Chapter 21: The Return

The clouds rolled by in isolated white puffs outside the window. Under them, a sheet of white covered the horizon. The scenery combined with the steady hum of the engine gave off a lazy, leisurely feeling, masking the fact that the plane they were on was traveling at great speed to cross the seas from one country to another. It was enough to make a lot of the passengers fall asleep immediately after take-off. However, Syaoran was not taken by this illusion even though he wanted to. His destination had been the only thing on his mind ever since he left for the airport this morning and with each passing second, it only drew closer, which in turn made him more restless.

"Xiao Lang."

A call for his name and a gentle pat on his shoulder prompted him to look to his side, where his cousin and travel companion sat. Next to her, a middle-aged man sat quietly reading his magazine.

"You haven't eaten your meal yet." she said, pointing to the in-flight meal provided by the airline, which consisted of a ham cheese sandwich, a cup containing an assortment of fruits, a plastic cup containing juice, and another one containing water. He could see that both Meiling's and the man's trays was already empty. His tray was the only one in the row that had not been touched yet.

"It's fine. I'll eat it later."

Meiling frowned. "Stop worrying and eat. You've barely eaten anything since we left from Hong Kong. You're not going to have the strength for today if you keep this up. Besides, the flight attendant will probably come to collect the trays soon."

Syaoran looked at her crimson face glaring at him. It was clear she wasn't going to let this go and she had a point. "Fine, I'll eat." he relented. He reached for the sandwich, unwrapped the plastic covering and began to eat.

Satisfied with him eating, Meling smiled. "Oh, you don't have to be so nervous! It'll be fun seeing them again. Relax!"

"How can I relax when I don't know what it is I'll be doing?" he remarked bitterly between bites. Meiling had been secretive of what exactly was their schedule for the day and the itinerary for their holiday overall, despite him also being a part of this trip. He had voiced his objection to this leading up to their departure multiple times only to be met with casual dismissal on her part. This time was no exception.

"Don't worry about it." She dismissed with a wave. "It's all-"

"-been planned carefully. Yeah, I got it." he finished dryly. Syaoran shifted away from the fruitless conversation to the rest of his meal. As he swallowed the last bite of the sandwich, he started on the fruit cup. His eyes then shifted to the clock on display in his hangar. It had only been about forty minutes since they departed and they still had about three hours and twenty minutes left to go.

Syaoran swallowed the last of his sandwich and sighed. He knew he wasn't doing himself any favors being so conscious of the seconds passing by, especially when he is mostly confined to his seat. The days leading up to his departure now felt quicker in comparison, though those days hadn't been easy either, between his constant anticipation of this day and the constant unwanted love advice from his sisters. A lot of the latter had been derived from romance novels and comics catered to young teenage girls, filled with grand romantic gestures that may be effective in fantasy but were painfully embarrassing in reality, though they were hardly in synch with each other. Most of them ended in arguments, and through this ordeal he had found out that for the most part they were as inexperienced as he was when it comes to romance. As usual, the saving grace was Fuutie, who had given him the most grounded advice. Out of all of them, her words had stuck with him the most.

'She will likely be looking for a chance to properly reply to your feelings, but it won't be fast since she will be shy about it. She'll probably want to do it when you two are alone so she might ask you to come alone with her, but if she's as shy as I've heard she might be hesitant to make that first move. Fortunately, Meiling and Daidouji will be helping you both, so you both will have plenty of chances. She might not take the first few chances, but don't get discouraged by that. I know waiting can be unbearable at times, but remember to be patient. Your presence alone will push her to act.

However, keep in mind that you are also a part of this. If things turn out too slow, you have the right to ask her directly. It can be hard to tell when that moment is, but you'll get a feel for it as time goes by. If you do end up asking her, remember to not be forceful; simply ask her whether or not she reciprocates your feelings. Above all, keep calm. Whatever the situation may be or even what her answer is, don't be overtaken by emotions, but if things turn out well, don't be afraid to enjoy yourself! We're all rooting for you!'

