What If
By magic of the moon
Chapter 1
The Sakura Cards' Day Off
Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of writing these things. I seriously doubt that CLAMP even goes on this site, much less reads this story. But just to be safe, I don't own CCS. Happy?
[A/N: This is just a funny Sakura Card-oriented story (since this is after Sakura changes them all). They could cause enough trouble as Cards, but what if they looked human…? Read on and find out! A bit of violence, but no injuries. Rated K+. Enjoy, and please leave a review!]
Sakura woke up to a shadowed room. /Hoe? Why is it so…/ her thought was cut off when she realized just what was blocking the morning sunlight, streaming in from her open window. "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEE EE!"
"Calm down, Mistress. It's just us." a reassuring, somehow familiar, female voice said. Sakura paused and stared up at the source of the voice. It came from a tall, elegant woman with long, pale yellow locks and a flowing pale green dress.
"Who—who are you? And what are you all doing in my room!?" the young Card Mistress exclaimed. The people crowded in her room were all staring at her, as if expecting her suddenly remember something. When it was clear she had no idea what, a woman that looked a lot like the Flower Card spoke.
"Don't you recognize us, Sakura-sama?" she asked.
"Hoe?" the young girl blinked innocently in confusion at the honorific. Then again, didn't the other woman also refer to her as 'Mistress'? But, then that must mean…
"Flower-san?"
Flower nodded happily at the realization.
"B-but… how did you all get like this? And what about the rest of the Cards?"
"I sense Yue-sama coming. He senses us already. He'll explain things." A woman, with Sakura guessed was Dark because the Card kept its appearance, only with very slight changes, stated.
Sure enough, the moon angel came flying in through Sakura's window a few moments later, a disapproving look on his face. "I thought I told you no." he glared at the Cards under his jurisdiction.
"But Yue-sama, we promised to be good… And that happened so long ago," protested Mirror, a cute little girl with long green-tinged hair, jade green eyes and a matching kimono.
"The answer is still no, and I know that Keroberos will agree." Yue turned his glare onto the Cards under Kero's jurisdiction.
"You bet I will!" a loud Osaka accented-voice piped up from the bottom drawer or Sakura's desk. It opened and Kero came floating out, with as much seriousness as you could possibly muster on his stuffed toy-like face. "This time, I am not breaking up the fight."
A winged cocoon formed shortly after the statement, and in a brilliant flash of golden light, Kero stood before them in his celestial form. "Get back to your Book, all of you." he ordered.
"You can't make us; we only obey the Mistress." Fight, who looks exactly as her Card from only that her skin lost its usual blue tint, her eyes were azure, and her hair was black, stubbornly replied.
"Go or I'll shoot so many fireballs at all of you that you'd need a microscope to identify your own charred remains!" Kero shouted.
"Kero-sama, that won't be necessary. We're going." Light, who, like her sister, kept her Card appearance with only slight differences, said.
"No, we're not! If he shoots those fireballs, I'll just spray them." Watery, a tall woman with wavy blue hair that danced at her every movement like real water and a simple blue dress (for Water was a simple-going type) retorted.
"Then I guess you'd rather settle for my icicles, then?" Yue challenged, holding up his hand.
"I'll just burn them out of existence." Firey, a tall young man with red hair and orange clothes, answered.
"Don't make me sic Freeze on you. You do remember what happened last time with that, don't you? Or were you too numb to obtain the memory?" the moon guardian taunted, without any emotion in his voice, but the teasing words were the giveaway.
"Grrr…" Firey growled at the Judgment Angel. "You wouldn't dare…"
"Wait! What's going on!?" the young Card Mistress frantically called out.
"You have to send them back, Sakura-chan! Order them to return to their Card forms, now!" Kero told the confused girl.
"Why?" Sakura replied innocently, her green eyes wide.
"You don't want to know what'll probably happen if you don't." Yue replied.
"Please, somebody, tell me what's going on!" Sakura cried, getting the tiniest bit frustrated with her Cards and guardians. What was so bad about this situation?
"Go ahead, Yue, tell her. She'll see the point." Kero urged. Yue sighed, and began to explain.
"It was about eighty years ago, when Clow was still around…."
