Hiya!

A/N: Not much time for notes... so little time that I won't even write a "Plot thickens" session! Man, this week just flew by. I intended to give the reviewers some special thanks today, but there's no time either. Sorry about that everybody, I'll just have to thank you like I usually do... Gosh... I even intended to get back to replying the reviews... I'll try to fix this next week. Thank you!

Oh! And Sakura didn't die! That was just a joke... I was amazed at how well it worked... I guess I'm starting to understand the 'Paul is dead' thing now. I'll be more careful with my jokes next time. Anyway... moving on...

Disclaimer: Can't waste time thinking of a semi-funny disclaimer. Gotta post this soon!

Read this little note:

Kissaten - Japanese café. You know, cute waitress, a few dishes with curious names and the basic salt/ketchup/toothpicks/napkins combo waiting for you in every table.

"Character Talking"

Character Thinking

(Me Talking)

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 learn to manipulate the mana are called 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 with mana anymore, are going on a rampage after the magical energy they need to live.

Card Captor Sakura

Chapter 9: Sakura and Syaoran - Act IV

Part 2: The Kissaten

Nadeshiko watched the clock nervously. "Sakura-chan should be home by now." She said. "Touya-kun, maybe we should try calling Sonomi-chan again."

Touya sighed. Can't she get in trouble in more appropriate times? He put a hand over Nadeshiko's shoulders. "Don't worry; I'm sure she's fine."

"But..." Nadeshiko was interrupted by a ring of the phone.

"I'll get it." Touya said, picking up the receiver that was already right beside him.

"Hello?" Nadeshiko watched anxiously as he started a conversation. "Sonomi-san, how are you doing?" He waited for the answer, it took longer than Nadeshiko expected, but Touya's expression didn't reveal anything of whatever he was listening. "Alright, thanks for telling us." He said, and waited again. "Don't worry; I'll make sure to tell her. Bye." He waited for the answer and hung up.

Nadeshiko stepped forward expectantly. "So, what did she say?"

"Tomoyo's already home, and she said that Sakura's studying at a friend's house." Touya answered, acting uninterested. "She doesn't know when she'll be back, but she'll call if she decides to sleepover."

Nadeshiko let out the air she was holding along with her tension. "Sakura-chan... she should have called me."

"Well..." Touya said, heading for the front door. "I think I'm going for a walk." He stated suddenly. Gotta find out what's really going on.

Nadeshiko blinked at him in confusion. "But it's almost time for dinner."

"I just feel like walking a bit." Touya said, he put on his shoes and opened the door. "You can have dinner without me. Bye." He closed the door behind him without giving time for his mother to protest.

Nadeshiko was left staring at the closed door in confusion. "Touya-kun... what are you hiding?"

Yelan, Sonomi and Wei were holding a conversation on Tomoyo's living room. Meanwhile, Tomoyo and Mei Ling where at the girl's room.

Mei Ling was staring through the window, feeling uncomfortable. Tomoyo watched her, trying to think of what to say.

Finally, Mei Ling broke the silence. She looked at Tomoyo. "I'm sorry for screaming at you." She said and it was obvious she didn't find it easy to do so. "But I was really looking forward to seeing Syaoran, and when I got here everything was turned upside down..."

Tomoyo smiled. "Don't worry. I'm glad you told me about this spell on Li-kun." She said. "I had really been fooled by it."

Mei Ling sighed. "He's a bit dense sometimes, so it's no wonder he was easily caught in a spell of that nature."

Tomoyo giggled. "I guess that's true." She said. "But knowing about this spell, I can't say I really know much about him anymore, can I?"

Mei Ling almost smiled. "Yeah..."

They didn't speak anything more for a while. Mei Ling went back to staring at the front yard trough the window and Tomoyo sat on her bed, just waiting for her mother's call.

Mei Ling had the first chance since she had gotten to Japan to settle down and think straight. Indeed, she'd had plenty of time to think straight back in China, but now there were new things to consider.

First of all: the spell.

