Fortunately enough, the walk from the school to Sakura's house wasn't as awkward as Syaoran thought it was going to be. His cousin and the girl they were supposed to be protecting had a surprising amount in common, and they managed to keep a smooth conversation going, shifting topics easily as they chatted. Syaoran added in every once in a while, though he wasn't exactly the talkative type, finding it hard to keep silent when things seemed to be going so well. However, he knew he couldn't shirk his other duty, and found himself looking around for any more dangerous or unsavory beings that might decide to take prey upon them.

"Thank you very much," Sakura stated softly, and the change in her voice from her previously animated speaking with Meilin was enough to draw Syaoran from his almost mindless scanning of the area around them.

"No problem!" Meilin replied, her voice high and chipper, no different than it was usually.

Syaoran paused for a moment, his mind a moment behind as it tried to wind back up into normal working order so he could reply. "Ah... you're welcome."

Sakura smiled pleasantly at him, and he felt himself returning the smile with something of a smile himself, though it came out almost as a smirk. Sakura turned and walked into the gate at the front of her family's property, and Syaoran stood, watching her carefully the entire time, until she unlatched the front door and stepped inside. Once he was sure she was safe in her house, he looked down to find a pair of ruddy brown eyes staring intently up into his face as his cousin gave him a mild glare.

He felt the heat rise to his cheeks and he averted his gaze, before turning on the ball of his foot and beginning to walk toward his apartment. Meilin said nothing, just jogged to catch up with his long-legged stride and clung to his arm, though this time, he noted, she didn't do so as tightly.

"So, that's the girl we need to protect?" Meilin asked after several long moments of not-quite-uncomfortable silence.

Syaoran nodded quickly, without giving any sort of verbal accompaniment.

Another long moment passed between the two Chinese teenagers before Meilin stopped in her tracks, and from the grip on her arm, nearly took Syaoran down backward as she did so.

He turned to her quickly, frowning with an eyebrow cocked as she let go of his arm.

"Why do you let her call you Syaoran?"

His frown quickly transformed into something infinitely more confused. "What do you mean?"

Meilin sighed this time, shaking her head. She couldn't bear to look him in the eye, he probably didn't realize the implications of letting someone call him by his first name, or if he did, Sakura was distracting him enough that he wasn't thinking about it. "Nevermind. So, I heard from your mother that we're supposed to invite her for some questioning in Hong Kong come this summer break."

Chocolate-brown locks swayed as Syaoran nodded again. "The Elders would like to have a word with her... they want to make sure I've found the correct holder of the Cards."

"Do you think you have?"

"Yes, I do. I've never felt an aura quite like hers before... It's definitely one of a kind. If nothing else - if she doesn't end up being the correct Card Master - she'll be an undertrained but powerful sorceress to have on our side."

Meilin rolled her eyes. "If you say so. It's a pity I didn't get any of those magical abilities, I'd want to test your theory."

Syaoran just cocked a smile at his cousin and held his arm back out. Meilin attached herself to it without another word, and the two finished their walk back to the apartment in silence.

-

Several days followed in much the same fashion. Syaoran was happy to see that his cousin and Sakura were getting along about as well as they could with Meilin's protective sense of jealousy over her cousin slash fiancée, and while there were some awkward times, it was overall going quite well.

Perhaps they'd be able to get the girl to come with them to Hong Kong come summer vacation.

Finally, on a Friday afternoon, just after departing the school and waving goodbye to Tomoyo, Syaoran stopped their little troupe halfway en route to Sakura's house. He turned on the young Japanese woman with a serious expression that bordered on grim.

"We need to talk," he informed her at her curious look. Meilin stepped back from the two a bit: As much as she hated doing it, she knew what Syaoran was going to do, and magic was something she would not and could not interfere with.

"Sure, Syaoran-kun... what's up?" Sakura asked, a bit hesitantly. Even she noticed Meilin's backing off.

"About everything that's been happening as of late," he continued his previous thought as though there hadn't been any sort of pause between the two statements. "I know I told you the bare essentials about it... but let me try to expand on it a bit."

Sakura looked confused, but didn't try to press, instead waiting patiently until Syaoran continued.

"I told you this whole thing is like some sort of... inter-worldly game of chess. Here, we are on the defending side, the black side, if you will. However, I don't think I've told you just how important this is."

Emerald eyes blinked as Sakura tilted her head to the side slightly. "You said before that I was... the King of this. If they got a hold of me, they would win."

Syaoran nodded. "Right, but what I didn't tell you was how we are the last line of defense."

"Hoe?"

A sigh. "This is the pivotal world for our side. If they take this one, the game is over. All of the other chessboards fall apart, and white side wins. There will be no going back after this."

Now she was really confused. The Japanese woman looked from Syaoran to Meilin, who was keeping a carefully calm, neutral face.

"How did it get this bad?"

