Chapter 26.5: The Legacy of the Twins (Eron and Erika’s Promise)

Release date: June 21st, 2001 

Word count: 5697

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Thoughts: Though this chapter is listed after Chapter 32 (the third chapter of the summer adventure timeline since that's when it was released), it clearly takes place in between chapters 26 and 27 while Sakura and Syoaran were struggling to get to school on time and Meilin was already out of the picture.

Why is it that the least S&S centric chapter is one that has so much S&S fluff?!?! They're too adorable for words.

The bond between Eron and Erika in the early arcs is iron clad. It's unbelievable that they're on different sides on the battlefield later on. 

The family love between Eron and Erika is so pure. 

Risa Chang is the first one of The Great Five's time to directly communicate with her descendent. Then it's Eron with Ruichi (though it was probably simultaneous) and then it should be Mikai and Mayura. Apparently Landon and Shulin reached out to their decedents according to Sakura, who laments that she never heard from Hayashi and how she was the only one.   

When Risa sways Erika to accept her soul, it reminds me of the theory of how she may have been the original Dark One after all. 

I wonder if Risa and Ruichi would have accomplished their goal if Erika wasn't sick.

The image of Syaoran carrying Sakura in his arms after she sprained her ankle in PE class is so sweet. I can never get enough of S&S fluff.

Eron was dedicated to staying true to the decision he made to let the darkness in as the price to save Erika. This special really makes me appreciate the hardships he'll undergo in the future to be set free.

Fanart spotlight: Though it would be very easy to use the fanart that Wish-chan specifically drew for this special chapter, I realized that yaninpoart's Eron and Erika portrait for her Shades of Gray series works marvellously to show the bond between them. The fact that they are younger than we're used to in canon makes this fanart an even better fit.

Chapter 26: Living Together

Release date: March 16th, 2001 

Word count: 5573

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Thoughts: Having the school enlist the students in cleaning twenty years worth of grime in the theatre sounds hazardous! Such a heavy duty job calls for professionals.

S&S are so frosty to each other. How they manage to make up is a mystery to me. Update: Syaoran uses his magic to stop a soccer ball from smashing Sakura's face. How sweet!

Kaitou sends a package of a trick and some treats. The treats being the Five Force Scroll and theatre blueprints and the trick being unescapable handcuffs! Their hijinx were wonderful to re-read. I wonder if Wish-chan thought of an excuse to explain how they avoided bathroom visits all together…

Naoko tells the story about how mishaps during the Phantom of the Opera rehearsals led to a student dying under the broken prop chandelier. The jury's still out to whether if it's true.

Moonstone is revealed for the first time in present day (the other references were all in the past). Great timing because we learn the story behind Miara's handcuffs and how the key is somewhere in the basement. 

Good news is that the key is found and S&S are free. The bad news is that our heroes have officially met The Phantom. He's currently bound to the basement… for now. 

Fanart spotlight: I thought that the scene with Sakura and Syaoran in handcuffs would be perfect for the Unbreakable prompt in the 100 Themes Challenge so I was incredibly happy when Dragurok accepted to draw my request. The look of pure shock on their face is priceless. 

Chapter 25: Parting Friends

Release date: March 16th, 2001 

Word count: 8028

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Thoughts: Meilin says that she wants to go home in order to train harder and become an asset instead of a liability. Now that we know the future of NT, I'm glad to see that it happened. 

Sakura finds the stale box of chocolates and withered peony that Syaoran intended to give her on White Day. I have no idea why it was in Meilin's room or why she held on to it.

And Sakura is now Juliet to Syaoran's Romeo. Wish-chan may torture S&S tons, but she is such a shipper.  

Meilin's goodbye party was sweet. I'm going to miss her! At the airport, they run into Kaitou who manages to trick security by stealing Syaoran's passport. I forgot that scene happened!

Sometimes I feel that the original Sakura Cards get neglected in New Trials with all of the storytelling, so it was fun to see Sakura use The Twin to multiply the "I will not be late for class" sentence one hundred times for her and Syaoran.