Yelan hadn't been very specific, and the girl hadn't seen Syaoran yet so she couldn't tell how exactly it changed him, but she knew that it was hurting him on the inside and that was bad enough.

Then came the Kinomoto girl, she's the one for whom Syaoran's feelings had been messed up, but she couldn't really be blamed could she? Not only that, she was now inside Syaoran's body, and she couldn't be blamed again. That was very annoying. Mei Ling didn't like that Sakura wasn't really doing anything wrong.

What kind of relationship had they developed in the past month? Syaoran saw her as a younger sister, right? But at the same time he didn't, so that could get confusing. But what about the girl? What did she think of Syaoran? Tomoyo had said that Sakura looked up to him, so maybe she saw him like a big brother too.

But none of that mattered. The girl would just have to get used to the idea that Syaoran wasn't really who she thought he was and that, liking him or not, he was taken already. If Sakura understood that, maybe she might even let her befriend Syaoran. He needed to socialize more after all.

Then there was this Tomoyo girl. Apparently she already knew of the cards for a while. Was it just a coincidence that Sakura's friend was the daughter of Yelan's friend? Apparently her aunt was surprised too. But there had to be some reason for that. If Yelan was already friend of this Sonomi for so long she must have known she would be somehow related to the cards. The best way was probably asking Tomoyo.

"Daidouji-san..." She called, getting Tomoyo's attention.

"Yes?" Tomoyo inquired curiously.

"How exactly did your mother meet my aunt?" She asked, trying not to sound too interested.

Tomoyo's face brightened up. "When I was very small, Yelan-san came to Japan, she said she was here on a business trip." Tomoyo told Mei Ling who listed to every word with a disguised attention "We didn't live in Tomoeda back then. We only came here five years ago when my father passed away. Yelan-san was looking for a place to stay and she ended up renting a house that belonged to my mother."

"What was she doing here exactly?" Mei Ling asked, starting to show off her interest in the story.

Tomoyo tried to remember. "I don't know, I was too young back then." She said. "All I remember was that in the middle of showing the house to Yelan-san, my mom became acquainted with her. She'd visit us almost everyday, and she was really nice to us. I don't remember much more. If I had remembered her family name I would have recognized Li-kun's name. Anyway, after a couple of weeks she went back to China. She and my mother sent each other letters, but as time went by they lost touch with each other. I guess it's all a big coincidence that the cards showed up to my best friend of all people."

Mei Ling nodded. "Yeah... maybe." She said, not really believing it. "What about her?"

Tomoyo blinked in confusion. "Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah." Mei Ling said. "How did you meet her?"

Tomoyo giggled. "I can't say I remember. We've known each other ever since we were babies." She said. "Our mothers are cousins and best friends too. As a matter of fact, Sakura-chan's mother is the reason my mother decided to move here to Tomoeda."

Mei Ling couldn't accept that it was just a coincidence. Could Yelan have come so close to Sakura in the past and not have noticed her powers? Though it was probably true that Sakura hadn't actually met Yelan in the past.

"How long has she lived here in Tomoeda?" Mei Ling insisted, like a detective questioning a suspect.

"Sakura-chan? Ever since I can remember, I'm not sure when it was exactly." Tomoyo complied to her interrogation. "Though I think her mother moved in here when she got married."

"Hum... So my aunt's never met Kinomoto-san's family before."

"I guess not. It's possible, but I don't think it ever happened."

The door to the bedroom opened, Sonomi came in. "Ready girls? Let's eat shall we?"

Syaoran was walking aimlessly through the streets of Tomoeda. He had no idea of where to start looking for the card, but he knew that if he stopped focusing on his search his mind would regain his connection with Sakura and he really needed some privacy for the moment. Even if he couldn't focus on his thoughts it was better than sharing them at the moment.

He had tried going back to the park and look for any trace of the card, but it hadn't left a single trail behind. Not that Tomoeda was exactly the best place to find trails.

