Hello!

A/N: Thanks yet once more to all you reviewers out there. Even more thanks to those who wrote big and/or juicy reviews, full of content.

Disclaimer: I do own CCS. Except that I don't... So yeah, it's true... That was a lie. The first sentence I mean. Whatever...

The Plot Thickens: Syaoran was contacted once more by the caster of the spell, whom he started referring to as the puppet master, just as he was about to board the plane to Hong Kong. This time, however, he seemed more willing to help Syaoran rather than manipulate him. He offered to take the spell away from Syaoran, but told him it would be impossible to just take it off, claiming that once if was lifted, Syaoran would go insane from the conflict between his memories and what he presently felt about Sakura. There were three ways to avoid that, two of which involved Syaoran going back to Hon Kong and forgetting about Sakura, either by magic or with time. The third was the only that allowed him to stay in Japan, but it was not revealed how it would work. Syaoran picked the third one, which was clearly what the puppet master wanted, and managed to save Sakura from a Clow card by a fraction of a second.

Moving on:

All the life on the planet is based on a magical energy called 'Mana'. The Sun and the Moon provide this mana to every corner of the planet. Those who learned to manipulate the mana are the said magicians. A long time ago, Clow Reed mastered the use of both Sun and Moon mana and created his masterpiece in the use of these types of magic, the Clow Cards. Half of them used the mana from the sun and half from the Moon. Now, after accidentally setting those cards on the loose, Kinomoto Sakura must help Li Syaoran, a descendant of Clow, and Kerberos, the guardian of the cards, to capture the cards which, not having Clow to provide them mana anymore, are going on a rampage after the magical energy they need to live.

Card Captor Sakura

Chapter 7: Sakura and Syaoran - Act II

Part 2: A New Page

Touya watched as Sakura and Syaoran picked up the Clow cards that had fallen on the ground and then walked away from the shores of the lake. They were headed towards the sibling's house. ºSakura's probably going to put on some clean clothes before going to school.º He assumed, judging from the girl's muddy school uniform.

"See? I told you it would be alright." The woman next to him said sweetly. "He always keeps his word."

Touya frowned. "Alright?" He protested, he had a serious tone in his voice which made the woman conceal her smile involuntarily. "You call this alright? Sakura was in serious danger back there and you saved her only in the last second."

"When we first talked a month ago, didn't we tell you that it might seem as if things were out of hand?" The woman asked.

Touya sniffed sarcastically. "You're telling me that you had all of this planned?"

"Do you think that he ever had any doubt that Syaoran could do it?" The woman asked patiently. "He trusts the boy, and he proved himself to be right, didn't he? He actually expected Syaoran to turn back on his own, but when it came down to it, he needed a little push. But Syaoran turned back nevertheless."

"Well, what if he hadn't?"

"Then he would have easily and discreetly saved Sakura." The woman said. "You have to understand that while it seems to you that he only saved Sakura through a stroke of luck, he was in fact waiting until the last moment to see if Syaoran would come on his own. When he saw that there was no more possibility of that happening, he intervened and brought Syaoran here."

"I don't care what you say." Touya muttered. "I'm through with having my sister depend on that brat."

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do now. She's already accepted him, and he's already decided to protect her. You have no choice but to trust us Touya-kun."

The couple walked in silence for a couple of minutes. Sakura was smiling and Syaoran was trying to find anything to distract his gaze other than Sakura.

Finally Kero broke the stillness. Flying around Sakura so he was staring at Syaoran again, he let out a loud forced laugh. "So, brat, I have just one doubt. How in the world did you manage to get that card? I've got to admit, you acted so fast I didn't even see you coming."

Syaoran smirked. That was something he was actually proud of telling. "I got here just in time to see that ice shattering." He said. "I knew I had to act fast and luckily I found this lying on the ground right beside me." He showed a Clow card he held in his other hand.

"The Time!" Kero exclaimed in awe.

Sakura was also surprised. "How did you get..." She stopped in the middle of the sentence as she recalled the past events. "Oh yeah, I dropped it when the card attacked me." She said, feeling the cuts in her arm sting more just for being mentioned.

Syaoran nodded. "I managed to stop you all in the last second with the powers of The Time, and then I took the chance to lock The Shot." He said, holding back a smile to himself. It felt good to tell his successful deeds, even to Kero.

Sakura was rather amazed by the story. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly open. "Wow! That's amazing." She congratulated the boy.

Syaoran chuckled in amusement. "It's nothing really." He said.

