Sakura was having so much fun spending time with Syaoran. It was nice that the two them could finally share a nice chat alone. After dinner was done, Sakura watch Sayoran take the plates back in the kitchen. She just pour herself another cup of a tea and waited for his return. She then heard him asking her to close her eyes. She closed her eyes at once! She knew it had to be some kind of surprise! When he told her that she could open them, she was in shock to see a birthday cake sitting in front of her. He then wished her a happy birthday and tears filled her eyes. Sakura thought that her birthday present from him was returning back from Japan. But to make her a nice dinner and cake? She felt so lucky!! She got up from her seat and hugged him like Meling. They both fell to the floor and she wouldn't let go. 

"Thank you so much," she whispered. "You didn't have to do this!"

Syaoran watched as tears filled her eyes, and for a split second he wondered if he'd gotten something wrong before the sudden hug and fall to the floor confirmed that she was just really happy.  His heart raced as she thanked him, and he guessed his face was a few shades redder than a tomato.  He laid there a moment as she thanked him before returning the hug while trying to calm his still racing heart. He could stay like this forever, despite his nerves.

Her words surprised him.  Of course he had to do something for her birthday.  He would feel terrible letting it pass without so much as a gift.  "I wanted to," he said as neither made a move to stand. "Besides, it wouldn't feel right not to give you something."

Sakura sat up and she shook her head as she wiped her tears. "You coming back was the best gift you have ever gotten me." She smiled at him and then clapped her hands. "Let's eat the cake now!" They got up from the floor and sat back down at the table. Syaoran cut the cake and they enjoyed they dessert as they chatted some more.

After they were done eating cake, they kept on talking and had more tea. Their conversation was interrupted when the clock on the wall chime. Sakura looked at it and saw it was 9 o clock. She looked sad  because it was getting late. It had to be a school night. She stood up from the table. "I better get going. I didn't realize how late it was." She walked over to the couch and grabbed her purse. Before she could leave Syaoran offered to walk her home. She accepted his offer happily. She was hoping he would.

The couple left the apartment and headed toward Sakura's house. They held hands the whole way and continued their chat. Dinner really helped break the ice between them.  When they got to her house, the couple stopped right in front of the front door. Sakura was about to hug him goodnight, but she realized this would be a prefect moment to have their first kiss. She moved closer to him and as her lips were about to touch his, the front gate opened up.

"Why are you standing around like a moron?" spoke a voice. "Monster..."

Sakura froze and turned to see Toya standing there with a smirk on his face. She gave him a death glare. "I am not a monster!!"

"Of course you are," he replied and walked past them and opened the front door. He then turned to look back at her. "Only monsters stand around like a moron."

Sakura made an angry noise and tried to kick his leg, but he closed the door on her. Her foot hit the door and she bit down on her lip so she wouldn't cry out in pain. Sakura then remember Syaoran was standing there. She quickly turned around and had innocent look on her face. She laughed sheepishly. Like with Yukito she didn't want Sayoran to see her fights with her brother. 

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" she asked him trying to pretend nothing happened.

They stopped at Sakura's front door, and Syaoran wasn't sure if he should make a move when Sakura began to get closer.  His heart pounded as he leaned in as well, so very close to their first kiss when Toya's voice sounded behind them.  He glared at Toya at the same time as Sakura, though she had already turned to face her brother.  Syaoran had no delusions of ever being friends with Toya, but the constant interruptions were getting old really fast.  

Syaoran watched as she kicked at him in anger, hitting the door and tensing in pain (though he couldn't see her face).  He didn't blame her.  The way her foot hit the door was pretty bad form.  He would have to teach her the proper way to kick so things like doors wouldn't be a problem.  

He was pulled from his thoughts when she turned back to him.  "Yeah.  I'll see you tomorrow," he said with a smile, watching her go inside before heading home.

The rest of the week flew by fast. It was finally Friday. Sakura got up for school and had breakfast with her father. As she was making her lunch she looked over at the family's calender whiteboard. Toya would be working tonight and her father would leaving for his site trip after his classes. She was happy that they would be gone seeing how Tomoyo was giving her gift tonight. It probably had something to do with her magic seeing how she wanted Yue to be there. 

After she was done making her lunch, she wished her father a good trip and headed to school. She enjoyed a nice peaceful walk to school. It was nice spring day which put her in a good mood. She started to hum as she approached her school's entrance. She stopped in front of gate to wait for Syaoran. As she stood there she watched other students arrive. She continued humming her tune until two boys from class B stopped to talk to her.

Syaoran headed to school after his usual morning routine of doing some type training to appease his mother before eating breakfast and grabbing his stuff.  He yawned as he walked down the street.  Years of waking up early for training was really getting old.  Maybe he could sneak a day of sleeping in on the weekend.  He doubted Wei would care.

The walk to school was as uneventful as always and he made it to school early as usual, looking to the gates where Sakura would probably be waiting.  And she was waiting there.. with two boys he had never met.  He narrowed his eyes, noticing their not so subtle flirtations, though Sakura seemed oblivious. 

