Cardcaptor Sakuragi – Chapter 1

Takeshi and the mysterious book

— - — - — - — - ∞ O ∞ - — - — - — - —

El Huesudo II: Hi, everyone, and welcome to Cardcaptor Sakuragi! I am El Huesudo II, but you can call me EHII. And introducing my colleagues, the Five Kings of Death!

the Five Kings of Death enter the screen.

Mortos: Hello, everybody! We're the Five Kings. You night know us for... for... well, we kinda erased all our works on And we decided to work with this fella here because of our great friendship. And the fact that he has a hard time keeping his characters on character...

El Huesudo II: Well, at least I check the chapters twice before publishing them!

Sekhmet: WHAT DID YOU SAY, SON?

El Huesudo II: What you heard, lady!

They start fighting.

Enigmae: Ignore them, ignore them. What you're here to see, is the fanfic isn't it?

Horus: Well, instead of making you wait, let's begin!

— - — - — - — - ∞ O ∞ - — - — - — - —

Symbols:

— Dialogs —

'Character narrating'

"Character thoughts"

Sound FX!

— - — - — - — - ∞ O ∞ - — - — - — - —

— OUCH! —

A boy, approximately 9 years old, with short brown hair and green eyes, wearing blue PJs, had fallen off his bed, startled because of the late hour.

— I'm gonna be late again! —

'My name is Sakuragi Takeshi. I'm 10 years old and I'm in 4th grade.'

Takeshi struggled to put his shoes on, when he noticed he hadn't put the uniform shorts yet. It's bad to dress up without your glasses on...

— Oh DAMMIT! —

Takeshi, rushed downstairs, now fully dressed, trying to un-wrinkle his hat. And utterly failing.

— Why does this happen to me all the time? —

— Because you're just a kaijuu — a girl said. She was really tall, apparently 14 or 15 years old, with long black hair in a ponytail, and black eyes. She was wearing a red sweater and a brown, semi-long skirt, black stockings and red high-heeled shoes.

(Author's note: For those who don't know yet, kaijuu is a kind of monster from the Japanese mythology.)

— I am NOT a kaijuu, onee-chan — Takeshi said, angrily.

'This is my beloved sister, Sakuragi Hitomi. She's just nagging me whenever she can, and her favorites are kaijuu and telling me I'm short (as if she wasn't short to be 16). Oh, how would I love to grow, as big as a street light, and SMASH her!'

Insert, obviously, a chibi scene of a giant Takeshi stepping on a startled Hitomi, which by the way, has a big sweat drop on her head.

— Aren't you gonna go to school, onee-chan? —

— Nah — she said — they're fumigating. Besides, my boss told me that I had to drop by and help him, as I don't have to attend today. —

'My sister studies at the Seijyuu High School, and she's a sophomore. Plus, she's some sort of workaholic – she works wherever they give her a job, mostly on a daily pay basis. She likes to earn cash fast.'

— Lucky you, onee-chan — said Takeshi, eating his breakfast as quickly as humanely possible — I have, or at least had, to get earlier today to ready the classroom up, and also I have to stay late to do the log! It's very annoying! —

'In school, 3 students are told to come in a certain day to ready the classroom up – clean the chalkboard and place the date on it, water the plants, and those sort of things. Plus, at the end of the day, a student has to stay late to do a log on what happened during the day, so they evaluate the teacher's and student's performance.'

— Oh come on — said a woman, emerging from the kitchen. With flowing brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes, she was extremely beautiful. She was wearing a navy blue suit, a very pale bluish green shirt and a blue tie. That tie had a University emblem in the form of a pin.

— Oh, hi, Okaa-san! —

'This is my mother, Sakuragi Fujiko. She's the coolest mom in the world. 'Cause she's my mom, of course. She's an anthropologist and an archaeologist as well, and she gives classes on both subjects at the Tokyo University. She's always rooting for us to get in Toodai, as people call it.'

— As I was saying, Takeshi-kun, you shouldn't be swamped just by a little responsibility. I know how good you can be. —

— Yeah — said Hitomi — but anyway, how good can a kaijuu be anyway? —

Takeshi kicked Hitomi in the shin for that one. Hitomi, obviously, was in pain.

