DM: Hey all! Sorry it's been a while since I last updated—I spent almost every free moment watching Ouran High School Host Club (that anime is freaking amazing!) But now I'm back with the latest installment of Curses! Thanks so much for your reviews for the last chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.
Curses!
Arc One: Clow Land
Chapter Six
It's a Bird—It's a Plane—It's—
Spitting fuzz from her lips, Sakura threw the pink fluff-ball off her face. It bounced harmlessly on the ground and then turned and gave her the evil eye.
"What is that thing?" Nicole yelled. Kero laughed triumphantly.
"It's the Jump Card!"
As if the sound of its name sent an electric jolt through its little body, the Jump sped off like a scared rabbit.
"Wait! Come back!" Sakura cried as she tore after it, forgetting completely that she was still in Syaoran's body. Syaoran ran behind her, already out of breath.
"K-Kinomoto!" he yelled, "That's my body you're running away with!"
"Oh shut up, Li!" she shouted over her shoulder, "Sorry but I have to run!"
She was back in her own body, but Syaoran had been 100 meters behind her. She was going to lose the card.
"Damn it," she cursed under her breath.
"Hey, Kimono, use your stupid magic!" Syaoran shouted as he tackled the card and missed, getting a mouthful of dirt in the process.
"It's Kinomoto, you idi—oh wait!" Sakura paused and whipped her wand around, "Windy, capture Jump!"
Windy, who was still not a big fan of Syaoran's, bowled him over and wrapped itself around Jump.
"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted, and Jump, squirming all the while, reverted back to its card form. Sakura quickly wrote her name on it and smiled to herself.
"Augh…" Syaoran groaned as he got up, his front covered in dirt. Sakura knelt in front of him and brushed the dirt out of his hair.
"Are you alright?" she asked, running her fingers over his face to check for cuts. He blushed crimson and fell on his back. Sakura leaned over him.
"Did he just pass out?" she murmured as she continued to check him for injuries. Syaoran didn't know what to do, so he pushed her off him and sat up.
"Get off me, Kimono, you perverted girl!" Sakura's eyes widened with shock and then narrowed dangerously.
"Excuse me for worrying about you—and it's KINOMOTO, not KIMONO!" she yelled and then slapped him in the face.
That turned out to be a mistake, as when she blinked again she was in Syaoran's body her cheek was throbbing. She suddenly felt his injuries: a couple bruises and scrapes. For a moment she was awed at what it felt like to be another person.
"I'll call you whatever I want, Miss Kimono, so get used to it," Syaoran said, and he stuck his tongue out at her. Sakura only stared. Why hadn't she been this amazed before?
"What are you staring at?" Syaoran asked, and then realized how close their faces were. This was certainly a strange development. He leaned closer, and heard Sakura's breath get caught in her throat.
"I—I—I'm sorry, Li," she said, standing up abruptly and leaving Syaoran sitting stunned on the ground. However the situation was soon reversed.
Sakura stood up quickly, and Syaoran looked rather unsteady on his feet. She dusted off the seat of her pants and began walking back.
"I bet Kero and Nicole and very worried about us, let's head back," she said, deliberately avoiding Syaoran's questioning gaze. He only shrugged and followed her.
I wish I could be more of a help, he thought, then maybe we could go home…
They walked in silence for a while, not looking at each other. Finally Syaoran's irritation got the best of him.
"It's not like I wanted to kiss you or anything, it's too weird when you're me."
"Yea well I wouldn't kiss you even if you were you!" Sakura shot back. Syaoran frowned at her for a moment as she stared at the ground.
"I don't believe you," he taunted, and skipped ahead. Sakura caught up with him and asked,
"What makes you say that?" He looked at her and smirked.
"I know what being close to me makes you feel." In truth, he didn't exactly, but she was getting so worried that this was fun.
"Yea go screw yourself, your jerk. You're just an utter narcissist," she huffed.
They walked silently some more when suddenly Sakura spoke again,
"Haven't we passed this particular tree before?"
"Hm?" Syaoran turned and looked. It was an extremely gnarled and unique-looking tree.
"Great, not we're lost…" Sakura sighed.
"Sakura! Useless kid!" Kero's voice came from ahead.
Sakura took off at a run.
"Kero!" There was Kero, floating by Nicole's shoulder and waving at her. She was almost there…
"Huh?"
