DM: Hey kids I'm back! Thanks so much for your nice reviews—I'm so glad you guys like my story! Important: I know the potential for gender confusion given the nature of the fic, so I would just like to clarify that I will always refer to Sakura and Syaoran by their true gender (i.e. Sakura will always be called 'she' even when she is in Syaoran's body) and the context will tell you whose body they are in.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. 'Rock the Casbah' is a song by the Clash.

Curses!

Chapter Three

In de Nile

Sakura was peacefully dreaming of a bunny-ear-free Yukito. Together they were walking in the park on a nice, sunny day. The two were laughing happily, each holding a generous ice cream cone. Sakura sighed as she looked up into Yukito's smiling face. Suddenly, Yukito's features grew harsh, his nose pointing downwards, his eyes slanting up and his hair growing longer and whiter. She didn't even recognize him anymore at the end of his transformation.

"What's your name?" she asked, suddenly afraid.

"I'm—"

"FUUTIE GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Sakura, who was already mad at being awakened so rudely, was irritated to find herself in Syaoran's body, the fist still shaking at the girl, who giggled madly as she scampered off.

She shook her head and sighed, heading back into the room only to trip over an empty bucket and hit the floor with a loud 'thud'.

"Ow…hoe?" Sakura discovered that she was all wet. Fuutie must have dumped water on Syaoran to wake him up.

Sakura sighed again. It could potentially take him years to apologize to his older sister, so she decided to take the initiative and dry off. She removed the clingy and cold shirt and was stunned by her abs. They were so nice!

She faced the full-length mirror on the wall and examined Syaoran's body. The muscles on her chest were very well defined, and when she flexed, the arm gave way to a generous bump of a bicep.

"Syaoran," Sakura heard over her shoulder as Yelan's face had appeared in the door. The woman only stared, but she radiated authority to the point that Sakura felt ashamed.

Sakura blushed madly and nodded, choosing not to reveal herself in such an awkward position. She was spared the humiliation of taking off his pants as a loud 'Sorry Fuutie!' rang out through the house.

Jeez, does my voice really sound like that?

Back in her own body, Sakura noted with relief (and a bit of dejection) that her pajamas were still completely on. She silently hoped that Syaoran would not care that she had removed his shirt.

She had borrowed clothes from Syaoran's sisters, who all had bigger breasts than she did, and Yelan had promised that once they arrived at Cairo she would take her clothes shopping.

Dressed plainly in only jeans and a large tee shirt, she wandered out into the hall. Syaoran exited his room immediately after and only glared at her. Great, so he had minded. Sakura attempted to smooth down her hair. She had forgotten to tie it up into her usual little pig tails.

Sakura and Syaoran traveled to the airport with Yelan and Wei in a stretch limo. No one spoke, making Sakura feel like she was going to a funeral. She gave Syaoran a sidelong look that he did not return as he was staring out the window at the passing marketplace. Hong Kong was much more busy than Tomoeda.

"We're here, kids," Yelan said softly. Sakura blushed as Syaoran caught her staring. He turned a little pink and then looked away.

Checking in and getting on the airplane was a blur to Sakura. Everyone treated Syaoran and his mother as though they were extremely important. They never waited in line for anything.

As the flight attendant discussed the safety features of their aircraft, Sakura's thoughts drifted to Tomoyo. When would she see her again? And what about the school that Touya had transferred her to?

A strange feeling came over her. The magnitude of her quest was suddenly apparent. Real life was not real life anymore. It was a side concern. Magic was real.

"Magic is real…" she whispered. Syaoran only grunted, already reading a magazine.

Sakura wondered what they were going to do in Egypt. How would they find Clow's descendant when they didn't know his name or what he looked like? She thought long and hard about a possible plan.

"Hey, Sakura darling, isn't your father in Egypt right now?" Yelan asked her. Syaoran did not look up from his magazine, but his eyes stared at one spot on the page.

"Yeah he is…" Oh what am I going to tell him?

"Hey Dad, so this really rude guy pushed me into a cursed fountain and now we switch bodies when we're pissed. We have to go on a quest now so that we can be cured, and we're looking for a magician's descendant whose name is unknown. Don't worry about school, I guess I won't be going anymore! Oh yea, and magic is real!"

