Summary: Alone at her house and bored out of her skull, Sakura looks through her scrapbook and finds an unfamiliar picture. So she takes it over to Li and asks him about it. But what else does she find?


Episode 38- Recalling the Change Card and The Claw


Sakura continued to scratch her head when she saw that picture taken of Li and Kero together. What had her so confused was the reason for having it. It seemed like such a normal picture. Why would it be in a scrapbook full of her Clow Card memories?

Passing through Madison's front gate, Sakura walked up to Li's guesthouse. She knocked on his door and waited for answer. The door opened and Sakura found Li. But she also noticed something else. There was a suitcase packed on his bed.

"Li?" Sakura asked curiously. "Are you…going somewhere?"

Li looked around nervously. "Um…yeah. Sakura…something's come up. I've got to go to Hong Kong."

"Is something wrong?" Sakura asked.

Li nodded. "My mom's been relapsing lately. But it's not just that. I got a call from Meilin. She's…staying…in Hong Kong."

That took Sakura by surprise. "S-She is? Oh…she's…not coming back. Li…were you planning on keeping that from me?"

"I didn't mean to," Li answered. "But I hope you realize that this is a trip I have to make alone. I have to see my mom…and say goodbye to Meilin. I hope you understand."

Sakura didn't say anything at first. Meilin was her friend, too. She wanted to say goodbye. But then she realized something. Somewhere in her heart, she could feel that she would see Meilin again someday. And she noticed that this was a trip Li wanted to make alone. Sakura couldn't stop him.

"I understand," Sakura said softly. She hung her head down as she held the picture in her hand.

"What's that?" Li asked.

Sakura held the picture. "Oh…it's a picture I found in my scrapbook. I…don't remember where it's from and I was hoping you'd remember."

Li examined the picture…and frowned. "Oh…I remember that one. It's where Kero and I switched places."

Sakura was surprised again. "HOE? It's THIS one?"

"It IS?"

Kero shot right out of Sakura's pocket and looked at the picture. Then he frowned. "Oh…it is."

Li shook his head. "Yeah…I remember that day. It was like a nightmare…"


~--------------------~


Flashback: Penguin Park

P.O.V.: Li Shoran

Li was determined to make this capture. He wouldn't let Sakura have this card. About an hour had passed since Sakura and Li first spotted the Change Card and they had chased it right into Penguin Park. Li tried to jump for the card, but it leaped out of the way. He tried to go after it, but was met by an indignant Kero.

"Back off, kid! This one's ours!" The Change Card suddenly passed by Kero. "Sakura! Seal it!"

Sakura stood ready to seal the card. "I got it! Change Card! Return…AAH!"

The Change Card bounced off Sakura's head, not giving her the chance to seal it. Li knew that this was his chance. But he didn't need a card. All he did was grab hold of it while Kero grabbed hold of its tail.

"Sakura!" Li called out. "Seal it before it gets away!"

Sakura finally picked herself up and rushed to the scene while the Change Card tried to loosen itself.

"Sakura!" Kero called out. "Seal it before it gets away!"

"I just said that!" Li grunted.

Before the Change Card could loosen itself, Sakura arrived just in time to seal it.

"Change Card! Return to your power confined! Change Card!"

Sakura struck her wand and the Change Card was sealed. That's when Li started to feel dizzy. He closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground. Then Li opened his eyes.

~* Why do I feel so weird? Um…everything looks like it got bigger. Or maybe I shrunk. WAIT! Is that ME?! Then…no…my hands! They're…STUFFED! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! *~

Li let out a short, loud scream. His hands were indeed stuffed and that was indeed his body in front of him. Li looked at himself and discovered…that he was in Kero's body.

Kero, in Li's body, was calm. "Ah, calm down."

But Li was hysterical. "Calm down?! How can I calm down?! I'm a stuffed animal!!"

Kero grinned. "Welcome to my world."

Sakura, having witnessed all this, just blinked. "Li…why are you talking like Kero?"

"What are you talking about, Sakura?" Kero asked. "I AM Kero."

Sakura blinked. "That's pretty good. Can you do any other impressions?"

Kero shook his (er, Li's) head. "No, I really AM Kero."

Li sighed. "It's true. I'm Li in Kero's body."

Sakura grinned sheepishly. "Oh, you guys are a riot."

~* GRR…do I have to spell it out for her?! Doesn't she get it?! *~

Li thought about that as Sakura put her name on the Change Card. Then came that fateful moment. Sakura tried to pick up 'Kero', but Li moved away.