It was the sole piece of advice that he kept from his sisters since it was the only one that was practical and relevant to his current situation. Fuutie seemed to have a talent for navigating situations where emotions were involved, with the advice she had given him now and the one she had given to him back when he couldn't write his first letter to Sakura supporting this assessment. Syaoran had to wonder whether the quality of her advice was solely a natural gift or that she had more experience than she let on.

Still, applying her advice, mainly keeping calm, was another issue. He couldn't deny that he had been waiting for this chance for two months now even as he continued exchanging letters with her, and while he would never force an answer out of her, he couldn't deny a part of him was worried he would not get what he had been looking for during his time here. Still, Sakura took priority. He wouldn't want his visit to be in anyway troublesome for her. Anything else, he had decided, came second.

"Hey!"

Meiling's call brought him back from his thoughts. "What is it?"

"I've called you three times now already and you didn't respond." Meiling leaned back on her seat and sighed. "I told you to stop worrying! It won't do you any good. Sit back and relax. We still have a long flight ahead."

"But-"

A hand landed on his torso and pushed him back to his seat. "No buts." she stated adamantly. "Now rest."

Syaoran made to move again, but Meiling gave a side glare which told him there was no room for objection. "Okay, I get it. I'm just going to grab the water." He took the cup of water and punctured it with a plastic straw before taking a drink to wash the flavor of fruit and ham from his mouth. With that done, he leaned back and rested his head.

The rest of the flight was mostly uneventful. Despite his initial restlessness, Syaoran had fallen asleep shortly after finishing his in-flight meal and had only woken up when a stewardess asked him if he wanted lunch. Lunch itself consisted of chicken rice with a few strips of chicken and assorted vegetables along with some side dishes and a cup of water. He was not a big fan of airplane food but it was surprisingly fulfilling and gave him a boost of energy. By that time, the plane was only half an hour away from landing, so he stayed awake on his seat for the remaining time, only ever leaving once for the bathroom. He kept his eye on the window as the plane made it's way further into Japan and the small figures of cars and other planes gradually drew closer and closer. Soon enough, the plane began it's landing. A slight bump followed as the wheels touched down and the plane slowly decelerated. A moment later, the plane halted to a stop and connected to the bridge.

"Well, here we are!" Meiling exclaimed. Her eyes were shining with excitement. "I can't wait to meet everyone again! It's been so long!"

"Yeah, it has." Syaoran kept his excitement from being visible, but he was nonetheless just as excited as her if not more. The pilot's voice announcing their arrival to their destination sounding across the plane further spurred his excitement and solidified one fact:

He had arrived in Tomoeda.

.

.

.

As they exited the plane, Syaoran took in his surroundings and acknowledged the familiarity behind them; from the sight of the the landing field leading to the buildings in the horizon to the walkways which both of them now navigated.

"How do you feel, Syaoran?" Meiling asked.

He noted her pronounciation. "You're using Japanese already?"

She shrugged. "I'm a little rusty. I thought I'd start practicing now."

"I see. That may be a good idea." he replied, matching her pace.

"Of course it is." she affirmed. "Now, how do you feel?"

Syaoran thought about it for a moment. "Nostalgic, I guess."

"I know, right? It feels like it's been so long ago since we've been here but it still feels familiar. Who would have thought that I'd feel this way over a place that I'd only been in for about a year? I still like Hong Kong better, though."

"It has it's charms, though." he replied.

"You sure you're not just saying that because Kinomoto lives here?" she asked jokingly.

He chuckled at the suggestion, but replied without hesitation. "No." Tomoeda was quite unique to him. It was not quite as small as a town in spite of it's name, being more akin to a small city. Despite that, it still somehow retained the community spirit and togetherness of a small town. It was something that endeared him to the place, though he admittedly didn't get to enjoy much of it due to the Clow Cards and the magical disturbances afterwards.

"Hmmmm…" Meiling mused, looking at him curiously, before breaking into a cheerful smile. "Well, that's good then. You'll have to enjoy the place if you want to live here, after all."

"There's still a long way to go before that." Syaoran pointed out.

"So what? You want to live here, don't you? Then you won't let anyone get in your way, most certainly not some pesky old men thinking they know everything!" she exclaimed passionately.

