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1 Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
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2 Chapter 2
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3 by G.P. and Amazoness Duo
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4 pearsong1954@yahoo.com
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5 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
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6
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7
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8 “Nadeshiko-chan!! Look out!!” Sonomi cried out, throwing herself between her curious cousin and
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9 the evil, bloodthirsty, undead teddy bear. She kept herself in the way, lest it try to drink her
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10 precious best friend’s blood or some other such travesty. She eyed it with fiery determination
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11 for a ten year old, ready to protect Nadeshiko to the bitter end. No one was going to hurt her
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12 cousin. It felt like some kind of nightmare. But somehow, deep down, Sonomi felt vindicated. Her
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13 paranoia had been right! Something else had gone wrong! Sure, it wasn’t what she had expected,
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14 but she had known it all along.
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15
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16 “Huh? What is it?” The little yellow stuffed animal looked one way and the other, getting ready
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17 to pounce on whatever the danger could be. Something had the auburn haired girl pretty worked up
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18 by the look of things. He had to be ready for anything.
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19
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20 With strong legs garnered from being the fastest girl on the track team, Sonomi’s leg swept out
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21 and hit the teddy bear dead on. The stuffed animal got out a muffled ‘ooph’ before getting flung
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22 into the far wall by the force of Sonomi’s unexpected kick. Her skirt fluttered about her in a
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23 very unladylike way, but aside from her mother’s voice telling her to fix it in her head, she
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24 didn’t bother worrying about it. Picking up Nadeshiko’s alarm clock, Sonomi hurried to the
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25 fallen plushy. If it could be hurt like that, then maybe it could be killed. She wasn’t about to
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26 let some demonic puppet whisk away her darling Nadeshiko. Her heart beat furiously in her chest
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27 as she kept a wary eye on the little stuffed animal.
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28
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29 Nadeshiko hurriedly followed Sonomi, her eyes swiftly spotting Teddy. He was lying on the floor
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30 in a daze, little eyes swirling. Nadeshiko felt sad inside as she surveyed the sight. It looked
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31 like her friends weren’t getting along very well at all. But then, Sonomi was awfully protective,
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32 so maybe she thought that Teddy was trying to take her place as her best friend. Smiling
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33 brightly, she tried to ease her cousin’s worries. “Don’t worry about Teddy-chan, Sonomi-chan.
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34 He’s my new friend, but nobody could ever replace you as my very best friend.” She hugged the
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35 slightly taller girl from behind, holding onto her tightly. Sonomi was fun to hug. She always
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36 got all blushy and embarrassed. It was always hard for Nadeshiko to keep from giggling.
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37
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38 The stuffed animal in question could dimly hear someone talking as he tried to get his bearings.
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39 What had happened? He had the vague memory of danger and then swift and immediate pain. It must
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40 have been invisible, he decided. What else could hurt the almighty Cereberus? Nothing, that’s
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41 what. Assured once more of his invulnerability, the animate stuffed doll looked around the cute
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42 room. Everything was frills and ribbons. Even the pigtailed girl above him wielding an alarm
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43 clock. In all of his life, nothing had frightened the Seal Beast as much as that ten year old
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44 girl about to squash him flat with a cute pink clock. There was something about it that didn't
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45 make for a fitting demise to the legendary Cereberus. Luckily, the pale girl from earlier
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46 managed to stop the auburn haired girl that was bent on crushing his head. The pigtailed girl
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47 blushed and fidgeted in the pale girl’s embrace, offering him the chance to recover, quickly
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48 flying up into the air.
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49
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50 “Nadeshiko-chan...” Sonomi got out weakly as she felt Nadeshiko’s arms around her. She nearly
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51 forgot about the bloodsucking teddy bear and the clock in her hand. Nadeshiko was always so sweet
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52 and loving. And it always made Sonomi’s heart flutter when they would hug, or just when she got
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53 to watch her precious cousin. Sonomi loved pretty, cute things and Nadeshiko was the living
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54 embodiment of such things. And even with her own admittedly short temper and emotional nature,
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55 Nadeshiko could always diffuse it with a smile or a hug. Just as she did now. It took the
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56 brunette a moment to spot the flying toy. Narrowing her eyes, she pressed back against Nadeshiko,
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57 intent on protecting the smaller girl. “Stay away from Nadeshiko-chan!!”
