Chapter 5

The Plan

Eriol came to China a few days later with his guardians in tow. Pleasantries aside, Yelan requested a meeting with everyone involved at the Li Clan's headquarters as soon as he arrived. I had never been there before so I was in awe when we got there. A huge golden pagoda standing tall in the middle of a big garden full of trees arranged symmetrically in each side making a wide path towards the building.

Yelan took the lead as the leader of the Li family followed by Syaoran and his sisters. Behind them Eriol and his guardian followed closely as the reincarnation of Clow and the rest of us where at the end as we entered the building. I could feel several eyes on us as we walked by. Protection was high and there were guards in various posts but Yelan paid them no attention and they let us in without difficulty.

We entered a room at the end of a big hall. It was round and had sitting all around it save the middle of the room where we were standing. I guessed the people sitting down were part of the Li Clan. There were a lot of old men sporting long bears and many others with traditional Chinese robes. As soon as we entered we could hear whispers of them talking about us among themselves. I noticed a woman nearby eyed me carefully and appeared angry.

Yelan cleared her voice with the desired effect of making the room quiet and then proceeded to address everyone.

"Elders. Thank you for agreeing to meet us today. As you are aware, a member of our family has been threatened, her life is in danger. A powerful sorcerer by the name of Yuna D. Kaito is coming after her. We believe he wants to take her power. His motives... although unknown, have the potential to cause great damage, not only to our family, but also to the world if such power is used for evil purposes. We are here to ask for your help."

The woman who had been looking at me in anger arose from her sit and spoke. "She is not a member of this clan, just because you dress her as a Li does not make her one. Why should we care what happens to her?"

She started at me once more, anger evident in her voice. She was looking at my necklace, the one given to me by Syaoran and his mother. I started to feel self-conscious, unsure if asking them for help had been the right thing to do.

"It's not a mere coincidence I have given her such a thing. The Li family does not take these matters lightly May. Do not forget about my gift to see the future and I can say confidently that she is to be one of us. She will marry my son in due time so as such, as far as our family is concerned, she is a Li and she deserved the same protection we all do"

I could not help but look down in embarrassment. I was only 14 years old yet my fate with Syaoran had been sealed. I did not dislike knowing so but the thought of us together still made me blush.

"As you know I am the reincarnation of Clow Reed and possess many of his memories. He had selected this young lady to become the mistress of his cards over a direct descendent of his knowing she will have power no one ever had seen before. The Li Clan should be aware that by mastering the cards at such tender age speaks of the promise of great magical growth. Having her in your family is an advantage you cannot lose. To turn her down in her time of need is unforgivable" Eriol stated, looking down on that woman who had judged me so harshly.

"I have to agree with May, Li Yelan" interrupted an older man sitting opposite to her "While she is no doubt powerful, why should we put our own family at risk? This could spark a war with the association in England... and what guarantee do we have that she will join the family other than your word?"

"I do not lie Elder Jiang. This vision was not only presented to me. I have brought another witness to that" Yelan said, gesturing for my brother to come forth. He bowed to the audience to show his respect before speaking carefully and clearly to the audience.

"I am Touya Kinomoto, the brother of the card mistress. I also possess spiritual powers and can attest that I have seen it too... many years ago in fact. The spirits who speak to me of the future whisper the truth to me too. They will unite their lives soon... that I can promise"

I could not believe what I had just heard. My brother could see the future too? And he had seen Syaoran and my future together? I suddenly remembered father saying something about Touya seeing a glimpse of the future before when we revealed our secrets. I wondered if father had seen this future too. Everything had happened so quickly there had been many questions left unanswered. When the time was right, Touya and I needed to have this conversation, I desperately needed to know the truth.

"Don't forget that Yuna D. Kaito has been expelled from his association. A war is not foretold between our clans. We know he is acting alone and the danger he poses is not only to my family. We recently found out that he stole a sacred object, the Clock of Time nonetheless" Yelan stated.

Gasps of surprise and fear could be heard all over the room but Yelan continued after a brief pause "The dangers of misusing such an object are grave, so you see, we need to work together to stop him and recover the Clock of Time"

Elder Jiang sighted, finally understanding what was at stake for everyone "I understand, this is indeed a dangerous situation, playing with time is an unforgivable sin. What exactly do you want from us? A "D" sorcerer can't be taken lightly, our sorcerers of today's time could not possible fight such a person"

"Your resources, your protection, and your power" Interrupted Eriol "We need to locate him, track him first. I know our enemy is powerful but if we fight together we could take him down"

"I won't force our Clan to fight a battle they do not want to be a part of. We shall think about it and make a decision soon" With this, the old man dismissed us all and we could hear them arguing with one another as we left the room.

We made our way back to the house in silence, hoping the Clan will see reason and help. I still had many other questions regarding the Clock of Time discussed during our audience. Once we left the car transporting us back to the mansion I stopped Touya before he could escape me.

"Brother, we need to talk" I told him as he had attempted to make his way to his room with Yukito. He stopped on his stride, looked at me, and nodded as to encourage me to continue.

"Can you see my future?"

