Chapter Text
“Youth team?” Sakura asked Grace. Grace was Sakura’s English teacher when she first came to London 3 years ago. Eriol introduced them because Grace had worked as an ESL teacher for many years and was currently working as a translator at the council. Over the past few years, they had become good friends. In fact, Grace was Sakura’s only friend here in London.
Grace nodded. “For magicians aged 18 to 25. They have an audition and all.”
“An audition? What is that about though?” Sakura asked as she ate her fries.
“I don’t really know the details. It looks like they’re forming some teams consisting of young magicians, hence the name and the age limit.” Grace told Sakura.
“That’s interesting.” Sakura said thoughtfully. “Do you know how to register?”
“Well, you go to the council building and register, I guess. I’m not sure. Sorry. I heard about it in the cafeteria during lunch time. I thought you might know something about it, seeing you’re married to Lord Hiiragizawa and all.” Grace said.
Sakura frowned. Eriol would never tell her about this. He had been keeping her away from the council since the beginning, saying that he didn’t want her getting involved at all. He never talked about work and other than some basic information, Sakura didn’t know anything about the council. She did ask the guardians, but they didn’t tell her anything either, maybe because they didn’t want her to get involved too, or maybe they were under strict order from their Master not to tell her anything.
After lunch, Sakura went home, still thinking about it.
“What is the Youth team?” Sakura asked as she wiped down the table after dinner.
Eriol, who was rinsing the plates, paused. “Where did you hear that?” He asked and then said, “Grace.”
Sakura neither confirmed nor denied it. “What is it?” She turned to her husband.
“It’s a working title of a new project.” He said as he resumed rinsing the plates and putting them in the dishwasher.
“That is not what I’m asking and you know it.” Sakura glared at him.
Eriol sighed. “It’s John’s new project. He wants to recruit young magicians into the council, to introduce them to the magic world. So that they know what it’s all about and how to navigate through it. Hopefully, they’ll also be interested in working for the council in the future.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sakura brought the dishrag to the sink to rinse it.
“Because it’s not relevant to you.” He said simply as he put the last of the plates into the dishwasher, put in the detergent tablet, closed the door, and started it.
“It’s for magicians aged 18 to 25, right? Last time I checked, I’m within that age limit. I could also use some pointers about the magic world and how to navigate through it. I think it is relevant to me.” Sakura squeezed the excess water and put the rag to dry.
“I can teach you about the magic world and how to navigate through it. All these years, that’s exactly what I’ve been teaching you.”
“You said it yourself, you want me to learn from other people too. Why the sudden change of mind now?” Sakura turned to face him.
“This project is not for you. It’s for those who are new to the magic world. You, on the other hand, have some experience.” Eriol said patiently.
“There’s always something to learn. Everyone has something to offer. Isn’t that what you always say?” Sakura said stubbornly. “I just want to take the audition, see what it’s all about.” She tried reasoning with him.
“No. You’ll be exposing your magic. Not to mention, the council would know about you.” Eriol refused. He had been trying to keep her away from the council, for her own safety. He wasn’t going to let her walk in there and expose herself like that.
“Everyone in that audition will be exposing their magic. I’m just another one of these young magicians. Or is it because you don’t think I’m good enough for this?” Sakura asked him.
“Don’t even play that card with me.” He said, refusing to rise to her bait.
“Well, it looks just like it! All this training, everything that you taught me and you don’t even let me go out there and learn for myself. You said you would support my learning, that you don’t want me to be a traditional wife, yet now you’re treating me like one!” Sakura told him in annoyance.
“I have one condition, remember?” He reminded her. “I will support you in whatever you want to do, as long as you’re staying safe.”
“This is just a youth training project! How unsafe could it be?” Sakura asked. She had asked Grace about it and from what she had gathered, it was more like a training group where they would learn how to get better and stronger. Just like what she had been doing for years.
Eriol looked at her. “What did Grace tell you?”
Sakura was quiet at first, but finally said, “This is a training group. For young magicians, such as myself. Everyone will train to be better, to be stronger.”
