Saudações! (Another Brazilian greeting, though this one is not really something we use in informal situations.)

A/N: I'm really sorry that I took so long. You guys are great and I'm terrible. Thanks for all the nice reviews and support with college and stuff. Hopefully this year my studies will pay off.

This chapter gave me a hard time again. All in all I deleted more than half of the content after writing it. Some of it I had to rewrite, some of it I just dumped out, and some was moved to the next chapter. But I'm here now and I guess the final result was rather good. But that's up to you.

Disclaimer: I wonder if anybody even reads these things. I mean... am I just wasting my effort to make dozens of jokes that no one reads? Man... That's sad. Hey! I know! If you're reading this, put the word "Chewbacca" somewhere in your review. Then I'll know that my efforts at making you not really laugh that much haven't been a waste.

The plot thickens: Start of the season so not much to say. Just to get you back where I stopped. Last chapter showed a brief glimpse of Kaho. We saw her teaching a young girl at an elementary school how to use magic. The Kinomoto's attended dinner at the Daidouji's and Syaoran felt awkward being himself for the first time in front of Sakura. He had a dream with the dinner and lot's of insightful questions were made to him. In the end of the dream Sakura appeared saying he was the one she loved most. Syaoran then woke up to find Sakura still there by his side.

Oh! I still don't own CCS by the way.

"Character Talking"

Character Thinking

(Me Talking)

All the life on the planet is based on a magical energy called 'Mana'. The Sun and the Moon provide this mana to every corner of the planet. Those who learn to manipulate the mana are called magicians. A long time ago, Clow Reed mastered the use of both Sun and Moon mana and created his masterpiece in the use of these types of magic, the Clow Cards. Half of them used the mana from the sun and half from the Moon. Now, after accidentally setting those cards on the loose, Kinomoto Sakura must help Li Syaoran, a descendant of Clow, and Kerberos, the guardian of the cards, to capture the cards which, not having Clow to provide them with mana anymore, are going on a rampage after the magical energy they need to live.

Card Captor Sakura

Chapter 10: Sakura in the Dream

Part 2: The Mysterious Sakura

Tsukimine shrine.

The cherry tree stood with its ever present majesty at the center of the shrine, enticing yet another person with it's magic.

"It's very pretty isn't it?" Kaho asked her young pupil as the two of them contemplated the tree.

The little girl nodded. She couldn't take her eyes off the wooden piece of life in front of her. Not only was it a beautiful sight, but is also felt warm and comforting. "It's so full of mana, it's almost as if it ruled over everything around her."

Kaho crouched beside the girl so they were face to face. "You're right. In a way, this tree acts to the living things around her like the sun and the moon act on the earth. It shares it's life with everything in this shrine. Including you and me."

The girl's mouth widened. "Hoe? That's amazing."

The teacher nodded to her. "It's a very kind tree isn't it?" She put her hand against the trunk. "When I touch it I can feel all the mana flowing to me and to the living things around here, but you noticed that just by looking at it."

The girl blushed. "I didn't." She said between a shy laugh. "I just thought it looked that way."

"Don't be afraid to accept merits." Kaho said gently. "Your sixth sense is strong, that's how you knew I was going to teach you magic before we even met."

The girl grinned. "That's because you were in my dream. That's how I found you."

"And in that dream..." Kaho took the girl's hand in hers and looked at the girl in the eye with a deep stare. "You saved me, right?"

The girl nodded. "Right, so that's what I'm going to do." Her eyes were shining with confidence. "I'm going to save you."

Kaho giggled at the girl's excitement. "Do you know what you'll save me from?"

The girl's smile became a bit held back. She blushed and looked down. "Not really..." Immediately regaining her composure she raised a fist in a determined pose. "But I know how I'm going to do it, so it's all going to be alright."

Syaoran was still trying to process the information his senses kept sending, but no matter how many times he checked, there was no mistake. Sakura was really there holding him and he wasn't just dreaming it.

"Syaoran-kun." She mumbled again, burying her face in his chest. Syaoran blushed beyond pink and red. He was used to Mei Ling hugging him in that way, but that was Sakura. Even if the spell was gone, even if there had never been any spell, he'd still have that same reaction. And she was calling him by his first name to top it all.

Despite an initial panic, he soon stabilized enough to notice that Sakura was asleep. That was a good thing, he imagined. He was afraid that moving too much might wake Sakura, but also, he wasn't sure if he should stay like that much longer.

If I could just remember what happened last night. His memory went back to the dinner at Tomoyo's mansion. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall anything unusual. He had returned home with Wei and... That was it. He had gone to sleep before anything could happen, and Sakura was certainly not beside him when he did so.

