Disclaimer: I don't own CCS in any way. =\

A/N: Hehe. Guess what? I'm not dead so plz continue to read and review! ^_^ Anyway, thx for ur kind reviews! I know Eriol and Syaoran kinda went tea crazy in the last chapter but o wellz. The last chappi wasn't that good, but I'm kinda out of it. Gomen. You know the drill. (read, enjoy, review) thx, ja.

Chapter four: A Change of Heart?

The Guys' Turn

Early the next morning, Eriol walked to school alone, taking in the cool fresh air. Ah, this feels great. Just like the time Tomoyo-san and I had a midnight stroll that ended up being a midnight/morning stroll…

Distracted by the crisp morning atmosphere, he didn't sense Syaoran coming up behind, who ran up to him and slapped his arm. "Hey Hiiragizawa."

"WHAA!!" Eriol cried, not having been surprised in ages, literally. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? I mean I get that you want to kill me, but literally? That's going a bit far, don't you think?"

"Hiiragizawa, I was just getting your attention. And it's too early in the morning to start an argument, so would you please refrain from annoying me? …although that's probably impossible for you."

"Well, ohayoo to you too."

"Yea, yea. Anyway, I have one last desperate idea to change us back…"

"Ok. Lets hear it."

"Okay, you could enter Sakura-san's mind and make her want to change us back."

"Nani? You really are desperate, aren't you? Trying to manipulate your own Sakura-san. Tsk tsk."

"Well, it's better than what we're about to go through! Look, just enter her mind for a little, and get back out before you see something private."

A sly grin reared up on Eriol's lips. "You mean something private between you and Sakura-san? Something that I, being her predecessor and your ancestor, should know about?"

"Hiiragizawa! Can you do it or not?!" Syaoran cried, trying to hide his beet red blush.

"Sure, but she'd sense me, of course."

"Can't you hide your aura like you did before?"

"I could do that anywhere but inside a person's mind, unless they have no magical powers. And this is her mind we're talking about. Of course she's gonna sense me. If she doesn't, then something's wrong with her powers."

Syaoran hung his head in defeat and let out a disgruntled sigh. "I guess when Sakura-san really wants something her way, she definitely gets it her way."

"So I've noticed."

"Syaoran-kun! Eriol-kun! Matte!" came Sakura's voice from behind.

"Oh great. I was hoping to delay the torture until class started, even though I'm glad to see her," Syaoran mumbled, frowning at the sky, as if asking for mercy. Even more, he began mouthing 'why, why?' to the sky above also.

Eriol merely grimaced at the thought.

"Ohayoo!" she said, smiling at the two.

Putting on a pleasant smile, Eriol replied, "Ohayoo, Sakura-san."

Seeing Syaoran acting strangely towards the sky, Sakura interrupted his thoughts. "Syaoran-kun, what are you doing? Daijobu?"

He instantly snapped his head back down. "Huh? Daijobu. O-ohayo, Sakura-san."

Seeing that he was 'fine,' she proceeded to tell the two her story about what happened to her that morning. "This morning Otoosan told Oniichan to wake me up while he cooked breakfast."

"Oh…"

"And you know how Oniichan woke me up?"

"How?" Li asked apathetically.

"He sprayed me with ice water with his water gun! He even scared Kero-chan off the bed, yelling. Then I had to make up some excuse to explain why my toy was screaming! I swear, one of these days…" she pouted.

Eriol chuckled at the tale, while Syaoran spaced out, still trying to think of a last minute plan. "Don't worry, Sakura-san. It's just brotherly love," Eriol soothed.

"Well if it is, then I'd hate to think about how he'd act if he actually hated me." She turned to Syaoran and frowned, seeing him spacing out. "Daijobu, Syaoran-kun?"

"Huh? Oh, daijobu," he returned from his thoughts.

~

Upon arriving at the school, they heard a pleasant melody flowing out the window of the music room.

Must be Tomoyo-san getting an early practice, Eriol thought.

The three entered the building, with Sakura babbling on about how annoying Touya was, and put down their things in the classroom. They then walked to the music room to meet Tomoyo finishing her last verse.

