"Look out Sakura!" Tomoyo yelled. Sakura screeched to a halt, and jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding a chilling blast. Sakura's opponent was a student of Dan's, who had challenged her to a fight. It was never that easy for Sakura though, since as soon as he began to lose, he activated his Clow granted powers. His first shot had nearly frozen Sakura solid, but Sakura's reflexes allowed her to get off with a glancing blow. Still, it was enough to freeze up one of her arms, throwing her off balance, and slowing her down. Now, she had to find a way to not only get inside his firing range, but also find a way to escape his fire long enough to retrieve her key/staff that she'd left in Tomoyo's possession prior to the match. Even with her training, Sakura was having a hard time of it. "Left, Sakura! Left!" Tomoyo frantically waved to the left. Another icy blast flew past her towards the door...which slid open at just the wrong time. "Eh, what's going on..." Dan asked, before freezing solid, and hitting the ground with a thump. Sakura sighed. And then the student spoke. "Ahh! Master Dan! Sorry!" Sakura used the distraction to dash up to Tomoyo and retrieve the magical item. "Key that hides the forces of darkness, show your true identity! I, Sakura, command you under the covenant! Release the seal!" Sakura intoned the words, and the key responded, elongating into the familiar wing tipped staff. "Eh?" Was all the student could say while this took place. "Time to finish this. Shield!" Sakura yelled the last bit, while invoking the powers of the card with that name. The student gathered up another ice blast, taking advantage of the fact that Sakura was not moving in the slightest. He smirked as he released it, and the smirk grew as Sakura took the blast head on. But as the vapors dissipated, the student's face fell. And he visibly swallowed. For Sakura was standing exactly where she had been, completely unharmed. It was Sakura's turn to smile as she pulled out another card. She dropped the shield, and invoked the power of Lock, securing the student's feet to the ground and his hands to his side. Secure in the knowledge that he wasn't going to be able to shoot any more of those ice projectiles at her, she strode up to him confidently, while invoking the powers of Firey to unfreeze her arm. "Um? Sakura?" Tomoyo said nervously. "Eh? What?" Sakura responded as she raised the staff over the student's head, about to bring it down and seal the card. "I don't think that trapping his arms and legs would stop him from using his powers..." Sakura's eyes widened as the frost aura erupted from the student. She flew violently backwards, and hit the wall. Tomoyo put on a pained expression. Sakura's focus was lost, and the student found himself able to move again. Walking slowly over towards Sakura, he gathered up a huge ball of ice, intending to crush Sakura under the weight. Sakura groggily fought her way back to her feet, but with a wall behind her, there was nowhere she could run to. As she squeezed her eyes shut, she put up a feeble guard, hoping to ward off the worst of the pain that was about to come. But it didn't come. Sakura warily opened an eye to spot Tomoyo standing over the prone form of the student. Upon closer inspection, the student was actually twitching, and Tomoyo was holding a taser in her hand. "Are you all right Sakura?" Tomoyo frowned worriedly. "You should capture this card before he gets up." "Um...ok. Return to the shape you were destined to be. Clow card." Sakura unenthusiastically said as she brought the staff down on the still prone student. The card formed, and flew into the waiting hands of Tomoyo. "I caught a Clow card!" Tomoyo powerposed. Sakura shook her head. Who'd ever think that Tomoyo would have been able to save her? And now that she was thinking about it, why exactly was Tomoyo carrying around a taser? "Here you go Sakura. I can't even use this thing." Tomoyo said, as she handed over Freeze. "Oh, and since you were probably wondering about the taser, it's just something my mom bought for me 6 years ago. Said it was common sense to carry around some sort of protection on my travels." "Oh, and that explains everything, eh?" Sakura sarcastically replied. "Um...actually, it does." Tomoyo flatly responded. "Erm...right." Tomoyo pointed to the Dan-sicle. "Maybe you should...unfreeze him?" Sakura sighed. "Guess you're right." Sakura once again invoked the power of Firey. "Y'know, this entire situation has put me into the mood for ice-cream." "...in here?" Finished Dan as he unfroze. Sakura grabbed Tomoyo's hand and ran out the dojo, dragging her behind. "I know this great place that has the best milkshakes. Should be around the corner and just a block away." Sakura explained as they ran down the street. Due to a lack of attention, and an unbalancing extra weight being dragged behind her, Sakura barreled headlong into someone, knocking both herself, and the person down. "Ah! Sorry sorry sorry! I wasn't paying any attention! Yuriko, can you help her out?" Sakura