What If 2

By moonlight ray

Chapter 1

Déjà Vu, All Over Again

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS. All the characters belong to CLAMP. Shocker, eh?

[A/N: Well, now that Rivalries is gone, I'm ready to start on my new project—What If 2! I guess it's kind of a sequel to What If—one of my more popular stories, after Revealed (which I'm most proud of) and Guardian Game Show—but it's more of a companion. This time, it's not the Cards taking the day off; it's the guardians! Arigatou to everyone who's reviewed GGS, but I'm afraid that's the end of it. I like cliffhangers, but only when I'm the author. :P So please review, and enjoy! Ja ne!]

Sakura had a strange feeling as she woke up one morning. She sensed magical presences in her dark bedroom. Suddenly hit by a pang of déjà vu, the Card Mistress mumbled, "Cards?"

"Damnit! She's awake!" hissed an Osaka-accented voice that sounded like her sun guardian.

"Smooth," came another voice sarcastically. This time, the voice was more recognizable.

"Yue-san?" Sakura bolted up in her bed, only to see two strangers in her room. "HOE! Who are you!?" she screamed.

"Shhh!" the strangers shushed her, frantically motioning for her to quiet down. The young girl took a deep breath, and calmed herself. Still, the two beings couldn't help but notice that her hands were shaking, clutched around her neck, where her Star Key hung.

"Calm down, Sakura, it's just us." The golden-haired youth said, trying to keep his voice low.

"H-hoe...?" Sakura questioned, not getting it.

"Don't you recognize us?" the blonde repeated. When Sakura shook her head, he tried again. "It's me," The young Card Mistress' face remained blank and clueless.

His companion rolled his violet-silver eyes, and explained, "We're your guardians,"

"Yue, you couldn't have let her figure it out? Seriously, she's not stupid!" the other youth—Kero, Sakura guessed—snapped.

"One day, brother. Time doesn't wait."

"When you use the Time Card, it does!"

"We can't use magic in this form, might I remind you."

"Know-it-all."

"Baka-brain,"

"What'd you just call me!?"

"You heard,"

"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" called out a helpless Sakura. If these people were her guardians, how did they get that way? She glanced nervously at the two beings in front of her. The supposed Kero-chan was a tall blonde youth, with topaz eyes and a strong build. He was wearing a red T-shirt and baggy jeans. Yue looked like a mix between himself and Yukito. He had long, silken strands of silver hair flowing down slightly past his waist, wide violet-silver eyes, and an expression halfway between a look of boredom and a smile. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt, and tan pants.

"A-ano… How to explain?" Kero looked to his counterpart for help, but Yue returned a look that basically read Sorry-you're-on-your-own. Kero sighed, then plunged into his explanation. "Well, you see, Sakura-chan… Since the Cards have all been captured and transformed, and you can take care of yourself, we decided to take a little break."

"A break?" Sakura cocked her head to the side, an innocent look of confusion on her face.

"Hai," Kero replied. "From being guardians."

"You can do that?" Sakura asked, amazed. She had been the Card Mistress for about a year, and yet there were still so many things she didn't know.

"Yeah, well after the incident with the Cards—the first time—Clow came up with this. Every hundred years or so, Yue and I can take the day off and just relax. Though I think it's been more than that since we'd last had a day off. Maybe three hundred years..?" Kero glanced at Yue.

"Four hundred," Yue corrected.

"Ah, yes. Four hundred years since we last had a day off. So now's the perfect opportunity. You don't mind; do ya, Sakura-chan? It's only temporary." Kero finished.

"That's what you and Yue were discussing, wasn't it? That you only have one day in that form." Sakura concluded. Her guardians nodded. "Well, I think it's fair. How about you invite Ruby-chan and Spinel-san to join you?"