Author's Note: No battle this time. Just some hints for the future. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the CCS characters. I own all the other characters in this story. :D

Chapter 22: A Wizard and Two Witches

Sakura and Syaoran reached his home together. Neither spoke a word on the way. Sakura felt a little embarrassed after the cheerleading for Syaoran. Therefore, she stayed silent. Syaoran repeated the memory of her cheering for him in his head repeatedly. That explained the constant stupid grin stuck on his face. Wei opened the door for them and figured it out in an instant that something took place recently from their looks. He did not say a word and gave them way. The duo sat on the sofa in the lobby together. They waited for Yelan and Michal to arrive. Wei placed two glasses of water on the table before them and tried his best not to but failed as he glanced at their costumes with amusement in his eyes. The wise man figured that it was Tomoyo's doing and her mistress must have enjoyed seeing her son and his girlfriend dressed so.

Yelan arrived alone after a short while. She entered her mansion with an elegant presence and the two kids stood up in respect to see her. Yelan looked at them and then sat opposite them on her personal sofa. The two kids followed suite as sat as well. They suddenly felt nervous in her presence. Neither knew how to begin the conversation. Yelan knew it very well as she smiled just a little. Wei soon returned with Yelan's preferred tea.

"I believe you two have some questions you wish to ask." Yelan spoke gracefully s she took a sip.

She nodded her approval to Wei as the two kids became more nervous.

"Ease yourselves kids. Perhaps, you two should change before we begin any conversation. Sakura. You can use Meiling's room to change. Your clothes are already present in her closet."

Yelan's voice had evidently softened up as she addressed Sakura. For someone as experienced as Wei, he could tell that she could not hide her adoration for the girl. For inexperienced people as the duo, she had almost commanded them with authority.

Sakura replied, "Thank very much Miss Yelan. I will not take much time."

She bowed respectfully before she ran upstairs. Syaoran took his leave as well and rushed to his room. Wei noticed a shine in Yelan's eyes but did not ask.

"I know you want to ask something Wei. Out with it." Yelan commanded but Wei could tell that she showed respect to his age in her own ways.

Wei replied politely, "I just wish to know the cause to the shine I notice in your eyes."

Yelan smiled as she took another sip, "A thought caused it. Do you wish to know?"

Wei bowed slightly, "If you would be kind enough mistress."

Yelan replied with increased shine in her eyes, "I was simply thinking of the day when she would begin to call me mother as I wish she would."

Wei chuckled, "I wish to hear the same. However, there is still much time before our dear little Miss Kinomoto starts to address you as such. It is a long wait."

Yelan nodded, "A wait that would be worth every second."

Wei nodded, "Agreed."

The next day, Sakura rushed to her class and opened the door. Tomoyo, Chiharu, Rika and other girls cheered for her as she took deep breaths. Syaoran was on his seat already and talking to Yamazaki. Eriol sat in his place and watched Sakura with amusement visible on his face.

Tomoyo spoke, "Once again, you made it just in time Sakura."

Michal coughed from behind her, "Barely in time Miss Kinomoto."

Sakura jumped away in shock with a yelp. The others simply laughed at her shock. However, Sakura was shocked more than one reason. She was shocked that he had appeared so suddenly behind her. It would give any one a heart attack if someone suddenly appeared behind them. She was shocked further since she could sense his presence in the staff room right until he had appeared behind her. Considering that no one else seemed surprised besides Syaoran who simply looked a bit uneasy, Sakura could conclude that he came in the usual fashion and did not teleport behind her.

Michal pushed her in as he walked in as well, "You saved yourself once again from detention. Get to your seats everyone. Class is about to start."

Tomoyo spoke, "The bell has not rung yet. Are you not a bit early teacher?"

Michal smirked as he placed his attendance file on the table, "I rang at the same moment you cheered for Miss Kinomoto. I guess the shout drowned the sound of bell. As I said, she was barely on time."

The students were confused since none had heard the bell ring. They all returned to their respective seats. Sakura was a bit unnerved by Michal's little stunt.

Syaoran leaned in, "Are you alright Sakura?" He whispered with worry.

Sakura nodded with a smile, "I am fine. I simply failed to sense his presence properly. I was sensing him inside the staff room until the moment he appeared behind me."

