Chapter 43: Not a Perfect World

Release date: December 27th, 2002

Word count: 16,941

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Thoughts: On the Updates page prior to the release of this chapter, Wish-chan made a special page for the art submitted by the fans. I wish there was a way to retrieve that old Geocities page!

I remembered that Kai loses his necklace, but reading the scene about the thugs beating him up was like experiencing it for the first time because I never retained any of the details. You have to wonder what kind of life Dark Forces lead when the thug who stole the locket commented that he knew someone who would be interested in having it.

It's so touching to see how serious Kai takes his promise to Meilin to not fight anymore. I'm glad that she recognized his restraint even if he did have to fight to protect himself.

The Wave makes its comeback with earthquakes. Now I see why a number of people in the NT community compared The Swing with The Wave. I like how it's such a complex card that can cause chaos in multiple ways.

The scene where Kai and Miho get past their formalities is so sweet and important. Miho acknowledges him as a friend despite his rough exterior and he starts calling her Miho-hime.

Sakura catching The Age was so soul searching since she had to realize why she was reverted to five years old. Syaoran may have had no problem understanding why he turned twelve. It's so sad reading his silent promise of never leaving Sakura again when that's exactly what happens against his own will.

Fanart spotlight: This fanart of young Sakura remembering the past by Yahoo Group member CrazyViolin gives us a peak at a powerful moment in the Kinomoto siblings relationship. I really like how Wish-chan chose a preschool age to signify when Sakura realizes what it means to not have a mother.

Chapter 42: A Little Girl’s Dream

Release date: August 5th, 2002

Word count: 31,707

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Thoughts: The first kiss between Nadeshiko and Ryuuren that Sakura saw in her dreams may not have been the stuff that dreams are made of since he technically stole it, but it was still funny to read.

I completely forgot about the screening party until Kirei-chan brought it up in connection with the CC episode featuring the Nadeshiko Festival play (does it even have a name?!). I like how Wish-chan writes that Tomoyo's TV screen is almost as large as those at the movie theatres. And once again, Sakura hates seeing herself on screen: “Sakura-chan, what are you doing behind the couch?” Tomoyo asked, dragging her out. 

Heehee, slight continuity error. Sakura feels like it's been ages since she spent the night over at Tomoyo's but the last time was only the night before Touya came back to town.

Sakura tried her hand at luring Tomoyo into being interested in Eriol , but Tomoyo didn't take the bait. So many writers don't think twice about shipping E&T but Wish-chan never truly made it happen even if there are going to be some powerful E&T moments in the future.

I completely forgot that we delved deep in Tomoyo's psyche and witness a vulnerable side of her that she keeps under lock and key. It really makes the character well-rounded.

I don't remember this plot point of Kai going missing at all. I love that there are so many elements of NT stil have me mystified. 

The journalism sign up scene is endearing to me because of the fanart that I did for the Club prompt. Choosing different fonts to represent the signatures was fun.

There's a moment where Syaoran is reading Sakura's face and answering her without her saying anything. This moment reminded me of the cherry blossom festival scene in CC that S&S shared after Syaoran came late. I'm really looking forward to when the mind reading is going to start!

Chapter 41: Star-Crossed

Release date: July 14th, 2002

Word count: 28,142

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Thoughts: After intermission the show starts with Romeo and Juliet meeting in secret. This totally reminds me of Arc 4's S&S post reconciliation.

Even though Wish-chan couldn't write out the whole musical for obvious reasons, I'm grateful for the parts that were there. I actually took the time to weave together all of the Star-Crossed parts in one document to create an un-cut experience. 

More Arc 4 foreshadowing includes Eron's character professing his love and willingness to wait for Juliet's love in return, and the Friar advising Juliet to forget about Romeo.

Star-Crossed is an unbelievably beautiful story within the story that is NT. It's just as exhilarating to read it now as it was the first time. I just think that it's a shame that all of this hard work resulted in only one performance!!

How Kai managed to pluck those earrings from the twins' ears and plant them and the rest of the treasures on stage by switching them with the prop ones is beyond me. Too bad a magician never reveals his tricks.

