Cardcaptor Nadeshiko

 Fly Me Away

 by Amazoness Duo

 and G.P.

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 pearsong1954@yahoo.com

 

 	All is still. The world is frozen for an eternity, time standing still. Girls lined up

 together all kneel forward precariously. Even the wind does not interrupt the moment, leaving

 behind an anxious moment of calm. Thoughts are abandoned as the girls all wait silently, as if

 awaiting the judgement of the world. A single moment stretches to infinity. In an all too brief

 moment, time snaps back into place.

 	“Go!”

 	Like glass shattering, the silence is over. The girls all bolt from their positions, 

 the sudden movement almost a blur. Silent statues transform into swift eagles, darting across 

 the track. Like graceful cats, they move fluidly toward their goal. It is closer than any want 

 to think about, but feels like it may as well be half a world away. The thunderous stampede of

 girls moves inexorably forward, no force in heaven or hell able to stop them. 

 	At the front of the pack, an auburn haired girl pushes herself. Further, faster.

 Conscious thought escaped her. Or, rather, she refused to let it impede her movement. All that

 waited for her was the finishing line. Like a beautiful angel, it beckoned to her, calling her

 and her alone. She would be the one to reach it. She would be the one to claim it for her own. 

 So she pushed herself further and faster, leaving the other girls behind. Her feet barely 

 seemed to touch the ground as she ran, sending her hurtling forward to her eventual goal. The

 goal awaited her, calling out her name as she drew nearer. She could hear the other girls behind

 her, waiting to pass her. With all of her energy, all of the passion in her soul, she ran 

 forward to the embrace of the finish line.

 	Looking down at her stopwatch, the coach whistled. “Great time, Amamiya-san. You’re

 getting better. You girls better continue practicing if you’re going to keep up with her.”

 	The girl in question jogged over to a bench, picking up a towel. Her breathing came

 quickly, her heart racing in her chest. It was always such a lovely feeling. A small smile

 crossed her lips as she heard her time. Her practice was paying off. Little by little, it was

 helping. Sonomi had always been a natural at most athletic events, but track was her favorite. 

 It was simple, straightforward. It didn’t matter who you were or what your background was. Boy 

 or girl, age or race, it didn’t matter. On the track, it didn’t matter that she was rich or that

 her family was important. The only thing that mattered was running. The fastest person won.

 Whoever got to the finish line first was the winner. And Sonomi was almost always the first to

 the finish line. On the track, she could leave everything behind. All she had to do was run. It

 wasn’t confusing like the rest of life. Like things with Nadeshiko. Shaking her head, Sonomi

 turned to see her younger cousin nearly bursting with enthusiasm. Sonomi smiled as Nadeshiko

 hurried over to her. That was another thing that the young heiress liked about track. Her cousin

 was always there to cheer her on. 

 	“Sonomi-chan! You ran so fast! I could barely see you!” Nadeshiko said excitedly. The

 wind, as if it were finished holding it’s breath while awaiting the girls to run, began to play

 with her long, dark hair. Nadeshiko smiled brightly at her cousin, her pale skin almost

 glistening under the sunlight.

 	Sonomi felt her heart swell at Nadeshiko’s ringing endorsement. She was always happy to

 have her cousin watching. The gray haired girl was always so confident in her. It made her feel

 like she could accomplish anything with Nadeshiko by her side. It was always nice to have her 

 own personal cheerleader. “Arigato, Nadeshiko-chan!” Smiling gratefully, she took the cup of

 water from Nadeshiko’s outstretched hands. The water slid graciously past her lips, revitalizing

 her exhausted insides. The cold water helped her to forget about the burning sun overhead. 

 	“I bet you’re even faster than Terrada-san. He’s the fastest on the boys’ team. But

 you’re like a blur, Sonomi-chan. You’re just like the wind.” Nadeshiko brushed her hair back

 absentmindedly, the wind sending it fluttering behind her. She smiled sweetly, glad to see her

 cousin. Everything in life was fascinating to Nadeshiko. And why shouldn’t it be? After all,

 wasn’t life itself such a fascinating thing to begin with, the simple act of being such an

 amazing fact? Sitting and watching things for hours, watching them partake of life’s endless

 dream, it was something she could never tire of. And of all these things, watching her cousin 

 run was one of the most fascinating that she could think of at the moment. Seeing Sonomi zip

 across a stretch of ground, moving so eagerly towards her destination, it was always so 

 wonderful to watch. Nadeshiko loved the way Sonomi always looked so intent, so dedicated to 

 reach her goal. Watching her move, watching her face, watching the whole thing was just a 

 wonder. But then, so much of life was. 

 	“Do you really think so? I heard he was really fast. I’d like to race him some time,”

 Sonomi said thoughtfully, heading back into the locker room. She had to change out of her gym

 uniform and back into her school uniform before going home. She was feeling rather good about

 things. She had a wonderful best friend, she was the up and coming star of the track team, and

 her grandfather was visiting. Yes, things were going well. She smiled happily to herself as she

 pulled her school uniform out of her bag. Pulling her shirt over her head, she turned around to

 see Nadeshiko still standing there, smiling. Sonomi nearly stumbled backwards over her bag.

 Apparently, Nadeshiko had followed her back into the locker room, even though only the track 

 team was supposed to be there for the moment. “Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi found her heart beating

 faster, her mind fuzzy. She tried to clear it as she began to pull her school uniform on. It

 shouldn’t matter if Nadeshiko were there anyway. The dark haired girl didn’t often listen to

 rules or other such nonsense. And Sonomi had practically grown up with her, so it wasn’t like 

 she should worry about dressing in front of her. But still...