After a while, he decided to rest a bit and check to see how Sakura was doing. His stomach was asking for some food, so he walked into a nearby kissaten and took a seat on an empty table. There was already a menu waiting in each of the four seats.

Kinomoto-san! He tried to call out, but got no response. As a matter of fact, after being so much time without making any mind contact he didn't even know how to regain the connection. Have I lost it? He wondered.

A waitress came to the side of the table. "Are you alone little girl?" She asked.

Syaoran was about to protest on that when he remembered that he in fact looked like a little girl. "Y...yes." He said, blushing.

The waitress shrugged her shoulders. "Ok, so what will you be ordering?"

"I'll have a..." Syaoran cut himself in the middle of the sentence. "Oh no... I don't have any money!" He cursed himself, feeling all of his pockets. There wasn't anything inside. Of course not. Those were the clothes that they had dressed him in while he was asleep. Why would they put money in there?

"Don't worry Syaoran, we don't want your money." The woman said.

Syaoran jumped up in surprise. "What? How do you know my name?"

"Don't you remember me?" The waitress said. Her voice wasn't that of a young girl anymore. It was a man's voice.

"This voice..." Syaoran palled. Memories of the thick white fog and that ethereal feeling rushed into his head. "It's you!"

The woman smiled. "I'm glad you remembered. I'm taking this fake form for now; it wouldn't be convenient showing you my face."

Syaoran looked around him. He noticed now that there wasn't anybody else in the kissaten. "What's going on here?" He asked the man/woman. "What did you do to everybody?"

The waitress waved her hands in front of her defensively. "Don't misunderstand me." She said. "I made you sleep in a park bench, and I've already provided so that no one comes nearby while you sleep. We're actually in your dream. It's almost the same as the other times I talked to you."

"But why a kissaten this time?" Syaoran asked. "What happened to that white fog?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders. "You can ask yourself that. I promised not to use the spell anymore, remember? I can't manipulate your dreams, so all that you see is your own creation. I suppose you made this kissaten cause you were hungry."

"Oh..." Was all Syaoran said. He was surprised to see that it was his voice coming out of his mouth now. He looked down and recognized his own body below his head. "I'm me again!"

"So it is." The waitress said, not really as excited as Syaoran. "But remember, this is just a dream."

Syaoran nodded, he examined himself some more. It felt real enough for him. "Alright." He finally spoke. "What do you want with me?"

The waitress sat down across from Syaoran. "I wanted to have a chat with you and Sakura."

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "Kinomoto-san?"

"Li-kun?" Syaoran jumped up in surprise. He turned around and saw Sakura standing at the door to the kissaten, looking around. "What's going on?"

Syaoran's mouth fell open. Sakura was also back at her own body. He looked at the waitress. "Is that really her?"

The woman nodded. "That's her. I brought her along inside your dream. Your mind link made it easier for me, of course." She said, with her mysterious and clever tone of voice. "Don't worry. You can't hear each other's thoughts here."

"Li-kun... what's happening?" Sakura asked, shocked. "Her voice..."

Syaoran sighed. He had learned not to loose his cool around the puppet master already. He was the kind that always had control of the situation, but Sakura was still new to his strange and powerful presence.

"Kinomoto-san... It's kinda hard to explain." He said. "This woman is actually a disguise for that man. The one who cast the spell."

Sakura was even more surprised now. "Hoe?" She looked from Li-kun to the smiling waitress. She looked sympathetic, but there was something more. Something she was hiding. She really looked like a puppet master, just like Syaoran had called her. Sakura felt an urge to get mad at the waitress, but Syaoran was so calm, she felt like there was something she was missing and she didn't want to make a fool out of herself.

"Sakura-san, please take a seat beside Syaoran." The waitress said. "I have some explanations and some advice to give you."

Sakura hesitatingly walked to the table and sat beside the boy. They exchanged quick glances, and Sakura could find some support in Syaoran's eyes, as if they were telling her not to worry.