How did this happen? He looked down at Sakura. Her face was peaceful and smiling softly. The first few sun rays reflected against her enhancing the surreal effect in Syaoran's head. For a moment he didn't do anything but watch her. That soon changed however when he heard a door opening somewhere in the apartment. Wei's up already!

He was starting to panic again. It was Sunday so Wei wouldn't try to wake him so soon, but he still felt as if in imminent danger. He wasn't even sure what kind of danger, but that only made him more anxious. Something was wrong and there would be consequences. That's what he thought.

Maybe if she wakes up I could ask her. He wondered. The idea of waking her up was a little nerve racking too, but given the situation, he didn't see any other alternative.

The first obvious step was making sure he wasn't so entangled with Sakura when she woke up. For all he knew, she could be as surprised as he was at the weird situation.

After carefully escaping Sakura's grip and sliding out of his bed he prepared himself to face her. With red still tinging his face, he leaned close to her ear. "K-kinomoto-san." He whispered, making sure Wei wouldn't listen. "Wake up."

Sakura's eyelids slowly parted, revealing her green eyes. Syaoran immediately jerked away from her. "Hoe?" Her eye's carefully scanned the space around her. She seemed surprised to be there too, which was a relief to Syaoran. She sat up on the bed and blinked a few times, adjusting to the light.

It was then that Syaoran noticed that she was wearing her school uniform. That made no sense since they didn't have any classes that day. Then again, the whole scenario wasn't making any sense.

After yawning and rubbing the sand out of her eyes, Sakura finally noticed Syaoran. "Syaoran-kun? What's going on?" Syaoran sighed. She was still calling him that. Something was not right.

"You mean... you don't know either?" Syaoran asked cautiously.

Sakura shook her head. Whatever it was that had brought her there, she didn't know too. "I don't remember much about what happened, tee hee." She said, sticking her tongue out and rubbing the back of her head. "But at least I'm here with you, right, Syaoran-kun?"

Syaoran blushed. "I... uh..." He looked away. Damn, I thought I was done with this after the spell! "Y-you... You're calling me Syaoran-kun..."

The girl seemed confused. "Hoe? Is something wrong?"

Syaoran jumped alarmed at his possible rudeness. "No, no, no!" He quickly said, waving his hands in front of him. "There's nothing wrong with it. It's..." He couldn't finish his sentence, Sakura had jumped out of the bed and was once again hanging on him as if she was Mei Ling. "K-Kinomoto-san?"

Sakura looked at him and giggled. "You're funny Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran tried to break free, but he found out Sakura could be just as persistent as his cousin in her hugs. "What's going on Kinomoto..." Once again Syaoran was cut midway through his sentence, this time however it wasn't by Sakura.

The open door to his room revealed a very surprised Wei. "Syaoran-sama, Kinomoto-san, what's..." The old man paused and inspected the two for a few seconds. Syaoran and Sakura didn't move a muscle. Syaoran couldn't move out of nervousness, but judging from Sakura's cat like smile, she was just staying still because she was enjoying herself. Wei finally spoke up. "Ah... I see." Was all he said.

Syaoran finally gathered the nerve to move. He force himself free from Sakura who seemed disappointed at that. "Wei, I can explain! It's not what it looks like."

Wei chuckled. "Don't worry, I've already figured it out." He said, much to Syaoran's surprise.

"You did?" Syaoran asked, blinking in surprise.

"Of course." Wei pointed to Sakura, who seemed a bit embarrassed about it compared to how she was acting a few seconds before. "Kinomoto-san is wearing her school uniform, that is already odd." He pointed out. Syaoran already knew that, so he figured there was more to Wei's conclusion. Wei's hand moved down to Sakura's leg. "But most important of all, she's not wearing a cast around her leg."

Syaoran's eyes widened. He looked at Sakura and confirmed that Wei was right. Her leg seemed perfectly fine. Sakura herself didn't seem so fine on the other hand. "What's going on, Syaoran-kun?" She asked, changing from uncomfortable to scared.

Wei nodded as if confirming his deduction. "Her behavior doesn't match too. This girl is not the real Kinomoto-san."

Syaoran nodded, he had already reached that conclusion too by now and it had been a great relief to him. For a second I thought I was back to having my mind messed up. The girl seemed bothered by Wei's statement. "What... what are you saying?"

Wei was ignoring her and Syaoran was trying to do so too, but her nervousness seemed to be getting to him. He couldn't help but look at her through the corner of his eye. "If she's not Kinomoto-san..." Wei started. "It's very unlikely that a girl who looked just like her would just pop up here, so that means..."

Syaoran was doing his best to remain serious, but the mysterious Sakura was now holding his hand and staring pleadingly at him. "What's he saying Syaoran-kun? I'm really Sakura."

