©2003 By Julia and Tania
E-mail: ccs_fanz@juliaandtania.com
Cardcaptor Sakura: The Attractive Power
Episode 3

“Why can’t I get up early for once?” Sakura huffed, groaning afterwards, “…then I wouldn’t have to go through this every morning—why do I put myself through this every morning?”

        Sakura felt breathless as she roller-bladed faster than usual down the street. She was late again as usual. For the past four weeks she had been travelling the exact same path to Seijyu High, for the past four weeks she had been aware of the extra distance, and for the past four weeks she had been late.

        She stopped to glide along the path as a dreadful sequence of images entered her mind…

DAYDREAM…

        Sakura stood proudly up on the stage as she smiled brightly at her father, Touya, Syaoran, and Yukito who were standing in the audience, clapping. She felt so important this evening. Three years of junior high and she had finally completed all three years. Now, she was on stage with dazzling lights beaming upon her and her fellow graduates.

        “Kinomoto Sakura,” the principal of the school announced, inviting her to approach the stage. He held out a rolled-up piece of paper, fastened by a red ribbon at the centre.

        Humbly, she approached the principal with her hands clasped behind her back. She bowed courteously before she extended her right hand to meet up with the one that had been extended towards her by the principal.

        “Congratulations, Kinomoto Sakura,” quietly the principal said to her, leaning into one ear then he proceeded to hand her the diploma.

        Just as Sakura motioned to take the qualification into her hand—full of pride—the principal jerked it back. Genuine puzzlement exhibited on her face, and at the same time, she directed a glance into the audience, seeking the friendly faces of her family and friends. They were clapping vigorously still. That made her even more confused; they weren’t taken aback at all by the strange act.

        She turned back to face the principal, nervously awaiting his next actions. The principal reached for the ribbon. He was untying it. Sakura watched in wonder, eyes engrossed by his actions: he didn’t do that to the rest of the students—why was he unbinding the ribbon from her diploma? The customary proceedings only differed during her acceptance—why?

        The next thing she knew, an uproar of laughter resonated through the audience. Sakura rolled her eyes to her forehead to stare at that ribbon which had been tied around her head—it was obviously where everyone else was staring at.

        Bright red began to flood her natural complexion. From what she could see, on her forehead, on the ribbon which had been tied to mimic the way of a karate fighter, were a few Japanese characters, but she couldn’t see it.

        Sakura’s eyes contracted as she glanced out towards the direction of the audience again. All of a sudden, a spotlight which she hadn’t noticed impaired her vision. It was so intense. The audience seem to grow larger too. How come there were so many people in the room all of a sudden? Their mouths were so wide apart she swore she could see their tonsils jiggle back and forth, bouncing up and down.

        Dad? Onii-chan? They’re laughing too. The bustling laughter was deafening. She felt so uncomfortable, so naked to their laughter.

        Syaoran: he’ll make me feel better. She scrolled across Onii-chan and Yukito—who was also laughing—to set her eyes on him.

        Syaoran’s right brow furrowed, feeling the embarrassment for her, but Sakura noticed he was trying to hold in a curl to the corner of his lips that hid underneath the face which conformed to her own.

        “Syaoran-kun?” Syaoran had pointed to her forehead. Sakura continued to watch him attentively—Syaoran was trying to tell her what the crowd found so amusing. He scrolled his two forefingers across his own forehead and stopped. It was all he did.

        Sakura’s lips stayed depressed, her brows furrowed out of frustration. She already knew something was written on that ribbon—Syaoran didn’t have to point that out to her—but what?!

        Soon after, she saw Yukito moving around a bit. His head ducked down below the seats, disappearing from sight for a brief moment before he reappeared. Between his two hands held a gigantic mirror.

        ‘The Late One,’ Sakura saw.

        “You are ‘The Late One’. ‘The Late One’ cannot graduate—it isn’t within my power. I’m sorry Kinomoto-san.”

        The audience continued to laugh even louder at the announcement. The principal, her fellow classmates, her family, even Syaoran was laughing now…

END DAYDREAM…

        “HOEEEEE!!!!!!!! ” Sakura cried aloud, frantically shaking her head in detest, “I don’t want to be ‘The Late One’!”

        Sakura, being too engulfed in the very real possibility of earning the undesirable title, she stumbled on her roller-blades—almost meeting the unlevelled concrete path of Seijyu High. Sakura fretted a little as she desperately tried to retain her balance.

        Whilst she contended with the ground, she vowed to herself she would never be this late again. This had to be her latest even for her standards. At least she wasn’t the only one who was late as she collided with another student side-on.

        “Gomen nasai (Sorry),” she apologised to whoever it was who fell along with her.

        “Kinomoto-san: gomen. It was my fault,” the male voice stuttered from underneath her.

        “You’re not hurt are you?” she said with concern as she raised her head to see exactly who she had flattened. “S-s-s-sato-kun!”