"Something... something is upsetting the balance. Something both sides have allowed, both sides are trying to use it to their advantage, and so far it's doing no good either way. It caused some of the people on our side to falter... and they took the opportunity to push right into the core... they're bringing the fight right to our doorstep and though everyone's tried, we're all that's left to stop them."

"And without me... they can get right to the... player?"

Syaoran nodded quietly.

"But won't the player be able to do anything?"

"No," and this time it was Meilin who answered. "That is the fate the one who is orchestrating our side has chosen for themselves. When their pieces are gone, they have lost."

It was then the auburn haired girl took a deep breath, looking from her two companions to the strangely empty streets, to the gold-stained blue of the sky above. Finally, she regarded the two others with a slight smile.

"So what do I have to do to help?"

Syaoran sighed, un-tensing as he did so. This was going well so far, he was lucky she was such an agreeable person.

"That's not something we should discuss in such a public space," the young male of the group replied cautiously. Now he was beginning to notice just how vacant the are around them had become. It seemed Meilin picked up on his tension, for she too began to look around suspiciously.

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked quietly, knowing now that something was wrong but unable to put her finger on it. Finally, she stiffened as the familiar, painfully cold feeling slowly spread along her spine.

"... Not again," Syaoran growled under his breath - Sakura was injured! Couldn't they leave her alone until she'd recovered?

"Something's coming?" Meilin asked. She couldn't feel the presence, for the chill was a magical signature, but she could definitely tell there was something wrong... and the more she concentrated on it, the more she realized she had the feeling she was being watched.

Syaoran nodded silently, looking around. Whatever this particular thing was, it was masking its presence fairly well. It was keeping its existence known, but its aura was so spread out Syaoran couldn't fully pinpoint what it's exact location was. The enemy had the element of surprise over them, and that was never a good thing.

Contrary to the two Li's, Sakura's head whipped back and forth as she desperately looked for the source of the chilling presence that had now seeped through her entire body, making her shoulder throb and ache with every beat of her heart. Finally, she paused, narrowing in on where the freezing sensation seemed to get the worst, where it felt it would turn her very blood to ice in her veins. Syaoran took note of it, and slowly turned toward where she was staring off between two nearby houses. Truly enough, the presence seemed to get almost imperceptibly stronger from that direction.

However, none of them would get the chance to fully pinpoint the location, as the magical aura surged and a golden beam of light streaked between Syaoran and Sakura, slamming into the pavement just inches from Meilin's toes and leaving a small crater. Sakura squeaked and stumbled backward, and would have fallen if Meilin hadn't run forward to catch her. Syaoran, on the other hand, turned abruptly and in one huge leap managed to land atop the wall surrounding the house next to them. His sword was drawn in a matter of seconds, and as soon as it had appeared, his magic flared just a bit - a prickle of warmth through the unbearable cold surrounding them, and he leapt from the edge of the wall to the roof of the house, before running across it and closer to whatever was shooting at them.

Meilin, now finished steadying Sakura, grabbed the wounded girl about her unhurt wrist and began dragging her out of the immediate line of fire. Sakura distractedly let herself be pulled and watched as Syaoran ran to the top of the roof of the house he'd jumped on, then made one impressive leaping frontflip from that roof to the one next door, barely avoiding another burst of whatever magic their opponent was using to attack them.

Finally, the two girls rounded a corner, and Sakura lost sight of Syaoran.

"Where are we going?" The Japanese one called, now focusing on the task at hand.

"Away from whatever that thing is! Where do you think we're going?!" Meilin answered harshly. "You're injured, you can't fight -"

They were cut off as another energy blast exploded the street just before them, stopping them both in their tracks. They both looked up toward where the shot had come from, only to find a familiar and yet not figure floating in mid-air not a hundred feet above them. Once again, a warmth trickled through the unbearable cold the creature emitted, and the sky crackled with lightning. The shadowy figure just barely managed to get out of the way before it was hit from one of Syaoran's lightning attacks.

Now that it was once again distracted, the two girls resumed their flight for a safe haven, but it seemed their opponent was terribly good at multitasking as it managed to both ward off Syaoran and keep harrying Sakura and Meilin, before it finally managed to get them all into a position where it could do everything at once.

Syaoran landed with a thunk just behind the two girls: Their opponent landed in front of them noiselessly, with only a flare of its chilly aura to signify any effort needed in doing so.

Now, Sakura gasped. Whatever this thing was... it carried the same gun-like apparatus the last monster they'd fought carried. In fact, it seemed to be dressed almost the same as the last one.

She wanted to groan - was this the same monster they'd fought the last time, only now given the power of flight?

Something warm touched her back, and she stiffened in surprise, using all of her will power not to jump out of her skin and scream. She was aided by the warm, steady pulsing of warmth from the hand on her back, and knew it was Syaoran.

The creature raised its gun-like device, and just like last time, it made a strange, electronic whirring as it powered up, ready to shoot into their group now that they were all in one nice, small area. As it did so, Syaoran raised his sword, ready to recite an incantation to form a barrier around them, to protect everyone.

