakily.
"Well, an eventful first day at school, huh?" he chuckled in relief and laid his head on her shoulder as she giggled softly.
"Yes, well, hmm." Sakura caught the relief in Li's eyes as the cat had calmed, having been trapped inside the cats panic could not have been fun for Kyo, and Li knew how hard the cat grabbed onto what it considered his.
"So, how do you think Yuki's going to react to us knowing?" Tomoyo laid a soothing hand on Kyo's shoulder.
"He's probably going to bite my head off when I get home." Kyo shrugged, "not like we don't fight all the time anyway, at least this one will have more substance to it than "stupid cat"."
"Why don't we explain it all to him?" Sakura flung her bookbag over her shoulder and smiled as she tugged the others toward the door.
"I dunno, if Shigure is home he'll insist that we have to tell Akito." Li shivered and shook his head.
"I think we should try to keep this between us. We should tell Yuki about our switch, but other than that? I'd feel more secure knowing that the head of your family is oblivious to us."
"Why don't you take Syaoran?" Sakura asked, "Yuki might be more comfortable with just a guy explaining things."
"That works." Kyo nodded, "come on," he nodded to Li, "this should be interesting."
So far Yuki has had three different people reasure him as to their secret keeping abilitys... personally i think thats a lucky number... and yes, it will come up...
"catcha on the flip side." (if you can tell me who said that in which movie (that is coming out soon with a sequel) you get an extra point!
