Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kakumei Utena (also known as Revolutionary Girl Utena and La Fillette Revolutionaire) or Cardcaptor Sakura or any of the characters. (Though, I hope I do, of course.) They belong to Be-papas and Saito Chiho and Clamp respectively.

Author's Note: Thanks to fellow forum member (IRG) Tamago, I decide to tackle the idea of Cardcaptor Shiori.

Rosy Card Chronicles - Fragment One

Chapter 1 The Birth

This happened when Shiori Takatsuki was in eighth grade, long before Juri Arisugawa started to wear all hair in coils.

One stormy summer night, Shiori had a dream. The dream was so real that she had to tell her best friend, Juri, in the next morning.

'Hey, Juri, last night I had a strange dream.'

'Oh yes? What was it about?' Juri did not sound enthusiastic as usual.

Shiori, eagerly to find somebody to blurt it out, did not notice her friend's lack of interest. 'I found myself in an outfit I have never seen before, a violet cape, a purple tube dress, a scarlet hat, holding a staff with a deep purple orb at the top. I was standing in the rose garden. The time was around midnight. Strangely, I saw pink cards floating all around me. Then I saw there was another person standing in the distance. I muttered something, but I could not hear my words. And I woke up after that.'

'Oh, that might be what we call a dream of prevision, I think,' Juri still sounded not interested.

'Juri, what is a dream of prevision?'

'A dream of prevision is a dream that tells you your future, or so as I heard people say so.'

'Wow! Juri, how can you know so many different things?'

'Extensive reading, extensive listening.'

The school bell rang.

'I've got to get back to my class, Juri, see you after school.'

'See you then, Shiori.'

'I've got some books due today, shall we go to the library together?' Shiori popped into Juri's claaroom once the bell signalling the end of school day started to rang.

'Fine.'

As they walked pass the rose garden, Shiori stopped abruptly.

'What's the matter, Shiori?' Juri frowned a bit.

'Nothing, I was just reminded of last night's dream. I was standing here,' she pointed a finger towards the door of the greenhouse, then moved her arm towards the other end of the garden where stood a lonely cherryblossom, 'and the other person stood there.'

Juri frowned deeper. 'Enough for the dream talk,' she snapped, 'let's go.'

After they finished their book return, Shiori whispered to Juri, 'I want to find some bizzare novels for bedtime reading.'

'I need to find some reference books for my project,' Juri whispered back. 'See you later.'

Shiori decended the old oak staircase, as sci-fi novels were stored in the basement. Unlike usual, the library was quite deserted that day. Shiori felt like a treasure hunter as she progressed nearer and nearer to the end of the basement. At last, at the very end of the basement, she found some titles that interested her.

'I believe that this will be fun,' thought Shiori as she pulled out 'Rosy Cards' Part One and Part Two together. Contradictory to the air-conditioned room, the touch of the books was lukewarm, but the temperature change was so slight that Shiori could not notice.

As she returned to the counter to borrow the books, she could not help but be reminded of her dream. She also thought hard about Juri's 'dream of prevision', and she collided with Juri when she nearly arrived at the end of the staircase. All the books they were carrying fell onto the floor.

'Owwws! Are you okay, Juri?'

'I'm fine. And you, Shiori?'

'I'm okay.' They began to pick up the books together. As Shiori moved her hand to 'Rosy Cards' Part One, Juri touched the Part Two at the same time.

At that very moment, the two books each emitted a ball of white light, engulfing the person that touched itself. Shiori felt warm and comfortable in the light, though the light was so strong she dared not to open her eyes. After an eternity-like second, Shiori heard a deep voice saying, 'Who are you? Is it already time for a new round again?' Feeling puzzled and frightened, Shiori did not answer. Then she heard the voice again, 'Why do you break the seal, you magical one?' The authority in the voice made her stammered, 'N-n-no, I haven't broken a seal, not at all.' 'Alas, at last you answered, you magical one. May I have your name please?'

'My name is Shiori, Shiori Takatsuki.'

'All right. I, Taxiken, grant you, Shiori Takatsuki, the Orb, and the right to be a Cardcaptor.' As Taxiken mentioned the word 'orb', a dark purple orb appeared, floating in the middle of the light.

'W-w-what? A Card what?'

'Take the orb NOW, Shiori,' Taxiken commanded her.

So Shiori opened her left eye for a millimeter to see and grab the orb. Immediately she felt energy flowed from head to feet inside her body, warming every single cell. In the meantime, the orb took shape of an inverted purple rose pendant and hanged around her neck. Taxiken transformed into a golden bracelet bearing a rose emblem, rounded on Shiori's left wrist.