The Fates asked Sakura if she wants to know if she'll defeat the dark ones or if she wants to know how things will work out with Syaoran.  It was 2002 for us readers. I guess she should have said yes because it's now 16 years later and we still don't have those answers!!

Wish-chan writes some horrifying scenes through out history to show Sakura that Fate is unchanging. The part with The Plague is just all too real with what's going to happen at the end of Arc 3.

The quality of writing has improved leaps and bounds. It hasn't even been three years since the Prologue, yet there's already so much more maturity in the text. 

Chapter 40: The Fate Determined by the Stars

Release date: April 3rd, 2002

Word count: 21,312

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Thoughts: Sakura's opening paragraph about all of the hard work going into Star-Crossed despite other obligations sounds like Wish-chan persevering with NT despite's life's obligations.

Nadeshiko was able to bargain with the Fates for more time. It's a good thing that she wasn't on the Grim Reaper's clock!

I like the fact that despite being a fairly minor character, Mike Kant still makes a decent amount of cameos.

After getting a nice dose of Meilin in CC, I'm glad that I can still enjoy her in NT. I love how she was the only one who realized that Kai had ulterior motives for being involved with the musical.

Ugh, Eron was so cold when rejecting Yuri-chan. I feel so sad for her. 

Ah, there it is. Erika was the one who blabbed to Sakura about the bet between Eron and Syaoran. I knew that decision was going to end up biting Syaoran. It hurts to know that the last time Sakura felt this betrayed and confused was when Syaoran said he didn't have feelings for her in Arc 1.

Sakura's thank-you breakfast was so thoughtful and I'm glad that chose to illustrate that for Fanart100's Breakfast prompt even though my proportions are ridiculous. In her letter she asks Syaoran to feed Wolfie-chan well, but in the previous chapters she already stated that as a Dark Force, Wolfie-chan doesn't need food.

It's nice to have Touya back. The Kinomoto banter is great! 

Oh, Syaoran asked Sakura out for Sunday. I haven't forgotten how that is going to go down. Ouch.

Chapter 39: Impulse

Release date: December 26th, 2001 

Word count: 10,747

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Thoughts: “I’ll never let her go to a bastard like you, as long as she doesn’t tell me, ‘I hate every part of you Syaoran, and get the hell out of my life.’” ~ so much foreshadowing! Of course Syaoran left Sakura's life first, but still.

Syaoran and Eron make a deal to fight for Sakura equally and back off if she chooses the other. Why do I feel like this bet will somehow backfire?

This is where Wish-chan elaborates on the "level-something magicians", which I isolated as an Arc 3 appendix.  In CCS:CC, when Eriol was talking about the magician level that Kaito could belong to, it made me think of this. According to the definitions, I think Kai is a Level 3 Magician like Miho.

It's so different reading about Miho talking about her missing brother with Kai being right in the same room. Though we the readers found this out ages ago, it's still an extraordinary plot twist.

Signs of the times: Kai is listening to music on a Sony Discman. 

I love how Kai became the sound and light technician for Star-Crossed. I also love how Kai is still keeping tabs on Meilin through her bracelet. 

Sakura cuts her hand on a broken plate and Syaoran brings her palm to his lips. How could I have forgotten that?! The title's inspiration comes from this quote: “Well, if you don’t like Eron, then go out with me.” Why they couldn't be a couple from this point is beyond me but I'm sure there's a reason. 

Syaoran came up with a plan to feed Sakura a lot so it wouldn't seem like she lost weight while her family was gone. So for lunch he packed her fried shrimps, dumplings, fried rice, sausages, egg roll, and for desert, fresh cherries, vanilla pudding, a slice of pound cake, and a bagful of cookies for snack. This is where I would say that I want a Syaoran but my husband loves cooking and whips up tasty dishes for me too so during special occasions I'm just as spoiled.

Fanart spotlight: Arc 3 is so rich with fanart that this time around I'm only responsible for two chapters before moving on to Arc 4. I figured that Syaoran and Eron's bet would be easy enough to accomplish. I didn't have a pencil crayon to match the uniform colour so I improvised with dark blue and black. 

