In another time and another place, perhaps the card on top of the stack inside that mysterious red and golden book would have been a different one…
"The…Fight?" Sakura Kinomoto muttered to herself as she examined the card. It depicted a beautiful teenage girl with her eyes closed and holding both hands clenched into fists in some kind of martial arts stance. She wore a leotard and had her hair tied into two long, odango pigtails.
Holding The Fight aside, Sakura checked the next card on the stack…
"The Windy…"
No sooner the words left Sakura's lips, a glowing arcane circle manifested under her feet; the wind howled and a fierce gust erupted from that same circle. Sakura let out a scream and shielded her face as the cards inside the book shot upwards, phasing through the floors and roof of her house and scattering all across Tomoeda like a rain of shooting stars.
After what felt like an eternity, the light and wind faded and Sakura found herself holding a single card on her right hand…
The Fight.
"Martial arts?"
"That's right!" Kero exclaimed while raising a fork with a slice of rice omelette on it. "The Fight card is the culmination of Clow Reed's decades of research on Chinese and British martial arts. Using it would turn you into a master fighter in the blink of an eye!"
Sakura's eyes widened. "Incredible…"
Kero engulfed the slice of rice omelette in a single bite and nodded sagely while chewing. "You know…" He swallowed contently. "The Fight is a very agressive and competitve card. You're lucky, since to seal her you would have to defeat her in combat first."
Sakura suddenly remembered a scene from a martial arts movie she once saw her brother watching, where the Little Dragon knocked out a man a head taller with a single, well-placed side-kick to the face. "S-Scary…"
"Don't worry," Kero said brightly while patting Sakura on the back. "I'm sure you will do a great job as a Card Captor!"
"W-Wait a minute!" Sakura protested. "I didn't say I would be a Card Captor!"
"You already made a pact with the Key of the Seal," Kero retorted. "Besides, you were the one who scattered the cards."
"It was an accident!" Sakura shot back. She narrowed her eyes and added, "And weren't you the one who was supposed to guard them?"
Kero's expression faltered. "T-That was an accident too! I-I mean…I was resting my eyes, okay?"
"Right," Sakura said drily.
Before they could keep arguing, a rumbling sound like distant thunder reached their ears. The two of them turned their heads towards the window in the direction of the sound, and heard it for a second time.
"Thunder?" Sakura asked bewildered. "But the sky is clear…"
There was another sound. And then another…
Kero swiftly flew outside the window. "This must be…the work of a Clow Card!" She turned to Sakura and said, "We need to investigate it quickly!"
"E-Eh?!"
Before she knew it, Sakura found herself rollerblading in her pajamas across the streets of Tomoeda, the Sealing Wand in her hand and Kero flying at her side.
The night was silent, which made it easy to follow the rumbling sounds all the way to the center of the King Penguin park, where Sakura could only gasp in shock at the sight: the King Penguin slide, the very thing that gave the park its name, had been ripped from the ground, and what's more, was currently floating a few feet above it upside down.
"This is the work of a Clow Card, no doubt about it!" Kero declared loudly.
"B-But I see nothing," Sakura said while looking around to no avail.
"That means we must uncover its identity," Kero explained. "The Move?" he muttered to himself. "No, it can only move small objects. It can't be The Float either…that means…" His eyes widened in realization and he pointed dramatically, "It's The Power card!"
As if on cue, a pink, little elfin girl materialized in the space between the ground and the King Penguin Slide.
"That's The Power?" Sakura asked, bewildered at the contrasting sight of a cute little girl lifting a huge slide with just one arm.
"Don't let her looks fool you," Kero warned. "The Power's strength is unmatched."
Sakura nodded and readied her Sealing Wand. "I just need to seal her, right?"
Kero shook his head. "If it was a meek card like The Windy or The Wood maybe, but The Power is as competitive as The Fight," he explained. "If you want to seal her you will need to prove your strenght to her."
Sakura paled. "Wait what?!"
The Power dropped the King Penguin slide like it was a piece of crumpled paper, the crashing sound echoing all over the park. With an enthusiastic smile, she began marching towards Sakura.
Holding her Sealing Wand tightly over her chest with trembling hands, Sakura fearfully took a step back.
"Sakura, use The Fight card!" Kero instructed.
Sakura shook her head rapidly. "T-There's no way I can fight her when she's so strong!"
"Yes, you can!" Kero insisted. "That's what Martial Arts were made for, to defeat a stronger opponent!"