~FLASHBACK MODE~
Clow Reed sat in the main floor library, his guardians in huddled the corner of the room; Yue reading by the warm fireplace and Kero playing with loose strands of the angel's hair. He had just finished the Cards' and guardians' creations a month ago. How they had grown so fast. Now both had the appearance and minds of teenagers. Yet the Cards… they stayed the same, sleeping in their Card forms until they were asked for assistance.
Something suddenly hit the mage. What if he could give the Cards a bit a freedom as well? Offer them just a taste of life outside their usual routine? What if he could give them human forms…just for a day? What harm could come out of such a short period?
Though when the mage suggested the idea to his guardians, both shared a knowing look and shook their heads. "With all due respect, Master, but you must've gone mad if you think that's a good idea." the moon being stated.
"There's a lot of them, too. Fifty-two Cards can cause more trouble than imagined in twenty-four hours." Kero agreed. "Plus, how're you gonna give Cards like Create and Dash a human form?"
"And the Loop?" added Yue.
"The Jump?" Kero offered.
"The Illusion?"
"The Wave?"
"The Shield?"
"The Sword?"
"The –?"
"Alright, alright." Clow interrupted his guardians. "I get it. Just a small group, then. The most powerful of the pack. Time, Return, the Elementals, Light and Dark, Big and Little, Fight, Power, Mirror, Shadow, and Flower. Just fifteen, okay?"
"I still don't think it's a good idea." The guardians replied in union, gazing warily at their creator. They had a feeling this wouldn't turn out very well. Instinct or magical sense, they couldn't tell, but they somehow knew the result wouldn't be good.
"Well, at least you two are agreeing on something for once." The magician observed. "But come on, don't you think our dear Cards deserve a little bit of freedom as well?"
"Still a bad idea."
"It's just for a day. What harm could come out of it?" Clow tried to persuade his stubborn-as-ever creations.
"No."
"What if I gave you pudding, Kero?"
"NO."
"Let Arrow spend a day off as well, and set up an archery competition for you two, eh, Yue?"
"NO!"
"Come on, what will it take?"
"We said no!"
"What if I promised you anything in the world?"
"WHAT PART OF 'NO' AREN'T YOU GETTING HERE!?" the guardians cried out in exasperation.
"Ah, you're no fun. I'll alert you when I'm done with the spell."
"Well, if you're just going to do it anyways, why bother even asking our opinion?" Yue raised a slim sliver eyebrow at the mage.
"I thought you'd agree!"
"Hai, hai. But don't say we didn't warn you." Kero cocked his head at his brother, and both shared a nod. Then, the Clow guardians got up and headed for the door, to leave Clow to his spell.
About half an hour later, the magician sent his guardians the alert. Warily, Keroberos and Yue walked into the library to find fifteen Cards in human form. Time, an old man with a long white beard and navy blue robes, bowed to them. The creations bowed back to their fellow creation. Return, an elderly woman with long white hair, greeted them with, "Konnichiwa, Yue-sama, Kero-sama."
~IN THE NOW~
"Wait!" Sakura's voice cut through the memory playback.
Yue stopped, casting his Mistress an annoyed look. "Nani?"
"If Time-san and Return-san also have human forms, how come they're not here?"
"Well, they are the more mature of the pack and tend to listen." Yue glared icily at the human Cards.
"No, it's because they say they're 'too old' and they just can't be bothered anymore." Fight defended.
"Now if you're finished…"
"Fine."
~RETURN TO FLASHBACK MODE~
After they had greeted and been greeted by all the Cards, Yue and Kero led them to town. It was a fair distance from the Reed mansion, and the carriage was a bit cramped. Luckily, Clow had cast a spell that made it more spacious on the inside than it appeared.
Finally arriving at their destination, Yue and his counterpart dropped their Cards off and told them to behave. The Cards nodded impatiently, eager to get going on their first time in the village.
[A/N: And I'll leave it at that! I know, it's a bit of a cliffhanger, but I don't wanna keep you waiting! I apologize for its lateness, but I've been busy with school and all that jazz you don't need to know. I hope you liked it, and if you did, please leave a review! Please review, onegai! Ja!]