I probably would have forgotten about Eron and Sakura's date if it wasn't for Asumei's fanart of the consequence Syaoran's rash action. However, it did slip my mind that Sakura moved back to her home shortly after Meilin left.

According to the old Updates page and the author's note, it appears that at least Chapters 25 and 26 (and maybe 27?) were supposed to be just one chapter but Wish-chan feared that it was too long. I think that as the updates became further apart, she became more generous with the word count per instalment. 

Fanart spotlight: This 'Surprised Meilin' fanart by Selenity Shiroi wasn't drawn with the intention of being a scene from this chapter, but it works out very well regardless. By taking a glimpse of the artist's gallery, we see that Selenity favours Meilin so it's fun to see her interpretation of this character evolve through out the years.

Chapter 24: The Mirror of Truth

Release date: March 3rd, 2001

Word count: 8107

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Thoughts: Sakura's dream taunts her that Syaoran wouldn't be in her life if she wasn't a Card Captor. While it's true that Syaoran would have never come to Japan in the first place because the Cards were loose, I'd like to think that she would have approached him anyway if he was a sullen new kid.

We are finally talking about the Five Force Treasures after a lot of build up in the previous chapters!

I know nothing about St-Tail, but it's really cool how Wish-chan was able to incorporate one of her favourite mangas in her fic. 

Hehe, there's a mention of Sakura's green ribbon that Syaoran swiped in Arc 1.

When Sakura and Meilin bumps into Kaitou at the museum and treats him like the stranger that he is, it still surprises me that Kai wasn't as always as deeply embedded in the fold like he is now. 

"Sighing, the thief gave one last bitter look at Shing’s painting and melted into the crowd." ~ Wish-chan truly did deliver us the mother of all plot twists! It's so much fun to go back and realize the deeper meaning.

Sakura and Syoaran enter the Mirror of Truth?! I don't remember this at all!! This is where they viewed more scenes of the past, which includes Nadeshiko's insecurities about Ryuuren being in her life only because of magic.

Unfortunately, I did not succeed at the Great Five quiz. While I knew that Amamiya = Sixth Sense, Dark Ones/Chang = Light and Dark, and Li = Elemental Power, I got Reed = Heavenly Bodies and Mizuki = Contract magic mixed up! This is where Sakura sees them for the first time.

I may not have remembered anything about the adventures inside the mirror (including Syaoran being tasked to find the real Sakura among nine duplicates), the Kai and Meilin fan in me didn't forget the way Meilin reminded him to eat his vegetables.

The chapter closes with the first hint of Eron's obsession with Sakura. I didn't think it was mentioned this soon.

Fanart spotlight: I wasn't sure what fanart to use, but when we were introduced to the Great Five for the first time, I just had to use Wish-chan's original sketch from the early 2000s. Such a pretty drawing and after all of these years, she hasn't strayed too far from her original interpretation. 

Chapter 23: The Kaitou Magician and the Diamond Necklace

Release date: March 3rd, 2001

Word count:11,003

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Thoughts: The new school year is kind of fuzzy. It starts in April, which is where we are in the timeline, but there's no chatter about moving up a grade, which should be grade 9 by now. 

Meilin mentioned the red and blue teddy bear pyjamas that she and Syaoran owned as kids. If it wasn't for the fact that there's an illustrated version of the title, I might have used it for the chapter fanart.

I'm glad that Wish-chan took the time to develop Tomoyo's absentee father. To think that this is all the groundwork to set up for The Phantom. 

Syaoran's magician fails were hilarious. Thankfully he had knife throwing as a backup. 

The Kaitou Magician speaks as he warns S&S that The Joker is around. Wish-chan's description is pretty spot on to how we recognize him today with the exception of calling his hair sandy coloured, which will change to blonde later on. 

When Sakura lends Syaoran The Flower Card without hesitation, it's only then he realized that Sakura does trust him. It's kind of sad that it took him this long, but he was acting like a jerk with his Arc 1 mixed messages.

