Monthly updates? Shocking! Here's to another fun year with this fic! As usual, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

8- Sakura and the Lazy Sports Festival

Sakura held her breath as she watched Syaoran close the gap between them, his eyes focused on the track in front of him and his labored breathing matched with the pounding of his feet against the ground. Sakura began to jog forward as he drew closer, and finally he fell in beside her, reaching out to hand her the smooth plastic baton he was carrying. She grasped it firmly in her hand and then took off running, forgetting everything around her except the path of dirt between the white lines that stretched ahead. In the distance, growing closer and closer with every footfall, she could see another figure standing, staring, waiting.

And then suddenly Sakura had caught up, passing the baton off to the girl who'd been waiting for her and allowing her tired legs to slow down as her teammate barreled forward with a burst of speed that left even Sakura impressed. By the time she and Syaoran managed to catch their breath and return to the starting point, the girl was already pointing to Tomoyo's stopwatch and cheering.

"Awesome, guys! That's our best time yet! We'll totally beat Reicchan-senpai's class with this! Hicchan, just make sure you master that hand-off to Li-kun, alright? If you drop the baton, we're totally screwed-"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time!"

Tomoyo laughed as Kanda and Hayashi began to elbow each other playfully, while Sakura and Syaoran caught up with her and glanced over her shoulder at the stopwatch.

"Hey, not bad," Syaoran commented.

"It helps that our class has two members of the track team along with Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo chimed in reply. "Kanda-san and Hayashi-san are pretty impressive to be able to keep up with you two."

Sakura blushed. "You mean the other way around, right? I mean, I heard Hayashi-san might even be going to nationals this spring…"

"Nonsense! Sakura-chan is every bit as good an athlete as-"

Tomoyo's enthusiasm was cut off by an even more enthusiastic embrace from Hayashi, who seemed to have jumped in without even paying attention to what was being said. "Hey, Tomoyo-chan, Tomoyo-chan! Let's go get some drinks! I promised Hicchan I'd buy if he did the hand-off perfectly. Can I call you Tomoyo-chan? You can call me Aiko-chan if you want-!"

The combined excitement from the two girls was infectious, but Sakura and Syaoran were too exhausted from the practice to do much besides smile and wave at them as they headed around the corner of the school building toward the vending machines. The schoolyard was almost empty by this point, filled only by the tents and signs that had been set up that afternoon by student volunteers. It was unusual to be at school so late on a Saturday, but with the sports festival on Monday, excitement was high and many students stuck around to help with the setup and practice for their events.

Kanda watched Tomoyo and Hayashi as well, heaving a frustrated sigh as they disappeared from view.

"Aicchan has always had energy like that. When everyone else is exhausted at the end of practice, she's the one who's begging us to keep going. I've never been able to figure it out. Yamazaki-kun says it probably has to do with her maximal oxygen uptake being higher than normal, which is usually related to endurance training and long-dista-"

"You and Hayashi-san are really close, huh?" Sakura asked, recognizing that she wouldn't get a chance to speak if she didn't jump in. "I think it's great that you're in the same club together!"

Her statement was enough to cut through his train of thought, and he stopped, glancing at the ground to hide the blush on his cheeks. "Oh, that's, um…" Kanda paused, shook his head, and looked up again. "Speaking of which, I need you guys' help! Can you do me a huge favor?"

Syaoran crossed his arms. "I've told you before, we can't join the track team-"

"That's not it!" Kanda waved his hands frantically, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards onto the track. Sakura knelt down beside him to help him up, but Syaoran sat down on the other side, so Sakura decided to sit down with them too. There was a moment of silence between the three of them and finally Kanda managed to collect himself enough to speak up again. "I was just wondering- you guys have been dating since junior high, right?"

Syaoran's face flashed red and he turned his head away. "Well, yeah, but…"

Sakura was less bashful about it. "We have. You went to Tomoeda Elementary and Junior High with us, right? Wouldn't you know that?"

Kanda looked away, fidgeting with his hands. "I did, but it's not like I was paying super close attention to the things going on around me. I was kind of a space cadet back then."

"Back then-?" Syaoran questioned, but Sakura cut him off before Kanda caught on to what he'd said.

"Anyway, why are you asking this now?"

"Because I…I, um…" Kanda's face went red and his glasses suddenly fogged up, so he took them off to clean them on his shirt. "...I want your advice. See, I want to confess my feelings to Aicchan."

"Oh!" Sakura's expression burst into a bright smile. "That's wonderful! We'll help as much as we can!"

Syaoran, meanwhile, was more skeptical. "Confess your feelings? I thought you two were already dating. You're always hanging out together, and you call each other those cutesy nicknames-"

"That's just because we've been best friends since we were kids!" Kanda snapped, accidentally tossing his glasses with a careless wave of his hand and having to scramble to catch them. He took a moment to catch his breath and put them back on, and then resumed. "Aicchan and I live by King Penguin Park, so we used to play there together all the time. Aicchan always loved to run, so we'd run around the park together until it got dark and we had to go home. It was hard for me to keep up sometimes, so Aicchan slowed down for me when I needed it, and I worked harder to build up stamina so that I could keep up with her. But… she went to a different junior high, a prestigious girls' school in Tokyo that was known for their sports teams. She had to take the train every day, so she left early and didn't get home until late, especially when she was practicing. I… hadn't realized how much I cared for her until then."

Sakura squeezed her hands together, holding them close to her heart. "It hurts so much when the person you love is far away. Syaoran-kun and I know that."

"So when I heard she was applying to Seijyo High, I studied super hard so that I could get in too! And now we see each other in class and practice, and we walk home together, and…" He sighed a long, frustrated sigh, his cheeks still burning. "...and more than anything, I wanna be honest with her. But I don't know what the best way to go about it is. I asked Yamazaki-kun how he and Mihara-san got together, but he said they got pretend-married on the playground in kindergarten and have been together ever since, so that doesn't help me at all. He said, then, I should ask you guys, since you were friends in elementary school before you started dating."

Sakura and Syaoran glanced at one another. "Well…" Syaoran began, "...it's true that we knew each other in grade school, but we didn't meet until fourth grade, and we weren't exactly the best of friends at the beginning… still, I suppose you could view it the same way. When I, er, when I realized that I… I… l-liked Sakura… I tried hard to confess my feelings to her, but something always seemed to get in the way. I started to get discouraged and worry about how she'd react, if she liked someone else and if she'd feel sorry for me having to turn me down…"

Sakura stared at Syaoran as he spoke, watching the way his cheeks reddened and the corners of his mouth hinted at a fond smile that he wouldn't let show itself just yet. She had never heard him talk so frankly like this, especially not about matters of the heart. It was one thing hearing about his confession attempts from Tomoyo, but hearing it from him was another matter. It made her heart race, and she could only nod along with his advice as he spoke.

"...but if I'd given up because of that, I'd never have been able to express myself. So, even if you have doubts, don't give up until she hears what you have to say."

Kanda had put his glasses back on and was nodding along with Syaoran, though he paused and glanced down at the ground.

"Thanks, Li-kun. That actually helps a lot. I don't want to hide my feelings from Aicchan, but I don't want her to feel sorry for turning me down either, especially if she feels the same."

"If she feels the same?" Sakura questioned. "But then she wouldn't have to turn you down-"

Kanda shook his head. "It's not that easy! You're an athlete, Kinomoto, so you know what it's like. Aicchan is determined to make nationals, and to do that she has to be able to train hard. Plus, she has to keep her grades up, which is hard for her sometimes. Adding a relationship with me… I have to prove that I'm not going to be a burden on her. That's why I'm asking you for help now." He smiled and stood up, placing his hands on his hips in a confident pose. "If we win Monday's relay, it'll be my way of proving to Aicchan that I can run alongside her. So if we win, I'll definitely confess my feelings!"

Syaoran frowned as he pulled himself to his feet and helped Sakura as well. "You shouldn't hinge a decision like that on something where you can't control the outcome. All the classes are competing in the relay together, after all, and-"

"So that means we'll just have to try our best!" Sakura interrupted, standing upright but still holding onto Syaoran's hands. "Don't worry, Kanda-san. Syaoran and I will do our best so that you can stand beside Hayashi-san in first place! I know she'll accept your feelings, so we won't give up on you!"

Kanda's eyes widened and he looked like he might cry. "You guys are amazing, you know that-?"

"Who's amazing, Hicchan~?"

Hayashi jumped in, tackling Kanda in a hug. He stiffened, turning around in an attempt to look at her face to face, but because she was hanging onto him, he only succeeded in turning them both around enough times to make him dizzy. "Aicchan, where…" he began, a little dazed as he tried to regain his balance. "...where'd you come from? How much of that did you hear?"

"Just you calling Sakura-chan and Li-kun amazing. Were you trying to recruit them to the track team again?"

"Yeah, sort of-"

"Sakura-chan! Can I call you that? You can call me Aiko-chan if you like-!"

Before Kanda could even get a reply out, Hayashi had already moved on to Sakura, and he was given a moment of respite. Tomoyo giggled at the sight and then began handing everyone their drinks.