“It’s more than that. The audition is to pick a team.” He gestured for her to sit down and she did, before taking a seat across from her. “The selected team, which would be picked by John, would go through training, yes, but they would also go out there to… run errands, such as taking care of simple problems, retrieving artifacts, and the likes. John is in charge of the project, so I don’t know too much about the details, but It will be like a hands-on training and sometimes the situation could get dangerous.” Eriol paused. “I know you are going to be able to handle it, but I don’t know how the team is going to be like, whether they can support you and have your back. And without me or the guardians, you won’t have any backup.”
“But it was just like that when I first started, when I captured the cards. Yes, I had Syaoran, but we were just kids. Kero wasn’t even in his true form yet.” Sakura said.
“The cards were different. Clow made sure that nothing bad would happen to you. But this will be out of my hands.” Eriol said. “These young magicians are inexperienced. I don’t know what they’re capable of.”
“Is John really going to let a bunch of inexperienced magicians out there without any backup?” Sakura found it hard to believe. “Surely he knows better than that.”
“It’s not without backup. John has picked a team leader, someone with a lot more experience to lead the team. He’s John’s student and he’s working for the council in one of the task force teams, so he has some experience in combat. But when it comes to your safety, I don’t trust anyone else other than myself and the guardians.”
“But I just want to do the audition. I might not even get picked.” Sakura said. “The team sounds exclusive.”
“You’re the Cardmistress, Sakura. You will be picked. Especially since John knows who you are, of your magic, and that I’ve been training you myself. He would be stupid not to pick you. The team is not exclusive, it’s experimental. John wants to see how this one goes. That’s why there will only be one team. He wants to see if this could be done as a part of the council, but that would be pretty far down the road. For now, he just wants to see how this kind of team would fit in the council.”
“So, why do this in the first place?” Sakura didn’t understand. This sounded like a half-hearted attempt now.
“Because the council is not exactly in a good place right now. John thought that recruiting some new magicians would be a good idea. Hopefully, this project would attract more attention from other young magicians, to encourage them to learn more about magic, about the council, and it would benefit the council in the long run. But the rest of us didn’t exactly agree.”
“You disagreed with him? I thought you would’ve liked this idea since it promotes learning and all.” Sakura was surprised.
“When John first brought it up, I thought this was a good idea, but then I saw how these young magicians are. They don’t like to train, to practice. They’re reckless and they think that just because they have magic, they’re good enough. Some of them are even arrogant.”
Sakura frowned. “How do you know this?”
“I’ve seen how they are. The audition has been going on for a week. While not everyone is like that, some of them are. Their magic is weak, but they don’t see the need to learn because they think they’re already good enough.” Eriol said. “A couple of days ago, I actually sat down with the other applicants, just to see how they are.”
Sakura was surprised. “Is that why you brought a hat and a hoodie to work that day?”
“Yes, I got to play dress up, or down, actually.” He had changed from his suit to a hoodie and put on a baseball hat to hide his unusual blue hair. At her look, he continued, “I’m still twenty one, Saku. Technically I do meet the requirements too. Nobody suspected a thing, but of course I told John beforehand, just in case. I didn’t register. I just went in and sat down. Then I left after a while.” He left after he observed how those applicants behaved among themselves and was disappointed. The future of magic didn’t seem too bright.
“I won’t be like that though.” Sakura frowned. “I’ll keep on learning.”
“You’re never like that and you will never be like that. That’s why I told you this is not for you.” Eriol hoped this would be the end of their discussion.
Apparently not.
“I think I still can learn, even from these people.” Sakura told him. “I really want to do this, Eriol. At the very least, I want to know if I can do this. You’re always there with me to keep me safe, but I’ve been training for years now and I just want to know what I can do, on my own, as a Cardmistress.”
Eriol was silent as he considered her words. “I understand why you want to do this. But please understand my position too. As your mentor, I agree with what you said, that this could be a learning opportunity for you. But as your husband, I just want you to be safe.”
Sakura stood up and went to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. “I know you’re worried, but you’re my mentor, I’m not that inexperienced. You’ve made sure of that yourself, haven’t you?” She kissed his cheek. “How about this? Let me give it a try. If at any point either one of us wants me to stop, then I will stop. If you think that this is not a good idea, or if I find that I don’t like it, I’ll stop. Deal?”