"I wasn't really hiding it monster, it's just that it wasn't a pleasant thing to see" he said with a bit of anger in his voice. Yukito, who was nearby just giggled to himself enjoying the scene.

"I see... when did you see it?" I asked, still blushing.

"The day I met him" He concluded, and I could tell he wanted to say no more but I had to press, I wanted more answers.

"Have you seen anything else in my future? Can you see mom?

"I have not seen mom in a while but I think she is still around... as for your future, you will be a huge monster in a few years" he patted my head while walking away, finishing the conversation then.

"Don't call me monster you meanie!" I had a feeling he had lied to me and there was more he had seen but I knew he would not give me any more answers. My thoughts were interrupted once more by Syaoran's mother who called for Eriol, Syaoran and I to meet with her in her office. We met there shortly after, tension could be felt in the air as I stepped inside.

"Sakura, I have a plan I think may help. How many Sakura Cards are there?" Eriol asked. I was confused by the question, he already knew the answer.

"Fifty-three" I responded without thinking.

"Right, and how many new cards do you have?" He pressed.

"Twenty" I answered after mentally counting them.

"That's right. Don't you see a problem with that? For centuries our descents believed that even numbers were unlucky and by following that ideology, many created magical objects in odd numbers including cards. Clow created 52 cards and died before making the 53rd but you created one subconsciously balancing the cards yourself with The Hope. I think there is potential for you to make a new card but I think the new card needs to be carefully made. Before, you were subconsciously creating cards based on the Clow Cards. This time, I think you should make one from the depths of your power able to fight our enemy"

I was perplexed. To think that something like that would be possible.

"What are you saying, how can I do that myself? I was not trying to make any cards before..."

"Your power knows what to do, we just need to teach you how to improve your technique. I think this is an option we need to use to our advantage" Eriol told me.

To say I wasn't scare would be a lie. I was not confident enough in my power. I think Syaoran could tell what I was thinking as he broke his silence to address me.

"You can do this Sakura, your power has improved since you came here, I can see it. You have been working hard. I think you are ready for a new magic teacher... Eriol can help you from here on out"

"Syaoran... what are you saying? I am not that strong..."

"I believe in you" He interrupted my rant "I know you can do this. I am seeing you" I was touched by his words.

"This is a good plan Hiragizawa-san. I am not so sure of how much help the Li Clan will give us so we need to explore as many alternatives as we can. I will be meeting with them in 3 days to hear their decision and Sakura-chan... it's best they don't know of this plan"

I nodded in understanding. Eriol told me we should work hard on making the card and it was agreed we will do so as soon as possible.

Eriol left the room to reinforce protection seals around the house. He said that since our enemy knew where I was it was best to increase my safety and to keep me in the mansion.

"Yelan-sama, may I ask to know more about the Clock of Time? Is this the stolen object Eriol was investigating?"

"Yes Sakura-chan. Just recently he was able to confirm it. The Clock of Time was believed to be a myth. A powerful object capable of taking you to the past. You have returned in time before through memories so you know that such feat takes a significant amount of power, the same can be told with stopping time. Can you imagine how much more difficult it is to go back in time and be able to change events?"

It dawned on me then, why everyone was so worried when they heard of it. Going back in time had never been heard of. I could see how changing the past could destroy the present.

"If he is a powerful sorcerer, could he use the Clock of Time now? What does he need from me?

"He is indeed powerful but not powerful enough to go back in time for long periods of time. We think he needs to get more power to change something that happened a long time ago but we don't know what it is he wants to change"

"So he wants to take my power..."

"Yes, we think he became aware of your growing power and is waiting for the right time to attack"

"If only I could use my Sakura Cards..."' I said, knowing that without them, I could not be as helpful in a battle.

"You have created new cards that can help you in this quest. Do not lose faith, there are many people supporting you and we will fight together on this"

I knew Yelan-sama wanted to offer some comfort. She already had enough pressure on her shoulders to be worried about my emotional well-being. The Li family had definitely gone above and beyond for my sake, that was clear to me. I smiled, not wanting to cause more stress on them and made my way out of the room while thanking her once more for everything.

When I left the room I was still feeling scared despite my best efforts to appear strong. I was so lost in my own thoughts I almost did not notice him until he held my hand to get my attention. I looked up in surprise to see his hazel eyes staring at me with worry.

"Do you think this plan will work?" I asked him.

"We have to Sakura, I believe we can make this work. Don't forget our families have seen a future for us, so we have to believe there is a future awaiting us"

I blushed yet again but did not pull away as I may have done in the past. Instead, I gathered my courage and hugged him tight.

"Thank you Syaoran... for everything you do for me.' He held me for a few moments and we basked in the silence until a thought crossed my mind "Do you think if magic didn't exist we would still be destined for one another?"

"Without a doubt" He responded, no hesitation in his voice. I stared at his hazel eyes in awe seeing nothing but honesty and kissed him. He returned my kiss in earnest and we enjoyed the intimate moment, not wanting it to end.

How I wished I was a normal teenager worrying about my schooling and other mundane things. I was happy I had found him in the mist of all these adventures, but my mind always wandered to a time where everything was normal and the future was not as uncertain.