"An orange juice for the amazing Sakura-chan, and a green tea for the amazing Syaoran-kun!"

"Hey, now…" Syaoran protested as he accepted the bottle from her. "...that's not-"

"It really is amazing, though!" Hayashi interrupted, quickly swallowing down a gulp of grape soda. "We've got such good athletes in our class this year! Sakura-chan is doing the obstacle course and the cheerleading demonstration, Li-kun is doing the 100 meter run with me…" She stepped back and elbowed Kanda. "And it's you 'n me in the three-legged race, right? We've gotta practice for that in the park tomorrow! Hey! Why don't we race home? Last one to the park has to buy drinks tomorrow, 'kay?"

The group finished their drinks, and Sakura, Tomoyo, and Syaoran waved goodbye to the others as they left, already arguing about where the starting line for their race should be. It was already twilight, and the schoolyard was filled with the long shadows cast by the buildings. Tomoyo ran back to ask Shimazaki-sensei if there was any more help she needed with setup, but she told the kids to go on home before it got dark, so they agreed. Tomoyo was going to be spending the weekend at the Kinomotos' house while her mother was away on a business trip, and since Syaoran's apartment was in the same general direction, they were able to walk at least part of the way together.

"Oh, I see! So you're not only racing for prestige, but you're racing for love as well!"

Despite Syaoran's protests, Sakura told Tomoyo all about the conversation that they'd had with Kanda while she was gone. Syaoran tried to make Tomoyo promise not to say anything to Kanda, but she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to pay him any mind.

"It's so beautiful!" Tomoyo cooed, resting her head in her hands. "To think that Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun, who had such trouble getting their feelings across to one another at the beginning, can now offer advice to other blossoming lovers… I'm so proud of how the two of you have grown!"

Sakura forced a nervous laugh. "W-well, I barely gave any advice at all. It was Syaoran who gave Kanda-san the confidence he needed to express himself-"

"It's not so much self-expression that he needed help with," Syaoran interrupted, stepping in front of the group and stopping. "He didn't seem to have any doubts that Hayashi-san felt the same way. His worry was that he would only hold her back in her sports endeavors. For him, the worst case scenario wasn't her rejecting his feelings, it was her feeling conflicted between dating him and following her dreams of making the national track competition. The only person who can assure him that he wouldn't be a burden on Hayashi would be Hayashi herself. Because of that, I figured that the best course of action would be encouraging him to be honest despite his misgivings."

Sakura gasped. "Syaoran-kun, that's so mature of you."

"It's not that. I just… I know how it feels to be afraid more for the other person's feelings than your own. So I couldn't just say nothing."

"I see." Tomoyo closed her eyes and placed her hands over her chest. "Syaoran-kun saw himself in Kanda-san."

Syaoran flinched, his face turning red. "Wha-? No, that's not what I-!" He swiveled around, pointing around the corner. "Th-this is where I turn anyway! I'll see you on Monday, then!"

"Syaoran, wait!"

He had taken a few steps forward, but was immediately stopped by Sakura's voice. She ran to catch up with him and stood on the tips of her toes so that she could reach up and kiss his cheek. His face flashed even redder, if that was possible, and he turned stiffly to look at her.

"See you on Monday," she repeated with a pleasant smile. "Good night."

"Good… good night!" His words echoed off the buildings around them as he dashed off toward his apartment, moving so fast that Sakura and Tomoyo could almost see the comical trail of dust he'd left behind. They turned to look at one another and then laughed.

"You know, if we could somehow harness his embarrassed energy," Tomoyo offered, "our class would win every race for sure."

"Tomoyo-chan! Come on, now…"

"And now, to kick off our sports festival, please enjoy a demonstration by the Seijyo High School cheerleading club! This is a preview of the program they're preparing in conjunction with the chorus and concert band clubs for our upcoming culture festival, so we hope you'll be in attendance to see their wonderful performance!"

The schoolyard was filled with students and teachers, all excitedly moving about and preparing for the upcoming events. The high emotions were contagious, and once the music and movement started up from the cheerleading club, the ruckus of yelling and applause only added to the crowd's fervor. Tomoyo was watching from one of the music classroom windows near the performance so that she could see- and film- over top of the crowd.

"I'm so glad I asked for this high power 400mm telephoto zoom lens for my birthday," she spoke, letting out a dreamy sigh as the camera focused once again on Sakura's face. "Now I can get beautiful shots from just about anywhere!"

Stephen was watching from her camera bag, and he inched closer to the window to get a better look. "I don't quite understand your technology," he began, "but you picked a wonderful vantage point. This view is stunning. It's the perfect way for me to see Sakura-sama's cheerleading group for the first time!"

Kero, meanwhile, had seen enough cheerleading performances that he was content to sit back on one of the desks in the empty classroom and snack on some of the cookies that Tomoyo had packed. "Say, was cheerleading even a thing back before you were sealed away? I don't really remember it."

"I don't either." Stephen looked back and shook his head. "I suppose it's a modern invention-"

"Actually, organized cheerleading teams had already been established by the beginning of the twentieth century. However, at that time, it was mainly practiced in the United States, and was an all-male sport. Women were not allowed to participate until much later."

The voice came from the piano bench on the other side of the room, where a third tiny creature was sitting and listening to the conversation with restrained curiosity. Kero had invited Spinel the way he usually did with big events, but was genuinely surprised that his fellow guardian had decided to attend. Normally their interactions were restricted to online games and one-sided text conversations.

"What a shame," Tomoyo sighed sadly. "To think of someone as beautiful as Sakura-chan being banned from cheerleading… it was truly a cruel world back then."

"I don't think that was the worst they faced," Kero murmured, but he stopped and shook his head, changing the topic between bites of cookie. "Join us over here, will ya, Suppi? You look so lonely over there, and I know you want one of Tomoyo's cookies-"

"I am not lonely, nor do I have such a desire," Spinel responded, turning his face away with a huff. "My mission today is to collect information about the enigmatic Noboru-sensei for Eriol. Trapped up in this classroom, I'm unable to do so. Daidouji-san, are we really allowed to be here? Don't you have responsibilities as the class videographer for a portion of the festival?"

"Yes, I'm one of the videographers, but my shift doesn't start until later this afternoon. For now, my focus is on capturing Sakura-chan in all her glory!" Tomoyo paused, securing the camera on its tripod and turning back around to address the guardian beasts. "That is, in fact, why I asked Kero-chan and Stephen to be here in the first place."

"Huh?" Kero asked, shoving another cookie into his mouth. Stephen jumped back from the windowsill into the camera bag.

"What is it you require of us, Tomoyo-sama?"

"Well," Tomoyo began, her eyes sparkling with joy, "since I'll be manning the class videography booth during much of the event this afternoon, I'm going to need some help capturing Sakura-chan in all her afternoon events. That's why I need you to operate my camera for me while I'm busy!"

"Us?!" Kero dropped the cookie he was holding and jumped to his feet. "There's no way we can handle that massive telescope of a camera you've got over there the way we are now! And we can't transform into our true forms in a place like this-"

"Don't worry so much, Kero-chan. I'll replace the lens with something smaller so that it's much more manageable. You won't need the 400mm lens if you're in the middle of the action, after all."

"Middle of the-?! Just what do you expect us to do?!"

"Hey, look," Stephen broke in, pointing out the window, "the cheerleaders finished up already."

"Well, it was just a short demonstration," Tomoyo sighed, turning off her camera and detaching the lens to pack up. "I'll enlist your help for the cultural festival as well, since I'll be on stage with the chorus club during the performance and won't be able to film. Oh, but right now is-"

Her statement was cut off by a loud voice projected over the intercom system. "All the students participating in the hundred-meter dash, please gather on the field. I repeat, all students participating in the hundred-meter dash are to gather on the field at this time. Thank you."

"That's Li Syaoran-sama's event!" Stephen gasped, clasping his paws together. "Here, I'll help you pack! We have to go see him! I want video of his hard work as well!"

Kero groaned. "I'm sensing a pattern here…"

"Stephen-chan!" Tomoyo reached out and clasped his paws in her fingers. "If you promise to take good video of Sakura-chan today, I'll promise to take plenty of good footage of Syaoran-kun as well."

"Really? Oh, thank you, Tomoyo-sama! I'll do my very best-!"

Kero shoved another cookie in his mouth. If he wanted to keep up with their enthusiasm, he'd need the energy. "Alright!" he called, his mouth still half full. "Let's go get some fantastic footage!"

"Um, Tomoyo-sama," Stephen interrupted as she zipped up the bag, "how exactly does one… video?"

Spinel groaned.

It was going to be a long day.

Sakura rushed over, still in her cheerleading uniform as she pushed through the crowd lined around the field. The hundred-meter dash participants were already lined up, and the announcer was giving the racers their marks. Sakura managed to break through to the front of the crowd just in time, waving one of her pom-poms frantically.

"Syaoran-kun! You can do it, Syaoran!"

"...get set… GO!"

