Author's Notes: I am deeply sorry. The transition from school to summer has been a tough one, and I've had almost no extra time on my hands. Hopefully this chapter makes up for all of the lost time in quality (it probably doesn't…but I'll just hope for now).

Thanks to joyfulsara, Chibi Ame, KawaiiQuerida-chan and gohan/videlgoten/trunkslover for the wonderful reviews. Honestly, I don't know what I would do without feedback.

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura or Sailor Moon.

Chapter 15

"Do you think he'll be here?" Tomoyo asked as she looked up at the intimidating house down the street from where she and Sakura were.

"I'm not sure," Sakura replied, her brow furrowing in thought. "If he's hiding, then I think he may have gone somewhere else. I can't sense his aura, but he's been concealing it."

"If Akizuki-san and Spinel-san have come back as well, do you think that you would be able to sense them?" Tomoyo said as they turned up the pathway toward the big house.

"There's a chance that he's hiding them as well," Sakura said. Hesitantly, she knocked on the door and waited, looking around.

After a few moments of waiting, Tomoyo said, "there doesn't seem to be anyone home."

Sakura's brow furrowed again. She sighed and finally opened the door, surprised at first that it was unlocked.

"Sakura-chan, do you really think that we should…" Tomoyo trailed off as Sakura walked into the house. Pulling out her camera, she quickly followed.

Dust coated everything inside the mansion that once belonged to the great sorcerer Clow Reed. Sakura sneezed as the girls' footsteps stirred up dust over four years old, and Tomoyo giggled from behind the lens of her camera. Nothing had been touched for what seemed like decades, and everything was as it had been left all those years ago.

"He's not here," Sakura said, disappointed. She hadn't expected him to be there in the first place, but she wanted to find him as quickly as possible.

"That's odd…" Tomoyo's voice drifted to her ears from another room. Sakura followed the melodic sound to where Tomoyo was looking down at a large square on the floor, where the dust had not collected so thickly.

"Didn't there used to be an armchair in that spot?" Sakura asked, her brows furrowing once more. She couldn't remember if that had been the place where that red chair had sat or not.

/MoOn/

/AnD/

/StArS/

"If I were obliged to keep just one thing from my past life as that wretched magician, it would have been this chair."

"So you've told us," Spinel Sun drawled from where he was reading on the couch.

"Well he had to have had good taste in something," Nakuru said as she waltzed by the door with a feather duster in her hand.

Spinel Sun murmured in agreement before looking back up at Eriol. "Maybe he's imbedded his memories into that armchair, and by sitting in it so much, you're making it impossible to rid yourself of him," he said. Eriol simply ignored him as he picked up the book in his lap and began reading.

"Oh, Suppi-chan, don't be silly! Eriol-kun would know if that had happened. And who's to say that he wants to completely get rid of Clow Reed-sama's memory?" Nakuru said as she swept into the room, shaking the duster at Spinel Sun, who winced as a shower of dust rained down on him.

"The old man was twisted and sadistic," he replied.

"And our dear, sweet Eri-kun's not?" Nakuru said, jumping on Eriol and nuzzling his cheek.

"Nakuru-chan, please, I'm trying to read…"

"I gather that you've forgiven "our dear, sweet Eri-kun" for what he did to put us all in danger just a few short days ago?" Spinel said, still some resentment in his tone.

Nakuru sighed. "Well, we need to find Sakura-chan. I understand that."

"And what if they find us first? What will you do then?" Eriol asked solemnly, looking up from his book.

Nakuru didn't answer for a moment, not sure how to reply. "I'll fight, of course," she finally said. "What else is there for me to do?"

Eriol appeared distressed by this answer as he looked back down at his book. "It was a mistake to come back here."

"We had to get away…"

"Whoever is looking for Clow Reed's spirit will not only find it within me," Eriol interrupted.

Nakuru paused, realising that he was correct. "Kinomoto-san…"

Eriol shook his head, disgusted with himself. "By being here I simply make it easier for them."

"But Sakura-chan is here!" Nakuru exclaimed. "That has to count for something."

"Not unless she can find us in time," Eriol said. "I have not left her any clues as to where I am or what I'm doing. Merely that I am here."

