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1 Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
2 Chapter 4
3 by
4 Amazoness Duo
5 and
6 G.P.
7 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
8 pearsong1954@yahoo.com
9
10 I.
11 Nadeshiko sat huddled by the windowsill, intent on the rays of sunshine filtering through the
12 glass. With emerald eyes, she scrutinized the delicate crystal swan cradled in her hands. Suddenly, the light caught a new facet of the beveled wing, showering the tatami mat with a
13 fiery rainbow of color. The little girl let out a shrieking squeal of delight at this latest
14 display. Fascinated by the morning’s little light show, she remained oblivious to the
15 footsteps growing louder on the stairs. Nor did she notice the gentle rapping on the door
16 that soon became a frantic pounding. Not even the worried voice of the old man could rouse
17 her,
18
19 "Miss? Little Miss? Are you all right? Please open the door. I’ll have to break it down if...,
20 oh, oh, it’s not locked. Forgive me, Miss, but I am opening the door now. Oh, I hope she is
21 all right. I hope she is all right."
22
23
24 Through wars, typhoons, and earthquakes, the old man had served three generations of
25 Amamiyas, but rarely had he known such fear. Peering into the enormous sunroom of the
26 family's summer cottage, he saw the little girl curled up into a ball by the shimmering
27 picture window. She was utterly still and motionless, and his heart sank. Tottering over
28 as quickly as his ancient legs would go, he reached with a trembling hand and gently touched
29 her shoulder. In a halting whisper he asked,
30
31
32 "Nadeshiko-sama, are you all right?"
33
34
35 Reacting to the tentative touch, the little girl suddenly whirled around, all smiles. In
36 a cheery, sing-song voice she replied,
37
38
39 "Hai, ojiisan. Look at all the colors! Aren't they beautiful? Where do they come from? Are
40 the colors inside the crystal? How do they get out? How do they all fit in? Does the sunlight
41 unlock them somehow? I have to ask grandfather, but he won't be back until tomorrow. I know!
42 I'll ask Teddy-chan. He knows lots of things."
43
44
45 Clutching the crystal swan, the girl dashed down the hallway to her room, silvery hair
46 trailing like the wisps of a little cloud. The old man slumped to the floor, letting out a
47 slow, relieved breath. Smiling at last, he thought, "I hope her imaginary friend has better
48 nerves than I."
49
50 Except that this particular imaginary friend was anything but. Teddy-chan, or Kereberous, as he
51 preferred, spun the top and watched with glee as it zipped across the floor. Hovering in the
52 air like a hummingbird, he followed the spinning toy on its journey across the parquet floor.
53 When the breathless girl burst through the door, He jumped in surprise, then smiled with
54 satisfaction at the thought, "The legendary Cardcaptor. And I found her."
55
56 Standing before him, catching her breath after running down the lengthy hallway, the girl
57 suddenly burst out,
58 "Teddy-chan, what makes the colors in my swan?"
59
60 Then, remembering her manners, she suddenly dipped a bow before continuing, "Ohayo,
61 Teddy-chan. Do you know what makes the colors happen when the sunlight is on my swan? I was
62 going to ask grandfather, but he won't be back until tomorrow. Do you know?"
63
64
65 Folding his arms and bowing his head with thoughtful concern, the Seal Beast called upon
66 his ageless wisdom to answer his eager pupil,
67
68 "Colors, yes, of course, of course. The colors happen because, well, it is hard to explain
69 exactly why the colors happen the way they do. Perhaps you could show me which colors you
70 mean?"
71
72 The little girl gleefully produced the sparkling crystal, and shifted it in the morning light
73 streaming through her window. Suddenly, a dazzling blue-green ray flashed forth, lighting up
74 the wall in a tiny rainbow. Teddy gaped in wonder as Nadeshiko giggled in delight.