"You must be happy to be able to talk freely about them right now." he remarked. Truthfully, he was still against calling the Elders' names even if he disagreed with them. He suspected some of it was perhaps due to the deference for them instilled within him from an early age, but mostly he didn't think it was productive anyways. He'd rather be thinking of ways to get them to eventually grant him permission to stay in Tomoeda.

"Oh, I don't really care either way. I'll insult them to their faces if I get the chance! After treating me like dirt, they deserve no less. I am glad to be away from them for a while though." She turned to him. "Aren't you a little glad yourself to be away from all that Clan stuff?"

Her question prompted him to look back on the last two months from his return to Hong Kong to where he was now. A lot had happened; from him telling his mother his wish, Fang Zhi's rigorous training, culminating in their confrontation at the Training Grounds.

"Yeah, I am." he replied.

Meiling smiled. "Good. I don't want to hear anything about the Clan while we're here, okay?"

Syaoran nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

"Alright, now let's get this holiday started!"

They had made their way to the baggage conveyor belt as they talked. After they collected their respective luggage, they had started to walk to the exit when Syaoran came upon particular place that made him stop in his tracks.

Meiling, noticing he was no longer beside her, looked behind her to see him standing still. "Syaoran, what's wrong?"

Syaoran didn't reply immediately, but looked on ahead. They had just exited the arrivals area and entered the check-in area, which led to another departure gate. One of those booths was visible to him now, where next to it was a money-changer booth. Near to it was a sign that said 'meeting point', one of a few others on this area. This one, however, stood out.

It was the last place he had seen Sakura in person.

The memory came back again, her standing there with her pink dress and her hair slightly disheveled. The words she had said to him echoed again.

'I'll see you again, right?'

"Syaoran? What are you looking at?" She looked at the direction of his gaze, where the money-changer booth was visible. "We already went to the money-changer in Hong Kong, didn't we? We don't need to go there again."

Syaoran shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Let's continue." He began walking again carrying his luggage behind him.

Meiling eyed him curiously but shrugged it off immediately. She quickly kept up with his pace.

"Come on. We'd better find a car quickly." Syaoran suggested as his step began to quicken. "It can be quite crowded after arrivals."

"No, there's no need."

Syaoran looked at Meiling in shock at her words and how relaxed she said them. "What do you mean 'there's no need'? We're going to have to find transportation first or-"

No need to worry, my dear cousin. It's all been taken care of." she proclaimed smugly as they finally reached the exit door.

"You're not making sense, Meiling." he replied, more than slightly irritated.

"You'll see- Ah, there they are!"

They had just made their way outside, which made Syaoran wonder what exactly had her so excited until he saw what was in the direction she was looking. Three women wearing black suits and sunglasses were among the many people waiting for the arrivals and like some of them, they carried white sheets of paper carrying the name of the person they were looking for. The paper they were carrying read "Mr. Li Syaoran & Ms. Li Meiling".

"Wha-"

"Come on, let's go!" Meiling rushed ahead of him to meet the group.

"Wait, Meiling!" he shouted, but she was already too far away. "Damn it!" he hissed as he ran towards her. Eventually, he met up with Meiling just in time for both of them to meet the black-clad women.

One of them, the one who held the sign, suddenly turned to them and spoke in a mechanical tone. "Are you Miss Meiling Li and Mister Syaoran Li?"

"Yes, we are." Meiling replied.

The woman nodded in understanding. "Good afternoon. The Young Miss Daidouji has sent us to pick you up. My associates here will take your luggage."

"Oh, that's quite okay. We can manage."

The woman shook her head. "We insist. Both of you are guests of the Daidouji household. We will provide you with our utmost hospitality." The woman signaled the other three attendants and two of them began to approach them.

"Well… then we'll be in your care. Thank you." Meiling bowed in gratitude. She let her baggage go and handed it to the attendant. Syaoran did the same, albeit a bit more hesitantly.