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58
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59 “Will ya wait a minute? Geez...” The floating stuffed animal rubbed his head with his small arm,
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60 wincing at the pain that burst through him at the contact. “What kind of girl are you? Didn’t
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61 your mother teach you not to hit people?” He frowned as he watched the two girls. Somehow this
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62 wasn’t turning out at all how he’d planned it. The Cardcaptor seemed... out of it. And the other
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63 girl certainly was violent.
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64
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65 “Of course she did. But I’m not gonna let some little evil stuffed animal hurt my
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66 Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi shot back angrily. This thing was starting to get on her nerves. If only
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67 she’d smacked it with the alarm clock...
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68
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69 “Who are you callin’ little?!” Little wings beat irately as a vain appeared on the toy’s
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70 forehead. “Why you..!! You have no idea who you’re talkin’ to!”
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71
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72 Sonomi clenched her fists as she advanced on the pissed off teddy bear. She was done arguing with
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73 the thing. She was just gonna beat the thing until it stopped moving. That would keep it from
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74 getting to Nadeshiko. Then maybe they could call an exorcist or something to get rid of it.
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75
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76 Nadeshiko darted in front of Sonomi before she could reach the stuffed animal. She knew her
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77 bigger cousin would hurt Teddy if she thought he might hurt her. Sonomi was sweet like that. She
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78 was always looking out for her. Nadeshiko was very happy to know that Sonomi was looking out for
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79 her, but somehow she thought Teddy wouldn’t appreciated it as much as she did. “No, wait, Sonomi-
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80 chan! Teddy-chan’s my friend. He was on the book with the pretty Cards. He told me I get to go
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81 find the rest of them.” She smiled happily at her cousin, disarming most of Sonomi’s wrath.
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82
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83 “Ahem...” The flying toy crossed his arms as he lowered to eye level. He had more important
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84 things to do right now than argue with the fiery girl. The much more placid pale girl was his
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85 concern at the moment. “I am the Seal Beast, Cereberus! My job is to look after the Clow Book
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86 and the Cards inside of it. But now all of the Clow Cards are gone. If they aren’t found,
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87 misfortune will befall the world,” he said gravely.
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88
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89 “Not all of them are gone,” Nadeshiko spoke up brightly, holding up the Flower Card. “Here you
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90 go!”
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91
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92 “Err...” The stuffed animal sweatdropped as he shook his head. “No, you keep it.” The pale girl
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93 brightened even further, evidently pleased that she got to keep the Card. The Seal Beast tried
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94 not to get distracted, going back to his story. “The Clow Cards were made by Clow Reed, the best
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95 magician ever. Each Card is alive and has it’s own special power. They all have their own
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96 personalities, but they can be quite mischievous. That’s why they were all kept in a book and
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97 why I was set to look after them. So if we want to avert the Catastrophe and get all the Cards
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98 back, I’ll need your help.” He motioned towards Nadeshiko with a flourish. He was still a bit
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99 miffed that the Cards had all gone missing, but at least he was out and about. He’d been stuck
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100 in that bookstore in Osaka for far too long. Any excuse to get out of the book seemed like a
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101 great idea.
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102
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103 Nadeshiko squealed delightedly. Sonomi, on the other hand, did not quite share her cousin’s
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104 enthusiasm. “Why does she have to get the Clow Cards? I thought you said that was your job.
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105 Shouldn’t you go find them?”
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106
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107 “I’m supposed to protect them! That’s a completely different job altogether. I’m not the one who
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108 lost them,” Kero argued, crossing his arms. Why couldn’t he finish this up back at the other
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109 house? It was a lot easier without the brunette there.
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110
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111 “Then she wouldn’t need to go looking for them if you’d been doing your job!” Sonomi declared.
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112
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113 “I was asleep, all right!! Besides, she has power. She opened the book. So she obviously has
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114 magic.”