75
76 "How, how did you...what is that?" He stared in amazement. At first, the girl had seemed
77 the unlikeliest of Card Captors. Had he not seen the capricious Flower obey her without
78 hesitation, he would never have believed it. No one would pick her out of a crowd as the
79 successor to the fearsome Clow Reed. His memories of the great magician were vague and dark,
80 much like the man himself. He remembered a quiet and reserved figure who could command with a
81 glance, and force submission with the slightest of gestures. One by one, the mightiest of Hong
82 Kong had challenged him, and in the end all had failed. His power seemed without limit, and in
83 the end it twisted his soul and he became fell and frightful. Hazier still were the Beast’s
84 feelings for his master. Sometimes at night he lay awake and the memories took him, memories
85 of fear, love, and awe. And now, bringing him more confusion was this girl.
86
87
88 Guarding the Cards for so long, he had nearly forgotten his purpose, the last command of his
89 Master. Though every sign pointed to her, he still could not shed his doubts that something had
90 gone wrong, and that this girl, though obviously connected to the Cards, was not the one. But
91 he had made his choice, and would stick it out to the bitter end. And bitter it would be should
92 she fail. Shaking off these hidden doubts, the fluttering beast returned to his learned lecture,
93
94 "This magical light is a mystery, and hard to explain. But as you gather more Cards, and
95 more power, it will all become clear to you."
96
97 With wide eyes the girl stared at him, smiling in delight. Suddenly she grabbed him, squeezing
98 the little creature frantically as she sang out,
99
100 Oh, thank you, Teddy-chan! I can’t wait to have more friends. I love Jump and Flower so much!
101 When do you think we can find more Cards? Where do you think they are?
102
103 Squirming away, the blushing, exasperated Beast of the Seal struggled to maintain his cool,
104
105 “I don’t know where they are. They, they have their own minds, and some of them are a bit, well,
106 erratic. But they won't all be as easy to find and capture as Jump.”
107
108 Nadeshiko gazed earnestly at the ruffled Teddy-chan,
109
110 “That’s all right. I know we can find them if we try our hardest.” The girl rose and walked
111 lightly to the window that overlooked the forest encircling the lake. Lost in thought she
112 whispered to herself,
113
114 “I wonder if there are any in there?”
115
116
117 II.
118 Nadeshiko sat on the grass and arranged the folds of her voluminous blue satin dress. It was a
119 gift from her grandfather, and Teddy said that a Card Captor should be properly attired so as to
120 impress the Cards with her grandeur. This was the grandest thing she could think of wearing,
121 though it made walking through the tight undergrowth of the forest a little difficult. Finally
122 satisfied, she unpacked her o-bento. The chef had made it for her, delighted by the oohs and
123 ahhs of his appreciative audience of one. She nibbled the cold, sticky rice with her chopsticks
124 and listened to the distant rumble of a summer thunderstorm. But here it was sunny and bright; a
125 hot, humid, lazy summer day that lulled the senses. Crunching on a pink, pickled radish, she
126 thought of all the cards that might lie in wait inside the woods. So eager to begin looking that
127 she rose before dawn, then slipped out of the summer mansion with only the chef knowing she was
128 awake. Even Teddy-chan snored through it all, she thought with a giggle.
129
130 Nadeshiko yawned and stretched, running her fingers through the green blades of grass in the
131 little dale. All that morning and much of the afternoon she searched the woods with no sign of
132 the cards. The forest was so much larger than she remembered from walks with her mother and
133 grandfather. It was also hard to get one's bearings. There were so many wonderful trees! Each
134 one looked and somehow felt different, and yet it seemed like she was seeing the same trees
135 while walking about. This was an odd puzzle, but it really didn't matter. Here was a beautiful
136 day, and she was eating a yummy lunch on the soft, soft, grass. That she was hopelessly lost
137 never occurred to her, and even if it had, the thought would have left her placidly unconcerned.
138 Full after eating only half of the delicious o-bento, the girl carefully re-wrapped it and then
139 curled up in the shade of a massive oak tree. Sleep came swiftly, and as she drowsed the
140 afternoon away, squirrels and birds peered in silent amazement at the strange little sleeping
141 beauty.