said as she dragged herself to her feet, noticing that the person she had knocked over was indeed a female. "Yuriko?" She queried as she made eye contact with the stiff as a board Tomoyo, who hadn't moved to help out at all. The other woman stood up on her own and composed herself. "It's been a while, Tomoyo." Sakura's jaw dropped. This person knew who Tomoyo really was? Tomoyo's eyes were riveted on the female, as she muttered the word, "Mother." ********** <__< BLOSSOMS IN THE SPRING <__< A crossover Improfanfic started by The Eternal Lost Lurker Street Fighter and all related trademarks belong to Capcom. Cardcaptor Sakura and all related trademarks belong to CLAMP, Kodansha. Used without permission. Part 24: Sakura's CHANGE of perspective By Smlee ********** Sakura took a moment to put two and two together. "Eh? You mean? Tomoyo is? And you are?" Sakura scanned her memory. "Mrs. Daidouji?" The woman continued her stare towards Tomoyo while she spoke. "Actually, me and Mr. Daidouji divorced 4 years ago. I'm going by my maiden name again, Amamiya." It was Tomoyo's turn to have her jaw drop. "What? What happened?" "You'd have known what happened if you ever bothered to call. Or write. Or even visit. To think, you've been in Tokyo this whole time, and not once have you bothered to visit me." Ms. Amamiya, who Sakura seemed to recall had the first name of Sonomi, spoke venomously. "It just...wasn't the right time." Tomoyo excused. The clouds surrounding Sonomi's face cleared up as she turned her attention to Sakura. "Is this Sakura? The one you left home to chase after?" Sakura's face reddened as she remembered the story Tomoyo told her the first day Sakura had learned her true name. Tomoyo's face reddened as well. "Yes." Sakura took a step back as Sonomi leaned in for a closer inspection. "She doesn't look anything like Nadeshiko. I thought you said that Sakura was supposed to be her daughter." Tomoyo looked down slightly, and responded. "Things are...complicated. It would take a while to explain." Sonomi looked upon Sakura with disinterest, before turning to Tomoyo again. "Well, as long as you are finding true happiness with her, I guess that's all that matters." Sakura yelled out. "Eh? What are you implying lady!" Tomoyo spoke in a soft tone. "Well...that's complicated as well." Sonomi blinked. "Then perhaps we should find somewhere to sit down and talk about it? Ah! I know this place just a block away that has the best milkshakes...!" ********** Sakura took another sip of her milkshake as she stared off into the distance. She was attempting to drown out the mother/daughter conversation that was taking place at the other side of the table, in which the most embarrassing things seemed to keep coming up. At least she hadn't needed to speak more than two words since they’d gotten to the shop. Sakura found this situation to be quite...unnerving. A hand waved in front of her eyes, breaking Sakura out of her semi-trance. "Sakura? Are you alright?" Tomoyo voiced concernedly. "Erm...Tomoyo? Yeah, everything's fine." Sakura mumbled. Sonomi clasped her hands together and put on a bright smile. "It's nice to see you two get along so well together." Sakura nearly leapt from her chair on that one, but Tomoyo held her down. "Exactly. Right. Yeah." Tomoyo quickly stuttered. "Eh? To..." Sakura would have finished, except she quickly found Tomoyo's hand covering her mouth. Tomoyo laughed nervously. "I need to use the washroom. Sakura does to. We'll be right back." Tomoyo grabbed Sakura's hand, and before Sakura realized it, dragged her to the washroom. Once there, Tomoyo broke down. As tears began to stream down her face, she asked the question Sakura would one day regret giving an answer to. "Will you help me Sakura?" Sakura, shocked at the radical shift in emotions, replied with an immediate, "Yes! What can I do to help?" "Well?I know this will be hard for you to do, but I need you to pretend that you're going out with me." Sakura's jaw dropped, and if she hadn't already caught Freeze today, she could have sworn that she was under attack. Tomoyo rushed to explain. "Well you see, my mother seems to have developed a hatred for men, any men, and since I kinda told her when I wanted to search for you all those years ago that I was in love with you?" Tomoyo broke down in tears again. Sakura blinked. This was not what she had been expecting to have to deal with today. "Tomoyo, it's ok. I'll try to help out any way I...wait." Sakura's eyes widened as she pointed a now twitchy finger towards Tomoyo. "YOU LOVE ME?" Tomoyo looked up again, wiped the tears from her eyes, and nodded. "But...it's not like that anymore. Shaoran and I...we've got something..." Again Sakura twitched. She reassured herself that it was NOT jealousy. "Anyways, as long as I can videotape you, it's all I need." Tomoyo said brightly, holding up her video camera. Sakura fell over. ********** "Well that took a while." Sonomi greeted the two as they retook their seats at the table. She nudged Tomoyo in the side and winked. "What exactly were you up to in the washroom?" "Eh? What are you..." Sakura cut off as she looked into Tomoyo's eyes, and remembered the promise she'd made moments ago. 