— Stop fighting, you both — said Fujiko, laughing. — You'd make your father angry... — That last line made the three look depressed for a moment.

'My father was called Sakuragi Kyou, and he died around 7 years ago, when I was only 3 years old. I don't remember much of him, but I think he was pretty cool.'

The three turned to see a photo of him in a frame. He was a handsome man, grayish black hair and green eyes, and he also had to wear glasses, much like his son. In the picture, he was wearing a gray suit, and was posing with a girl that looked a lot like Fujiko, but had short red hair, and was wearing a hot red suit.

'My father worked on accounting, but he moonlighted as a model and a cosplayer for certain events, so we have lots of pictures of him. We always have several frames with his pictures around the house. In that picture, okaa-san and him were cosplaying as Aoki Seiichiro and Kasumi Karen, from X/1999.'

— Well, young man — Fujiko sarcastically said to Takeshi — not gonna finish? —

Takeshi looked at his breakfast plate, which still had half of the meal intact.

— OH NO! — yelled Takeshi, as he quickly finished it off.

Then he ran to the door, to put his shoes on.

— Oh god — said Fujiko — he really is clumsy sometimes. Just like his father. —

— - — - — - — - ∞ O ∞ - — - — - — - —

Now Takeshi and Hitomi were going on the same direction on the street. Takeshi used a bicycle, but Hitomi was roller-skating.

'Onee-chan wanted a better bike, and she sold her old bike to get a new one. Meanwhile, she has to roller-skate to work. She's just a few days from buying it, though...'

— By the way, kaijuu — said Hitomi — Remember that you owe me a laundry wash today? —

That made Takeshi cringe.

— - — - — - — - - Flashback - - — - — - — - —

— Onee-chan — said Takeshi — I have club meeting today, can you wash the dishes today for me? —

Hitomi sighed.

— Okay, I'll do it — she said — But you'll have to do the laundry for me tomorrow... —

— No problem — said Takeshi.

— - — - — - — -Flashback End- — - — - — - —

— I have club meeting today again — said Takeshi.

— AGAIN? — asked Hitomi. — You just had one yesterday! —

— We didn't finish then, so they want us to attend one more time today — said Takeshi.

Hitomi sighed.

— If I get home and it isn't done, I'll do it. BUT, you'll owe me next week's carwash. —

— Onee-chan, you- —

Then he saw her.

Short grayish white hair, silvery gray eyes. Wearing a beautiful white sweater and a long gray skirt, with white socks and gray shoes. Apparently 14 years old because of the height, but she was really 16.

(Authors note: I had to point that out now, because then it'd be left unmentioned.)

She was there, waiting at the corner. She turned around and saw Hitomi and Takeshi going by and waved at them with a cute smile. They stopped to say Hi.

Takeshi went red. Red as a TOMATO.

— Ohayo, Hitomi-chan! — she said.

— Ohayo, Kicchan — Hitomi told her.

'She is Tsukumi Yuuki, a friend of my sister. They have known each other since the freshman year, and they've been best friends ever since. She's extremely beautiful, and she can do everything. She rocks!'

— Um- Hi, Yuuki-san! — said Takeshi, blushing.

Yuuki turned to see Takeshi and giggled in the cutest way possible, and Takeshi imagined a bubbly pink background behind her and sparkles coming from her hair, that even short, was flowing.

— Ohayo, Takeshi-kun! — said Yuuki, with a smile.

Takeshi was overwhelmed by Yuuki's absolute beauty. He was almost literally melting from the sight of his beloved.

...His out of reach beloved, of course.

Hitomi, noticing Takeshi's current state, decided to poke a little fun in the scene.

— Look, the kaijuu's face went red! Maybe he became an oni? —

(Author's note: Oni is the ogre of Japanese Mythology. Said to eat young children...

Takeshi went from blush red to angry red. Which, by the way, it's the same color. Turning at Hitomi with an "instant murder" look, he yelled:

— WILL YOU EVER SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE ZASHIKIDOUSHI! —

(Author's note: A Zashikidoushi is a spirit who watches over houses. For what I've heard, they're often... short in height.)

