"Phew! I was almost suffocating in there!"

As Kero emerged from inside her schoolbag, Sakura could feel the blood drain from her face, her shock a tangible thing.

Not even having noticed Sakura's expression, Kero looked around the empty classroom, nodded approvingly and said, "So this is your school? Nice!"

Sakura shook her head rapidly, snapping out of her initial stupor. "What are you doing here, Kero!?"

"I wanted to see what's the everyday life of a Card Captor like," Kero answered casually.

"I told you to stay in my room," Sakura said, holding back the urge to shove Kero inside her schoolbag and run back all the way to her house. "What are we going to do if somebody sees you?"

"I'll just find someplace to hide," Kero said with a shrug.

Sakura let out an annoyed grunt.

"Don't worry," Kero said while waving a paw dismissively and looking away. "I'll get back inside your schoolbag before anybody…else…comes…"

Sakura blinked and slowly turned her head in the direction Kero was looking to see Tomoyo Daidouji staring dumbfounded at him.

"That's…not a toy, is it?"

"Can you please introduce us, Sakura?"

"R-Right…um, this is my friend, Tomoyo Daidouji…and you said your name was Kerberos, right?"

"That's right!"

Tomoyo leaned forward, taking a closer look at Kero's cute, plushie-like form. "His name doesn't really match his appearance, does it?"

Sakura smiled. "That's why Kero suits him better."

"I agree!"

"Don't go using that silly name with me," Kero protested. He puffed his chest up and said, "I'm Kerberos, the golden beast guardian of the Clow Cards!"

Tomoyo tilted her head with curiosity. "Clow Cards?"

Kero cleared his throat. "Let me explain…"

Tomoyo listened attentively as Kero narrated the events from the last night, her fascination growing with every word.

Sakura, for her part, choose to eat her lunch in silence. After the magic of The Fight card abandoned her body, all the martial arts knowledge she had acquired vanished like smoke and whatever fighting prowess she displayed felt more like a distant, hazy dream to her.

"And that's the story how Sakura became a Card Captor!"

"Amazing!" Tomoyo exclaimed in delight. "I never imagined Sakura would become a Card Captor to protect the world from disaster!"

Sakura smiled awkwardly. "No, no…it's just too much responsibility…"

"Don't say that!" Tomoyo swiftly took Sakura's hands in her own. "You're brave, athletic and super cute! If there's somebody here who can do it is you!" She leaned forward with pleading eyes. "Could you please show me your magic?"

Kero agreed enthusiastically, "Come on, there's nobody around here!"

Sakura stood up and stepped away from the blanket they were having lunch on. The spot they had picked was behind the school's main building, right in front of the door to the gym storage room. She took off the miniaturized Sealing Wand from around her neck, held it in her palm with her outstretched arm and called firmly,

"Key that holds the power of darkness, show your true form before Sakura, who made this pact with you. Release!"

With a gust of wind and a flash of arcane light, the Sealing Wand took its true form, much to Tomoyo's amazement. "With that wand you can use spells, correct?" she asked expectantly.

"Um…yes, but I need the Clow Cards to do that and I don't-"

Before Sakura could say another word, Kero popped up from inside her schoolbag holding The Fight card. "Here you go!"

Sakura let out a sigh of defeat, took the card from Kero's paws and held it high. "Grant me your skill and wisdom," she called firmly and swung her Sealing Wand. "The Fight!"

Once again the knowledge flooded her mind, and once again it all feel incredibly natural, as if she was recalling something she had learned long ago.

Sakura set the Sealing Wand aside, took a deep breath and straightened herself, taking a closed leg stance with both arms at her sides.

There was a moment of silence before she suddenly turned her head to her left side, as if she had seen an approaching foe, stepped with her left leg forward, knee bent and right leg fully extended, and threw a straight punch with her right arm.

Immediately, she stepped back, taking a stance with her left leg forward, both knees slightly bent and the heel of her left foot off the ground. Her were arms positioned in front of her body with her elbows slightly bent and her index and middle fingers extended.

"It's Tanglangquan! The Praying Mantis Fist!" Kero exclaimed.

Tomoyo watched transfixed as Sakura kept moving back and forth, left and right as if she was fighting multiple invisible opponents. A right punch became an elbow strike, followed by a parry to her right and a strike to the eyes of her invisible enemy with the index and middle fingers of her left hand.

Silently and decisively. Every movement was perfectly executed.

By the time Sakura stopped, straightened herself and returned to the same stance she started, Tomoyo found herself clapping enthusiastically.

"Do you have a special pose?"

Sakura blinked. "A special pose?"

"Yes!" Tomoyo replied, looking dreamily. "Special poses and magic spells go hand in hand! Especially for cute girls!"

Sakura could only let out an awkward, embarrassed laugh.

For the first time in her life, Sakura felt thankful for the bell that signaled the end of class. After saying her goodbyes, and making Kero swear he would not make a single sound while inside her schoolbag, she quickly left and headed to the school gate.

"OSU!"