The lead woman then placed a hand on her ear, and Syaoran could see for the first time that she had a thin ear-piece with a microphone attached. "The guests have arrived. Send the car around." Syaoran picked up a faint and short reply probably affirming the order. The woman then turned to him and Meiling.

"If you will wait for a few moments, the car should be here soon."

Meiling nodded. "Thank you for the hospitality."

"It is no problem." the woman replied. She signaled to the other two and they approached to the waiting area in a well-coordinated movement. Syaoran couldn't decide what was more bizarre, their robotic movements, or the fact that they were wearing black suits on a summer day without so much as a drop of sweat on them. It was something he'd expect from the Li Clan's security guarding highly strategic positions, not chauffeurs for a rich young lady. He took a deep breath to calm himself from the weird pace that things had just transpired.

Having calmed himself down, he poked Meiling on the shoulder. "What is going on here?"

Meiling grinned. "Our transportation, courtesy of Daidouji. I told her we could find a car to take us to her house but she insisted on picking us up from the airport and you know how she is. I couldn't refuse."

"Still, this all-" seemed a bit much' was what he was about to say, but retracted it when he remembered who it was they were talking about. "Never mind."

"I know, right?" she echoed his unsaid sentiment. "Look, what's done is done, so why not enjoy it a little?"

Syaoran sighed in defeat. He had forgotten what it was like to be slave to the whims of Tomoyo Daidouji. However, he knew better than to fight it, so he simply waited, enduring the glares of the surrounding people all the while. After a few minutes, the car finally arrived. True to Daidouji fashion, the car was a long black limousine which further put attention on them. Syaoran could hear the whispers asking about who these kids that were getting this special treatment were. Fortunately, he didn't have to linger for long as the woman approached the side of the car and opened the door.

"Please, come in."

"Thank you." Meiling replied. Syaoran just nodded to the woman as they both entered the car and the two women began to load their luggage. As soon as he entered, he was amazed again. The interior was as spacious as the outside appearance would suggest; it could have easily fit eight adults. However, they only had two children and two adults as one of the women entered the front accompanying the driver. The other woman and the leader entered the back to accompanying Syaoran and Meiling. The leader then knocked on the passenger window.

"We're good to go."

The driver nodded and began driving to the exit. The woman turned her attention to him and Meiling. "There is a water bottle in the passenger door. We also have snacks should you feel hungry." She moved her head slightly to her underling and the other woman opened a compartment on the side of the limo where an assortment of crackers, cookies and chips rested. She brought them all out and gestured to the both of them.

"We're okay, thank you." Syaoran insisted. Meiling echoed his sentiment. The woman nodded, but kept the snacks outside, perhaps in case they changed their mind.

A quiet atmosphere then began to take over, one that Syaoran found somewhat heavy. He didn't really know how to talk to these women. The women for their part remained expressionless, unaware of the discomfort and Meiling remained just as unbothered, sitting and humming to herself. A sudden thought then occurred to him; these women work for Daidouji so it might be a good chance to find out what else Daidouji actually had planned for them today.

"So are we going straight to Daidouji's house?"

The woman shook her head. "No."

"Is there another stop before then?"

She shook her head again. "Under the Young Miss' orders, we will not be dropping the both of you off on the Daidouji mansion."

The answer surprised him. "What?!"

"What?!" Meiling also exclaimed.

Syaoran turned to Meiling who was also surprised, which in turn surprised him further. "Wait, you didn't know about this?!"

Meiling shook her head. "Last time I talked to Daidouji she said we'd be going straight to her house."

"When was that?" he inquired.

"Two days ago."

"That was the original plan," the woman confirmed, "but yesterday the Young Miss Daidouji made plans with the Young Miss Kinomoto to visit the newly opened Tomoeda amusement park. We have received instructions to drop you off there ahead of time of their visit as to surprise the Young Miss Kinomoto."

"Eh?!" Syaoran exclaimed. He knew he was going to meet Sakura sooner or later, but he didn't think he'd be meeting her on the first day he arrived. He could feel the panic rising in his chest.

Meiling, in contrast, took the news gleefully. "My, oh my… as expected of Daidouji! She's always one step ahead!"

"Aren't you being a little too relaxed about this?" he protested.

