DM: I'm sorry, I know it's been a long time! Please don't hate me. College is harder than it looks.

Recap: Eriol and Tomoyo are at a standstill after she emerges from the shower to find him watching tapes of Sakura's dad. Fujitaka at last comes home and enters in conversation with his daughter and Syaoran.

Disclaimer: Same as always. Moshisan is rather busy at the moment, so this is unbeta'd. Apologies.

Curses!

Chapter Twenty-five

Light and Dark

Tomoyo stared back at Eriol with equal intensity, unsure of the meaning behind his gaze.

"W-what?" she stammered, feeling a mixture of fear and exhilaration. Eriol took a step forward. Her heart jumped in her chest.

"Why are you staring at me? Do I still have shampoo in my hair?" she babbled. Eriol continued to draw closer, and Tomoyo's voice caught in her throat.

She shut her eyes. This was the end, she was sure of it. Eriol closed the distance between them.

The kiss that came was so gentle, so unassuming, that Tomoyo couldn't be sure it had actually happened. She'd felt a light touch on her cheek, and that was the end of it.

Eyes still closed, Tomoyo heard Eriol step away from her. She brought a hand to her tingling cheek and opened her eyes.

Eriol was staring at the floor with wide eyes, one hand buried in his hair. She watched in fascination as he pulled a small lock gently. This seemed to convince him of something, and he promptly left the room.

What just happened?

"I'll leave you two alone then," Syaoran called over his shoulder as he shut the door behind him.. They probably didn't hear him, anyway: they were having a deep discussion of which he couldn't possibly be a part.

He scratched his head, unsure of where to go as he stood on the sidewalk. He'd never been out in Tomoeda alone before. The town was quaint, and the house nothing like the mansion in which he'd been brought up, but he liked it. Maybe because Sakura came from there, it held a special charm.

After looking both ways for a few moments, he decided to head to Tomoyo's house. In fact, he wanted to ask Eriol about something Sakura's dad had said. Now that he thought about it, a lot of what he'd said seemed strange…

"Sakura," Fujitaka said after they had exchanged greetings, "I have something important I must tell you." He seemed very serious, and Sakura sat down on the couch without a word.

Fujitaka pulled up a chair to the coffee table, and Syaoran, sensing that his presence was extraneous, went to go make some tea.

"I'm listening, Dad," she said, sitting up straight. Syaoran was very proud of her. She'd matured a lot since they'd first met.

"Sakura, a few days before you left on that school trip, I had a very strange dream," he began, "A young man about your age, whose face I could not see, came and spoke to me. He told me that you would stay in Hong Kong, and that you would be in the care of the family of an old friend of mine."

He paused to let this sink in, but Sakura showed no sign of shock. Her brow furrowed, and it seemed to Syaoran that she knew exactly who this dream-visitor was. Even if he and her father didn't.

"He told me that I should go on a trip to Egypt, to 'reconnect with myself.' I told him I didn't know what he meant, but now that I've gone—" his eyes seemed to see far away, "I feel as though I helped you somehow."

Again, Sakura did not give anything away. She was tapping her chin thoughtfully. A habit, he noted with pleasure, that she'd picked up from him.

Fujitaka seemed undeterred by his daughter's reaction and so continued, "He said that my presence would give you the power to quickly accomplish what you needed to do. I slept for three days after visiting the sphinx, and no one knew why, so I assume this was true," he looked at her over his glasses and Syaoran realized that he wanted confirmation.

Sakura gave a quick nod, eager for him to continue. So it was Fujitaka's magic that had allowed them to spend a mere five minutes of real time in Clow Land. It was also this dream that made it so easy for Sakura to transfer schools.

"The boy seemed so sure of himself that I obeyed. He seemed almost familiar, but in the way that," he paused again, evidently wondering if he should finish, "The way that my reflection is familiar."

This time Sakura seemed a little surprised. It was as if he'd thrown off her calculations. Syaoran accidentally caused the tea cup he was pouring to overflow. He gave a small yelp of pain.

