Chapter 58: Eternal Rivals

Release date: November 1st, 2008

Word count: 15,857 words

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Thoughts: At this point, even though the Veil is captured, Sakura is not able to restore Miara's vision. I'm completely in the dark about how she eventually accomplishes this! I like the way that Kero-chan uses the Age as comparison about how the affected person needs to resolve their issue internally before going back. It's also foreshadowing because it's used in this chapter!

In art class Erika was sculpting a cat. Is this a hint about Risa's patron animal?! Speaking of patron animals, Eron asked Sakura who was Moonie-chan.

I really love the Aki spotlight in this chapter. He's been around since Arc 1 and became more prominent from Arc 2 but this is the first time we learn about him. It's sad to know at 16 his future is already decided for him despite the fact he has other interests. 

Wish-chan drew a really nice fanart of Eron and Erika's parents and uncle. Bubulona shared her interpretation of them with us as well.

Eron and Sakura looking through the yearbook was a great peak into the Nadeshiko era characters that doesn't require a plot-relating flashback!

I always pictured Li Jingmei to be on the frumpy or dowdy side, but according to chit-chat at the Kinhoshi Hospital she's described as a beauty.

I really like the way that Touya is regretting the way he treated Syaoran after Sakura's life was saved. It allows his role in the future chapters and his new attitude towards Syaoran to make more sense. 

Oh my gosh. How could I have completely forgotten Sakura finding Syaoran at Eitoukou while he was playing Star-Crossed on violin? It's like I'm reading this chapter for the first time because all I remember is the Mikai vs Aki basketball game later on.

Sakura using the Ball Card gives me wonderfully nostalgic Arc 1 feels. And it was only a year and a couple of months since I've started my re-read. 

Sakura may have caught the Pride in this chapter, but it's not the last time this card is going to give her trouble despite the fact that it's captured. 

Wish-chan thought that a 37,000 words chapter was too long so she split it in two. In ten years, Ch 73 would be 115,000 words!

Fanart spotlight: This was Aki's chapter. That goes without saying. He started out as a cocky playboy but he's a dutiful son and extremely hard worker. It's only fitting that I use a fanart of Aki even if he's younger here. It's nice that young Mikai is also featured because he was Aki's inspiration to be a hard worker. 

Chapter 57: The Gathering

Release date: August 23rd, 2008

Word count: 30,319

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Thoughts: This chapter signifies the two year mark in NT time since Syaoran transferred back to Japan and the new threat of the Dark Ones was introduced. It took Wish-chan nine years to get here.

Arc 2's summer was jammed pack with the Tokyo adventure and the detailed Best Couple contest at the Kusakou mountains. At least Wish-chan highlighted Syaoran's 17th birthday in omake form (and inadvertently confirmed Syaoran's NT age). Does the fall semester start in August or September? I would think the latter but the weather is still hot.

For the first time since Arc 2, Meilin is once again a Seijou student. Wish-chan's fanart of the Chibi cast in their junior high uniforms is misleading because Meilin was never a student when Eriol, Miho and Kai joined the school. Now if only she could transfer to Japan in CCS:CC!

Kai's makeover to Mikai was absolutely hilarious. And now he's a grade above Sakura's class! Airing out his family history in a middle of a crowd was a bit much for my taste, but maybe Kai thought Miho would create less of a scene if he causes one first.

Though Kai did offer the Five Force Swore and kept the sapphire ring as collateral to make sure that the Li Clan actually did treat him, we learn that Kara was the one who convinced Leiyun to treat Kai and keep him alive in the first place. I wonder if she saw Kai being the Mizuki in Leiyun's circle as opposed to Sakura's.

Kai told Sakura that he saw a Shing painting of a little girl who looked like her. If it wasn't for Asumei's fanart, I wouldn't know what he was talking about. The quote from Ch 20 is in the comments section.

“It’s just another trip. And with my luck, I’ll probably get attacked by another dark force.” Yeah Sakura, you won't even SEE this one coming (what, too soon?).

Woohoo, we get an adorable Chiharu and Takashi kiss during Truth or Dare. Takashi's reaction was priceless. 

Chapter 56: The Tea Party

Release date: June 23rd, 2008

Word count: 28,637

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Thoughts: I never thought much about The Jabberwocky until I saw the wonderful rendition by The Muppets. Honestly, it was the one time the poem made sense.

With all of the action that happens in New Trials it's hard to take the time to properly celebrate everyone's birthdays. I feel that the only big birthday blowouts were Miho's 15th, Sakura's 17th and Syaoran's 18th. 

Tomoyo sings The Rose (Eriol accompanied) and the fandom's owb songbird Hazuki made a cover of the song too. Reading the lyrics makes it clear that it's so relatable to what Sakura is going through.

Mirror of truth reflection update: when Sakura looked in she saw Syaoran looking back sadly. 

I'm a huge fan of tea so I'm so glad that a Tea Café was chosen as the summer cultural festival event.

When Yutaka-kun asked Rika out for the second time since winter, I was sure that Wish-chan was going to shepherd her into an age-appropriate relationship. But she still refused him!

I love how Sakura only realized that she forgot her phone in the classroom at the end of the day. Today our phones are pretty much an extension of ourselves! 

Seeing Eron become nicer for Sakura's sake since he's in love with her is so eerie considering his past.