She was back in the forest. Way back. She had definitely seen this particular rock several times… Suddenly, she pounded her fist into her palm.
"I've got it! It's a Clow Card!" Her face fell. "But which one?" she sighed and kept walking forward. Kero's colorful swearing began to reach her ears.
"Useless!"
"Stuffed animal!"
"Syaoran! Don't take another step!" Nicole cried. She looked quite stunned after all the magical happenings that had occurred that day.
"It's the Loop!" Kero called out, hoping that Sakura would hear him.
"I've got it!" she broke into a run, brandishing her staff. Syaoran just dodged in time. Everyone stared at the ground.
There, between them, was a huge, red, absolutely blatant and obvious red line.
"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted, and she captured the Loop.
She then passed out due to exhaustion. Capturing so many cards together and using so much magiv had drained out a lot of her energy.
"Sakura!" Kero flew down to her. She was sleeping peacefully on the mossy floor of the forest.
"Three cards in one day is a lot, no?" Nicole asked. Syaoran turned to her.
"How do you know?"
"I've been training to be a Cardcaptor all my life," she said sadly. Syaoran reached out a hand to pat her on the shoulder, but then she suddenly turned towards him.
"So want to tell me why you and Sakura didn't notice the totally obvious red line that was here all this time?" she asked slyly, as Kero tried to pick Sakura up.
Syaoran blushed, and stared at the ground. Sakura grabbed Kero and hugged him, murmuring "Teddy" under her breath. Desperate to get away from Nicole, whose manic glint disturbed him more by the minute, Syaoran crouched next to Sakura's sleeping form.
"Hey, kid," he said, slapping her face lightly, "wake up."
Sakura sat up, nearly squeezing Kero to death.
"You dare wake me up?" she asked evilly, looking at him from under her bangs. Syaoran gulped, and promptly switched bodies with the furious girl. He fell back asleep…he was so tired all of a sudden.
Sakura blinked twice, and noticed the change of body as well. She smirked over at her sleeping body, and then looked at Kero, who was catching his breath, and Nicole, who was giggling behind her hand.
"What's so funny?" Sakura asked. Nicole stopped giggling and looked her right in the eye.
"I didn't know that this curse existed, but I'm sure glad it does!" she dissolved into giggles again.
"Why?" Sakura asked suspiciously, arching one eyebrow. Hey, she didn't know that Syaoran could do that (she couldn't raise one eyebrow in her own body).
"Because it means that you will have to work out your problems instead of running away from them! You guys will be just like a newly wedded couple!" Nicole's eyes shone, reminding Sakura irresistibly of Tomoyo. She looked at the ground sadly and began walking away.
"Hey wait! I was kidding! Why are you upset? I just think it's funny!" Nicole gushed. But Sakura was not listening at all. She had already walked out of the forest and into the clearing.
Insert Line here
Syaoran awoke to find that he was a girl. Fabulous! Just great! He thought sarcastically. He sat up and looked around. Nicole was cooking dinner (some kind of meat stew from a can), and Kero was talking happily to the cards that Sakura had already captured. They had set up camp in the shade of two large pine trees. How the forest went from deciduous to coniferous is beyond me.
Mirror, Windy, Jump and Loop. Syaoran wondered why Sakura was chosen as the Captor. He looked down at his now feminine and soft hands.
Why am I here?
"Oh Syaoran, you're awake," Nicole smiled at him from over the fire, "Could you go out and find Sakura? She hasn't returned from her walk yet."
Syaoran only nodded and set off towards the clearing. Walking in Sakura's body felt…odd. He had a new appreciation for the necessity of a bra, feeling his whole body bounce weirdly with each step. He wondered if Sakura noticed odd things about his body…
He inhaled deeply through his nose. Boy did this girl smell! Syaoran made a mental note to tell her to bathe ASAP when they had returned to normal. His body probably didn't smell too nice either.
Where was she? He had been wandering around for ten minutes now…she couldn't have gone that far, could she? He sighed.
"What a stupid and reckless girl," he muttered under his breath. He looked up at the slender crescent moon that barely emitted a soft and pale light. He rubbed the cut hand absently.
The moon was eclipsed for a fraction of a second, but by what Syaoran couldn't tell. He ran back to the campsite, where Kero was stuffing his face with a croissant while Nicole chatted away.