— Oh — said Hitomi — That was a good one! Seems that you're getting good at mythology insults! —

— In that case — said Yuuki — I'd be a Yukihime or something among the lines! —

(Author's note: Yukihime is the princess of the snow, who controls the... well, snow.)

Hitomi and Yuuki started laughing, while Takeshi felt frustrated.

— So, Yuuki — said Takeshi — what are you doing around here? —

— Oh — said Yuuki — I have some stuff to do for work, but first I'm going to the restaurant Hitomi works in to get breakfast! It doesn't get too many customers in school hours, so I'm gonna help her a bit! —

— A bit? — said Hitomi, laughing. — I think you'll cover for 20 customers or more! —

— Onee-chan! — said Takeshi, angry — How dare you call her a glutton? —

— Because she is — she said.

— You nag everybody, did you know? —

— No — said Yuuki — She's telling the truth! I really eat a lot! — And with that said, she giggled a little.

Takeshi was confused, as she had never saw Yuuki eating.

— - — - — - — - ∞ O ∞ - — - — - — - —

Takeshi got to school. He left his bike locked in the bicycle parking, and went to the locker rooms.

'I study at the Tomoeda Elementary school, and I'm in 4th grade. We recently started school.'

— Ohayo, Takeshi-kun! —

Takeshi turned around and waved. Running towards him was a boy, with blonde, curly hair and blue eyes.

— Ohayo, Tomoki-kun! —

'That's a friend of mine, Amamiya Tomoki. He's on the same classroom as me, and we sit next to each other. He has been my friend since 1st grade. He's a very loyal friend, always willing to help me whenever I ask, but he's a little...'

— Oh, by the way, I was gonna ask you... — said Tomoki.

— Yes? —

— Would you let me film you? —

'...weird.'

— ...FILM ME! —

— You know... Just for practice. I want to get in the movie club after all... —

— Oh. No problem, but... Why me? —

— Because nobody else would let me! —

"I wonder why..." thought Takeshi.

They got to the locker room, and Takeshi got his books out and in his backpack. Then he got to his classroom.

And before crossing the door...

— Hey you! — yelled 2 boys, angry.

— Oh, um... Hi... Hee hee... — was all he could say.

— You were supposed to help us in the morning service! — said one of them.

— But alas, you didn't show up! — said another.

— And we had to do the entire job by ourselves. —

— Well, you see... — said Takeshi — It's that my- —

— NO EXCUSES! — both yelled.

— We already notified the teacher — one said. — She's very angry! —

— You're gonna get in serious trouble! — said another.

Both then turned around and lifted their chin, grumping, and entered the classroom as if marching.

— I think those two act waaaaay too childish — said Tomoki. —

— You think? — said Takeshi. — Oh, I hope the teacher's not that an- —

— Sakuragi-kun — a voice was heard from behind him.

Takeshi turned around and saw his teacher. Red hair, long and straight, and black eyes. She wore a blue suit with a skirt, black high-heeled shoes, and a yellow tie. She had had her nails done, painted red and glossed, and in the makeup department she only had lipstick on, and very scarcely.

— -gry... —

'That's my teacher, Terada Yohko. She has been a teacher for 10 years, and my teacher since 3rd grade. She's calm and friendly, but with a high sense of responsibility. Just like okaa-san.'

— ...Terada-sensei... I... well... —

— You shouldn't run from your responsibility — she said.

— It's not that I didn't want to come, but- —

— No excuses, Sakuragi-kun. Now, for that, you'll have to do the morning service tomorrow, by yourself. —

— Awww... —

— But it's not THAT bad... Oh, and you won't have to do the log today. We'll have a high school student inspecting. —

— Oh... —

Takeshi entered the door and oh, surprise, Yuuki was sitting on the empty seat.

— Yuuki-san! —

— Oh! Hi, Takeshi-kun! —

Takeshi went red AGAIN. And now in front of everyone who wanted to see the show. Giggles were heard from the girls and the boys cooed in unison (except Tomoki, for a weird reason).

— I'm the inspector today! I didn't think it would be in your classroom, Takeshi-kun! —

— Yuuki-san... Weren't you at the restaurant...? —

— Oh, I asked for food to go and I brought it here! —

Yuuki pointed to her backpack, and next to it were four bags full of stuff.