142
143 All was not silent at the Amamiya summer mansion. After the disappearance of little
144 Nadeshiko-sama became known, the household was in chaos. The tearful chef only knew she had
145 taken her o-bento dressed in a beautiful blue outfit that was entirely inappropriate for out of
146 doors. But a thorough search of the massive mansion had turned up nothing, and the searchers
147 reluctantly expanded their scope to include the grounds and lake. With fear and trepedation they
148 phoned Amamiya-sama, who rushed to the mansion. Stepping out of his limousine, he quickly took
149 charge of the frantic servants and organized search parties to find his missing granddaughter.
150 In his wake was a stunned-looking Sonomi, who had insisted on accompanying him when she
151 discovered his reason for leaving the family's long-planned Sunday dinner. As the large bearded
152 man grimly set the gardeners to dragging the lake, Sonomi slipped away and rushed to the room
153 her cousin had been staying. Bursting through the door, she found a nervous Seal Beast peering
154 out the window. Without pause she demanded frantically,
155
156 "Where is she?"
157
158 Teddy-chan spun about in surprise, then slumped to the ground,
159
160 "I don't know."
161
162 Sonomi snapped back angrily,
163
164 "What do you mean, you don't know? I thought you were her guardian or something?"
165
166 Teddy looked to the side, avoiding the ice-blue eyes of the furious child. In a quiet voice he
167 replied,
168
169 "She left while I was asleep. I heard the chef telling them she got her lunch before it was
170 light. But nobody knows where she went. I heard someone say that with the lake she may have..."
171 The words died in his throat.
172
173 Sonomi dropped to the floor, her anger giving way to despair. For several minutes she sat on the
174 floor, trying not to sob. Finally, she blinked her eyes and spoke to the Seal Beast in a
175 carefully measured tone,
176
177 "Nadeshiko-chan would never go swimming all by herself, so she didn’t drown in the lake. She
178 must be somewhere else. Did she give you any clue? Did she say anything at all about where she
179 might be?"
180
181 Looking up in surprise, Teddy chan suddenly grew thoughtful. He spoke slowly, struggling to
182 remember every detail,
183
184 "Last night she was talking about the cards, asking me where they might be. Oh, yes, she said
185 something about wondering where they might be while she was looking out the window."
186
187 Revelation spread across both their faces as they simultaniously sprang up and ran to the
188 massive picture window. The vast forest spread out before them, a fiery red carpet of trees lit
189 by the westering sun. The girl and the diminutive Seal Beast looked at each other and nodded.
190 Sonomi whispered,
191
192 "It’ll be dark soon, so I’ll go find a flashlight. We can't tell them why she went there, so
193 make sure nobody sees us."
194
195 With that, the girl dashed out the door. In a few minutes she returned, flashlight in hand. In
196 stealthy silence, the two slipped out of the house and vanished into the woods.
197
198 III.
199
200 Still as a statue, the little girl sat bathed in moonlight. It helped when her eyes were closed,
201 so she was oblivious to the little cloud of fireflies dancing about her head. There was no doubt
202 that a Clow Card was nearby. It was sort of like being hungry before the big New Year's dinner.
203 Even if you weren’t allowed in the kitchen, you could sense the delicacies being prepared. In
204 the same way she knew the Clow card was nearby, it's scent wafting in from the forest. She could
205 feel it watching her, hesitant but interested. At first, she had pursued it through the
206 impenetrable forest, but the mysterious card always stayed a step ahead. Laughing quietly to
207 herself, she wished she had Sonomi's speed so she could run and catch it. But with all the trees
208 everywhere, such speed probably wouldn't be very useful, anyway. For the same reason, she had
209 rejected the idea of using Jump. So she resolved to simply sit and wait, and let the card come
210 to her when it wanted to. It was like meeting someone new at school. At first, they would be
211 shy and hesitant, even if they wanted to be friends. She was certain the card would like to meet
212 her, but perhaps it was afraid, too. So, instead of chasing and scaring it away, she sat down in
213 the little clearing and waited. She was a surprisingly patient girl, and could be very good at
214 waiting when she wanted to.