"Kirei (beautiful), Tomoyo-san," Eriol said, on entering.

"Yup. Nothing less than your best, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura added cheerfully.

"Arigatoo gozaimasu," Tomoyo replied earnestly with a grin.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiing…and there goes the morning bell.

"Aw man. We just got here, and now it's time for class already," complained Syaoran. Though in his mind he thought, great. Today, I have to behave in front of Sakura-san, so I can finally change back. Darn! No more tricks to make Hiiragizawa look bad…

Catching a glimpse of Syaoran's expression, Eriol smirked, knowing exactly what Syaoran was thinking, even without probing his mind. Lets see how my descendant survives this. I guess there won't be any harm in adding an extra splash of witty remarks today just to annoy him even more. I mean friends DO joke around with each other. He chuckled inwardly.

Just seeing this, Li knew exactly what was coming. Damn that Hiiragizawa! He's probably gonna start acting even more annoying just so I'll erupt in front of Sakura-san! Well, two can play at that game! Now it was his turn to smirk, earning a frown from Eriol.

What's he smirking about? I'm the only one who's supposed to smirk around here! He's robbing me of my trademark again!

Chuckling at the sight of the two boys frowning and smirking, Tomoyo whispered to Sakura, "Sakura-chan, look. Your plan didn't go to waste after all. Look at the way they're reacting to each other's expressions; they can tell what the other one's thinking just by looking at them."

"Sugoi!"

"So maybe today is the day you'll change them back?" Tomoyo asked hopefully.

"Yup…right after they pass my final test."

"Final test?"

"Yup, I have four tickets to an amusement park that expires tomorrow. So, we'll go and make sure they really are friends and not just pretending in front of me."

"Sakura-chan, you're really getting keen."

"I learn from the best," she replied, referring to Tomoyo.

As the two exchanged smiles, they bid their boyfriends goodbye before walking off to their first class.

Eriol and Syaoran sat in their usual seats at the back of the room as the sensei walked in. "Good morning class. I'm in a bad mood today, so I'll just start the day off with one of my exciting lectures, which I'm sure all of you know and love," he said, mocking the class, and earning him a great groan in response.

As he began, that infamous smirk appeared at the mercy of Eriol once again. Ah, this seems like a good time to initiate annoyance.

He shot up a hand in the air and called for the sensei. "Sensei, I need to go to the bathroom."

"Go ahead."

"Arigatoo gozaimasu, sensei." He walked out to the restroom and stayed in there for a couple minutes, not really needing to use the facilities. Then he made his way back to the classroom and sat down.

Ten minutes later, "Sensei, I need to use the bathroom again!"

"What? You just went."

"I know, but this is an emergency!" He then added in a whisper tone, "It's a number two!"

The class burst out laughing.

"Alright, go."

Once again, Eriol strolled over to the boys' bathroom, not really needing to go. So he decided to keep a tally of the times he went, while he waited his few minutes out. Carving two tally marks on a stall, he grinned and walked out of restroom.

On entering the class, a student remarked, "Li, you take a dump?"

"Actually, yea. Surprisingly, it was a BIG one. I feel a LOT better now. Thanks for asking," he answered coolly, knowing he was making Li look like an idiot.

Taking his seat, the fuming Syaoran gave him a hard jab. "What are you doing?!" he cried angrily in a whisper.

Smiling back, he replied, "Just using the restroom."

"You—"

"Is there a problem, Mr. Hiiragizawa?" The sensei shot him a nasty glare.

"Iie, gomen nasai."

"That's what I thought."

Unable to speak, Syaoran glared at the back of Eriol's head, trying to drill a hole through it.

"Don't bother trying, descendant. No matter how hard you stare, you still won't be able to burn a hole through my mind," Eriol said, predicting what Syaoran was doing.

"Yea, but I can try. Besides, your skull is so thick I don't think anyone would be able to, even with a torch. And that's an understatement."

"Grouchy as usual, I see."