The starting pistol fired, and the racers took off from the starting line. Syaoran was ahead from the start, but a few seconds into the race, another runner began to overtake him. The two were running side by side until the last two seconds, when she pulled ahead and just barely overtook him across the finish line. A loud cheer erupted, particularly among the girls, and Sakura moved through the crowd as she heard the loudspeaker start up again.

"First place in the hundred-meter dash goes to Hayashi Aiko, from first year class B. And, oh! This is a first, folks- the second-place finisher is also a first year, and from the same class, Li Syaoran. Congratulations, class 1-B!"

Syaoran sat near the finish line, trying to catch his breath. Aiko approached him, leaning over to hand him the second-place flag.

"Damn, Li-kun, you almost got me there. Where'd that burst of speed come from anyway?"

"That's-" Syaoran began, but he cut off as he heard his name. Sakura was running through the crowd toward them, waving with one hand while she held her pom-poms with the other. Aiko's eyes lit up.

"Ah… that's why," she murmured, a smirk passing over her face. "Well, then, we'll have to make Sakura-chan wear her cheerleading uniform during the relay race-"

"Like hell we will!"

Sakura caught up with them, not quite catching Syaoran's last statement. "You guys, that was amazing! You were way ahead of everyone else!"

Aiko looked up and grinned at her. "It was my best time yet. I just couldn't allow myself to lose to Li-kun."

Syaoran pulled himself to his feet, brushing off the back of his shorts. "Where's Tomoyo-san? I didn't see her filming the cheerleading demonstration, which surprised me-"

"Oh, ye of little faith~!"

The statement caused both Syaoran and Sakura to jump. "T-Tomoyo-chan," Sakura began, "where'd you come from?"

"I was filming the cheerleading demonstration up in the second floor music room, so I had to take the stairs down. Still, I managed to capture some great footage of Li-kun crossing the finish line!"

Syaoran blushed and looked away. "Why are you filming me? Sakura is usually your subject, right?"

"Yes, but as of today, I'm also getting some footage of Syaoran-kun for a friend."

Syaoran and Aiko both turned to look at Sakura, and it took her a moment to realize what they were getting at. "Wha-? I… I… I didn't ask about anything like that! Why are you looking at me like that?!"

Tomoyo laughed and Aiko joined in, but Syaoran just sighed and gave Sakura a supportive pat on the shoulder.

"I believe you. Tomoyo-san just does whatever she wants, after all."

Aiko finished laughing, shaking her head as she approached the pair and held out her first-place flag. "Alright, where's Hicchan? I've gotta show this to him- He's gonna be so excited that our class won the first event! Of course, I'll have to give him a hard time over missing it, but that's just between us." She winked and turned to Tomoyo, asking if she'd seen Kanda while she was inside the school building. Sakura and Syaoran glanced at each other uneasily, however, both thinking the same thing.

"Kanda-san should've been here to see Aiko-chan run," Sakura whispered. "He was so insistent on cheering her on, after all. Do you think something happened to him?"

"I wonder…" Syaoran crossed his arms as he thought it over. "He goes to the nurse's office every day after lunch, right-?"

"Huh? What was that about the nurse's office?" Aiko twirled around to look at Syaoran. "Hicchan isn't on duty there! You don't think he's sick, do you?"

"Didn't the two of you walk to school together?" Tomoyo asked. "You usually do."

"No, we…" Aiko glanced down at the flag in her hands. "...we usually eat breakfast together at my place and walk together, but I got up early to warm up at the park, so we didn't…"

Her expression began to take on a look of worry, so Tomoyo broke in. "Let's go ask some of our classmates," she suggested, returning her camera to her bag and taking hold of Aiko's arm. "I'm sure they could tell us what's going on. Rika-chan is on duty at the nurse's office, so I'll send her a text in the meantime."

"...okay…" Aiko murmured.

While waiting for a reply from Rika, the group moved over to the main tent where the registration desk and camera setup were housed. Naoko was working the camera at the moment, slated to switch off with Tomoyo in a couple of hours.

"-haven't seen him, but I'll keep an eye out. It's funny, he's usually so loud, it's hard to miss him."

"Right?" Aiko agreed. "He's totally unmissable! There's no way he could just up and disappear!"

"Maybe," Sakura broke in, "he went somewhere open to practice for the relay. He was worrying about it on Saturday night, so I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to get some extra training in."

Aiko sat on the table, ignoring Naoko's protests as she did so and swinging her legs back and forth. "It doesn't make sense, though. He had no problem running, it was just that hand-off to Li-kun that was giving him trouble. It's not like he can practice that by himself. Maybe he-"

"You guys!" Tomoyo's voice broke through the chatter, sending the whole group on alert. "Rika-chan says he's in the nurse's office. Someone brought him in this morning- it looked like he passed out or something."

"What?! That idiot-!"

Aiko jumped off the table and began sprinting toward the main school building. Sakura and Syaoran had to scramble to keep up, and Tomoyo didn't even try. Instead, she handed her camera bag to Naoko.

"Will you take care of this while we go check on him? I'll be back shortly for my shift."

"Of course! Those are cute little plushies you've got there, by the way."

Tomoyo giggled as she watched Naoko lean over the bag to inspect Kero, Spinel, and Stephen. "Aren't they? They're my film assistants for the day." She leaned over the bag and zipped it up. "I've got my camera with me. Take care of my lenses, little guys."

The two girls shared a giggle and Tomoyo continued on back to the school building and down the hall to the first-floor nurse's office. She could hear Aiko's voice yelling over Rika's soft protests, and found the group standing outside the door to the nurse's office, Syaoran and Sakura watching from a short distance. Sakura seemed to be standing on the tips of her toes, eager to step in and help Rika, but Syaoran kept a hand against her wrist and so she stayed where she was.

"-should've known to check his blood sugar-"

"She did," Rika assured her, trying to keep her composure. "The nurse checked it about fifteen minutes ago and it was one-hundred and two milligrams per dl… I assume that's good, since she didn't-"

Aiko let out a long groan. "So what the hell is wrong with him?" Rika didn't answer, so she pushed past her into the room. Tomoyo caught up to Sakura and Syaoran, looking to them with a curious frown.

"What's going on?"

"I'm sorry," Rika began with a bow, "I wish I knew more, but we've been so busy this morning, I haven't had the chance to ask about exactly what's happening…"

"Busy?" Tomoyo asked.

"A lot of students have been brought in with the same description as Kanda-san- passed out and mumbling nonsense."

Syaoran nodded in agreement with Sakura's explanation. "They were all around the cafeteria when they passed out, so it's possible it was something they ate."

"Come on in." Rika motioned, looking noticeably calmer now that she was no longer the subject of Aiko's ire. Still, the group could hear Aiko already arguing with the nurse.

"With all these other people here, you need me to keep an eye on him!"

"Hayashi-san, I'm aware of Kanda-san's specialized medical needs. But I've told you before, I can't allow a student to perform any kind of tests or administer any medication to another student. Please return to your class activities and let me do my job."

The nurse turned around and moved to examine another student, leaving Aiko standing behind with her mouth hanging open. She was standing by the bed that Kanda was lying on, and he reached out and tugged at her shirt.

"Aicchan. Hey. Aicchan."

"Don't 'hey Aicchan' me! What the hell happened to you?!" She spun around on her heels, ignoring the nurse's warning to quiet down. "If you were feeling sick, you shouldn't have come today!"

"I'm not sick. I feel great." Kanda spoke the words with a smile, though he didn't lift his head from the pillow. Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo gathered around to get a good look at him and hear exactly what he was saying. "You've gotta try those jam buns from the cafeteria. They're so good. They're just… like… really good. Like, really, really good. I had one for breakfast, and, man, now I want another. Can you go get me one?"

Aiko clenched her fists. "If you're feeling so good, you go get one yourself!"

"I don't wanna. It's so warm and comfy here…"

"Kanda-san," Sakura spoke up, "you've been looking forward to the sports festival all year. If you stay here, you won't be able to participate."

Kanda groaned and turned away. "Sports festival…?" he asked, his voice weak. "What's that?"

"What do you mean, what's that?! Quit screwing with us and tell us what's the matter with you-"

Sakura and Tomoyo grabbed hold of Aiko's arms, trying to calm her down. "I don't think he's in his right mind," Tomoyo said. "It's best to leave him alone for right now until we can figure out what's wrong."

"B-but we've got stuff to do! The three-legged race is in, like, two hours, and then we have the relay race at three-thirty!"

"Then we'll just have to figure this out as fast as we can," Syaoran replied. He turned around and examined the other students who were lying in beds or slumped against the outside wall. There wasn't anything strikingly similar about them, so he called to the nurse, motioning around the room. "Excuse me, is it true that most of the kids here passed out around the cafeteria?"

"Yes, that's right." The nurse was taking one kid's blood pressure, so she didn't turn her head away and just nodded. "Several of them mentioned jam buns, but foodborne illnesses generally have much longer incubation periods, so it seems unlikely it was something they ate. I wonder if a student brought something from home..."