Meiling looked at him curiously and shrugged. "So we take a slight detour. It's not really a big deal. Besides, you get to see Kinomoto sooner. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"That's…" he stuttered. "O-Of course I am. I just don't like being thrown surprises." A thought occurred to him. He immediately turned to the woman. "Is there anything else she didn't tell us?"

The woman shrugged. "I do not know. I am unaware of what the Young Miss has said or not said with the three of you. However, the amusement park will be the only detour as far as I know. Rest assured, your luggage will be delivered safely to the Daidouji mansion and the Young Miss has said that she will accompany the both of you herself to the mansion once you've all met up."

"I see…" Syaoran leaned back. He didn't really like the surprise, but it was just like her to throw surprises like that at him. Once again, he was reminded of how it felt to be a puppet to Daidouji's whims. Recognizing how powerless he was in this situation, he begrudgingly accepted it as such and instead focused his attention on his eventual reunion with Sakura.

'How do I even begin? Hi, it's been a while? Is that too friendly? Maybe a more formal greeting like a simple 'hello' will do. But would I seem too cold, then? Would it matter? She's always been cheerful with me in the past, but that was before I confessed to her. After that, she kept her distance from me and couldn't speak to me. But she did come for me at the airport. Maybe things will be normal, maybe we can talk normally like we used to. I certainly won't act as cold as I was back then. I'll do better. Maybe it'll be okay. Remember what Fuutie said: the most important thing is to keep calm whatever the situation may be.'

He went around like that, rehearsing and imagining various scenarios as they made their way deeper into Tomoeda. As they deeper into the town, he and Meiling took in the various familiar places that he had remembered as he passed them by, such as Towa University where Sakura's father worked and the Twin Bells shop where he had bought the teddy bear for Sakura. It hit home again that he was finally back in Tomoeda, and the excitement in his heart grew. As he reveled in all these familiar sights, an unfamiliar one came into view on the horizon. It was the amusement park mentioned by Daidouji. However, he began to notice that the route itself was actually familiar.

"Whoa! There it is!" Meiling said as she looked in awe. "It looks big!"

"Yeah." Syaoran agreed. However, his mind was distracted. Despite the novelty of the amusement park, the route they were on was familiar to him. However, it wasn't until they drew closer that he realized why.

"Excuse me, is this the way to the amusement park?" he asked their companion.

"Yes, that is true." the woman replied.

"Wasn't there an old house around the area here?"

The woman paused for a moment to think. "I've heard something about a house on this area, but I'm not really sure. A lot of the surrounding land was cleared to make space for the amusement park. If it was here, it's probably been demolished."

"I see…" The news was quite surprising to him. Magicians usually place a lot of importance on locations, especially where they lived, so it was rare to see one be willingly abandoned. However, Eriol Hiiragizawa wasn't like most mages; he was Clow Reed's reincarnation, and it was a fact he wanted to keep hidden. In that sense, he could see why Eriol wouldn't be attached to locations as they were a remnant of a past life he was trying to move on from. That, and he probably had no further use for the place after Sakura converted all the Cards to her own.

"Syaoran, what is it?" Meiling asked.

Syaoran shook his head. "No, it's nothing." That was probably true. There was a concern in him that something magical in nature had been left behind, but Syaoran dismissed it immediately. If Eriol had already left, he probably wouldn't leave any trace of his or Clow's existence behind, most certainly not anything valuable like magical artifacts.

"Hmmmm…" Meiling hummed inquisitively. "Well, whatever."

The car continued a little more before finally stopping at the side of the road. On their left, a street made of red tiles led deeper to the horizon where the figure of a tower and a ferris wheel along with some roller-coaster rails emerged through a dense layer of foliage.

"Unfortunately, we can't take you any further; this is as far as a car can go." the woman explained. "The amusement park is just a short walk in that direction. The Young Miss should be here momentarily. At the moment, the area is not yet open so it's still empty so you two are free to look around if you wish. Don't worry, we'll ensure your luggage safely reaches the mansion."