 	Meanwhile, Nadeshiko busied herself with looking through Sonomi’s locker. Her innocent

 curiosity sent her from one object to the next, all the while waiting for her older cousin to

 walk her home as she always did. Like a big sister, Sonomi had always looked out for her.

 Nadeshiko didn’t always understand why Sonomi was always so overprotective, but she was grateful

 for it. She thought it was sweet of Sonomi to want to protect her all the time. Even if she did

 worry too much. Sonomi was always so silly. 

 	“Are you ready, Nadeshiko-chan?” Sonomi asked after a moment when she thought she had 

 her composure back. The strange trill that Nadeshiko always sent through her heart both thrilled

 and captivated her. It left her rolling about on powerful waves that shook her heart. And it had

 grown stronger lately, nearly taking her breath away at times. It was one of those confusing

 things that made running even more enjoyable. She didn’t have to worry about weird feelings she

 couldn’t understand. The dark haired girl was her best friend and that had been her explanation

 for the strange feelings at first, but now she wasn’t so sure. It was just so overpowering. She

 almost felt dizzy when she was with Nadeshiko, her heart aching sweetly. And it was driving

 Sonomi crazy. A flash in her eyes sent her reeling back to reality. Blinking a few times, Sonomi

 finally caught sight of Nadeshiko holding her camera, the one she had received as a birthday

 present. 

 	Giggling, Nadeshiko held out the camera to its owner. “Take my picture, Sonomi-chan!

 You’ve been getting better with your camera. I want to have my picture taken by the future world

 prize winning photographer, Amamiya Sonomi-chan!” She giggled again as she posed for her cousin. 

 	Sonomi giggled herself, holding the camera by its strap. “There’s no one I’d rather take

 pictures of than you, Nadeshiko-chan. But let’s wait till we get home. I don’t want okaa-san to

 worry about us being late.” Picking up her bag, the auburn haired girl turned to lead the way.

 She was startled a second later when she felt something soft grab her hand. Her face darkened

 slightly as she saw Nadeshiko holding her hand, smiling sweetly as always. Sonomi tried to 

 return the smile, but found her heart beating mysteriously again. Nadeshiko’s hand felt so soft

 against her own, her gentle fingers moving ever so slightly against her own. The young heiress

 tried to shake off the strange feeling, but it refused to leave her. Hand in hand, the young

 Amamiya girls made their way home. 

 

 	“Girls!”

 	“Grandpa!” 

 	The two girls were swept up into a warm hug by their grandfather shortly after stepping

 through the front door of Sonomi’s house. The hug lasted for a long moment before the elder man

 took a step back, smiling at his lovely granddaughters. “You’re both growing up into such pretty

 young ladies.”

 	Nadishiko curtsied with a flourish, smiling brightly. “Thank you, grandpa!”

 	“Arigato, grandpa!” Sonomi replied, smiling herself. Though they had visited their

 grandfather recently, he had come up himself to stay for a bit. Sonomi was always happy to see

 him. He was always so nice and fun. He didn’t have the same demanding authority that her parents

 had. She loved them dearly, but there were certain things they expected of her that her

 grandfather didn’t. He was a kind, gentle soul. His visits were always something Sonomi looked

 forward to.

 	“I was waiting for the two of you to get home. I have something for you.” Going back to

 the guest room he was using, he returned with two beautiful dresses. “Now which one was for 

 which of you?” A smile crossed his face as he saw his granddaughters’ faces light up. The older

 man cherished his granddaughters, and enjoyed pampering them when he got the chance to. 

 	“Wai! They’re beautiful!” Nadeshiko smiled brightly at the two dresses her grandfather

 held. She always loved to dress up, no matter what the occasion. It was so much fun to try on 

 all sorts of different things, to wear something beautiful. And her grandfather was more than

 happy to indulge her on that wish, always ready to supply another wonderful dress for her to

 wear.

 	“Grandpa! It’s gorgeous!” Sonomi stated, holding onto the hem of one of the dresses. It

 was beautifully adorned with ribbons and bows. The other dress was no less adorable, a white

 dress with plenty of frills and lace. “Can we try them on?” she asked hopefully. Seeing the 

 older man nod, she smiled happily and took the two dresses. “Come on, Nadeshiko-chan. I’ll go

 take your picture in both of these.”

 	Laughing, the older man smiled at his granddaughters’ exuberance. “Just make sure you

 both come down to dinner in them. I want to see how they look on my pretty granddaughters.”

 

 “Hai, grandpa!”

 

 	Sonomi watched her younger cousin through the lens of the camera, following every little

 movement as she lined up her shot. Nadeshiko’s emerald green eyes sparkled. There was no one

 Sonomi would rather take pictures of. Nadeshiko was the perfect model for her. The other girl 

 was so pretty and she always posed gracefully. One would never be able to guess at how accident

 prone the gray haired girl was if they had only seen pictures of her. 

 	Sonomi was currently wearing the ribbon and bow clad dress, Nadeshiko wearing the other.

 They had taken several pictures of Nadeshiko in the other dress and now they had switched,

 allowing Sonomi to get several more pictures. Nadeshiko was currently lying on her stomach, her

 chin in her hands and her bare feet slowly kicking in the air. She was smiling happily at the

 camera. Sonomi could feel a faint blush color her cheeks as Nadeshiko gazed directly at her. Her

 finger pushed the button, the shutter closing with a click and a whir. And so another image of

 her beloved cousin was frozen forever on film. It was such an amazing thing, the camera. Some

 people said it was magical, that it had the power to trap ones soul. And Sonomi could see why. 