Oh yeah. That would go over well. Sakura wondered if maybe she was insane. What if everything was just in her head? That forest…Yukito…what was that?

"Don't hurt yourself by thinking too much, Kinomoto," Syaoran said, smirking. Sakura elbowed him in the ribs. For some reason he really got under her skin.

"Asshole."

Egypt was beautiful, but Syaoran really didn't give a damn. His mother was out shopping with that stupid girl and he was stuck in their hotel room. No way could this be happening. Not to him.

He sighed and glared at the ceiling. How did he get into this mess? Now he would never go to university and his life would be completely ruined. He tried to picture the mysterious Kinomoto Fujitaka in his mind. He was a friend of his father and a relative of Eriol, yet Syaoran had never met him before. It struck him as odd.

His face began to take shape. It was kind, with softly glowing green eyes. He had auburn hair and it reached his shoulders and when he smiled he cocked his head to one side…Wait, that wasn't a man. That was Sakura. Syaoran slapped his forehead with his hand.

Enough already, she's just a stupid rude, ugly girl.

And besides, that idiotic rabbit was the person most important to her. Just picturing him made Syaoran annoyed, though he wasn't sure why. Probably because he was so damn cryptic and unhelpful.

Exactly how did they plan to find Clow Reed's stupid descendant in this mess? He was thinking so hard he didn't notice that his mother and Sakura had entered the suite, carrying bag after bag of clothes.

"You are such a polite and nice girl, Sakura," his mother was saying. Syaoran turned onto his side and pretended to be asleep.

"Oh thank you so much—you didn't have to buy me all these clothes, I mean I—"

"Don't be silly. My husband was a great friend of your father's in his youth. He specifically left that key to you in his will."

"Yes, but…why?" Sakura asked, fingering the key. She had bought a chain from a toothless old woman in the marketplace and placed the key on it, so as to always keep it with her.

Sakura went to Syaoran's room to ask him what his plan was, but he was asleep. His shirt was up a little ways, revealing his toned stomach.

Unable to control herself, Sakura ran her slender fingers over his six-pack, feeling the flesh react to her touch. His breathing seemed to quicken in his sleep. Sakura wondered what he was dreaming about, still feeling his stomach.

"May I help you, pervert girl?" he asked suddenly. Sakura was so startled she fell of his bed.

"I'm so sorry! I—uh—" she had no good excuse.

"It's ok, I'm used to girls drooling over me," he said, sneering at her. She turned away, arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah, sure. You're so modest."

"Don't lie, I was awake. I saw, or rather, felt you," he said in a low voice, bringing his mouth next to her ear. Sakura pushed him away.

"Pervert!" she shrieked.

"Look who's talking." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Shut up, I'm mad at you now."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"What makes you so damn sure?" she snapped, turning to face him.

"You're still in your body."

Sakura just walked out of the room, utterly embarrassed. Why was he teasing her so? Yelan had received a call from the concierge and didn't notice as Sakura left the suite, and eventually the hotel.

Syaoran sat up in his bed, feeling his stomach with a bemused expression. He heard the door to the suite close and got up immediately. He didn't bother to tell his mother he was going out.

He saw Sakura cross the busy street and disappear into the crowd. He dashed after her.

"Kinomoto! Kinomoto!"

The people around him stared. And made way as he ran, but Sakura, hearing him, quickened her pace, running on ahead.

"Excuse me," she asked a woman at a stand. It was the same one who had sold her the chain earlier that day; she knew from the many shawls and wooden necklaces she wore on her thin and wrinkled frame. "Do you know which way to the pyramids?"

The woman gave a wheezy laugh and pointed across the Nile River with a very long and tanned finger. There, towering over everything in sight, were the pyramids, practically glowing in the late afternoon light. Sakura blushed at her own stupidity.

"Thank you!" she said. Never did she think to ask herself how that clearly Egyptian woman knew Japanese.

I have to find Dad, she thought desperately.

Syaoran ran after Sakura, taking care not to lose sight of her bouncing auburn hair. It wasn't safe to wander around a place like this alone, didn't she know that?

And where the Hell is she going? he asked himself, unsure of what the girl was up to now.

She was running towards the bridge over the Nile. Syaoran followed, now realizing that she was heading toward the pyramids.

"Kinomoto!" he shouted. She stopped on the bridge and turned around, wide-eyed.

