Disclaimer: CCS is not mine, it belongs to CLAMP.
A/N: Gomen nasai, minna-san. I've had trouble coming up with ideas, so this took me longer to write than I had expected...
Episode 11: Unknown Reasons
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While Syaoran was discussing the finer points of cardcaptoring with Azure(a.k.a., why you should never break into a room that your parents went to a large amount of trouble to block off both physically and magically), Sakura and Kero went into another room, for Sakura had quite a few things to ask of the guardian beast-turned-cat.
I think you know what it is I need to talk to you about, Kero.
Why, I haven't the foggiest idea, my Mistress.
He knew she preferred not to be called that, but Kero insisted on using that title in any matters of major importance concerning the cards.
You knew what was going on last night. You knew that the cards were tricking Azure into freeing them. And I'm guessing you know what we should do now about their range having increased a lot farther than just this town.
Oh, that's what you meant. Well, it's simple. The cards were bored.
They were...hoe?
Bored. You see, Mistress Sakura, they've been locked up in there for a long time. It's been over two decades since you sealed them in Tomoeda, and they've been just sitting in the book for more than half that time.
Demo, they were in there much longer before I opened the Book of Clow. If I remember correctly... It took Sakura a short pause's worth of thought to recall what she was thinking of, but......that's right....You were asleep in the book for thirty years before I opened it...
Kero sweat dropped. This was something he didn't particularly like being reminded of. It had just been an accident. He hadn't meant to fall asleep on the job, but it was rather uneventful guarding the cards while they were still sealed and locked inside the book.
Well...that's because those were cards with Clow's magic in them...
Well, Master Clow Reed was a very patient fellow, most of the time, at least, and thus, the cards he made felt the same. They were fine with waiting for many years, because they knew that, eventually, someone with magical abilities would open the book.
Demo, why didn't...?
Then, they had Clow's magic in them. Now, however, they have your magic in them. And, as I'm sure you know, you're a bit more active than Clow was. Think about it. If you were locked in a room, by yourself, for over ten years, what would you do if you noticed someone walking by the door of the room, and not just anyone, but someone who knew how to get the door open?
Sakura thought about it for a moment, and then...
Well, I guess I would try to get them to unlo-...oh....
Exactly. That's what you would do. And since the cards have your magic inside of them, that's what they would do also. So they did.
Sakura's aura felt aghast.
But, why didn't you tell us about it? We could've d-
No, you couldn't've. If they choose to find a way out, they're going to find a way out.
Sakura sighed dejectedly.
Syaoran will need to know about this too. I'll go get hi-
She turned towards the door, but...
Matte, Card Mistress. There's something I have to ask you now.
Sakura became quite nervous; she had guessed what it was Kero was going to ask already.
he began, while I can't very well count extremely fast, I do trust these eyes, he said, pointing with one of his paws, a single claw extended, to the golden-pupiled cat eyes on his face - at which point Sakura decided that it was decidedly strange, even despite all the strange things she'd seen over the years, to see a cat making such a seemingly awkward gesture - whose centers had grown rather large due to the lack of light that the storm was causing.
And what these eyes told me when blue eyes released the cards was that...
Hai, Kero. There were more than the fifty-two cards the Clow Reed originally made, a slightly saddened tone was in her voice.
I thought so. And I don't just mean The Hope; there were far more than that.
Just then, the door opened. Syaoran walked in, Azure to the side and slightly beside him, a frozen expression on his face, as if he had just been told something that shocked him into suspended animation.
Syaoran began, having heard what they were discussing through the door, sixteen more than that, in total.
So that makes... Kero began, counting off on his claws. Sixty...nine...why that number?
Sakura began, sweating, as was her husband next to her. Azure still had that expression on his face, and seemed not to be hearing the conversation.
The number was, um...well, it was Syaoran's...idea... Kero looked rather like Azure at the moment, if it was possible for a cat to have such a shade and expression on his face.
Riiight...not gonna press it further then... Kero said nervously. Syaoran gulped.So, you just decided to go ahead and make new cards...?
Oh, no, of course not, Sakura answered quickly.
We got Clow's permission first.
Kero looked quite flabbergasted.
Well, we asked Eriol-kun, and he said he was fine wi-
Kero had already collapsed onto the floor, cringing, face first, once more in a rather uncat-like position.
A loud crash sounded from another room of the house. This broke Kero and Azure out of their positions, seemingly, although Azure still seemed a bit disoriented.
he tried to form a sentence, but so much was floating around his head that he had a bit of trouble getting it out.
Thus, this was a particular bad moment for them to hear a scream they all recognized. Azure bolted towards the direction of the sound, followed closely by his parents. Kero stopped to pick up the Key before loping after them. He guessed that they would be needing it in a moment.