Chapter 38: Identity Crisis

Release date: December 26th, 2001 

Word count: 14,654

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Thoughts: In this chapter, Eron confesses his desire to date Sakura to Erika. To think we all thought that this would never happen!

Oh my gosh, I wrote a Ch 36 missing moment fanfic about Sakura's insomnia from Tomoyo being under The Phantom where she sneaks into Syaoran's room to sleep next to him, but I did not remember her actually breaking in while he was sleeping for other things!!

Seeing Kero-chan and Kai as video game buddies is so endearing. 

Syaoran gets serious with Kai and asked him if it was hard to hold back so many secrets. So did he know Kai's true identity? 

This chapter marks one year in the NT timeline with Syaoran thinking back about how he dropped everything to return to Japan. There's some prologue recap as well as the revelation that Syaoran was under strict orders not to get involved with Sakura or else he would be forced to return to Hong Kong. It really hurt to have his POV of the "I have no special feelings" conversation last winter.

Syaoran is the first to find Eriol and he's polite enough. I haven't let CCS:CC influence my NT thoughts, but after whatever secret relationship is going on in the anime, it's currently hard to think of them as any other way. 

Eriol's plan of making a surprise entrance but it falls apart is one of my favourite funny moments. Sakura jumping out the window gets me every time!

There's a fire at the theatre and Miho completely shuts down. Kai takes care of her in that instant and he's more gentle than ever. It's interesting to see characters being triggered long before "triggering" was fandom vernacular. 

I should have kept a tally of how many times S&S try to admit their true feelings. Syaoran tries to tell Sakura what he was thinking about for four hours but she cuts him off.

Syaoran and Kai discussing the retail values of the crystallized objects was funny.

Sakura used Sugary to lure out The Crystal's true form. This is the kind of problem solving that's lacking from a lot of CCS:CC episodes.

Syaoran activating Sakura's staff with the power of the moon and wielding it with the power of the moon was such an exciting moment!! I'm so glad there's a fanart.

Kai vs The Crystal is one of those scenes that I would love to see animated. 

I completely forgot about the way that Sakura used The Mirror and The Twin to multiply Kai's Mirror of Truth to capture The Phantom! Once again, another capture that's a lot more interesting than what we've been seeing in CC.

Fun fact -- though the first CCS movie was released in August 1999, Wish-chan only watched it now!

Fanart spotlight: I thought that it was convenient to use a fanart that was inspired by a direct quote. Tomoyo Thinking of Phantom by Selenity gives us a side of Tomoyo that we rarely see. 

Chapter 37: Challenge of Friendship

Release date: November 9th, 2001 

Word count: 19,301

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Thoughts: I'm back on Sakura's birthday as promised! Not only did I finish Every Day, but I read its companion Another Day as well. Melanie also completed Love and Lyrics and I highly recommend checking  it out since it makes some winks at New Trials. 

The chapter begins with Meilin calling from Hong Kong and this really resonates with the beginning of the Clear Card episode 10 when Sakura invited Akiho over to her place.

Erika realizes that she no longer has The Veil. There's a Dark Force that's not going to pop up for another year in NT time. 

The Star-Crossed gang dropping by was a fiasco. The incidents were Sakura is caught wearing house clothes and Syaoran pretending to use a baton for martial arts has to be the funniest moments and I'm glad that there's fanart! Miho is such a brat as she gives a full report of all the girly things she found in the bathroom and all of the guests are a real pain when they beg Syaoran to cook for them.

I forgot that Syaoran salvaged the embroidery by cleaning and mending it. It's back on his wall!

The summer adventure has been fun, but I do look forward to getting back to the school routine. Star Crossed is around the corner too! 

Arc 3 happily bumps Kaitou up from recurring to regular character now that he's joined Sakura's class and became Syaoran's neighbour. Though it's an obsure fact, I still remember that "Mizuki Kai" was a mistake by the administration because he originally wanted his last name to be "Magiki" (close to magician). Kai adjusting to student life was hilarious.