Syaoran tensely approached while giving the boys a small warning look before turning to Sakura.  "Good morning," he said, sounding as normal as possible.  Sakura never noticed his jealously of Eriol when they were kids, but he didn't want to give her a bad impression now that they were older.

When Syaoran approached Sakura, the two boys noticed his small warning look. They both realized that he was this girl's boyfriend. They backed off and left at once. Sakura watched them leave in confusion before turning to Syaoran. She then turned to faced him and wished him a good morning as well. They both walked into the school building together and greeted Tomoyo at the shoe lockers as usual. Once they changed into their school shoes, the three of them headed to their homeroom. When they got there, they took their seats and chatted among themselves until school started. 

The school day was going by pretty quickly. Before they knew it was lunch time. Today Sakura wanted to have lunch with Tomoyo and the girls. So Sayoran went to have lunch Yamazki and the other guys from their elementary class. The girls sat outside under a cherry blossom tree enjoying the nice spring day. As they were eating Sakura noticed the two boys from earlier. She waved at them, but they ignored her. She was puzzled by this and Tomoyo noticed the look on her face.

"Something the matter?" she asked her friend.

Sakura nodded. "Those boys. I talked to them earlier today. They were really nice so I thought I should wave at them, but they ignored me..."

Tomoyo giggled. She saw what happened when Sakura was talking to them. "The little wolf must protect his flower."

Sakura just looked at her friend in confusion. "Little wolf?"

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Tomoyo then patted her friend on the back. Sakura just nodded her head slowly. She wished her friend wasn't so vague at times. 

Pretty soon the bell rang and everyone was returning to the school building. As Sakura was walking with her friends she felt a strange presence. She stopped and looked around. Sakura then noticed a girl with long brown hair. The presence was coming from her. She was giving Sakura a cold stare with a smirk on her face. Then she was gone in a blink of an eye. Sakura could no longer feel the presence. She just stood there wondering what she just happened.

Clare stared at Sakura from across the courtyard, watching the entire lunch period.  So this was the new master of her brother's cards.  She didn't seem like much, her magic far weaker than what Clare had expected.  In fact, it baffled Clare that both Sakura and the boy that was probably descended from her mother's clan would neglect to hide their auras at all.  Such inexperience and lack of skill. 

The students began filtering back into the building, and Clare watched as the group of boys entered first.  She smiled and reached out with her magic, uncloaking her presence to test Sakura's magical awareness.  

Their eyes met and Clare smirked.  This girl would be easy to take down.  Then the cards and their guardians would be at Clare's mercy.  She disappeared before Sakura could so much as react.

Sakura stood there a little bit longer until another girl bumped into her. She quickly apologized to the girl and ran off back to her homeroom. She caught up with Tomoyo and the girls in the stairwell. They didn't even notice that she was gone. Sakura made it back to class and saw Syaoran sitting in his seat. She wondered if he felt that strong presence and if he saw that girl. Sakura sat down in her seat and turned to face him. She was about to question him, but the classroom door opened up and the history teacher came into the room. He started their lesson right away. Sakura just frowned and turned to face the teacher. She'll just have to ask him after school.

As their history teacher lecture today's lesson Sakura started to dose off. The warmth of the sun from the windows made her sleepy. Also it didn't help that today's lesson on ancient Egypt was boring. Because of her dad Sakura found history fascinating, but the teacher's dull voice made it sound less thrilling. She felt her eyes dropping and before she knew it she fell asleep.

Sakura found herself standing alone in a hallway. She then heard a loud voice coming from the end of the hallway. She ran down it and found a door cracked opened. She pushed it opened and saw a blue hair teenage boy standing before a high table that seated eleven people. Sakura stood there and decided to listen to their conversation. 


"How could you even consider this!" the boy spoke in a loud voice. You can tell he was trying not raise his voice too high.


A man stood up from his chair and narrowed his eyes and spoke, " We may have made a deal with Clow, but he did not tell us that the citizens of Tomoeda would be aware of the magical activity!"


"But most people had their memories wiped after a card was caught," the boy replied defensively.


The man just snorted. "The key word is most. Then you came along made things worse just so Miss Kinomoto could change the cards under her magic."


Sakura let out a gasped. Could this boy be...?


"I made sure people weren't around," the boy continued.


"Oh? If I remember correctly I had to wiped memories from people who saw a giant stuff bear attacking a house. Then there was that rain storm that was only effecting Tomoeda."


The boy was quiet.  


Sakura bit her lip. 


"And don't get me started on the Void Card."


"Enough," spoke another voice. Sakura looked toward the voice. It was coming from a tall thin man who was sitting in the middle of the table.  He looked older and had no hair expect for a long silver bread. He looked like he came out of an old Chinese karate movie.  The other man bowed and took his seat quietly.


 "Apollo," the boy spoke to the thin man. "You must be against all of this."