        Yoshiro nodded in response then he levered himself to a sitting position while he gently helped her up. Then he placed a couple of fingers to rub the back of his head. “No, I’m not hurt really…”

        Sakura took a sigh of relief. Suddenly something had struck her: Sato-kun was still out here. “Sato-kun, are you late too?”

        He nodded groggily. Yoshiro had been hurt more than he had admitted to Sakura. “I can never get to school on time—no matter how much I try,” he said, followed by a laugh—embarrassed.

        “Me, too,” Sakura exclaimed, “I guess we’re the same when it comes to getting to school on time.” She returned with the same embarrassed laugh.

        “That reminds me. We’re already late as it is. We better get going, Kinomoto-san.” Sakura nodded.

        Yoshiro stood up then offered to help her up as well. He extended a hand, Sakura took it. It didn’t help though. With the lack of friction provided by her wheels, she fell right back onto the ground.

        His eyes widened into shock. “I-I-I’m so sorry!” He knelt down to hold her by the shoulders and lifted her up. “Are you alright there?”

        This time she didn’t fall over. “Yes. Thanks,” she replied then she and Yoshiro both scooted off to class.

        Maths seemed to take forever. Each minute in this class seem to last five times what it actually represented. Sakura didn’t really hate maths as much as she did previously—she had actually grown to tolerate it, maybe even, like maths during her sixth year at Tomoeda Elementary—but this class was slow and she could barely stay awake. To add to that, the sun’s warm rays which set upon her back this late afternoon was so comforting.

        Sakura gazed out the window as she stared blankly outside. The pencil that she gripped in her right hand was released to its freedom, making a soft thump upon its landing as gravity set it in motion towards the centre crease of the book.

        “It’s such a lovely day outside,” she muttered quietly to herself, “It’s not too cold and not too hot either—it’s just right.”

        Slothfully, she laid the weight of her head onto her palm as her elbow rested on top of her text and exercise books. Out of habit today, she flicked her eyes to the front of the class where the clock was situated: 4:17pm.

        Sakura began to sigh out of boredom—it wasn’t inwardly either. Without realising, she sighed aloud, and not to mention, quite audibly. Afraid at the prospect of being noticed by the teacher, she quickly halted in her actions. Her eyes widened as she swept her eyes from corner to corner, inconspicuously assessing her current position.

        No one had noticed.

        “Phew,” she said as she wiped away the imaginary sweat beads off her forehead with the back of her hand in her mind.

        She couldn’t understand how this was Syaoran’s favourite subject—but then again, he was good at Maths.

        “Syaoran-kun,” Sakura thought in dejection.

        She wondered how long since the last time she’d seen him… It was nine months—almost a year. It had almost been a year since she had seen Syaoran.

        I wonder how he is doing—I really want to see him. To that thought, Sakura’s head slid down to rest on her arms as her gaze grew more vacant at the scenery before her.

        Syaoran was in her mind again, and without any protest from herself, she allowed the enchanting images of him to completely drench her thoughts. She found herself converging into his features. Here, in her mind, she could stare at him at close proximities and in comfort, to her heart’s content; she could take her time with each feature.

        His features: they were striking. She had never noticed him in this way before; they were hypnotising. She found herself unable to tear herself away from him, but, then she realised it wasn’t only his physical appearance that she was attracted to, it was his qualities which he concealed from her behind that abrasive exterior she encountered a few years back.

        Focused on them, she found herself living in the moments of the past—the time he helped her get over Yukito-san, the time he held her in the elevator, then she found herself remembering what Meiling told her. Syaoran had always been like this—kind, caring, compassionate—she just hadn’t noticed how kind-hearted he truly was; how pure he was.

        She closed her eyes as she harnessed the feeling of giddiness which coursed through her. It was a feeling she wanted to keep for a while.

        In all of her life she had never experienced anything like it. This persistent yearn for his presence was so great, she swore she could almost feel her heart explode every time she thought about him; swooning over him as he popped into her mind; replaying him and his touches over and over and over again.

        Suddenly, she felt a weight on both her shoulders from behind. “Sakura,” a voice which she was so acquainted with called for her. Sakura knew exactly who it was.

        “Syaoran-kun!” she exclaimed, almost tearful.

        The presence of the teacher caught her attention. At the sight of the teacher, Sakura felt a dull, nagging pain in her heart. “Syaoran-kun: the teacher…”

        “Don’t worry, Sakura,” he said to her, swinging to the front to face her. He looked to the teacher: the teacher smiled. “See? It’s okay.”

        Sakura smiled, keeping her eyes trained onto his as his tall stature reduced to level with hers. “When did you come back from Hong Kong, Syaoran-kun?”

        “I came back a few days ago,” his voice: soft and soothing.

        “Why didn’t you tell me?”

