CHAPTER 23: KAITOU MAGICIAN AND THE DIAMOND NECKLACE
Li’s apartment complex , early school morning…
Tapping his foot impatiently outside the bathroom, Syaoran shouted across the door, “Are you finished yet?! You’ve been in there an hour!”
“Wait!” Sakura called from inside, the running water drowning her voice.
After another while, Syaoran shouted, “That’s it! If you’re not coming out this second…” He grabbed the doorknob open.
Shrieking, Sakura threw a bottle of shampoo at Syaoran’s face with full power, shouting, “I’M TAKING A SHOWER RIGHT NOW!”
“OUCH!” Syaoran dropped backwards, and the bathroom the door slammed shut.
Yawning, Meirin came out of her bedroom in her light yellow pajamas, and asked, “What’s all the commotion? I can’t get my beauty sleep.”
Rubbing a bruise forming on his forehead, Syaoran stood up from the floor and grumbled, “I’ve been waiting an hour to use my own bathroom.”
Trying to stifle a giggle, Meirin replied solemnly, “And you tried to go in while she’s taking a shower? EWW!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU TRIED TO GO IN WHILE SAKURA’S WAS TAKING A SHOWER!!!”
“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!”
Finally, Sakura came out of the steaming bathroom in an over-sized blue t-shirt and jeans with ends up folded five times. Her hair was tied into a perfect ponytail high on top of her head with a pretty red ribbon lent by Meirin. “Sorry I took so long, Syaoran-kun. Is your head okay? I didn’t mean to throw the shampoo bottle at your face. (Yeah right, muttered Syaoran fingering his purple bruise.) It’s my first day back to school in a couple of days, so…”
Sakura smiled, the golden highlights in her hair brought out by the new ribbon. Meanwhile, Syaoran sighed in exasperation. She did look good, though. When she first came to their house, a couple of days ago, she looked half dead. Now, she looked like her old self.
“Oh yeah, Meirin-chan, do you mind if I borrow one of your school uniforms?” Sakura asked pleadingly. She hadn’t had time to go pick up some clothes at her house yet. Her foot, though still swollen, was almost healed, with the help of Syaoran’s healing spells. It still hurt once in a while when she was tired, but she could move around almost normally. Still, the incredible pain she had endured the night when she faced the Joker was vivid in her mind, maybe slowing down the process of healing slightly. Yet, Sakura was eager to go back to school, especially after staying home (at the Li’s) for two days. She’d been bored to death.
Jokingly, Meirin asked, “What will you do if I don’t lend you any clothes?”
“Hoe-e.” Looking down at her over-sized clothes, Sakura sighed and pulled up the jeans, which were sagging again. In the past few days, Meirin had wickedly refused to lend her some of her clothes. Instead, she lent Syaoran’s clothes, which were hopelessly big on Sakura. After all, he was taller than her. “Why does she have to wear my clothes?!” he had protested.
“After school, we’ll go to your house to pick up some of your stuff,” Syaoran said. “On a second thought, that is, if you promise to limit your time using the bathroom to 30 minutes…”
“Sorry!”
Tapping his foot impatiently outside the bathroom, Syaoran shouted across the door, “Are you finished yet?! You’ve been in there an hour!”
“Wait!” Sakura called from inside, the running water drowning her voice.
After another while, Syaoran shouted, “That’s it! If you’re not coming out this second…” He grabbed the doorknob open.
Shrieking, Sakura threw a bottle of shampoo at Syaoran’s face with full power, shouting, “I’M TAKING A SHOWER RIGHT NOW!”
“OUCH!” Syaoran dropped backwards, and the bathroom the door slammed shut.
Yawning, Meirin came out of her bedroom in her light yellow pajamas, and asked, “What’s all the commotion? I can’t get my beauty sleep.”
Rubbing a bruise forming on his forehead, Syaoran stood up from the floor and grumbled, “I’ve been waiting an hour to use my own bathroom.”
Trying to stifle a giggle, Meirin replied solemnly, “And you tried to go in while she’s taking a shower? EWW!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU TRIED TO GO IN WHILE SAKURA’S WAS TAKING A SHOWER!!!”
