Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from "CardCaptor Sakura". They are all owned by the ladies of CLAMP who are much more talented than I. (smile) I also do not own anyone from "Sailor Moon". They are all owned by Takeuchi Naoko whose vision will live eternally. (smile) (Much to Elflina's dismay...) All other characters are my own. Feel free to steal them.

I do not hold chapters ransom for reviews, but I sure appreciate compliments, constructive criticism, and grammatical corrections. So if you feel like it, please press that little review button, and let me know what you think.

Wow, I'm on a roll with five whole reviews for chapter 25! Thanks, everyone! Greetings to Taeniaea, aserene, Miss Takin, Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85, and yaoifanboy. (smile) Here's a CCS chapter for you, but I'm afraid there's no Touya and that we'll be going back to the senshi again for a little while. Don't worry. We have some good Sakura chapters coming up! And I hope Yuki will do in place of Touya (wink). And today, we get to find out Pluto's combination. Haha, don't forget ChibiUsa's combination, Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85.

A-a-and... I've been added to a C2 group. Wow. Thanks! (grin) It helped me find a very good XXXholic/CCS/HP fanfic author! I spent all night reading her(?) work. Wonderful. (wink) And a really good Touya story over there...

And welcome to X00001! I hope you make it to this chapter. Thanks for reviewing! And now, enjoy, minna! Another update tomorrow night, and then I'm off for the weekend... - Raya

Moonlit Sakura

Chapter 26 – Connections

Quietly, Sakura let herself into the nursery on the roof of Tamano's Greenhouses and Flower Shop. Breathing shallowly, she looked around until she spotted a familiar silver head in the far corner by a stand of trees. She smiled with relief as she quickly crossed the garden to stand beside him.

"Sakura-chan? What brings you here?" Yukito asked in surprise as she came to a stop beside him.

"Hi, Yukito-san. I, um, wanted to talk to you," she replied breathlessly. Tentatively, she took a deeper breath. When she realized that there weren't any strong scents around, she relaxed with a sigh and began to breathe normally. Yukito watched her curiously, waiting for her to continue.

"Um, well, you see…," she continued a little nervously as she played with a strap on her book bag. "It's about scent magic. A few weeks ago, Kero told me that scents can play a big part in magic, but he didn't tell me much more than that. He said that you or Shaoran-kun would be teaching me that."

Yukito turned back to his potting task with a nod. "Yes, scents can play a big part in magic. Some magicians use them to enhance their focus or energy. You've never seemed to need that additional boost, so we decided to postpone talking about it. Is there some reason you are worried about it?"

Sakura nodded, then placed her book bag on the table, reached out ,and handed him some more soil for the pot. "I just realized a little while ago… Every time one of the Cards has changed I've been around some strong scent. In fact, the first one didn't change until I started burning the aromatherapy candles to help me to sleep. That's when Kero got concerned."

"Hmm…" Yukito nodded with a frown. "Strong scents are involved in the changes? You always smell a strong scent before the Cards change? Or the Cards change whenever you smell a strong scent?"

Sakura shook her head as she shifted out of his way. Gently, he lowered a full pot of ornamental grass from the table to the floor. She watched as he pushed it over next to a row of similar pots. "No, not that exactly…" she said as she lifted a new pot up onto the table for filling. "It's like… For the first Card, Moon/Purity. I was having trouble sleeping, so I lit some soothing aromatherapy candles. Some sort of jasmine mix, I think it was."

She reached into her book bag and quickly withdrew a small bag. "I brought some samples," she said holding the bag out to her Guardian. He turned away from the pot he was beginning to fill, dusted the soil off of his hands, and accepted the bag. Sakura held her breath as he opened it, looked inside, and took a deep breath. Giving her a gentle smile, he re-closed the bag.

"Really strong jasmine, a bit of rose, some lavender, sweet woodruff, and cinnamon. What an interesting blend," he said sounding amused.

"Oh, I only burned the jasmine, rose, and lavender one first," Sakura said hurriedly. "I didn't burn the cinnamon one or the other until later when I was trying to study. That's when Sun/Life and Fire/War transformed."

"Hmm…" he said again as he put the bag down and turned to pick up another small mass of grass to put in the pot.

"Then, when Silent and Erase merged and created Death/Destruction, Shaoran-kun had just given me a bouquet of mimosas. There was something else, too…" she said as she creased her forehead in thought. "An incense… Oh yeah. Myrhh. Wei-san was apparently using it for a ritual or something and the smell was all in Shaoran-kun's clothes."

"Death… Myrhh… That makes sense," Yukito said softly as he added soil to the pot. Once again, Sakura moved to help him. "What was the next one?"