"Why are you following me?"

"Because it's not safe out here."

"Why do you care?" she asked, and attempted to continue running. He caught her by the shoulder and turned her around to face him.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" he asked, smiling at her. Sakura blushed and then swatted his hand away.

"Leave me alone," she said coldly, and then felt that dizzy feeling. When she blinked again she was staring at her own body.

"Great. Fabulous."

"You could apologize, you know," Syaoran said sweetly. Sakura wanted to gag. This was just too weird for her to handle.

"Ugh, I hate you.'

"No you don't," he said. Suddenly, he began tickling her.

"Aha! Only I knew my only weakness! I am extremely ticklish!" he yelled triumphantly, tickling Sakura until she fell…

…into the Nile River. The reeds that ran along side it did little to break her fall and on the other side the sand dropped off straight away, giving her nothing to grab on to.

"Oh shit."

Syaoran dove in after her, annoyed at how weak Sakura's body was. The current carried them down the river. Finally, Sakura managed to grab a rock on the side of the river and extended a hand to Syaoran, who grabbed her whole arm for dear life.

"I'm sorry, Li."

Back in her own body, Sakura didn't resist as Syaoran dragged her up on shore. They were way out of the city now, but something large was almost directly in front of them.

She looked up, not listening to Syaoran's whining about how stupid she was. The large something was the Sphinx an enormous statue roughly the size of a building of a cat with a man's head, and there, by its left paw…

"Dad!" Sakura took off like a rocket, but her dad disappeared and the Sphinx bent its head down to her level.

"Why is that thing moving?" Syaoran's voice quaked as he caught up with her. The giant stone mouth opened, and it spoke:

"Answer the riddle and you may continue your quest:

What walks on four legs in the morning,

Two at midday,

Three in the afternoon,

And walks not at all in the evening?"

Sakura's heart stopped. A giant stone-cat-thing just told her a freaking riddle. Great.

"A man!" Syaoran shouted. Sakura looked at him, aghast.

The Sphinx nodded and its mouth opened once more. Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Before either of them could speak, they were sucked inside.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

They were falling again. Wait, how could they be falling if they were sucked forwards into the tunnel? It must have been the work of Clow. Just like before, they hit the ground lightly.

"Where are we?" Syaoran asked, looking around.

"Looks like a tomb…" Sakura whispered. Hieroglyphics covered the walls. There was only one exit to the room, a long dark and incredibly frightening tunnel.

"Hmm…" Syaoran began examining the walls. There was Chinese mixed in with the hieroglyphics, and the same man was depicted in every scene.

"This must be Clow," Sakura said softly, pointing at the man. He had long dark hair and wore robes. He carried a funny looking staff.

"It says…Clow knew much of making worlds of his own…"

Syaoran whispered to himself, following a particular thread of characters down the tunnel. Sakura stayed close behind him, absolutely terrified.

To calm herself she sang a song:

"Sharif don't like it
Rockin' the casbah
Rock the casbah
The sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah
Rock the Casbah"

"What's a Casbah?" Syaoran asked, pausing. Sakura blushed.

"They mean the Arab market place…I was thinking about it…"

They fell into silence and walked for what seemed like ages, when finally they came to a door that was large and red with a golden winged lion carved on it. In its mouth was a tiny keyhole.

"Oh cool, we'll just open it like last time…" Syaoran said, and reached for the handle. It was locked. He turned around to look at Sakura.

She was shivering and glancing around the dimly lit tunnel frantically.

"What's wrong?" he asked, adding a smirk when he heard the concern in his own voice.

"I'm scared of ghosts," she whimpered. Syaoran made a mental note of her fear with satisfaction.

"Don't be scared. Now let's figure out a way to unlock this stupid door."

He looked at the relief just above the door. It depicted Clow turning a key into his magic staff. Sakura simply moved to the door and stuck her key in.

"What are you doing?" Syaoran asked.

"Unlocking the door."

"Oh get real," he said, rolling his eyes, "like that's going to—"

With a click, the door unlocked and swung open.

DM: Hate to leave you hanging, guys, but that's where it stops for now. I'm leaving for Hawaii tomorrow morning for a week, so I won't be updating for a while… Sorry! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that! Please review: questions, comments, wild speculations and random declarations of love are always welcome!

Next chapter: Fifty-two Pickup