        “I wanted to surprise you, Sakura.” Syaoran smiled as he moved to place a hand on her cheek. Then he ran it through her hair. Her eyelids fluttered before they surrendered to the touch, closing her eyes as his hand rested finally on her shoulder.

        “Well, I have to go back to my desk now; I suspect the teacher is getting very impatient with me.”

        “No, Syaoran-kun!” she pleaded, eyes still closed as she dropped her head to her shoulders to rest on his hand.

        Sakura felt his hand slipping out between her shoulder and cheek, not responding to her wishes. She opened her eyes to try and pull him back towards her, but he was already gone as fast as he had come. She looked towards his desk—

        What desk? Syaoran didn’t have a desk.

        “Bow and Arrow…”

        Sakura was abruptly brought out of her thoughts. “What was that?”

        Frozen by the sudden appearance of the voice, her back straightened against her seat, ears alerted, while unconsciously surveying her surroundings.

        Seconds had passed—nothing yet.

        “…the ancestors which guards the magic...”

        There it was again—that low murmur. Where was it coming from?

        Sakura searched the room, wondering if anyone had heard anything this time. Again, no one reacted; no one noticed any difference—she was the only one who was hearing it.

        “Bring forth the force!”

        That was loud. Still, no one heard it.

        Her instincts told her to look outside. She was met with surprise as Sakura was confronted with—not Seijyu High’s school grounds—but some place else which she didn’t recognise. For some reason, what she saw in front of her began to confuse itself. The scenery which was once fairly visible was now indistinguishable.

        Sakura rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision, thinking the fault was on her part. When she cleared her vision, the scenery in front of her returned to the fields of Seijyu High.

        “At least it’s back to normal,” she thought, “But where did the voice come from?”

        “Kinomoto-san, Kinomoto-san,” she heard someone say, but it wasn’t the same voice she heard a couple of moments ago; the intonation was demanding, but it wasn’t disturbing like before.

        “Kinomoto-san.” The voice seemed more irate.

        Sakura lifted her head off the desk, a position she thought she had already gotten up from. She looked around confused. Many pairs of eyes were on her, including the teacher’s.

        How embarrassing.

        “Kinomoto-san, what is your answer?” her mathematics teacher demanded once again, her tone displeased.

        “Hoe?”

        At what point did she fall asleep, and—what answer to what question? Suddenly, a quiet voice came from across her. She flicked her attention towards the person. “It’s forty eight kilometres,” Yoshiro offered.

        “Umm… umm… forty eight kilometres?” Sakura repeated.

        “Forty eight kilometres—what?”

        Sakura fretted as the piercing eyes remained on her. She tried to look away, but she couldn’t. “Umm…” she stalled for time.

        “Squared,” Yoshiro whispered to her again.

        “Squared.”

        The teacher moved away without response. Sakura sighed in relief.

        Sakura’s head drooped, her eyes to the ground as she got her skates out of her locker.

        “That was the longest class, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura complained, now placing the skates over her right shoulder.

        Tomoyo smirked. “Are you sure it wasn’t the shortest class?”

        Sakura cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

        “It’s just that I saw you fall asleep in class. You slept through over half the class.”

        “Really?!” Tomoyo nodded as a matter-of-factly. Sakura’s face blushed ever so slightly at the embarrassment. “So, Tomoyo-chan, how did you find maths?”

        “I found it okay.” Tomoyo noticed the stack of text books in her hands which she had previously taken out from her locker. As she extended her hand, she offered: “Here, I’ll help you carry those books, Sakura-chan.”

        “Thanks, Tomoyo-chan! But you don’t have to, I can carry it myself.”

        Tomoyo took them anyway. “No—measurement isn’t too tough of a topic for me,” she continued their previous conversation.

        “That’s so great, Tomoyo-chan. I wish I was like you in maths.”

        After a brief moment of walking in silence, she wondered why Tomoyo was walking down the hall with her. “Didn’t you say you had choir practise?” Sakura thought to ask.

        “Yes Sakura-chan.”

        “Then, shouldn’t you be heading back the other way?”

        “Yeah, but I thought I’d walk you to the gates,” she replied.

        “Tomoyo-chan, you don’t have to. Also, I’d feel especially bad if you were late to your practise.”

        “Don’t worry about that, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied, reassuring her. “It doesn’t start immediately after class. I still have…” She paused to look at her watch. “…fifteen minutes—that’s enough time for me to walk you to the gates and to the music room.”

        “Sometimes, Tomoyo-chan, you’re too thoughtful—not that it’s a bad thing. But I do feel guilty for making you take these unnecessary trips just to accompany me.”

        Tomoyo smiled. Her admiring gaze remained on Sakura as she returned hers to the path ahead of her. Suddenly, the smile which Sakura wore a moment ago, straightened.

        “Sakura-chan, is something the matter?” Tomoyo asked, noticing Sakura’s preoccupied mood.

        “In class: I heard something,” she immediately began.

        “What did you hear?” Already suspecting what it was about.