Syaoran turned back and reached out to get Aiko's attention. "Hayashi-san, let's go back outside. We can ask around and see who else ate breakfast at the cafeteria. If a student was passing around some kind of, um, illicit substance, then at least one person had to have seen it."

"...alright, I guess we can do that." Aiko sighed and started toward the door. She paused in the doorframe and turned back for one last statement. "I'm gonna find whoever did this to you and beat 'em to a pulp! Okay, Hicchan?"

There was no response from Kanda, and the nurse's exasperated "please go, Hayashi-san," was enough to drive the group back out into the hallway. Sakura and Tomoyo offered a friendly wave to Rika as they left, and then fell into step beside Aiko as they continued down the empty hallway.

"...this is all my fault…" Aiko murmured, not to anyone in particular, though Sakura and Tomoyo both protested.

"That's not true, Aiko-chan!" "You couldn't have known this would happen!"

"But…" Aiko glanced away. "...if I'd have just made breakfast for him, he wouldn't have gone to the cafeteria in the first place, and wouldn't have ended up with one of those stupid jam buns-"

"We don't know for sure it was the jam buns," Syaoran interrupted. "You heard what the nurse said. The symptoms aren't consistent with food borne illness."

"I know, I know, but…" Aiko sighed, looking up and the ceiling as she walked and crossing her arms behind her head. "...I used to always carry a jam bun or two with me when we played together as kids. Hicchan was forgetful, so sometimes he'd forget to eat enough. He needed something sweet on hand, and those were easy to carry around. I guess they just kinda became our thing after a while. He must've wanted one for old times' sake."

Syaoran stepped out in front of the group as they made it to the doorway. "Hayashi-san, you know Kanda-san better than we do. You know who he hangs out with and who he talks to. Why don't the three of us focus on asking about activity in the cafeteria, while you talk to some of Kanda-san's other friends to see if he was doing anything suspicious this morning?"

"Right!" Aiko's smile returned and she gave a determined nod in reply. "I'll ask around, then. Come find me if you learn anything, okay?"

"We will." Sakura nodded. "Oh, and should we ask around if we see any classmates that might want to sub in for the three-legged race in case Kanda-san isn't able to-?"

"Not a chance. I'm not giving up on Hicchan yet."

Aiko turned and dashed back out into the crowd, leaving the others behind. She'd run off before any of them could argue with her reluctance to find a new racing partner- probably a good thing, if Syaoran's expression was any indication. Still, he seemed satisfied that she was gone, and turned back to look at Sakura.

"Sorry to run her off like that. I wanted the chance to talk alone for a while. Do you think…?"

His voice trailed off, expecting Sakura or Tomoyo to finish the sentence for him. But neither did. Tomoyo turned to look at Sakura, and Sakura looked down at the floor, fidgeting nervously with her hands.

Syaoran waited a long, awkward moment, and then sighed. "You know that what happened last time wasn't your fault. Stephanos said that Vegetation had a huge advantage with the environment, and we were in such a rush, we didn't have time to come up with a good strategy to lure it out of its element. Now we have time to think rationally about what to do, and we have Stephanos here to ask for advice about the identity and potential weakness of whatever card is doing this."

"And," Tomoyo pointed out, "Noboru-sensei is busy managing the drinks tent, so you can work without worrying about him catching on to what you're doing."

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment, thinking it over. She finally raised her head, and when she did so, she had a smile on her face.

"You're right. I can't let myself get discouraged because of what happened before. Let's go get Stephen and the others, and see what they have to say about this strange behavior. We have to capture the card as soon as possible so that Kanda-san will be able to run with the person he loves!"

"Yanagisawa-san!"

At the sound of her name, Naoko looked up from the camera display. Yamazaki was running towards her, waving his arms around.

"Aren't you participating in the scavenger race?" she asked, standing up. "What are you doing over here-?"

"Glasses," Yamazaki responded, holding out one hand and showing the crumpled piece of paper he had in his other. Sure enough, it said "eyeglasses" in big handwritten letters. "Let me borrow your glasses."

"Oh, of course." Naoko removed her glasses and handed them over. "Just bring them back as soon as you're done. I need them to adjust the settings on the camera."

"Sure thing! I'll-"

"Naoko-chan!"

Yamazaki's sentence was cut off, and they both turned to look at the girl who'd joined them. Yamazaki gasped in recognition and turned back to look at Naoko again. "You know Izumi-senpai from the drama club?"

Izumi had made it to the table and stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She'd caught the end of Yamazaki's question and motioned towards Naoko. "We're next door neighbors," she explained. "Naoko-chan, I need your help for the scavenger race-"

Yamazaki adopted a defensive position, trying to hide the glasses he was holding from view. "If it's glasses you need, she's already loaned them to me."

"No, no, that's not it." Izumi sighed and began to motion with her hands as she explained. "My clue asked for something 'animal-shaped.' I thought of your hamster pencil case, Naoko-chan, and wondered if I could borrow it."

Naoko frowned. "I'm sorry, Saya-senpai, but I didn't bring it with me today."

"Oh, I see. That's fine, then. I'll look somewhere else-"

"Wait!" Naoko stood up and grabbed Tomoyo's bag from the chair beside her. "My friend Tomoyo-chan brought some plushies with her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind you borrowing one as long as you bring it back."

"Really?" Izumi's eyes sparkled and she stood on the tips of her toes, trying to get a better view of the bag.

"Let's see… there's a fox, a cat, a… bear, I think…?"

"I'll take the fox." Izumi reached over and plucked Stephen from the bag. "Thanks so much, Naoko-chan! I'll bring it right back!"

"No problem. I'm more worried about my glasses…"

"You know," Yamazaki chimed in as Izumi ran off, "when glasses were first invented, they were just lenses with nothing to hold them on people's faces. Instead of wearing them, people just placed them flat against the surface they wanted to magnify, leading people to call them 'reading stones.' It wasn't until the thirteenth century that people actually mounted two frames together for use, and even these early versions were made to be held in place by hand-"

"Yamazaki-kun, aren't you supposed to be participating in the scavenger hunt?"

"...oh, that's right!"

He spun around and started back toward the field, though as he was running, a voice on the loudspeaker announced "congratulations to the winner of the scavenger race, Izumi Saya from class 3-C…"

Naoko sighed, watching Yamazaki's frantic sprint back to the field in an attempt to secure one of the next spots. "Why did we think it would be a good idea to assign him to the scavenger race again?" she asked, more to herself than to anyone else, but she got an answer anyway.

"Yamazaki-kun? He's good with people, so we figured he'd be the best at borrowing whatever he needed."

Naoko recognized the voice, and turned to look over at Tomoyo and two others that she could easily recognize as Sakura and Syaoran by their silhouettes- and general logic. "Yeah, but you heard how that turned out, right?" She laughed and shook her head. "Anyway, how was Kanda-san? Is he doing alright?"

"Not really. It sounds like it was something he ate for breakfast, so we're hoping he'll feel better by this afternoon," Tomoyo answered. She glanced down at the bag and noticed that the zipper was still half open. "Did you need something from my camera bag?"

"Oh, Saya-senpai needed to borrow one of the plushies for the scavenger race. She said that she'd bring it right back, so… er, I'm sorry, should I not have-"

"No, no, it's fine!" Tomoyo forced a smile. "Syaoran-kun, you're in the drama club with Izumi-senpai, right? Can you go find her and get Sakura-chan's plush toy back?"

"What? Me? Shouldn't you be the one to-?" Syaoran began to protest, but he noticed Naoko's concerned expression and stopped. "...fine. I'll meet you guys in the cafeteria, alright?"

"Thanks, Syaoran!" Sakura offered him a smile in reply, one that, from the look of the blush on his face, was bright enough to reach him even through his sour mood. "You're the best!"

"J-just go on…"

Once Sakura and Tomoyo got inside the school building and out of sight from the others, Tomoyo unzipped the bag. Kero was the first to jump out, immediately jumping into a rant.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! It's one thing to hide me in your bag at times, but to LEAVE that bag ALONE where other people can just RUMMAGE THROUGH IT and MANHANDLE US-"

"We're sorry, Kero-chan." Sakura pressed her hands together and bowed. "We should've kept the bag with us."

"It was remarkably short-sighted of you." Spinel poked his head out as well. "Being put in a bag with Kerberos and Stephanos was humiliating enough, but having to play the role of a stuffed animal while a complete stranger evaluated us as potential scavenger hunt items? It took the word 'demeaning' to a whole new level."

"Hey, don't take it too hard," Tomoyo reassured him. "One time in junior high, someone from our class grabbed Syaoran-kun for the clue 'imported good."

Sakura giggled. "Yeah, that was pretty funny… h-hey, wait a minute! Now's not the time to be joking around! We've got a serious situation here and we need your help!"

"A situation?" Kero asked. "You don't mean a Warp Card, do you?"

Sakura and Tomoyo both nodded in unison. "We think it may be related to some kind of food they were selling in the cafeteria," Tomoyo replied, "but we don't know for sure. That's why we wanted to ask Stephen for his help. But if he's not here, then…"

"Hey, hey, we don't need that lil' pipsqueak to help us! We can find this card all on our own! Right, Suppi-buddy?"