Apollo stroke his bread and replied, "I'm not quite sure where I stand on this. While I do agree with you that it's not Miss Kinomoto fault, but she has caused trouble to the non magic world."


A woman who was sitting next Apollo let out a laugh and spoke," Which is why I purpose we put the girl on trial. " Sakura looked at the woman and then let out another gasp. The woman looked exactly liked the girl from the school's courtyard!


"I'm sorry about this," Apollo spoke to the boy. "But I agree with Clare. We need to question Miss Kinotomo. I will inform you all when the trial will take place. Eriol, I trust that you will defend Miss Kinotomo and bring her here."


Sakura's eyes widen then everything went black. She was now alone with the boy. He turned to face her and he was indeed Eriol.


"I'm sorry, Sakura," he spoke softly. "I will see you soon." He then began to fade way.


"Eriol!!!" Sakura shouted at him. She tried to go toward him, but everything went pitch black.

"Kinomoto!!!!" spoke a loud voice.

Sakura eyes opened up and she found herself back in her classroom. She sat up and saw her teacher staring at her from the chalkboard. 

"I know it's been a tough week since it's the first week back, but please try stay awake. You have the weekend to catch up on your sleep."


"Sorry," Sakura replied. The teacher then went back to his lesson. She let out a sigh and looked out the window. Something was going to happened. Eriol must have contacted her through her dream to warn her. Who were those people? Who was that woman? Why was she being put on trial? What did Clow and the cards had to do with all this? Her mind buzzing with these questions. She looked back at the chalkboard. She wondered if she should tell Syaoran about this dream. It would definitely ruin tonight's plans.....

Eriol released a breath he hadn't known he was holding as he opened his eyes and the dream ended.  He wished he could do more to warn Sakura before taking her in front of the council, but there would be no time.  He let his staff recede into its smaller form, saying nothing to those around him.

"Do you think she'll understand what you've shown her?" Kaho asked, her eyes filled with concern for her former student.

Eriol frowned and shook his head.  "I would like to believe so, but she's still missing knowledge of the magical world.  She doesn't have the context to figure it out." Not to mention Sakura could be slow to figure some things out...

"So, you're really going to take her there?" Spinel asked, looking up from the muted game he was playing.  It was still a strange sight despite the strange competition forced onto him by Keroberos years ago.

"I don't have a choice in the matter...  Clare almost has fifty percent of the council's vote.  The best I can do now is convince the others not to take her side."  The question was, what was the best way to teleport her here.  It would have to be when she was alone.

Through out the rest  of the school day Sakura's mind was on her dream. She was trying to figure out who those people were and why they wanted to put her on trial. Sakura had a feeling it had something to do with her card catching days, but what was the big deal? Another thing that was on her mind was should she tell her guardians and Syaoran about this? She was worried that the three of them would make such a big deal about this. Sakura on the other hand wasn't that worried. Eriol was going to defend her so that meant everything would be alright, right? 

When the school bell rang, Sakura jumped up from her seat. She grabbed her bag and turned to face Tomoyo. "The party is tonight at 7, right?"

Her best friend replied, "Yes and tell Kero that I'm bringing over my strawberry tart."

"Awesome!" Sakura answered trying to sound like her cheerful self. "Well I need to stop at the store to get some stuff for our dinner. I hope you guys like pizza." 

"Sounds wonderful."

"Excellent! See you two later then," Sakura answered looking both back at both her boyfriend and best friend. She then left the classroom at once.  When she was in the hallway, she nearly ran to shoe locker. She quickly changed into her everyday shoes and left the school yard. She wanted to get out their quickly because she was worried that her boyfriend might bring up that presence from earlier today. She would then have to tell him the truth because it was such a powerful presence. Then she would have to bring up the dream! That woman was apart of it. 

She made it to the store and bought all of the things she needed for tonight's party. When she got home, she found Kero sitting on the kitchen table accompanied with Hope. Since her dad was gone for the weekend both of them were able to roam the house freely. She greeted them and started to the put groceries away.

"How was school, master?" Hope asked her cheerfully and floated into the kitchen. 

"It was good," Sakura lied.

"I am excited for night," Hope spoke cheerfully. "Cerberus said I'm able to attend."

Sakura just smiled at her. She was happy that Hope was enjoying her new life. 

Kero flew into the kitchen and sat down on the table. "So what are we having at the party tonight?"

"Pizza and a strawberry tart," Sakura replied. "I'm making the pizza homemade and Tomoyo is bring the tart."

"Yay!!" Kero leaped up for joy.

"But before I begin to cook, Kero we need to clean up the house a bit before everyone comes over. Can you please help me?"

"Of course!"

"Great. We'll get started once I put everything away. Oh, did you ask Yue to come over?"

"Yes! He'll be here when everyone else arrives."

"Good."

After Sakura put the groceries away, Sakura and Kero started to clean up the house. Hope hang around them keeping them company as they cleaned. Once they were done, Sakura started to make the dough for the pizzas. When the mixture was done, Sakura put a warm towel over the bowl to allow the dough to raise. She then went upstairs to her room, to get out of her school uniform. As she was getting dressed she thought about her dream today and the woman. She really hoped Syaoran didn't bring up that presence. Tomoyo really wanted to make tonight special...

