Cardcaptor Nadeshiko

 Chapter 2

 by G.P. and Amazoness Duo

 pearsong1954@yahoo.com

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 

 

 “Nadeshiko-chan!! Look out!!” Sonomi cried out, throwing herself between her curious cousin and 

 the evil, bloodthirsty, undead teddy bear. She kept herself in the way, lest it try to drink her 

 precious best friend’s blood or some other such travesty. She eyed it with fiery determination 

 for a ten year old, ready to protect Nadeshiko to the bitter end. No one was going to hurt her 

 cousin. It felt like some kind of nightmare. But somehow, deep down, Sonomi felt vindicated. Her 

 paranoia had been right! Something else had gone wrong! Sure, it wasn’t what she had expected, 

 but she had known it all along. 

 

 “Huh? What is it?” The little yellow stuffed animal looked one way and the other, getting ready 

 to pounce on whatever the danger could be. Something had the auburn haired girl pretty worked up 

 by the look of things. He had to be ready for anything. 

 

 With strong legs garnered from being the fastest girl on the track team, Sonomi’s leg swept out 

 and hit the teddy bear dead on. The stuffed animal got out a muffled ‘ooph’ before getting flung 

 into the far wall by the force of Sonomi’s unexpected kick. Her skirt fluttered about her in a 

 very unladylike way, but aside from her mother’s voice telling her to fix it in her head, she 

 didn’t bother worrying about it. Picking up Nadeshiko’s alarm clock, Sonomi hurried to the 

 fallen plushy. If it could be hurt like that, then maybe it could be killed. She wasn’t about to 

 let some demonic puppet whisk away her darling Nadeshiko. Her heart beat furiously in her chest 

 as she kept a wary eye on the little stuffed animal.

 

 Nadeshiko hurriedly followed Sonomi, her eyes swiftly spotting Teddy. He was lying on the floor 

 in a daze, little eyes swirling. Nadeshiko felt sad inside as she surveyed the sight. It looked 

 like her friends weren’t getting along very well at all. But then, Sonomi was awfully protective,

 so maybe she thought that Teddy was trying to take her place as her best friend. Smiling 

 brightly, she tried to ease her cousin’s worries. “Don’t worry about Teddy-chan, Sonomi-chan. 

 He’s my new friend, but nobody could ever replace you as my very best friend.” She hugged the 

 slightly taller girl from behind, holding onto her tightly. Sonomi was fun to hug. She always 

 got all blushy and embarrassed. It was always hard for Nadeshiko to keep from giggling. 

 	

 The stuffed animal in question could dimly hear someone talking as he tried to get his bearings. 

 What had happened? He had the vague memory of danger and then swift and immediate pain. It must 

 have been invisible, he decided. What else could hurt the almighty Cereberus? Nothing, that’s 

 what. Assured once more of his invulnerability, the animate stuffed doll looked around the cute 

 room. Everything was frills and ribbons. Even the pigtailed girl above him wielding an alarm 

 clock. In all of his life, nothing had frightened the Seal Beast as much as that ten year old 

 girl about to squash him flat with a cute pink clock. There was something about it that didn't 

 make for a fitting demise to the legendary Cereberus. Luckily, the pale girl from earlier 

 managed to stop the auburn haired girl that was bent on crushing his head. The pigtailed girl 

 blushed and fidgeted in the pale girl’s embrace, offering him the chance to recover, quickly 

 flying up into the air.

 

 “Nadeshiko-chan...” Sonomi got out weakly as she felt Nadeshiko’s arms around her. She nearly 

 forgot about the bloodsucking teddy bear and the clock in her hand. Nadeshiko was always so sweet

 and loving. And it always made Sonomi’s heart flutter when they would hug, or just when she got 

 to watch her precious cousin. Sonomi loved pretty, cute things and Nadeshiko was the living 

 embodiment of such things. And even with her own admittedly short temper and emotional nature, 

 Nadeshiko could always diffuse it with a smile or a hug. Just as she did now. It took the 

 brunette a moment to spot the flying toy. Narrowing her eyes, she pressed back against Nadeshiko,

 intent on protecting the smaller girl. “Stay away from Nadeshiko-chan!!”

