How is it possible people that I get three reviews after one of the hardest chapters in this story? THREE!!! I've gotten as far as seven in other chapters, and in this one I didn't get more than three! You know, I shouldn't be doing this, updating I mean; actually I wasn't going to, until at least two more people decided to grace me with their reviews, but there's a certain someone being quite insistent with her reviews (you know who you are). So I decided to humor her, but THIS WILL BE A ONE-TIME DEAL! Here we go.

Chapter 9.- Feelings and Memories.

"What?! How?" Sakura questioned, panicking.

"I don't know." Tomoyo said weeping. "I made sure it was in my pocket before I entered this room, but now it's not here."

"What can have happened?" Eriol asked.

"I don't think someone could have stolen it here." Yelan murmured. "We would have noticed."

"And how could anyone have stolen it if until a couple of minutes ago we didn't even know it existed?" Nakuru asked.

"Then who's the thief?" Daeron asked.

"There's not necessarily a thief." Sakura murmured.

"What?" everyone asked.

"There's just one reason the ring would have disappeared on its own, and without any of us noticing." Sakura murmured, then turned to Tomoyo. "And you know it…"

"Yes." Tomoyo said nodding comprehensively.

"What?" the boys asked, still puzzled.

"The ring has found a possessor." Tomoyo and Sakura answered at once.

Eriol was about to ask for more details when suddenly the girls felt a chill.

"Not again…" Meiling murmured embracing herself.

"This coldness…this fear…" Tomoyo murmured in a low voice.

"It's evil, pure evil." Sakura said alerting all her magical senses, trying to find the source of that terrible power.

It took her a couple of seconds, but finally she could pinpoint the exact location, and it was…just behind the door!

"Beware!" Sakura yelled.

And at the same time the door was broken with a loud crash.

Sakura and Shaoran gave a few steps backwards, along with Kero and Yue.

Yelan too stepped back, the doctors immediately staying behind her (cowards).

Eriol pulled Tomoyo with him. Tomoyo was really afraid and pulled herself even tighter into Eriol's embrace. This didn't seem to bother him the slightest bit, in fact, it was the opposite, he liked it.

Nakuru and Suppy immediately returned to their true forms, standing next to their master to protect him if need be.

Meiling was the last to react, and she was standing right next to the door.

A figure entered, a man in a black cloak. And the evil was coming from him! With just a movement of his hands a black sphere of energy was thrown directly at Meiling.

"Move out!" Daeron yelled as he pushed Meiling to the floor and then rolled with her out of the way.

Meiling was too shocked to thank him, or protest or to even react in any way.

"What's happening?" Shaoran asked.

"Wizard Mier…" Sakura murmured.

"Right my dear Sorceress Cherry." He murmured. "That's how the low mortals call me, but my name is Michel, Lord Michel of the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm?!" both Eriol and Yelan gasped at once.

The rest could deduce, by their tone and the aura that it was nothing good.

"What do you want here?" Shaoran asked.

"You should be dead!" Lord Michel yelled at him. "With all the damage your body received you should have died by now, and your powers would be mine!"

"So that's it!" Sakura exclaimed. "That's why you did that. You wanted his powers; as well as mine."

"That's right Sorceress, but the stupid Amelia failed, seems you're more than just a stupid girl after all." Lord Michel said.

"Amelia?" Daeron asked.

"He must mean Witch Mel, she dueled with Sakura in the first round, and then tried to kill her in the beach about an hour ago." Tomoyo deduced.

"Very intelligent to be an unworthy mortal." Lord Michel said.

"Never underestimate someone by his/her looks." Sakura said.

The words Seer had told him rang in Eriol's head.

"And less of all if it's us." Tomoyo added with a playful smile.

"I'll kill you all!" Lord Michel yelled.

"No you won't." Shaoran said throwing a ward. "God of lighting, come to my aid!"

The attacked seemed useless to the Wizard.

"Stupid mortals, your magic does nothing more than tickles to me." Lord Michel said.

"Let's see if you take this too." Yelan said getting both hands together. "Element's Supreme Light shine now. Ryu-Kami (Dragon-God)!"

From her hands emerged a blast of wind, a flame of fire, a whirl of water and a fist of soil. Then everything combined and turned to a golden dragon that made impact directly to Lord Michel.

It was enough to send him backwards, and with a good burnt in the arm and a part of the torso, but not enough to defeat him.

"What?!" the guardians yelled impressed.

Shaoran was shocked, he knew how powerful his mother was, and it seemed almost impossible for him that she couldn't kill him once and for all.

"You only make me angrier." Lord Michel said in a cold voice.

He raised his hand again to the nearest one: Meiling.

"Miss, run!" Daeron yelled pushing Meiling aside, and receiving the punch.

It was so hard he was thrown to the wall almost unconscious and with a bad cut in the head.