Syaoran opened his mouth to say something, but she was already gone.  It was almost like she was avoiding him.  Maybe she did sense that presence...  He sighed and turned to Tomoyo.  "I'm going to go too.  I need to study some things before tonight."  And by study, he meant one of the many magic history books that his mother had assigned him before his trip.

Tomoyo nodded, her eyes traveling to where Sakura had rushed out the door.  He didn't doubt she'd noticed something odd about her behavior.  Tomoyo knew Sakura better than he did, after all.  "Alright.  I'll see you at the party."

They separated after grabbing their shoes from the lockers, and Syaoran quickly headed home.  He really wanted to hear what Sakura knew about that presence, but a half day of thinking about it had convinced him not to bring it up at the party. Sakura obviously had a reason not to talk about it, and forcing her to tell him when they were supposed to be celebrating her birthday would be mean.  He would just have to ask her about it tomorrow.

Around seven everyone arrived for the party. The pizzas were ready and everyone dug in. They chatted among themselves while Kero sneaked a few extra pieces of pizza. Sakura was happy that Syaroan didn't ask her about that presence. Tomoyo then brought out the dessert and they sung Sakura happy birthday which caused her to turn a bright shade of pink. Once they finished their desserts, they moved into the living room for Tomoyo to give Sakura her gift. Sakura took her seat on between Tomoyo and Syaoran. Tomoyo pulled out a wrapped box out of a bag and handed it to Sakura.

"I'm sorry it took so long to make, but I had to make sure it was prefect," she spoke with a smile. She then got out her camera. "Now, open it."

Sakura just smiled at her friend and unwrapped the box. She opened the lid and saw a pink and white robe? She took it out and hold it up. The robes looked similar to Clow Reed's robes expect they were pink and white with a yellow star on the back. She looked at her friend with confusion.

"It's wonderful Tomoyo," she spoke with a smile. " Is this one of your costumes?"

Her friend just shook her head. "Kero, why don't you explain the gift to her. Seeing how you were the one who suggested it."

The guardian beast just nodded his head and floated over to his master. " They're ceremonial robes."

"Like Sayoran's?" Sakura asked him.

"Yes, but these are special. A person receive this kind of robes when they master their magic. The kid's robes are for those who are in training. You haven't master your magic yet, but I felt like you should have it made in advance. You're close to it." Kero then smiled at her.

"Oh," Sakura spoke. 

"Sakura, please go try them on," Tomoyo spoke up with excitement. 

"In front of everyone!?" Sakura questioned her friend.

"Of course!! That's why I wanted everyone here! They need to see it!"

Sakura blushed and got up from the couch. She went upstairs to her room to go try it on. When she got the robes on, Sakura just looked at herself in her mirror. The robes fit her quite well. She smiled at herself than frowned. Was she really that close to mastering her magic? She didn't feel like it. She barely used her magic on a regular basis. She just shook her head and told herself to cheer up. Sakura then return to the living room. The moment she entered the room Tomoyo jumped up from the couch.

"Sakura, you look so beautiful!!" She then rushed over to her friend with her camera in hand. 

Sakura smiled nervously at the camera and was blushing a deep shade of red. She couldn't look at the others in embarrassment.

Syaoran watched quietly as Tomoyo sat beside Sakura and offered the gift.  His eyes widened as she opened the box to reveal a pink and white robe that was just as well crafted as one that might be passed down in some of the oldest magical families.  Tomoyo had outdone herself, no doubt guided by the guardian beast's instructions.  

His thoughts were confirmed as Kero began his explanation.  He bit his lip when the guardian mentioned that fact he was still using robes for training.  There was no way the guardian was referring to the his current robes, seeing as he had not worn them around the others once since he got to Japan, but that didn't change the fact he was currently still in training.  His mother would decide when he had mastered his magic, and her expectations were higher than Mt. Everest.

Syaoran focused on Sakura's presence as she stood.  She had definitely gotten more powerful since they were kids.  He couldn't say much for her skills considering the last time he saw her use magic was when she sealed the Void and transformed it to Hope.  Still, Kero would know better than anyone when his master was close to full mastery of her powers.

His thoughts shifted as soon as she returned.  The robes fit wonderfully and the shade of pink complemented her eyes perfectly.  "You really do look beautiful," he murmured when he noticed her focusing at the camera and blushing.

"You look amazing, Sakura!" Kero boasted and laughed in pride when he saw his master in her robe. He then looked at Yue and he just nodded his head in approval.

Hope flew in front of Kero. "Master, you look so cute! I wish I could give you a big hug!"

Sakura turned a deep shade of red and looked down at the ground. She just mumbled thank you and turned around and headed back upstairs to take the robe off. Once she got in her bed room, she pulled the robe off and folded it neatly back into the box it came in. She placed the lid back on and put it on a shelf in her closet. Sakura then put her clothes from earlier back on and went back down stairs.

