Note: If you're obsessive about the reality of background then please read this first before pointing out I've bent the truth a tad. For starters, I have manipulated the school system a little to suit my needs here so that it resembles that of the English educational system a tad more; and the curriculum is mostly just made up on the spot so that I can bring more of my knowledge to bare (some of it, such as the history course, will reflect my own personal interest and knowledge a fair bit).

Nicholas Cray will become a main character in this fanfiction; but by no means will he be the most prominent. I intend for him to be more of a supporting character, rather like Tomoyo or Kero but with more influence. More than before he will be reflecting me, his physical description is a step towards my own physique and I'm trying to capture the best of my own nature in this vessel more than usual.

In any case, enjoy!

Prologue

Tomoeda. A town in Japan like any other, except for the fact that, unbeknown to the rest of the world, the most powerful sorcerer in the world lived there. Kinomoto Sakura is in her freshman year at Tomoeda High School, aged 16.

Sakura lives alone with her father now. Her elder brother is away at university after completing his gap year abroad, in Europe; and her mother died when she was three years old. For most people this might warrant pity or special consideration for their loss; but Sakura takes it in her stride and remains cheerful, looking on the bright side at all times.

Our story begins as Sakura walks to school. It is the fourth week of the Autumn semester, the first period in the school year. Sakura approaches a t-junction where there are three paths. The one she walks from, with the path in front continuing on towards the elementary and high schools which are next to each other. The last road is to her right, with a path on the left side of the junction leading to the large park.

Waiting for her is Li Shaoran, Sakura's boyfriend and fellow sorcerer.

Shaoran looked up as Sakura approached him and smiled a good morning to her. He pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning on and waited for her to cross the road, looking left and right quickly as she did so.

They embraced, a routine for the morning but the flare of emotion was still there, just settled into a more domestic affection. The two drew apart and walked on to school.

"Did you get that presentation done?" Shaoran asked Sakura. The class had been asked to create a presentation using notes they had taken in class on a topic of their choosing. Shaoran and Sakura shared most of their classes: P.E, music and history. Shaoran had chosen maths as his fourth choice while Sakura had chosen chemistry. The presentation in question was for their history lesson.

"Somehow. It took all night; there were a lot of books I had to read to get it all. High school is so much work." Sakura grumbled, although in reality she didn't mind too much, she was enjoying doing the subjects she loved the most and the free time she had.

"It'll be worth it in the end. We'll get to do what we want to." Shaoran encouraged her, knowing full well she didn't need it; but speaking about their future was always a good topic for the two. Sakura immediately brightened at the thought of her dream coming true.

"That's right! I can become a nurse or a doctor and help everyone get better!" She smiled at that thought and Shaoran, infected by her dreamy happiness, couldn't stop himself smiling too.

"You got yours done too, right?" Sakura asked and Shaoran nodded.

"Our group was lucky; we were given the topic which we'd been learning about so I didn't have to do so much research."

They turned into the school gates, chatting away like the merry couple they were.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naoko's voice made the two stop in mid-conversation.

"Naoko-chan, good morning!" Sakura greeted their old school friend with a smile and a wave as they waited for her.

"Did you hear? Apparently there's a new boy in our class from overseas!" Naoko blurted out the new gossip.

"Really? How do you know?" Sakura asked, equally enthralled now. The coming of a foreign student to school children was the equivalent of a celebrity pregnancy to the paparazzi.

"Chiharu-chan overheard the teachers talking about it. He's going to be in our class!"

The two girls talked away as Chiharu, Rika and Yamazaki joined the trio with good mornings. The girls chatted away amongst themselves, speculating about their new classmate.

"I heard he's from England." Yamazaki commented to Shaoran.

"Oh? Do you think he knows Hiiragizawa?" Shaoran asked in a vaguely interested tone.

"We can ask him, I guess. He's going to be introduced to us in homeroom." At the mention of that Shaoran checked his watch.

"I think we should get going or we'll be late." He said, loudly enough so that the girls could hear him. At last they continued on their way to the classroom where the entire class had already heard the rumour and were dashing around to collect the tiny scraps of gossip that had been found out. They were all interrupted as the bell rang and their homeroom teacher entered.

He walked in and waved them all to their seats as he made his way to the squat teacher's desk at the front of the classroom onto which he put the registration folder.

"As you have heard; we have a new student joining us today." Teachers were not naive; they knew how gossip travelled in schools. "He comes from England and has moved to his godfather's home nearby. He recently lost his parents so try not to mention anything about them. You can come in now!" The teacher raised his voice so that the boy outside slid the door open and stepped into the room.

He was pale with a minor hint of a tan of one who spends time outside working in the heat when the occasion calls for it. His blonde hair was wavy and had plainly been brushed into a side parting but his hair was unruly and had covered up the parting to give an illusion that his hair was like a sea, waves rising and falling as they circled his head. The boy had blue eyes that were both soft and hard at the same time, his brow drooped a little over his eyes and this, coupled with the permanent darkening under his eyes, gave the illusion of tiredness.