"Mage Dae!" Meiling yelled, calling him by the only name she knew of him, as she ran to try and help him.

"Prepare to die!" Lord Michel yelled.

"Meiling, move!" Yelan yelled at her niece.

"If I do so, he'll kill him." Meiling answered back, as she raised her left hand to protect her face from the blow.

And that's when Tomoyo noticed something…

"Meiling, yell: Earthy!" Tomoyo instructed her.

"What?!" Meiling asked puzzled, she had no time for jokes.

"Just do it!" Tomoyo insisted.

'I'm already a step from death.' Meiling thought. 'I have nothing more to lose.' And with that decision she yelled: "Earthy!"

And just as she was about to be hit, a rock-form emerged from the ground and protected her.

This seemed to surprise and even confuse a bit Lord Michel.

Tomoyo seemed satisfied.

"I'll get you in the duel, Sorceress Cherry!" Lord Michel yelled as he disappeared, still wondering what had happened.

"And I'll be ready for you." Sakura murmured.

"What the hell happened?!" Eriol asked, shocked, confused, and nervous at the same time.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tomoyo asked.

She let go of his embrace and walked to where Meiling stood, still shocked of what had just happened.

'What's going on?' Meiling asked herself as she kept her eyes to the rocks that had protected her. 'Did I do this? How is it possible?'

"Meiling." Tomoyo called her.

"Tomoyo, do you know what's going on?" Meiling asked.

Tomoyo didn't say anything, she just moved her hand a bit. For some reason Meiling reacted moving hers too. And in that movement the light reflected in the rings they where wearing. Tomoyo the Moon ring, and Meiling…the Sun ring.

Shaoran couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing.

Yelan was wondering if what she was seeing meant what she was thinking.

"Yes." Sakura said finally. "Meiling is the Sun Ring's possessor."

Most of them were shocked with what had just happened.

"You mean I have magic!" Meiling exclaimed with a big smile in her face.

"I mean that with that ring in your possession, you can borrow my magic." Sakura explained. "You can summon the power of any of my cards ruled by the sun. As long as you can feed them with your energy, and I have enough magic to lend."

Meiling nodded. Even if it wasn't her own magic. It was as good as it!

"How much time do I have left?" Sakura asked turning to Tomoyo.

"About half an hour, then the next duel will start." Tomoyo answered looking at her watch.

"What?!" Shaoran exclaimed. "You mean you will compete?!"

Sakura just nodded.

"But…But…But that bastard could kill you!" Shaoran yelled. "You already heard he cares nothing about the rules."

"He'll kill us in the first chance he gets." Sakura said calmly. "Being it in the tournament or out of it."

"Yes but…" Shaoran started.

"And if I don't compete he'll be declared the champion of the Tournament." Sakura interrupted him.

"I don't care!" Shaoran exclaimed. "I care more about you! What if he kills you? Or if he does to you what he did to me? It would mean the same, there would be no one to heal you."

"Please, Shaoran, understand me." Sakura pleaded.

"You want me to understand you? You understand me." Shaoran replied. "How can you say you care more about a stupid tournament than about your own life?"

"It's not about the tournament." Sakura replied. "I don't really care if anyone considers me the best or the worst sorceress."

"Then…" Shaoran asked.

"I care about you, about all my friends…" Sakura started.

Shaoran was about to interrupt, but Sakura didn't let him.

"And about your mother." She finished.

"My mother?" Shaoran asked puzzled.

"If that man is declared the champion of this tournament. The next step is that he will be sent to fight the last champion: Lady Lan." Tomoyo said, understanding.

Sakura walked to Yelan. Until she was standing right in front of her.

"I don't mean to underestimate you ma'am, but I prefer to fight that wizard myself, than to risk seeing Shaoran sad, and you…" Sakura didn't dare finish her sentence.

And there was no need, everyone understood what she was about to say: and you dead.

"I don't want you to risk your life." Shaoran insisted taking Sakura's hands in his.

"And you won't want your mother to risk hers either." Sakura said. "I must do this. For the sake of us all."

Shaoran was about to say something else when Sakura interrupted him. She embraced him tightly and whispered at his ear: "No matter what, everything will be alright." And kissed him in the cheek.

"Come on." Tomoyo said to Sakura. "You've still got to get some rest before the duel starts."

Sakura nodded and followed Tomoyo. Yue and Kerberos went back to their false forms and followed them to their cabin.

Meiling helped Daeron stand up.

"Please, if someone would help Mage Dae." Meiling called to the doctors.

The doctors nodded and went to check Daeron's wounds.

"Thank you for saving my life, Mage Dae." Meling said bowing respectfully.

"I couldn't let that bastard hurt a young lady as beautiful as you my lady." Daeron said respectfully.

"Meiling, please call me Meiling, Mr. Dae." Meiling said with a small smile.