Syaoran sighed. Even though I hate to admit it, the puppet master is probably one to keep his word, so this can't be his doing. So she can only be a Clow card. The boy disentangled his hand from hers, causing her to look desolate. Syaoran tried to reason with himself not to feel guilty, but Sakura's scared eyes were too much for him. "Cut it out. The act's up. Wei saw through you." He said frowning at her and at himself for feeling so sorry for her. I can't believe I let it toy with me like that.

Wei stepped forward. "That's right, I understand now." Sakura and Syaoran looked up at the man expecting him to explain. "You're a magical copy of Kinomoto-san created by Syaoran-sama so he could practice overcome his shyness around Kinomoto-san."

Syaoran face faulted. "That's not it at all!"

Sakura frowned.

Since she had finally understood and solved the confusion regarding Syaoran's aura and the spell, she had been sleeping better than she'd ever slept since meeting the boy. Even the pain in her leg, which was slowly receding, wasn't enough to bother her.

Of course, that wasn't the sole reason for her comfort. In the past few days she had grown a lot. For the first time she felt she was really a magician on her own merit. Though it'd been a painful experience to face her own fears, the results showed. She no longer feared fighting the cards by herself. In fact, she even felt a new desire that a new card showed up so she could fight it. She was excited to prove herself again and again.

Looking back to her prophetic dream, she could understand a little better why she felt so safe with Syaoran protecting her. It wasn't the same feeling she'd experienced in the past month when, even if it was because of a spell, Syaoran had saved her from an ill fate many times. The feeling in her dream was much more solid. It was real trust. She felt safe just like she did around her brother. It had pleased her when she figured that this new way of seeing her dream meant Syaoran would eventually become a great friend of hers.

Despite the troubles that were still to come and the mysteries left unsolved, Sakura felt determined to capture the cards. For the first time she felt it was something she was really doing for herself, not for others.

Those had been Sakura's thoughts at Saturday night after the dinner at Tomoyo's house. Though they were true to her heart, she didn't predict that the next time her determination would be needed would be right in the middle of her sleep. For this reason, she didn't want to know why Kero's incessant poking of her face was keeping her from her dreams. She just wanted him to stop, so she frowned.

"Sakura!" The guardian kept calling her. She wondered if he'd stop if she ignored him for long enough. It wasn't very nice of her, she thought, but nothing should stand between her and her sleep. "Wake up!"

Eventually she realized that Kero was much more determined than her on that matter and ignoring him would only result in the little beast using more extreme methods to wake her up like he'd done quite a few times in the past. Therefore, it was only out hope that she'd be able to go back to sleep after talking to Kero that she gave in.

She opened her eyes, not intending to see anything. Her vision was still impaired from just waking up, but she had to show Kero that she was awake. "What is it?" She asked with a sleepy voice while rubbing her eyes.

Kero had a serious expression on. "I felt the presence of a Clow card!"

I should have seen it coming. Sakura mumble something incomprehensible and buried her head in the pillow. "Why at a Sunday morning?" Her muffled voice came through the pillow, clearly very annoyed. Why am I so sleepy anyway? Indeed, the amount of focus it took her just to keep her eyes open was unlike anything she'd ever felt.

Kero tried his best to show a little compassion for the girl. "I know you've been having a hard time giving mana to all those new cards the brat gave you, but we can't let a card roam free." He tried to reason with the girl, but she seemed set on staying in her bed.

Oh, right. That's why I feel like this. "I don't want to go." Sakura cried, pouting like a little kid.

The guardian wasn't pleased at the girl's persistence. "The card won't wait until you're up to go after it."

"I can't fight a card." Sakura said, pulling her cover over her head. "My leg's broken." She said trying to use reasoning too.

Kero sighed. "I know that. It's true that you shouldn't be chasing cards around when your leg's like that, but we can't stay a whole month without capturing them. They'll get more violent each day." Kero pulled the cover upwards, exposing Sakura again. "So you'll have to get up. What other choice do we have?"

Sakura quickly pulled the covers back to herself. "Li-kun." She said, turning to lie on her side so she was facing the direction opposite to where Kero's impatient stares kept coming.

"I can't rely on the brat." Kero complained. "He's not half the magician you are, he's not the master of the cards and he's not my master!"

Sakura turned to face Kero again. The guardian recognized a tinge of emotion in her eyes. "Kero-chan..." She seemed to be touched by Kero's high regard of her.

Kero smiled gently. "You're the only one who can do this Sakura."