 It certainly had its own magic. It allowed you to capture a single moment of time forever, to

 hold onto it for as long as you wished. And yes, it even allowed you to capture pieces of

 someone’s soul. No, not the whole thing, of course. But fragments. Bit and pieces. The shards

 lying around. Each picture held a little bit of Nadeshiko in it, which was why each picture was

 so precious to Sonomi. She was extremely careful with each picture she took, wanting it to be

 perfect. Another click and whir sounded as she took another picture. 

 	Nadeshiko watched Sonomi as the other girl moved around to get a better shot. She loved

 posing for her cousin. It was so much fun to be able to dress up for Sonomi, to have her take 

 her picture with that camera. She loved getting in position for the pictures, trying to look

 pretty for each consecutive shot. It was always so lovely to be the focus of Sonomi’s attention,

 to see her trying so hard to take the perfect picture. And every picture that Nadeshiko had seen

 Sonomi take always turned out beautifully. She loved flipping through the scrapbook that her

 older cousin was keeping, seeing all of her pictures lined up neatly. The fact that all of the

 pictures were of herself didn’t seem surprising at all. Sonomi always paid attention to her, so

 it just seemed natural. It was something she always liked. She smiled prettily for the camera,

 her long dark hair framing her face, nearly obscuring her hands. Sitting up on her knees, she

 tilted her head to the side as Sonomi got ready for another shot. 

 	Taking another picture of her lovely cousin, Sonomi stepped around to the other side of

 the bed. It was wonderful being able to do this with Nadeshiko. It was their time alone 

 together. She could take endless amounts of pictures of her photogenic cousin. And she was more

 than happy to. Sonomi was trying harder and harder to get better at taking pictures. If 

 Nadeshiko was her subject, then they had to be perfect. The other girl was perfect, and so the

 pictures of her should be as well. Nadeshiko was the only thing Sonomi really liked to take

 pictures of. Maybe it was just that Nadeshiko made such an excellent model. Or maybe... Sonomi

 shook her head, unsure of where that thought would lead. She tried to shake off the confusion as

 she clicked another picture. “You’re so cute in that!” Sonomi said, her mind shifting to something much easier for her to grasp: her cousin’s irresistible cuteness. All of Sonomi’s room was filled with cute things, from toys to dolls to stuffed animals. And the cutest thing of all was, of course, Nadeshiko herself. The other girl was so innocent and sweet and cute. It was just perfect. Smiling, Sonomi took another picture. “I wish I had enough film to do this forever.”

 	“Me too, Sonomi-chan,” Nadeshiko replied, smiling into the camera. “You’re so good at

 taking pictures.” A knock at the door drew her attention, long dark hair fluttering about her. 

 	“It’s time for dinner, girls. Hurry and wash up,” Sonomi’s mother said. 

 	“Hai!” Slipping off the bed, Nadeshiko hurried for the door, eager to show her

 grandfather the dress he had bought her. 

 	Sonomi pulled up the camera after a moment, letting Nadeshiko fill the lens. Taking another quick picture, she caught Nadeshiko’s beautiful image in film once again. A soft, 

 dreamy sigh escaped her. If only she could do that forever. Nadeshiko was always at the 

 forefront of her mind. It would be so nice to spend forever taking her beautiful picture. 

 Setting down her camera, Sonomi quickly followed, a bright smile on her lips. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 	“So you don’t think I can beat you?” Sonomi asked in irritation, her hands on her hips.

 She stared the reddish haired boy down as she waited for an answer. 

 	“I just think that your cousin shouldn’t go around saying you’re faster than me. I’m 

 sure you’re good. But you’re still a girl,” the boy replied, crossing his arms. 

 	Sonomi’s eyebrow twitched at his words. “If Nadeshiko-chan said I can beat you, then I

 can. Are you calling her a liar?”

 	“No, no,” the boy said quickly. He sighed inwardly. He had wanted to confront her about

 the rumors that she was faster than him. He didn’t want to start a fight over Sonomi’s cousin.

 Everyone knew how touchy she could be when Nadeshiko was involved. “It’s just that I’m the

 fastest one at the school. And everyone keeps saying that you are. That’s stupid.”

 	“Fine. If you want to race, then let’s race, Terrada-san,” Sonomi challenged, tossing 

 her hair out of her eyes with a quick toss of her head. She wasn’t one to back down from things.

 And she was frustrated that this boy would come to her to argue about who was faster. “If you

 want to prove who’s faster, then let’s see.” And to say that he was faster because he was a boy

 at that! That was one of her favorite things about racing, that it only mattered who was the

 fastest, not who they were. She did think that it was a little embarrassing that Nadeshiko had

 been telling everyone at school that she was the fastest one, but she was happy to have her

 younger cousin’s confidence. 

 	The boy nodded in agreement. “All right. Let’s do it. First one to the finish line is 

 the fastest at the school.” He wanted to clear this up once and for all. At first it had just

 been Nadeshiko talking about how fast Sonomi was, but now other girls were beginning to as well

 and even some of the boys. If he didn’t put an end to this fast, everyone really would think she

 was the fastest. 

 	The two stretched as they waited. Several other students had gathered by the time they

 had gotten ready. Sonomi was still in her school uniform, but there wasn’t anything she could do

 to fix that. She would just have to make do. She and Terrada slowly took their places, waiting

 for the signal to send them dashing towards the finish line. 

 	“You can do it, Sonomi-chan! No one can beat you!” Nadeshiko called out energetically.

 She didn’t see what all the fuss was about. She was proud of her cousin. Sonomi really was a

 great runner. Nadeshiko had watched her all the time. So she wanted people to know how great 

 she was. It struck her as odd that someone would get mad about that. But she didn’t let it 

 bother her. It didn’t matter. And it gave Sonomi another chance to run. 

 	“What’s going on?” a voice asked.

