Author's Notes: I'm running out of witty things to say here. It's 1:35 A.M. But I'm trying to post everything up until chapter seven, which could use a little work yet.
(Sakura's POV)
"Hello, Kid and Brat," Kero greeted jokingly.
"Good morning, stuffed animal," Syaoran replied.
"Sorry we're late," Meiling said, "it took us a while to find the house."
"That and she almost burned the kitchen down making her 'famous' charcoal cake," Syaoran whispered to me.
I laughed. Meiling was not the world's greatest cook, but she was a great athlete and an amazing fighter. She didn't have any magic powers, but she'd helped me capture cards more times than I could count.
Tomoyo picked up the tray. "Okay, let's go up to my room."
Tomoyo led us up the grand staircase and along a thickly-carpeted hallway. We stepped lightly on the plush-covered floor until we reached the door to her room. Tomoyo smiled as she reached for the doorknob, probably anticipating the reaction she would get from Syaoran and Meiling.
Her room was very cute. There were plush toys nearly everywhere, free samples from her mother's toy company. Off to the side was Tomoyo's own personal home theater, where she watched and edited all the card-capturing footage she recorded with her video camera. The back wall was dominated by a large bay window that overlooked her mother's garden.
In front of the window sat a table surrounded by soft, comfortable chairs.
"This… is your room?" asked Syaoran.
"It's huge!" Meiling said.
Tomoyo smiled. "Are we here to talk Clow Cards or what?" she asked.
"Oh, right."
I got the cards out of my bag and spread them out on the table. There were ten cards in all. Tomoyo set the tray down, and she, Meiling, and Syaoran sat around the table.
"Let's see…" said Meiling, picking up a card.
"The Memory," she read.
The card portrayed an image of a heart bound in heavy chains. In the center of the heart was a keyhole. The chains created a thick web that extended over the entire card.
Meiling held another card up next to it, comparing the two. She turned over the card so we could see it. The Key.
"Maybe it's a matching game? This card has a keyhole, and this card has a key."
"I don't think so. What does a key have to do with memory?" Syaoran asked.
"The key could unlock the heart's secrets," Meiling said.
The Key showed an unusual-looking key. It looked more like a weapon than it did a tool. The key was long, shaped like a sword, and had a handle. It was a blade of twisted, cold metal. Attached to the end was a peculiar keychain, which looked just like the head of my Clow Wand.
"It could be a puzzle," Tomoyo suggested, holding up two cards.
The Nobody and The Somebody looked remarkably similar to each other. The Somebody was a picture of a girl standing in front of a mirror, facing away from it. The Nobody's illustration was of another girl turned away from a mirror, but it appeared to be a reflection of the other card. When placed back to back, the two girls appeared to be looking away from each other.
"Is that… me?" I asked, pointing at The Somebody card.
Syaoran picked up the card. "I think it is."
"And what about the other one?" Tomoyo wondered.
"She looks like Sakura too," Meiling observed.
"They're not the same," Syaoran said.
He was right. The Sakura in the card was simply wearing a school uniform. The girl on the Nobody card was wearing a black cloak, and her hair was slightly different. But they had the same bright, green eyes.
"Hey, check out the mirror," Tomoyo noted.
Each mirror showed a reflection of the girl from the opposite card.
"This is just too weird," Meiling said.
"Time for cake!" Kero shouted.
"Good call," Syaoran said.
Meiling stuck a bite of cake in her mouth and swallowed it. "So, what do you think, Syaoran?"
"Huh?"
"About the cards," Tomoyo said, "You haven't told us what you think they are yet."
"Well," Syaoran began, "If they're put in the right order… I think they tell a story."
"Really? They don't look like they belong in any particular order to me," I said.
Syaoran shrugged. "So, what about the other cards?"
"The Fate and The Destiny might match."
I held out the two cards to him.
"And there's The Heartless…"
The Heartless didn't have a definite shape. It showed a swarming mass of tangled black limbs and a sea of round, yellow eyes. They looked kind of like ants. Evil, possessed ants.
"The Door," I continued, "and The Darkness."
The Door depicted a tall, gleaming white door that looked quite impressive. It was the same size as an ordinary door, but much more decorated. The Darkness, on the other hand, was a dark purple haze that originated from a sinister looking portal. Both were doorways – one of light and one of dark.
"What's wrong, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked.
I must have been staring into space again.
"Oh, nothing."
"Kero," Meiling started, "do you sense anything? Do these cards have powers?"
Kero shook his head.
"I can't feel anything either," Syaoran said.
"That's what's so confusing about them. They just showed up in the strangest way, but the cards don't act like the Clow Cards do."
"Maybe they do have powers and they're just… waiting," Tomoyo offered.
"There has to be something magical about them. Those cards are definitely not from around here," Syaoran said.
"I was gonna say that!" Kero yelled.
"This is important. We need to figure out what these cards are."
"Aw," Meiling pouted, "I thought we were going to the beach this summer!"
Tomoyo laughed. "There will always be time for the beach."
"And the playground, and the amusement park, and the summer festival, of course," I added.
We sat in silence for a minute, simply enjoying the fact that we were all together this summer. Tomoyo was messing with her video camera. Meiling was absentmindedly playing with her long, dark hair. Syaoran had his eyes closed and was resting his chin on his knees, probably just thinking. And Kero was shoveling yet more cake into his tiny mouth. I glanced down at my watch. "Oh!"
"I didn't realize what time it was," said Tomoyo. "It doesn't feel like it's been very long, does it?"
Meiling shook her head, her long pigtails moving from side to side.
"It's my turn to cook dinner tonight," I said, getting up.
I grabbed the cards off the table and shoved them into my backpack. Kero quickly jumped into my bag, and I ran down the hall. Tomoyo followed us downstairs, while Syaoran and Meiling stayed behind in her room. I grabbed my skates by the front door, and put them on sitting on the stairs out front.
"Goodbye!" said Tomoyo.
I waved back as I turned around the corner. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Syaoran and Meiling rush to the door just as Tomoyo was about to go back inside. I shrugged and continued to skate home.
The sun was setting, painting the world a twilight orange.
xXx
"Tomoyo, she left a card behind," Syaoran said, holding the card out to her.
"The Door," Tomoyo read, taking the card from him.
"She's gone already?" Meiling asked.
"Yes, but I'll hold on to it for her and make sure she gets it back," Tomoyo said.
"Okay," Syaoran agreed.
"We should probably get going," said Meiling.
Meiling and Syaoran walked down the driveway and on to the next street, walking home the opposite way Sakura had gone. Tomoyo watched them until she could no longer see them.
"The Door," she read again as she turned to go inside, closing the door behind her.