“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!”
Finally, Sakura came out of the steaming bathroom in an over-sized blue t-shirt and jeans with ends up folded five times. Her hair was tied into a perfect ponytail high on top of her head with a pretty red ribbon lent by Meirin. “Sorry I took so long, Syaoran-kun. Is your head okay? I didn’t mean to throw the shampoo bottle at your face. (Yeah right, muttered Syaoran fingering his purple bruise.) It’s my first day back to school in a couple of days, so…”
Sakura smiled, the golden highlights in her hair brought out by the new ribbon. Meanwhile, Syaoran sighed in exasperation. She did look good, though. When she first came to their house, a couple of days ago, she looked half dead. Now, she looked like her old self.
“Oh yeah, Meirin-chan, do you mind if I borrow one of your school uniforms?” Sakura asked pleadingly. She hadn’t had time to go pick up some clothes at her house yet. Her foot, though still swollen, was almost healed, with the help of Syaoran’s healing spells. It still hurt once in a while when she was tired, but she could move around almost normally. Still, the incredible pain she had endured the night when she faced the Joker was vivid in her mind, maybe slowing down the process of healing slightly. Yet, Sakura was eager to go back to school, especially after staying home (at the Li’s) for two days. She’d been bored to death.
Jokingly, Meirin asked, “What will you do if I don’t lend you any clothes?”
“Hoe-e.” Looking down at her over-sized clothes, Sakura sighed and pulled up the jeans, which were sagging again. In the past few days, Meirin had wickedly refused to lend her some of her clothes. Instead, she lent Syaoran’s clothes, which were hopelessly big on Sakura. After all, he was taller than her. “Why does she have to wear my clothes?!” he had protested.
“After school, we’ll go to your house to pick up some of your stuff,” Syaoran said. “On a second thought, that is, if you promise to limit your time using the bathroom to 30 minutes…”
“Sorry!”
* * * * * *
School…
Tomoyo was thrilled when she heard Sakura’s news at school and turned ecstatic. “What! Your staying with Syaoran-kun?! Sigh. You should have told me that your brother and father and Kero-chan’s all away! You could have stayed at my mansion. There’s plenty of room. Is your ankle all right? I can’t believe it! You’re staying with Syaoran-kun!”
“Hoe! With Meirin-chan as well. And don’t say it so loud… People might get the wrong idea…” Sakura sweat dropped.
“Oh ho ho ho…” In a sly whisper, Tomoyo asked, “So, what type of pajamas does Syaoran-kun wear at night? Blue, green? Stripes, hearts?”
“Wh-wha~ What kind of question is that?” Sakura flamed red.
“For your information, he doesn’t sleep at night, anyway,” Meirin informed them. Then she turned star eyed. “But I remember when we were five, he used to have the cutest blue pajama with teddy bears on it. I had a matching red one.”
“REALLY?!” They giggled.
“Why are you guys staring at me like that?” Syaoran scowled suspiciously as he looked up from his work.
“NOTHING,” they all echoed.
It’s good to be back at school and be active, Sakura thought. It’s a good thing that the Joker hasn’t been seen since that night…
“’Kaitou Magician, Thief of the Night, Strikes Again!’” Naoko read off the headline of the Tomoeda morning newspaper. “This time, he was seen at the museum, where Queen Lisianne’s diamond necklace was exhibited. But he didn’t steal anything and disappeared before anyone could even get near him.”
“Kaitou Magician?” Sakura frowned.
Remembering how they had met him last time, Tomoyo asked. “I wonder why he’s in this neighborhood. There’s not much to steal here.”
“There’s something strange about this all,” Syaoran said, sitting down in a chair next to Sakura. “I think we better find out more about that thief.”
“Romeo! It’s rehearsal time now!!!” Meirin jumped from behind Syaoran, who was seriously thinking, why does he have father’s ring?
“GAH! You scared me!”