 	Turning to answer the voice, Nadeshiko smiled pleasantly at the teacher’s assistant,

 Kinomoto Fujitaka. “Kinomoto-sensei! Sonomi-chan and Terrada-san are about to race. Did you come

 to watch?” she asked cheerfully. 

 	Smiling at the younger girl, Fujitaka nodded. “Yes, I guess I did. I just didn’t know

 what it was about. Thank you, Nadeshiko-chan.” Lured by the crowd of students, Fujitaka had been

 curious as to what was going on. He had been glad to find the dark haired girl there to explain

 things to him. She was rapidly becoming his favorite student. It was funny how things worked. It

 was almost like Fate that he had hit her with a ball in the park not so long ago. He could tell

 she was different from the other girls her age. She was almost other worldly, always lost in her

 own thoughts and in the world around her, never seeming concerned about anything. It was so

 refreshing with how worried all the other girls were about life’s trivialities. 

 	Sonomi, meanwhile, was preparing for her race. She waited motionless, her mind set

 directly on the task before her. She let out a deep breath. “Go!” a black haired girl called. 

 And with that, Sonomi launched herself forward. Run! It raced through her mind in the same way

 that she raced across the track, the single thought becoming all encompassing. She could hear

 Terrada running beside her, could feel the wind sweeping across her body and the ground for a

 split second at a time. Her mind focussed on the finish line, everything else blurring,

 disappearing from her vision. There was only the goal. Even her rival began to fade away, her

 concentration remaining steadfast. Just a little further... This was her chance to prove 

 herself, to show that Nadeshiko was right about her. Her strong legs propelled her forward, 

 the mingled voices of the students nothing more than a whisper to her as she finally reached 

 the designated finish line. It took her a moment to realize she had crossed it. Already stopped,

 she had to clear her head, to let the rest of reality back in. 

 	“Amamiya-san! That was unbelievable!” one of the girls said in amazement. 

 	“We told you she was the best, Terrada-san!” another girl said. 

 	“I can’t believe that a girl beat you,” one of Terrada’s friends said, shaking his head. 

 	Sonomi smiled to herself, brushing back her disheveled auburn hair. She had proven

 Nadeshiko right. She had proven herself right. It didn’t matter who you were with track. It only

 mattered who the fastest was. She slowly caught her breath, glancing around for Nadeshiko. Her

 eyes were well trained to the task, quickly scanning for the gray haired girl. But this time she

 couldn’t find her amongst the gathered crowd of students. Her elation at her victory quickly

 disappeared as panic began to grow inside of her. She didn’t like being away from Nadeshiko for

 too long. Nadeshiko always managed to get hurt if she wasn’t there to protect her. Ignoring the

 praise from some fellow students, Sonomi hurried off in search of her cousin. 

 

 	“Thank you for your help, Nadeshiko-chan,” Fujitaka said gratefully, smiling as he 

 pushed up his glasses. “It would have taken me much longer to get all of those papers back to 

 the teacher’s lounge on my own.”

 	“You’re welcome, Kinomoto-sensei,” Nadeshiko replied, smiling in return. When he had

 asked if she wanted to help move some papers back to the teacher’s lounge, she had been happy to

 help. She had a boundless curiosity and she had never seen the teacher’s lounge before, so it 

 had sounded like a great idea. She already knew that Sonomi would win, anyway. So she didn’t 

 need to wait and see the results. The teacher’s lounge, once a mysterious and far off place, was

 now added to her mental map of the school. Having seen it didn’t take away any of the wonder,

 though. Nadeshiko always managed to find wonder hidden in anything. 

 	Sonomi stood in the doorway for a long moment, unsure of what to say. She felt hurt,

 angry, jealous. But she didn’t know what to say about any of it. Her victory felt cheap,

 pointless, with Nadeshiko leaving to go help the assistant teacher. Nadeshiko was always there 

 to cheer her on, to share the victory with her when it was all over. But the assistant teacher

 had lured her off to help with some trivial task. Sonomi had been running because of what

 Nadeshiko had said about her being the fastest. It didn’t feel right to have won without

 Nadeshiko waiting for her at the end. And here that assistant teacher was, not caring at all

 about such things, smiling as if all was right with the world. And why shouldn’t he? He had

 Nadeshiko with him, so of course he was smiling. Who wouldn’t smile in Nadeshiko’s presence?

 Yeah, that was it. He had taken Nadeshiko away at her moment of victory. He was why she wasn’t

 there to share it with her. Balling up her fists, Sonomi stormed into the room. “Nadeshiko-chan,

 there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you. I was starting to get so worried. You know 

 you shouldn’t wander off like that.” 

 	“Hi, Sonomi-chan!” Nadeshiko replied, waving to her older cousin. She hurried over to

 Sonomi’s side, glad to see the auburn haired girl. Sonomi always managed to find her, though 

 she did always look worried when she did. This time she looked a little different, though. Not

 exactly worried. Something else. Nadeshiko watched her curiously.

 	“Oh, she’s fine, Sonomi-chan. She’s been with me the whole time,” Fujitaka said

 helpfully, smiling all the while. “Oh, how did your little race go, by the way?” he asked

 curiously, pushing his glasses up.

 	“My little race went just fine, thank you. Come on, Nadeshiko-chan.” Turning her

 attention back to Nadeshiko, Sonomi took the other girl’s hand, leading her out of the large

 classroom. She just wanted to get away from the teacher. She was still frustrated about the 

 whole thing, but all she could do was to take her dearest Nadeshiko away from him. She shot him 

 a gaze with her stormy blue eyes as she headed for the door, Nadeshiko in tow. Nadeshiko 

 followed as she always did, waving to Fujitaka before they disappeared out the door.