Syaoran had to clench his fists in aggravation. Just stay calm and don't let that butthead get to you, he thought to himself.

Minutes later, "Sensei, I must use the restroom again!" Eriol/Li's body cried.

"What? You went twice already."

"I know but I have a bladder problem," he responded enthusiastically in a cheer tone.

"Let me see your doctor's note."
Conjuring up a slip, he handed it to the irritated teacher.

"Alright, you may go."

What the hell?! Syaoran thought furiously.

The entire class gave him that I-didn't-know-you-had-a-bladder-problem look, which was not a good thing. But it only made Eriol feel more triumphant.

Returning to the odorous lavatory, Eriol carved in another tally mark. That's three. Now, how many more times should I go? …Maybe seven times would be sufficient. Yea, that seems about right. Hmm, why don't I add one more thing before I leave…

On reentering the class, he made his entrance as loud and noticeable as possible, purposely bumping into things and annoying the teacher.

Then once again, ten minutes later, "Sensei, nature calls!"

Sighing exasperatedly, he replied, "Just go, Li-san. From now on, if you need to go, just get the potty pass and walk out.

"Okay, thanks." Flashing Syaoran an impish grin, Eriol practically glided out of the class.

Alright, that's it! "Sensei! I need to go to the restroom too!" the real Syaoran cried.

"You may go after Li-san returns."

"But this is an emergency! I need to go!"

"Do you have some sort of bladder problem also?" he retorted, sarcastically.

"Actually yes. I—uh—" he paused for a moment to find the perfect disorder. "I-I'm constipated!" The class broke out laughing.

"Alright. Go, but hurry up!" the sensei practically yelled, annoyed beyond belief and forgetting to ask for a doctor's note.

"Thanks!" He ran out, charging for the boys' bathroom.

In the restroom, Eriol was just done carving another tally mark when "HIIRAGIZAWA!!" rang out in the bathroom.

"Oh descendant, I didn't know you had to use the bathroom too. I think that stall over there is the cleanest. Why don't you—"

"Hiiragizawa! What the hell do you think you're doing?! I thought we were supposed to be 'friends' so we can change back!"

"Yes well friends can mess around with each other, can't they?" he answered blithely.

"You know what I mean! Don't you want your ugly body back?"

"Not when you refer to it that way."

"…"

"You keep insisting that your body is buff and masculine while mine is blubbery and floppy, so why should I give up yours?"

"Are you serious?!"

"Does it look like I'm joking?" Eriol/Li's body had a straight face, though inside, he was laughing his senses crazy.

"This is no time for games! You want your body back, right?!" Li began to worry a little; if he'd learned anything about Eriol, he always got what he wanted; just like Sakura.

He remained solemn.

"Y-you're serious?" Li stuttered disbelievingly.

Savoring his descendant's bewildered expression, Eriol burst out laughing. "Of course not! I was just teasing you. Besides, why would I want your body?"

"Hiiragizawa! That was NOT funny!"

Suddenly, the teacher burst through the restroom door. "Ah ha! You are messing around in here! Well that's it! Urination problem or not, both of you are getting a week of detention! And the next time either one of you needs to use the restroom, you can just pee in your pants or wear diapers! Now get back to class!!" the seething sensei hollered.

"But—" the two began.

"No buts! NOW GET BACK TO CLASS!" he fumed, pointing a shaking finger towards the door.

"Hai, sensei," the two grumbled dismally, with their heads down.

Sighing, the sensei decided to wash his face before leaving. When he looked in the mirror, he noticed some fresh carving on one of the bathroom stall doors: farting contest today after school in this facility, signed, Li Syaoran. P.S. don't forget to eat the bean burrito for lunch today if you want an extra boost.

"That's it! It's cleaning duty for those boys!"

On the way back to the classroom, Eriol sent Li a mental message. You do realize that this is entirely your fault, right?

What?! This isn't my fault! This is your fault for trying to sabotage our plan for switching back! Syaoran snapped.

No, everything was fine until you came to the restroom.

Everything was NOT fine!

Look, lets just forget about it, ok? Honestly, I don't know how much longer I can last in this body of yours.