Both of them nodded and collectively said their thanks before disembarking the vehicle. The car then drove on downward back from where they came to the mansion.

"So this is the new amusement park. It certainly looks the part." Meiling commented. "Come on, let's have a look around."

"Sure." Syaoran replied.

They walked deeper into the red-paved road towards the amusement park. The sides of it were already filled with various buildings meant for the future attendants of the park, mostly consisting of snack bars, a small restaurant, and a gift shop, along with restrooms and several benches.

"This is quite a lot of stuff for a park that hasn't opened yet." Meiling remarked, looking at the various empty buildings. "Whoever built this place must be quite optimistic this place will be a hit."

"Well, Tomoeda's a fairly large town." Syaoran commented. "It's quite reasonable for them to expect a large number of people. This place is also built on a hill, so people will also come for the view."

"Hmmm, I guess you're right. Sure is creepy though when there's no one around. I don't even hear another footstep other than ours. Makes you think there could be ghosts here." she said, her voice slightly shaking.

"Don't think about it too much. You're working yourself up for nothing." he advised. However, he had to admit the emptiness did give off an eerie feeling. He wasn't exactly worried about ghosts, although he wouldn't know even if there were even any around him now since he didn't have the ability to detect spirits like his mother or Shiefa, but the solitary feeling unsettled him enough to stroke his battle instincts a little. Keeping his pendant in mind, Syaoran stayed vigilant the rest of the way as they finally reached the end of the road where a flight of stairs led to their destination.

"We're here!" Meiling shouted with excitement. "Come on, let's go inside!"

"I'm not sure that's allowed." Syaoran said hesitantly, but she had already climbed up the stairs and gestured at him to follow. Seeing no other option, he followed suit, walking behind her. When he reached the end of the stairs, he looked in amazement. The amusement park was now in full view with the entrance reading 'Tomoeda Amusement Park' loudly announcing their location. From here, it's size was more apparent. There was a ferris wheel, a tower, a roller coaster track, along with several other rides slightly visible from the entrance. He was sure there were more inside as well.

"Whoa, it's huge!" Meiling exclaimed as if to emphasize his thoughts.

"Yeah, it is." He was starting to doubt his earlier statement. Tomoeda had a lot of people, but he wasn't sure if they had enough to justify building something so large.

"Let's go inside and see what it looks like." she said. "Race you inside!"

"Oiii, wai-"

Without warning, Meiling had set off like the bullet of a gun towards the entrance.

"Meiling!" he shouted after her as he reluctantly gave chase. Meiling had gained a significant head start over him. He cursed internally as her figure diminished in his view. He had trained with Meiling often and under normal circumstances he would easily catch up to her even with her head start, but he wasn't at his full capability yet since he was still focused on recovering the last few days, but that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was chasing Meiling, who had crossed the entrance arch way and turned right, out of his sight. A moment later, he entered the amusement park and turned right and immediately saw the true scale of the park. It was huge and wide. However, Meiling couldn't have gotten very far. He couldn't see her, but surely she wouldn't be too-

"Boo!"

Meiling came out from behind a signboard just as he was about to pass it. A mixture of surprise and panic came over him, as Meiling had both surprised him and was in his way. He halted himself with effort to a halt, stopping just right in front of her. In doing so, he almost toppled himself over that even Meiling was alarmed, but barely managed to keep himself on his feet. As he got back straight up again, he glared at Meiling.

"Hehe, sorry about that." she said sheepishly. "I thought I'd surprise you. I didn't think you'd almost fall over like that."

Syaoran was not amused. "That was unnecessary. It's a hot summer day and you made us run for no reason." Sure enough, both of them had already begun to sweat under the heat.

"I know. I just got bored. I'm sorry." she replied, looking down in regret.

He was a little hesitant to forgive her, having been under the whims of both her and Daidouji for the entire day, but decided against scolding her further. He couldn't get angry over every little annoyance a trivial matter if he was going to survive this holiday. "Whatever, it's done already." Her face visibly relaxed at him saying that. "Come on, let's wait for the both of them outs-"

It happened in less than a second. It was a short moment, a very brief one, but he felt it nonetheless. Before his mind even realized it, the hairs on the back of his neck rose and his whole body tensed. Adrenaline swept through him and melted away fatigue he had felt earlier.