Syaoran frowned, "You were not wrong. When you opened the door, he was standing behind you. Yet, I could still sense him in the staffroom. That is a very nice magic if you ask me to confuse mages."

A piece of chalk flew past both their heads like a bullet. The duo sweated in shock as the class turned to look at them. Michal was the one that shot the chalk at them.

"The class has begun Miss Kinomoto. Mr Li. If you wish to make plans for your date. I recommend you do that after the class." Michal smirked and taunted them.

The young couple turned red at his words while everyone in the class giggled. No one besides Eriol noticed that the piece of chalk had already returned to Michal. He still had his amused smile. He could tell that Michal had managed to fool the duo earlier with fake presence magic. They still had a long way to go.

"Now then." Michal cleared his throat. "First thing first. I am 'amused'; yes I am very amused to inform you cute little monsters that we have a transfer student."

While the 'cute little monsters' comment made the students chuckle, the news of a new student had surprised them. It was middle of the semester and no one changed schools at such a time. It was a strange event.

"I know what you minions are thinking. It is strange for a transfer at this time but it could not be helped." He looked at the door with a smirk. He flared his magical presence a bit that caused Sakura to almost squeak while Syaoran almost brought out his sword on instinct. However, they both managed to hold it in and avoid attention. Eriol was still amused. "Come in already or should I spread a red carpet first."

The door opened to reveal a sweating boy. He put a strained smile as he entered and Michal withdrew his presence with a satisfied grin. Sakura and Syaoran were shocked to see Jet entered their class as the new student. He seemed to be on edge. Residual magic lingered around his fingers. They could tell that he had summoned his spear out of instinct as soon as Michal flared his magic earlier.

"Introduce yourself." Michal ordered.

"M...My name is Jet Ming. I am from China and I..."

Michal cut in, "Fine. Welcome to my class of cute minions, new minion."

Jet was bewildered with Michal's words. He had never seen a teacher like him.

Michal looked at the class, "Give your new monster comrade a warm welcome, everyone."

The class shouted, "WELCOME MONSTER!"

Jet was too shocked to respond to the strange welcome. The students giggled after that and Jet could not hold back a smile. Michal simply grinned in his place. Those that knew him well, knew that he was up to something again.

"Where were we earlier? Ah yes. I was about to tell you all the reason he transferred so suddenly." Jet blushed at that and Syaoran figured that he knew. Sakura was curious for the reason and she missed his reaction. "It is because his mother lost a bet to a very close friend of mine."

The class was floored at his answer. They expected some better reason. A bet was not a reason for a transfer.

"Considering that I am a very evil wizard, it goes without saying that my friend simply has to be a very evil witch. Now the evil witch and his mother had a bet. The loser would send her son to this school at this time of the year. Therefore, he is here as his mother lost the bet. And to my amusement minions, I saw both the witches cackling with demonic auras as they discussed his transfer here."

Sakura and Syaoran sweat-dropped, knowing that Lian and Yelan were not cackling. Sure they sparkled with their fans but they did not cackle. The couple shared a glance and figured that the said action behind the fan was ever more scary compared to cackling. They still wondered why the bet was placed and why Jet had to transfer schools for that. Jet seemed embarrassed.

Returning to Japan had taught Syaoran a lot. Both about his own magic and his mother. He knew her better now and for some reason, he agreed with Michal when he called Yelan an evil witch. Sure he agreed with him only in some isolated corner of his mind. Yelan would surely murder him if she found out that he agreed. Nevertheless, he decided that he would keep an eye out around himself as well as Sakura. He had a feeling that their mothers and Michal were up to something here.

The students were laughing at his description of everything. Jet barely hid a smile at the evil witches comment. Nevertheless, he was very embarrassed to think that he had to transfer for such a stupid reason. His mother had not stopped grinning since he woke up in his home the day before. Her eyes never stopped sparkling and it would increase ten-folds each time he asked about the bet. However, she never told him anything and always laughed her evil witch laugh. He knew his mother better than to pursue that topic further.