 

 	Sonomi lay in bed, her blanket up around her head, her school uniform laying on the

 floor. She was usually much better about keeping things in order, but she just didn’t care. Her

 grandpa has asked her if she wanted to play some tennis with him, but she had declined. She 

 loved to play things like that with her grandfather, but she just didn’t feel up to it at the

 moment. She was still feeling burnt out from her race with Terrada. It just felt so shallow

 knowing Nadeshiko hadn’t been there for it. It wasn’t that she couldn’t race without Nadeshiko,

 but this was for the other girl as well as for herself. Knowing that Nadeshiko had been lured

 away made it all feel so pointless to have ran against him at all. Who cared what the other

 students thought of her? It was what Nadeshiko thought of her that was important. 

 	Rolling on her side, Sonomi sighed sadly. She still felt jealous that Nadeshiko had been

 with her teacher instead of with her. She was angry at him for taking Nadeshiko away while she

 was racing. Nadeshiko was supposed to be there, watching her, cheering for her. How dare he take

 her away? But what could she do about it? He was her teacher. That feeling of powerlessness sent

 Sonomi’s heart tumbling again. She hated feeling powerless, useless. She hated feeling trapped.

 It was one of the most painful feelings she could think of. She needed to be able to handle

 things, to be free. 

 	Her mother’s words cam ringing back to her, ones from back near her birthday. ‘Oh,

 Sonomi-chan, you’re growing up so fast! Pretty soon, you’ll be a beautiful young lady. All the

 handsome boys will start falling for you. Someday you’ll get a wonderful husband and a darling

 family.’ Sonomi had merely smiled and humored her mother at the time. Truth be told, she didn’t

 really care much about the idea of a husband or boys starting to fall for her. It didn’t sound

 like something that she would want. She never much liked boys to begin with. She was much more

 interested with the idea of having a family. One went with the other, though. She had no doubt

 that eventually she’d wed and have a child. It was how things worked. But she didn’t much care 

 to think about it too much. But now that she thought about it again, it made perfect sense in

 context with her beloved Nadeshiko. Nadeshiko was already very pretty. She would only grow more

 beautiful as time went by. Though she was a little odd, boys were already becoming interested in

 her. In time, they would surely start falling for her en masse. Sonomi shook her head at the

 horrifying vision of manbeasts stalking her dear Nadeshiko. If it was anything like what was

 going on with the assistant teacher, Sonomi could already tell it would be a living nightmare.

 ‘I’ll protect you from those insects, Nadeshiko-chan. I won’t let them take you away. They don’t

 deserve you. I’ll keep them away from you,’ Sonomi vowed.

 	A knock at her window shocked the auburn haired girl out of her thoughts. Getting out

 from under her blanket, Sonomi crept to the window, squinting to try and see out into the

 darkness. Her room was on the second floor, so how could anyone be at her window? Picking up a

 porcelain dolphin by her nightstand just in case, Sonomi peered out her window. What could

 possibly be making the light rapping on her window? It took her a moment to recognize the shape.

 “Nadeshiko-chan?!” The auburn haired girl immediately opened the window for her younger cousin.

 “What are you doing here? How did you get all the way up here, Nadeshiko-chan?” Without waiting

 for the dark haired girl’s answer, Sonomi pulled Nadeshiko inside, holding onto the other girl

 tightly.

 	Resting against Sonomi, Nadeshiko pulled up a foot behind her, motioning to her foot,

 wings on either side of it. “I used the Jump Card. It was really helpful. You’d be surprised how

 high you can jump with them, Sonomi-chan. It’s a lot of fun. You should try it some time.” 

 	Sonomi held Nadeshiko’s foot, her fingers brushing along her ankle where the wings were

 located. “That’s really cute. So that’s what that little stuffed animal guy we caught does?” She

 would have said something about it not being safe for Nadeshiko to come to her window like that,

 but she was too happy to see her to argue. And the wings on her feet really were cute. Sonomi

 brushed the wings a bit, still holding Nadeshiko’s small foot in her hand. She didn’t want to 

 let go. Thankfully, Nadeshiko didn’t seem to mind, her toes wiggling as Sonomi continued to 

 hold her ankle and the wings.

 	“Yeah. I was surprised. But I guess it makes sense with her name being Jump and all.” A

 thump at the window caught Nadeshiko’s attention. “Oh yeah! Teddy-chan came, too. I got so

 excited about jumping around to your house that I must have forgotten about her. Could you open

 the window?”

 	Reluctantly letting go of Nadeshiko’s foot, Sonomi headed to the window. She paused for 

 a moment, considering. That little stuffed animal was always getting Nadeshiko in trouble. Did

 she really want to let it in? Sighing, she slid the window open. If it would appease Nadeshiko,

 then she could deal with it. 

 	“About time you opened the window. I was freezing out there!” The little yellow Seal

 Beast shuddered to make a point, his expressive face in a frown. 

 	Sonomi stared at the Seal Beast for a long moment before looking back to Nadeshiko. The

 dark haired girl simply smiled brightly. Sonomi turned back to the floating teddy bear. The Seal

 Beast was wearing a small lavender dress, obviously from one of Nadeshiko’s other doll. He had

 two little green bows tied on his ears. 

 	“Isn’t she cute?” Nadeshiko asked, clasping her hands together. She had summarily 

 decided that Cereberus was a girl shortly after having discovered him. And it only seemed 

 fitting that she dress up her newest stuffed animal friend in something pretty. 