        “I heard…” Sakura’s eyes moved to the upper right in contemplation as she and Tomoyo got to the end of the hallway. Sakura sat herself down on a couple of steps and began to put on her roller-blades.

        ”I heard a male’s voice. He was chanting something, but no one seemed to have heard it. It sounded so intimidating,” Sakura said, trailing off towards the end.

        “Are you thinking that it has something to do with magic?” Tomoyo asked, waiting for Sakura as she buckled the last straps of her roller-blades.

        “Yeah,” she said, initially uncertain. Sakura then got up and continued in their way. “I didn’t sense anything, but he said: ‘the ancestors which guards the magic’.”

        “I wonder what kind of magic it is: do you think—”

        “It’s not Clow Reed,” she replied, already knowing what Tomoyo was about to suggest. “I don’t even know if it meant anything, but if it does, I really hope I’m prepared.”

        “Sakura-chan, you’re the master of the Sakura Cards! You’re the most powerful magician in the world; you have nothing to worry about!” her best friend complimented.

        She blushed for a short moment then her mood fell into distress again. For some reason, this time, Tomoyo’s words didn’t comfort her as the pair approached the gate.

        “Daidouji-san, Kinomoto-san!” a voice in the distance called.

        The pair turned around to see Yoshiro walking briskly towards them. “Sato-kun,” Sakura responded, turning back to face him—as did Tomoyo.

        “Are you two heading home now?” asked the sandy-coloured hair boy.

        “I am,” Sakura replied.

        “No, I have choir practise. Well, Sakura-chan, Sato-kun, I better head off to it. I’ll see you, both, tomorrow morning,” Tomoyo said as she handed the books back to Sakura.

        “Thanks for walking me, Tomoyo-chan. Bye!! Oh and thanks for carrying my books!!” Sakura shouted to the leaving Tomoyo.

        “See you tomorrow in class, Daidouji-san!” Then Yoshiro turned his attention to Sakura. “So, which way are you heading?”

        She gestured to her left with her right hand. “My house is just a few blocks from here.”

        “I’m going the same way too. If you don’t mind, I’ll walk with you, Kinomoto-san.”

        “Sure,” she said, nodding as they began to walk.

        “Are they heavy?” Yoshiro suddenly asked.

        “Hoe?”

        “Those books—are they heavy?” he said looking at them.

        “Umm… No. Not really...”

        “Are you sure? I can take them until you have to turn off at your street. It must be hard to roller-blade and carry those books at the same time.”

        She shook her head firmly. “No, I’ve learnt to skate and carry things at the same time.”

        “Still, it must be difficult. Really, I don’t mind,” Yoshiro insisted.

        “Umm… okay. Thanks, Sato-kun,” she said. As she handed the books to him, she continued, “I’m sorry about this morning. I was in such a hurry, I wasn’t looking. Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

        Smiling, Yoshiro replied, “Yeah. I’m okay. I was going pretty fast myself, so don’t worry about it.”

        “Oh, I almost forgot, also thanks for helping me in maths class just before. I seriously would have been fretting if you hadn’t told me the answers in class today!”

        He gave a hearty chuckle, “It’s not a problem.” His face then changed to a comical expression. “Is it common for Kinomoto Sakura to fall asleep in classes?” he teased.

        Sakura moved to rub her temple at the embarrassment as a faint red tinted her cheeks, “Not usually—“

        “I suppose maths was dull today,” he interjected, justifying her sleepiness earlier. “I was never too fond of maths; it requires too much careful attention.”

        Sakura couldn’t agree more. “I have this feeling maths is only going to get harder. I hope I can cope with high school maths.”

        “I’m average at maths, but if you feel like you’ve hit a brick wall with a question, just try my help. Maybe, by working together, we can come up with a solution for the problem.”

        Sakura nodded firmly. “Thanks, Sato-kun! That is very kind of you.” Skipping the subject, Sakura moved the direction of conversation to him. “So, what do you like doing? Have you joined any of the school’s extra-curricular activities?”

        “No, I haven’t joined any of the school’s extra-curricular activities.” He paused to think on her first question. “I have a strong interest in Chinese Martial Arts. I’ve actually been doing that for five years.”

        “Really? That’s great! You must be very good at it.”

        Yoshiro chuckled at her understandable ignorance. “No—don’t think I’m that at all. It’ll probably take another five years to master what I’m studying. But I am entering myself into a martial arts competition.”

        “You are?” Sakura asked, pleased for him. “When is the competition?”

        “The final is about three months away. I’ve been training since I heard about it back in April.”

        “Well, tell me when your competition nears; Tomoyo-chan and I will come and cheer you on, okay?”

        “Definitely!” he said with resolution. “Now that I’ve given you a little of insight into me, what about you, Kinomoto-san—what are you into?”

        “Cheerleading mostly...” She paused to think, “I actually like to give everything a go.”

