Chapter 64: A Christmas Miracle

Release date: December 25th, 2009

Word count: 44,938 words

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Thoughts: It isn't often that New Trials time and the release date coincide but that was the case in December 2009. It's also matching real time for me because today's Christmas 2018!

I forgot that we get to meet Moeko-chan again! And I love how thrown off Sakura gets when the orphanage director calls Eron her boyfriend.

Is it ever revealed who was behind the Shirose Subaru Foundation? It sounds like such a Syaoran thing to do.

Awww, Sakura's dream/flashback of what prompted Syaoran to get her a mirror was so sweet. 

Erika complains about everyone leaving her and Syaoran talks about how she doesn't value the people who chose to be by her side. This is such a huge life lesson. Never take the people close to you for granted and always show appreciation.

I never realized how much Sakura and Leiyun resembled the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Cinematic Universe. Sakura had been cultivating her bond with the alliance members for years while Leiyun is trying to catch up by making his own circle but with less success.

Who does Leiyun have in the Mizuki slot?? He told Kai that he wanted to add him as a thief to his group consisting of a betrayer, an assassin, the daughter of a criminal and a daemon possessed soul. Jinyu, Kara and Erika are self-explanatory. But who's the betrayer? Leiyun or Syaoran?

Chapter 63: The Joining of the Circle

Release date: November 12th, 2009

Word count: 41,199 words

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Thoughts: This is the last chapter where the summary is currently posted. I have nothing for Ch 64, but at least I have WIPs for Chapters 65 and 66. That's where the work will really begin. I'm going to have to change the title to "Amethyst Beloved's New Trials Summaries" to ease the confusion as much as I can since a lot of people have author's updates notifications. 

Originally this and Chapter 64 were supposed to be one chapter! I'm happy that the Christmas special got to stand alone and it got to be released during the holidays too.

Meilin's unfaltering trust in Kai came as a welcomed surprise. I completely forgot what followed after she found him with Jinyu's gun.

It's crazy that Shing was able to recognize that Kai was the Kaitou Magician. And yet the dark force is completely blinding him from the ultimate truth.

Eriol and Tomoyo were both holding the red ribbon when they were stowing her fashion show things away. I wonder if this could be foreshadowing.

Kai is the one wearing the Mizuki locket in this chapter. But didn't it go to Miho? There's got to be something that I forgot. Or maybe the exchange hasn't happened yet. Sometimes I just don't know what to make out of the conversations that he has with Kara. Each time they talk, even more questions arise.

Meilin suggests that Keisuke could still be alive because no body was uncovered. We're getting closer and closer to the reveal!

Fujishinto finally lets go of his pride and the dark force released him. Wish-chan explained that the reason why the Pride had to be sealed twice was because the Sakura without memories is not the same Sakura now that she remembers. Even Moonie-chan said, "I don’t think you will be able to seal the dark force unless you conquer that dark force yourself.” I almost didn't catch the fact that the Pride still wasn't sealed in this chapter.

The reveal that Nina was Fujishinto's daughter and thus Fujitaka's half-sister and Sakura's aunt is pretty hilarious.

Chapter 62: Designs in Crime

Release date: July 15th, 2009

Word count: 41,298 words

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Thoughts: I love this chapter so much an I consider it as one of my favourites. Let's see if it holds up in the re-read!

The whole idea of how the Japan Young Designer Contest was rigged from the start makes me sad. The Teen Choice awards are controversial for that reason. While the audience does have a voice in terms of picking the finalists, it's the network who chooses who gets the award.

Tomoyo is dead-set on confessing to Eriol after the competition and is fully expecting to be rejected so she could move on. Maybe that's why I feel that this scene has happened even though my fellow fans said that it didn't.

Touya is still a first year resident? Wasn't he a first year resident when New Trials started back when Sakura was in the eighth grade? She's in grade ten now! We should track that.

I completely forgot that Kaho could have pursued Touya because he was the son on one half of Clow Reed. And I never noticed how Nakuru's last name of Akizuki was so close to Mizuki. 

The rumour about Nina's parentage is that she's Fujitaka's brother's daughter. Unless I'm mistaken, she's Fujitaka's father's daughter. So instead of her being Sakura's cousin, she's her aunt!

The Touya and Syaoran conversations are so much more fascinating in Arc 4. He researched power transfers and hypothesized that Syaoran's power could come back if Sakura gets her power back, similar to how Touya got his power back once Sakura was string enough to sustain Yue. To think he was fishing for information to know if Sakura could get her original power of the stars back because Syaoran's magic that he senses in her is off putting for him, haha. But Touya comes to a realization about Syaoran. Does he realize that Syaoran is acting like a double agent?

Back in the early 2000s, Atlantis Forester drew a fanart of an older Syaoran in a suit. I love the way I can enter it in the Picture Book with a scene that came out nearly a decade later! Yet Fujishinto locking up Sakura in a room after their argument came to a complete surprise to me.

It was so refreshing to see S&S battle side by side for the first time since Sakura's memories came back. It looks like Syaoran would have broken Sakura out if Kai didn't sense her presence first after all.