"Eriol-kun?"
"Yes, Sakura-chan, it's me," said Eriol, his voice steady and quiet, like always, but there was a hint of worry behind it, "Are you quite all right?"
"Yes," said Sakura, wondering if he knew what had happened not so long ago, "did you feel it as well?"
"I did, Sakura-chan. It was quite overwhelming, I've never felt anything like it."
"What was it, Eriol-kun?"
There was a pause at the end of the line.
"I'm not sure," he said and Sakura could picture him, sitting on an old-fashioned chair, his deep blue eyes shining with worry but somehow, the picture made her more calm.
He continued, "but it felt like a foreboding of some kind, though it felt foreign, as if it did not belong to me. You need to keep your eyes open. Something's about to start."
Nodding, Sakura looked outside her window, as if to see something strange flying through the sky, like so many years ago when her adventures had just started for the first time. They continued to speak for a couple of more minutes, their discussion ending with a surprise.
"You're coming!"
"Mmm," said Eriol, a hint of amusement in his voice, "I've decided to return."
"I'm so glad!" said Sakura excitedly, "for how long, Eriol-kun?"
"I'm not sure, yet but this seems to be the best time to come."
After a few more words, they hung up. His voice still resided in her mind, no longer the voice of Clow Reed but his own, the softer, younger voice that belonged only to Eriol. Knowing he would come back, Sakura felt relieved. She knew he was not Clow Reed himself but his presence always made her feel safer.
She told Kero what they had spoken of and he too seemed a little relieved because of his upcoming visit.
"Well, if he felt it, then the magic behind it must have been very strong."
Casting a confused look in his direction, Kero explained.
"The reincarnation of Clow will always be with him but his powers must have long vanished. The only reason for his active powers a few years ago were all because of Clow's plans to help you. Now that that's over, his powers must have all but disappeared."
He floated over to the desk, sitting down at the very edge, using his own powers to lift the cards out of Sakura's backpack and making them float in front of him.
"The cards are restless as well," stated Sakura, her eyes returning to the window, briefly wondering what the stars were truly made of. Could they just be big balls of gas that looked so beautiful in the night sky— or could they be so much more than that?
"Mmmm," was all Kero said.
A couple of quiet second passed before the piercing ring of the cell phone interrupted their thoughts.
"Moshi Moshi! This is Kinomoto speaking."
"Are you all right, Sakura-chan?" came Tomoyo's worried voice from the other line, "did you get home all right?"
"Yes, Tomoyo-chan, thank you," said Sakura, smiling slightly at her friend's relieved sigh.
"Good. I'll sleep sound tonight then."
"Hoe?"
"Good night, Sakura-chan."
"Good night, Tomoyo-chan."
Sakura had barely any time to bring her phone down to her side again before it rang once more.
"You sure are popular today, Sakura," said Kero, his eyebrows raised at the phone's almost- annoyed kind of ringing.
"Moshi Mo—"
"Sakura!"
A soft gasp escaped from her lips, her heart skipped a beat.
"Syaoran?"
"The kid?" screeched Kero, his eyes widening as he looked at Sakura.
"Are you ok? What happened?"
His tone was almost bordering panic.
"Uhh–" said Sakura, caught off track for some strange reason. It wasn't as if she had never talked to him on the phone before. Maybe her nerves were still unsteady.
"I'm ok, Syaoran. Did you feel it as well?"
"Of course I did," he said, his tone calming down a little but the worry remained, "it wasn't like anything I've sensed. It felt like it wasn't mine–" he paused, searching for the words to explain the feeling but Sakura caught him off.
"Foreign?" said Sakura quietly, echoing Eriol-kun's words.
"Yeah, how did you–"
"Eriol-kun felt it too and so did my onii-chan!"
"That's strange," he stated, "but you said your brother is slowly re-gaining his powers, right?"
"It seems so," said Sakura, looking at Kero who had just flown next to her and was intently listening to their conversation.
"Well, I don't like this," said Syaoran, his voice strong and definite as he continued to speak, "Al of this funny business is supposed to be over."
He sighed deeply before speaking again.
"I'll convince my family sonehow but I'm going over there."