        “That’s great to hear, Kinomoto-san. It’s a good attitude to have. So, is it just cheerleading—no weird hobbies or anything out of the ordinary?” he casually joked, pushing out a couple of chuckles.

        She put a finger to her chin, looking upwards. “Why do you ask?”

        “Just that it makes the person more interesting I suppose.”

        “Well, no—not really,” forgetting to take the Sakura cards and her magic into account.

        They turned a corner. “I’m sure you do,” Yoshiro chuckled again. “You seem like a very interesting person—at least I think you are.”

        Sakura didn’t know what to think of the comment, but it did make her blush. Ever since she met him, Sato-kun was extremely easy to get along with, but at the same time, he was puzzling with his words which made some situations uneasy to pass. This was one of those rare times.

        For a while, she didn’t speak, unsure how to respond. Luckily, her street was up. “Well, it looks like I’m here. I’ll be turning off at this street, Sato-kun.”

        “Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow at school then,” he said as he handed Sakura her text books.

        “Thanks so much for holding onto them for me and walking me home.”

        “Don't mention it,” Yoshiro replied. Sakura smiled.

        As Sakura made her way down the street, towards her house, Yoshiro called out to her, “Hey, Kinomoto-san!” Sakura turned around. “What’s your favourite colour?”

        “What?” she shouted from several metres away.

        “I said: what’s your favourite colour?”

        “Why?”

        “You never know. It might come in handy. What’s with the questions, Kinomoto-san?” he joked. “So what is it?”

        She giggled as she rolled backwards along the path. “Pink and white.” Sakura turned around to skate forward again. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, Sato-kun!”

        “Thanks! See ya,” he said, smiling to himself.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

        “Didn’t I tell you to clean up the mess an hour ago?” Sakura said as she looked to the pile of empty food packets beside him.

        Kero, as usual, was glued to the television set with his game in Sakura’s room. His disproportionate, bear-like head swayed side to side vigorously—as if his motions would enhance his chances of winning—and his hands and feet rapidly punched button to button on his controller.

        Sakura abandoned her books for a moment as she turned to wait for a response.

        He didn’t hear.

        “Kero-chan?” her intonation irritated, knowing that this call would pass him by like the previous. Nonetheless she waited. She waited to see just exactly how long she could sit there until she got angry.

        Back and forth, she contested with herself to stay calm. Few seconds had past and she was really losing the battle. Staring at his insolence was too much to hold back. Feeling all her pent-up anger accumulating inside, Sakura was more than ready to release it. But then she decided against it when she thought of a way which would be more enjoyable.

        Inwardly, she smiled at the scolding he was going to get from her. Slowly, in control, Sakura brought her anger to the tip of her tongue, and left it there for a while to brew. This was going to scare Kero right out of his fur coat, turning him inside then out.

        Just as she was about to release her wrath, she was side tracked by Kero’s airborne body. What was he doing?

        Putting aside her frustration, she was eagerly waiting for his next action.

        Kero lingered in the air for a moment, gearing up for something—so it seemed. She looked at him; she looked at his surroundings. She looked at him again, still clueless to what he was doing.

        Then it clicked. He was heading down. His target: that controller.

        “KERO-CHAN!!”

        Kero’s curled up body remained in the air for a few more moments as Sakura abruptly got out of her chair, trying to get to the controller before Kero’s back-side did. In the nick of time, Sakura flicked the controller from underneath him just as he made his descent.

        He wailed and complained in pain. “Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch,” rubbing his back-side furiously. “Sakura!”

        “What,” she replied, portraying little guilt, arms folded at the front. “It would have hurt more if you had landed on that. At least, this way, you’re landing on something soft,” referring to the rug underneath him.

        From nowhere, Kero stopped rubbing, back now straight, eyes staring at Sakura.

        “What is it, Kero-chan?”

        He blinked his eyes, appearing to be baffled about something. For a few moments, he just sat like that; he didn’t speak a word.

        “Sakura,” Kero finally spoke.

        “What is it?” Sakura asked in extreme concern.

        “When did you come home from school?”

        To that, Sakura’s entire body crashed to the ground at the true level of Kero’s ignorance to his surroundings.

        She huffed as she stood herself back up. “Kero-chan: so what you’re saying is, since I got home from school—which was two hours ago—you have not heard a word I’ve said; you didn’t know that I was even… here?”

        Kero’s eyes rolled from right to left, trying to search for the correct answer that wouldn’t get him in trouble; he knew he was in BIG trouble. Coming up with nothing, he shook his head. “Nope,” he ended at that, deciding that the truth was best.

        Sakura sighed in defeat; there was no use in telling him off. She might as well let him off for this one. “Kero-chan, can you please clean up all your empty snack packets?” she said as she walked back to her study desk.

        Complying to Sakura’s request immediately, he picked up all his mess and put it in the trash, clearing all the bits of crumbs on the floor. Kero then sat down on Sakura’s bed. “Sakura, you might have already told me, but, how was your day?”