Shortly after, everyone left leaving Sakura and Kero to clean up the mess in the kitchen. As Sakura washed the dishes she thought about the robe. Part of her felt like she didn't deserved such a gift. She rarely used her magic these days...

"Sakura," spoke a voice.

"Hoee?" Sakura replied and looked up saw it was Kero.

"You okay?" He asked her in a concern voice. "You're quiet."

"Kero,.." Sakura trailed off. "Do you really think I'll master my magic?"

"Of course!" Kero cheered and gave her the thumbs up. " You are great sorceress!! I knew you would be the moment I made you a Cardcaptor!"

Sakura gave her guardian a small smile and thought back to the day they met. 

"Speaking of that," Kero spoke. "I think today is our anniversary!!"

Sakura glanced over at the calender that was by fridge. She met Kero a week after her 10th birthday which was today. 

"You're right," She spoke and looked back at her guardian. " Six years ago."

Kero then patted her on the head. "Your magic has grown since that day. You will be able to master it. Trust me. I had Tomoyo made that robe because I knew one day you would need it. You have no connection to magical world besides the kid. Plus Tomoyo wasn't sure what to make you this year. So need to worry about it! If takes you six more years to master magic then so be it!"

"Thank you," Sakura spoke. "I'll do my best!"

The two of them then continued to clean up the kitchen. Once everything was clean, they went back up to Sakura's room and went straight to bed. For the rest of the weekend Sakura stayed at home. It rain all day on Saturday and Sunday so there wasn't much to do. She did her homework and played video games with Kero. She forgotten about her dream and that strange girl.

On Monday Sakura woke up late due to her alarm going off at the wrong time. She jumped out bed and didn't understand what happened to her alarm clock. Sakura always made sure her clock was set to right time when she needed to get up early. She dashed around her room getting ready. After getting her school uniform on, Sakura pulled out her top desk drawer. She grabbed her magical book and opened it up. Sakura then grabbed her deck of cards and shoved them into her school bag. She will need to use of of the cards to make to school on time. 

Sakura then left her room and ran downstairs. She skipped breakfast and decided to buy lunch from the cafeteria today. She wished her father got home from the site last night. He wouldn't have gotten her up. Sakura put her shoes on and rushed out the door. She ran down the pathway and saw that nobody was around. Sakura pulled her magical key out from under her shirt. She transformed it and she then came to stop. She pulled out the cards out from her bag. Sakura went through them quickly and before she could pick one, a giant hole appear below her. She then fell through the hole.

She quickly went through her cards and grabbed one. "Break my fall!" She threw the card up into the air and pointed her wand at it. "FLOAT!!" A pink balloon with wings appeared below her and she landed on top of it. The Float card then took her to bottom of the hole. Once at the bottom, Sakura got off the balloon and the Float card return to its card. She glanced around and noticed it was the hallway from her dreams. 

Sakura remained still and had no idea what to do. Should she go find the court room or stay put? Before she could figure out what to do, she felt something touch her shoulder. She screamed and jumped back. Sakura then slowly looked behind her and saw it was Eriol. 

"Eriol!" Sakura exclaimed and twirled around to face him. "Don't scare me like that!"

Eriol smiled as she landed in the hallway facing away from him.  He could announce his presence with a greeting, or...  He smirked, walking up behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder.  Needless to say, he got the desired effect as she jumped before looking back and then facing him.

"Sorry, Sakura.  I couldn't resist." He said, a mischievous smile on his face.  Dire situation aside, it was still fun to mess with Sakura.  Then again, he didn't have much time to talk to her before the trial.  His smile turned serious.

"I'm sorry for bringing you here on such short notice.  I hope the dreams I sent you have at least clued you in on what's going on, but here's a quick explanation before the trial begins.  You're standing in he headquarters of the Magic Council.  The Council governs the magic world and ensures magic stays a secret from non-magic people.  

Clow Reed was offered the job as a Council member multiple times, always turning down the position.  However, he made a deal with them before he died.  He wanted them to excuse the the next master of the cards for releasing them into the world before sealing them.  In exchange, his reincarnation would join the Council's ranks.  Unfortunately, my fellow Council members have decided that deal no longer applies.  So, you're here for unleashing powerful magic on the non-magical world.  Also, apparently for flooding Hong Kong, which wasn't really your fault."

Sakura had so many questions she wanted to ask Eriol, but she knew that they would have to wait. She just nodded her head to show him that she understood. The two then proceed down the hall way and stopped in front of the door that was at the end. Eriol opened the door for her and she walked in. 

Inside was the very court room from her dreams. In front of her was the bench where the eleven council members sat. Currently it was empty. She then noticed instead of just a chair in front of the  bench like in her dreams there was a table and two chairs. Sakura figured that her and Eriol would be sitting there during the trial. Sakura made her wand disappear and she walked forward to the table. She grabbed one of the chairs and sat down in it. Eriol joined her at the table, but didn't sit down.