Eriol thought about it. “Deal.” He agreed. “At any point, Sakura. Promise me.”
“I promise.” Sakura said and then kissed him to seal her promise. “Thank you, for letting me do this.”
“Don’t thank me yet. There are details that we need to work on if you really are going to do this.” Eriol told her. “Especially if we’re both going to be working in the same building.”
“Hm… Let’s see, obviously, I can’t register as Sakura Hiiragizawa and I must not let people know that my dear husband is the famous, yet mysterious Lord Hiiragizawa.” She kissed him again, playfully this time. “I’ll be very careful. I won’t jeopardize you or your secret.” Sakura turned serious. “If something happens, I will choose to stop rather than risking your secret.”
“It’s not me that I’m worried about, Saku. If people find out who you are, it could put you at risk. That’s why I’ve been keeping you as far away as possible from the council. Your magic, it’s one of a kind, literally. There’s only one Cardmistress as there’s only one set of cards.” Eriol explained. “I’ll do anything to protect you, you know that. If I have to reveal who I am, so be it.”
Sakura fell silent. “You know what? You’re right.” She finally said. “This is not a good idea. The risk is too big, for the both of us.” Sakura was disappointed, but she would put him first. If anything happened, if everything went sideways, he would have to reveal himself and Sakura wouldn’t be able to live with herself if he had to do that just because she wanted to join some youth training group.
“We’ll be okay. We just have to be very careful. Besides, it’s not like we’ll see each other in the office. I don’t usually wander around like John does and you’ll be too busy with your own stuff too.” Eriol could tell she really wanted to do this. “We’ll talk to John, get him onboard. If he doesn’t agree, then we’ll drop this, okay?”
Sakura hesitated. “I don’t want to put you at risk, Eriol.”
“You won’t. Like I said, we have to be careful, that’s all. Let me tell you something, nobody knows about Bradford’s personal life. We all know she’s married and her husband is a magician, but other than that, we know nothing of him. For all we know, he could be working in the council. Even John who has been working with her for years doesn’t know.” Eriol looked at her. “My point is, it is possible to do this. Besides, as this is just an experimental team, it might not last for too long. You also have to keep that in mind. This is not a permanent thing.”
Sakura nodded. “I understand. I also have no desire to work permanently there. I guess, I just want to test myself or something.”
“Alright. Go for the audition tomorrow. Then we’ll go from there.” Eriol told her. “Maybe you won’t even make the cut and we’re worrying over nothing.”
“Maybe.” Now Sakura wasn’t sure if she wanted to make the cut. Maybe it was better not to get involved in the first place.
“I’m just joking, Saku. You’re going to make the cut.” Eriol cheered her up, thinking that she might get discouraged by his words. He turned to look at her. “Make me proud, okay?”
Sakura looked at him and saw his smile. “I will.” She smiled back. “I love you.”
He pulled her close and kissed her. “Love you too.”
John looked at the applicant list in surprise. He got up and quickly made his way to the office next door.
“Enter.” Eriol called and John entered and closed the door firmly behind him.
“What is this?” He asked, waving the list in front of Eriol.
“If you keep moving it, I won’t be able to tell you.” Eriol told him pointedly.
John put the list on the desk and put his finger on her name. “Why is her name on my list?” John was pointing at ‘Sakura Kinomoto’.
“Probably because she’s applying for your project?” Eriol said, not even looking at the list. “She meets the requirements, doesn’t she?”
“And you let her?” John asked in disbelief.
“I think it has been established that I don’t ‘let’ her do anything. She makes her own decisions.” Eriol leaned back in his chair. “Make no mistake though, I will intervene if I need to, but Sakura knows what she’s doing.”
John sat down across from him. “What do you want me to do here?”
“Treat her like any other applicant, but we’ve talked about this too. If you do pick her as part of the team, then needless to say, we’re going to ask that you keep this a secret. I think it would be more difficult for you since I won’t be interacting with her in the office.” Eriol told him.
“You want me to pretend I don’t know her?” John asked incredulously.
Eriol nodded. “She’s just another applicant. Unless you’ve gotten out of your way to get to know everyone else, then yes, I suppose you’ll have to pretend.”