The strong light faded, Shiori examined herself. The pendant and the bracelet were still there. 'Then everything wasn't my daydream,' she exclaimed. Then she looked around, and found Juri sitting on the stairs, giving a deep sigh.

'Hey, Juri, are you okay?'

'Fine.'

Shiori could suppress her exitement no longer. 'Look at me, Juri!' She pointed to her pendant and bracelet. 'Aren't they pretty?'

A tracher came downstairs and gave a loud 'Shhhh!' pointed to a silence sign hanging on one of the bookshelves.

Shiori sticked her tongue. She then picked up all the books that scattered around the floor and headed to the counter for borrowing. To her surprise, the teacher at the counter did not seem to notice the Rosy Cards at all. Rather than informing the teacher about the books, she chose to keep the fact to herself.

On their way back to their dorms, Shiori told Juri everything happened to her when the light engulfed her. In the end, she asked Juri, 'What's that Card-what's-the-name?'

'I don't know,' Juri answered, 'maybe you should ask that Taxiken. It was Taxiken that granted you the power after all, isn't it?'

'Why yes, Juri. Taxiken, what's a Card-what's-the-name?' She held her left hand up to her lips.

Taxiken gave no reply. Actually, the bracelet did not move for even half an inch. 'Hey, Taxiken, do you hear me?' Still, there was no response.

'Maybe you can try when you're in your dorm,' suggested Juri.

'Right. See you tomorrow, Juri,' Shiori waved Juri goodbye, and entered her single dorm.

'Taxiken! Taxiken!' Shiori shook the bracelet once she freed herself from the books she was carrying.

This time, the bracelet shook and gave out golden light, and Taxiken appeared in front of her. That was the very first time Shiori gave Taxiken a good thorough look. It looked like a huge golden serpent with a pair of golden bat wings, a purple rose crest was tattooed on its middle chest.

Shiori was taken aback. 'A-a-are y-y-you Taxi-xiken?'

Taxiken relaxed itself by curling its tail into a coil, and let its head meet Shiori's eye level. 'I am Taxiken, one of the Guardians of Rosy Cards. Why do you summon me so urgently, Cardcaptor Shiori?'

'I have questions to ask. First, who are you? Second, why do you call me magical? Third, what is a cardcaptor? Then, what are Rosy Cards?' Once recovered from the first shock, Shiori immediately shot a few questions.

'Cardcaptor Shiori, as I have just stated, I am one of the Guardians of the Rosy Cards, keeping all the Rosy Cards in the books with the other Guardian when they are sealed. The two Rosy Cards books are indeed the seal, and only those who have magical power can see and touch them. So you must be magical once you can break the seal.'

'Breaking the seal? What seal have I broken?' Shiori interjected.

'You broke the seal in the library, do you remember? I grant you the Orb and let you to be a Cardcaptor because YOU, Cardcaptor Shiori, have broken the seal and let the Rosy Cards wander free in this campus. Now we need a Cardcaptor to capture all of them back and seal them back in the books again.'

'What if I choose not to be a Cardcaptor?'

'I am sorry, Cardcaptor Shiori, but once you have taken the Orb, you have no choice but to be a Cardcaptor until you have sealed all the cards away. This is because the cards have really strong magical power, to those human who has zero magical power, the cards can affect their personalities, their thoughts, thus affecting their behavior. Turning the whole world upside down, to be precisely put. In some extreme cases, they may even hurt or kill others.' Shiori covered her mouth with both hands. 'I cannot remember who was the creator of the Rosy Cards, I only remember I have to keep the cards tightly sealed before anyone breaking the seal.'

'And Taxiken, you have mentioned the other Guardian, who is it?'

'All I can remember is the name, Flucie. She has also left the books, that is pretty strange, because usually she would not wake up even upon breaking of the seal.' It seemed that Taxiken did not worry about the disappearance of the other Guardian, because it then changed the subject. 'Cardcaptor Shiori, there are a few things I would like you to bear in mind. I would not respond openly to your summon when there are other people around you, though we can still communicate through our minds. I do not need any food or drink to survive, but before you seal away all cards, I would greatly depend on your magical power, which means you have to bathe in the moonlight often.'

'Is that all?' Shiori tried her best to suppress a yawn.

'I believe that is everything for the time being, and do not forget to bring me with you all the time. I can come with you when you wear the bracelet. You cannot tell when will you encounter a card after all, isn't it?'

'Okay. Good night, Taxiken.' Taxiken shone golden all over again, and returned to the form of a bracelet, rested peacefully on Shiori's left wrist.

Juri curled herself in the corner of her bed. She whispered, 'Why can't we defy fate?' And she felt the locket beneath her night gown.

- To be continued -