 	“Err.. Of course she is, Nadeshiko-chan! She’s very cute,” Sonomi said quickly, smiling

 reassuringly. Her cousin certainly had good taste. The little dress was cute. And it almost made

 the Seal Beast look friendly. Now if only Nadeshiko could fix the things attitude, then it would

 be perfect. But as far as the Seal Beast was concerned, the feeling was mutual. He didn’t seem

 particularly fond of Sonomi either.”

 	“I’m not a girl,” Teddy-chan said unenthusiastically, his stubby arms crossed. Though he

 found himself to be the pinnacle of manliness, the current Cardcaptor didn’t seem to agree. All

 of his arguments had been politely ignored as Nadeshiko had gone about dressing him as prettily

 as she could. 

 	“Of course you are,” Sonomi said, looking him in the eyes. “And Nadeshiko-chan thinks

 you’re a very pretty girl. You should be happy.” Putting a hand on her chin, Sonomi watched him

 thoughtfully. “And though I hate to admit it, she’s right. You do look cute in that. She did a

 great job.” The auburn haired girl felt herself nearly get knocked over as Nadeshiko hugged her

 tightly from behind. A warm blush spread across her cheeks as she felt Nadeshiko hold onto her.

 	“Arigato, Sonomi-chan! I’m so glad you agree! Teddy-chan didn’t seem so sure,” Nadeshiko

 said happily. She was glad to get Sonomi’s opinion of her makeover of Teddy. She had spent a lot

 of time making the Seal Beast pretty and she was happy to have Sonomi on her side. It was much

 better that Teddy have a cute wardrobe than to just fly around without any clothes all day, she

 had told him. He had agreed at first, saying he would like to wear something ‘cool’. He had

 changed his mind upon seeing the wardrobe she had found for him. At least Sonomi thought it was 

 a good idea.

 	Teddy grumbled to himself, holding his yellow head in his paws. “Can we please get down

 to business? We need to stop a Clow Card. It’s out there right now and it doesn’t seem very

 happy.” Why was he stuck in the middle of all of this? He was the Seal Beast. He shouldn’t be

 sporting lipstick or hair bows. He sighed miserably and tried to make the best of it. The least

 they could do is catch the Clow Cards before they caused too much damage. But between the

 Cardcaptor’s bizarre behavior and her hot tempered cousin, this was getting to be a difficult

 job. 

 	“A Clow Card? Again?” Sonomi wasn’t very thrilled with where this was going. She didn’t

 like the idea of Nadeshiko have to run around and catch these things. What would she do if

 anything happened to her? But that was exactly why she had to go. She couldn’t stop Nadeshiko

 from going anymore than her parents could make her go to bed on time. Nadeshiko would go with or

 without her consent. So all she could do was go with and try to protect Nadeshiko as best she

 could. 

 	“Mmhmm..” Nadeshiko said, nodding. “That’s why we came. I thought you’d want to come,

 too, Sonomi-chan. It’s more fun when you’re there. At least, I think it is. I’ve never gone

 without you. Except for when I got the book.” Nadeshiko looked thoughtful for a moment before

 nodding. “And I want you to come.” She smiled sweetly at her cousin, holding her staff in front

 of her.

 	Sighing, Sonomi went to grab her jacket. “All right. But lets hurry. It’s getting late. 

 I just want to get this thing over with.” Pulling her jacket on, she looked over at Nadeshiko

 worriedly. Stepping forward, she took Nadeshiko’s hands in her own. “Please, Nadeshiko-chan,

 always come get me before you go do these things. I want to help you with them. I want to keep

 you safe.” Her stormy blue eyes pleaded with Nadeshiko’s emerald gems. 

 	“All right, Sonomi-chan,” Nadeshiko agreed, smiling.

 	Sighing, this time with a slight feeling of relief, Sonomi nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

 

 	“So.. Where is it?” Sonomi asked, hugging her jacket close to herself. A cold night

 breeze blew across the two girls and the Seal Beast. Sonomi was only wearing her nightgown and a

 jacket. She hoped it wouldn’t rain. She’d have to take Nadeshiko home if it did, Card or not. 

 She wasn’t going to have the other girl getting sick because of this. 

 	Nadeshiko looked around, holding her staff in front of her. She couldn’t see anything,

 but every once in a while she would feel strange feelings drawing her one way or another. Teddy

 had told her that it was sensing magic in the Cards, but it was so difficult to do! It was like

 trying to decide what direction ‘happy’ was in. Shaking her head, she turned to Sonomi, offering

 a small smile. “It has to be around here somewhere. Maybe it’s shy,” she suggested, glancing

 around once more. “Ms. Clow Card! Could you please come out? We’d really like to meet you! We

 want to be your friend!”

 	As if in response to Nadeshiko’s call, a large object swept out of the treetops, soaring

 through the air towards them. Leaves scattered in every which direction, the wind buffeting the

 street below. 

 	“There she is!” Nadeshiko smiled, waving to the Clow Card as it hurtled towards them. It

 grew larger and larger as it continued to close in on them. This wasn’t so hard after all. It 

 was coming right to her. Suddenly, the ground disappeared from beneath her feet and she went

 flying to the side. It took her a moment to realize that Sonomi had knocked her out of the way.

 She got up shakily, using her staff to support herself. “She doesn’t seem very happy to see 

 us.”

 	Sonomi crouched near Nadeshiko, watching the Card soar up into the sky again, searching

 for them. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched it circling above, like a giant bird of

 prey. “Why is it attacking us? What’s wrong with that thing?” 

 	“It’s the Fly Card. It doesn’t have the most docile disposition. I think it’s a little

 angry about being stuck in the book for so long,” Teddy explained, floating next to the two

 girls. 

 	“But Nadeshiko-chan didn’t do that to the Card! It’s not her fault! The Card should 

 thank her for setting it free,” Sonomi replied angrily. 