Finally, Sakura returned, still looking sad. Syaoran ran to her and put his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Syaoran," she muttered half-heartedly, causing them to switch back. She then turned away from him and walked off.
"Oi, what's the matter?" he called, chasing after her as she walked.
"I miss my friends and my family," she called back, not turning around, "I miss my old life!"
Syaoran said nothing but followed her back to camp. She walked into the tent and lay down in her cot, staring at the ceiling, thinking still about Tomoyo, Yukito, Touya, her father, her teachers, her friends… The others entered the tent, careful to avoid talking to her. She pretended to be asleep anyway.
Insert line here
Everyone else was asleep except for her. She clenched a fist and felt a surge of venomous rage. Nobody understood her! She then found herself in Syaoran's body, lying on his cot. Syaoran hadn't noticed the switch. She sighed.
She heard a flapping sound outside and felt a tingly feeling in her hands and feet. She walked out and looked up. There was a huge creature in the sky—a Clow Card! She took off after it.
Hearing her run out, Syaoran got up, noticing before all else that Sakura didn't wear a bra to sleep. He shook his head of this nonsense and then proceeded to wake up Kero and Nicole.
"Sakura's gone!" he said. The other two got up and the trio split up to look for her.
Syaoran ran around the forest, calling her name hopelessly—where was that girl? Finally, he found himself circling back to camp, where the other two had also returned after a fruitless search.
"I can't find her!" he said in Sakura's voice. A strong gust of wind came over the forest and put out the fire.
The three companions looked up. There, flying above them, was a huge,
"Bird!" Syaoran yelled.
"Plane!" Nicole shrieked.
"You idiots, it's the Fly card!" Kero growled.
"And Sakura's on it!" Nicole yelled. Syaoran gasped. Clinging to the neck of the enormous bird was Sakura, in his body.
"You stupid girl!" Syaoran shouted, causing Nicole and Kero to stare, "If you break my body I'm gonna kill you so much—"
"Li, you idiot! I'm sorry!" Sakura yelled back cheekily, sticking her tongue out at him.
Fuck.
Syaoran was now the one clinging to the bird, and Sakura was below him summoning Windy. But the bird was too fast for the card, and Syaoran watched in despair as the group got further and further away.
And then they got really close.
And then they got further away.
"Sakura, just seal the card already!" he shouted, terrified. Going through the Loop was not a pleasant experience.
"Return to the form you were destined to be in, Clow Card!" Sakura shouted.
Now Syaoran was falling.
How nice.
"Jump!" Syaoran sighed with relief as Sakura caught him in midair, and they safely landed over the forest.
Sakura set him down and set about writing her name on the newly captured Fly Card.
"You really are reckless you know," Syaoran said. Sakura only nodded and continued to stare at the card.
"Do you even care what happens to me at all?" he asked, irritated. Sakura froze.
She hugged him, hard.
"I'm sorry, Li, I shouldn't have," she said into his neck.
"Oh yea, that reminds me," he said, trying not to blush. Sakura looked up at him.
"What?"
"You really need to take a bath."
Sakura's face turned red and she turned away from him. He smirked.
"It's not like you smell fresh as a daisy either," she huffed, crossing her arms. Syaoran chuckled. She turned and looked him in the eyes.
"You're cute, you know that?" he said, the words spilling from his mouth before he could stop them. She blushed again.
"Oh, and another thing," he reached out and grabbed her hand, the one with the cut, "You have a—"
The cut was gone.
The cut had disappeared completely.
Syaoran bent closer and re-examined the hand, then grabbed the other one.
No cuts.
What the…?
Sakura, didn't notice Syaoran's confusion. All she understood was that he was holding her hands right now. A warm feeling spread from her stomach.
"W-well," Syaoran stood up, obviously shaken, "Kero and Nicole are probably wondering where we are, in fact…" the two kids looked around.
"Where are we?"
They were suddenly in a desert, though the woods were right next to them. In the distance they could see something rising up in the middle of the flat, sandy expanse.
"Let's go back and get Kero…" Sakura said softly, tugging on Syaoran's sleeve.
"Yea, let's…"
DM: Oho! What will happen next! I'm gonna try to have her catch multiple clow cards per chapter, just to keep the story moving. Let me know if you don't like that or something! Please review!
Next Chapter: Seeing Double