Tomoyo was thrilled when she heard Sakura’s news at school and turned ecstatic. “What! Your staying with Syaoran-kun?! Sigh. You should have told me that your brother and father and Kero-chan’s all away! You could have stayed at my mansion. There’s plenty of room. Is your ankle all right? I can’t believe it! You’re staying with Syaoran-kun!”
“Hoe! With Meirin-chan as well. And don’t say it so loud… People might get the wrong idea…” Sakura sweat dropped.
“Oh ho ho ho…” In a sly whisper, Tomoyo asked, “So, what type of pajamas does Syaoran-kun wear at night? Blue, green? Stripes, hearts?”
“Wh-wha~ What kind of question is that?” Sakura flamed red.
“For your information, he doesn’t sleep at night, anyway,” Meirin informed them. Then she turned star eyed. “But I remember when we were five, he used to have the cutest blue pajama with teddy bears on it. I had a matching red one.”
“REALLY?!” They giggled.
“Why are you guys staring at me like that?” Syaoran scowled suspiciously as he looked up from his work.
“NOTHING,” they all echoed.
It’s good to be back at school and be active, Sakura thought. It’s a good thing that the Joker hasn’t been seen since that night…
“’Kaitou Magician, Thief of the Night, Strikes Again!’” Naoko read off the headline of the Tomoeda morning newspaper. “This time, he was seen at the museum, where Queen Lisianne’s diamond necklace was exhibited. But he didn’t steal anything and disappeared before anyone could even get near him.”
“Kaitou Magician?” Sakura frowned.
Remembering how they had met him last time, Tomoyo asked. “I wonder why he’s in this neighborhood. There’s not much to steal here.”
“There’s something strange about this all,” Syaoran said, sitting down in a chair next to Sakura. “I think we better find out more about that thief.”
“Romeo! It’s rehearsal time now!!!” Meirin jumped from behind Syaoran, who was seriously thinking, why does he have father’s ring?
“GAH! You scared me!”
* * * * * *
“Is your leg okay enough to practice your routine for the Circus Carnival?” asked Tomoyo later on that day to Sakura. “The Circus Carnival is going to be held in a few days! Hmm, it’s too bad I wasn’t there to tape Syaoran’s marvelous scene, crashing through the window to save the girl he cares for! There’s something hopelessly romantic about the guy knowing when the girl is danger, merely by instinct! Like a beautiful shoujo manga! Still maybe the hidden camera I installed in your house taped it!” Glancing at Sakura’s bandaged leg she added, “Oh, sorry. I feel bad about the accident and all… but~”
“He he he… It’s okay. My leg’s good enough to practice on, thanks to Syaoran-kun.”
“Oh ho ho! Isn’t Syaoran amazing? He learned healing spells after he went back to Hong Kong. I wonder why!” Tomoyo placed her hand to her cheek.
Sakura sweat-dropped. Tomoyo seemed back to her old self. Little did she know that Tomoyo’s house was currently in turmoil. “Tomoyo-chan?”
“Yes, Sakura-chan?”
“You seem a little different… Is something the matter? You look tired.”
“Oh. It’s nothing. Really. I’m just tired because I’m really busy these days…” Tomoyo sighed. She really hated keeping secrets from Sakura. Yet, some times there are things that even your best friend can’t understand.
(FLASHBACK START)
A few days ago at Tomoyo’s house…
Ring ring. Picking up her phone, Tomoyo said, “Hello?”
“Hello, Tomoyo-san…” A deep man’s voice hesitated, then continued brightly. ”So, how are you these days? Next year, you would be in high school, wouldn’t you? My how fast you grow…”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Otou-san?” Abruptly, Tomoyo asked, “Why did you call me?”
“Why?” Daidouji-san, her father seemed baffled on the phone. “I-I just wanted to talk to my daughter, and keep up with how you’ve grown.”
“Well, it’s a little too late for that, isn’t it?” Tomoyo was surprised at the iciness in her voice, so unlike her normal tone.
Dismayed, he continued, “I’m just—“
“It was nice hearing from you, otou-san. Thanks for showing concern, but please don’t bother calling again. I don’t need a father like you. And don’t bother Mother, either. She has enough troubles without you. I’m sorry.” Slowly, Tomoyo clicked off the phone.