“And if I don’t pick her?” John asked again.
“That would be your decision, not mine.” Eriol told him. “Don’t worry, whatever you decide, she won’t hold it against you.”
John was speechless.
“Lawson and Kinomoto.” The lady doing the audition called and Sakura got up from her seat. She and another girl were led through a door, into another room for their ‘audition’. Sakura didn’t know what to expect, although judging by how the person had been calling the names in pairs, she could guess that they were being pitched against each other.
She got here early in the morning for registration and the audition itself was held in the afternoon. Sakura went out to get some sandwich and then she sat down in the waiting room along with the other applicants. She had looked around. There were not that many applicants in the room, probably twenty or so. At least half of them had already gone in. As she sat there and observed, Sakura could see that Eriol was right. While some of them were nervous, others were bragging about their magic. Sakura herself remained quiet.
The lady led them to an ‘arena’. It was just a square, but there were lines around it. She told them that they would have to fight each other. The rule was simple, the person who got knocked out of the lines lost and the winner would proceed to the next stage of the audition.
Sakura glanced around and saw that they were being observed by two other people, John, and another guy. Sakura noted that John didn’t look surprised to see her. Eriol must’ve told him then.
Sakura and her opponent stood in the middle of the square, facing each other. When the lady told them to get ready, Sakura mumbled her incantation and her magic circle appeared beneath her feet. “Release!”
The battle began and Sakura cast her first card. “Windy!”
The girl was surprised and Windy easily knocked her off and she was thrown out of the arena. The battle didn’t even last ten seconds.
Sakura herself was surprised. She just stood there in shock. She had expected her opponent to fight back, or at least, do something, anything. Sakura glanced around and saw the others’ surprise too, including John’s. He signalled to the lady and then told her something. Sakura was then told to go back to the waiting room.
Sakura sat in the waiting room as the rest of the applicants were called, but nobody else came back like she did. Now, she was getting worried. After everyone was gone, Sakura sat alone in the waiting room and the lady from earlier came to get her. “Please follow me, Ms. Kinomoto.” She said simply and then led her to the elevator.
They entered the elevator and she swiped her access card, key in a code, and press the number seven. Once they reached the floor, she stepped out and Sakura followed her. They were in what looked like an office area, but it was decorated very tastefully. It looked like a luxury office space and Sakura knew instinctively that this was the High Priests’ office area.
Sakura was told to sit down on the couch in front of one of the offices and the lady went to the secretary desk to talk to her. Two minutes later, she came back to Sakura. “Please wait here for a moment. Lord Cavendish would like to speak with you.” She informed her. Sakura nodded, recognizing John’s name. Then the lady left her there alone.
Sakura looked around discreetly. There seemed to be two offices here. One was definitely John’s, since Sakura was sitting in front of it. The other door was closed, but there was a guy sitting at the desk in front of it. He was working on his computer, just like John’s secretary was. Sakura sat there quietly, waiting, her bag on her lap.
Five minutes later, Sakura heard the other door opened and closed, then she heard his voice. “I need two copies for this. Call Peterson and tell him I want his case report by the end of the day.”
Sakura blinked in surprise, but she managed to stop herself from turning around. So the other office was his office.
“Yes, my Lord.” The guy, presumably his assistant, said.
“Thank you.” Eriol said and then Sakura heard footsteps. Quiet, but she recognized it easily. Sakura kept looking straight ahead, not daring to even steal a glance and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him walking past. He must’ve seen her too, but he didn’t even pause in his strides and then, he turned around the corner.
‘This is going to be harder than I thought.’ Sakura thought briefly.
“Ms. Kinomoto, you can go in now.” John’s secretary told her a few minutes later.
“Thank you.” Sakura nodded and then walked to John’s office. She knocked and was told to enter.
Sakura entered and closed the door behind her. When she turned around, she saw John looking at her with a smile across his face. “Hello, Sakura. Take a seat. I’m sorry for making you wait for so long. I had a phone call and the other person just wouldn’t stop talking.”
Sakura sat down. She was unsure why John had wanted to speak with her. “That’s alright, my Lord.” Sakura had learned how to address the High Priests. Grace had told her about it.