'I promise I'll help. Besides, it's just for a little while, right?' Tomoyo responded for them. "I just needed to talk with her about something. That's why it took a bit longer." "Ah I see." Sonomi glanced back down at her drink. Sakura thought she might have looked...disappointed. When next she spoke, Sonomi directed her questions toward Sakura. "So how long exactly have you two been...an item?" Sakura stiffened up like a log. What kind of indecent question was that? Sakura rubbed the back of her neck as she slowly glanced around. Nobody seemed to be paying them any attention. So she responded. "Eh. Well. Um. I suppose...it would be a few months now..." Sakura glanced towards Tomoyo. She gave Sakura a slight nod. The answer was satisfactory. "Oh? What is this? My #1 star pupil is...on the other side of the fence?" came Dan's voice from behind. Sakura gagged. Dan grabbed Sakura and twirled her chair around. He then grasped her shoulder and shook. "When were you planning on informing the rest of us? And to think, I've wasted all those months chasing after you!" Dan wept. Sakura wasn't too sure about the months spent chasing after her part, since Dan never expressed any interest...but the part about informing...Dan would blab to everyone! "Wahhhhhhhhh!" She wailed, as she balled up her fist and sent Dan flying through the roof. Sakura decided that nobody would care if Dan died, and so, got up to go finish the job. Remembering her manners, Sakura paused a moment. "I'm sorry Ms. Amamiya. We'll have to finish this conversation at another time." With a bow, Sakura dashed out the door. Not even seconds later, Sonomi turned to Tomoyo. "Is she always this aggressive?" Tomoyo looked down the path Sakura had just blazed. "That's my Sakura-chan!" ********** Sakura kicked off her shoes as she entered her house. And then she sighed. She hadn't been able to track Dan. And now, he was probably off telling everyone in the phone book that she was...No, Sakura had to think positive. Maybe her initial blow had been a knockout one. Or maybe Dan had landed in shark infested waters. Or... Sakura made her way up to her room, and thumped right down onto her bed. "Maybe if I sleep now, this'll all go away by morning." An inquisitive plushie/magical beast buzzed around her head. "What'll go away?" Sakura, face still buried in her pillow, gave a muffled reply. "Oh. Hi Kero. I caught Freeze today. It's on the desk." Kero glanced over. Sure enough, there it was. But he didn't doubt its existence. "You want it to go away?" Kero asked, confused. "No no no. Don't ask me why I'm telling you this, but today, I was forced to say that Tomoyo was my girlfriend." Sakura admitted. Kero, still slightly confused (but really happy, mostly for hentai reasons), responded. "Well...that's um...great for you and Tomoyo. In fact, whatever lifestyle you choose, I'll still support you 100%!" Sakura angrily swatted Kero into a wall. "Idiot! I'm not actually her girlfriend. Tomoyo just asked me to pretend I was after we met her mother today." Kero's face drooped. "Well, can't have it all I guess." Sakura swatted Kero into the wall again. "What's that supposed to mean?" Kero applied a bandage to his head. "Nothing, nothing. So you met the kid's mother, eh? I only remember seeing her once before. Seemed a bit...eccentric." Sakura mumbled. "That doesn't describe the half of it." Kero fluttered back to Sakura. "And what was so bad about it? It was just a small lie...ok. Maybe it was a big lie...but you pulled it off ok, right?" Sakura raised her hand as if to thwap Kero again, but rethought it. "That telling of the lie part went fine. It was the part where Dan showed up, listened in, and didn't die afterwards that gets to me." Kero sighed. "Ah." Sakura and Kero spent the next few moments in silence. Kero broke it with a quick, "Well, at least you caught a Clow card." before resuming the silence. Then 'it' came. The call from downstairs. The call...from her mother. ********** Sakura skidded to a halt next to her mom. "Yes?" "I just received a rather disturbing phone call." Sakura's mother said as she glared down at Sakura. Sakura nervously shuffled her feet. "Um, yes? What was it?" "Well, it may be none of my business, but I've got to ask anyways. Are you dating Yuriko?" Sakura knew she had to use all her acting skills to get out of this one. She drew in a deep breath and started. "Of course not mother, what ever gave you that notion?" Sakura noted her mother's sigh. "You know, you are a horrible actress." Sakura's mom deadpanned as she tapped her foot angrily. "Erm, you have to believe me. I do not have any sort of relation with Yuriko!" Sakura blurted. Sakura's mother nodded. "I'll believe you for now. After all, what kind of mother would I be if I didn't?" Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Sakura's mom wasn't finished though, and continued. "And I already overlook that strange hobby of yours, which already makes you look?" Sakura cut her off. "What the heck are you saying!" "Oh, I guess it's not that important." Sakura's mom vaguely ended the conversation. And then the phone rang. "I got it!" Sakura yelled as she dashed to pick it up before her mother. "Hello?" Came the voice on the other side. "Yeah?" Sakura responded. "Sakura? Long time no speak." It was Keiko, a student from Sakura's school. "Eh? Keiko? How'd you get this number?" Sakura never gave out her number. "Oh, I looked it up in the phone book." Sakura slapped her head. Duh! "So why are you calling?" Queried Sakura, even though she practically knew why. "Are the rumors true?" Sakura mentally kicked Tomoyo. Hopefully she would feel it, wherever she was. "What rumors?" Sakura asked innocently. "Why, the rumor about you and Yuriko! You didn't really...y'know..." Sakura mentally blasted Tomoyo with one of her hadokens. "I...I...really don't know what you're talking about. Really." Sakura flatly said into the phone, then slammed it shut. "Mom! Can you please not answer the phone? I really don't want things to get any worse." Sakura ran out towards the front of the house, hesitating for a few seconds to slip on her shoes. "Where are you going Sakura?" Her mom asked, taking those few seconds. "I'm going to put an end to this." Sakura said angrily, as she slammed the door shut behind her. ********** Tomoyo had her own share of bad luck following the meeting with her own mother. Most of it had come when she met up with Li. "When were you planning on telling me?" Li yelled as he paced back and forth. "Actually, I was hoping that you wouldn't know." Tomoyo responded coolly. "And that makes it alright? You've turned me into a laughingstock!" Li continued to rant. "It's not my fault we ran into my mother. Nor is it my fault that Sakura made that claim in front of Dan." Tomoyo calmly explained. "Oh, so now this is Sakura's fault." Li stopped pacing long enough to take a long look at Tomoyo's face, then resumed his pacing. "I didn't say that! But I guess it's true..." Tomoyo's voice fell quiet as she pondered the new information. Sakura really was to blame if any damage came to her relationship with Li. "You need to fix this. You need to fix it right now." Li raved. "How in the world am I supposed to fix this? My mother is expecting me to have...um...well, what am I supposed to tell her? I couldn't fulfill my promise, and so naturally jumped on the first guy I found?" Tomoyo sounded extremely frustrated. Li stopped again, and said venomously. "What's that supposed to mean?" Tomoyo responded with a shocked, "Eh?" "You said, 'jumped on the first guy I found'." Li repeated emotionlessly. Tomoyo's voice jumped up the scale a notch. "That wasn't what I meant!" Li ran towards the door. "You better have fixed this by the time I get back...or I don't know what I'm going to do." And the door slammed shut behind him. Tomoyo clenched a fist. This had to be all Sakura's fault. If she hadn't insisted that they go for a milkshake. If she'd only come up with an excuse to get them away from her mother. If only Sakura had just stayed quiet. Well. It was time to do something about it. ********** They met on a side street on the way to each other's house. Sakura glared at Tomoyo. Tomoyo glared at Sakura. Neither dared to make a move. Then, Sonomi just happened to stroll by. Yeah, it was rather convenient, but both Sakura and Tomoyo were too engaged in their war of stares to notice. It was only when she spoke that her presence was noted. "Tomoyo? Sakura? What's going on here?" Sonomi asked innocently. "Stay out of this, mother! It doesn't concern you." Tomoyo was the first to yell. "Of course this concerns her, dummy!" Sakura yelled next. "It's her fault as much as yours!" Sonomi pointed a finger at herself, still keeping up her fa‡ade of innocence. "Me?" "I'll deal with you as soon as I'm done with her!" And with that, Sakura dashed towards Tomoyo, and extended her fist to land the first punch. Tomoyo squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the pain that was forthcoming. Hopefully, Sakura was holding back, and her face wouldn't need major reconstructive surgery. But the punch didn't seem to land. Tomoyo waited, and waited. But still no punch. Although, there was an odd feeling on her own fist... Tomoyo opened her eyes slowly, and found herself looking...at herself. Although it was no mirror, as the other Tomoyo slid down to the ground, unconscious. From a punch that she threw? Tomoyo noted that her fist was extended. Then she noticed that her arm certainly had bigger muscles than she'd had before. And finally, she looked down to note the change of clothing. And the change of body. "What?" Tomoyo yelled as she brought her hands to her face. There was a familiarity. Sakura! She was Sakura! "Eh? What's wrong Tomoyo?" Asked Sonomi, who seemed quite unfazed by the fact that Tomoyo's body had just been knocked senseless. It took a few moments for Tomoyo to realize that she was referring to her new body. But how could she know that Tomoyo