Spinel was not as enthusiastic. "Pipsqueak? With those ears of his, he's taller than both of us. If you can't make proper observations of someone so close to you, how do you expect to make astute enough observations to identify the card?"

"Now, now, calm down you two." Tomoyo smiled and waved her hands toward them. "Let's go to the cafeteria. It should be pretty empty, since lunch is being served outside today. That will give us the chance to sneak in and find where they're keeping those jam buns."

"Let's hurry!" Sakura nodded, already running off toward the staircase. "If we don't find the card quick, Kanda-kun will feel like he failed Aiko-chan, and then he'll never have the courage to confess his feelings to her."

"Kanda? Aiko?" Spinel groaned. "This is starting to sound like one of those television dramas that Ruby Moon is always watching. Do these cards not pose a much larger threat than complicating a teenage relationship?"

Kero patted him on the back. "Ya gotta know what motivates Sakura. She's the cardcaptor, after all."

"Yes, Clow Reed certainly knew how to pick them…"

The two guardians settled back in Tomoyo's bag as the girls ran up to the cafeteria. When they entered, they found it mostly empty, save for a group of second-year students huddled around one of the tables. One was slumped over the table, and the others seemed to be calling out to her.

"Ayumu-chan, wake up!" "Come on, Ayumu-chan, this isn't funny!" "The costume race is in twenty minutes! What are you doing?"

The girl laid out on the table was mumbling something about "delicious jam" and "what's a costume race?" Tomoyo ran up to the group, pushing her way in.

"What's going on? What happened here?"

"Oh, it's Daidouji-san from the chorus club! You've gotta help us. Ayumu-chan just suddenly collapsed. She doesn't seem to know what's going on."

"She didn't eat one of the jam buns, did she?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yeah, how did you…?"

"Kids have been getting sick from jam buns since this morning!" Sakura broke in. "Where did she get it? Is the cafeteria still open?"

"N-no, she bought it earlier and has been saving it. I don't think anyone is in the kitchen now. Should we go tell them?"

Tomoyo pointed back at the hallway. "You should take Ayumu-senpai to the nurse's office and find someone to take her place in the costume relay. Sakura-chan and I will go tell someone, okay?"

"Yes!" "Thanks, Daidouji-san."

With the group of second years out of the cafeteria, Sakura and Tomoyo were the only ones left. Kero and Spinel poked their heads out of the bag.

"So it's totally the jam buns that are messing with the students, right?" Kero asked. "Look at that, we've already figured something out without Stephen's help."

Spinel let out a sigh. "Nothing good can come of having too many sweets."

"So where do you think they're keeping these jam buns?" Sakura asked. "Should we look behind the counter, or do you think they have them locked up?"

Tomoyo was already around the other side of the counter, examining the shelves underneath. "I see some boxes, but they're not labeled. What do we do? It'll take forever to check all of them-"

"Just leave this to me!" Kero yelled, flying up into the air. He turned back to Sakura and offered a wink and a thumbs-up. "I've got a foolproof plan to find exactly where the jam buns are hiding!"

"Hm?" Sakura blinked, unsure what he was talking about. "What do you mean…?"

Kero let out a haughty 'hmph.' "Watch and learn, Sakura." He dove back into Tomoyo's bag, rummaging around before finally coming back out with a cookie in hand. Sakura nearly fell over.

"Don't tell me you just wanted to eat a cookie!"

Spinel put a paw to the side of his face and groaned. "Glutton as usual. As it seems Kerberos will be no help, I'll begin going through the boxes with you-"

"Oh, no you don't! This cookie isn't for me!" Kero replied, grabbing hold of the end of Spinel's tail. "This is for- YOU!"

Before Spinel could protest or struggle, he found the cookie shoved in his mouth. There was nothing he could do but chew it up, and he finally swallowed it down with a pained effort. Sakura and Tomoyo glanced at one another, but before they could even ask what was going on, Kero spoke up again.

"Alright, buddy. Cookies are nice and all, but what's really great is a nice jam bun… soft and fluffy on the outside, not too sweet with a squishy, tangy center just bursting with fruity flavor… wouldn't that hit the spot right about now?"

Sakura and Tomoyo stared, neither one sure what was supposed to happen. A moment passed, and Spinel started to tremble… then, suddenly…

"Sweets, sweets, sweets, I'm coming for you! My delicious jam buns, where are you hiding? I want to eat those jam buns, jam buns, sweet, delicious, jam buns-"

Sakura jumped backwards as Spinel zoomed past her, and Tomoyo snapped to alert with her camera, keeping it trained on him as he passed by the boxes one by one, his nose twitching violently as he stalked his jam-filled prey.

"Where are you, jam buns? Here? No. Here? No. You must be-" He let out a gasp as he settled on a single box and threw open the lid and ripped into one of the packages. "Aha! Here you are, my precious jam buns! I'm gonna eat, gonna eat, gonna eat you up!"

Within a split second, Spinel had devoured the entire bun and was reaching back into the box for more. However, as he did so, his tail and wings began to droop, and he fell against the lid flap of the box, tumbling off onto the floor and collapsing into a heap.

"Spinel!" Sakura gasped, having followed him around the corner. She dropped to the floor beside him, reaching to pick him up and place him in her hand. "What's going on? Are you alright?"

"...ah, who's Spinel?" he asked in a sigh. "I'm just a jam bun... I want to eat all the jam out of the center… and curl up inside… and live there forever…"

"So that's it," Sakura murmured. "That's the effect this card has on people. It makes them all sleepy and forgetful. I can see how that would be dangerous if used on a large scale, but it seems like it can't affect people unless they eat the food."

Tomoyo switched off her camera and set it aside, crossing her arms. "So, where's the card's true form? Is it in that box with the rest of the jam buns?"

"I don't sense it in there." Sakura shook her head and stood up, turning around to gently place Spinel back in Tomoyo's camera bag. "Since these boxes aren't labeled, they're probably just temporary places to store this stuff. The bulk boxes would be in the back kitchen, so we should-"

She cut off as she heard voices heading their way. It was another group of first-years from the class next to theirs, saying something about "picking up the box for Shimazaki-sensei." Another one said something about "it should be behind the counter, on the bottom shelf," so Sakura grabbed Tomoyo's hand and pulled her into the kitchen. The two jumped behind the wall and pressed themselves up next to it to listen.

"Oh, here it is. Looks like someone already got it out for us," one student said. "C'mon, close the lid and help me pick it up."

"You don't need help," the other student scolded. "Jam buns aren't heavy."

"Aw, c'mon, man! What's that saying? Teamwork makes the dream work?"

"Just hurry up. The bread-eating contest is in ten minutes and we still haven't set everything up."

Sakura covered her mouth to stifle a gasp and jerked her head around to look at Tomoyo. They couldn't speak, but the look they shared said everything they needed it to.

We have to do something.

The two boys left with the box in tow, and Tomoyo and Sakura waited for them to move out of earshot before rushing back through the doors.

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo began, clasping her hands together, "if they use those jam buns in the bread-eating contest, then everyone competing will be-!"

"No, I won't let that happen!" Sakura shook her head, digging into her pocket to retrieve a card. She called out the incantation for her key, and once the staff had reached its full size, tapped the end against the card. "Sweet card! Make the jam buns so sickeningly sweet that no one can take more than a single bite! SWEET!"

As Sweet flew off down the hallway, Sakura turned back to Tomoyo.

"We should look in the kitchen for the box that all the buns came from. It's probably where the card enchanted all the jam buns- and where it's hiding. I can feel something strong hiding vaguely in that direction."

The two crept into the the kitchen, reluctant to turn on the lights until they were sure it was too dark to see the writing on the boxes. Tomoyo held her bag closer and focused her camera on Sakura as she crept toward the light switch and reached out to click it on. The kitchen flooded with light and Tomoyo and Kero shielded their eyes.

A tense moment passed, though none of them was sure what they were frightened of. Sakura's mind raced with images of a frightening card attacking and sounds of a teacher's voice demanding to know what was going on. But none of that happened. The kitchen was quiet, its atmosphere filled with only the hum of the refrigerator and the muffled sound of Spinel's snoring from inside the camera bag.

Sakura turned around to Tomoyo- or, rather, the lens of Tomoyo's camera. "Let's start by looking for the original box of jam buns."

"I think they generally keep nonperishable goods along the back shelves. I'll stand by the side here to get a good angle."

"Oryou could, ya know, help," Kero added, though the statement only got a laugh from Tomoyo. Sakura, meanwhile, was already going down the row of boxes one by one.

"Anpan… melonpan… oh, here we go! Jam buns!"

It was a large box, cardboard with green lettering along the side and the company logo stamped on it, and the lix was closed simply by folding the flaps over one another. Sakura pulled it out and placed it on the floor, hesitant to drop her staff so that she could open it.

"Do you sense the card?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura examined the box with a frown. "I sense something…"

"Be careful," Kero warned. "You don't want to be taken off-guard again."