 	“Well, that’s how it works,” Teddy replied with a shrug. “And she’s the new Cardcaptor,

 so it probably isn’t happy about being stuck in the book again.”

 	“I’ll take her out of the book a lot if that’s what she wants,” Nadeshiko offered

 hopefully. “She doesn’t have to stay in it if she doesn’t want to. Can we tell her that?” She 

 had no want to subjugate the Cards. She simply wanted to be their friend, to meet them all. 

 	“I don’t think it’s in a listening mood right now, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi stated,

 watching the Fly Card descend towards them. Grabbing the other girl’s pale hand, she ran as fast

 as she could. Should might be able to get away on her own, but Nadeshiko slowed her 

 considerably. But she couldn’t leave Nadeshiko alone against that thing. Her eyes darted for any

 place they could escape to, anything that would let them get away from the magical creature

 hunting for them. She yanked Nadeshiko around a tree at the last moment, the wind nearly 

 knocking them both off of their feet as it darted past the side of the tree, lifting into the 

 air again. Her heart pounded in her chest, shaking her whole body. Never before had Nadeshiko

 actually been in danger with the Cards. This was wrong. Nadeshiko shouldn’t be out here past her

 bedtime with a giant hawk thing trying to tear her apart. And yet Nadeshiko was expected to bind

 the beast, to change it back into a Card. She was just a little girl! Sonomi had some choice

 words for whoever decided to place this burden on her beloved Nadeshiko. Her mind raced for

 options. Whatever she was going to do, she had to do it quickly. The longer they were out in the

 open, the greater the chance they would get hurt. Her eyes finally settled on a building, still

 under construction. “Nadeshiko-chan, run!” she yelled before bolting to the building. An angry

 squawk thundered above them before the Fly dove towards them. It flew ever nearer, the wind

 nearly tearing Sonomi’s hand from Nadeshiko’s. She held on tightly, finally pulling her through

 the opening as the large bird creature passed just above the ground. 

 	Nadeshiko leant against the wall, catching her breath. She wasn’t nearly as athletic as

 her cousin and all the physical exertion was exhausting her. She slid down the wall, breathing

 quickly. “We have to talk to her. She needs to know that we don’t want to hurt her.” 

 	“I’m more worried about what she wants to do to us,” Teddy answered, floating beside the

 Cardcaptor. “We need to find some way to capture it. But I don’t think you have the right Cards

 yet. Flower isn’t strong enough, Jump just isn’t the type of Card to bind her, and even if Wood

 is strong enough, she doesn’t have that kind of range.”

 	The angry squawking grew louder as the Fly continued its search for the Cardcaptor and

 her friends. Something large toppled over outside as the wind beat down around it. 

 	Sonomi looked at the large back opening to the building. They hadn’t finished enough of

 it. It was large enough for the bird creature to get through if it found it. They would have to

 find another hiding place. But how long could they keep hiding? This thing was out there

 somewhere. They needed to catch it. But she couldn’t let it hurt Nadeshiko. She couldn’t let her

 go out there, even armed with her magic, to do battle with the Card. She could never allow that.

 It could tear apart her beautiful little cousin. No, she had promised she would protect

 Nadeshiko. And she would, no matter what. Her decision made, Sonomi walked over to the door.

 “Nadeshiko-chan. I’m going to get the Card to chase me in here through the back. When you hear 

 us coming, get the Wood Card ready. You can trap it when we come in here. It won’t have the room

 to get away.” She swallowed as she held onto the doorframe. She would have to use every ounce of

 speed she had ever shown in track. This wasn’t just a game. Taking a deep breath, Sonomi 

 prepared herself. This was still the same thing. It only mattered that she was fast enough.

 	“Sonomi-chan? No, you can’t go out there. It might hurt you,” Nadeshiko hurried over to

 Sonomi’s side, shaking her head. “We have to talk to it first. Otherwise it might still be

 angry.”

 	Sonomi smiled at her cousin, squeezing Nadeshiko’s hand. “You said I’m the fastest,

 right? Then I can’t lose. It won’t be able to catch me. I can do it, Nadeshiko-chan. I know I

 can. Because you believe in me. Please believe in me. If you do, I know I can do anything.”

 	Nadeshiko smiled slowly, nodding. “Hai. I believe in you, Sonomi-chan. I know you can!

 You’re the fastest! You’re just like the wind, Sonomi-chan!” The dark haired girl gave Sonomi a

 quick hug before stepping away.

 	Watching her cousin for a moment, Sonomi felt her determination swell. That was why she

 was doing this. For Nadeshiko. Because she didn’t want Nadeshiko to get hurt. So she had to lure

 the beast to her cousin. It was the only way to keep Nadeshiko out of harm’s way. Taking a deep

 breath, Sonomi darted out of the doorway. 

 	The squawking above grew into a frenzy as the Fly caught sight of a single girl running

 below. It dove below trying to catch its prey as it hurried through the street. It would not be

 captured again. It was free. And it would remain so. 

 	Sonomi could hear the roar of the creature as it flew behind her, quickly catching up.

 She threw her all into running, her mind staying constantly on the finish line. She had to reach

 it. She had to make it back to Nadeshiko. If the thing caught her, it would only wait for

 Nadeshiko to come out. She couldn’t let her cousin get hurt. Her heart ached painfully as she

 ran, both from the thought of the creature right behind her and the exhaustion of her running. 

 It would be on her soon. She had to go faster. She was almost there. Almost.. She could feel the

 wind whipping around her, threatening to send her sprawling to the floor. She knew that if she

 fell down, she wouldn’t be getting back up. She finally caught sight of the opening. Her entire

 body burned as she forced her muscles to move despite the pain. Just a little more.. She could

 hear the Fly nearer and nearer, just behind her. The opening was right in front of her. Her

 entire body wanted to collapse, but instead she ran even faster, her vision blurring around her

 as her weary body threatened to give up.