and Sakura had somehow switched...unless... As the light of understanding filled Tomoyo's borrowed eyes, Sonomi began to cackle. "Ah! Now you get it!" Tomoyo raised her hand and pointed. "Clow card!" Sonomi powerposed. "That's right! It's me! The Change card!" "Leave my mother alone you...card..." Tomoyo yelled. Sonomi took a step back. "No can do. Gotta teach you a lesson. Yes. It's very important." Tomoyo frantically thought through possibilities. If this was Sakura's body, and she still possessed Sakura's strength...she might posses her magic as well! "I'm going to stop you here, Clow card!" Tomoyo grasped for the key Sakura wore around her neck, only to find it not in its usual resting place. "Um...I'm going to stop you...with..." Tomoyo attempted to come up with a viable alternative. "With...my martial arts!" With that, Tomoyo adopted a fighting stance she'd seen Sakura take up many times before. Sonomi's eyes widened for a moment, and then she let out a short giggle. "You can certainly try!" She taunted. Tomoyo dashed forward. Or at least that's what she was trying to do. In actuality, she tripped over her own feet, a sprawled onto the ground. Sonomi flourished and bowed. "Well, it's been fun. But I've gotta go! Bye!" Sonomi waved merrily as she ran off back the way she'd initially come from. "Darn it!" Tomoyo raged, as she pummeled the ground with her fists, making a slight indentation. After taking a moment to calm herself, she moved over to Sakura. Lightly cradling her own body, since she didn't want to hurt it more than Sakura had already, she gave Sakura a slight shake. "Wake up Sakura!" A booming thunder hit behind her. Tomoyo nearly turned around, but she knew what had happened. Li had arrived. "Get your hands off her, you monster!" Li yelled as he dashed in, sword brandished. Tomoyo rolled out of the way just in time, making sure to keep Sakura's head from striking pavement. "Wait! Li! It's me! Tomoyo!" Li brushed back a strand of hair that had fell in front of his face. "Feh. Like I'm supposed to fall for that one! Thunder, heed my call!" Li yelled the last bit, as he invoked his magic lightning. This time it missed as well. Tomoyo knew that the lightning was only for show. Li couldn't risk the chance of hitting 'Tomoyo'. "Li, seriously. There's a Clow card on the loose!" Li glared at her. "Don't you think I know that! The use of Clow magic is what led me to this foul scene. So which card did you use? Hmmm? Dream? Did you put her to sleep so that you could take advantage of her?" Tomoyo raised a hand to her mouth to stifle her gasp. Was Li always this mean? "I didn't do anything! I don't even have any cards with me!" Tomoyo wailed. Li paused. "Eh?" Quickly pulling out his board, he scanned the area for Cards. Sakura didn't seem to be in possession of any. But a slowly fading beam led away from the three. Li put the board down. "Alright. I guess I'll have to trust you." He stooped to scoop 'Tomoyo' up from Tomoyo's arms. "But I swear, if the card we are chasing isn't Power, or some other card that can do this," Li indicated the swelling bruise on 'Tomoyo's' cheek, "I will hunt you down like the animal you are." Tomoyo gaped. Would he really do that? "So? What was it?" Li prompted. Tomoyo thought of telling him the truth for all but a second. "It was Power. Yep. Power. Power did this. Power indeed." Li glanced at her suspiciously. Tomoyo wondered just how bad that performance had been. Li nodded once. "If you say so." Tomoyo let out a sigh of relief. "Anyways. The trail it becoming cold. I'm going to take Tomoyo back to my place, get some ice on that bruise. You should go get...Forget it. Just stay the heck out of my way." Li shoved Tomoyo back, and she fell to the ground. It took a minute before Tomoyo bothered to try and get up again. ********** Sakura was definitely in a strange place. One moment, she'd been in the middle of giving Tomoyo a punch, the next, she was sliding blissfully into unconsciousness. The moment she got there though, she was sitting on a chair, at a table, at what looked to be a crowded cafe. Sakura sipped her tea, for lack of anything better to do as she tried to grasp her new situation. Where was she exactly? "You are exactly where you need to be. As you always are." Came a voice from the woman sitting across the table from her. "Eh? Rose? Don't tell me you've decided to start haunting my dreams again.? Sakura said, after taking a moment to identify the woman. "Not exactly. You see, I'm not actually here." Rose explained. Sakura pounded a fist down on the table. "Argh! Don't tell me this is one of those spiritual self realization journeys where people from your life come forth to tell you random things that don't make sense until you are able to see the big picture, just like in the movies?" Rose waved the comment off. "Actually, it's nothing like that." Sakura raised her fist in a threatening manner. "Then what are you doing here?" "Oh, I'm just keeping you distracted so you don't notice anything else." Rose replied, airily. "Eh? What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, preparing to take a closer look at her surroundings. "Oh well. Too late!" Rose said, as she and the entire scene began to disappear. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura could have sworn that she'd spotted a winged man. "Wait!" Sakura yelled. "Oh? You're awake?" Sakura snapped her eyes open. That was Li's voice. And where exactly was she? "Where am I?" Is what Sakura eventually ended up saying. "Boy, Sakura must have hit you harder than I though, Tomoyo. This is my house. My room to be exact. You've been here before, remember?" Li applied a damp cloth to her head as he spoke. It took a few moments for Li's words to sink in. Sakura balled up her fist. "Hentai!" She screamed as she punched Li. Li caught the punch, and let go when Sakura pulled her hand back. "What's wrong Tomoyo?" Sakura lay back again. There Li goes again, calling me Tomoyo... "Eh? Tomoyo?" Li put a hand to her head. "I guess she did hit you hard. Amnesia, eh?" Sakura glared up at Li. "You better have a very good explanation for all this. I'm Sakura. S-A-K-U-R-A." "Amnesia and mistaken identity. This is bad. I'll get Sakura for this! I swear I'll have my revenge!" As Li spoke, he waved his sword around dangerously. Sakura would have restated her claim to her own identity, but seeing as how she hadn't even been able to connect with that punch earlier must mean that Li had done something to her. Calling herself Sakura at this point might not have been the best of ideas. Li sat down next to her, uncomfortably close. In fact, he was leaning in closer. And closer still...and then his lips touched hers. And... Sakura broke away and slapped Li in the face. "Hentai!" She screamed again. Li's face reddened. "I'm...sorry. I don't know what came...Wait! Why am I apologizing? Didn't we already get to this stage?" Sakura covered her ears. "Argh! Too much information!" Li leaned in close again. "You don't hate me, do you? Those words earlier...they weren't meant to be spoken aloud. I was just angry that you let Sakura convince you to do something so stupid..." "Hey! What are you saying! It's that stupid Tomoyo's fault that this entire situation is taking place." Sakura yelled as she leapt up from the bed, taking up a position on the opposite side of the room. Li had a very confused expression on his face. "But didn't you say earlier that it was all Sakura's fault?" Sakura was about to respond, when the mirror on the wall caught her attention. She knew that she was Sakura, but here, in this mirror, she looked exactly like Tomoyo. "Wha...Whaa? What did you do to this mirror?" Sakura stuttered. Li perked up a bit. "Oh, you noticed? Yeah, I moved it in here from the other room. It just seemed...well, I'm already looking at the results." And there it was. Li put on a goofy grin. Sakura glanced in the mirror one last time before rocketing out the door. ********** Tomoyo stopped in front of Sakura's house. She knew that if anywhere, that's where she would have left her key. But it seemed awkward to be entering into Sakura's home, pretending to be her, and listening in on anything private. "So it's the tree then!" Tomoyo decided. Scaling the tree was easy. It helped a lot that Sakura was as strong as she was. Because, truth was Tomoyo was not a very good tree climber. The hard part was getting Kero up to open the window for her. But, eventually, Kero did pause his game, came over to the window, and with a mighty heave, opened it. "Y'know...there's...a...great...invention...called...a...door...Use it!" Kero panted. "Kero! I need your help!" Tomoyo bawled. "Eh? What's wrong Sakura? You never usually cry. You just sigh a lot." Kero fluttered in closer. "Tell Uncle Kero all about it!" Tomoyo swatted Kero with the back of her hand. "Uncle Kero?" Kero rubbed the back of his neck. "Ehheheheh. Uh? You didn't swat me into a wall this time?" Kero said as he came to his realization. "That's because I'm not actually Sakura." Tomoyo said. "Oh! Story time!" Kero found a nice spot to plunk down, and did so. When Tomoyo had finished explaining, Kero nodded once, slowly. "So you and Sakura have switched. Why that's nothing! I had to switch bodies with that b...kid...you date." Tomoyo thwaped Kero. "I know that!" "Oh, right right. Anyways, no need to worry. You said that Change is just trying to teach you two a lesson. As soon as you figure out what that is, I'm sure it'll put you back to normal." Kero nodded again, confident in his advice. "But what if we can't figure it out? You only had 24 hours to switch back." Tomoyo pointed out. "Well then, I guess Sakura will be stuck getting all the TLC...from..." Kero abruptly cut off. "Wah! We need to stop them!" Tomoyo yelled. She quickly scooped up the key, and Clow cards, as well as Kero, and stuffed them all into a bag. And then she was out the room the same was she came in. ********** Ironically, they met up in the same alley as before. Not as enemies though, but as desperate allies. "Save me!" Sakura yelled as she rushed up to Tomoyo. Li made a choking sound. "Then