"Yeah, yeah…"

She tried to brush it off as him just poking fun at her or being dramatic for the camera, but it hurt. It had been a little over a week since her conflict with The Vegetation, and while she had received support from various sources- not the least of which was Stephen, assuring her that Vegetation was part of the most offensive group of cards; the "lust" cards, though he didn't explain what that term meant and she wasn't feeling up to asking further questions at that point. But his reassurance felt hollow after how desperately he'd pleaded with her to capture and purify the cards. He was too kind to scold her, yet somehow she wished he would. This offhand comment from Kero was the first thing she'd received that even resembled a scolding, and it felt like all the pain she deserved was hitting her at once.

Pushing her thoughts aside, Sakura grabbed the flaps on the box and pulled them open. Inside the box was a pile of individually wrapped jam buns, the same as those they'd seen earlier. However, sitting atop the buns, laid out and lazily munching on a half-eaten one was a tiny fairy-like creature. Sakura gasped and the sound was enough to make the creature open one eye. It jumped, dropped the jam bun, and dove back down into the box.

"Get back!" Kero yelled as he recognized the burst of magical energy it released when it disappeared from view. Sakura and Tomoyo both jumped back and the box began to shake violently.

A tree began to emerge from the box, growing rapidly both up and out to fill the room. Memories of Vegetation's attacks flew through Sakura's mind, and she gripped her staff close to her chest as she dove down underneath the branches of the tree.

"Wh-why is it growing a tree?!" she demanded. "I thought it affected food!"

"Don't ask me!" Kero shot back, swerving back and forth to avoid the branches. "There's some sort of weird fruit growing on it-"

"That's no fruit!" Tomoyo broke in. "It's growing jam buns!"

It was such a strange exclamation, Sakura really didn't expect to see them when she looked up. But there they were, hanging off the branches of the tree like juicy, ripe fruits. It left Sakura completely dumbfounded, and Tomoyo drew closer trying to get clear video of it. She wasn't paying attention, however, and one of the branches wrapped itself around her wrist. Once the leaves touched her skin, her whole body went limp and she crumpled to the floor.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura shrieked, and flinched as she saw the branches coming for her as well-

"God of ice, heed my call!"

The branches in front of Sakura were encased in ice, and Syaoran burst in, shattering them with his sword. Stephen jumped in front of them, transforming into his true form so that he could make a defensive stand.

"Sakura-sama, be careful! Anyone that The Lotus touches will be drained of all energy and motivation, forgetting their purpose and falling into a sleep of eternal apathy!"

Sakura covered her mouth with one hand. "So that's what happened to everyone who ate the jam buns…"

Kero flew over to Tomoyo, nudging her arm. "Hey, wake up! Don'tcha gotta videotape Sakura capturing the card?"

"...hmm? Video?" Tomoyo murmured, her eyes still closed. "...what's that…?"

Kero tossed a glance back at the tree and then pulled the camera from Tomoyo's hand, slipping his body into the hand strap so that he could keep it steady. "You can thank me later," he said as he hoisted the camera up and aimed it back over at Sakura, "preferably with some more of those cookies!"

In the meantime, Sakura was running around the tree, trying to find an opening in the card's defenses. Syaoran was covering her with his ice magic, keeping the branches from straying too close. Stephen was running alongside Sakura, giving instructions as best he could.

"The card's true form is that little fairy you saw in the box earlier. It should be hiding at the top of the tree there… if you can reach it, you'll be able to seal it and convert it."

"Got it," Sakura answered with a nod. "That, I can do. Help me out, JUMP!"

With the wings on her shoes propelling her forward, she was able to jump up onto the countertops, moving around to find the best place to approach the tree. Syaoran was still trying to fight off the branches, but his ice magic wasn't precise enough to freeze more than a few branches at a time. Sakura closed her eyes and pulled another card from her pocket.

"Wood card! Grow among Lotus' branches and restrain it with your own! WOOD!"

Syaoran jumped backwards as a second tree began to grow around the first, spiraling around and limiting Lotus' movements. As it did so, Wood's branches began to droop, and the leaves started turning yellow and falling off. Sakura knew she had to act quickly, so she tightened her grip on the staff and put her energy into Jump's power. She bent her knees and leapt forward, flying up into the air until she was high enough to see Lotus' true form lounging at the top of the tree. Without even thinking about it, she brought her staff down on it and shouted the incantation.

"Card by evil's hand designed, reveal your power and form confined, reject the hold of evil's blight, and draw your power from my light! SAKURA CARD!"

The creature disappeared in a flash of light, the energy from its body and the tree beneath it coalescing into a card form. Sakura and the card both floated down to land gently on the floor beside the now-disenchanted box of jam buns, and she reached out to take the card in her hand.

"Lotus," she spoke, reading its name. The image on the card showed the same fairy creature, curled up as though it were sleeping, a peaceful smile on its face as it held a large, colorful fruit in its arms.

"Hmm? Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo pulled herself to a seated position, looking around the kitchen. "What just happened? Where did the card go?"

Sakura gasped and ran to embrace her. "Tomoyo-chan, you're okay!" Once the two girls had embraced, Sakura stood up and turned back to Syaoran. "And you, Syaoran-kun… you saved me. If you hadn't come in when you did, the card would've caught me and made me forget what I was doing. It just… reminded me of what happened with Vegetation, and I was so scared-"

"I'm sorry for leaving you like that," Syaoran replied, moving to place his hands against her arms. "I should've asked you to wait until I'd retrieved Stephen to confront the card."

"We were the ones who ran in recklessly," Sakura answered, shaking her head. "But it all worked out. See?"

She turned Lotus toward him so that he could see it, and as she did so, Wood, Jump, and Sweet flew over to examine it as well. They hovered next to it and then settled back into Sakura's hand beside it. She smiled at them and pulled them close to her chest.

"Thanks to you guys as well. I know I don't thank the cards enough, and I couldn't have done it without you either-"

"Oh no!"

The cry came from Tomoyo, and everyone turned to look at her. "What's the matter?" Syaoran demanded.

"When the card attacked me… I must've dropped my camera! I didn't get any footage of Sakura-chan capturing it!"

"Worry not, my friend," Kero replied, hovering over to pat her on the head, "for I got video footage of the whole thing."

Tomoyo looked up, eyes sparking as she reached for the camera he was offering her. "Kero-chan, you… you did that for me?"

He passed the camera over to her, watching as she flipped through the video frames to examine them. "Hey, what are friends for?"

"Oh, Kero-chan, you're the best! This looks great!"

Sakura turned to Syaoran and smiled, and he offered a resigned sigh in reply. Stephen, meanwhile, had returned to his small form and was busy placing all the scattered jam buns back in the original box.

"Sakura-sama, where did this box go? Once we place it back where it belongs, the kitchen should be tidy enough that no one will know we were here."

"Oh, of course! Let me help!"

Sakura joined him in gathering the last of the scattered packages and returning the box to the shelf. Syaoran turned the kitchen lights back off, and the three headed back into the cafeteria, closing the door behind them.

"Come on!" Tomoyo motioned, pointing back out toward the hallway. "We need to go check on Kanda-san and the others at the infirmary."

"They should be freed from Lotus' spell now," Stephen offered, settling back into the camera bag, but if they were asleep, they'll probably need to be woken up.

"You mean like Suppi over here?" Kero asked, gesturing down to the bottom of the bag where Spinel was asleep, spooning the bag of cookies. "I kinda wanna let him sleep."

Stephen giggled. "Yes, I suppose we can allow Suppi-sama to rest a little longer."

"Hah! Suppi-sama! I can't wait to hear you call him that to his face…"

Kanda nearly fell out of the bed as he frantically scrambled to his feet. The nurse hadn't allowed him to get up until they were sure his blood sugar was normal, and once he'd been given the okay, he didn't waste a single second.

"Like, I passed out? For real? How long was I out? What time is it? Where's Aicchan?! She's gonna be so pissed at me-"

"It's okay. She was just worried, is all," Tomoyo assured him. "You should head out to the field if you're feeling up to it."

"Don't push yourself, though," Sakura assured him. "We can go out and get her, then-"

"All students participating in the three-legged race, please make your way to the field. I repeat, all students participating in the three-legged race, make your way to the field."

"That's me! I've gotta go!" Kanda ran toward the door and waved for the others. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Sakura moved to follow him, but stopped momentarily and glanced back. Tomoyo smiled and Syaoran offered a nod. "We'll make sure everyone here is alright. You go make sure that things are alright between Hayashi-san and Kanda-san."

"I will!"

By the time Sakura made it to the field, Hayashi was yelling back and forth with Kanda, and she didn't want to interrupt. She merely drew close and listened.

"-that you weren't even gonna compete? Surely someone would've run with you! You're the fastest in the whole school! Anyone in our class would be happy to-"

Kanda didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Aiko cut him off. "You blockhead! It's not about winning! It's about running together! And if you weren't with me, there was no point…" Her stern expression softened and she stepped back. "...if you don't feel like running, I understand-"

"No, no! Let's do it!" Kanda broke in. "I promise, I'll run with you. We can-"

"If there are any more students running in the three-legged race, this is the last call to make your way to the starting line. I repeat, last call for students participating in the three-legged race."