"Get away!" Li snapped.

Sakura blinked again. "Hey…you really ARE Li, aren't you?"

"No, you think?"

"W-What happened?" Sakura asked.

"The Change Card happened," Li answered. "It switched us."

Sakura blinked. "The Change Card can switch bodies? Why would there be a card like that?"

Kero sighed. "Well, Clow Reed never said I wasn't replaceable. He wanted someone else to replace me in the untimely event of my death."

"Oh…that's kinda sad," Sakura said somberly.

"I know," Kero said. "But luckily, it's never come to that."

Sakura quickly went back to the matter at hand. "Is there any way to change you guys back, Kero?"

"I'm Li."

Sakura grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Force of habit."

Kero (in Li's body) just remained calm. "It all goes along with expecting the unexpected. All we have to do is be back here in 24 hours or else we'll be stuck forever. No problem."

"No problem?!" Li asked angrily. "I'M the one who has to be a stuffed animal!"

"Welcome to my world," Kero said again. "In the meantime, this is my big chance to live it up!"

Li sweatdropped. "I don't like the sound of that."

Sakura sighed. "24 hours. We'll be here. No problem."

Li shook his head. "Actually…there is a problem. There's…Meilin. How am I supposed to explain this to her?"

"We can't tell Meilin," Sakura said. "In fact…we can't tell anybody. Until tomorrow, we'll just have to keep a low profile and not tell anybody."

~----------~

[Kero: That wasn't as easy as you thought.]

[Li: I'll bet. But my night wasn't any easier.]

[Sakura: What do you mean? I didn't think it went that bad.]

[Li: Are you kidding? You treated me like…an unwanted houseguest! I'll never forget that night…]


~--------------------~


Flashback: Sakura's Room

P.O.V.: Li Shoran (in Kero's body)

"There's no way you're sleeping in my room, Li!"

Li felt like…an unwanted houseguest. Sakura was practically kicking him out of her room. He didn't know where else to go.

"What do you want me to do?" Li demanded. "Sleep in the tree?"

Sakura thought about that…and smiled. "It's no big deal. You've got Kero's wings."

Li groaned in frustration. "FINE!! I'll go sleep in the tree!!"

Li opened the window and looked back, just in case Sakura changed her mind. She didn't. So Li braced himself.

~* If that stuffed animal can do it…then so can I! *~

Li jumped…and fell. He didn't make it to the tree branch and fell straight down.

~* OW! That hurt! Well…if this is the worst that happens…I guess I'll consider myself lucky. *~

**MEOW**

Li was ready to panic. There was a large cat looking hungrily at Li. It was ready to eat him.

"Hey, cat! Get out of here!"

Li went into stuffed animal mode. Someone else came over and chased the cat off. It was Tori and Julian. Julian picked up Li.

"Tori…isn't this Sakura's stuffed animal?"

"Yeah. I'd recognize that ugly thing anywhere. We'd better give it to her before she freaks out."

Li held in a sigh as Julian carried him inside. As soon as they walked through the door, Sakura came running down the stairs. Obviously, she didn't make it in time to catch Li.

Julian smiled. "Isn't this yours, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded nervously.

"The neighbor's cat must have thought it was a bird. Um…is it a new one? I don't remember it having such red cheeks before."

Li couldn't understand what he meant. Then he could feel it. He was blushing…big time. He was about to blow his cover.

Sakura frantically tried thinking of something. "Uh…that was just something I did…with…crayons."

~* Crayons? Pathetic, Avalon. *~

Tori shook his head. "That stuffed animal gets worse and worse every day. Maybe we should have left it for the cat."

Sakura bashfully took Li and smiled. "Thanks, Julian."

Something came over Li at that moment. He felt like he had to sneeze. But Sakura squeezed the life out of him to keep him quiet.

"Does…your stuffed animal talk?" Julian asked.

"Um…what do you mean?" Sakura asked nervously.

"It sounded like it just said something."

Sakura grinned sheepishly. "N-No…everybody knows that stuffed animals can't talk. Well…gotta go!"

Sakura rushed up the stairs before anyone else could ask anymore questions. She shut her door and placed Li on her desk.

"I guess being a stuffed animal must be harder than I thought," Sakura mumbled.

"I guess so," Li sighed.

"Maybe I'll let you stay here after all," Sakura gave in. "But just stay right there and DON'T MOVE! You've gotten in enough trouble already."

Sakura headed downstairs as Li sweatdropped. He would never admit it, but life as a stuffed animal was pretty hard.

