CCS-3: Illusions of Love

Prologue:

Author Note:

Finally, for those of you who have been waiting ever so patiently, (and I thank you for that) it is the continuing story of Sakura & Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura following my sequel to the anime, CCS-2.

It'll get better, I promise. This prologue and the first chapter are mostly just setting the scene. I already have Ch. 1 written and am just waiting for it to be proofread before I post it. I will be starting to write Ch. 2 tomorrow.

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura and all original characters of the original story are property of CLAMP. While I have made up and will be making up a few characters for this story, only those characters that I have made up and the idea for this continuation series are my own. Thank you. Please enjoy, and please Review.

"I am going to miss you SO much!" Tomoyo cried on Sakura's shoulder. The two young women were standing by the security gates at Haneda, the Tokyo International Airport.

Sakura held her dearest friend, caressing Tomoyo's back in soothing little strokes. "It's not like we're not going to see each other again. Besides, you'll be leaving for Paris tomorrow," Sakura reminded Tomoyo.

"But we're going to be thousands of miles apart!" Tomoyo wailed in-between sniffles, "How will I get the measurements for your clothes if you're in Hong Kong and I'm in Paris!?" Tomoyo's bawling became louder as she clung onto Sakura, desperate not to let her go. They had been best friends for nearly ten years so it was difficult to imagine that they would soon be so far apart from each other.

"Now, I promised you that I would have my measurements taken regularly and that I would send them to you," Sakura reminded her, gripping onto Tomoyo's shoulders and giving her a gentle push so that she could look Tomoyo in the eyes. Sakura's smile was stunning but today it was even more radiant, for it was meant for Tomoyo.

"Just think, Tomoyo, you'll finally be studying Fashion Design! That's your dream, remember?" Sakura said, continuing to remain cheerful for Tomoyo's sake, "You can visit any time and call whenever you want. Goodbyes aren't forever," she added, reminding her friend of the words and promises they had exchanged last night, discussing then how they would stay in touch. Sakura didn't want to be mean, but she still had her Father to say goodbye to before going through security and to her gate. She loved Tomoyo dearly, but now wasn't the best of times for her to break down.

Tomoyo seemed to sense Sakura's unspoken thoughts, as she always did, and took a step back. She pulled out a handkerchief from her purse and wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm acting like a child," she apologized.

"No! Not at all," Sakura started to say, now feeling guilty for being insensitive. "This is the first time we've gone to separate schools since the third grade," Sakura said, her voice beginning to waver as tears filled her eyes.

"Now, don't you start too!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "We'll see each other again soon! I'll visit over New Years." They embraced again and Tomoyo released her to say goodbye to her Father.

Fujitaka was standing a few feet away observing their interaction. He smiled one of his comforting smiles as Sakura approached him for a hug. She fell into his embrace and he held her for a moment as she cried into his shirt. After he released her, Sakura sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "I promised myself that I wouldn't cry," she whimpered.

Fujitaka ruffled his daughter's short hair. She had recently cut it and it was now in the same style that she had worn as a kid. It suited her better than the long hair she had grown out through high school. "I'm going to miss you, Kiddo," he said, "What am I going to do with myself knowing that both you and your brother have moved out?"

Sakura couldn't help but to smile. "You haven't gotten rid of me, yet," she warned, "I'll be back during vacations, so you better not mess up my room."

Fujitaka grinned and hugged her one last time before shooing her towards the security gate, "You better get going; your flight is already here."

Standing on her tiptoes, Sakura kissed her father's cheek before turning to give Tomoyo one last hug. She gathered her carry-on bag and her purse and made her way to the line. Thankfully, it didn't take long and once she was on the other side, she turned to wave one last time. "Goodbye," she called to her father and to her best friend, "I'll call you when I get there."

Sakura made her way through the terminal towards the gate where the Li's private jet was waiting for her arrival. She found Wei waiting for her there. "Ohayo gozaimasu Sakura-san," he greeted her with a bow.

"Ohayo, Wei-san," Sakura greeted Syaoran's personal butler and trainer.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-san, but Syaoran-sama could not make it here to pick you up," Wei explained as they walked out to board the jet. "He had some unexpected business to tend to this morning, but he promised that he would be waiting for your arrival in Hong Kong," he explained further, referring to the Hong Kong International Airport.

Sakura nodded and offered a smile of understanding. "It's okay," she said, "To be honest, I was expecting something like this to happen."

Syaoran had returned to Hong Kong after their high school graduation in the spring to attend to more formalities. It was now fall. Sakura had stayed in Japan until now to work so that she could pay for some of her own expenses in China. Though the Li clan insisted on paying for her education and that she lived with them, she didn't want to be dependent on them for spending money too. She expected that he would be busy with clan business; he had been ever since he arrived back in Hong Kong. On the occasions that they had been able to talk over the phone he had shared with her some of his moments of training and tests on his martial arts skills as well as some of the aspects required of him to learn before he would be allowed to take over leadership of the clan.

Sakura settled into her plush seat while Wei loaded her carry-on bag into a storage compartment. This wasn't her first time flying in the Li's private Jet. Having been betrothed to Syaoran since their first year of middle school, when Syaoran returned to Japan after she had successfully turned the Clow cards into Sakura cards, she had been to Hong Kong on many various occasions with him.