"Syaoran?" Meiling asked, noticing the shift in his body language. She took a step towards him "What's wro-"

"Don't move!" he hissed.

The sudden shift in his demeanor startled her. Immediately, she retracted her step and stood frozen where she was. "Syaoran, what's wrong?" she asked, both concerned and afraid.

Syaoran ignored her. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning his surroundings for anything that might seem out of place. Meanwhile he reached out to sense the feeling he had just felt, a familiar tingling that he didn't think he would ever feel again. It was a brief but intense, leaving no doubt in his mind of what it was.

He had felt the presence of a Clow Card.

'It can't be. Sakura has already converted all the cards to Sakura Cards. There can't be any more Clow Cards.' Even so, he was sure of the feeling, having felt it constantly during his time capturing them. His mind returned to Eriol's house. That seemed the most likely suspect at this moment, but he couldn't fathom it. Someone like Eriol wouldn't be so careless as to leave behind traces of himself. Besides, all the Clow Cards were contained within the Book of Clow and all known records of Clow Reed document 52 cards, no more and no less. Even if there was a stray card, the Clow Cards were fully converted months ago. To be here, a card would have had to pass from the detection of Sakura, the Guardians, Eriol, and himself. Surely Eriol would have noticed something like a stray card. Did he create a new one on purpose, perhaps one final test? There seemed to be no feasible reason for him to do that.

'Damn it! This is getting me nowhere. I have to act!' Syaoran put aside all his speculations. Whatever it was, he needed to act. If there was a magical disturbance, be it Clow Card or otherwise, then he needed to pinpoint it's location. However, the presence had disappeared as quickly as it appeared so he couldn't pinpoint exactly where it had come from, and standing still would only make both him and Meiling a sitting target. He didn't have his compass to help him locate it either, so that left him with one other option.

"Syaoran what's wrong?" Meiling asked, now more panicked.

"Stay here and don't move." With that, he raced towards the exit. 'If I can draw it's attention, maybe it will come to me.' His eyes scanned every corner, every building, every light post, anything in his immediate view all while trying to spot any visible irregularity among them. As he neared the entrance archway, he slowed to a fast walk in case there was something there. He neared the corner, all the while trying to keep an eye on his surroundings…

…only to be suddenly hit by something.

In his shock, Syaoran closed his eyes so he couldn't see what had hit him, but from the feel it was obvious he had collided with another person around his height. The person had also recoiled from their collision. Instinctively, he reached out his hand and connected with what felt like an arm. He grasped it immediately as to prevent the person from collapsing. The next moment, he opened his eyes, meaning to apologize-

-and froze immediately.

"I'm sorry! I was looking the other way-"

Her voice was unmistakable in his ears. Her figure, clad in the Tomoeda Elementary School summer uniform, immediately registered with him. Finally, her face as she recovered from the collision and looked at him through emerald eyes in shock, the same expression that he no doubt held, immediately confirmed one thing.

Standing in front of him, connected to him by the clasp of his arm, was none other than Sakura Kinomoto.

The realization of who it was that they had crashed into took both of them at the same time, which made both of them recoil immediately. A cry of surprise escaped from both of them simultaneously.

"UWAAAA!"

"HOEEEE!"

Syaoran stood in place, unable to comprehend just suddenly Sakura was in front of him again after all this time. As if to further compound the confusion, Meiling immediately appeared behind him.

"What happened?! Did something pop up?!"

Seeing Meiling brought Sakura back to her senses first. "Meiling-chan, you're here too?"

Meiling recoiled in shock as she saw who it was in front of her. Immediately, she pieced together what had happened. However, she had planned their visit to be a surprise for Sakura, but it had turned out the other way around. A moment later, Tomoyo came from the corner.

"Sakura-chan are you-" she began, then stopped as she saw both Meiling and Syaoran. Her expression was not one of surprise but of quick understanding.

"Oh."

"Um…" Meiling offered weakly. "Surprise?"