Fine. Tired of arguing, Syaoran let that one slide.

The connection was lost as they left it at that, returning to class.

Now Eriol thought to himself, darn! I only went to the restroom four times and my goal was seven at least!

.:~:.

First period passed by quickly, and before they knew it, they had their next class with Tomoyo and Sakura—the moment of truth. Eriol and Syaoran stood in front of the closed door of the class that was about to begin.

"Are you sure you can do this, descendant? Being kind to me for one whole period might just kill you," Eriol mocked.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Hiiragizawa. Just don't blow it."

"If anyone's gonna blow it, it's you; or should I say blow up?"

"Just shut up."

"Whatever."

.:~:.

"Sakura-chan, this is it. Any minute now, Eriol-kun and Li-kun will be walking through the door, and they'll have to 'behave,'" Tomoyo said to her best friend.

"I know. I just hope they can do it. I'm kinda getting tired of this too. Although, it is kind of entertaining." She giggled.

"Sakura-chan, I didn't you were so evil," Tomoyo giggled.

At that moment, Eriol and Syaoran walked in with fake smiles plastered on.

"Sakura-chan, you do know that—" Tomoyo tried to warn.

"Tomoyo-chan, they're smiling together! Maybe they really are friends now!"

Not wanting to disappoint her, Tomoyo kept quiet about their ersatz smiles.

The four of them sat in their usual seats while exchanging greetings.

"Ok class, today we're going to do a mini project about DNA molecules. You will pair up in two's and construct the human DNA molecule using these marshmallows of assorted colors and toothpicks; make sure your proteins and patterns are color coordinated. Afterwards, we can make s'mores. I also brought a burner, chocolate and graham crackers. Now, go choose your own partners."

While the class obliged, the sensei prepared the materials.

"Perfect," Sakura said. "Tomoyo-chan and I will pair up, so you (Syaoran) and Eriol-kun can pair up and work together."

"But-but—"

"C'mon Syaoran-kun. This is your chance to prove yourselves. I know you can do it." She smiled genkily.

"Sakura-chan, you're brilliant," Tomoyo giggled.

"Arigatoo. You know, I think Eriol-kun's mischievousness has rubbed off on me."

A grimacing Syaoran turned to face a grinning Eriol. "Great…" he mumbled.

"Well, descendant. This is your chance to prove yourself. I wanna change back too, so think about it. You merely have to stand one period with me, and you'll regain your precious body. Now, are you ready?"

"Yea, yea. Let's get this over with. I've got the marshmallows and toothpicks."

"Great. Let's start building."

Only five minutes passed by before, "Hiiragizawa! You're doing it all wrong! This marshmallow goes here, and this one goes here!"

Sakrua and Tomoyo looked over with suspicious expressions.

"Heh, heh." The boys put up fake smiles and sweatdropped.

"Ssh! Not so loud. And this is right. This one goes here and this one goes here," Eriol replied, moving the marshmallows that Syaoran had just shifted.

"No! This goes here! Look at the picture!"

"Exactly. You look at the picture! It goes here!" Eriol retorted.

"Here!"

"Here!"

"Here!"

"Here!"

"HERE!"

"HERE!"

"Mr. Hiiragizawa and Mr. Li! Stop bickering and finish up your project!" the sensei cried.

"Gomen nasai, sensei."

"Now look what you did!" Syaoran cried in a hushed whisper.

"I did?! It's your fault!" Eriol rejoined in the same tone.

"Just shut up! We'll both shut up and finish this thing if it kills us!"

"Fine with me."

When the two were finally done, their molecule was oddly contorted, as they tilted their head sideways to see it upright.

"Well, good enough," Eriol commented.

"Yea, who cares. Let's just make s'mores now."

The two walked over to the table set up for the s'mores. Obtaining a stick and a marshmallow, the pair held it over the burner.

"Class, I'm going to step out for a moment to get a cup of coffee. Behave yourselves," the sensei informed.

"Li-kun! You left your napkin here!" a girl called out from behind.