The only good point that he could see in the situation was that no one knew his family so he might make some real friends. Sakura was here as well so he could strengthen his friendship with her. In addition, the town was the stage to the current strange war. He might be able to see some very good battles and learn things as well. If he got the chance to spar with Syaoran and Sakura, he could further his skills with magic as well. Nevertheless, he did not want to endanger his new friend by being involved either. Already the older mages that would battle the duo in the future had asked him to spy on them and he had refused to do that. He did not want to lose their trust.

Michal spoke, "Alright now. If you have finished daydreaming, you can take your place behind Miss Tsubaki there."

A girl with ponytail raised her hand to indicate that she was Miss Tsubaki. She sat next to Tomoyo so Jet would be sitting next to Eriol since he sat behind Tomoyo.

Michal continued, "During lunch, I would like it if Miss Li showed him around the school. In addition, you have been assigned his partner for the semester."

Meiling was shocked, "But sir. I am Naoko's partner. Why..."

Michal cut in, "That is because both of you are Chinese. The new minion will be more comfortable that way."

Meiling smirked, "If that is the case, Syaoran would make a better partner."

Syaoran raised an eyebrow at that while Sakura simply chuckled.

Michal replied, "No. His name does not start with an 'M'." He stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

Once again, the entire class was floored. Jet dragged himself to his seat before he started to develop a headache.

Michal turned to Naoko, "You have been partnered up with Miss Sasaki and Miss Mihara."

Naoko nodded with a smile. Michal opened the book and smirked, "Ready to damage your heads, my cute little devils?"

The class cheered together for him to begin.

During lunch break, the group sat at their usual spot under the tree. Syaoran was sitting on the tree branch as usual watching Sakura from the corner of his eyes. Everyone in the group knew that they were together but the couple never acted as such. Meiling was missing since she had to show Jet around the school. Eriol was with Michal in the staff room on the pretext of some queries. But the duo and Tomoyo knew better. He went to ask him his plans with Jet. The trio knew another fact that Michal will probably tell him about it and Eriol will stay silent to watch everything for his entertainment. There was a heavy chance that he might include Tomoyo and Meiling with his fun, leaving the duo in suspense for torture.

As expected, Eriol returned with a mysterious smile. The trio knew that Michal had told him everything. He silently sat next to Yamazaki while he was telling Chiharu, Rika and others about evil witches from ancient times that made bets on magical games, which in turn started the betting system in the world. No one believed him and Sakura could be gullible at times. Syaoran liked her gullible sides as well. Chiharu decided to choke him again for his lies.

Tomoyo asked, "What did he tell you?"

Eriol continued to smile, "I am sure you will love to hear this. However, we will talk later when we do not have such prying ears around."

Syaoran glared at Eriol's head as if trying to burn him with his looks. Sakura simply sighed knowing there was no stopping it.

Tomoyo smiled, "Do tell later. I wish to record them."

Sakura and Syaoran sweat-dropped and wondered why they did not expect that to be her reason.

Eriol chuckled, "Well do record it. I wish to watch the full video once the task finishes."

Tomoyo had stars in her eyes and she made various scenarios in her head about her favourite couple. Eriol leaned in close to her ears, "This is not about Sakura and Syaoran though."

Tomoyo was surprised, "What do you mean?"

Eriol whispered again knowing that he still did not want to reveal the secret to the other two, "It is a different couple this time. One I am sure you will find just as cute as they come closer."

Tomoyo's mind raced for moments before she lit up. She grinned as she figured out his meaning.

"Should we tell Sakura and...?" She whispered to him.

Eriol shook his head, "No. I still want to see them squirm. And so does Michal as they try to figure out what everyone is up to. You will have lots to record that way."

Sakura and Syaoran sweated as they had heard his last words. Tomoyo's giggle meant that she supported him. The young couple wept anime tears wondering why they had such friends. Surprisingly, no one else had noticed the whispering and reactions of the duo. It was as if they did not see or hear them at all. Eriol just smiled his usual smile towards Syaoran while he frowned.

Few minutes later, Meiling and Jet arrived. They were talking casually. Syaoran glanced at them for only a moment and then ignored them as if they were not even there. Sakura smiled brightly to see them.

"Hey Jet. How did you like the school so far?" She asked him friendlily.