"That was when we did the Card reading and Shield covered Woody," she replied. "Remember? Shaoran-kun was burning that star anise."

"That was when we had that Indian tea, too, right?" he asked as he glanced at her. She nodded. "That had some pretty strong flavors and scents, too. Hmm… I remember cloves the most…"

"Hu-e?" she asked curiously. "Oh, that's right… I did put a little too much clove in that time, didn't I," she said with a bit of embarrassment.

"It tasted fine," Yukito said reassuringly as he gave her a gentle smile. "So, what was next? So far, we have Jasmine for Moon/Purity, Cinnamon Spice and Sweet Woodruff for Sun/Life and Fire/War, Mimosa and Myrrh for Death/Destruction, and Star Anise and Clove for Strength/Protection…"

"Metal/Beauty was next. What do I remember most…" she asked herself reflectively. In her mind, she went back to the garden and saw the pond with the gazebo. "Apple… Rose…"

She jumped as Yukito lifted the full pot off of the table and took it over to its place in line. "Hmm… After that… Spearmint, sweet pea, sakura, water lilies… Those must have been associated with Wind/Rebellion and Water/Affinity," she added as he walked back to the table. "And that's it. So far…"

"Hmm…" Yukito said quietly as he put a tall pot on a wheeled platform and moved it beside the table.

Sakura watched anxiously as he began to put dirt in it. "Well?" she prompted when he didn't say anything more.

He gave her a quick smile. "I was just running through associations in my mind," he replied calmly. "Jasmine is associated with the Moon. That's a pretty obvious one. Cinnamon Spice is usually associated with Sun or Mars. Sweet Woodruff is associated with Mars, too, as is fire and war. And since Mimosas and Myrrh are both associated with Saturn, I'd say we have a trend going. Something to do with the planets."

Sakura stared at him wide-eyed as he lifted a tall sapling into the pot and then split the burlap around its root ball. "So… Star Anise and Clove?"

"Jupiter, I believe. That would make sense with Strength. Apple and Rose are both associated with Venus and Beauty. The only thing is… The standard planetary scent associations only go up to Saturn. The three outer planets, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto, weren't discovered when these associations were being made."

"So…" Sakura said reflectively. She leaned over to steady the tree so Yukito could use both hands to put more soil in the pot. As she stood there, she let her mind wander around the information that he had given her. "Well… Water Lilies would be associated with Water, right? And water is associated with Mercury…"

Yukito flashed her a smile. "Yes, that's true. But Mercury has official associations. Water could also stand for Neptune, who is the Sea King. Sweet Peas are associated with Air. Uranus is the Sky King, so that might be a link as well. Wind, Air, Sky, Uranus…"

Sakura nodded with a smile. It faded though as another thought occurred to her. "But… What do the planets have to do with anything?" She and Yukito exchanged uncertain looks.

"Hmm… Good question," the guardian replied with a nod. "It's the common link, but how does it help…"

Sakura suddenly stiffened with a gasp. A dark light emanated from her book bag, bathing the entire area like a blacklight, and then faded. Sakura trembled as she stared at her bag with wide eyes.

"Sakura-chan?" Yukito asked with concern.

Slowly, she released the sapling and walked over to her bag. She pulled out the Sakura Book, opened it, and looked for the newly changed Card. Yukito dusted off his hands as he stood and joined her. He looked at her with concern as she found it and slowly raised it up.

"So sad, yet happy…," she muttered softly as she stared at Sand and the little black cat who had covered Time. "Time. Revolution." She blinked, and then focused her eyes on her silver guardian. "Revolution as in things going around and around, not as in war. Spinning… No… Cycling. But… I didn't smell anything this time…"

Yukito looked over at the sapling they had been planting together, and then at the ornamental grass she had helped him plant. "Which ones are left?" he asked softly.

"Hu-e?" she asked uncertainly.

"Which planets are left?" he asked again, still looking at the plants.

Curiously, she looked over her shoulder to see what he found so interesting. "Either Neptune or Mercury and Pluto. Why?"

Yukito sighed softly, and then moved to stand by the tree. "This is a cypress tree. It was sacred to Pluto." Sakura's eyes widened at this information. "And that grass… It's vetiver grass. Its roots are used to make an oil that has a smoky, darkish scent. One that would be appropriate for Pluto: King of the Underworld."

Once again, the two friends exchanged looks. "But… What does it MEAN?" Sakura asked again, almost wailing.

Yukito blinked, and then smiled. "Well… I can think of one thing at least…"

"What!" his mistress asked excitedly.

"There's only one planet left. That means only two more Cards to merge." 'Unless… Unless the ancient planets are included as well…' he thought to himself. He kept this thought quiet, though, as he saw the relief and hope that lit his friend's face.