 	And she was through. Teddy grabbed hold of Sonomi’s jacket and yanked her into the air

 just as the Fly crashed through the opening.

 	“Wood! Bind the Fly and hold it still!” Nadeshiko called out, her voice echoing in the

 confines of the unfinished building. A beautiful magical woman appeared out of the Wood Card,

 large leafy branches reaching out to entangle the Fly Card. The large branches held it in place,

 keeping it from flying away. But still, the Fly struggled, writhing about in its bonds, yanking

 and shifting desperately to escape. It cried out again and again, trying to force its way free.

 It wouldn’t be captured again. It couldn’t allow itself to be sealed away in the book. It only

 wanted to be free. To soar free. It cried out, bashing about left and right in a mad attempt to

 get away. Wood struggled to hold it, but it’s branches began to sway under the force, some

 snapping painfully.

 	“No! Please don’t!” Nadeshiko called out, running through the maze of branches to the

 struggling Clow Card. She couldn’t stand to see it hurting itself and Wood so badly. She could

 already see Wood suffering from its sustained blows. The Fly’s wing was injured as well, the

 beautiful creature hurting it in its vain struggle. “Please don’t,” Nadeshiko whispered, laying 

 a gentle hand on the Fly’s beak. “Don’t hurt yourself. Please. And please don’t hurt Wood. She’s

 really sweet. She’s just trying to help you. We both want to help you.” Dismissing the Wood 

 Card, Nadeshiko stood before the Fly, her hand still on its beak. She looked at its frightened,

 pained eyes. She smiled gently, looking into its eyes. “It will be okay. I promise.”

 	“Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi cried out, panic gripping her. She raced to her cousin’s side,

 but Teddy blocked the way. “Get away from it!” She almost couldn’t bear to watch. Her mind 

 filled with horrible fates for her beautiful cousin, the large creature lashing out at her in

 them. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to Nadeshiko. She couldn’t live with

 herself if her younger cousin got hurt. She shoved Teddy aside, ready to run to Nadeshiko. But

 she knew she wouldn’t be in time. She was too weak from running all the way there. There was no

 way she could get Nadeshiko out of the way. Her heart hung in limbo as she watched and waited.

 	Slowly, gently, the Fly Card nuzzled Nadeshiko. It’s eyes calmed as it watched her. This

 girl would enslave it. She was sincere. She was genuinely sorry for the Fly getting hurt. The 

 Fly simply stood there before her.

 	“Thank you very much,” Nadeshiko said happily. Holding its beak with both of her hands,

 she gave it a kiss on the tip of it. “I’ll take good care of you. You can stay with all of your

 friends, the other Cards. And Teddy-chan, too.” Holding up the staff, Nadeshiko brought it down

 gently on the Fly Card. “Return to your true form! Clow Card!” In a swirl of magic, a small Card

 appeared in the air before Nadeshiko. Hugging the card close, she smiled. “She just wanted a 

 nice place to stay.” 

 	Sonomi sighed, reaching Nadeshiko. “I hope we never have to do anything like that 

 again.” Her whole body ached. She knew it was going to be sore the next day. And she had track

 practice, too. But at least it was over with. This was their shared triumph. It was so much more

 fulfilling to share it with Nadeshiko. She smiled as she watched her cousin standing there

 cutely, wand in hand. It was nice to be there with her. Better than being home in bed alone.

 Well, the whole Nadeshiko being in danger part notwithstanding. 

 	“Well..” Teddy laughed nervously at Sonomi’s comment. There were other, more dangerous

 Cards out there. But they didn’t need to know that at the moment.

 	“Fly!” Nadeshiko watched in amazement as wings grew on the back of her staff. “Sugoi!!

 Isn’t that great, Sonomi-chan?” The dark haired girl watched as the wings on her staff flapped

 slowly. She climbed on, deciding to test it out. Jumping had been fun earlier. Flying seemed 

 even more amazing. Pushing off with her feet, the staff lifted into the air. “Wai! Come on,

 Sonomi-chan! This really is fun!”

 	“Nadeshiko-chan! Wait!” Sonomi called, her concern returning. She did not like the idea

 of Nadeshiko flying on that thing. It didn’t look safe at all. She hurried behind as Nadeshiko

 began lifting into the air. She hopped on the back just as it began to ascend. The two girls 

 rose into the air, riding on a staff up into the heavens. Sonomi held onto the staff tightly 

 with her strong legs, her arms quickly going around Nadeshiko’s waist. Did Nadeshiko really 

 need magic? Wasn’t she magical enough on her own? Or at the very least, couldn’t the Cards have

 some safer magic? She sighed as they lifted high above Tomoeda. The city sprawled out underneath

 them, the gorgeous moon shining above. Her arms wrapped tighter around Nadeshiko’s stomach, her

 eyes closing slowly. She could smell the sweet scent of Nadeshiko’s soft hair as it fluttered

 against her. She could feel Nadeshiko against her as they soared through the air. Together. She

 sighed inwardly. This did make a rather cute scene. Blushing faintly, she rested her head 

 against Nadeshiko’s back. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all. No, this wasn’t bad at all. 

 	“Isn’t it beautiful, Sonomi-chan?” Nadeshiko asked, watching the city below, the lights

 playing like thousands of fireflies. 

 	“Hai. Very beautiful, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi replied, not opening her eyes. She knew. 

 It was beautiful. Because Nadeshiko was there. Sighing softly, she held onto the other girl.