A/N: Again, I'm really sorry for the long update.. T_T I was away on a camping trip so I've tried to make this chapter longer. 8 whole pages on Word :) And thank you to all the people who've reviewed and favorited~ Does anyone even read these comments I post up here?

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS or Tsubasa


Chapter 6: Surprise?

Sakura could hear the whispers behind her as she walked down the bleachers.

"She's never going to win."

"He'll crush her!"

"He's unbeatable."

Sakura skipped down the last few steps and walked through the door. The announcer, sitting on his small podium, stared at her; shocked speechless. She sighed in exasperation before turning to the man standing a few feet in front of her. Her eyes narrowed.

He was average height with coppery hair that glistened in the sunlight. His large green eyes were open as he grinned confidently at her. He was so sure of himself; confident that he wouldn't lose to an 11-year old girl. How could that be when his magic level was that of a beginner?

A sudden spike in dark magic alarmed Sakura. Her eyes shot to a figure sitting at the very top of the bleachers. She was wearing a plain white shirt and wore-down jeans. She smiled sinisterly at Sakura and looked away just as the announcer came on again.

"Er… so we've got a replacement now. Do you choose magical or physical?"

"Magical." They chorused at the same time.

Once again, attendants entered the stadium carrying armloads of wands and staffs. The man in front of her smirked and shook his head at them,

"No thanks. I've got my own." He reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a simple wand with a glittering black jewel on top. Sakura gasped in surprise. The jewel was radiating the same black magic as the stranger on the bleachers! Her opponent seemed to mistake her gasp of shock as fear because his grin widened.

"My name's Keisuke by the way. You should be honored that you'll be defeated by a powerful magician like me."

Sakura sweat dropped. A sudden movement in her peripheral vision had her pivoting on her feet. She relaxed when she saw it was only the attendants about to put the weapons down. Sakura also shook her head at them.

"I've got my own too."

They nodded and hurriedly scrambled away.

"Well?" came Keisuke's impatient voice. "Hurry up!"

Sakura sighed and reached for her necklace.

"Hoshi no chikara o himeshi kagi yo,

Shin no sugata o ware no mae ni shimese

Keiyaku no moto Sakura ga meijiru

Rerīzu!" (1)

From his position in the bleachers, Syaoran's eyes widened in shock. Sakura's magic circle was the same as his mother's! Fai, on the other hand, was astounded by the sheer amount of magical power she held. Even Keisuke, wearing his ever-present smirk, seemed to falter slightly. Of course, Kurogane remained indifferent, having no experience in magic what so-ever.

Sakura readied her Star wand.

"Begin!"

The match started in silence; neither player making the first move. The audience leaned forwards in anticipation and watched with baited breaths. Finally, Sakura sighed in exasperation and took out a card slowly.

"Watery!" she called.

The blue sprite emerged and threw a stream of clear water at her opponent. With a bored expression, Keisuke flicked his wand and a shimmering black barrier formed around him in a semi-circle. Sakura glanced over again at the woman sitting on top of the bleachers. It was her magic that she sensed in both the wand and the barrier.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at her. She was either controlling Keisuke or they had struck up some sort of deal. A sudden movement in her peripheral vision had Sakura calling up her own shield. It was Keisuke.

"Pay attention!" He snapped. He was probably irritated that her interest had turned somewhere else.

He sent another blast of dark magic her way. Sakura jumped and did a flip backwards, landed, and did another 3 summersaults mid-air, and finally landed on her feet while the crowd 'ohh'ed and 'ahh'ed. Not a moment after she landed, Keisuke glared at and her and sent several blasts of snaking energy towards her. They surrounded her on all sides and there was no place to go except up.

"Fly!" She called.

Immediately, elegant white feathers emerged from her back and Sakura jumped to avoid being hit. Syaoran's eyes widened at the sight of them. They reminded him of when Sakura-hime lost her memories. He almost thought that the little girl would start floating away right there on the spot. A while later, the ground was safe once more and Sakura landed neatly; her wings dispersing in a flurry of feathers.

Sakura searched for a weak spot or a source of power on Keisuke. It only took a minute or two but she found it fairly quickly. Sakura recalled the conversation she had with Kero a year ago.


Sakura groaned in frustration. "Why can't I hit you?"

Her guardian and teacher grinned in response. "Concentrate, Sakura."

A while later they were still at it. Yue watched from the sidelines as his mistress was sweating and panting while Kero remained fairly unharmed. Finally, Sakura plopped down on the ground, exhausted.

"I give up." She sighed.

Kero grinned as he landed beside her.

"Remember, Sakura, everybody has a weakness. Even the strongest fighter and magician have a weak spot. Either that or they have one source of magical item that they channel all their power through. Crystals and diamonds are especially good for that."

Sakura nodded. "Ok, let's do this again."


It was the black crystal on his wand! Why hadn't she realized it earlier? Sakura's calm attitude seemed to agate Keisuke even more. Sending blast after blast at Sakura, sweat beaded his forehead and it was becoming clear that he was tiring out.