— You asked for ALL OF THAT! —

— You think it's too much? I think I ordered less this time... —

Now he knew what Hitomi meant.

— Well... I have to get to my seat. —

— Ooooh, Sakuragi-san likes an older girl! — someone screamed.

Takeshi went even redder.

3 boys and a girl approached.

— Ohayo, Takeshi-kun! —

The first boy was a bit taller than Takeshi, had straight brown hair in a mushroom cut and brown eyes. He was wearing glasses, rounder and thicker than Takeshi's.

The second boy was a bit taller than the first one, also had brown hair, but very messy, and brown eyes as well.

The third boy had reddish black hair, and eyes the same color.

The girl had short black hair, a little messy, and her eyes looked as if they were closed.

— Ohayo, everyone! —

'These are 4 friends of mine. The one with glasses is called Yagami Naota, the messy-haired one is Shinohara Haru, the redhead is Sakazaki Hiiro, and the girl is called Takamori Ayaka. They're all good friends, just like Tomoki, but without the weird factor. ...Okay, they might be a little weird as well.'

— Oi, oi, who's the girl? — said Naota.

— Asked her out yet, Casanova? — said Haru.

— I admit you have a good taste, Takeshi-kun — said Hiiro.

— Stop it, gu- — said Takeshi, only to be interrupted for the Nth time.

— Did you know that in Ancient Babylon — said Ayaka, lifting the right index finger in the air — guys that wanted to ask girls out had to put a necklace on? Each bead on the left side represented what the guy admired of her beloved, and in the right side, each bead represented the activities the guy wanted to do that day or night with the girl... —

— ...She started again — said Haru, and then he dragged Ayaka up to her seat while she continued narrating her weird story, with the cutest of smiles.

— If the girl accepted to go out with him, she had to open the right hand, put it against his chest and kiss him in the right cheek. If not, then she lifted her left hand and then... SLAP! —

After that, Ayaka just started laughing while everyone stared confused.

— Weird dating habits indeed — said Sakuragi.

That made everyone facefault.

— YOU BELIEVED HER? —

— Oh, so it was a lie? —

Facefault again, please?

— Why do you do that kind of stuff, Ayaka? — asked Haru.

— Because — Ayaka said, — Takeshi-kun always believes me! OHOHOHOHOHO! —

— Oh my god... — said Haru, with a big sweat drop on the head.

— - — - — - — - ∞ O ∞ - — - — - — - —

After classes ended, Takeshi went to the club meeting point. But he didn't get there, because of a notice...

— Hey, there's a house burning in the suburbs! —

This made Takeshi listen. He paid attention to all the details...

— Isn't there where Sakuragi Takeshi lives? —

He panicked.

He ran to the bike parking, unlocked his bicycle, and ran home as fast as he could. Could his house be in fire?

And when he got there...

...the house burning was in front, a block away from his house. The firefighters were already there.

— ...What a relief. —

He got in his house to check if everything was alright, when he heard weird noises coming from the basement...

— ...The basement? —

He opened the door a little.

— Okaa-san? Onee-chan? Are you there? —

The weird sound continued.

He got down the stairs and searched for the source of the sound.

Strangely enough, it came from a book.

— A book is making this noise? —

It was an old book, with black leather covers. The front cover had the inscription "THE CLOW" in a drawn banner in the top, drawn in a way so it resembled a banner hanged from a wall, arched and floppy. Below this was the drawing of a lion, embossed, white with gold in color, and below it, part of a spell circle. Turning it around, it had the same spell circle, now complete, and in the middle the same banner with the inscription "THE CLOW". Below it was an empty space, with a lighter patch, a silhouette of what could have been a moon shape with wings.

It was sealed with a steel chain and a keyhole.

Takeshi touched the keyhole, and an orb magically appeared.

He then grabbed the orb and observed it. It was red, with a black ring in the middle. He held it by the black ring and approached it at his eyes. Then he noticed: It was soft.

He squished it, of course.

Out of one of the red sides, appeared a key's end, and the orb became hard. It had transformed into a key.

"If this is a key, then it should open the book... I think..."

Trying out the key he saw it fitted. He twisted it on the keyhole and the book opened. There were a few printed pages, in Cyrillic, with a few lines in Chinese and some kanji thrown around randomly. He turned the pages and came down to a page almost blank, but it had a line in the middle, in Old English.