In fact, he had concealed from Sakura that he had been greatly helped by the anonymous puppet master. Not only had the mysterious person sent him there in a split second by something Syaoran thought to be teleportation, he had also pointed out that the boy should use The Time card as soon as he got there. Basically Syaoran was just following instructions.

He had just one instruction left.

Syaoran looked at Sakura and opened his mouth to say something. She wasn't looking at him so he felt uncomfortable. She seemed to be very cheerful but at the same time completely unaware of his presence. "Uh... Kinomoto-san." Syaoran called.

Sakura turned her head slowly so she was facing him. He immediately turned away like he was used to. This time, however, he realized he had just felt uncomfortable when Sakura wasn't paying attention to him and felt a bit of guilt for looking the other way. Not enough to make him turn back though.

"What is it?" Sakura asked sweetly. As they had walked through Tomoeda she had gradually forgotten all about her ideas of fighting by herself. It seemed now that things were back to the way they should be.

Syaoran swallowed a big lump of saliva. That was a very important moment and a very awkward one too. He cursed the spell he had on him. It only made the moment harder.

Taking a big breath of courage he started to speak. "I was wondering if you could..." He scratched the back of his head searching for the ideal words.

"Could what?" Sakura asked after Syaoran had taken over five seconds to complete his sentence.

"Uh... Well..." ºCome on Syaoran, It's the only way to get rid of the spell.º He let go of the air he was holding back. "Remember when Terada-sensei asked you to... help me?" ºMan, this feels stupid!º

Sakura giggled. "Want me to help you with Japanese?" She asked.

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah..." He said meekly. Why was it so easy for her?

Both of them wanted the answer to be yes. Sakura had just found out how much that was a good idea to her. It somehow brought Syaoran a little closer to the Syaoran in her dream, it made her feel that he was hiding somewhere inside of the mysterious boy beside her. Walking with him now, she felt like something was different from before. Syaoran was still the same, but something in his walk, his voice and everything else felt more alive. The girl somehow knew that entire episode represented a whole new step in the search for the Clow cards.

Kero on the other hand had found Syaoran's request amusing.

"Ha, ha, ha!" He blurted out pausing distinctively between each 'ha'. "The almighty brat asking for someone to teach something to him?! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

"Kero-chan!" Sakura scolded the winged guardian. "That's not very nice!"

Kero snorted. "It's the truth."

Sakura looked at Syaoran with an apologetic look, but not before glaring menacingly at Kero. "Don't mind him." She said. "I'd really like to help you. I'm glad you asked me."

Syaoran than did something Sakura had never seen him do before and therefore was caught completely off guard. He intentionally looked at her directly in the eye and smiled.

"Thanks." Was all he said.

Sakura dazed off for a second, staring in Syaoran's eyes. Just like everything else about him, it had a new sparkle to it. It definitely looked more like the eyes from the boy in her dream.

When she fell back in reality she smiled back. ºHe's friendlier.º She thought to herself.

Later at Tomoeda Elementary. The bell announced the first break of the day.

As Terada-sensei left the classroom he crossed ways with Sakura who apologized to him politely for her delay.

"Sakura-chan, you're late." Tomoyo said as Sakura took her seat. "What happened?"

Sakura had a wide grin on her face which only made Tomoyo more and more curious. "I'm not really sure myself." Sakura answered.

Tomoyo raised a brow. "Was it a Clow card?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, but that's not the best part." She said. She was trying to make her announcement more dramatic but she wasn't very good at that kind of thing, instead she just blurted it out. "Li-kun is going to stay in Japan."

Tomoyo was genuinely surprised at that. Just as much as she had been when she found out the boy was leaving. "He is? He was there when you got the card?"

Sakura nodded again. "He helped me get the card and then he said he decided to stay here. Isn't that great?"

Tomoyo smiled, not at the news, but at Sakura's excitement "Sure." She said sincerely. "But... did he tell you why he decided to stay?"

Sakura shook her head, still smiling. "He said he'd tell me later."

"I wonder why he left in the first place." Tomoyo asked herself unconsciously bringing her pencil to her lips.

"I don't know, but I'm sure that there was something wrong. He seemed changed now. It was like he was less cold than usual."

Tomoyo giggled. "Less cold? You mean he was being deliberately nice?" She asked.

Sakura laughed along. "Hard to picture isn't it? But I mean it. There's something nicer about him."

"That's good. I think something good has happened to him." Tomoyo said. Sakura nodded in assenting. "Now tell me exactly how it all went down."

And so she did.

Meanwhile, at Syaoran's apartment.

Wei opened the door letting a smiling Syaoran in.