Eriol turned to see her holding it up and reaching for him. "Oh, thanks." But when he turned back to the marshmallow, he saw that when he turned around to get the napkin, somehow, his marshmallow landed in Syaoran's hair (actually his own beautiful hair). His eyes widened. Uh oh. My hair!

Syaoran reached up to his hair. "Why does my head suddenly feel warm?" When he felt the gooey substance in his soft lustrous hair (actually Eriol's hair), his eyes nearly popped out. "Hiiragizawa! What did you do?!"

"Now descendant, remain calm. It was an accident. I'll get some water," he replied in an even tone, though inside, he was chuckling once again.

"My butt it was an accident! What the hell are you trying to do?!"

"I said it was an accident! You think I would actually do that to my own hair?!"

"Well then this is an accident too!" He smothered his marshmallow in Eriol/Li's body's hair.

"Hey! Fine! Have it your way!" He grabbed someone else's melting marshmallow and smothered it on Li's face.

"Ahh! Take this!" He seized other people's marshmallows and threw it back at Eriol…and so began the great marshmallow fight.

.:~:.

When the sensei finally came back over a period of thirty minutes, the entire room was a sticky mess. There were strands of stretchy, melty marshmallows everywhere, connecting the whole class in a gigantic eatable web. His eyes bulged. "Alright, WHO DID THIS?!" he hollered.

Every index finger in the class pointed to Eriol and Syaoran, who were centered and surrounded, each holding a glob of melted marshmallows.

"Uh…heh heh. Gomen nasai?" the two rang in unison, sweatdrops and all.

The sensei's eyes flared with a dangerous glint. "That's it! I'm sending BOTH of you the dean's office. Let him deal with you. I've had enough!"

As the sensei hastily wrote out a referral, the two of them exchanged worried looks that clearly said 'uh oh.' Both remembered their last trip to the dean's office: 'If you two are sent back to me again, I will suspend the both of you for a week, understand?'

When the sensei was done, he practically threw the paper at them, shooing them out. Making their way down the eerily quiet corridor, and creating a sticky trail along the way, the two were lost in their own thoughts.

Aw man, I'm NEVER gonna get my body back! Gawd I hate that irritating ancestor of mine! All he had to do was cooperate for ONE period. ONE. Is that so much to ask for?? was Syaoran's first thought.

Well, we blew it again. When will we ever learn? WHY do we have to learn? We were fine the way we were before…at least then we didn't get into that much trouble…oh man, after the dean kills us, Tomoyo-san and Sakura-san will bring us back to life and kill us again! Eriol thought miserably.

"Well, here we are," Li said.

"Yea, here we are," came Eriol's echo.

"Well?"

"Well? You go first."

"No, you go first."

"No, you."

"No, you."

"No, YOU."

"YOU go first! You're supposed to be the greatest sorcerer ever, and you're afraid of the dean's office?"

"No, it's just that…ladies first." He put on a wide grin.

"Shut—"

Before he had a chance to insult Eriol, the secretary of the office flung the door open. "SSH! Be quiet! We are very busy in here, and we DON'T need additional distractions! Is there something you want?"

"Gomen nasai. We're here to see the dean."

"Well, why didn't you two just come in? It's right down the hall on the right."

"Arigatoo."

Obviously, the pair knew exactly where it was and certainly did not need any directions. But they slowly, ever so slowly, treaded down the hall.

"So what's your plan now, descendant?"

"What plan?"

"Well, you always seem to have some plan up your sleeves, so I figure you might have one now."

"Nope. You're dumber than you look, you know. Although I don't see how much dumber you can get." He snickered at his own insults.

"Haha, very funny. But I'm serious. We're about to get suspended here, and you're still rudely mocking your great-all-powerful-ancestor." He grinned.

"Whatever."

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Eriol inquired, reaching for the doorknob.

"Yea sure," Li answered in a dreary tone.

But to their surprise, when the door creaked open, the dean was absent. In his place was a different man. "May I help you?"

"Uh…we're looking for the dean. Is he here today?"