Þec hwa durrest geæmetigan mægen, Ic secge: Mæst pleoh fealle ofer Worulde.

He was very confused, as it was like reading Russian for him.

He then noticed that the page was no page: It was as hard as the cover or more. Turning it around, he could see the rest of the book.

And the rest of the book was more like a box, which edge not stuck to the cover was cleverly designed to look and feel like pages, hiding the fact that the box existed at all. Inside of the box were cards. Each card had dark red edges, followed to the inside by a golden rectangle border, on the top part, there was a part of a sun drawing, in gold, with a kanji on it, the middle part had a sepia drawing of a lady, very beautiful, with weird clothes and a weird haircut, and the lower part had one part of a moon drawing, also in gold, with a beige-colored banner on top, very much like the one in the book, that in this particular card said: "THE WINDY".

Said card fell off to the floor, revealing another one exactly the same except for 3 things: The kanji was different, the drawing, instead of being a lady, was a huge bird, different from any other Takeshi had seen, and the banner said: "THE FLY".

Takeshi picked the Windy card up. The other side of the card had a design of the spell circle on the book's covers, stretched to fit the card's golden rectangle border, the same size as the one on the front. Said spell circle was drawn in sepia over a golden oval, and the rest of the card was dark red.

— These cards have some fancy look on them. And they have writings in English... —

He then tried to read.

— The... Win... dy... —

The card started to glow in a golden light, and the rest of the cards inside the book started glowing blue. A strong wind surrounded Takeshi, sending things flying around. There was a paperweight in the shape of a pyramid, which went flying towards the ceiling window, breaking it open. This panicked Takeshi, and he accidentally dropped the book to the floor. And the other cards, as if wanting to get advantage of the moment, flew out of the window, and a second after they had gotten out of the house, they started gaining more and more speed, and a few seconds later, they had vanished completely.

Takeshi was really scared. He grabbed the book, and in the bottom of the box, big glowing letters appeared. They said:

IC

SÆDE

ÞE

Then the book closed shut, so strongly that it almost crushes Takeshi's fingers in the way. Takeshi had let go of the book, so it fell to the floor, and Takeshi as well, startled for all that had happened.

The embossed marking on the lion started to glow, and the book began to hover in the air. It grew wings, very big wings, and enclosed itself in them. Then they began to glow really strong, and Takeshi thought that he'd go blind. Yet he didn't, and he could clearly see that the wings had vanished, the book falling on the floor, and after the book...

... a very weird creature.

For the body of the creature, think teddy bear. Only longer, not bent and seamless, with 2 "plushiefied" bird wings on the back. It was beige colored, with stripes of glossy gold and dark brown color all around the back, like lion prints. The belly was white.

For the head, well, it's a BALL. A ball with 2 cat ears on the top. The same color than the rest of the body, and the snout was as white as the belly. It had 2 somewhat big eyes, closed, and a triangle for a nose, in light pink color. The neck was covered in white fur with pale gray and golden spots.

The last feature is the tail, the same color of the body and half as wide as the arms or legs, with a white, flurry tip.

All in all, it looked like a plushie lion in weird colors. And worst of all, it was somewhat alive, and asleep as it seemed, it was snoring loudly.

— So this was the sound — Takeshi said. — An alien or something snoring inside a book. Nobody will believe me this one... —

Takeshi's voice woke the "alien" up. It had greenish golden eyes, in the shape of a cat's. Immediately it examined his surroundings. It started to talk...

— Whoa, I sure slept well tonight! —

...and its voice sounded like a woman's.

— I hope nothing weird has happened... —

She had seen the book. And it was EMPTY.

— ...KUSO. —

It then looked at Takeshi. He, sitting on the ground, had started to back off of the creature in deep fear and confusion. The creature looked at Takeshi's hand, and saw the card.

— Oh, so you have The Windy. —

It approached to Takeshi and Takeshi...

...gave it a swift kick.

— AAAAAAAAACK! — it said, being sent to the wall. When it hit that wall, the creature seemed dizzy and in pain.

Takeshi quickly approached.