The rest were surprised since Sakura was friendly but never this friendly. Syaoran was not bothered since he knew the story already. Tomoyo was shocked as well to see her precious Sakura like that. The said girl stayed oblivious to all the eyes on her as she continued to smile to Jet.

Jet returned the friendly smile, "It is great. I guess I will some fun studying here."

Rika asked, "Do you two know each other?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes. Jet and I met a few days back in town. He was new so I offered to show him around the town. We became good friends."

Meiling turned to Syaoran, "How come you are fine with that?"

Syaoran lazily replied, "That is because neither of them have those kinds of interest in each other. They are just friends. Nothing more. I have that much faith in her. Jet has his pride so he will not go after her knowing she and I are together."

Sakura blushed as he mentioned that they were together. She softly smiled as she watched him. Syaoran's pink cheek revealed that he knew of her watching act.

Rika asked, "How come you know him so well?"

Meiling replied, "Our families know each other. These two have competed for many things. They practically grew up against each other. So they have some level of understanding and respect between them."

Jet spoke, "That is true. She is just a friend to me. I have no intention to get between them. They are...for lack of better word...made for each other."

The girls squealed while Sakura and Syaoran literally began to steam from their faces. Meiling searched carefully and to her expectations, she found a hidden camera recording the duo. Tomoyo never lost her chances.

Naoko asked, "By the way, Ming. How did you like our teacher?"

Jet smiled, "Please. Call me Jet. And Mr Michal is...unique. I have never seen a teacher like him. He has his sense of humour and keeps the class entertained. Nevertheless, when he is teaching, he is very strict and a bit scary. He earned my respect in a single class. Undoubtedly, he is a very good teacher."

Sakura beamed with pride to hear him praise her godfather. Syaoran just smiled in his place as he saw her happy. He had respect for that man as well. He knew that Michal was the reason they stood any chance with the battles and the reason things were going so conveniently for the duo. He knew that both Sakura and he had a long way to go in magic skills. He knew that the battles would only get tougher as more experienced players join the battle.

Meiling sat next to Tomoyo. She turned to smile at her but noticed the strange shine in Tomoyo's eyes and somehow, it unnerved her this time. She had a sudden urge to run and hide from the amethyst-eyed girl but it would seem strange if she were to dash off suddenly. She had the Sakura-Syaoran stars shining in her eyes. Only this time, they were aimed at Jet instead of the usual couple. Eriol was too wise to not notice it all. He just smiled knowing that the most mature girl of her age group had a very good idea to the topic of their discussion.

Yelan sipped her tea peacefully in the most elegant manner possible. The gentle breeze in the beautiful garden provided the perfect atmosphere for some delicious tea. The evening sun bloodied the sky to give the mansion its red glow. Yelan looked around at the garden with a soft smile. Wei stood next to her as usual. She placed the cup on the round table before her and took a gentle breath.

"Are you even listening Yelan?" An irritated voice of a woman brought her out of her thoughts.

She looked directly in front of her at the woman sitting at the other end of the round table. She seemed slightly angry. Yelan simply smiled to her.

"I am sorry Lian. I zoned out for a moment. It is not every day that I am able to have such delicious tea in such beautiful environment. The peaceful moment caught me for a while." She spoke politely.

Lian sighed and relaxed. She sipped her tea as she looked around.

"I agree with that Yelan. If this were China, we would already be facing a scandal that the two leaders of opposing clans are having tea together." Lian spoke softly.

Yelan nodded, "It is good then this is not China. You did well taking my advice to come here for a while."

Lian smiled, "It was a shock for me when Jet was chosen to battle. I was worried for his safety."

Yelan chuckled, "Well you would not have been able to accompany him had it not been for your husband. He stepped in on time to give you your getaway with your son."

Lian smiled as well, "He was not willing to send me until he found out that you were here as well. He was planning to send Jet with bodyguards."

"You have to admit though. The rivalry between our clans has gone down compared to the times of our predecessors. As long as nobody problematic finds out, we can actually share tea."

Lian sighed, "Well I wish it to end by the time our children take over. I am already wondering how your plans with the bet will work out. Jet's school transfer was already very difficult."

Yelan's eyes grew sharp as she stared at her tea, "In that case, all we can do is hope that Sakura and Syaoran win this war."

Lian sighed, "It is not an easy thing. We have to face them some day as well. Neither of us is a pushover."