A commotion coming from the back of the jet, where the storage compartment was, reminded her that Kero had been sleeping in her carry-on bag. Kero came flying at full speed in her direction. "You forgot about me again, didn't you?!" the miniature version of one of her guardian's exclaimed with his arms crossed over his chest, "What if I had suffocated in there?!"

"Gomen ne…" Sakura apologized, raising her hands into a prayer position in front of her face and bowing her head.

Kero continued to glare at her for a moment until Wei appeared from the back of the jet carrying a huge basket full of candies and sweets. "Kero-san, won't you come and make yourself comfortable?" Wei asked, nodding towards a huge plush seat.

Kero's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. The smell of freshly baked goodies soon reached his nose and he drifted over to the seat, where he settled down onto the overstuffed cushion. Wei set the basket of sweets and pastries on the table in front of him and Kero wasted no time diving into it. Now that he had a basket of delicious goodies to distract himself with, all was forgiven. Wei smiled knowingly down the aisle at Sakura, who settled back into her seat with a sigh of relief.

"Yue-san is not coming along?" Wei appeared at her side to ask.

Sakura shook her head to answer that he wasn't. "I have given him permission to stay with Nii-chan as Yukito," she explained. Wei nodded in understanding and left her to her thoughts as he went to ready the aircraft for departure.

Sakura thought back to the night after graduation when Touya and Yukito were still visiting at the house. Yue appeared suddenly at her bedroom door without a sound. There was no telling how long he had been standing there watching as Sakura sorted through her belongings and organized her room. Kero wasn't there; he was still down stairs, finishing off Sakura's graduation cake and the sweets from her graduation party. She jumped and dropped the box that she was carrying when she turned around to find him there. "Y…y…yue? What's wrong? It's not often that you come to see me in this form," Sakura stammered and dropped to the floor in order to pick up the contents of the box that had spilled out.

Because times had been peaceful ever since Kuen-Jie had been defeated, Yue lived with Touya as Yukito. Sakura didn't object to the arrangement. Yukito had told her once before, a long time ago, that Touya was the person that he liked the most, so it didn't come as a surprise when they officially announced their relationship. After replacing her things into the box she stood and took it to her closet, where she placed the box on the top shelf. She then turned to face Yue, who was still being silent, and gave him an inquiring glance.

Sakura was caught by surprise when the usually cool and unapproachable Yue suddenly fell to his knees at her feet. Sakura stared down at him with wide eyes of shock when he grabbed her hands and bent his head over them as if he were praying. "Y…Y…Yue?" Sakura stuttered his name and shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

"Master, I feel torn," Yue told her in a strained voice.

"W…what??" Sakura blurted out in panic, pulling her hands free. With immediacy she began to inspect his body for signs of a wound. "What happened? Where are you hurt?" she exclaimed with a voice full of concern.

Yue stopped her by placing his hands at her hips. "I am not physically hurt, Sakura-san," he told her with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Then, what's wrong?" Sakura asked and blinked in confusion. When his expression shifted from cold and unfeeling to pleading and painful she didn't believe him and nearly began to look for evidence of a wound again.

"I love you as my master. Through the years you have proven yourself again and again as worthy of being my master and as being a powerful magic user," he told her.

Sakura blushed and her knees felt weak. He was looking up at her with a love and devotion that she hadn't ever seen from him before. When her legs nearly gave out she felt him hug around her legs and become her support. It felt for a moment as if her feet weren't even touching the floor, as she realized that she could nearly be sitting on the hold that he had around her legs. To her surprise, her heart leapt and her head suddenly felt dizzy. "Y…Yue… you are overwhelming me…" she spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper as she realized that his powers from the moon were having an effect on her.

Sakura barely felt him move as he set her on the edge of her bed and released his hold. He stayed kneeling in front of her and laid his head in her lap. "I feel torn because, while I love my master very much, I have come to realize and acknowledge another who I love." He turned his head to the side to speak.

Understanding filled her face as she looked down at him. She caressed his face with gentle strokes and ran her fingers through his long white tresses as she spoke what she intended to be words of reassurement, "It is okay, Yue, I do not need you to come with me. I will have Syaoran and Kero by my side if anything happens."

Yue looked up suddenly with a painful expression. "So, my master no longer needs me."

Realizing her wrongly chosen words Sakura took a sharp breath over the misunderstanding. "No, Yue," she spoke with gentleness in her voice. "I just think that Nii-chan needs you more," she explained and was relieved as the gentle look began to return to his eyes. "If anything happens, I can always summon you," she explained. Throughout the years, she had been working to improve her magic and learning how to create new cards. One successful attempt was The Summon, which instantly called her guardians to her side. It was sort of like a teleport, except that it only worked on Kero, Yue, and her cards. Because of the Summon card, as long as it was in her deck, she only needed to call out the name of the card that she needed, and it would appear before her. It saved her time of having to shuffle through the deck for the card that she wanted.

Yue looked up at her with joy and relief. She had to admit that she hadn't ever seen him so happy. Before she could react he pulled her down into his lap to hug her. Again, her head began to spin; she wasn't use to him being around like Kero was and his magic kept having an effect on her.

The sound of the jet jolting into motion brought her back to the present. She stared out of the window and watched the scenery pass by, knowing that soon she would be starting the next stage of her life.