A few minutes past and the council members enter the room from a side door. They each took their spot, but didn't sit quite yet. The bald man then entered the room. Eriol motion Sakura to stand and she obeyed. Everyone then took a seat when the man sat down.

"Alright the trial of Sakura Kinotomo begins," spoke the bald man and then looked at Sakura. " You have been charge with exposing the magical world to non magic users. He turned to look at Eriol. "You may give your defense."

Eriol cleared his throat as he gathered his thoughts.  He had thought long and hard about his defense, but he was still worried.  Clare had a near majority before the trial even started, and taking out Clow's deal with the Council gave him a very flimsy argument indeed.  It wasn't as if he could dispute Sakura's actions. It was no secret she released the cards and had to capture them.

"Thank you, your honor," he said with a calm smile.

"Gentlemen and women of the Council, while I cannot argue that these events happened, I will argue that my client cannot rightfully be charged for her actions.

First, I would like to look at my client's background.  Sakura Kinomoto had no experience with magic other than her brother's ability to see ghosts until the age of 10 when she stumbled upon the Clow Cards.  Sakura only found the cards while investigating strange noises in her basement.  While many people with no knowledge of the magical world would question a glowing book and self-unlocking latch, children are more curious.  There is no way Sakura could have understood the consequences of uttering Windy's name when she had no idea magical cards existed in the first place."

Clare scoffed, "You mean to tell me you're going to argue ignorance?  Ignorance of the law means nothing.  Children are expected to learn control."

Eriol shook his head.  "Control is expected of children from magical families.  It's rare that children outside of magical families are born with magical power, but it is possible.  There is no way those children can learn how to use their powers without guidance, and Sakura did not have that kind of guidance.  I did not find any records while researching my defense where a child was charged for the crime of accidental use of their powers even when that use resulted in exposing magic."

Clare shook her head, "There has never been a case of accidental magic of this magnitude.  People could have died or realized the magical world exists.  Not to mention the Void almost erased an entire city."

Eriol sighed in exasperation.  Clare had always stuck with her beliefs.  Arguing with her was useless, especially when she was the one that wanted Sakura punished.  "Technically, the Void was released by the destruction of Clow's house which broke the seal on her.  However, I would like to continue with my defense.  My next argument is closely related to my first. For a crime to be committed, there needs to be intent.  Sakura, not knowing about the magical world at the time, had no intention of releasing a deck of magic cards.  It would be different if someone who knew the cards' power released them to wreak havoc, but that was not the case here.  Furthermore, once Sakura knew about magic she did not willingly expose he secret to others which proves my earlier statement that she did not intend to commit a crime."

"And what was her intent when she returned to that sorceress's lair in Hong Kong?  The sorceress only found the will to escape after learning of Clow's death.  Had Miss Kinomoto stayed away from the sorceress the first time, a large area of Hong Kong would not have been flooded," Clare interjected.

"The sorceress captured Sakura's family and friends!  There is no way she would have left them to die, and I would like to think you would understand that despite your feelings towards Clow."

Clare's eyes narrowed, "It's my understanding the heir to the Li Clan was also captured, and that Miss Kinomoto was in contact with Li, Yelan.  I find it unlikely the Li Clan wouldn't take action to defeat the sorceress themselves rather than letting a child challenge her. Unless, of course, they didn't want him back.  From what I've seen he's rather weak compared to previous heirs. Not to mention Miss Kinomoto's defeat would have been beneficial to the Li Clan."

"Your baseless accusations are out of the scope of this trial.  Sakura cannot be held accountable for the events in Hong Kong.  Her fight with the sorceress was in self-defense, and the sorceress would continue to attack her if she had left Hong Kong without defeating her. The sorceress was the one that caused the flooding, not Sakura."

Clare shrugged, "The sorceress escaped her prison because of Miss Kinomoto.  Everything she did outside of that dimension was your client's responsibility."

"I have never heard such a flawed argument.  You're grasping at straws because of your resentment towards Clow and his creations!" Eriol yelled.  He was slowly losing sight of his argument, and he knew it.  He needed to get back on track...

"My relationship with Clow is not what's on trial here.  Why don't you focus more on your defense and less on the past," Clare hissed.

Eriol was quiet for a moment, trying to recollect his thoughts.  She was right, as much as he hated to admit it.  He needed to get back on track.  But where was he...?  Clare's tangent with Hong Kong had derailed his train of thought.  The smug look on her face proved that was her intention.  He bit his lip, falling back on Clow's deal.  He needed to conclude his defense, and that was the only thing he could think of.

"I would like to conclude with the terms of your deal with Clow which should have prevented this entire trial from happening.  Clow promised the Council at the time that his reincarnation would join the Council if they excused the actions of the next master of the cards.  Clow foresaw what would happen when Sakura discovered the book.  He meant for everything involving the Clow Cards, including their release and capture, to be forgiven.  Clow kept his end of the deal, and the Council should honor theirs."