The two Kinomoto's shot him a look. Feeling embarrassed, Syaoran decided to leave. They didn't seem to want tea anyway…

So here he was, walking over to the Daidouji household. Eriol was standing on the veranda, pinching his cheeks with both hands.

Syaoran decided not to comment on the odd behavior and pretended that everything was normal.

"Hey, Eriol," he called. There were a few moments before the blue-haired boy looked at him.

"Oh, hello," he said absently. He seemed very confused, and Syaoran was now growing concerned. Still, with Eriol, you had to approach the subject from a distance.

"You know, Sakura's talking with her Dad about the most interesting thing," he said, deciding to just make something up and direct the conversation towards Eriol's strange mood.

"Oh, about the Clow Cards?" Eriol asked, peering oddly at Syaoran.

Syaoran gasped and Eriol seemed to realize his mistake. But too late. Syaoran now knew that Eriol knew all about the Clow Cards.

Eriol cursed himself for allowing a simple kiss to reduce him to idiocy.

As soon as Syaoran left, Fujitaka seemed more at ease. He stared at the coffee table, wondering how he should phrase his next piece of information.

Sakura waited patiently. She didn't want to interrupt his train of thought.

At last he came to a conclusion of sorts and spoke again, "He also said that I should have you by my side by the time I returned from Egypt, because something important is going to happen…between me and him." He sat back in the chair and looked for a reaction.

Sakura's face was impassive. She'd remembered a brief conversation she'd had with Syaoran when they'd first met. He'd told her that he had a friend who was somehow related to her father. She was getting surer by the minute that Eriol was behind all of this.

"Did he say what?" she asked, looking her father directly in the eye.

She could have imagined it, but he seemed to wince.

"No. In fact, he didn't know, he confessed to me," Fujitaka replied, smiling a little, "He seemed unsure of himself at that point, and almost frightened."

Sakura's head snapped to attention. "Could you see him?" she asked sharply. Her father winced again. This time she was sure she had seen it. A tingling sensation began creeping its way up her legs. She watched him carefully as he replied, worried.

"Oh, I dunno. I just felt like he was scared. I still couldn't see his face. You, know, you're taking this rather—" he cringed, a hand clutching his heart, as a pale glow filled the room. The tingling sensation peaked and Sakura realized what it was, just as her father slumped to the floor.

"A Clow Card!" she cried, standing up. The glow faded. Kero came flying down the stairs, having also sensed the magic.

"Sakura," he shouted as light filled the room, more brightly than before, "It's the Light Card!"

"Light?" she asked under her breath, puzzled, "How do I capture that?"

Releasing the seal, she raised her staff over her father's prone body.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" she yelled, hoping it would work.

Slowly, a woman's form rose from Fujitaka. She was dressed in a long white gown and a crown. She smiled fondly at Sakura, and, for a moment, she thought she'd done it. However, the woman shook her head.

"You must find the other half," she said, "And bring them together to make a whole!"

Sakura's face fell as the woman disappeared. Kero flew up to her shoulder and patted her head comfortingly.

"The other half of Light is Dark," he whispered, "Though it's strange that she used "the" and not "my"…"

Fujitaka groaned and Kero dashed under a sofa cushion. Sakura knelt down and heaved her father onto the couch.

"I know where the other half is," she said, determined to find him at all costs.

Yukito and Touya were walking calmly to the Kinomoto household. They'd had a busy day working, as usual, and wanted to unwind. Touya glanced at Yukito, who was eyeing a sweet shop with a glint in his eye, and sighed.

"You know, Yuki," he began, but was interrupted as someone rushed by in a blur. He whipped around and saw that it was Sakura. How he knew, he couldn't be sure; she was moving so fast she left a small sonic boom behind her. However, the aura was clearly hers.

"What is it, Touya?" Yukito asked, following Touya's gaze and sensing nothing amiss. Touya shook his head.

"Do you mind if we take a quick detour?" he asked, already following after his sister.

"Fine, fine," Yukito said, smiling, "But can I have some ice cream to eat on the way?"

Thanks to the Dash Card, Sakura arrived on Tomoyo's doorstep in time to see Eriol and Syaoran at a standstill. Both were still in shock from the huge secret that had just been revealed.