~----------~

[Kero: Yeah, that was your night. You should have seen what I was going through with Meilin. I always took Sakura's cooking for granted…until that night…]


~--------------------~


Flashback: Li and Meilin's House

P.O.V.: Kero (in Li's body)

It was time for dinner and Kero was starving. He hadn't eaten the whole day, not since he…switched bodies with Li. The good thing about it was that Meilin wasn't aware yet. She didn't suspect a thing.

"You've sure been acting weird today, Li."

Kero sweatdropped. Maybe she was a little suspicious. "Uh…what do you mean?"

"You've been talking really weird today. Almost like…Kero."

Kero was sly in his response. "I guess that's what happens when you hang out with someone for a really long time."

"Hanging out with him? I thought you said he was a stuffed animal."

Kero tried to keep his cool. "He's NOT a stuffed animal! He's…Keroberos, guardian beast of the seal."

"I thought he was just a stuffed animal."

"He's not! He's the guardian beast. A really POWERFUL guardian beast…and handsome, too."

Meilin eyed Kero suspiciously. She wasn't really buying this, but she didn't make any bold accusations…yet. She only brought her spoon up and tasted Kero's attempt at soup. She swallowed…and grimaced. She looked like she was about to hurl.

Kero grinned sheepishly. "So…uh…you like it?"

~----------~

[Kero: Well I never said I was a gourmet chef.]

[Li: You're lucky you didn't blow our cover.]

[Kero: I had everything under control. All I had to do was convince Meilin that she needed a good night's sleep. And she got one…while I got to sleep in a warm bed.]

[Li: Um…I didn't exactly get much sleep that night.]

[Sakura: You didn't?]

[Li: Well…]


~--------------------~


Flashback: Sakura's Room (A kawaii scene of my own)

P.O.V.: Li Shoran (in Kero's body)

It was too hard to sleep in that rock Kero called a bed. So he got up and just sat by the window. It was the cruelest twist of fate, being stuck in the stuffed animal's body. He just wanted to be back in his own body again. He really wished this night would end. But he soon noticed that he was the only one panicking about this.

Kero was completely calm about this; maybe too calm. Then Li flew over towards the true voice of reason. He flew over to Sakura's bed. He looked down at the sleeping little girl. She looked so peaceful; so innocent. It almost blew Li's mind. How did such a powerful magic like the Clow Cards…end up in the hands of such a sweet, innocent girl?

Then Li thought about what Sakura had become. She was still ten, but she was quickly maturing as a capable magician. She was getting a lot better. Of course, she wasn't as good as Li.

Li ran a paw through Sakura's hair. It didn't wake her up; she was fast asleep. Around Sakura…Li felt different. He couldn't describe this feeling. Was he…falling for her?

Li shook his head and flew back to the desk. That couldn't be it. He wasn't falling for Sakura. But he had to admit…she was kinda cute. Li landed on his bed and looked back.

~* Maybe you aren't as hopeless as I thought. Good night, Sakura. *~

Li took one more look at the sleeping beauty that was Sakura…and went to sleep.

~----------~

[Sakura: Aww...]

[Li: I had a feeling you'd react that way. Before you say it, yeah maybe I was in denial at the time. I guess I felt something for you even back then. It's too bad that everything went downhill from there.]

[Kero: What do you mean?]

[Sakura: I think I know what he means. It was easy for you to keep everything from Meilin. But you forgot how observant Madison could be.]

[Kero: Oh, yeah. Hey, I knew it from the day I met her. Madison Taylor may not possess magic herself…but she seems to have a sixth sense for knowing when something's out of whack…]


~--------------------~


Flashback: Reedington Elementary

P.O.V.: Kero (in Li's body)

"I still don't know what I did."

Sakura was dragging Kero off by the ear. Now he knew how that Zachary kid felt every time Chelsea dragged him off. Sakura kept going until the three of them were alone and then finally let go. Kero rubbed his human ear painfully.

"What happened to keeping a low profile?" Sakura demanded.

"You're embarrassing me!!" Li shouted from Sakura's backpack.

Sakura gasped. "Li, keep it down. Someone might hear you."

"Someone might hear what, Sakura?"

Everyone sweatdropped at the sound of that voice. Apparently, Sakura hadn't checked the perimeter as well as she thought, because someone else was watching them.

"Uh…hey, Madison."

Madison Taylor grinned. "Hi, Sakura. Hi, Li…or should I say Kero?"

Kero quickly tried to deny it. "Kero? No…uh…I'm Li."