He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow before looking Apollo in the eyes. "This concludes my defense," he said, trying to look and sound more confident than he felt.  Clare got to me... I blew it, he thought, sitting in the chair and waiting for the Council's verdict.

Sakura remained silent during Eriol's defense. She bit her lip when Clare brought up her trip to Hong Kong. She was upset by the way she talked about Syaoran and his family. She just looked down at her hands. Sakura never understood why people said Syaoran was weak. He always helped her during her card capturing days and was very smart. Plus he was ten years old at the time! Did magical families expect great things from their children? Sakura then looked back up when Eriol mentioned something about Clare's relationship with Clow? She wondered about their relationship. Sakura would have to ask Eriol about that after trial. 

After Eriol gave his defense, Apollo cleared his throat. "Thank you, Eriol. The council will now take a vote for Miss Kinomoto's verdict. Eriol, because you are defending her you cannot vote. The majority will be six since there are eleven of us. Now everyone, please write your decision on the paper that's in front of you and pass it to me." So council and Apollo wrote down their verdict on the piece. Once everyone handed in their papers to Apollo, he counted them. "The council has decided that Miss Kinomoto is guilty for her crimes."

Sakura eyes widen. She couldn't believe this. She was just a child back then! None of this was her fault! She held back tears.

"Since I am the leader of the council," Apollo continued. "I will decided your fate. Miss Kinomotto, you will be doing community service." Some of the council members let out a gasp. Clare looked upset. "You will be sealing Evil Spirits."

"Evil Spirits?" Sakura spoke up trying to hide the fear in her voice. She did not like the sound of these spirits. 

"Yes. Evil Spirits were once human souls who remained on earth for too long. They weren't able to move to on to the afterlife. They take beast like appearances and reek havoc on the living world. It will be your job to capture them by sealing them into a physical object. Once they are sealed, they will be sent to me and I shall get rid of them. Sadly there is no way of turning them back into a human soul." Apollo then clapped his hand and a giant map appeared above the bench. There were glowing dots on Sakura's hometown. "There are 20 spirits in your town. You have a year to seal them away. They only come out at night." He snapped his fingers and in front of Sakura appeared 20 blank cards and a bracelet with a red gem on it. "The bracelet will alert you when a spirit is active. It will glow when it senses a spirit and will flash like crazy when you are approaching one. As for cards I thought since you are use to cards, you could use these blank cards to seal the spirits."

Sakura looked down at the bracelet and the blank cards. She was feeling uneasy about all of this. Sakura just nodded her head to show she understood her punishment. It was not like her to argue back.

"Eriol, can fill you in about these spirits, but he cannot help you capture them. Oh! I almost forgot. If you don't capture the spirits within the year you will be sent to jail for your crimes. The trial is over you may all leave." With that Apollo got up and left the court room at once. 

Sakura felt her heart dropped. The idea of going to jail for not completing her community service scared her. Seeing how this is a magical government that meant this would be a magical jail. She had no idea what their idea of jail would be. Hell she didn't understand how the council worked either! She wanted to understand everything about this world and the council. She then turned to Eriol. "Please tell me everything about this world. For some reason Kero and Yue failed to tell about how this world works." She then looked around and saw that the other council members were gone. "Also please tell about that woman named Clare. Last Friday I think she spied on me at school. I saw this girl who looked like her. And what was her relationship with Clow?"

Eriol's heart sank at Apollo's words.  Sealing evil spirits?  Some of the world's most seasoned sorcerers and sorceresses had died trying to capture those creatures, and there was no telling how strong the spirits in Tomoeda were...  But he said nothing, unable to speak against Apollo.  Unlike the non-magical world, there was only one court and zero chance to appeal in the magical world.

He looked to Sakura and noticed her unease.  If only he could have convinced the non-biased members of the Council to vote against Clare and her group...

His attention snapped back when he heard his name, and he paled when Apollo turned back to Sakura and mentioned jail. The magical world's jail was harsh, with a permanent removal of one's magical powers.  Only the worse offenders went there.  It was no place for someone who accidentally released a deck of magic cards as a child.  Had Apollo lost his mind?

He nodded when Sakura turned to him and asked him to teach her.  He wasn't surprised Kero would forget to tell her about the magic world.  The guardian beast was quick to forget important details and only offer information when the situation called for it.  However, Eriol would have expected Yue to be a little more helpful, even if he had to work around Yukito being the dominant form.

He was a little thrown off by her question about Clare and the fact that Clare had appeared at her school.  What did Clare gain by spying right before the trial?  He sighed and shook his head.  "Come with me.  We'll talk in my office."

He led her to his office and motioned to the chair in front of his desk.  Old books, some looking ancient, lined the shelves around the office, while his desk looked well organized with a small stack of papers on the side next to the wall.  The only thing missing from the office was a computer.  The magic world was still all to happy to use paper and pen; though some of the Council still used quills and ink.