Despite her hurry, the sudden, powerful yell caught Sakura's attention and she turned to see a group of a dozen highschool boys, all wearing the same white uniform, training in the middle of the athletics field of the neighboring Seijyo High School.

Sakura approached the fence that separated the two schools to have a closer view. It wasn't the first time she had caugh the sight of them practicing martial arts outside, but it was the first time they had caught her attention.

The boys were divided in pairs and were practicing throwing each other on top of rubber mats.

Sakura could tell it was different from what she did against The Power: where she vaguely remembered placing both arms around The Power's torso to throw her, the boys were throwing each other over their shoulders.

"Pretty cool, huh? It's called Ippon Seoi Nage or one-arm shoulder throw."

The voice snapped Sakura out of her trance and she turned to see a pretty highschool girl looking at her from the other side of the fence with an enthusiastic grin. She was tall, nearly as tall as Touya, and lean. Her long jet-black hair was tied into a ponytail and her dark brown eyes brimmed with energy. She wore blue gym shorts, a plain white shirts and sneakers.

"The point of the technique is to roll your opponent over your shoulder instead of your hip, doubling the height of their fall," the girl explained cheerfully, complete with movements as if demonstrating with the help of an invisible sparring partner. "You do it when your opponent is pushing or charging at you. Grab your opponent's arm from below and turn so you're facing in the same direction, straighten your legs to lift your opponent and roll them over your shoulder to they fall directly in front of you. Do it right and you can take down an opponent bigger tan you!"

"Umm…t-thank you…Miss?"

The girl blinked twice, having realized Sakura had no idea who she was talking to. "R-Right! I'm Mako Amabuki, a second year at Seijyo High School," she said while pointing to herself with her index finger, a slight blush across her face. "Are you interested in Karate?"

Before Sakura could reply, a group of highschool girls loudly called Mako to give them a hand carrying gym equipment.

"Ah! Sorry…" Mako quickly pulled out a small paper sheet from her pocket, rolled it and left between the gaps in the fence. "Here you go! The first class is free of charge! Gotta go now! Bye!"

Sakura watched Mako leave before taking the small paper sheet and unrolling it. It was a pamphlet. "Amabuki Karate Dojo," she read softly. "Shotokan Style…"

Remembering she still had Kero inside her schoolbag, Sakura quickly pocketed the pamphlet and went on her way home.

"Did you hear about the disappearing stuffed animals, Sakura?"

"Stuffed animals?"

Tomoyo nodded. "A big number of them have disappeared from several houses around the neighborhood." She paused, then asked lowly, "Do you think it could be the work of a Clow Card?"

Sakura pondered for a second. "I could ask Kero about it."

"We should investigate today after school."

Sakura nodded.

"I can't wait!" Tomoyo said, trembling in anticipation. "I will finally get to see Sakura in action!"

Sakura could only smile awkwardly.

For the second time in her life, Sakura sneaked out from her house in the middle of the night. This time, however, she wore her winter school gym uniform, consisting of jogging blue pants, a matching jacket over a white shirt and sneakers.

Slowly, so as not to make noise, Sakura climbed down the tree next to the window of her room on the first floor. Once at ground level, she took out her rollerblades from her backpack and switched her sneakers with them.

"So you don't know of a Clow Card that likes stealing stuffed animals?" Sakura asked Kero, who flew next to her as she rollerbladed her way through the empty street.

"Clow Cards all have their own personalities," Kero replied. "And many of them like to play pranks."

As they approached their meeting point with Tomoyo, the entrance of the King Penguin park, Kero quickly hid inside Sakura's backpack.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura called with a wave of her hand. "Sorry I'm late!"

Tomoyo waved back. She was wearing a classy, pink button front blazer with a matching long skirt. A pair of brown shoes and matching gloves completed her ensemble. "It's alright, I just arrived here too."

Sakura took notice of the five women surrounding her friend, all wearing black suits and shades, as well as the large, cream colored van behind them.

"Well then, Miss," one of the women said.

Tomoyo nodded. "Yes, thank you."

The women took their leave, bowing respectfully to Sakura as they passed her. She returned the gesture and watched them go in awe.

"Those women…"

"They're my bodyguards," Tomoyo said. "My Mom doesn't mind I go out at night as long as they come with me," she explained. "They will return when I contact them, or in thirty minutes if I don't."

"Whoa…there aren't many elementary schoolers out there with bodyguards."

Tomoyo giggled. "I imagine there are even less elementary schoolers who can use magic."

Sakura let out a flustered laugh.

Kero hopped out from Sakura's backpack and exchanged greetings with Tomoyo. "What's the deal with the van?" He asked while floating around, his head tilted with curiosity.

Tomoyo smiled as if she was waiting for either Sakura or Kero to ask. With great fanfare, she opened the door on the back of the van. Inside there were two rows of a dozen colorful costumes each, complete with their matching footwear and headwear.

"Tomoyo…what are these?" Sakura asked, her expression a mixture of awe and confusion.