"Then find some way to let her know!" Nakuru said, becoming frustrated with the boy. "You've got to do something!"

Eriol turned the page, not able to reply. He knew he should, but it felt like leaving his own house would jeopardize his safety. If he was found, it would be much to late for Sakura to save him or his guardians. Eriol paused. "If it ever happens again, you two must find Sakura-san immediately and tell her everything."

The guardians nodded in silent agreement and Eriol went back to his book. His faith in Sakura hadn't faltered from the moment he had come to Japan, but he had never laid eyes upon what he was up against. There was no telling what may happen.

/MoOn/

/AnD/

/StArS/

Makoto laughed. "You're just paranoid," she said as she opened up her locker after school to get her books for homework.

Ami gave an exasperated sigh. "He bumps into me every day. It's scary," she insisted. Makoto simply laughed again, her voice carried down the halls like a soft bell as students flowed slowly like a meandering river out through the doors.

"Fine," Ami said, puffing out her cheeks like a small child. "I didn't think that anyone would agree with me anyway."

"In all honesty, Ami-chan," Makoto said, her amusement over the subject fading away, "I don't see what you find to be so suspicious about them." She paused for a moment, trying to think of a way that would help her understand Ami better. "What does he say to you?"

"Well he always says my name," Ami started.

"He addresses you by your given name?"

"No, he calls me "Mizuno-san" all of the time," she replied, "but he says it weird, you know?"

Makoto nodded in understanding, urging her friend to continue.

"And then he comments on the weather or something…and sometimes he comments on my looks," Ami said quietly, as if saying that she, Mizuno Ami, looked nice, was possibly the strangest thing one could do. Makoto had to bite her lip to hold back a giggle, hoping that Ami wouldn't notice.

"Basically he just talks about trivialities, but sometimes…he tells me that he wishes I'd trust him." Ami's brow had furrowed as she thought back to that puzzle, one that she hadn't been able to piece together yet.

Makoto tilted her head to one side in question. "And why don't you?" she asked.

"I don't know," Ami said, sounding quite disappointed with herself for that fact. Makoto gave her a small smile.

"Maybe you should give it a try," she suggested.

Ami knew that what Makoto was saying meant so much more than what was simply implied in the words. Trusting Yojiro would be more than just trusting him.

"I…" she started nervously, "I think I might."

Makoto smiled softly. "Let's get to Rei-chan's. We're late already as it is."

Ami nodded. "Okay, let's go."

/MoOn/

/AnD/

/StArS/

The tall figures appeared again, concealed by darkness and mist. The closer one turned his head and she caught a glimpse of light shining off of his glasses.

"Clow Reed-sama?" she called, but soon after her own lips formed a response. "No," she said, and she could have sworn that she saw a smirk on his face before both figures faded away.

The rain came pouring down, forming a puddle around her feet on the cement within a minute. She took a step and felt grass squelch beneath her shoes.

There was her mother, beautiful and shimmering with soft light in the darkness.

She called, the beautiful woman faded away, and slumber took her once again.

/MoOn/

/AnD/

/StArS/

Meshika Kimiyo was a shy young woman. Her fiery red hair hung over her face and curled in just below her chin, and her grey blue eyes peeked nervously from behind the bright locks. The insignia on her school uniform proudly donned the letters "T.A." as she purposefully walked down the sidewalk, her head lowered and her shoulders hunched as if to protect the heart beating inside her chest.

Usagi was the first to see the girl when she turned the corner to walk towards the temple.

"Hey, who's that?" the blonde asked.

Rei glanced at the rehead advancing up the pathway and rolled her eyes. "That's the girl I'm tutoring, Usagi, I told you about her yesterday," Rei said.

"Tutoring?" Usagi asked, apparently clueless.

Rei-chan told us that she would be tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays from now on," Ami explained.

"Hino-senpai?" a quiet, melodic voice said from the open doorway.

"Come in, Meshika-san," Rei replied, a smile in her voice and one her face. "And please, use my given name."

The shy girl nodded and stepped into the room, nervously glancing from one person to the next. Rei quickly remembered her manners and hastily introduced her friends.