"Eriol!" Sakura shouted, panting a little. Syaoran and Eriol's heads snapped towards her in unison. "My father needs you!"

Eriol raised an eyebrow, but had no time to reply; she grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him back to her house.

"Sakura? What are you doing?" Syaoran exclaimed, running after her. There were people watching them, preventing her from using her Clow Cards.

"My father is ill," she said through gritted teeth, "And Eriol has to help him."

Eriol at last awoke from his daze and pulled the other two into a small alleyway. Sakura glared at him as he removed a key from his pocket.

"We'll get there faster if we use this," he whispered, and for a second Sakura was sure that she'd met Eriol before. Before coming to Hong Kong, before capturing the Clow Cards, before everything.

Before she could say anything, the three of them were outside her house. Eriol walked calmly up the front porch to the door.

Sakura shook her head to clear it and dashed up behind him. Syaoran simply stared as the two entered the house, before following them in.

Tomoyo sat on the veranda, staring out over the grounds of the estate. The tops of the trees were a fiery red, but the foliage underneath was still green. The air smelled of autumn.

He left after that, she thought, strange feeling welling up in her chest.

She was rather confused as to what had actually happened. Eriol hadn't been lewd or strange or anything; in fact, she found the whole thing rather sweet. Though she'd rather die before confessing it.

A pair of figures passed through the gate and walked up the paved path to where she was sitting. As they grew closer, she could see that it was Touya and Yukito. Strange. Her brow furrowed as she wondered what they were doing at her house. She rose to meet them.

"Is Sakura here?" Touya called before reaching Tomoyo. Her aura had been close by but had vanished. He knew already that he'd missed her.

"No, she's not…" Tomoyo replied, puzzled. She met them in the small paved area just in front of the veranda.

"She probably went back to your house," Yukito said suddenly. Both Touya and Tomoyo stared at him, utterly confused.

"How do you know that?" Touya asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. Yukito shrugged.

"I just do."

Eriol sat down beside a now awake Fujitaka. Both now appeared to be in pain. Eriol was sweating, and Sakura's father was very pale. Syaoran swallowed, worried about the outcome.

"You're sure there's a card in there?" he asked, glancing worriedly at the two on the couch. He had yet to tell Sakura that Eriol knew a thing about the Clow Cards.

Sakura nodded and Kero blew a raspberry in his direction. She stood firmly, dangling the key in front of her.

"Guys," she said softly, "This is Kero. What you're about to see may seem weird, but I promise I will explain everything later, ok?"

She released the seal and the wand extended in front of her.

"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Cards!" she yelled, striking the air between the two men. Fujitaka's eyes rolled into the back of his head and Eriol was clearly struggling to remain conscious as two women now, one in white and one in black, rose before her.

"Thank you," they said softly as they swirled into their card forms.

Sakura caught them happily. Syaoran ran to her side and embraced her. She hugged him back tightly.

Fujitaka lay on the couch, now sleeping peacefully. Kero did a little jig in the air.

Unnoticed by anyone, Eriol managed to slip out the front door, summoning his key as he went.

Syaoran pulled back and gazed into Sakura's eyes. Suddenly she realized just how very close they were. Her heart began to race as his arms tightened their grip around her waist.

"Sakura," he said softly, "I've been meaning to tell you…." Her eyes grew wide and her breath caught in her throat as she waited for him to finish.

"I love you," he whispered, leaning in and kissing her on the lips.

"Here we are," the limo driver said as they pulled up in front of the Kinomoto house. Touya, Yukito and Tomoyo, thanked him and hopped out just as Eriol was coming out.

"Eriol, what are you doing here?" Tomoyo asked, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't respond. Something in his hand had begun to grow to a long staff.

"What the?" Touya yelled next to her. She tore her gaze away from Eriol and looked to see Yukito glowing, rising in the air.

"What's going on?" she whispered, her eyes full of fear.

"It has begun," Eriol replied, smiling.

DM: Woo cliffie! Hopefully I'll be able to update this again soon. Sorry again about the lateness. Please review and I can promise it in three weeks! Peace! Next Chapter: Battle