the rumor was true! I'll just leave you two alone then..." Tomoyo and Sakura both yelled out at the same time. "It's not like that!" Kero popped out of Tomoyo's bag, slightly dizzy from lack of oxygen, but more than willing to fill Li and Sakura in on what was going on. "So it was Change that did this. When I get my hands on it!" Sakura threatened the air. "But in order to change back, we need to learn that lesson it wants to give us." Tomoyo pointed out. "And that would be?" Sakura asked. "I...don't know yet. But I do have a plan..." Tomoyo responded in a whisper. As she detailed her plans, Li crept away. This was one battle, he couldn't help with. There'd always be afterwards though... "Alright!" Sakura exclaimed. "Let's do it!" Tomoyo grabbed Sakura's hand and held it. "Change! We've learned the lesson!" Sakura yelled. Sonomi stepped from the shadows. "Oh really? And that would be?" Sakura let go of Tomoyo's hand as she disappeared into thin air. "Don't turn your back on Tomoyo." Sakura grinned menacingly. Sonomi spun around, just in time to meet the staff head on. "Eh?" Tomoyo, who had long since memorized Sakura's incantations, recited the oh so familiar, "Return to the form you were destined to be! Clow card!" Sonomi collapsed as Change formed within Tomoyo's hands. Tomoyo powerposed again. "Two in one day! That has to be a best for me!" Sakura ran up and gave Tomoyo a hug. "But what do you suppose the lesson it wanted to teach was?" Tomoyo glanced into Sakura's eyes. And she knew. "I think we already know, Sakura!" "No time to waste then! Change us back!" Sakura ordered. "Right!" Tomoyo responded. One invoking of the card later, and they were back to normal. Well, as normal as they got anyways. They both embraced eachother again, and laughed. The lesson was learned well. They were stronger together than...Eh? "So the rumors are true! Sakura and Yuriko! Who would have ever though it?" Keiko laughed from the entrance to the alley, where she and a crowd of 30 or so people stood. Sakura and Tomoyo quickly ran away from eachother. "It's not like that!" They both yelled. "What's not like what?" Sonomi groggily asked, as she stood up. Tomoyo glanced at Sakura. Sakura glanced at Tomoyo. "You need to tell her the truth." Spoke Sakura. "I guess I do." Spoke Tomoyo. Tomoyo ran off for a moment, and came back dragging Li. "Mom, this is Shaoran Li. I've been dating him for the past while, and I really like him. I didn't tell you earlier, because I thought I'd upset you. In fact, I got Sakura to go along with the whole crazy coverup scheme." Tomoyo directed this last comment more towards the gathering crowd than her mother. Sonomi glared down at Tomoyo. Then her face softened. "I guess he makes you happy, eh?" Tomoyo nodded. Sonomi walked up to Li. "Not bad looking. You could have done better." Li gave a short, "Hey!" before being cut off by Sonomi. "But if he's found a place in your heart, then by all means, pursue him. You better take care of my Tomoyo though. I don't want you ending up like another couple I used to know, and marrying young." Sonomi continued with a smile. Li nodded. Sonomi nodded as well. "Everything is in order here then." A black limo pulled up. Sonomi walked over to it, entered, and drove off. Everyone just stared at the tail end of the limo. And then someone broke the silence. "Eh? So who was that? And why'd she call you Tomoyo?" Keiko queried. Tomoyo's face reddened. "I guess I'm not done explaining things quite yet." ********** Sakura gave Tomoyo a hug. Then, backing up to arms length, she asked the question. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Tomoyo's eyes watered as she took another look deep within Sakura's eyes. "More than anything right now." "It's a big step you know." Sakura said seriously. "Eh, not really. I used to go on vacations a lot of the time." "But never before with Li." Sakura continued. "Well, I just feel like I owe him something. Plus, it'll give me some time away from all the questions I've been getting lately." Sakura swallowed. "Well, it's never easy saying goodbye." Tomoyo blinked. "I'll only be gone for a week..." "Tomoyo. Remember last week? While we were in the ice-cream shop? With your mother? And you said you loved me?" Sakura started tentatively. Tomoyo blushed. "Yeah. Don't think anything about it if you don't want to. It doesn't mean as much anymore." "Oh but it does! I love you too Tomoyo! We're just like sisters!" Sakura smiled brightly. Tomoyo nodded and smiled brightly as well. "That's right! We are! Friends forever!" Sakura gave Tomoyo another hug. "Friends forever." Li walked up. "It's time to go Tomoyo. Flight's getting ready to leave." "Alright. I'll see you when I get back Sakura!" Tomoyo said excitedly as she ran towards the plane with Li. Sakura began to walk back to the entrance of the airport. "Just like sisters..." She muttered along the way. But were they? ********** Li reclined back in his chair. It was nice to be able to get some time alone with Tomoyo. "Li? Would you like a bag of peanuts? They seem to