The boy was not tall, only measuring the five foot and six inches, roughly 170cm; but there was something about the way he moved and the quickness of his eyes that suggested that his height was of no disadvantage. He was slim, his uniform shirt and blazer sitting well across his back but showing his lack of fat around his waist. His tie was in a perfect Windsor knot and while he looked crisp and clean in his school uniform it did not give off a feeling of being uptight but more of pride in how he looked.

All in all, there was nothing spectacular about the boy. He was of just below average height, had an average build with slightly above average shoulder width and a face that could be described as fairly handsome but not what one would call photogenic.

"Good morning, I am Nicholas Cray – or rather Cray Nicholas in this language." The boy rubbed the back of his head and laughed to show his nerves. His laugh was strong and infectious, despite the nervous backing. "In any case, I hope we can get along well." He bowed courteously then walked to the seat that the teacher directed to him.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you." Nicholas greeted Sakura as he slid into the seat to her left with a calm smile.

"I'm Sakura." Sakura introduced herself in English. Her voice was halting, her mastery of the language was most certainly not perfect but was passable and the boy seemed pleased at her attempt.

"Then may I call you Sakura-chan? I'm not one for formality unless it's due." The boy replied in Japanese. He spoke fluently and easily but the English accent was definitely there.

"Only if I can call you Nicholas-kun." Sakura stumbled over his name. It was difficult to use English pronunciation with a Japanese honorific; but Nicholas was happy enough with it.

"Of course, I'd be delighted."

"What subjects are you taking then?"

It was just before the end of registration when all the announcements had been gone through and the students had time to talk amongst themselves; and so pretty much the entire class had crowded around Nicholas' desk. The boy treated the attention with a mild acceptance and tried to pay equal attention to all the questions asked him in turn.

"Oh, what was I taking again? History, chemistry, biology, P.E, economics and… maths." There were gasps from the students. Taking four subjects was the norm amongst them; it was rare for anyone to be allowed to take more than that so that they could concentrate on getting good grades. Sakura noted how both she and Shaoran shared three lessons each with him.

"How come you were allowed to take so many subjects?" The questions were hurled at the boy.

"I was taking more back in England; but Spanish and French aren't taught here so I had to drop them; but that's not too bad since I'm nearly fluent anyway." There were more gasps; Nicholas had already gained a reputation as an academic genius.

"How long are you here for?" Another student asked.

"Probably for life. I always wanted to live in Japan and after a few incidents I decided to come and stay here." As another question was about to be hurled at him the school bell rang and the class chorused their disappointment before trudging back to their desks to pick up their school bags and wander out in their groups.

Sakura joined Shaoran by the door but stopped as she saw Nicholas studying a layout of the school which was on the notice board. All the form rooms had one so that students could reference it.

"What is it?" Shaoran asked and followed her gaze. "Oh, didn't he say he had history?" Sakura wasn't surprised that he'd basically read her mind, they knew each other well enough to do that.

"We could show him where the classroom is." Sakura suggested and Shaoran nodded. He knew Sakura would brood over it if she didn't try to extend this kind act to the new boy; although he himself had no problem with it in the first place.

"Nicholas-kun, do you have history now?" Sakura called to the blonde boy who turned from the map at the sound of her voice.

"I think so." He frowned, seeming unsure then nodded his head. "Yes, quite sure." He still didn't look totally convinced so he reached into his blazer pocket and unfolded a piece of A4 paper with his timetable on it then nodded again, having confirmed it.

"We're going there now; if you want we can show you." Shaoran finished off the invitation for Sakura and Nicholas grinned.

"That'd be great, thanks." He joined them and they travelled together to the classroom.

"So, what do we learn in history here? I'm worried I might be a little left behind here." Nicholas asked. He looked earnest rather than worried. He gave off the idea that he was a great seeker of knowledge and enjoyed learning anything new.

"We're just finishing an overview of Japanese history. We're going to learn about Genghis Khan next." Sakura explained; and then Shaoran took over.

"We learn a fair bit about China and some about English history this year. Next year, if you stay with it we learn more about European medieval history." Nicholas looked overjoyed at this.

"Brilliant! Back in England it was all about the World Wars or politics. It was so very boring; I enjoy the older history a great deal more. Oh; and I hope you don't mind me asking; are you two a couple?" The boy changed subjects quickly to a more conversational topic but did it easily enough.

"Y-yes." Sakura answered, blushing a little at the forward question but Nicholas beamed.

"Ah, good good. You go well together, if you don't mind me saying so."

And so the couple met Nicholas Cray, the cheerful and wise young Englishman who was to change their lives.