"Li-san!" He said as Syaoran stepped inside the room. "What happened?"

Syaoran had a relaxed smile on his face. "A lot." He said, sitting on the couch and moaning as his body relaxed.

Wei sat on the couch across him. "Why did you change your mind all of a sudden? Did something happen?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, a Clow card showed up. But that's not what made me change my mind actually." He said. What he was about to say was supposedly what was making him so cheerful, although part of his cheerfulness was the spell being happy for his mending with Sakura. "I've found a way to get rid of the spell."

Wei gasped. "You did?! In the airport?"

Syaoran nodded again. "It's a long story, but the important thing is that so long as I'm free of the spell my mother won't have any objections of me staying. That's great isn't it?"

Wei smiled. He cared deeply for Syaoran and it had hurt him to see the boy in such doubt like before, but now he seemed so determined. Even if they had wasted two plane tickets and a lot of trouble packing it was worth seeing Syaoran back to his normal self. "Of course." He assented. "But... why did you decide to stay? I thought you wanted to leave."

Syaoran hesitated. He had found himself in one of those situations when he had to choose between looking stupid because of his pride or looking stupid for swallowing his pride. "I... I wasn't running away, OK? I was just doing the prudent thing." He mumbled. "Now things changed."

"Don't worry. I know you well enough." Wei said smiling. Syaoran felt ever so stupid under that knowing smile.

"I guess I have a lot to do know." Syaoran said, changing the subject. "Gotta warn the family, register at the school again..."

"Don't worry about that." Wei said. "It's still early; right now I'd like to know exactly what happened in these past few days. Why don't you tell me what made you change your mind so fast?"

And so he did.

Hong Kong.

Mei Ling had been surprised that morning when her aunt Yelan called her on the phone and told her that they needed to talk. She didn't remember anything similar happening in the past. When the girl protested saying that she had her private teachers waiting for her Yelan replied that it was an important subject and her classes could be delayed for one day. By that point Mei Ling was already dying of curiosity. However, she wasn't anywhere near ready for all that she was going to hear.

"What?!" Mei Ling cried out in shock. "Xiao Lang's coming back?" She asked anxiously.

Yelan nodded with a smile, but not as cheerful as Mei Ling expected her to be. "Yes, he should be here later today."

Mei Ling would have jumped up in joy at that, but she quickly picked up that Yelan hadn't told her the entire story. "What's the matter? Doesn't that mean he got all the cards?"

Yelan shook her head. "While he was in Japan, other things happened." She said. "I'm afraid things aren't just as simple as collecting the cards anymore."

There was a morbid tone on Yelan's voice that sparkled fear deep in Mei Ling's mind. "What happened?" She asked louder than necessary "Is Xiao Lang ok?"

Yelan nodded. "Yes, for now." She quickly assured the girl to calm her nerves. "That's why I told him to come back."

"But what's happening there? Does it have something to do with that other girl?" She asked emphasizing her disgust in referring to Sakura. She had read many of the letters Syaoran had sent, and it had become cleat that he mentioned the 'Kinomoto' girl much more often than she would like. More often than he mentioned herself actually.

Over time, the Sakura in her mind had developed into a stereotype of a stupid girl who depends on nothing but her looks, which, not coincidentally, was the kind of girl she hated the most. Nothing had really pointed out to that, but it had come naturally to her that any girl who was spending too much time with Syaoran in such a far away place had to be a shallow little...

"As a matter of fact, it has everything to do with Sakura." Yelan said. Mei Ling frowned and was ready to start ranting when Yelan cut her off. "But she's as much of a victim of the situation as Xiao Lang." She stated firmly.

Mei Ling snorted, earning a chuckle from Yelan. The spunky girl was probably one of the few people in Hong Kong who would have the guts to snort at her. "Anyway..." Mei Ling said, pouting. "If there's something going on, why doesn't Xiao Lang fight it? He's the best warrior around you know?"

That question instantly put an end to Yelan's carefree laugh. She sighed to herself and Mei Ling could actually feel the air around them get heavier. "Mei Ling. How can you fight against something that can attack your very will to fight?"

"What?" The girl questioned confused.

"When the book of Clow was opened, two people other than Xiao Lang and Sakura were present. Although neither of them knew that. I didn't know at the time too." She said. Her voice carried a deep regret.

Mei Ling raised a brow. "Huh?"

Yelan proceeded "These two people have an interest in Sakura's unusually powerful connection with both the Sun and the Moon. They've been watching Sakura ever since."

"What?!" Mei Ling exclaimed. "You mean they're being stalked?"