"Ack! Get over here, Hicchan! We're gonna miss it!"

Sakura couldn't suppress a giggle as she watched Aiko pull Kanda over to the starting line so that the assistants could tie their legs together. Within a few minutes, the participants were all lined up, and Tomoyo and Syaoran had joined Sakura amongst the crowd of onlookers. The starting pistol went off and the runners started forward, most of them stumbling or pulling at each other. But one pair stood out, their stride in perfect sync and their practiced movements propelling them forward across the finish line side by side.

"Congratulations to first year class B's Kanda, Li, Kinomoto, and Hayashi for their wonderful performance in the relay! This concludes the events of Seijyo High School's sports festival. Please prepare yourselves for the closing ceremonies in fourty-five minutes."

Tomoyo clicked the record button to turn off her camera and ran to where the relay team was encouraging and embracing each other. "You guys, that was amazing!" she called. "I'll need to confirm with Shimazaki-sensei, but I'm pretty sure that's a new school record!"

"Hicchan managed that hand-off like a pro!" Aiko enthused, giving him an affectionate punch on the shoulder. "I guess I owe you guys drinks, huh?"

"I-I can help you get them!" Kanda stammered. "Is it alright if I go with you?"

"What? I mean, if you're so eager to help carry stuff, be my guest." Aiko stood up and grabbed his hand to help him up. "It'll be a good setup. I'll buy, you carry. What'll it be, pals- the usual?"

Syaoran put his hands up. "You really don't have to get us anything, you know-"

Tomoyo elbowed him, whispering "the more time they have to themselves, the better," and then smiled back at the two. "Yes, the usual will be fine, thanks! Take your time, though- there's still plenty of time before the closing ceremonies."

"You say that like we've got something to hide," Aiko shot back, her smile turning up into more of a smirk. "Don't blow my secrets, alright?"

Kanda nudged her. "You're not gonna try to kick the machine to win a free drink, are you?"

"Hey, it worked in Shadow Brigade 3, didn't it?"

"That's a video game, blockhead."

"I'm the blockhead? You're the blockhead who couldn't beat it without my cheat codes-"

The two continued to bicker, and Sakura glanced back and forth between Tomoyo and Syaoran. "...should we…?"

"You want to follow them, don't you?" Syaoran asked.

"I-I mean… it's not that I want to eavesdrop on them… but I want to know how it goes…" Sakura blushed and pressed her index fingers together. "After all, it was Kanda-san who came to us for advice. So…"

"Well, let's go!" Tomoyo replied, setting her camera bag down under the nearby tent and slipping her arm around Sakura's to pull her in the direction the two had run.

Syaoran sighed, shrugged his shoulders, and followed after them.

Tomoyo led the way around the building, stopping before rounding the corner by the vending machine. Sakura stopped beside her, listening to the friendly banter that was still being tossed back and forth between Kanda and Aiko.

"-well, I wouldn't have used those cheats if I'd known they'd break my game!"

"Why do you think they call them game-breaking cheats, dumbass?"

"I thought it was, like, metaphorical or something!"

Aiko snickered and gave Kanda a gentle punch on the arm. "You're so cute with your stupid metaphors, you know that?"

"C-cute? Like, handsome-cute? Or like, puppy-cute?"

"Is that important? Do you want me to think you're handsome…?"

Kanda's face turned red. "...th...that's not…"

Aiko laughed and shook her head. "I do, but… it's not just that, you know…" She closed her eyes and sighed. "I always loved running with you, so I assumed I loved running. And yeah, I guess I do. But, when I went away to junior high and got so focused on running by myself, I realized that it wasn't just the running I loved. It was the you part too. So I guess… I love you."

Kanda was quiet, and when he finally spoke up again, his voice cracked. "Y-you… you…" He stomped one foot in frustration. "You're always one step ahead of me, even with confessions!"

"What the hell-?"

"I was all worked up to tell you that I like you, y'know, to ask you out and stuff-"

"Well, why don't you?" Aiko held out her hand. "Go on. Do it."

Kanda jumped back. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Stupid! If I didn't want to go out with you, I wouldn't tell you to ask me. That's just mean."

"You are kinda mean sometimes-"

"Are you going to ask me or not?"

Sakura and Tomoyo glanced at one another, exchanging a nervous smile. "...I think it's going well," Tomoyo whispered, and Sakura could only shrug in reply.

"Okay, okay, okay! Aicchan, will you go out with me? We can have track practice dates, and meet at the park to train when you're preparing for a meet-"

Aiko slung her arm around his shoulder and pressed her cheek against his. "Easy, there! I wanna go on real dates, y'know? Like going out to the movies or the arcade! That new horror movie is coming out around Halloween, isn't it? What was it called… Train of Terror? I freakin' love trains, man. We've gotta check it out…"

Syaoran reached out to gently touch Sakura's arm. She turned to look at him in surprise, and he motioned back toward the field. "We should go," he whispered. "I think we've heard enough to know how it went."

"How beautiful," Tomoyo cooed. "A slow-growing love has been awakened in two fast runners, thanks to the efforts of Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun."

"Hey, now, don't say anything to them until they tell us themselves," Sakura warned. "We weren't supposed to be eavesdropping, remember?"

Tomoyo winked and pressed a finger to her lips.

The tent where Tomoyo had set her camera bag down was deserted, so Kero slipped out with the camera in tow and hid underneath the tablecloth. Stephen followed, watching over his shoulder as he reviewed some of the earlier footage.

"Man, check this out! This cinematography deserves an award, right? Hah, maybe I'll even become the first guardian beast director-"

"Kerberos," Stephen broke in, "could you play the clip with Li Syaoran-sama running in the hundred-meter dash this morning?"

"Huh? You wanna see that one?" Kero quickly navigated back to the camera menu and flipped through the clips until he found the right one. "...here we go. This is the one, right?"

"Oh, yes! Perfect!" Stephen grabbed the camera from him and pulled it closer to press his face near the screen. "This technology is incredible! It's as though I were actually there watching him race! Oh… he's working so hard… look at that determined expression… and the burst of energy he gets there at the end when he realizes Hayashi-san is passing him…"

Kero was going to warn Stephen not to push his face too close to the screen, but he stopped as he examined the expression on Stephen's face. There was a look in his eyes that Kero hadn't seen in them- at least not in this form. But he had seen it before.

"Listen, uh, Stephanos-" Kero broke in, drawing his attention away from the screen. Stephen looked over at him, tilting his head in confusion at the sudden seriousness in his voice. "-I'm not one to get all judgy over people's affections, considering that matters of the heart are rarely a choice. But as someone who's gotten your heart broken before, I'm surprised that you would allow your affections to fall on someone who's so deeply in love with someone else-"

"Wha-?!" Stephen dropped the camera, and Kero had to leap in to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Hey, watch it, will ya? These things are fragile!"

"M-my interest in Li Syaoran-sama is not romantic in nature!" A slight blush settled on his cheeks and he glanced away. "True, it's a little embarrassing, but that's not the reason."

"Oh? So what's the deal, then? Why are ya so interested in him?"

"Well, the thing is..." Stephen closed his eyes and sighed. "...when I see the way he looks, the way he holds himself, the determination and valor he shows in every situation… truly, I cannot imagine that he isn't the descendant of Chioni and Xiaohe. It is foolish, I know, but it was my first impression and I can't help it."

Kero let out a thoughtful hum. "I see. So it's more of a protective, parental bond, huh? I can't say it doesn't make sense."

Stephen nodded. "When I first heard he was the current heir of the Li clan, I assumed he had to have been the descendant of Li Lian. I didn't realize that Xiaohe was cut off from the family, and-"

"Lian?" Kero interrupted. He'd been sitting against the camera, but the name caught his attention and he stood up again. "Who is that?"

"Lian?" Stephen repeated. "Li Lian, Chioni and Xiaohe's daughter."

There was a pause as Kero stared at Stephen, trying to make sense of his question.

"I think you're confused. This Lian person you're describing- she never existed."

Another moment passed. A hint of a smile began to tug at the end of Stephen's mouth.

"But you were close to Xiaohe, were you not? You would've known their daughter-"

"Stephanos, buddy…" Kero reached out, but then retracted his arm again. "...I don't think I'm the one who should be telling you this, but… Chioni's child was stillborn."

"...what?"

"There was nothing anyone could do. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but-"

"Th-that's impossible!" Stephen's voice cracked as he protested. "I saw her! I met her! Chioni introduced me to her and everything! She was only five days old, but she already had so much personality, and-"

Kero jumped back, surprised by the force in Stephen's voice. "Whoa, whoa! I told ya, I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I'm only tellin' ya what I know."

"Then how do you explain my memories?" Stephen demanded, stepping closer. "I know what I saw, Kerberos!"