The gun pulsed, a 'Fuuka shourai!' pierced the air, followed by a sizzling whoosh and the scream of the wind suddenly forced into too-quick motion, and Sakura flinched, watching as the golden shot hit the green barrier of wind, only to veer very slightly off path, just enough that she could feel the heat and disturbance in the air the shot caused raising the hairs on her left forearm.

The wind vortex dissipated, and Sakura felt Syaoran lean into her slightly, his breathing shallow.

"Syaoran, what happened?" Meilin whispered out the corner of her mouth to her cousin.

"This one... much more powerful than the one before..." he grunted. "It... it can cut through magic... dissipate it. Or absorb it. Something."

Sakura felt her pulse pick up at his words, and then even more as the electronic whirring began again, taking all three by surprise. The gun seemed to be gathering power, sucking it inward to form, this time, a dull golden color aura. Syaoran stood up and prepared to defend them again, once again just barely managing to veer the shot off course. This time, just past it, he all but collapsed against Sakura's back, and Meilin had to step over to help support him.

"We need to move... we need to move now!" Meilin cried, her voice high and tight with the beginning signs of panic. She tried to pull on Sakura's good arm, but the Japanese girl didn't move.

The creature began gathering power again, and Syaoran stiffened. He didn't know if he could defend them again. He braced his weight, getting ready to shove both of the girls out of the way before the bullet hit, at least try to spare them getting injured.

He was going to give himself up to save them.

Just as the sound hit its peak, Syaoran ducked low, ready to shove, but something stopped him. Something warm and comforting, and yet at the same time dangerously powerful. It managed to quickly overtake the cold aura permeated by the creature before them, and then spread beyond it. It felt like...

His thoughts were scattered as the creature, suddenly spooked, fired. The shot blazed its golden trail up until but a scant few feet from Sakura... and then it stopped. No, not quite stopped, more like it looked as though it was a bird that had suddenly hit a net, as it rebounded, writhed, twisted in the air just beyond them, before disappearing altogether.

The creature panicked, and began shooting uncharged bursts, all of which met the same fate as the ones before.

"Meilin!" Syaoran yelled. "Meilin go around behind it! Hurry up and make it stop before whatever Sakura's doing stops!"

The young Chinese woman nodded, and carefully slipped behind her cousin and Sakura, before disappearing just around the corner they stood near.

Syaoran closed his eyes as he placed his other hand on Sakura's back, lowering his head. He fed his power into hers, let them mingle, wind about each other like a pair of snakes, or string being braided, as he did so, he tried to use his own power as a guide, gently trying to lead the power in the right direction. As it was, it was just a wild release of power, probably brought about by the magic permeating the area and Sakura's panic.

"Kinomoto!" He called, momentarily forgetting to call her by her first name. "Calm down! Breathe!"

Instead of doing as he asked, he felt her stiffen beneath his touch. "Sakura! Listen to me! Feel what I'm doing... try to go along with it, try to control what you're doing."

Slowly, he felt her respond, felt her power begin to follow his. It took as much concentration as he had to give to keep both his and her power under some sort of control, and he gently tried to guide it toward the opponent.

Finally, there was a break in the frantic gunfire, and he looked up just in time to see his cousin barrel into their antagonist. The figure was thrown off balance, and it tried to get its gun up to point it at Meilin, but she was just that much faster, and had smacked its hand away and landed several severe blows to what should've been its abdomen before anyone could even so much as blink. She ended it with a harsh kick to the midsection that sent it half stumbling, half flying into the wall near it, and she ended with what should've been a drop-kick that turned more into her jumping against its stomach before launching out and into a quick roll as soon as she hit the ground. She had done her part - it hadn't even felt her coming. Now she looked expectantly to her cousin, and had to flinch as she did so.

It hurt to look at them, it hurt in the way it did when dark-adjusted eyes were suddenly subjected to an intense light, though there was no light to be had around either of the other two teenagers.

And then the building pressure in the air was released, all at once, in a torrential flood that Meilin, despite not being magically inclined could feel, almost scalding hot across her skin. She threw her arms up to shield herself, though she knew it would do little good, and watched as the shadowed figure twisted, distorted, melted before her very eyes until there was literally nothing left of it, nothing to show that it had ever existed in this or any other world.

The Chinese girl felt a shudder rattle her body, and she quietly walked toward her cousin. Sakura was obviously unconscious in Syaoran's arms, but her cousin looked none the worse for wear. In fact, his amber eyes almost glowed in the evening light, and the air around him held the sort of pressure Meilin had come to associate with a very strong magical aura, though she couldn't feel the magic otherwise.

"Xiao Lang..." Meilin murmured, too stunned to speak in anything but her native Chinese. Syaoran looked at her, his face carefully neutral. "... I believe you, now."

-

A/N: Hiya. Read and or review and I will love you foreva and eva. And I will crank out a new chapter! ... Not in five months! ... Probably!