Kero is sitting this Beach Episode out, and the episode begins with him throwing a tantrum over it. Unfortunately, Tori is not going to be showing his stuff either as he's sitting at home studying with Julian. The two think they hear something, but Julian brushes it off as him studying too hard.
We transition to Sakura with a splash. She finds a mysterious cave while swimming, which gives her the creeps. She also discovers none other than Li in swimming trunks at the entrance. But before she can admire his figure, he dives away and her friends call her over to play beach volleyball. Sakura misses a bump, and while she goes to pick it up, Zachary rises out of the water to tell a tale of how beach volleyball originated in Hawaii with coconuts. Chelsea is unimpressed by his tall tales and claims he'll be a science fiction writer when he grows up. As Sakura just stands embarrassed, Zachary does a seal imitation with the ball.
Madison comments on Li's swimming ability, claiming it is almost as good as Sakura. "Yeah, almost", Sakura comments. As Madison suggests Li might challenge Sakura to a race, Zachary pops up to say that Eskimos invented swimming, but gets dragged off by Chelsea. They're cousins, so it's a habitual thing, although Madison and Sakura admit they actually like his stories. All the students prepare a fishing net as part of their Environmental Studies field trip, and as they all tug the ropes together, the best song in the show plays in the background. Guardian of the Cards
is amazing, but only a short bit plays here, so I'll get to it later. For now, this friendship brings an impressive haul of fish, and at the barbecue, the girls marvel at Sakura's potato peeling. "She swims, she pulls" "And peels potatoes!" "Our hero." Their attention then turns to Li, who chops onions fast and precise. "You have...a little competition!"
At night, the girls anticipate the ancient shrine walk in the cave. Nikki and her Scary Shiny Glasses tell a ghost story brought to you by Zachary. There were students just like them who went into the cave bringing candles and gifts, but when they got to the centre, they sensed a strange presence. Their candles went out, and they heard the sound of a door opening all around them. At that moment, the professor opens the door and scares the heck out of Sakura.
Sakura is unable to sleep, and goes to tell Mr. Terata that she doesn't want to go inside the cave because she's scared. Suddenly, a hand grasps at her shoulder. Oh, it's just Li. At the beachside, he tells her that he thought he saw something at the cave earlier. Sakura suggests a Clow Card, but he shakes his head, which scares her as it might be a ghost. Li disdains her fear, and suddenly sees a strange light at the cave. Sakura tells him to change the subject, so Li tells him about his mom's cousin and guardian Wei. She asks him whether he knows about the Clow Cards, and he replies matter-of-factly that the Clow Cards are important to his family since Clow Reed is his ancestor. She comments that they are important to her too, prompting Li to arrogantly claim he doesn't need her help, which is fine since Sakura doesn't really need his help either. Upon getting burned, he heads back.
The next morning, Sakura suggests leaving Li at the cave when Madison asks how she felt about the shrine visit. In the afternoon, she notices a strange fog coming from the cave. Finally, night falls and the class prepares to venture in with only their candles and senses to guide them just like the ancients. Nikki anticipates the horror, but Sakura is much less eager, requiring Madison to drag her along. They arrive at the bridge leading up to the shrine, but no one else is around. A scream breaks out from the other side as Chelsea tells the two Nikki just vanished. Rita vanishes next, and so does Chelsea. The remaining girls run for help, but Madison disappears at the middle of the bridge and her candle drops, burning it up. She could have used Watery or Rain to put it out, but I guess she was too frightened. Li shows up and tells her to get a grip, pointing his Lasin Board at the source of this presence: the shrine. Sakura takes a while to overcome her fear, getting the pair across the broken bridge with Float. Li leaves it up to Sakura to seal the card as he becomes semitransparent. She rushes to the shrine, opens the doors, and seals the spirit. Sakura offers The Erase
◊ card to Li for helping him, but he refuses, claiming he doesn't need her. Then he realizes he needs to cross the water.
Once again, no one besides Sakura and Li remembers what happened. Li tells her they don't want to remember because they can't understand it. Sakura tells him she doesn't want to compete with him, and Li as usual arrogantly claims she can't beat him at anything. The rest of the crew offers a beach volleyball game and Zachary begins one of his usual stories, but Sakura and Li snitch the ball and immediately get into a heated duel. Some things never change.