        Already in the process of forgiving him, she answered, “School was okay. In science we’re finishing up with the introductory lesson. We’re studying a new topic tomorrow: Plant Life.”

        “Yup…” Kero nodded, paying attention this time, compensating for his actions earlier.

        “Oh I had my final cheerleading trials at lunch time.”

        “How was it—did you get in?”

        Sakura smiled happily. “Yeah, I did! I’m the captain! It was a close one though. There was this other girl who’s in my class—Miyamae… something—she’s very good.”

        “Yeah, but not good enough to be captain,” Kero intoned smugly, siding with her.

        A larger grin displayed across Sakura’s face, giggling afterwards. “But she’ll be vice captain, so she’ll be working with me on the routines.”

        “That’s my Sakura—born to be leader; best at everything!”

        Being the modest person she is, she blushed at the praise. “Kero-chan, don’t say that—not everything.”

        “What are you talking about, Card Captor Sakura, there’s nothing you can’t do!”

        “Ah, there’s ah…“ Sakura dropped her pencil as she fidgeted with her fingers, flexing them against each other. “…maths,” she continued, almost ashamed of the fact.

        “Oh you’ll master that in no time,” he flattered, “Besides, you’ve got that Li kid of yours. Now that he’s your boyfriend, you can boss him around to do your maths homework for ya! With him under your control, you don’t have a thing to worry about.”

        Boyfriend… That sounded nice.

        “Well at least, this time, you used one of Syaoran-kun’s names instead of the usual. But I’m not going to boss him around; that’s mean,” shaking her head as she said it. Also she couldn’t see Syaoran being ordered around by anyone.

        Kero began to take on a fighter’s stance, sparring in the air above her bed, “But if you wanted to—”

        Quickly, Sakura cut him off. “But I don’t want to—“

        Returning the gesture, Kero cut her off, this time, speeding up his speech. “But if you wanted to—“

        “But I don’t,” now facing Kero, decreasing the time between replies.

        “…but if you wanted to, you could.” Kero had beaten Sakura to her interruption. “You’re stronger than him,” he sneakily finished off.

        That last comment was true, she had to admit, but Syaoran was strong too; his magic was unique and it was strong in its own right. He was also someone she cared deeply about.

        “He’s Syaoran,” Sakura replied, trailing off towards the end. She looked down, suddenly troubled by this topic of Syaoran and the distance between them. Catching the Syaoran bear which sat in the background with the corner of her eye, she lifted her head again to stare intently at it. “I never want to hurt him.”

        “I know, I know. You’ve been going on about him, dreaming about the kid, and going all red in the face when you watch Tomoyo’s videos of him—”

        Noticing her sudden downcast of expression, Kero immediately stopped his ranting. He wished he hadn’t said all that.

        Feeling repentance, he opted to change tact as he read her body language. “You… you miss him don’t you, Sakura?”

        She nodded, taking a sigh. Sakura left her books behind to move over to her bed. She gently captured the bear into her hands from the ledge above the headboard then dolefully lay on her bed, holding the bear to her nose and mouth. Sakura took a sniff of its scent, but there wasn’t a scent anymore; it smelt like everything else in her room.

        Disappointment could be seen through her cast as she pulled the bear down to her chest. “He’s been gone for so long…” she said staring at the ceiling. Kero flew to hover above her head to face her. “I want to see him so much, but it feels like I’m never going to get the chance. He’s so far away, Kero-chan.”

        “Sakura…” Kero said, not knowing how to comfort her; he didn’t know the answers to relieve her.

        She closed her eyes. “Not that I demand him to, but he didn’t even remember my birthday. He barely even writes anymore. I’m afraid he’s forgotten about me or left me behind.”

        Kero sat beside her on the pillow as Sakura continued to stare at the ceiling. Kero took a difficult sigh; what he was about to say was neither easy nor was it in his character to.

        “He hasn’t forgotten you.” Kero stopped there, reluctant to carry on. Sakura turned to look at him, searching. “That kid’s annoying, too confident, a brat, and…” Sakura glared at him, wondering which part of this was supposed to help. “But he’s a decent kid—he probably has a reason for not keeping in touch.”

        Sakura’s face lit up, a smile adorned her lips. “Thanks, Kero-chan. You’re right, he must be busy or something.”

        “Yeah, Sakura; so don’t be so gloomy. It doesn’t look good on you,” Kero paused ever so slightly as a darting thought ran through his mind. “Also, don’t you dare tell that brat I said something good about him.”

        Sakura giggled. “Don’t worry—I know how much it would hurt your ego.”

        Her face dropped again, falling into her previous state. “What is it, Sakura?” Kero asked in concern. “Is there something else?”

        She nodded. “I’m worried that something might be happening again—that’s another reason why Syaoran’s been on my mind so much today.”

        “What do you mean by: something might be happening again?”