Sakura gulped and nodded. She raised The Fight card over her head and, with a swift swing of her Sealing Wand, called loudly, "Grant me the wisdom and skill to emerge victorious! The Fight!"
The Power suddenly stopped, eyes widened in surprise.
A wave of magic enveloped Sakura like a gentle blue mist, and all the fear and doubt across her face suddenly disappeared. Wordlessly, she set her Sealing Wand on the ground, followed by her rollerblades and then her elbow pads and gloves.
Under the transfixed gaze of both, Kero and The Power, Sakura examined her hands, clenching and unclenching them as if it was the first time she saw them. She then raised her fists up to her cheekbones, adjusted her stance and threw a single, lightning-fast jab…
Then another…
A cross…
A hook…
An uppercut…
Combination after combination…
The snap of the sleeves of Sakura's pajamas broke the silence of the night with every punch she threw like the cracking of a whip.
"Boxing," Kero muttered to himself.
As the oldest martial art, possibly as old as humanity itself if you count something as simple as humans using their fists to hit each other, Boxing was Clow Reed's first step in his research to create The Fight card.
The Power's lips curved into a big smile, mixture of amazement and enthusiasm, and unable to contain herself anymore, charged at Sakura without warning.
"S-Sakura, watch out!" Kero shouted.
With a footwork that made she look like she floated, Sakura pivoted and immediately launched a cross that stopped mere inches away from The Power's face.
The Power's eyes widened in shock, but with a quick shook of her head she got out of her stupor and charged again…
Sakura pivoted again and again she stopped her fist right before connecting…
Kero watched in awe as the chase continued…
Every time Sakura stepped back she launched a swift jab at The Power's nose…
Every time Sakura pivoted, she immediately followed with a cross to The Power's temple…
Yet never once her fists made contact.
The Power's cheeks puffed up in frustration. She keep swinging at Sakura, trying to hit or grab her, but her hands only found thin air. At last, The Power let out a mighty battle cry and jumped, intending to strike Sakura from above with all her might.
"S-Sakura!" Kero cried.
However, Sakura did not dodge this time. Instead, she charged forward and placed both arms around The Power's torso as if hugging her. Taking advantage of the momentum, Sakura then twisted her body and dropped the little, pink elfin girl like a bag of rice.
"A Taijiquan throw!" Kero exclaimed in amazement.
The Power let out a squeak when she hit the ground and Sakura couldn't help but gasp. "A-Are you okay?" she blurted, her expression a mixture of wariness and worry. On one hand, The Power was unbelievable strong, on the other, she still had the appearance a little girl.
To Sakura's relief, The Power sat down looking crestfallen, but did not attempt anything else.
"Sakura!" Kero called as he approached while carrying the Sealing Wand, albeit with some difficulty. "Now's your chance! Seal her!"
"Y-Yes!" Sakura took the Sealing Wand and raised it high above her head. "Return to your true and humble form!" she commanded loudly, followed by a swing of the Sealing Wand. "Clow Card!"
The Power glowed and transformed into a stream of pure magic, before adopting the shape of a card which flew straight to Sakura's had.
"You did it!" Kero cheered.
Sakura let out a big sigh of relief followed by a smile of satisfaction, until she noticed there was still one more issue. "Ah! The King Penguin slide!"
"Just use The Power card and put it back in place," Kero instructed casually.
Sakura nodded. "Grant me the strength to overcome all obstacles! The Power!"
Once again the magic permeated Sakura's body, but this time like a fierce crimson glow. Setting her Sealing Wand aside, she got a hold of the King Penguin slide, counted to three and lifted. "It's so light," she muttered in amazement while tilting the huge slide in her hands. "I can barely feel it…"
"Pretty cool, huh?" Kero said with a smile. "That's The Power card for you."
Sakura carefully placed the King Penguin slide back in place, then took a step back to examine her work. While the slide was fine, the ground around it was shattered and cracked. Hopefully the city workers would be able to fill and repair everything.
"…"
To be able to lift the King Penguin slide like it was a small plastic cup was nothing short of amazing, sure, but to be able to surpass such strength with technique alone was something else. What's more, it all felt so…natural. Much like when she woke up every morning knowing how to talk, to write and to rollerblade…it was as if all that knowledge had always been there.
It was both, a strange and fascinating sensation.
Sakura smiled to herself and Kero patted her on the shoulder,
"You and I will make a great team, Card Captor Sakura!"
Sakura nodded. "Yeah!" There was a moment of silence before her eyes widened in realization. "W-Wait a minute!"