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115
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116 “Hmph... Some Seal Beast you turned out to be.” Sonomi crossed her arms, not at all happy with
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117 all this. “Come on, Nadeshiko-chan. Let’s go downstairs and get some tea. I’m sure the stuffed
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118 animal can find his way out on his own.” She sweatdropped when she spotted her cousin with a
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119 thrilled look on her face, holding the Book of Clow. “Nadeshiko-chan?”
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120
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121 “I am not a stuffed animal,” the Seal Beast said irritably. “I’ll have you know that I’m quite
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122 menacing in my true form. I may look stunningly cool now in my false form, but you haven’t lived
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123 till you’ve seen me like that. As soon as we get the Cards back, I’ll be able to retain that
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124 form.”
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125
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126 “Sounds like too much trouble to me,” Sonomi said halfheartedly, her attention still distracted
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127 by Nadeshiko.
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128
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129 “That sounds great, Teddy-chan! I can’t wait to see it! I bet it’s adorable.” The pale girl’s
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130 eyes sparkled as she thought about the beautiful form that must await her cute little Teddy. Now
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131 she was even more eager to catch the Cards. Especially if they were at all as fun as Flower. She
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132 couldn’t wait to introduce herself to them all.
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133
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134 “I’m not a teddy bear! I’m a lion! A really menacing lion, too!” The Seal Beast narrowed his
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135 eyes as he floated in front of the two cousins. Why did he have to get saddled with two little
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136 girls? Why couldn’t it be some powerful magician or something? He sighed miserably. You had to
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137 make do with what you had, he guessed. “All right. We need to make the contract. Nadeshiko-chan,
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138 please stand over there.”
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139
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140 “All right!!” Nadeshiko said happily, practically skipping over to her designated position.
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141
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142 “Wait a minute! What’s all this about?” Sonomi asked worriedly, her eyes darting back and forth
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143 from the teddy bear to her cousin and back. Whatever it was, she sure didn’t like the looks of
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144 it. Why wasn’t anyone listening to her? Protecting Nadeshiko would be so much easier if the
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145 beautiful dark haired girl would simply listen once in a while. Sonomi’s stormy blue eyes went
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146 wide when she saw the room vanish, replaced by a dark expanse. A strange symbol lit up underneath
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147 Nadeshiko’s bare feet, her nightgown fluttering around as if tugged by the wind. Sonomi felt a
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148 cold pit in the center of her stomach, but her cousin looked sweetly excited.
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149
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150 “Oh key to the seal. Here is a girl wishing to make a contract with you. Her name is Nadeshiko.
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151 Key, give power to this girl!” The small key in the lock of the book flew over to Nadeshiko
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152 lighting up in the center of the symbol. It slowly grew in front of her, becoming a large
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153 lavender staff. It had two beautiful flower blossoms on the sides of the top of the staff, and
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154 what looked to be tiny vines traveling down the length of it. “Now, Nadeshiko-chan! Pick up the
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155 Key!”
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156
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157 Sonomi struggled to see through the blinding light, her eyes barely managing to make out
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158 Nadeshiko as she walked towards the staff, her arm raised. “Wait! Nadeshiko-chan! Don’t!!” she
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159 called out.
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160
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161 “Don’t worry, Sonomi-chan. It’ll be fun,” Nadeshiko promised, smiling at her overprotective
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162 cousin. With that, she grasped the Key, energy filling her.
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163
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164 “All right!! A new Cardcaptor is born! Sugoi!!” The newly dubbed Teddy exclaimed.
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165
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166 Sonomi sighed, holding her head. As if it wasn’t difficult enough to protect Nadeshiko as it was,
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167 now she’d have to deal with sweet, naïve Nadeshiko as a magical girl? Somehow that didn’t lift
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168 the brunette’s spirits. Sure, Nadeshiko had always been magical in her own way. But this was just
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169 wrong. The beautiful pale girl shouldn’t be in a position where she could just get hurt even
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170 worse. If that day had proved anything, it was that Sonomi had to keep a closer watch on
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171 Nadeshiko. The younger girl had already gotten hurt that day as a normal girl. Making her a
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172 magical girl was just asking for trouble.