        “Magic—I heard someone say some sort of incantation in my head while I was asleep in class.”

        “You fell asleep in class?” Kero asked, breaking the seriousness. “Again?”

        She nodded with embarrassment. Sakura sat upright, legs crossed on her bed as she continued. “The thing is, usually I sense something—even in my dreams—but not this time.”

        “Everything’s been okay ever since the capture of the last Clow card, and since then you haven’t used a lot of magic, maybe this was a way of telling you to exercise the magic.”

        Sakura shook her head, unwilling to accept the explanation. “I don’t know, Kero-chan. It’s just a weird feeling I have that something’s not right. A few weeks back, I felt something too—a presence—but I didn’t say anything because I thought it was nothing.”

        “Your sensing abilities are strong so I don’t doubt you for a second... I didn’t sense any magic around the area previously; it could be just some amateur playing with magic,” Kero suggested.

        “He said: bow and arrow, the ancestors which guards the magic, bring forth the force. It was so disturbing, it sounded so strong. I’m just worried,” Sakura said, apprehensive.

        Silence occupied the room as both of them wondered off into their own thoughts about the matter.

        “Sakura,” Sakura’s dad called from downstairs, breaking the silence. “Dinner is ready. Wash your hands and come down to eat.”

        “Okay!” Sakura replied. Dismissing everything else for the time being, she prepared to go downstairs. “Kero-chan, I’ll bring you dessert, okay? Thanks for the talk!”

        Excitedly, Kero nodded. “I can’t wait. Make sure it’s the biggest and most tastiest-looking one!”

        Sakura’s right brow lowered as she exited the room. Sometimes, Kero was so typical in his replies.

        Satisfied and full, Sakura placed her chopsticks on top of her bowl as she finished chewing her last bite of meat. “That was so nice, Dad!” Sakura then washed it down with a glass of water.

        “Are you full?” Sakura’s dad, Fujitaka asked with a smile. “Have some more. A growing girl like you needs more to stay strong and healthy.”

        Sakura shook her head, refusing politely. “I don’t think I could handle anymore.”

        “I suppose that means you won’t want dessert then,” Touya interrupted. “Oh well—more for me!” he finished smugly, not giving Sakura a chance to respond.

        “Umm…” That was a mistake, Sakura thought. She could fit dessert. She sunk back in her chair, defeated by her brother.

        Touya pushed his chair back, getting to his feet. As he prepared to grab his dishes, he addressed his dad. “Are you finished, dad?” gesturing with his eyes.

        Fujitaka nodded. “I’ll help clear the table as well.” He got out of his chair as he reached for the bowls and plates. “Sakura-san: if you help, we’ll get cleaned up faster then we can all have dessert.”

        Happily, she obeyed her father. Kero would definitely be disappointed if she couldn’t get the dessert she promised him. Diligently, she hopped onto her feet to grab the chopsticks off from each bowl and took it to the kitchen, placing it in the sink to be rinsed.

        “Here,” Touya said, throwing her a damp cloth. She caught it. “Make yourself useful and wipe the table with this.”

        Sakura scrunched her face at her brother’s implication, but, nevertheless, obliged, “Hai.”

        “Oh, yes, Touya-kun. Are you sure it’s okay with you and Yukito about tomorrow?” Fujitaka asked Touya from the preparation bench in the kitchen.

        Being the curious person she was, she wondered what her father and Touya was discussing about as she stopped her cleaning to ask, “What are you and Onii-chan doing tomorrow?”

        “It’s none of your business. Kaijuu (Monsters) don’t need to know about these things.”

        With speed, Sakura wiped the table down as quickly as she could before Touya moved out of sight; before he and she moved into her dad’s peripheral vision. She rolled the cloth into a ball and hurled it across the dining area, into the kitchen to have it meet smack bang on her brother’s mouth.

        The dripping wet cloth stuck to his face for the slightest of seconds, giving him another chance to taste this evening’s dinner then it fell to the ground making a whacking sound on contact. Calmly, not letting his disgust show, he spat out the grimy, soggy bits. Not retaliating, Touya went back to rinsing the rest of the dishes.

        “Kinomoto Sakura: did you think I didn’t see that?” her father said teasingly, yet firm. Sakura squirmed underneath her skin. “Treat your brother with respect, Sakura-san.”

        “Hai, otou-san (father),” reluctantly she replied.

        He nodded. Satisfied, he dismissed the incident and continued. “Your brother and Yukito-kun are helping out with some of my archaeology excavations tomorrow.”

        “Oh, I want to help too!” Sakura said, disappointed. Finding and dusting sections of the site wasn’t appealing, but the thought of spending time with her father doing what he was so passionate about made her so happy.

        “Sorry Sakura-san. You’ve got school to go to.” Fujitaka turned to speak to Touya. “Is everything organised with you and Yukito?”

        “Yes.”