— Oh, man... I hope I didn't break it or something. —

— ...Break what, child? A bone? If so, then maybe. —

— Aren't you a toy of some sort? —

— ...TOY? What the HECK, boy? Do I look like a toy to you? Look at me! I'm a WINGED LIONESS! In all it's... —

Then she looked at a nearby mirror, stashed with a pile of junk. She saw she was a plushie, and that she didn't have the size or the proper form of a lioness.

— ...kiddy and toyish glory... —

She shrugged.

— This is my smaller form, child. I am Amaterasu and I am the noble and proud Guardian of the Cards! —

She then stroke a muscle pose.

— ...Like this one? —

Takeshi showed her the Windy card.

— Yeah, like that one! But the other ones aren't in the book! Are they around? —

— You see — explained Takeshi — I read this card's name and suddenly a strong wind passed by, the cards flew out of the book and through the broken window, and disappeared... —

— Oh really? —

Then, for no reason at all, they started laughing.

But then...

— WHAAAAAT! YOU RELEASED THE CARDS INTO THE WORLD, KID! —

— Seems like it... Hee hee hee... —

— You don't know what you did, kid... DIDN'T YOU READ THE WARNING? —

— ...Warning? You mean this? —

"Þec hwa durrest geæmetigan mægen, Ic secge: Mæst pleoh fealle ofer Worulde."

— Yes, THAT warning! What, now you're gonna tell me you don't know how to read English? —

— Ummm... No, I don't know how to read Old English, lady... —

— ...Old? Well, what the hell? Isn't this the year- —

— 1998... —

— Yes! The year... 1998! — She looked surprised. — WHAAAAAT! 500 YEARS HAVE PASSED? — And then she calmed down. — ...I sure am a heavy sleeper. —

— So... What does this say? —

She read the line in Japanese.

— "To you who dare to free this power, I say: A Great evil will fall over the World." And some lines appeared in the box, didn't they? —

Takeshi showed the box's inside.

— Oh! It simply says "I told you so". —

Takeshi facefaulted.

— So you, unknowingly, released the cards unto the world? It IS weird, as nobody is supposed to be able to open the Book, much less use one of the cards. You must bear incredible powers... —

She approached to Takeshi.

— You still have the Orb? —

Takeshi showed Amaterasu the key.

— Okay. Now put it on the floor, get up and repeat after me: —

He did as told.

— "I, then you say your name, demand the Staff a contract with me! —

— I, Sakuragi Takeshi, demand the Staff a contract with me! —

The spell circle appeared on the floor, the key returned to be an Orb, and began to float in front of Takeshi.

— "Grant me the powers of the darkness that you hold, as I choose to be the new Card Captor!" —

Takeshi repeated the line.

— Now it's my turn to say the spell! —

Fuuin no orb yo nanji to no keiyaku o nozomu mono ga koko ni iru. Shounen na o Sakuragi Takeshi. Orb yo kodomo ni chikara o atae yo! RELEASE!

(Author's note: This line was the line that Kerberos said in the series, but with a few changes. It means: "Seal Orb, here I bring upon you someone who wishes to make a contract with you. He's a boy, named Sakuragi Takeshi. Orb, give this child power! RELEASE!" Please note that Amaterasu is saying ORB, not ORUBO. This is very important in this scene, you'll see why...)

The whole room was engulfed in a strong light, and then the orb started to become a staff.

— Takeshi, try and grab the staff that will appear! If you find it difficult to move, it's that it's testing you! Give it your best! —

Takeshi struggled to grab the staff, but it was pulling him off. But finally, he could get to it.

— Gotcha! —

The light dimmed out, and Takeshi was carrying the orb, that had stopped being the staff.

— Well, Takeshi — said Amaterasu — Now you're an official Cardcaptor! It is now your duty to catch the cards that are now scattered! —

Takeshi looked at her with a "WHAT!" face.

— You know, gotta catch 'em all? —

— Wait a second! I didn't agree to this job! —

— Well, you're the one who "freed the power", didn't ya? —

— Well, you're the one sleeping on the job, weren't you? —

— ...Well... well... damn it. Okay, I chose you because you're the one who could open the book, and that requires as much magic as you'll need to catch all the cards. I don't have my magic power right now, because I lack the Fiery, Earthy and Light cards that give me power, so I can't do the job myself. So... Would you do it? Please? —

Amaterasu looked at Takeshi with puppy dog eyes (which, in a cat, it's weird to see...)