“What’s with the formality? We’re not in public. Just John, please.” John told her then leaned forward. “I’ve got to tell you, I’m very surprised. First, I saw you name on my applicant list and then I was told that you’re applying to be in the team. And then that battle, if you could even call it that. Why are you even here?”
“Because I want to apply for being in the training team.” Sakura told him simply. “I see that I meet the requirements, so I just thought I would give it a try.”
John looked at her and then sighed. “Okay, look, I’m going to let you decide here. If you want in, then you’re in.”
Sakura frowned. “That doesn’t seem fair for the rest of the applicants.”
“Because this is not even a fair play. None of them is the Cardmistress and they’re not trained by Eriol either.” John pointed out. “You can’t expect me to be completely unbiased here, Sakura. That girl didn’t even know what hit her. It’s very clear that these people are not even at your level.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t learn anything from them.” Sakura told him.
“True.” John admitted. “If you want in, I’ll give the spot to you. But you have to be sure because,” John held out two fingers, “One, you might not learn that much, so you might have to adjust your expectation. Two, you really have to know what you’re getting yourself into because otherwise your husband will hold me responsible.”
“He has nothing to do with this.” Sakura said firmly.
“Yes, he mentioned. But we both know that if something happens, he will definitely intervene.” John said. “What did he tell you about the team?”
“That it’s experimental.” Sakura said. “You’re recruiting young magicians to give them hands-on training in the field while teaching them about magic, their own and the world we live in.”
“Yes, it’s experimental. Might not last long, depending on the team’s performance. It could last for a few months, or a year, but not more than that. We’re not ready for this to be permanent at this point. This is just to see if it’s a viable option in the future. It’s like a prototype project.” John sighed. “I’m not looking for someone who’s experienced, or trained. In fact, I’m looking for people who have potential, but need mentorship and direction, a little help in developing their magic. I’ll be honest with you, I could use someone like you in the team. I think you could help in shaping the team, to motivate and set an example for the rest of the team. With your magic and your training, you’ll be perfect for that.”
“I understand.” Sakura nodded. “I want to join this team to learn, John. It would be a good learning opportunity for me. Even he agreed on that. There’s just one thing though. I told you he has nothing to do with this, but if he says I’m out, then I’m out.”
“I figured as much. Alright, Sakura. You’re in. He told me about the arrangement you two came up with and I agree. It will be for the best if other people don’t know about this.” John decided. “But when we’re in a private setting like this, I don’t want to hear any Lord coming from you, okay?” He added.
“Understood. Thank you, John.” Sakura said with a smile.
“John told me about what happened during the audition. He’s very impressed.” Eriol said later that evening as they got ready for bed. He had stayed late in the office today so they didn’t have dinner together. When he got home at around 9pm, he ate his dinner, took a shower, then meditated.
“I was actually surprised.” Sakura said as she put aside her Kindle.
“She didn’t even stand a chance, according to John.” Eriol got under the cover.
“I thought she was going to do something, anything.” Sakura said honestly. “But she didn’t and Windy just… knocked her out of the lines. After the audition, John talked to me. I skipped through the rest of the audition process and got hired on the spot.” Sakura told him as he pulled her into his arms. “That doesn’t seem fair for the rest of the applicants, but then again…”
“I told you you’d make the team.” He held her close. “Are you cold?” He asked as he noticed her shivering slightly.
“A little bit. It’s a pretty cold night.” Sakura admitted.
Eriol immediately put his hand on her forehead. “No fever. Are you feeling sick?”
“I’m fine. Just feeling a little cold, is all.” Sakura snuggled closer to him. “You’re so warm and comfy though.” She said, nuzzling his pyjamas happily.
Eriol chuckled and held her tighter. “I was surprised to see you earlier.”
“Me too. I almost turned around when I heard your voice. It’s not going to be easy. I really have to be careful.” Sakura told him, yawning.
“Don’t worry too much about it, okay? We’ll just do our best and deal with the problems, if any.” He rubbed her arm, hoping to give her some warmth. “Go to sleep.”
“Night.” Sakura closed her eyes and let sleep pull her under.
“Good night.” He kissed her hair and closed his eyes.