        “Good. Let’s have dessert. Touya-kun: leave the dishes for later; Sakura-san: take a seat; I’ll get the cake!”

        “No, I’ll get it, dad,” Sakura insisted, “You can take a seat.”

        “Thank you, Sakura-san.”

        “Cake: yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy,” Sakura said, elated, skipping to the refrigerator. Her father smiled after her.

        She opened the fridge door to take out the strawberry gateau. What a beautifully decorated cake it was. Her father was so good at baking cakes.

        “Sakura, do you need help? I’ll get the plates and forks,” Touya offered.

        Shaking her head whilst heading to the dining table, she declined. “No, no, Onii-chan, I’ll get them too. You go take a seat.”

        “Okay, have it your way, Kaijuu.”

        She grumbled briefly then made her way to the kitchen cabinets for the plates. As she motioned for three plates, something had caught her attention outside the window. She moved to the sink area to gaze out. Sakura gasped.

        Magic…

        In flight was a red arrow. Where did the arrow come from?

        Sakura scanned the vicinity for its origin, but she couldn’t locate the magician. She tried closing her eyes to sense for one, but, once again, to no avail.

        “Sakura: the plates—do you expect us to eat with our hands?” Touya’s voice travelled through her thoughts. She ignored her brother as she continued to watch with curiosity.

        “Sakura-san?” Fujitaka called for her in concern.

        What’s the meaning of this, she thought.

        As a trail of red glow radiated the clear night in the wake of the arrow’s course, eventually coming to its journey’s end, it disembarked onto a lamp post right in front of her house, instilling itself into the concrete just below the lamp. The vibrant red glow which trailed intensified, expanding to surround the lamps it previously passed.

        “Sakura,” Touya called from the table. Sakura didn’t answer again. Finding her behaviour unusual, he decided to walk up to her position. “Why are you staring out the window; what is so interesting out there?”

        “There’s a man under that lamp post!” Sakura finally spoke.

        Perplexed, his head twitched to his right. “What are you getting a—”

        Before Touya could finish his sentence, Sakura was already out of the kitchen and out the door, leaving Touya and her father extremely confused.

        “What could Sakura-san be staring at out the window?” Fujitaka queried as he stood up to approach the kitchen window. Touya shrugged. All either of them saw was the man Sakura was so concerned about casually walking on the footpath.

        Outside her doorsteps, Sakura quickly reached into her neckline for her Key. “Oh Key with the power of the stars: show me your true form. I, Sakura, command you under our contract: Release!”

        Not wasting a second, she promptly called upon a card to come to her aid, “Time!”

        Once Time had taken effect, she breathed a sigh of relief. In front of her, an unsightly event was stopped amidst its tracks. The man who she had seen from her kitchen window was only a few metres from being trampled on by the falling debris of concrete and glass.

        “Sakura,” a voice from above suddenly called to her. “What’s happening? I sensed your magic.”

        She looked up and saw Kero descending towards her location. “Kero-chan—I sensed magic then the top of the lamp post started to detach from the rest of itself.”

        “We should move that man out of the way before he gets hurt.” Sakura nodded firmly.

        Briefly, she thought about how she was going to move the man without him noticing her. Then it came to her, “Kero-chan get back inside. I’m going to call back Time.” He nodded without hesitation.

        As soon as Kero was out of sight, Sakura moved a few metres back from the falling lamp before calling for the card’s return. Time complied as all activity slowly restored itself, including the falling lamp.

        “Watch out!” Sakura called to the man.

        Naturally, the man was compelled to search for the danger, unaware of the limited time he had to get out of the way. Sakura predicted that this would be the man’s reaction. Quickly, she ran to him—running to him as if she had just noticed the situation and pushed him out of harm’s way.

        Both of their bodies skidded harshly along the concrete pavement whilst hearing in the background the shattering sound of glass and concrete meeting ground.

        “Arigatou gozaimasu (Thank you),” the man expressed with gratitude.

        “Daijoubu desu ka (Are you alright)?” The man nodded.

        Few moments later, Sakura heard two more lamps behind her explode. Both, her, and the man shielded one another.

        It was only the briefest of seconds, but there it was again—the aura she sensed a few weeks ago.

        “Young girl, you better get home. It doesn’t look safe out here,” the man advised as he stood up to leave himself. Sakura nodded, but didn’t make her move back into the house.

        Spotting that Sakura was by herself, Kero made his way back to his mistress’ side, “Are you okay?” he enquired.

        “Yeah, I’m fine,” very much absorbed in the origin of the magic as she stayed staring at the aftermath.

        “It looks like you’re right, Sakura. Something is definitely happening again,” Kero voiced his thoughts.

        Not too far from the Kinomoto residence, a figure stood hidden in the shadows behind a tree. Not far from the lamp, but unnoticed by Sakura nor by Kero came the voice. “Her magic is strong…”

To be continued in episode 4: “Sakura and the Class Trip”.