“Wait! Wait, Tomoyo-san! I just—“ Daidouji-san was greeted only with the beeping on the other side.
Flopping back on her lacy bed, Tomoyo gazed up at the ceiling. I don’t need a father… I’ve lived all these years without one. In my memory, I can see my mother… Of course she was always busy with her work when I was a child, but she loved me. And there’s my best friend Sakura-chan… Syaoran-kun, Meirin-chan… With all my friends, I don’t need a father… Yet, why, why do I feel like crying? I never cry, because I remember my mother once saying proudly to her friend that even when I was little, I didn’t cry. Maybe like Syaoran-kun. We have that in common… I don’t want to show this self to Sakura-chan… But I want to talk to someone, who can understand me…
She dialed some numbers and placed the receiver to her ears. The tone began to ring. “Eriol-kun?”
(FLASHBACK END)
“Tomoyo-chan? Tomoyo-chan?” Chiharu asked, holding a bench with Takashi. “Where should we put the bench down for the Circus Carnival equipment?”
Tomoyo’s flashback was interrupted. “Huh? Sorry! The bench? Why don’t you put it… oh, just leave it there.”
“Okay…” They set bench down right in the middle of the doorway, preventing people from moving in and out. To Takashi, Chiharu whispered, “Tomoyo-chan seems worried about something.”
“A girl has many problems that she can’t talk about,” Takashi replied.
“Since when did you know that?” Chiharu asked, thoroughly impressed.
“Ever since I met you in kindergarten,” he answered, matter of fact-like.
“HOE-EEEEEEEEEEEEE! This is so hectic!” Sakura’s turned spiral-eyed as students rushed here and there to prepare for the Circus. She was busy catching up from missing two days of school. Some people were getting the decorations up, others practicing stunts, and still others adjusting costumes and props.
“Sorry Sakura-chan, can you give the three magician costumes to Eron-kun, Aki-kun, and Syaoran-kun, and the clown ones to Chiharu-chan and Takashi-kun, and take the acrobat one to Meirin-chan, and keep the other one; the sequined ringmaster costume is for Erika-chan with the whip, and the pink and white striped apron is for Naoko-chan, and the gypsy skirt is for Rika-chan…” Tomoyo asked, fumbling in a swarm of colorful costumes.
“Okay…” Looking doubtfully at the pile of clothes, Sakura began searching for various students.
“Eron-kun! Aki-kun! Syaoran-kun! Here’s your costumes!” Sakura picked out the magnificent magician’s costume with the traditional black top-hat and tails. For an exotic twist, Tomoyo had added long flowing capes, as well. Probably Tomoyo had seen too much of Kaitou Magician on the news.
“SHHH! Don’t bother them!” A bunch of girls said.
“Hoe?” Sakura peered over the head tops of various girls who were oohing and ahhing over something. She could hear a consecutive whooshing and thudding sound.
“How does he do that?”
“Cool, it’s like a real knife thrower!”
Syaoran was practicing knife throwing onto a board. Tied in the middle was a dummy, since the teacher wouldn’t allow a real person to be used. Outlining around the dummy was neatly pinned knifes.
Erika, flipping back her glossy hair then announced to the crowd of students, “The next stage of the marvelous Magician Blademaster!”
This time, Syaoran held three knives between the fingers of each hand, and threw them out. Again, it surrounded the dummy neatly. Everyone cheered.
On the side, Tomaki told Sakura, as he took the costume, “He was hopeless at the other magic tricks, to that’s his back up performance…”
“Really?”
“Yup. Li-san, do the card trick on Kinomoto-san!” Tomaki said, winking to her.
“Do I have to?” Reading the magic tricks book, Syaoran held out a deck of cards to Sakura. “Uhh… Pick a card from the deck, and I’ll guess what it is.”