"Not stalked. Just supervised." Yelan said. "These two people needed Sakura's powers for their own purposes, but if Xiao Lang took all of the cards back here she would never find out about magic. They didn't want to show themselves either. They needed Sakura to learn how to control her powers by herself."

"Is this for real?" Mei Ling asked. The story seemed to be getting more far fetched at each word that Yelan pronounced.

"Unfortunately... yes." Yelan said in a dead serious tone. Enough to convince Mei Ling. "As I was saying. They needed to find a way to stop Xiao Lang. The most powerful one came up with the idea of putting a spell on him. It was a terribly powerful spell. With it, he could control Xiao Lang's thoughts as he well pleased. He could even make him believe he was feeling different things." She paused taking a sip of the tea that rested on the coffee table in front of them. "Their intention was to persuade Xiao Lang into not finding the book. Syaoran actually walked by the house several times and was unable to see it because of the spell. However something happened that they did not expect."

Mei Ling smirked. "That girl spread the cards all over the place." She said confidently.

"Not only that." Yelan said. "Xiao Lang unconsciously resisted the spell. He managed to find the place."

"Tee hee." Mei Ling smiled cutely at the mention of Syaoran's feat.

Yelan sighed. "It might have been better if he hadn't though." Mei Ling's face fell back in confusion. "These people saw in the situation an opportunity that was better than what they had previously planned." She said. "The cards would serve as a perfect training for Sakura to get used with her powers, and it was their intention to have her as card mistress anyway. However, she was still too inexperienced to capture the cards by herself. Xiao Lang was just what they needed. He was strong, he had a vast knowledge of the cards and he was already enchanted to do as they pleased. All they needed to do was to insist in the spell and slowly Xiao Lang succumbed. He started to develop fake fraternal feelings towards Sakura. He felt as if he had the obligation to protect her like a younger sister. That's when the trouble started getting out of hand. Xiao Lang was confused at those random thoughts and feelings that came to him and it took him quite a while to realize what was going on. In the past month Syaoran has been leading a very troubled life."

Mei Ling was shocked. Plain stupefied. "But... Can't he do a thing about these people?"

Yelan shook her head solemnly "They are too powerful Mei Ling. I had to opt between letting my son run away or letting him not be my real son. You see why he is returning now?"

Mei Ling frowned. She obviously didn't agree with Yelan. "Xiao Lang can do this!" She cried. "What will happen if he comes back? He'll have failed his trial and... He can't fail!" Tears started forming in the girl's eyes.

Yelan put a comforting hand on Mei Ling's forehead. "Hush." She said softly. Mei Ling swallowed her tears and looked up at her aunt. Her calmness revealed that she hadn't said everything yet. "You see... I don't believe Xiao Lang is coming back today."

"W-what?" Mei Ling asked between meek sobs.

"I believe he will stay in Japan and try to solve the problem by himself." She said and then with a wink she added. "He's just like you after all."

Mei Ling blushed at that, with a shy smile. "Yeah... I guess he is." She said, wiping the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

"And that's the reason I called you here. These next few days will be full of important changes and I think you have the right to know what is going on with Xiao Lang." She said smiling.

Mei Ling smiled widely now. "Thank you." She said. "I'm glad you told me."

Yelan pulled herself back up. "There's one more thing you should know." She said. "Xiao Lang is unaware of some of the things I told you. I had to find a lot of this by myself and I think it would be best if he did the same."

Mei Ling made an inquisitive look. "What do you mean find out by yourself?"

Yelan giggled. "When you've studied magic for such a long time you learn that there are many ways to find things you don't know."

Mei Ling was definitely not satisfied with that answer, but she knew better than to insist in a subject with Yelan. She was and had been for as long as Mei Ling could remember a very mysterious woman.

"Oh..." Yelan said as if she had just remembered something. "Please come by here after you're done with your practice. I may have a gift for you then."

Mei Ling smiled. The word gift had a special effect over children. Even if you were someone like Mei Ling who, despite some behavior issues, was very smart and mature for her age. "What kind of gift?" She asked anxiously.

"It's a surprise."

TO BE CONTINUED...

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A/N: Oooh. Yelan knows more than we thought. And I for one think she hasn't told Mei Ling everything she knows. I mean... What the hell do these people want from Sakura anyway?

I know already. But I won't tell you so soon. Just take notice that Yelan seems to be in contact with the puppet master and talks to Mei Ling as if she isn't. I mean... she's lying to everybody. Why? Keep asking questions like that and you might start to notice some clues to the secrets of the story.

Bye!