"What!" yelled Sakura, her head snapping up at his words, making Kero yell as well as she half knocked him over, "But you said—"
"I know what I said but this is what I'm saying now," he spoke with such a certain defenitiveness that Sakura did not argue.
"Eriol-kun is coming as well."
Syaoran mumbled something that Sakura could not quite catch but she laughed. Even though the three of them got along, Syaoran seemed to be unable to let boyhood rivalry go.
"Syaoran?"
"Huh?"
"I'm glad you're coming."
A pause.
"Me too."
Easier said than done. If there was ever a time Syaoran would test his courage, it was now. Though he knew what he must do, the task of actually doing it was proving to be a worthy opponent. He lost count of how many times he must have raised his hands to open the chanmber doors, only to bring them back down again and sigh, aggravated. After a while of repeating this, he finally summoned the courage once he remembered her voice.
"I'm glad you're coming," she had said to him.
"Ohh ho, I'm coming, all right!"
Determined he opened the chamber doors to meet the elders, who were currently having a semi-formal meeting with his mother. They did not mind his intrusion, they did not even acknowledge him until he stood in front of them and cleared his throat. Currently, they were sitting in a circle, speaking of who knows what but syaoran found out he didn't care. His fist touched his palm in respect towards the elders and his mother and bowed low and long. When his eyes finally rose to meet the elders, they were all looking at him with a look of mild surprise.
"To what do we own this rare visit, Siu Lohng?" asked an elder from his mother's right, his face showed the signs of age with wrinkles that looked as if they had been forged with fire, deep and strong in shape.
"I have a request."
He found his voice echoing in the room, unsettling him a bit for some reason. He mentally shook himself.. This was not the time to lose his nerve!
"State it," said the same elder.
"First, I would like to ask something," he looked around the room, at the impassive faces of so many of the elders, "did any of the elders feel a strange feeling yesterday night, an uneasiness?"
The heads of many of the elders cocked to the side, thinking back to what seemed to be too long ago. After a while, they responded negatively, surveying him with a new curiosity.
"Why do you ask, Siu Lohng?" asked a different elder, one from his mother's right side and the only one that Syaoran could say he truly liked. He too had deep wrinkles, as many as the others had. However, his wrinkles seemed to be a part of him ,as if he had been born with them. They were a part of his face, accepted and absorbed by his very being. His hair was silver, different from the white hair the other elders sported but the same length and style. However, it was his open mind that Syaoran liked so much. He was more tolerant than the others and more willing to admit that the world had changed from what it had once been. He also seemed to understand his feelings for Sakura and was willing to help him as much as he could. In Syaoran's eyes, the small piece of information he had been given by the elder was more than enough for Syaoran and he would be forever thankful.
"Well, I sensed something unsettling yesterday night. However, it was not a feeling of mine but someone else's," he paused here, more because he was afraid of their response than for dramatics.
"Who's was it?"
This time it was his mother who asked.
"Kinomoto's."
A murmur ran through the elders but his mother said nothing. An old man from Syaoran's right spoke first.
"Siu Lohng, it seems you want to start this conversation yet again," he sighed wearily, " but the answer will be the same."
"It is not a matter of my relationship with Kinomoto," stated Syaoran simply, looking at the group of men with unwavering eyes, "I fear it has to do something with the cards—"
"The cards do not concern you anymore," said Kaling-san, the elder Syaoran liked the best, "I suggest you do not the cards as an opening statement."
"What is it you wish?" asked Li Yelan, knowing her son very well, she knew he wouldn't come out of nowhere, demanding to be heard once again. Not when they had talked about this before. There had to be a better reason.
"To go back to Tomoeda."
A louder murmur ran through the elders once again, this time their tone was more indignant and annoyed.
"I've had just about enough, Siu Lohng," stated Li Yelan angrily, her beautiful face forming into a frown, an irritated frown, "You do not interrupt a meeting of the elders for this nonsense."
"It's not nonsense, mother," stated Syaoran, just as angrily as his mother, "If I really wanted a chance to convince you to let me be with Sak— Kinomoto, then I wouldn't have just burst in!"
He shook his head, trying to calm himself.
"I felt something yesterday and I fear there might be trouble."