— Okay, I'll do it. What else do I need to know? —

— Well, there are 2 things you should know. First one is how to unseal the orb, and the other one is your battle mode. First things first: Learn this incantation. —

Yami no chikara o himeshi orb yo! Shin no sugata o ware no mae ni shimese. Keiyaku no moto Takeshi ga meijiru. Release!

— Okay. Let me recite it: —

Yami no chikara o himeshi "orubo" yo! Shin no sugata o ware no mae ni shimese. Keiyaku no moto Takeshi ga meijiru. Release!

...Nothing happened.

— ..."ORUBO"? What the FUNK is ORUBO? SAY ORB, YOU TWAT! —

— It's that Orubo is in Katakana... —

He then explained the whole katakana transformation issue.

— No, no, no, no. For the enchantment to work, you HAVE to say "ORB". As if you were speaking in English, Takeshi. —

— It's difficult to pronounce... —

— Just try, OK? —

Yami no chikara o himeshi "orub" yo! Shin no sugata o ware no mae ni shimese. Keiyaku no moto Takeshi ga meijiru. Release!

...Still nothing...

— So you have a problem with English "R", huh? Well, Takeshi, say "Ru". —

— Ru... —

— You moved your tongue to the front, didn't ya? Okay. Now, instead of moving the tongue, try to keep it in the initial position, while making an "u" sound with the throat. Try it! —

Now Takeshi made an "Urrrrrh" sound.

— Yes, that's the English "R". Now try and say "Orb"! —

— "Orb". —

— Perfect. Now say it! —

Yami no chikara o himeshi orb yo! Shin no sugata o ware no mae ni shimese. Keiyaku no moto Takeshi ga meijiru. Release!

(Author's note: In the next chapters, I'll just type "Release!", for shortness (and laziness).)

The whole room was engulfed by a strong light again. The orb became a staff once again, and while it transformed Takeshi transformed as well. He started growing hair from everywhere except eyes, nose, mouth, belly, palms and soles. His nose retreated to resemble a monkey, and the mouth curved up a little. His eyes became dashing and penetrating. And finally, a golden crown, with 2 edgy swirls at the front, appeared on his head.

The light dimmed, and he grabbed the staff.

— Now look in a mirror. —

He did. And he saw what he had become.

— And that's your battle mode. —

— ...WHAAAAAT? I LOOK LIKE FLIPPING SON WU KONG! —

— Yep, now you are the legendary monkey king! —

— I WANNA GO BACK TO NORMAL! —

— That can be achieved by returning the staff to orb mode. You'll go back to the very human Sakuragi Takeshi, who hasn't grown hair anywhere besides his head yet. —

Takeshi was relieved.

— And how do I return it to an orb? —

— You just have to say a spell- —

Takeshi hit the ground with the staff's tip, and it went back to orb.

— ...or you just have to do that, yes. —

Amaterasu was amazed that Takeshi could return the staff to orb with the mind. Takeshi immediately went back to normal. He grabbed the book and the Windy card that had fallen to the floor.

— So you're saying your name is... —

— Oh! It's Amaterasu. —

— It doesn't fit you... What about Tera-chan? —

Takeshi started laughing. Amaterasu didn't find it as funny.

— TERA-CHAN! What kind of name is that, mister? Do you think I'm some sort of... —

Then she remembered.

— ...stuffed animal. Okay, I'll let you call me Tera-chan IF you promise to catch all the cards. —

— I promise I will... ...Tera-chan. —

— Oh, I still don't like it. But well, I like it better than something like Ama-chan or that kind of... —

And they went upstairs out of the basement.

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END OF CHAPTER 1

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El Huesudo II with a black eye: So, did you like it?

Sekhmet with patches of fur missing: Please review with your comments so we can do an even better story.

Anubis with a teeth missing: We'll answer to the reviews on stage personally before each chapter. Or at least the ones who can be answered on such short space...

Mortos with a swollen cheek: We also appreciate the absolute and total lack of flames, so please send none...

Enigmae: See you next chapter!