Sakura smiled back at him. "Thanks Kero-chan. You're really cool." She said. After exchanging meaningful looks with the beast for a couple of seconds she turned her back to him again. "But I still won't go." She stubbornly concluded. "Li-kun's great, he'll get the card."

Kero started to turn red from anger. "You're just being lazy." Sakura didn't respond at all. Finally the guardian turned his back to her. "Fine, I'll go after the card by myself!" He shouted before flying out of the window.

It didn't take long for Sakura to fall asleep again, but in the little time she retained consciousness, she felt guilty for letting Kero go on his own. It wasn't like her at all to do that sort of thing, but her bed felt just too good that day. I'll make a cake just for him latter. Was the last thing she thought before going back to her dreams.

"I told you, I really love you Syaoran-kun!" The mysterious Sakura cried loudly, her eyes tearing up. Syaoran's face got redder every time the girl repeated those words. "I can't be a Clow card." She said in a weak voice between sobs.

The three of them were seating on the couches in Syaoran's living room. Syaoran was sitting across from her while Wei sat beside her trying to comfort the girl. "Syaoran-sama, I think she really believes this." Wei said, giving the girl his most sympathetic smile. "Maybe she's telling the truth. Maybe she doesn't know how she got here."

Syaoran shook his head viciously. "That's impossible. She's not the real Sakura, so she must be a card. If that's the case, she's here to drain my mana." He pointed at the defenseless girl. "Stop that act right now!" He couldn't avoid thinking that the Sakura in front of him was somehow related to his strange dream. It was almost as if she'd jumped out directly out of it.

The girl burst into tears. "I-I'm sorry... I really don't know what's happening." She buried her face on Wei's shoulder. The man stared at Syaoran reprehensibly. The boy was speechless. I feel like I'm on the wrong side here, but it can't be. She can't be Kinomoto-san.

"M-maybe she believes what she's saying..." Syaoran said awkwardly. "But that doesn't mean it's the truth."

Wei sighed. "Syaoran-sama, you experienced someone playing with your own feelings. Is it so absurd to think that this might really be Kinomoto-san?"

"Yes." Syaoran was convinced that the girl wasn't Sakura. He couldn't explain why to Wei or even to himself, but even if he didn't consider her leg or changed personality, he was sure it was a Clow card. She had to have something to do with his dream after all. "This just can't be Kinomoto Sakura." He took out his sword. Talisman and summoned it to it's true form. "And I'll prove it right now!" Sakura let out a cry that sounded like a scared dog.

"Syaoran-sama!" Wei raised his arms in front of Sakura. "What are you doing?"

"I'll capture her." Syaoran answered coldly. The fastest way to get rid of the awkward situation and find out what was the origin of that Sakura was to bring her back to her card form. "It won't hurt." He said raising his sword. He was determined to do it fast before he lost the momentum. He had to find out how she was related to his dream.

The girl seemed panicky. Syaoran figured that was confirmation that she was a card. She was afraid to get caught now.

"Return to the guise you're meant to be in, Clow card!"

Syaoran pointed his sword at the frightened girl, but nothing happened. The magic circle that had appeared under his feet vanished, but Sakura was still there looking like a cornered animal. Neither of them didn't made a sound.

Up until that moment Syaoran had been trying to convince himself that the girl in front of him could only be a Clow card because the alternative possibility was just too absurd. Being that way he didn't even think of the consequences that it could bring. She's a real flesh and bone Kinomoto Sakura who claims she's in love with me. Reality hit him pretty hard. He couldn't think straight for a few seconds. That's why he didn't even notice as Kero flew into his room.

"Hey brat, sorry to bother you so early but... Ah!" He froze in midair. It was only then that the three people looked at him. "What's going on here?"

Wei looked around and noticed no one had what it took to grasp the situation properly. After a sigh he stood up and patted Sakura's head with a smile on. "Don't worry Kinomoto-san, I'm sure we'll sort this all out." He turned to Kero. "Kerberos-sama, why don't you make yourself comfortable while I fetch something in the kitchen. We can explain everything over breakfast."

And with that Syaoran finally realized that time was still moving and he had a serious problem in his hands that wouldn't just solve itself. If she's not a Clow card, than what is she?

A/N: Done. To tell you the truth, I'm still not one hundred percent satisfied with this chapter, but I changed so much stuff about it, I figure I'll soon loose track of what I deleted and what I kept in the chapter. The main stuff is in there, and even if a few things I wanted to add are missing, I can fill those in in the next chapter.

I'm sorry if you found some errors like words missing in a sentence or something. I finish this right on the deadline so I didn't have time to check for this stuff. So, if you found them, let me know. Thanks.

I'll now leave you to ponder on the nature of this mysterious version of Sakura... and to review (Chewbacca!).

Bye.