I love how the recurring theme of how the person you love isn't necessarily your number one person. Kai and Meilin are excellent examples of that (while they love each other, their persons are still Miho and Syaoran) and Eron and Erika too, but when it comes to S&S I'm sure that it's one and the same. 

I would have loved visiting the International Tea Café! But how Takashi managed to get a hold of a real monkey is beyond me. Maybe Wish-chan was inspired by the Friends arc when Ross owned a pet monkey. 

I messaged Melanie about her opinion of Kara's Tarot reading for Sakura and she forwarded me to her interpretation that she did back in April 2014. The way that the events lined up to come true was remarkable. It's the the Files section of the Facebook Group dating back to April 24th, 2014. 

Chapter 55: Platinum

Release date: April 1st, 2008

Word count: 24,635

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Thoughts: For the first time since his upheaval, Syaoran is determined to set things right instead of moping. It's a great feeling to know that it actually happens!

As I re-read NT, I'm also reading Harry Potter and I'm on Goblet of Fire. Jinyu and Victor Krum definitely have the "man of few words" trope down pat.

In the scene where Syaoran is looking in the Great Elder Renshu's blue eyes, Wish-chan mention that blue eyes occur once a generation. I wonder where Leiyun fits. New theory: what if the Great Elder and Ryuuren were unsuccessful in their missions like Leiyun and had to do something to get to the other side? It's incredibly farfetched, but there's got to be an explanation behind the rare blue eyes.

The Great Elder's mere suggestion of killing Sakura so Syaoran could get his powers back was beyond chilling.

It's always lovely to see Arima. When she glomped Sakura, it made me remember a Tumblr post about how kids these days don't know what "glomp" means.

I completely forgot about the scene where Mike showed Sakura the magazine with Nadeshiko and Ryuuren's first shoot.

Mike dating Erika is one of the more random plot points of Arc 4.

For the longest time I kept thinking that the Metal's name was the Platinum. At least there are plenty of examples to show why it was chosen as the title.

It was fun seeing Eron being part of the process and asking questions about Sakura's costumes and whatnot.

I'm really glad that Sakura's Vogue fashion magazine got to Syaoran. I think it's funny that the extensions hid the haircut so that even when Wish-chan posted the fanart, we still only found out about the change in the text.

Syaoran thinks that Sakura's okay from judging how she looks from the pictures and Sakura thinks Syaoran couldn't care about anything other than the Clan according to Kai's letter. The physical divide is turning into an emotional one too.

Kai lends Sakura the sapphire ring for safe keeping. He stresses that it's a loan but I can't remember who gets it next. Kai says it belongs to the owner but I don't think Shing gets it back.

The fact that Sakura tells Tomoyo that the only way she can cope with the Syaoran situation is by forgettinf nakes her a choice victim for The Memory.

Sakura says to herself that the next time she falls in love, she won't give all of herself to anyone. I wonder if that's why we still don't have a concrete status when it comes to defining S&S's relationship.

Fanart spotlight: This one was an easy choice! Wish-chan may have tweaked her own canon to make Sakura the cover of the magazine, but no one is complaining. My favourite part is the hair. Very Rapunzel-esque! What's great about this picture is that it inspired the very first NT cosplay! 

Chapter 54: Cherry Blossoms Branches Shake

Release date: April 1st, 2008

Word count: 33,267

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Thoughts: After taking a few weeks off, I've returned to the best arc of New Trials. The Veil, the Memory and the Fantasy are going to play such huge roles and it's going to be a roller coaster ride for our beloved S&S like never before. 

The way Wish-chan describes Sakura's new Arc 4 haircut is pretty spot on with CCS:CC Sakura's hairstyle. 

It's so strange for a Westerner like myself to picture Japanese students starting a new year after spring break in April and not summer break in August/September.

Kai and Meilin talking for hours when she visited him the day before his surgery makes me happy.

Oh my gosh, I completely forgot that Kaho is Sakura's homeroom teacher again! Yet I do remember Kaho donating blood. So I guess the operation happened before Sakura's first day of school despite the fact that Kai's operation and the first day of school were alternated scene by scene, suggesting that the two events happened simultaneously. But actually the Hong Kong scenes talk place a whole day before the Japan ones.

I love how it's only when these kids are in high school that Wish-chan has their interest in the opposite sex peak. I'm still at the beginning and there's already two mentions of that.

Sheesh, Sakura is no longer Card Mistress because she over extended herself and now she's participating in all the clubs to the point of overdoing it.

Kai being in the same grade as Miho because he failed middle school is kind of funny. I love the way he'll propel himself forward later on.

Why haven't I made the NT vs CCS:CC dream parallel before? NT!Sakura is constantly dreaming of blue eyes while CC!Sakura sees the mysterious cloaked figure. Well, CCS!Sakura had lots of prophetic dreams as well.

Eron is officially no longer wearing the eye necklace. I'm looking forward to following his journey into becoming the Light One. The fact he is wearing the broken Gemini charm from Christmas is really sweet continuity.

So my question about whether Miho knew that Kai was the Kaitou Magician is answered in this chapter! She doesn't, which surprised me. Fun signs of the times sighting: to compliment Miho's collection of newspaper snippets, she has news segments recorded and stored on tapes for the VCR! Anyway, it was pretty hilarious when she concluded that it was Syaoran.