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173
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174 As if on cue, one of Nadeshiko’s puppets stood up, glancing around the room. It finally caught
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175 sight of the pale Cardcaptor and leapt her way. Sonomi jumped in the way of the stuffed rabbit
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176 in time to take the blow in her chest. Being made out of fluff and cloth, it bounced off
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177 harmlessly, landing on the floor. “Buni-chan? What’s wrong Buni-chan?” Nadeshiko asked curiously,
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178 bending down to pick up her injured stuffed animal.
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179
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180 “Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi pulled Nadeshiko away before the stuffed animal could attack again.
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181 “Another man-eating toy? What’s going on today?” Sonomi asked to no one in particular. She loved
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182 toys, she really did. They were so cute and fun, just like her cousin. But twice in one day was
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183 a little ridiculous.
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184
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185 “It’s a Clow Card!” Teddy said joyously. His face lit up. Perhaps this wouldn’t be too difficult
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186 after all. The new Cardcaptor did have a sweet disposition. The Cards would love that. It would
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187 make things much easier than if they were trying to get away from her. It must have already
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188 attracted one of the Cards. But which one? Teddy watched as it leapt about the room. “It’s Jump!
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189 We have to catch it before it gets away!”
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190
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191 “Come here, Buni-chan... It’s all right,” Nadeshiko said soothingly as she hopped up onto her
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192 futon, following the bouncing bunny. Another new friend already. It was turning out to be a
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193 wonderful day! Now if only Sonomi was a little happier about things it would be perfect. But she
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194 was sure that her older cousin would grow to love the whole thing as much as she did.
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195
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196 Sonomi was currently hating the whole thing. Not only was her dearest friend stuck as a magical
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197 girl who had to seek out strange and mysterious magical items, but one of those said items was
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198 terrorizing her cousins room in one of her stuffed animals. A stuffed animal that Sonomi had
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199 given Nadeshiko for her birthday, no less! Sonomi trailed after the snow white rabbit, nearly
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200 swiping it off the floor several times, but it continued just out of her grasp. At the same
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201 instant, both pigtailed girl and Clow Card spotted the open window. The Jump leapt for the
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202 window as Sonomi sprinted forward. She slammed the window with jarring force, shocking her. For
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203 a moment, she didn’t know whether she had been in time. A glance down to her feet reassured her.
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204 The bunny was lying in a daze on the floor, having slammed dead on into the window. She stepped
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205 down with her sock covered foot and caught it’s arm before it could leap away again. “Gotcha!”
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206
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207 “Poor Buni-chan. Were you scared? I’ve got you, Buni-chan.” Nadeshiko swept the small bunny in
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208 her arms, tickling Sonomi’s foot with lithe fingers before she stood up. She smiled happily at
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209 her cousin as she held her stuffed animal. “Thank you, Sonomi-chan!” Leaning forward, the flighty
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210 Cardcaptor kissed her auburn haired friend on the cheek.
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211
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212 Blushing furiously, Sonomi could only nod in reply. The burning warmth of Nadeshiko’s silken lips
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213 remained on her cheek, replaying over and over again in the brunette’s mind. Her fingers went to
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214 the small patch of skin where her cousin’s lips had lingered and felt her heart skip a beat. She
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215 had only wanted to help Nadeshiko with this killer stuffed animal. She had never thought that
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216 she could receive such a sweet reward. Feeling dizzy, Sonomi had to sit down quickly before she
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217 could topple over. She didn’t fully understand the feelings the younger girl stirred within her,
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218 but they always overwhelmed her. Sighing not unpleasantly, the auburn haired athlete watched her
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219 best friend cradle the Clow Card in the stuffed animal it inhabited at the moment.
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220
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221 “You have to seal it, Nadeshiko-chan!” Teddy shouted. Just then, the door opened. Teddy dropped
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222 lifelessly to the floor, hoping whoever it was hadn’t seen him. His heart froze in his chest as
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223 he saw an older woman stuck her head in.