She picked it out a card. Ace of Hearts. Still looking in the book, Syaoran read out loud in a flat voice, “Now I will look in your mind. Remember what the card is, and put it back into the deck. You may shuffle it.” Sakura shuffled the deck and handed it back to him. With a straight face, Syaoran looked through the cards. Everyone waited. Perspiring, he continued to look through the cards.What the heck am I supposed to do? Finally holding up a card, he asked, “Was it a King of Diamonds?”
All the girls cheered. “Wow! Incredible! He’s really great at it! Li-kun is amazing!”
Sweat-dropping, Sakura replied, “No. It was Ace of Hearts.”
Syaoran sweat-dropped after her and hung his head down. Eron commented, “See, he’s really hopeless at it!” Taking a top hat, he swirled it around elegantly and out of it fluttered several pigeons. Again, everyone cheered. “Now, that’s how you’re supposed to do it,” Eron announced.
“Wow, that’s marvelous, Eron-kun!” Sakura clapped.
Turning red, Syaoran exclaimed, “I can do that too!” Taking his top hat, he did an intricate trick of throwing it into the air and turning a flip to catch it. Then, he ran a hand over the top hat, and…
Everyone waited. And waited. And still waited.
Syaoran peered into the hat. “Hey, the fake bottom is stuck!” Just then, out fluttered a pigeon, pecking at his head. “Ouch!”
Sakura giggled, but stopped when Syaoran glared at her. Aki caught the pigeon and handed it back to Syaoran, who looked dejected by his failure.
At that moment, Sakura and Syaoran both straightened up. Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw a person leap from one roof to the next one. Together, they ran to the other side of the building, leaving everyone else in confusion. When they reached a secluded part of the school, they panted for breath, gazing up.
From the top of a tree, a young man with black sunglasses slipped out. From head to toe, he was dressed in a casual black, down to black gloves, and black shoes. This time, he didn’t have a cape on, probably since it was daytime. If he stepped into a crowd outside, he would look relatively normal. It was difficult to see his face because of the shadow of the tree, but his sandy colored hair was spiked up, with only his long bangs let down, giving a rather devilish look. A silver skull dangled from his pierced left ear. From a chain around his neck hung a bright blue sapphire ring. The real, live, Kaitou Magician…
“I don’t get it. Why does he have that star sapphire ring?” Sakura frowned.
For the first time, the Kaitou Magician spoke; his voice had a peculiar smooth, elegant drawl to it, as if he could hypnotize his listeners with it. “I’d watch out over there if I were you,” tilting his head to another section of the school. Then he jumped off the tree, over the school gate and melted into the traffic outside. Before he completely disappeared, he called, “We’ll see each other again, soon!” The only person Sakura knew that had such flawless athletic coordination was Syaoran.
“Do you feel it?” Sakura asked as she tore her attention away from the Kaitou Magician, the mystery thief. “The Joker is out there again. We’ve got to prevent more accidents!” Too late. When they reached the spot, the Joker had already disappeared. This time, it had only spilt the red paint all over the signs that the students had been painting for the Circus for five hours.
“Sakura-chan! Where were you? We’ve got to practice our number!” Meirin exclaimed.
“Okay.” After practicing their acrobatic routine several times, Sakura remembered that she still hadn’t finish handing out the costumes.
By the end of school, Tomoyo came up to her again. “Did you give everyone’s costumes?”
“Hoe-e!!!” Sakura sweat-dropped, for she was still holding half of the pile of clothes.
“He he he… It’s okay. My leg’s good enough to practice on, thanks to Syaoran-kun.”
“Oh ho ho! Isn’t Syaoran amazing? He learned healing spells after he went back to Hong Kong. I wonder why!” Tomoyo placed her hand to her cheek.
Sakura sweat-dropped. Tomoyo seemed back to her old self. Little did she know that Tomoyo’s house was currently in turmoil. “Tomoyo-chan?”
“Yes, Sakura-chan?”
“You seem a little different… Is something the matter? You look tired.”
“Oh. It’s nothing. Really. I’m just tired because I’m really busy these days…” Tomoyo sighed. She really hated keeping secrets from Sakura. Yet, some times there are things that even your best friend can’t understand.
(FLASHBACK START)
A few days ago at Tomoyo’s house…
Ring ring. Picking up her phone, Tomoyo said, “Hello?”