Yelan smiled, "It will be fine. Those two are strong. I am sure we would not need to hold back at all."

Lian smiled, "You know them best Yelan. Nevertheless, how does winning help with this situation? Would they not only gain more caution of the rest?"

Yelan shook her head, "No. That is one of the things about Sakura. Through Syaoran, the entirety of Li clan will be her ally after the war. I already have plans to solidify that part. Through her new friendship with your son; that will only strengthen now; she will gain a powerful ally in him. As for the rest, several big and small clans will end up recognising her good nature and become her ally. If people of your clan go against our arrangement and Ming finds himself in a tight spot, rest assured that your entire clan would be in immense pressure to support Sakura due to all the rest clans. The rivalry will end in their generation. Sakura's true strength lies in the goodness of her heart, not her magic. You have seen how it cost your son his fight and he stayed unaffected with the loss."

Lian stared at Yelan with a calculating facade. After a while, she chuckled and sipped her tea.

"That is true. The card mistress might be able to achieve the peace and friendship between our clans that our generation has failed in achieving. That would be a great development."

Yelan nodded as she stared at her tea in the cup. The image of Sakura and Syaoran battling in the football stadium of the school floated on the surface. She smiled to see then training and experimenting with their magic in full swing.

"By the way, it is getting late. Where are our sons? School should be over already." Lian spoke with irritation.

Yelan smiled, "You are a better clairvoyant compared to me Lian. You should be able to search for him."

Lian sighed, "I already tried the tea gazing method. Something is protecting them. I cannot see anything."

Yelan looked at her with interest, "Is your clairvoyance somehow connected to those in your clan for them to see whatever you see here?"

Lian nodded, "How did you know that?"

Yelan replied, "I figured it might be that. Michal does not want anyone outside to see anything so he protects everyone from clairvoyance. If you break the connection, you should be able to see our sons."

Lian asked, "Why would he let me see your son?"

Yelan smiled, "He trusts you that you would not hurt either of his students. He does not trust those in your clan that would see through you."

Lian sighed, "The breaking will take some time. Tell me."

Yelan looked at her tea again and smiled, "Xiao Lang and Sakura are training as usual after school. Meiling is with her friend now at her house. They are busy with some work. As for your son. He is with Michal."

Lian was shocked, "What? What is he doing there?"

"For what I can tell, Michal is training him in the medium-less magic arts."

Lian was dumbstruck, "Why would he teach my son? He..."

Yelan cut in, "That is because Jet will become a very powerful ally to those two in the future. It is best if he learns things that might save his life some day."

Lian was still in shock. She could not believe that Michal was teaching something that important to her son. He may have lost his battle and was out of the war; but he was still the heir to the Ming clan and clan members will ask for everything about Syaoran and Sakura from him. If they learn that he trained around them, they will extract all information about their battle style from him. That could prove dangerous for the duo.

Yelan spoke calmly, "It would be best if you do not tell anyone about his training and his time around the two. It would save us all a lot of headache."

Lian replied, "I figured that much. What do you tell your clan about them?"

Yelan smiled, "I tell them that it is below my status to spy on two growing kids to learn of their skills. I will defeat them without such an advantage and that will keep my pride intact. Otherwise, I will feel ashamed of myself."

Lian smiled as well, "What reason do you give for your stay here?"

Yelan replied, "I tell them that I am training here and trying to reach my peak condition before my battle. I do not underestimate those two since I know their potential very well. I trained them for a while after all. I want to battle them at full strength so that I would be satisfied irrespective of the outcome."

Lian smirked, "You just hinted them that you might lose to the duo."

Yelan's fan appeared and she hid her lips behind it with sparkly eyes, "No my fellow partner in crime. I told them what they have to do if I lost. You can say that half of the clan is praying for my victory while the other half is wishing for my loss."

Lian recognised the gesture and figured everything out in an instant, "Perhaps I should do the same thing in my clan. It would help with the issue in the future." Her fan appeared as well and the two women chuckled evilly.

Wei stood silent and showed no reaction until now. This time he could not help but take a step back with a sweat drop. He prayed silently in his head for the well-being of all the people involved in the women's scheming.

End of chapter 22.

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