"Very well, let's say there is something happening," started yet another elder reasonably, "How would that concern you if the cards are not yours?"
Syaoran's eyes traveled to Kaling-san for a moment and he could swear he saw the tiniest of nods. Certain of what he was about to say, he plunged ahead.
"I may not be the guardian of the cards but I am the Cardcaptor's guardian."
A pregnant silence filled the room, overwhelmingly so and to the point where Syaoran panicked a little. It was his mother who broke it once and for all.
"It is true, Siu Lohng, that you are her guardian," her eyes bore into his, "but she has two more guardians at her service, how would you make a difference?"
Trying to bite back a harsh retort, he instead spoke with integrity.
"It is my responsibility and as part of the Li clan, I've always been taught to follow my duty."
Yet another small silence followed and Syaoran felt as if he was playing a tricky game of chess. His gambit seemed to be working, though and for that he was grateful. He became even more grateful when Kaling-san spoke.
"Is there any way we could stop you, Siu Lohng?"
Syaoran shook his head.
"Well," continued Kaling-san, his voice soft but echoing throughout the chamber with power, "I do not see the point of trying to stop the young master if he is obviously so willing to do his duty."
His eyes scanned the other elders, as if daring them to tell him otherwise.
"After all, it is taught that one must always follow their responsibility, especially in our Clan."
Li Yelan looked as if she had just witnessed the birth of a two headed dragon. Her eyes were full with surprise as the other elders ever so reluctantly nodded their heads.
"Well?" asked Kaling-san to Li Yelan, "It is your choice as well, Li Yelan."
"Doesn't seem like much of a choice," said Li Yelan quietly but raised her hand at her son, signaling him to come closer. He did and was most relieved when she pulled his ear, in front of all the elders, as if scolding him before giving her assent.
Syaoran had to strain to not jump and shout in triumph.
Checkmate.
Sakura was extremely happy when she saw eriol. He was always so handsome but age seemed to really like him. It seemed the older he got, the more handsome he became. Sakura had to bite back the image of having to swat love-struck girls away with a fly swatter. Like always, he brought much needed comfort to Sakura. It was almost like having another big brother, though with her onii-chan, one was more than enough. He came to visit her at her house and they spent the afternoon talking, catching up and for once, really just hanging out like teenagers were supposed to. Tomoyo-chan soon joined them and their conversation soon became a movie marathon of Sakura's Cardcaptor days.
Sakura had to admit that watching the videos with friends was a lot more fun than by herself. She had laughed herself silly at her earlier mistakes, when Syaoran was still mean to her and her confidence was rock bottom. Eriol would keep commentary of some of the cards of Clow Reed, using his memory of how they were created and why.
In all, spending the day with her friends felt extremely good. She couldn't stop smiling and for that day, the feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach had vanished. Eriol informed her that Tomoyo had invited him to stay in her house and Tomoyo would not accept no as an answer.
After they left, Sakura flopped on her bed, her face shining towards the ceiling.
"Eriol seems to be well," said Kero, floating next to her and flopping beside her, "but it sure is weird to have him here."
"Clow's presence in him is less prominent, though," said Sakura, turning to survey little Kero who was looking at the ceiling with great intensity.
"Mmmm,"
"But I'm so happy he's back!" sighed Sakura, shifting to her right to look at Kero more clearly, "It always feels better when he's here."
She thought for a moment before speaking again.
"Should we tell Yue-san he's back?"
"He knows," said Kero, nodding slightly, "he's not far away, I'm sure he felt his presence, no matter how much his presence has diminished."
Sakura sat up, looking at her calendar at the table and sighing.
"One more day..."
"For?" asked Kero curiously.
"Until Syaoran comes back!"
"Ahhh, the kid,"
Frowning a little, Sakura reprimanded him,
"He has a name, you know," she continued in the same tone, "and besides, he's seventeen years old, that does not qualify him as a kid."
"He's seventeen?" asked Kero, his curiosity peaking.
Sakura nodded at him and was most surprised when his face fell.
"Why?"
Kero shook his head, as if to say that it was nothing and continued to look up at the ceiling. Feeling a little unsettled, Sakura's gaze returned to the calendar.
One more day...