The Serpent King

Prologue

" At least it's not to Antarctica."

Sakura was not sure why she was complaining. Ever since she had naively released the Clow Cards by reading Windy out loud, the girl had her share of hardships and suffering. Tomoyo's unwavering support had helped much during that time, but even so, the non-magical girl could only help so much. Sakura had marched through more mud and grime and general unpleasantness than even her father on one of his expeditions. Economy class on a plane to Hong Kong could not even begin to compare to what she had been through, but perhaps it was the fact that she could do nothing except sit—

" And at least we have this row to ourselves." Yukito pointed out. " Otherwise Kero would have to hide in his bag all the time."

" And boy would that be suffering." Kero agreed whole-heartedly.

Sakura peered out the window and watched as her breath fogged the surface. The clouds spanned below like a giant white landscape.

Tomoyo, who was rich enough to pay for first class, had opted for sitting in economy class with Yukito and Sakura, sitting between the two. Unlike Sakura, she was not complaining.

" You're just upset that we have to go to Hong Kong to recruit the help of Li Syaoran." Tomoyo observed knowingly. " You don't even know the guy. Why do you dislike him so much already?"

" I just don't understand why I can't just handle this on my own." Sakura huffed. " I've handled other stuff on my own. But Eriol-kun insists I need Li-san's help."

" There's nothing wrong with asking for help."

" There is when I have no clue who I'm asking for help." Sakura snapped back.

" Such is life." Said Yukito a little solemnly.

Sakura gave him a look. " I know I know." She said morosely.

Yukito pushed up his glasses. " Well once we are there," The older boy said, " We can try to make it quick. You are the Card Mistress. You have the rights to some respect and deference."

" I hope so." Sakura leaned against the window again.

" I'm hungry." Kero interrupted.

" We don't have any food for you." Sakura said dryly. " Be patient, Kero-chan. Food will come soon. I don't even know what to say." She broke off with a sigh. " ' Konnichiwa, watashi wa Sakura desu. Uh, need your help. Not sure with who or what."

" Maybe he already knows."

" I wish Eriol is more forthcoming with these things." Tomoyo sighed. " Threat to Tomoeda, threat to Sakura-chan. What kind of threat? He can't say yet."

" Maybe he doesn't know yet."

" Seems pretty concerned for someone who's not sure."

" Even offered to join you again." Kero agreed. " I'd say that he knows but he doesn't want to say it over the phone."

" Maybe…" Sakura blinked. " You think magicians wiretap?"

" I don't know." Kero shrugged. " It's kind of been a while. Not to mention I don't pay attention to telephones and stuff."

" I'll say." Sakura mumbled. " Hopefully this Li guy is nice."

" He's the same age as you. At most he'd be an overbearing snob."

" And not be helpful at all."

" You'll be fine." Tomoyo said encouragingly. " It's just dealing with another sorcerer, and considering you've dealt with Hiirigizawa-san, it would be just like dealing with any other person. Except you can cast spells at each other."

" That's sort of what I'm worried about." Sakura turned to Tomoyo. " I don't feel like talking about this. Let's talk about something else."

" Alright." Tomoyo consented.

While the two girls talked, Kero hopped over to Yukito's shoulder.

" Think it's a coincidence, he wants his descendant in on this?"

Yukito hesitated. " Why choose an eleven-year-old though?"

" There must be something about this Li Syaoran." Kero folded his arms. " We both heard him on the phone. He sounded more than urgent."

Yukito nodded. Eriol had called the Kinomotos in the middle of dinner. He had actually told Sakura to put him on speaker so everyone could hear.

" Sakura-san, you are in grave danger."

" What is it, Eriol-kun?"

" I cannot tell you. But you must go to Hong Kong as soon as possible. There is someone you have to find. His name is Li Syaoran; he is the youngest member of the Li clan. You must find him and bring him to Tomoeda."

" Matte—Nani? I don't understand. Why is this Li Syaoran so important? Who is he? Where? What am I supposed to say to him? And what is happening?"

" Sakura-san, there is little I can tell you now. But you must get Li Syaoran. He is your age, he is a kindhearted boy—you should have little difficulty retrieving him. I will tell you more when you get him, but you must trust me, Sakura-san. You must."

" He sounded almost as if he's a little more worried about this Li Syaoran than he is about whatever this threat is." Kero pointed out to Yukito. " I mean, why else would he tell Sakura to retrieve Li? She could just as easily fight off whatever threat if it's really targeting her in Hong Kong."

" We should not speculate until we actually meet this Li Syaoran." Yukito pointed out. " There's a chance that he might have the answers himself, and all this guesswork would only lead us to assume things we shouldn't."

" Sakura is right about one thing. We should have been told more. At least what we're dealing with."

" This ignorance worries me as well." Yukito nodded. " I do not blame her for her bad temper."

" Never assumed you did." Kero replied. " Well, we'll see how it goes."

The two guardians looked over at the two girls.

" We'll see how it goes." Yukito repeated.