"If so, please call me by my name: I'm Daeron." He replied.

"Sakura sure has changed a lot since the last time we saw her, and Tomoyo too." Eriol commented.

"You noticed that too Master?" Suppy asked.

"Of course Sakura has changed, she's a great Sorceress." Nakuru said.

"I wasn't speaking in the means of powers or magic." Eriol said. "I mean she's a lot more mature that the last time we saw her. Now she's not afraid to fight an opponent, no matter how powerful that person is. And Tomoyo supports her."

"I can see that those two little girls I once met in Hong Kong have turned to two precious ladies." Yelan murmured. "Who would risk anything to help others in need. That's such an important and rare quality nowadays."

Eriol nodded.

"What I think." Shaoran murmured suddenly. "Is that I don't know her anymore."

Everyone turned to look at him, puzzled.

"I mean, even without her mask, if it hadn't been for her aura I don't think I would have recognized her." Shaoran murmured with her eyes to the window. "She has changed so much."

"You would know them if you hadn't left them." Daeron suddenly declared.

Everyone turned their eyes to him, wondering why was he speaking so coldly to him.

"How can you know…?" Eriol started.

"I know a lot more than you do." Daeron interrupted him. "Because I've been with them, with Tomoyo and Sakura these years. I've seen them: as typical students, as sorceresses, as Cherry and Violet the famous models…"

"Models?" Eriol and Shaoran asked at once.

"They're Cherry and Violet?" Meiling squealed.

She couldn't believe it. Cherry and Violet were two of the bests models in the whole world. She fancied them!

"Of course." Daeron said, then he added sarcasm to his voice. "You wouldn't believe their names to be a coincidence, did you? They came here with their stage names."

Shaoran and Eriol turned to look at each other. They had never thought of things that way.

"I know Tomoyo and Sakura." Daeron continued. "Although I don't live in Japan, I've gotten the opportunity to be there a few times. They're the most famous models in the entire world, and two of the best magical-people I've known." He made a pause and then added. "And maybe I'm one of the few who's seen a side of them most of their fans ignore."

Everyone in the room where staring at him in silence. Waiting for him to continue.

"I've seen them cry." Daeron stated.

This got everyone wide-eyed. Sakura and Tomoyo, Crying?

"Yes, they've cried, I've seen them." Daeron said. "Crying for lost memories, for old friends, for far away lovers…for a past that they wish to live again, a present they wish would change, and a future they dread to live the same way."

"How can you know all that?" Eriol asked.

"I'm a good observer." Daeron explain. "Most of these things they don't know I know. But they're very obvious."

"Explain." Shaoran said.

"It's easy." Daeron said. "In the few years I've known them I could see them melancholic once in a while. They said they sometimes remembered important persons that left them time ago. They thought they could hide it from everyone. But in the moment they saw you, this morning in the presentation of the duels…everything was clear in that moment. Everything made perfect sense." He made a pause, waiting for the facts to sink in everyone's minds, especially of two certain some ones. "It was obvious that you were those important persons who had left them."

Everyone stayed in silence.

"Excuse me, I'm leaving." Daeron said leaving for the door. "I want to see if they're okay."

Yelan nodded.

Daeron left the room and started walking to the back of the island, to where the cabins were, when someone stopped him.

"What do you have with Tomoyo?" Eriol asked.

"What do you mean?" Daeron asked, taken aback by this question.

"What I said, what is your relationship with Tomoyo?" Eriol asked again.

"I was in love with her." Daeron said. "When I met her, three years ago. It was like love at first sight. In fact she was the reason I went so many times to Japan, to see her. And I never missed a fashion show where they were. It took me one year to confess my feelings to her."

"And?" Eriol asked, there was a certain apprehensiveness in his voice.

"She said she loved me too, but just as a friend." Daeron answered.

For some reason Eriol couldn't hold back a sigh.

Daeron seemed to understand, so he decided to add something else.

"She said she already had someone in her heart. Someone she loved more than anyone else." Daeron continued. "And even though it was probable that he would never know it, she would always love him. I told her she should speak with that man, but she said it was impossible."

"What would be impossible is that someone rejected her." Eriol commented. "Who would be so blind?"

Daeron didn't answer him and left, thinking in silence: 'You.'

So, anyone guessed it was Meiling? I'm not sure, though no one said her name in the reviews...I hope you like the suggestions to the ET couple, I just love that pairing and had to put it in, it will get better in the next chapters.

Now, as I was saying in the beggining, I decided to update with just three chapters this time, it won't happen again, there won't be any further updates with less than five reviews. And as I said before, the more they are, the sooner the chap will come.

In the next chapter: The Final of the Tournament, but not of the story. Just hoe strong is Sakura really compared to this 'Lord of the Shadow Realm'? And how far is he wiling to go to reach his goals? You'l see (if you review)