"Actually, no. I'm filling in for him. What are you two here for?"

"Uhh…nothing." Once again, those infamous, phony smiles were back. "We…got lost!" Syaoran blurted.

"Ok. Where were you going then?"

"…the nurse's office. But we see that it's right over there now. Sorry for bothering you. We'll be on our way now. Bye!" With that, the duo rushed out and shut the door.

"Wow, talk about good luck," Eriol commented on the way out.

"Yea, but what do we do now? There's still fifteen minutes before school's off, and we can't go back to the classroom."

"Well, lets just go to the quad and get something from the vending machine."

"Sure, why not," Li responded, though his voice was monotonous.

When they arrived though, there were narks everywhere.

"Since when did these supervisor ladies work here at this hour?" Eriol said, annoyance in tone.

"I don't know, but run! She's coming this way!" Syaoran cried in a whisper.

They dodged the sight of that yard lady, only to run close to another's field of vision.

"That way!" Eriol pointed.

They ran in the pointed direction, bending behind a vending machine.

"It's like they know where we're going before we even know," Li panted.

"Yea, they're on to us!" Eriol joked.

"Yea, the guy in the dean's office tipped them off!" Li returned, while the two chuckled.

"Quick, to the staircase!" Eriol said, noticing a supervisor come awfully close.

They ran and sat down.

"We should be safe for now," Li said, facing his partner in crime.

"Yea."

Then suddenly, both pairs of eyes bulged.

"D-did we just…joke about something…without making fun of the other one?" Syaoran choked.

"I guess we did…"

"Ok, we've been spending WAY too much time together! Get away from me!"

"What?"

"I said get away from me! We've been hanging around too much!"

"I heard you, but we're still hiding from those hyenas, so I can't get away from you…as much as I'd like that."

Syaoran let out an annoyed sigh, as he peeped out from the staircase. "Coast is clear. Let's go!"

They ran for it and made it just in time for the bell to ring.

.:~:.

Tomoyo watched as Sakura pouted angrily, mopping the floor; the sensei had sentenced the class to clean the entire room while he sat at his desk and read a book. "Calm down, Sakura-chan. It was just an accident and a misunderstanding."

"Still. Those two…grr!!"

"So maybe it's time to switch them back?"

"For what? I said I would wait forever if I had to."

"Well think about it, Sakura-chan. The two of them have always been bickering. That's just how their strange friendship works, though it is still a solid one. Even if neither one will admit it, they have a strong yet different kind of friendship bond. Plus, they've caused a lot more trouble than they did before the switch. Maybe all the disasters were all signs that that's just how it's gotta be. It's time they returned to their true forms."

She sighed. "I guess you're right, Tomoyo-chan. At least I tried."

She formed a bright smile. "Right. You tried and learned. That and the fact that Eriol-kun and Li-kun have grown closer are what matter. You had good intensions. You've accomplished your goal…and gained so much more. I'm proud of you."

"Arigatoo, Tomoyo-san. You always know how to cheer me up. Now let's finish cleaning so we can go home."

"Un!"

After a while, the room was nearly clean again. Then the bell rang.

"Ok class, you may leave. But I expect better of you next time," the sensei warned. "Good day."

The two grabbed their things and wearily walked to the door, opening it at the same time Eriol and Syaoran did, and surprising the quartet.

Syaoran's eyes rounded. "S-Sakura-san!"

"Syaoran-kun, I'm tired. Could you please just explain what happened?"

Tomoyo listened with interest as well, while Eriol helped along the way with Syaoran's tale. When the two were done, Sakura let out an exhausted sigh.

"Why don't we just go home and try to forget about this?" Tomoyo suggested.

"Great idea, Tomoyo-san!" Syaoran piped up, trying to ease the tension.

As the quartet walked home from a tiresome day, none had noticed or sensed a certain redheaded figured watching from a distance with a sneaky smirk.

A/N: So what do you think? I know the restroom part was nasty, but like I said before, I'm out of it. And I know it's dragging on and on, but the last chappi's coming up. Hope you enjoyed anyway! Review plz.