“Hello, Tomoyo-san…” A deep man’s voice hesitated, then continued brightly. ”So, how are you these days? Next year, you would be in high school, wouldn’t you? My how fast you grow…”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Otou-san?” Abruptly, Tomoyo asked, “Why did you call me?”
“Why?” Daidouji-san, her father seemed baffled on the phone. “I-I just wanted to talk to my daughter, and keep up with how you’ve grown.”
“Well, it’s a little too late for that, isn’t it?” Tomoyo was surprised at the iciness in her voice, so unlike her normal tone.
Dismayed, he continued, “I’m just—“
“It was nice hearing from you, otou-san. Thanks for showing concern, but please don’t bother calling again. I don’t need a father like you. And don’t bother Mother, either. She has enough troubles without you. I’m sorry.” Slowly, Tomoyo clicked off the phone.
“Wait! Wait, Tomoyo-san! I just—“ Daidouji-san was greeted only with the beeping on the other side.
Flopping back on her lacy bed, Tomoyo gazed up at the ceiling. I don’t need a father… I’ve lived all these years without one. In my memory, I can see my mother… Of course she was always busy with her work when I was a child, but she loved me. And there’s my best friend Sakura-chan… Syaoran-kun, Meirin-chan… With all my friends, I don’t need a father… Yet, why, why do I feel like crying? I never cry, because I remember my mother once saying proudly to her friend that even when I was little, I didn’t cry. Maybe like Syaoran-kun. We have that in common… I don’t want to show this self to Sakura-chan… But I want to talk to someone, who can understand me…
She dialed some numbers and placed the receiver to her ears. The tone began to ring. “Eriol-kun?”
(FLASHBACK END)
“Tomoyo-chan? Tomoyo-chan?” Chiharu asked, holding a bench with Takashi. “Where should we put the bench down for the Circus Carnival equipment?”
Tomoyo’s flashback was interrupted. “Huh? Sorry! The bench? Why don’t you put it… oh, just leave it there.”
“Okay…” They set bench down right in the middle of the doorway, preventing people from moving in and out. To Takashi, Chiharu whispered, “Tomoyo-chan seems worried about something.”
“A girl has many problems that she can’t talk about,” Takashi replied.
“Since when did you know that?” Chiharu asked, thoroughly impressed.
“Ever since I met you in kindergarten,” he answered, matter of fact-like.
“HOE-EEEEEEEEEEEEE! This is so hectic!” Sakura’s turned spiral-eyed as students rushed here and there to prepare for the Circus. She was busy catching up from missing two days of school. Some people were getting the decorations up, others practicing stunts, and still others adjusting costumes and props.
“Sorry Sakura-chan, can you give the three magician costumes to Eron-kun, Aki-kun, and Syaoran-kun, and the clown ones to Chiharu-chan and Takashi-kun, and take the acrobat one to Meirin-chan, and keep the other one; the sequined ringmaster costume is for Erika-chan with the whip, and the pink and white striped apron is for Naoko-chan, and the gypsy skirt is for Rika-chan…” Tomoyo asked, fumbling in a swarm of colorful costumes.
“Okay…” Looking doubtfully at the pile of clothes, Sakura began searching for various students.
“Eron-kun! Aki-kun! Syaoran-kun! Here’s your costumes!” Sakura picked out the magnificent magician’s costume with the traditional black top-hat and tails. For an exotic twist, Tomoyo had added long flowing capes, as well. Probably Tomoyo had seen too much of Kaitou Magician on the news.
“SHHH! Don’t bother them!” A bunch of girls said.
“Hoe?” Sakura peered over the head tops of various girls who were oohing and ahhing over something. She could hear a consecutive whooshing and thudding sound.
“How does he do that?”
“Cool, it’s like a real knife thrower!”
Syaoran was practicing knife throwing onto a board. Tied in the middle was a dummy, since the teacher wouldn’t allow a real person to be used. Outlining around the dummy was neatly pinned knifes.
Erika, flipping back her glossy hair then announced to the crowd of students, “The next stage of the marvelous Magician Blademaster!”