Chapter 22.5: Sakura's Birthday Special (Pink Ribbon Trees)

Release date: April 1st, 2001

Word count: 2765

(Note: Be sure to read the blog post for Chapter 22: No More Solitude before reading ahead!)

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Thoughts: The pink background that Wish-chan selected for this chapter on her site  is so pretty! It's definitely a perk that you can't get anymore on FF. Speaking of her site, thanks to her old Updates page, from here on in I will have the exact release date. 

It's not always too easy to pinpoint the exact incision of these special chapters, but if anyone wants to follow the time line, I'd say that this chapter comes in right after The Joker visits Meilin in Ch 22. If this chapter came out when Wish-chan started using the decimal format, it would have been labeled as "Chapter 22.5". 

Leave it to Tomoyo to call up Syaoran and let him know it was Sakura's birthday. I still remember that it was The Dark Ones who tampered with his calendar.

The pink balloon with the note inside is certainly Syaoran's MO at this point. 

The image of Syaoran painstakingly tying a multitude of ribbons on the branches for Sakura is so endearing. 

While no one could ever forget the amazing pink chiffon cake in Arc 4, it turns out that the first cake Syaoran made for Sakura was a strawberry and cream Kero-chan head shaped cake! Anyone else forgot about the food fight in this chapter?

This chapter is also the origin of, "Go home and look into the mirror." when Sakura asked Syaoran what was his wish. Sigh, Sakura you are so oblivious. 

Fanart spotlight: I originally drew the pink ribbon trees for the Birthday prompt in the New Trials Fanart100 until I replaced it with Wish-chan's Birthday Omake. However, it was not in vain because it was then used for the Everything For You prompt in the NT 100 Themes Challenge! 

Chapter 22: No More Solitude

Release date: February 2001

Word count: 10,566

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Thoughts: Time for the Spring Carnival! I've always adored the fact that these school events are never forgotten and are weaved beautifully in the storyline. Thanks to fanart, I remembered that Takashi and Chiharu were clowns and Meilin was an acrobat, but I forgot that Sakura was an acrobat too and both Syaoran and Eron were magicians.

It's the White Day special in this chapter. I don't recall this occasion being celebrated again in the rest of the series. Now, it just wouldn't be New Trials without the misunderstanding of Sakura finding a picture of Syaoran giving Erika roses (what guy gets another guy to deliver his flowers anyway?) and Syaoran seeing Eron giving Sakura a gift.

I remember Touya and Fujitaka leaving, but I forgot that Wish-chan wrote Kero-chan out of the picture by making him go to London to research with Yue and Kaho.

“I’ve finally come to a conclusion,” Meirin stated firmly. “Syaoran has a split personality. That must be it.”, may be one of my favorite Meilin quotes.

This is the chapter where we learn that Nadeshiko was the lead in a school play. It's great to see Star-Cross coming full circle in NT. Speaking of parents, we also get the first mention of Tomoyo's father and the rocky road that discourages Sakura from asking to stay with the Daidoujis.

Chapter 21: Blown Away Roses

Release date: February 2001

Word count: 13,635

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Thoughts: Arc 2 starts off with a bang with the first mention of the school musical Star-Crossed. I love how Wish-chan takes events from the original series (camping trips, plays, ski excursions) and makes it her own.

Tomoyo wondered why Terada-sensei moved to Seijou Junior High. I guess he and Rika must be extra secretive to hide their relationship from Tomoyo.

I always thought that it was odd for the most coveted role to be Rosaline and not Juliet. I guess it's hard to compete with the most beautiful person in the musical.

Sonomi is unable to recognize Syaoran as Ryuuren's son but she already realized who he was in the Christmas chapter. Plot hole? Tomoyo does save the situation by explaining that Nadeshiko and Ryuuren might have put a memory charm on her.

Tomoyo and Syaoran never have time together so the whole training montage where she coaches him for the audition is adorable.

This is the second time that Sakura dreams of Syaoran walking away from her. Ugh, Yesterday's Letter is so far away but I still won't be ready when I get to it. 

Syaoran planning to force Meilin into buying the girly magazine with the Angels in New York photo delights me.