He shut the door, uttering a spell to both lock the door and prevent anyone from listening in.  He then moved to his chair and sat down.  "I guess I should start with your question.  Clare is the only surviving member of the Reed family.  She is Clow's older sister and has mastery over moon-based magic. She trained with the Li Clan, in fact.  Though, it was long before anyone in the current generations was born."

Sakura took the seat in from Eriol's desk. He glanced around and was amazed by all the books. She then thought about how her dad would probably would love to read some these books. Sakura heard Eriol closed the door and watched him take his seat behind his desk. He then answer her question about Clare.

"Clow had a sister?" she replied in shocked. "Kero never mentioned anything about a sister before.." She then thought back to the trial. By the sound of things it didn't seem like Clare got along with Clow. "What happened between them? She seems like she hates him and does she have anything to do with this trail? I feel like she's after me..."

Eriol nodded.  He wasn't expecting Sakura to be so perceptive given her inability to realize he was messing with them back when she was transforming the cards.

"Clare and Clow had a complicated relationship.  Clare mostly saw Clow as a rival both for their parents' attention and for magical power.  Clow really cared for Clare and wanted to be closer to her.  They were on good terms for a while after Clare mastered her magic, but that ultimately ended when they presented their magic to the Council

Clare presented her magic in hopes of being offered the open seat at the time, while Clow presented his magic because he was expected to do so. Unfortunately, Clow's presentation of the Clow Cards and his guardians was more than enough to overshadow Clare. Not many sorcerers have the ability to develop a new branch of magic, after all.  

The Council offered Clow the seat instead.  Clow declined.  He was never really interested in governing the magical world, but the Council left the seat open in case he changed his mind; effectively shutting Clare out of the position. I'm sure you can imagine that Clare was upset.  

She blamed Clow for her failure and started going after him.  She attacked him many times, but Clow always evaded her attacks and continued on his way.  He didn't want to fight her, so he traveled instead, settling in Japan when he was certain she wouldn't follow him there.  Clow was unable to make peace with her before he died, and she still hates him to this day.

I believe Clare is taking her resentment towards Clow out on you. You became master of the Clow Cards and used your own type of magic to transform them into your own creations, and you did this within a year or two.  She's threatened by your magic and would rather get rid of you, Keroberos and Yue, and the Sakura Cards as quickly as possible."

"But I'm not Clow!" Sakura spoke up after Eriol was done answering her question. She then looked toward a book shelf. Why would Clare feel threatened by her? Sakura felt that her magic wasn't good enough. Yeah she changed the cards under her magic, but that was it. Sakura couldn't do things like Eriol or Syaoran. She felt they were better than her. She then looked back at Eriol. "I'll be okay as long as I capture these spirits, right? Also what is the jail that Apollo mentioned liked?"

Eriol sighed, "I know you're not Clow, but the fact he chose you as his successor to the cards is probably enough for Clare to dislike you.  Plus, I have no doubt you would have mastered your magic before now if you were born into a magic family.

Anyway, yes you'll be fine if you capture the spirits, but..." He was quiet for a moment as he organized his thoughts.  He was not fond of the topic at hand.  He sighed again, tapping a finger on his desk in an involuntary show of nervousness.  He couldn't sugar coat the situation.  Pretending everything would be fine could get her killed.

"You really need to be careful working with these spirits.  Some of them are on par with the Clow Cards while others can be very powerful and deadly.  The older the spirit is, the more powerful it becomes.  There are ancient spirits still walking the earth that have killed numerous fully trained, master sorcerers, and there is no way to tell how old the ones in Tomoeda are until you encounter them.

As for the jail Apollo mentioned, there are two parts to magic prison.  The first is imprisonment, just like normal prison.  There would also be some mental manipulation involved since those around you wouldn't know what was going on, and you'd probably end up being reported as missing.  The Council doesn't want that, as it would bring unnecessary attention.  

The second part is worse.  The Council removes the prisoner's connection to the magical world by removing their magic.  For most people, the shame of losing their magic is punishment enough, but for you... it would leave the cards without a master and cut off their supply of magic."

Sakura felt her stomach dropped when, Eroil mentioned that some spirits may be deadly. Would she able to handle something like that? How could there be something more dangerous than the cards? There were several cards that almost cost not only her life, but the others around her. She took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. Hopefully the spirits in Tomeda won't be that dangerous. Sakura then gasped in horror when Eriol told her about magic prison. The idea of her love ones not knowing where she was and the cards....

The cards meant everything to Sakura because of them she able to meet Kero, Yukito, Yue and Syaoran. The idea of them losing their supply of magic still scared Sakura. She took another deep breath. She was trying so hard to be brave right now. She didn't want to make Eriol worry about her. He had enough on his plate. 

"Then I'll just have to work hard," Sakura spoke trying to smile at the situation. "I'm sure I'll be alright." Not even her invincible spell could cheer her up. She then stood up from her seat. "I need to get going. School is probably starting..." She walked over to the door and placed her hand on the door knob. She then froze something occur to her. Sakura then turned to face Eriol. "I don't know how to get back...Where are we anyway?"