"First of all." The waitress started. "Sakura-san, this place is actually Syaoran's dream. That's why you're both in your original bodies and that's how you got here out of the blue." She said. "That said, I'd like to congratulate you both properly. You've been doing an amazing job getting the cards back, and I must say that your magic power is far exceeding my expectations."

That complement had been bothersome to Sakura. She didn't quite understand what he was trying to say. What was his relation to the cards? Where the cards just a test for them?

"I'd also like to tell you not to worry about me for now." The puppet master continued. "In the end it will all be made clear. For now just remember that you have to capture the cards. Having magic powers and knowledge sometimes asks of you to play the superhero, doesn't it?" He said jokingly. "But I assure you that there are no super-villains in your story, so you don't have to waste time trying to stop me or stop my plans."

Sakura looked at Syaoran again, he didn't seem very interested. Maybe he had heard that talk before. For her, on the other hand, it seemed like a whole new problem was being added to her card collecting adventure. The puppet master seemed much more relevant now that they had met in person. It felt as if the whole point of capturing the cards was to satisfy that person.

The woman kept talking. "Speaking of capturing the cards. I have a thing or two to tell you about The Change." She said. "As you might know, it's a card meant to solve a conflict between two people. It forces them to see the other's point of view. Your case was kind of different. It went beyond understanding the other, but I still think the mind connection might have helped speed up the process."

Syaoran cringed. "Are you saying..."

"You see. After you decided you wanted to stay in Japan, Syaoran, I observed that despite your determination, you'd have a hard time finding what you needed. That true feeling regarding Sakura-san." The waitress said. "I thought through that whole day about a way to help you without using the spell. I needed a way to help you find the answer faster, but with your own efforts. That's when I remembered that you hadn't captured The Change yet."

Syaoran frowned; he slammed the table with his palm. "So you actually..."

The waitress smiled in a way Sakura and Syaoran thought was kind of evil. They couldn't help but feel she was having fun at their expense. "Please. I just lured it to you because I thought it would help you. I'm still convinced that it was a good idea. Isn't it because of the card that Sakura-san has come to understand what you've been through this past month? Could you have possibly explained it to her better than you did using just words?"

"That's not..." Syaoran started to protest but was interrupted by Sakura.

"Wait Li-kun!" Syaoran looked at her impatiently. "Maybe he's right. If it weren't for the card, you would probably have to go a much longer way before we could both understand the situation like we do now." She looked down. "I don't think I would have really understood how serious this is if I hadn't seen it from your point of view." She said shyly

Syaoran's anger disintegrated. He couldn't bear to disagree with Sakura. He chose to blame the spell for that. "Fine..." He said like a little kid who is forced to agree with a rule imposed by his parents.

The waitress cleared her throat. "Thank you Sakura-san, I'm glad you could see my point of view." She said. "Moving on, you won't be able to capture the card before you get rid of the spell. It is a master of hiding, and it will only show itself when it has fulfilled its purpose. But don't worry; I think you're very close to finding the answer to your problem. You just need a little more time to realize it."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"You'll see soon." The waitress said. She made a small pause. "Well, that's about it. I just wanted to make sure you were both aware of your objectives and your situation. Thank you for listening."

As if we had a choice. Syaoran thought.

"To prove that I'm only trying to help, I'll leave a goodbye gift." The waitress said. "I'll use my magic to hold back The Change's powers a bit, now that it has served its purpose. This way your mind link will be limited to very focused thoughts, avoiding any unintentional secret revealing."

"You can do that?" Syaoran asked, surprised.

"Of course. The only disadvantage to this is that you'll no longer be able to enter those wonderful dynamic conversations that the Change allowed you to have. You'll have to focus a lot so you won't be able to let your thoughts flow together like you did." The puppet master pointed out. "Bye now, and remember, the answer is right there, inside the two of you." She said before snapping her fingers.

In a second the Kissaten had vanished and the couple was sucked back to consciousness.

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A/N: Still no time for notes. Hope you enjoyed, review, yadda, yadda, bye!