215
216 Further away in the forest, Sonomi was also sitting. But unlike her cousin, she was not waiting
217 patiently, but thinking frantically. All that kept a river of tears from flowing was her
218 desperate resolution to find Nadeshiko. She willed herself not to cry. Crying would be an
219 admission of defeat and an acknowledgement that something terrible had happened to her beautiful
220 cousin, and neither possibility was acceptable. So instead, she sat deep in thought, puzzling
221 out the girl’s disappearance. Finally she looked up at the hovering Seal Beast and asked,
222
223 “Where is the Clow Card?”
224
225 The fluttering creature, startled by the sudden break in the silence, gave her a curious look,
226 “Eh?”
227
228 She repeated herself patiently, “Do you know where the Clow Card is that she is looking for?”
229
230 Shaking his head, Teddy-chan scanned the dark woods and answered,
231
232 “My powers are diminished in this form, but it seems to be over there somewhere.” He gestured
233 towards the Northeast with a little paw. “But even if she is following it, she could be
234 anywhere.”
235
236 Sonomi frowned as she stood, dusting off the leaves from her skirt. With a quick breath and a
237 smile, she faced the flying creature and said, “No, she isn’t anywhere. She has to be somewhere.
238 But we’ll never know just where by sitting here. She must be following the card, and if it’s
239 that’s where it is, then she is, too. Let’s go.”
240
241 With that, they plunged into the forest. After a few moments, Teddy-chan stopped and pulled a
242 small strip of blue fabric from a bramble bush. Holding it out to Sonomi he asked, “What’s this?”
243
244 Sonomi took the fabric and turned it over in her hands. It was made of sleek satin, colored a
245 vibrant cobalt-blue. The girl instantly broke out in a broad grin and exclaimed, “That’s
246 Nadeshiko’s! It’s from a dress grandfather gave her for Christmas, I’m sure of it! And this
247 break in the trees looks like some sort trail. She must have gone this way.”
248
249 The Seal Beast smiled and nodded, and they both rushed down the pathway. As they walked,
250 Sonomi’s flashlight illuminated other scraps of Nadeshiko’s dress. Following these inadvertent
251 little signposts, they eventually came to edge of a clearing. There they stopped, both staring
252 open-mouthed at the moonlit scene before them.
253
254 At the other end of the little dale, perhaps a hundred feet away, Nadeshiko sat in her tattered
255 dress. In front of her stood Flower. The strange woman was fidgety, shifting back and forth as
256 if standing still was unbearable. Practically entwined with her was another woman, all clad in
257 green, luminous and shimmering, gently swaying in the breeze that rustled through the branches
258 above them. Nadeshiko’s musical laughter carried over the field like a bell. When the shock of
259 this sight wore off, Sonomi let out a shout mingled with relief and exultation and began to run.
260 The green-tinged woman was startled, and seemed ready to bolt, but Flower hugged her tightly,
261 soothing her with reassuring caresses. Nadeshiko turned about, smiled as she rose, and leapt
262 into the arms of her onrushing cousin.
263
264 The two girls embraced in joy and relief. After several minutes they separated, and Sonomi gazed
265 at her cousin in horror. The pretty face was bruised and scratched, a trickle of blood on her
266 pale, slender neck. The silvery-gray hair was in disarray, entangled with twigs and leaves. Her
267 dress was torn and ripped, and one shoe was missing. Trembling fearfully, Sonomi somehow managed
268 to whisper,
269
270 “Nadeshiko-chan, are, are you all right?”
271
272 Holding her cousin’s hands, the disheveled girl smiled and burst out enthusiastically,
273
274 “Hai! I feel wonderful. I just knew that Wood-sama was here somewhere, and that she was afraid.
275 That’s why I asked Flower-sama to talk with her, to let her know that I just wanted to be
276 friends. Isn’t she beautiful, Sonomi-chan? Oh, I’m so sorry, I haven’t introduced you.
277 Sonomi-chan, this is my wonderful new friend Wood-sama. Wood-sama, this is my very best friend
278 and cousin, Sonomi-chan.”
279
280 The auburn-haired girl looked slightly flustered as she bowed. Flower leaned over and giggled as
281 she whispered something in Wood’s ear. Wood blushed as she bowed, eyeing Sonomi curiously. A
282 little coughing fit interrupted the proceedings, and Nadeshiko quickly added,
283
284 “Oh, and this is Teddy-chan, the Beast of the Seal, who is also my friend.”