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224
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225 “Nadeshiko-chan? What are you and Sonomi-chan up to? You really should get some sleep, dear. All
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226 of this yelling and jumping around can’t be good for you after getting hit earlier,” Nadeshiko’s
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227 mother chided gently. She smiled over at a blushing Sonomi who was still sitting on her
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228 daughter’s futon. At least there was one voice of reason in her daughter’s room. She would have
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229 to thank her sister for her responsible daughter looking out for her own little girl. Just like
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230 when she herself was a child. Looking from one cousin to the other, she decided to call her
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231 sister again before going to sleep.
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232
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233 “We were just helping Teddy-chan get the Kurow Kaddo, mama,” Nadeshiko said sweetly, still
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rlm@2
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234 cradling the white rabbit in her arms.
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235
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rlm@2
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236 “Oh, is that all? How about you do that in bed, dear? I’m sure you can help Teddy-chan all you
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237 want from under the covers.” Bending down, the older Amamiya woman picked up the small winged
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238 bear from the floor and handed him to Sonomi. After helping the two girls get settled in bed,
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239 she walked back to the door, turning to get another peak of her baby girl and her little niece.
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rlm@2
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240 “You two are just too cute. Sleep well, girls.” Blowing a kiss to the two cousins, Nadeshiko’s
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241 mother shut the door behind her.
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242
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rlm@2
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243 “...and then you say ‘release’!” Teddy was whispering, Nadeshiko nodding intently.
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244
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245 “Like this? Return to your true form, Kurow Kaddo! Release!” Nadeshiko said, very gently tapping
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246 the rabbit’s head with staff underneath the sheets. She didn’t want to hurt it, after all. In a
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rlm@2
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247 flash of light, magic was pulled out of her rabbit, appearing in the form of a small brown card.
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rlm@2
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248 Grinning delightedly, she grasped the Card and hugged it close. “Sugoi!”
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249
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250 “Hai, just like that. But you have to yell it out louder. It sounds cooler that way,” Teddy said
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rlm@2
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251 approvingly.
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252
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rlm@2
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253 Sighing miserably, Sonomi stared up at the roof. Why did she have a very bad feeling about all
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254 of this? Something was going to go horribly wrong, she just knew it. It was only a matter of
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255 time. Determination sparked in her stormy blue eyes. This just meant she’d have to be ever more
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rlm@2
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256 vigilant in protecting her dearest Nadeshiko. She would have to make sure she was always there to
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257 help her. Magic or not, she wouldn’t let anything hurt her pretty cousin. Her thoughts cut off
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258 abruptly as she felt arms wrap around her stomach as her pale friend snuggled close to her under
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259 the sheets. She could feel Nadeshiko’s warm breath against her neck as the smaller girl yawned.
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260
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rlm@2
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261 “Goodnight, Sonomi-chan,” Nadeshiko said quietly, resting her head against the brunette. She
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rlm@2
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262 always felt warm and safe with her athletic cousin. She got so lonely late at night when she was
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263 all alone. She had once asked her mother if Sonomi could move in with them so that she could
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264 always spend the night, but her mother had said that Sonomi’s parents would miss her too much.
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rlm@2
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265 ‘But I miss her too much,’ Nadeshiko had protested. Her mother hadn’t been able to come up with
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rlm@2
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266 a good explanation after that, but Nadeshiko had to content herself with when her best friend
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267 could stay over. Snuggling closer, Nadeshiko smiled and let her emerald eyes fall shut.
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268
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rlm@2
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269 “Sweet dreams, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi whispered in reply, holding her smaller cousin close. Her
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rlm@2
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270 fingers gently brushed through Nadeshiko’s hair the way she remebered her aunt’s fingers
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rlm@2
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271 traveling through her own. Nadeshiko had such beautiful hair. And it felt so nice and soft
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272 falling through her fingers. Forgetting about the Cards and the teddy bear with the Osaka
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273 dialect for the moment, Sonomi held onto her friend, her heart beating wildly. “I’ll always
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274 protect you, Nadeshiko-chan.”
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275
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rlm@2
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276 “I know,” Nadeshiko replied matter-of-factly, already starting to drift off to sleep in Sonomi’s
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277 arms. “I know, Sonomi-chan.”
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278
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279 |