"Meshika-san, this is Tsukino Usagi, Aino Minako, Kino Makoto and Mizuno Ami."

The girls collectively greeted Meshika and the younger girl replied with a soft "it's nice to meet you," before sitting down beside Rei so that they could start working on math.

"So, anyway," Minako continued what she had been saying before Usagi had interrupted. "Yasuto-kun and I bumped into Yojiro-san in the hallway. He didn't even look at me, and they didn't talk at all. There's definitely something going on between them. Yojiro-san used to be so protective of his brother, and now they avoid each other all of the time."

"Sounds like a bit of sibling rivalry," Ami said irritably. She didn't like being on the subject of the Hisano twins. "Yojiro-san can probably be very temperamental at times."

The only sound heard in the next few seconds was Rei's murmuring as she explained something to Meshika.

"Ami-chan…you just called him Yojiro-san!" Minako squealed. She and Makoto burst into excited giggling until Rei hushed them angrily.

Ami blushed furiously. "N-no I didn't!" she hissed.

"Yes you did!" Minako countered. "You've always referred to Yojiro-san as "him" or "Hisano-san." Why the change now?" she teased.

"You were calling him that!" Ami exclaimed. "I wasn't thinking – I didn't mean to!"

"You weren't thinking? That's even worse, Ami-chan!" Minako said, beginning to giggle again. As Ami sat there with a violent blush on her face, Rei grew more irritated with Minako's giggling.

"I'm trying to explain something!" the raven-headed priestess snapped. "If you're going to continue to blabber on about this Hisano Yojiro-san, I suggest doing it somewhere other than here."

Visibly cowering under Rei's fiery might, the blonde nodded and picked up all of her books to leave. The other three followed suit hurriedly. Meshika stared innocently up at the four girls as they left, and Makoto sent her a small smile before closing the door behind her.

/MoOn/

/AnD/

/StArS/

"What do you want?'

It was hard to remember that Aiko was so young with the way her voice came out so sharply and her eyes scanned everything with a critical glare. She was just fourteen in reality, but her actions didn't have any innocence or youth to them at all.

"I… uh…" Yang tripped over her words as she came out from behind the doorframe. She currently sported the look of a child, short enough for Aiko to look over her head.

"Out with it," Aiko snapped. Yang only stared shyly up at her through blonde bangs, a sad look in her big, green eyes. Earlier, Yin had braided her hair into two matching braids on either side of her head, and she was playing with one, twirling it around her fingers.

Aiko sneered, holding no sympathy for the shape-shifter. "You feel sorry for those pathetic girls, don't you," she said. "Don't give me those looks; I know one of you gave them the antidote to the poison. No one else had access to it."

Yang looked away guiltily. She did feel a little sympathy for the Senshi and the Card Mistress, but she had to appear apathetic at least.

"It doesn't matter anymore – I'm not going to punish either of you. It still has no effect on anything."

Yang looked up in surprise as Aiko turned away. "You're not…?" she said, astonished.

Aiko shook her head, her short black hair dancing. "I will if you continue to betray me," she warned. "But for now, their confidence has still not returned completely." She smirked as a rod of crystal appeared before her. It was the key to Mamoru's prison and the item that ensure her advantage against the Senshi. "And the Card Mistress… She will be taken care of. I won't stand for another defeat. I'll find Clow Reed and use his power against her."

"How will you find him?" Yang asked, remaining stationary as Aiko spoke. Her mistress turned to face her and Yang shivered as catlike, electric blue eyes fell upon her, accompanied by a devious smile.

"As it turns out, Clow Reed was reincarnated into two people. One of them is in hiding, but I'll find him eventually, and the other has already been found."

Yang looked down, her mouth forming an "oh" of understanding.

Aiko's eyes left the shape-shifter and fell on the key again. "Clow Reed's spirit will be mine, and then I will have no trouble winning and carrying this plan all the way through."

/MoOn/

/AnD/

/StArS/

And the plot thickens…

Again, sorry for this chapter being so late. I'll try harder this time.

A picture of Aiko is located at www . deviantart . com / deviation / 39535307 (without the spaces). You might want to go see it just to get a better feel of how she looks.

Word Count: 2,310