285
286 “Long time, no see,” The flying figure announced in a suave voice. Flower curtsied and again
287 whispered into Wood’s ear, reducing them both to giggles as they regarded the diminutive
288 guardian. Teddy ignored this possible affront to his dignity as Sonomi, still looking at the
289 battered Nadeshiko, spoke up,
290
291 “We should get home. Everyone is very worried.”
292
293 Nadeshiko placed her pointer finger to her cheek, trying to figure out just why anyone had cause
294 to worry. Speaking with authority, Teddy addressed the silver-haired girl,
295
296 “Nadeshiko-chan, there is something that still needs to be done. Do you have your staff?”
297
298 The girl brightened, nodding her head enthusiastically as she answered, “Hai.”
299
300 Stepping forward, straightening out the remnants of her cobalt-blue dress, she bowed to the
301 verdant woman and spoke,
302
303 “Wood-sama, if I may?”
304
305 Wood took a tentative step forward. She looked carefully at the little girl and smiled. Crossing
306 her folded hands on her breast and closing her eyes, she waited. Nadeshiko glanced at the Seal
307 Beast, who nodded, and then carefully touched the woman’s forehead with her staff as she spoke
308 the chant,
309
310 “Clow Card, return to your true form.”
311
312 The light burst forth, swirling, and eddying around The Wood. As if she had turned to liquid,
313 she flowed into a shimmering card that appeared out of nowhere. The card dropped to the grass,
314 and Nadeshiko picked it up. As she did, Sonomi heard Teddy mutter to himself,
315
316 “They won’t all be this easy.”
317
318 IV.
319
320 For punishment, the cousins were confined to their room for the weekend. It wasn’t much of a
321 punishment, as the pair chatted and played the days away as if at a slumber party. After a long,
322 soaking bath, Nadeshiko looked as good as new, save for a few scratches and a bruised shoulder.
323 Reassured, Sonomi offered to comb out her tangled hair. Nadeshiko sat on the futon, facing away
324 from Sonomi who sat cross-legged behind her. It was difficult work, with many a tug and pull,
325 despite her gentle care. Through it all, Nadeshiko was silent, without so much as a whimper.
326 Working a particularly stubborn mat with her fingers, the auburn-haired girl said,
327
328 “Nadeshiko-chan, your hair is so fine and so long, this is almost impossible. Please don’t ever,
329 ever do that again.”
330
331 “Do what again, Sonomi-chan?” the girl asked.
332
333 Sonomi considered her answer carefully. She knew she wanted Nadeshiko to give up this crazy card
334 capturing. Never had she been so frightened as yesterday. But even if she wanted to control
335 Nadeshiko, she just couldn’t. It would be like caging a beautiful bird. You could make her safe
336 by taking away her freedom, but you couldn’t make her happy. And nothing meant more to
337 Sonomi-chan than her cousin’s happiness. With a reluctant little sigh, she replied softly,
338
339 “Don’t go running into the woods with your hair all loose. Let me put it up into braids or
340 something.”
341
342 “I’d like that, Sonomi-chan. I love when you do my hair.” The girl snuggled comfortably against
343 Sonomi’s legs as they sat on the futon. Sonomi found herself blushing as she added,
344
345 “And please don’t go after the cards without me. Please tell me before you go, because I want to
346 be with you.”
347
348 In her sweetly musical voice, the little Card Captor answered, “I’d like that. It’s nice to be
349 with Sonomi-chan.”
350
351 “Promise?” Sonomi asked.
352
353 “Hai, I promise.” The lilting voice replied.
354
355 Sonomi placed the comb and brush down and hugged her cousin, laying against her back, closing
356 her eyes and nestling her cheek in the girl’s sparkling, silvery hair. Still as a fawn in a
357 moonlit clearing, Nadeshiko whispered,
358
359 “I love you, Sonomi-chan.”
360
361 Sonomi caught her breath and opened her eyes. Trembling, her heart racing, she hugged the
362 slender form fiercely and closed her eyes. She was ecstatic, relieved, and uncertain. At long
363 last, she could cry.
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