Kero sighed, placing a paw against the side of his head. "I know what'cha think you saw, alright? But it isn't outside the realm of possibility that Warp Neon somehow altered your memories. He might have done it so that he could more easily manipulate you after Chioni's death- if you'd believed that she had left her beloved child behind, you would've been even more devastated than you were already-"

"More devastated? How would it have been possible to be more devastated? What more could he have done to me?! Chioni was the one person who ever cared for me, the one person who brought joy to my life of harrowing servitude-"

The tablecloth moved, and Stephen cut off his sentence forcefully, slapping a paw over his mouth. However, a familiar voice groaned, and suddenly Spinel appeared in the gap, slipping quietly under the table.

"What are the two of you arguing about over here? You were so loud, you woke even me. Don't you think someone will grow suspicious of the yelling going on in this tent? We could be discovered."

Stephen's ears drooped. "S-sorry, Suppi-sama. I didn't mean to-"

"Suppi-sama? My name is Spinel! And what happened earlier, anyway?" Spinel crossed his arms and sighed. "All I remember is Sakura-san chasing after the Warp Card, and then I seem to have blacked out. Was I attacked as well?"

"I'm not sure. I was in the possession of Li Syaoran-sama's friend who needed me for her event. By the time he retrieved me and joined with the group, Sakura-sama was already fighting the card, and you were sleeping off your… what did Kerberos call it… food coma?"

Spinel flinched. "Food coma?" he stammered, beginning to sweat a little. "What exactly did you mean by that-?"

"Don'tcha worry," Kero broke in, holding up the video camera with a grin. "I've got it all on video, Suppi-sama."

He clicked one of the clips, and the image of Spinel ravenously tearing through the boxes in his search for the jam buns appeared on the screen. Spinel jumped back, sweat pouring off the side of his face now. "Th-that… that… that video… get rid of it immediately! Delete that clip-!"

Spinel lunged forward in an attempt to grab the camera from Kero, but he missed the camera itself and ended up knocking Kero over instead. The two got into a scuffle, tumbling along the ground. Spinel kept trying to break free, aiming in the direction of the camera, but Kero grabbed him every time and pulled him back.

Meanwhile, Stephen walked over to the camera and opened up the display again, overwhelmed by the flash of light and the appearance of the different video icons. He glanced over at the struggle between the other two guardians and reached out in concern. "Erm… I'll delete it for you Suppi-Spinel-sama. I just don't know how."

Spinel managed to wrestle Kero to a standstill for long enough to call out instructions. "If it's a standard digital camera, it should be user-friendly. Look for a button that says select, and then it should prompt you to-"

"Oh, here it is! I've got it! Now, do I delete the whole thing, or just part of it-"

"Whole thing!" Spinel called from under a chokehold. "The whole clip!"

"Got it!" Stephen nodded and then pressed his paw to the screen again. "Aaaand… delete all."

His statement stopped both Kero and Spinel in their tracks. They both froze and stared. Kero was the first to speak.

"...delete all? Did you just hit delete all?"

"That's right!" Stephen chimed proudly. "I figured it out! ...though, the screen seems to be blank now. Where did the other clips go? I want to see the one of Li Syaoran-sama running again-"

Kero zipped over to where Stephen was sitting and ripped the camera out of his paws. "No way!" he yelled, flipping through the screen. "You've gotta be kiddin' me! You seriously hit 'delete all?!"

"Well, of course. Suppi-Spinel-sama asked me to delete the whole clip-"

"But just the clip," Spinel broke in with a resigned sigh. "It seems my directions were not clear enough. Pity."

Kero turned the camera back to him, yelling out in frustration. "You've deleted everything! Tomoyo's gonna kill us!"

"Kill us?" Stephen let out a nervous laugh. "Surely that is an exaggeration, Kerberos. She would never do such a thing to us over a few simple video clips-"

Kero grabbed Stephen by the tuft of fur on his chest. "Listen, buddy, you don't know how serious Tomoyo is about these videos. When she finds out what you did, she's gonna flip-"

"Here, let's grab the camera bag so that I can tape the closing ceremonies, and then we can head over to the field stage."

Kero flinched. "Oh no, that's her! I've gotta get outta here! I can't be associated with you when-"

Tomoyo lifted up the tablecloth to see the three animals underneath. "Hmm? What are the three of you doing here? Were you looking at the videos?" She reached in to take the camera, but Kero flew up to her face, his arms flailing as he yelled.

"Ya gotta listen to me; I had nothin' to do with it, alright? This is all Stephen and Suppi's fault, and I wasn't involved in the slightest-"

"Kero-chan, what are you talking about?" Sakura poked her head under the table as well, hearing the voices. "What did you have nothing to do with?"

"Oh!" Tomoyo let out a gasp as she turned on her camera. "Is this what you're talking about? All the clips are gone."

"Yes, that's right." Stephen fell to the ground in a bow. "I'm so sorry, Tomoyo-sama. I was trying to help Suppi-Spinel-sama by deleting one of the video clips, but I seem to have… accidentally… deleted them all. My sincerest apologies."

Tomoyo was quiet for a moment, looking back and forth between Stephen, Kero, and the camera. Eventually she closed the viewer on the camera and smiled.

"That's alright. No worries."

Kero jumped back. "Wh-wha-? What are you talkin' about, that's alright?! If it were me deletin' all yer files, you'd have killed me on sight!"

Tomoyo giggled. "Don't be so dramatic, Kero-chan. This is a wi-fi enabled camera with web-based storage. As long as I'm connected to the internet, any videos I record get sent directly to the web folder so that I can access them from any device. So even if they're deleted from the camera's internal storage, I still have them. See?"

She pressed a few buttons on her smartphone and pulled up a video of Sakura's earlier card capture. Stephen gasped, his eyes sparkling as he drew closer. "What an incredible piece of technology, Tomoyo-sama! But how in the world can one store videos in a web? I have not seen any spiders present at the event today."

Tomoyo pulled him with her back out from under the table. "No, no, silly. It's not a literal web. Rather, that's the name that we've given to a twenty-first century form of wireless storage..."

The two continued to talk, and Sakura pulled both Kero and Spinel from the table too. "C'mon, you guys, we're going to be late for the closing ceremonies."

"Closing ceremonies already?" Spinel groaned. "Just how long was I asleep? Oh, Eriol will be so cross with me when I return and tell him that I didn't even see this Noboru-sensei I was sent to find."

"Sorry about that, Spinel," Sakura replied. "But at the very least, we were lucky to have you with us. You were an invaluable help in finding the Warp Card, remember?"

"I… do not recall…"

"It's okay. We'll send Eriol-san the video later-"

"Don't you dare send him that video!"

As Spinel moved to argue with her, a school bell rang behind them, and Sakura shoved the two of them back in the camera bag. "A-alright, you two! Let's save the arguments for later! I've gotta get to the closing ceremonies, okay?"

The two guardian beasts struggled as they were shoved into the bag once again and the zipper was closed on them. Kero groaned and sighed, stretching out along the bottom of the bag.

"Well, I guess we're stuck here for the next little while. What a drag. At least we got some excitement for it all."

"...Kerberos…" Spinel began, his voice back to its usual, serious tone, "...may I offer some input on your previous discussion with Stephanos?"

Kero sat up just a little. "Huh? You heard that?"

"I heard enough. Perhaps it is not my place to speak in this matter, since I have no knowledge of Warp Neon or those close to him. But I do know about the principles behind magical tampering with memories."

Kero frowned, though his expression wasn't visible in the darkness of the closed bag. "Look, I don't wanna accuse a person of doin' somethin' without any evidence. But this is Warp Neon we're talkin' about-"

"That is the problem, though. Even Clow Reed was limited in the way he could alter memories. Erasing memories can be done, altering memories is difficult but not impossible, but creating completely new memories is…" Spinel sighed. "The memories that Clow gave to you and Yue only included living creatures who already existed in your brains. To create a memory involving a living being who never existed- even an infant- would take such powerful rearrangement of neurons and synaptic patterns that someone of Clow Reed's caliber would be hard-pressed to do so."

"Yeah, so…?" Kero repeated. "Warp Neon would go to any lengths to manipulate others for his own personal gain-"

Spinel covered his face with one paw. "You're just not getting this, Kerberos. What I'm saying to you is, if you choose to believe that the memories of this Lian person were planted into Stephanos' mind by Warp Neon, that would be an admission that a sorcerer who- by your description- was just a thorn in Clow's side was capable of doing something even Clow Reed would have found nearly impossible."

Kero's shoulders drooped. "...that… I-I mean, that's not what I…" He shook his head. "But what other explanation is there?"

Spinel was quiet, and Kero waited patiently for a reply. The atmosphere between them had turned tense, and while it made Kero uncomfortable, he genuinely wanted to know what Spinel had to say. What was his deal, butting into this situation anyway?

"..." Spinel finally let out a sigh. "All I mean to say is, when you consider the logistics of altering memories, taking away a memory is much more feasible a task than creating a new one. I'm not saying that either you or Stephanos is correct in this. Perhaps both of you had your memories altered. But logically speaking, if one of you is right and one of you is wrong, then the one most likely to have the correct memory is…"

He didn't need to finish his sentence. Kero got the message.