This time, Syaoran held three knives between the fingers of each hand, and threw them out. Again, it surrounded the dummy neatly. Everyone cheered.
On the side, Tomaki told Sakura, as he took the costume, “He was hopeless at the other magic tricks, to that’s his back up performance…”
“Really?”
“Yup. Li-san, do the card trick on Kinomoto-san!” Tomaki said, winking to her.
“Do I have to?” Reading the magic tricks book, Syaoran held out a deck of cards to Sakura. “Uhh… Pick a card from the deck, and I’ll guess what it is.”
She picked it out a card. Ace of Hearts. Still looking in the book, Syaoran read out loud in a flat voice, “Now I will look in your mind. Remember what the card is, and put it back into the deck. You may shuffle it.” Sakura shuffled the deck and handed it back to him. With a straight face, Syaoran looked through the cards. Everyone waited. Perspiring, he continued to look through the cards.What the heck am I supposed to do? Finally holding up a card, he asked, “Was it a King of Diamonds?”
All the girls cheered. “Wow! Incredible! He’s really great at it! Li-kun is amazing!”
Sweat-dropping, Sakura replied, “No. It was Ace of Hearts.”
Syaoran sweat-dropped after her and hung his head down. Eron commented, “See, he’s really hopeless at it!” Taking a top hat, he swirled it around elegantly and out of it fluttered several pigeons. Again, everyone cheered. “Now, that’s how you’re supposed to do it,” Eron announced.
“Wow, that’s marvelous, Eron-kun!” Sakura clapped.
Turning red, Syaoran exclaimed, “I can do that too!” Taking his top hat, he did an intricate trick of throwing it into the air and turning a flip to catch it. Then, he ran a hand over the top hat, and…
Everyone waited. And waited. And still waited.
Syaoran peered into the hat. “Hey, the fake bottom is stuck!” Just then, out fluttered a pigeon, pecking at his head. “Ouch!”
Sakura giggled, but stopped when Syaoran glared at her. Aki caught the pigeon and handed it back to Syaoran, who looked dejected by his failure.
At that moment, Sakura and Syaoran both straightened up. Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw a person leap from one roof to the next one. Together, they ran to the other side of the building, leaving everyone else in confusion. When they reached a secluded part of the school, they panted for breath, gazing up.
From the top of a tree, a young man with black sunglasses slipped out. From head to toe, he was dressed in a casual black, down to black gloves, and black shoes. This time, he didn’t have a cape on, probably since it was daytime. If he stepped into a crowd outside, he would look relatively normal. It was difficult to see his face because of the shadow of the tree, but his sandy colored hair was spiked up, with only his long bangs let down, giving a rather devilish look. A silver skull dangled from his pierced left ear. From a chain around his neck hung a bright blue sapphire ring. The real, live, Kaitou Magician…
“I don’t get it. Why does he have that star sapphire ring?” Sakura frowned.
For the first time, the Kaitou Magician spoke; his voice had a peculiar smooth, elegant drawl to it, as if he could hypnotize his listeners with it. “I’d watch out over there if I were you,” tilting his head to another section of the school. Then he jumped off the tree, over the school gate and melted into the traffic outside. Before he completely disappeared, he called, “We’ll see each other again, soon!” The only person Sakura knew that had such flawless athletic coordination was Syaoran.
“Do you feel it?” Sakura asked as she tore her attention away from the Kaitou Magician, the mystery thief. “The Joker is out there again. We’ve got to prevent more accidents!” Too late. When they reached the spot, the Joker had already disappeared. This time, it had only spilt the red paint all over the signs that the students had been painting for the Circus for five hours.
“Sakura-chan! Where were you? We’ve got to practice our number!” Meirin exclaimed.
“Okay.” After practicing their acrobatic routine several times, Sakura remembered that she still hadn’t finish handing out the costumes.
By the end of school, Tomoyo came up to her again. “Did you give everyone’s costumes?”
“Hoe-e!!!” Sakura sweat-dropped, for she was still holding half of the pile of clothes.