"Why, your battle suits of course!" Tomoyo replied cheerfully. "After all, special occasions require special clothes!"

"W-Wait what?"

Upon Tomoyo's insistence, Sakura changed into one of the "battle suits". A bright red one piece with puff sleeves and a bubble skirt of great volume. It had a red bow at the chest and one with longer tails at the back. A pair of black leggings and red ballet-flats with a ribbon on top, and a pair of black gloves and a red beret with a bow on top completed the ensemble.

"As expected, you look lovely, Sakura," Tomoyo declared in delight, already pointing her hand camera at Sakura.

"Um…thank you," Sakura said flustered. "A-Anyway, why did you say we meet here?"

Tomoyo took out a folded sheet from her pocket and spread it, revealing a map of Tomoeda with several spots marked with red circles. "These are the houses where the stuffed animal thief attacked. And right in the middle of them…" she made a circling motion with her index finger on the map and said, "Is the King Penguin park."

"A perfect hiding spot! Good job, Detective!" Kero said, giving Tomoyo a thumbs up. She thanked him gracefully.

"But isn't the park too big?" Sakura asked. "Can we really find the Clow Card before Tomoyo's bodyguards come looking for her?"

Kero puffed his chest out and said confidently, "Don't worry, if there's a Clow Card there I can feel its presence!"

Guided by Kero, Sakura headed into the King Penguin park, followed closely from behind by Tomoyo, who made sure to record all of her movements.

"It's here," Kero said. "The Clow Card is inside the park."

When they got to the center of the park, a strange sound like a mixture of a hiss and a laugh reached their ears. Standing atop the King Penguin slide was a small creature, like a cross between a rabbit and a kangaroo rat, with bright pink fur and thin, angry green eyes.

"It's The Jump card!" Kero declared.

The small pink animal hopped down from the slide to ground level, as if challenging them.

"Go for it, Sakura!"

Sakura nodded and released her Sealing Wand. "Return to-!" But before she could say another word, the little critter began jumping in circles around her, so fast it looked like a pink bouncing ball.

Sakura tried to aim her Sealing Wand to no avail, as she was having trouble following The Jump's movements. What's more, she felt as if it was toying with her, not escaping but keeping its distance and making that irritating noise that sounded like a hiss and a laugh, almost like saying "try to catch me if you can".

"GOLDEN LION KIIIIIIIIICK!"

To the surprise of both, Sakura and The Jump, Kero drop kicked the latter in mid air, knocking it to the ground. "That's your weakness!" he declared, puffing his chest out. "You cannot dodge or defend while in the air!"

"Thank you, Kero!" Sakura said.

The Jump stood up, right eye twitching and let out a hiss that seemed to echo all across the park. There was a moment of silence before a large number of stuffed animals emerged from behind the trees, floating like a swarm of insects.

Sakura, Kero and Tomoyo watched in shock as The Jump was buried into the large pile of stuffed animals, which then began glowing with an eerie pink light and fusing into a huge, twisting mass that took the shape of The Jump, now a behemot large enough to tower over all the trees in the King Penguin Park.

With a mighty roar, The Jump raised its paw to stomp Sakura like a cockroach.

Thinking quickly, Sakura activated The Power card and caught The Jump's paw in her arms, dropping her Sealing Wand in the process.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo cried in shock.

Kero attacked The Jump again, but he might as well have been a fly trying to knock down an elephant.

Sakura gritted her teeth, feeling her knees slowly bending. Even with the magic of The Power card, there was still an ample difference between lifting an inanimate object like the King Penguin slide and holding back a foe actively trying to crush you.

"Pretty cool, huh? It's called Ippon Seoi Nage or one-arm shoulder throw."

It had been two days since that girl, Mako Amabuki, showed Sakura that techique, but the words suddenly echoed in her mind and the whole sequence of movements flashed before her eyes.

"Do it right and you can take down an opponent bigger than you!"

With a single motion accompained of a mighty battle cry, Sakura twisted her body and pulled The Jump's paw over her shoulder with all of her strength.

The Jump slammed against the ground and its gigantic body exploded into a big pile of stuffed animals, leaving it in its original size and blacked out.

Sakura quickly grabbed her Sealing Wand and commanded loudly. "Return to your true and humble form! Clow Card!"

The Jump became a stream of pure magic, which then became a card that floated right into Sakura's hand.

"Great job, Sakura!" Kero said.

Sakura let out a big sigh of relief. "That got scary for a moment…"

"Yep, yep," Kero said, nodding to himself. "But you handled it perfectly!"

"And I got everything recorded!" Tomoyo chimed in happily. "By the way, why do you think a Clow Card would go around stealing stuffed animals?"

"Who knows?" Kero said with a shrug. "The Jump looks like a stuffed animal, so maybe it wanted friends? What are we going to do with all these stuffed animals anyway?"

"I'm sure the police will be able to return them to their rightful owners," Tomoyo said.

As the three of them headed towards the entrance of the King Penguin park, Sakura gave one last glance at the pile of stuffed animals…

"Are you interested in Karate?"