Madison shook her head. "Sorry, but I'd bet my camera that Li Shoran has never played a video game in his life."

Kero didn't give in. "Uh…it's a habit I've picked up. You should try it sometime."

Madison kept grinning. "I see I'm going to have to be a little more persuasive in getting the truth. I think it's time for…the test."

~* I don't like the sound of that. *~

Madison reached over and grabbed…her camera. She pointed it at Kero. "Pose for me, 'Li'."

Kero had never posed before and he especially didn't know how the Chinese kid posed. So he did the only thing he could do. He posed…badly. He fell over.

Madison giggled. "I knew it. You ARE Kero!"

Li groaned. "You ARE pathetic!"

Kero groaned also. "Well, excuse me! I don't know how a boring brat like you poses!"

"BORING?!"

"Yeah, boring!"

Madison suddenly ignored the bickering Kero and Li and focused on Sakura. "So…what aren't you telling me?"

~----------~

[Sakura: It was a LONG day. And it didn't get easier when you got lost, Li.]

[Li: It's not like it was my choice.]

[Kero: Hey, maybe it was better you got lost. Because I got to prove to everybody that I am THE MASTER!!]

[Li: Not THIS story!]

[Kero: Oh, yeah! I still remember this…]


~--------------------~


Flashback: One Certain Machine

P.O.V.: Kero (in Li's body)

Kero just calmly followed while Sakura, Madison, and Meilin all panicked searching for Li. As much as he hated to admit it, Kero was starting to miss his old body, much like the way he missed his TRUE body. He didn't like being human too much anymore.

"Sakura! I found him!"

Sakura rushed over while Kero calmly walked behind her. Sure enough, there was Li…inside a machine. But not just a machine; the claw. It should have been an easy matter of Li just flopping over into the hole and coming under, but then…

"See something you like?"

Kero groaned. It was the shopkeeper, so Li had to go into stuffed animal mode. But this was the kind of opportunity Kero craved.

~* Time to prove once again that I am the master! *~

Kero put a quarter in and moved the claw towards Li. The claw came down and Kero could almost see Li sweating. The claw wrapped itself around Li's head…and started stretching him vertically. The claw wasn't pulling him up. Li was stuck.

~* Hey! This thing's rigged! *~

The claw came up and Li was still in the machine. The three girls moaned and Kero just grew determined.

"All right…time…for…THE MASTER!!"

Li moaned hopelessly. He didn't have much confidence in Kero. And apparently…neither did Sakura.

"Madison…" Sakura whispered. "Distract him."

Madison walked over to the shopkeeper. "Um…sir? I was thinking of buying something as an early Christmas present. Could you help me find something inside the store?"

The shopkeeper smiled. "Sure thing, miss. Let's go on inside."

Madison successfully created her diversion, but Kero wouldn't be denied this moment. Li loosened himself from the pile of toys, but the claw still headed his way. It came down…and lifted Li into the air.

"Kero! What are you doing?"

"This is my moment, kid!"

The claw dragged Li towards the hole…and dropped him. Li landed with a thud. Sakura bent down and took Li out of the slot…where he promptly flew up and slapped Kero upside the head.

"I could have gotten out myself!"

"Hey, I already had the quarter in. And I said I'd get you out, didn't I?"

"You almost tore my head off!"

"Technically, it's not your head."

"It still hurt!!"

The arguments went on like that, but not for long. It was almost three o'clock and the 24 hours were almost up. It was time for this nightmare to end.


~--------------------~


"Sakura?"

"Yes, Li?"

"I know you want to finish the story…but my flight's about to leave."

The airport was crowded. The flight for Hong Kong had just been called. Sakura couldn't get over the feeling that…they had done all this before.

"You're coming back…right?" Sakura asked.

Li smiled. "Of course I am. It's only for a few weeks." He leaned over and kissed Sakura. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too."

Li picked up his bags and walked away. "I love you!"

"I love you, too!"

Sakura just watched as Li faded into the crowd. It was back to Hong Kong again. And Sakura was left alone…with Kero in her pocket.

"Relax, Sakura. He'll be back."

Sakura sighed. "You're right. He will. And I'll be waiting for him."

With those words, Sakura walked away from the airport…and walked home without Li.


Author's Note: He'll be back. Don't worry. If anything, this was a necessary step, because guess what? I got another idea! I give it about a few days before it'll start, but I'm sure you'll all love it. So look for it here in the next few days! And remember…he can't stay in Hong Kong forever!


Any comments? This series ain't over, but it's on hold again. Mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below. I love your feedback, so tell me what you think!