'I should finish quickly…' Sakura thought. 'It's getting late.'

"Dark!" She shouted.

The face of the card rippled as a beautiful, dark haired woman immerged. Her silky hair flowed gently behind her and suddenly, all the lights in the stadium flickered out. Cries and shouts rose from the panicking audience as they searched around them for friends and family in the pressing darkness.

'Now!'

"Arrow!" Sakura muttered under her breath; trying to avoid attracting attention to herself.

Again, the face of the card rippled but this time, a seemingly emotionless child appeared and readied her bow. Quickly, the arrow was released. A quiet swooshing sound could be heard as the arrow shot towards its target; the black jewel sitting on top of the simple wand.

For a moment, there was a terrifying silence throughout the arena. And then, suddenly, there was an explosive shattering sound. Sakura ducked her head as sharp shards of crystal cut into her face. It was over just as quick as it started.

Tentatively, she peeked out and realized she couldn't see anything. In the dark, Sakura numbly felt for her cards in her side-pocket and they felt warm under her touch. They were probably trying to comfort her.

"Light!"

The woman, with her long curly hair, smiled gently as light branched out through the stadium. Around her, there were various cries of relief as children ran to their parents and birdsong filled the air once more.

The now organized audience turned to the centre of the stadium and fell into a shocked silence. The scene before them was very surprising. Keisuke, the reigning champion for almost a year now, was on his knees and staring blankly down at his wand in a daze. How could he be beaten by a little girl?

His eyes hardened at Sakura. He rose to his feet and with a flick of his wrist, an extremely weak string of electricity crawled towards her. She blinked in surprise. Sakura hadn't realized his magical power was this weak. Quickly, she countered with Woody.

Trying to save him from disappointment, Sakura called Windy and encompassed him in a cocoon of swirling magic. Keisuke hadn't even registered that he had lost yet.

A few seconds passed in tense silence and he was abruptly pounding on the cage of his cage and screaming some very colorful words at Sakura.

"Let me go! This isn't fair!" he sobbed.

Keisuke's voice was lost in the sudden deafening cheers of the audience as they yelled and whistled for Sakura.

"And we have a winner!" the announcer shouted; his wide eyes giving away his disbelief.

Sakura smiled happily at her victory and calmly walked out through the door. The crowd surged forwards. Everyone was trying to touch or speak to the new champion while reporters shoved people aside. Sakura frantically searched for an escape route as more and more people pushed against her.

Suddenly, she felt a hand close on her wrist and she was harshly yanked backwards. It was Kurogane! Sakura found her footing and started sprinting alongside the ninja.

The duo rounded the corner with the crowd hot on their heels and ducked into a dark alley. Sakura sighed in relief once they passed by. A voice in the dark had her whirling on her feet.

"Good job Kuro-wanwan! You got Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blinked. "E-eh?"

"You're awfully jumpy today, Sakura." Kero noted.

The said girl sweat dropped and mouthed 'tell you later' to the plushie. He nodded and she quickly changed the topic. "Where are we staying tonight?"

"Miyuki-san as offered to let us stay the night at her house." Syaoran responded.

The older woman smiled at Sakura before cautiously peeking out. "Hai, please follow me."

A few minutes later, they stood in front of a quaint little cottage that, for some reason, reminded Sakura of her grandfather's house. With a small creak, the door opened. Inside the doorway stood a smiling middle-aged man with a graying beard. He gestured for them to come inside.

"Please come in and make yourself at home."

They followed him inside to the living room; where a toasty fire was crackling merrily and the couches beckoned to them. Sakura immediately collapsed in one. She hadn't realized just how exhausted she was. Everyone else followed suit with Miyuki and her husband remaining standing.

"My name is Akio. Congratulations on your victory, Sakura-chan. I was watching your duel on television. We don't get visitors often so everyone gets all worked up."

'That's an understatement.' Sakura thought back to all the hands pulling and tugging at her arms and legs and she shuddered. Thankfully, no one noticed.

"Your magic is really strong though." Fai commented. Immediately, all eyes shot to her.

Silence befell the room. Sakura could tell that they were waiting for her to speak. Surprisingly, it was Sakura-hime that spoke up first.

"Ano… what are we doing tomorrow?"

"Oh!" Miyuki replied, "I was planning on giving you guys a tour of the city and get some new clothes for you."

"We would be very grateful if you could."

"Okay! It's decided then." Miyuki announced, "The girls can have the first room to the left and the boys will be right beside them. Sleep well, everyone, because we have a long day tomorrow."

Later that night, Sakura lay in bed thinking about all the events that had happened today. As an athlete, she knew it was important to save energy but this was a pressing matter.

Sakura knew she had to explain to the others about her magic and why she kept it a secret from them. She couldn't just evade them forever. She had really lucked out tonight.

'Tomorrow…' she thought drowsily as she fell into a dreamless sleep.


Please review~ :)