offer plenty on this flight." Tomoyo said, as she took her seat. "Nah." Was all Li responded with. The plane lifted of minutes later. Li was the first to notice something was wrong. A sensation prickling the back of his neck. A nagging feeling that something was happening. It wasn't until a panicked passenger blurted out something about yellow clouds outside his window that Li realized what it was. Li shot straight up in his chair and looked out the window. "A Clow card!" ********** Poison hummed a happy little tune as she worked her magics. It wasn't taking long, but Poison was trying to distract herself from all the fun thoughts he/she was having about melting the flesh off all the residents in Tokyo. "Status?" Someone from behind asked. "Near total blanket achieved. It'll only take me a minute to finish up." Poison reported. "Excellent. Right on schedule. Once the Mist barrier is in place, Tokyo will be cut off from all support. And phase two can begin." "Plus, this is a lot of fun! Although slightly impersonal. Anyone or anything that dares step within the mists will die a fun death. And I can't be everywhere to watch!" Poison pointed out. "Forget that. The fun comes later." "Gotta admit though, the person who gave me the powers of this card really knows what they're doing." Poison pointed out as she finished putting up the Mist barrier. "Mad Gear will once again be a force to be reckoned with thanks to that person." And they laughed. ********** ***************** LEAVE IT TO KERO! ***************** Kero: Well, it's that time again. It's up to me to explain some confusing situations here! Kero puts up some slides. Kero: In this slide, you see me and the Li kid. This was from the time he and I accidentally got caught in the Change card's magic. For those who don't know, this occurred way back in the CCS anime. I made a reference to this, so now you know. Kero hits a switch, slide changes. Kero: This is Yuki, a friend of Toya's. At least, they were friends until Sakura lost the judgment, and he ended up disappearing. (He was actually Yue in a mortal form.) Kero hits a switch, new slide. Kero: Both Li and Sakura were infatuated with Yuki during the first two seasons of the CCS anime. But what they were attracted to was his (Yue) magical powers.(this revelation occurs during the third season, which never actually occurred in the BitS timeline, but who cares anyways) Kero turns off the projector. Kero: Now, if everyone can remember, the BitS storyline has already revealed that Tomoyo carries within her an aspect of Yue now. This, along with Sakura's already great love for Tomoyo should lead into some interesting situations in the near future. Just make sure that you future authors write me in someplace where I can watch all the action! He he he. I'm so cool. Kero turns around. Comes face to face with the rest of the BitS main cast. Kero: Eh...you know I was just kidding about the luvluv stuff...right? right? Kero is shown tied up, hanging upside down, and being slowly lowered into a shark tank. Kero: Well that's all for this edition of Leave It To Kero. Hopefully I'll see you next time. ************************* LEAVE IT TO AUTHOR NOTES! ************************* Ok! On to real notes now. Keiko is not made up. She appeared WAAAAAAAY back in #5 as one of Sakura's classmates. Erm...I guess that's about it for tech notes... It's not as if I did much research. Except for figuring out which cards haven’t been used yet. Oy. That was a headache. But I do have a list now! Yay! A lot of plots have been left open and unused. Mad Gear happens to be the most recent, and as such, it would be a good idea to get it out of the way now. My first plan for this part called for a more dark look at a post Mad Gear takeover Tokyo. But I just ran into too many problems. Like how to explain the gap in time. So here, I came up with a solution. I'd set up the NEXT author to handle Mad Gear! Mwa ha ha! Eh he he! The point of the story this time was simple. To explore the relationship between Sakura and Tomoyo. Although it could have been written better if I'd started on this idea from the very beginning, and had not just spent a mere three days writing it. (three days meaning a couple hours each day.) There's been ample clues to Sakura liking Tomoyo in a more than friendship way quite a few times, and now I've provided the simple answer. Yes. She does love Tomoyo in a more than friendship way, but is it because of Yue's presence? Who knows? My obsession with seeing Karin in this fic seems to have died with my first draft of this part. But, I couldn't really fit her into the story this time around. Too bad. Thanks to Ryunson for all his help with the first draft, for which his insane knowledge of Mad Gear really helped. And again, thanks to Ryunson for his insane agreement to read over my second draft at the last minute. Anyways, enjoy the read, and feel safe to start writing for BitS again! ************************* Kero: Isn’t anyone going to help me? Anyone? Kero's head submerges into the tank. Kero: *drowning noises*