 

 “Will ya wait a minute? Geez...” The floating stuffed animal rubbed his head with his small arm, 

 wincing at the pain that burst through him at the contact. “What kind of girl are you? Didn’t 

 your mother teach you not to hit people?” He frowned as he watched the two girls. Somehow this 

 wasn’t turning out at all how he’d planned it. The Cardcaptor seemed... out of it. And the other 

 girl certainly was violent. 

 

 “Of course she did. But I’m not gonna let some little evil stuffed animal hurt my 

 Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi shot back angrily. This thing was starting to get on her nerves. If only 

 she’d smacked it with the alarm clock...

 

 “Who are you callin’ little?!” Little wings beat irately as a vain appeared on the toy’s 

 forehead. “Why you..!! You have no idea who you’re talkin’ to!”

 

 Sonomi clenched her fists as she advanced on the pissed off teddy bear. She was done arguing with

 the thing. She was just gonna beat the thing until it stopped moving. That would keep it from 

 getting to Nadeshiko. Then maybe they could call an exorcist or something to get rid of it. 

 

 Nadeshiko darted in front of Sonomi before she could reach the stuffed animal. She knew her 

 bigger cousin would hurt Teddy if she thought he might hurt her. Sonomi was sweet like that. She 

 was always looking out for her. Nadeshiko was very happy to know that Sonomi was looking out for 

 her, but somehow she thought Teddy wouldn’t appreciated it as much as she did. “No, wait, Sonomi-

 chan! Teddy-chan’s my friend. He was on the book with the pretty Cards. He told me I get to go 

 find the rest of them.” She smiled happily at her cousin, disarming most of Sonomi’s wrath. 

 

 “Ahem...” The flying toy crossed his arms as he lowered to eye level. He had more important 

 things to do right now than argue with the fiery girl. The much more placid pale girl was his 

 concern at the moment. “I am the Seal Beast, Cereberus! My job is to look after the Clow Book 

 and the Cards inside of it. But now all of the Clow Cards are gone. If they aren’t found, 

 misfortune will befall the world,” he said gravely. 

 

 “Not all of them are gone,” Nadeshiko spoke up brightly, holding up the Flower Card. “Here you 

 go!” 

 

 “Err...” The stuffed animal sweatdropped as he shook his head. “No, you keep it.” The pale girl 

 brightened even further, evidently pleased that she got to keep the Card. The Seal Beast tried 

 not to get distracted, going back to his story. “The Clow Cards were made by Clow Reed, the best 

 magician ever. Each Card is alive and has it’s own special power. They all have their own 

 personalities, but they can be quite mischievous. That’s why they were all kept in a book and 

 why I was set to look after them. So if we want to avert the Catastrophe and get all the Cards 

 back, I’ll need your help.” He motioned towards Nadeshiko with a flourish. He was still a bit 

 miffed that the Cards had all gone missing, but at least he was out and about. He’d been stuck 

 in that bookstore in Osaka for far too long. Any excuse to get out of the book seemed like a 

 great idea.

 

 Nadeshiko squealed delightedly. Sonomi, on the other hand, did not quite share her cousin’s 

 enthusiasm. “Why does she have to get the Clow Cards? I thought you said that was your job. 

 Shouldn’t you go find them?”

 

 “I’m supposed to protect them! That’s a completely different job altogether. I’m not the one who 

 lost them,” Kero argued, crossing his arms. Why couldn’t he finish this up back at the other 

 house? It was a lot easier without the brunette there.

 

 “Then she wouldn’t need to go looking for them if you’d been doing your job!” Sonomi declared.

 

 “I was asleep, all right!! Besides, she has power. She opened the book. So she obviously has 

 magic.”

 

 “Hmph... Some Seal Beast you turned out to be.” Sonomi crossed her arms, not at all happy with 

 all this. “Come on, Nadeshiko-chan. Let’s go downstairs and get some tea. I’m sure the stuffed 

 animal can find his way out on his own.” She sweatdropped when she spotted her cousin with a 

 thrilled look on her face, holding the Book of Clow. “Nadeshiko-chan?”

 

 “I am not a stuffed animal,” the Seal Beast said irritably. “I’ll have you know that I’m quite 

 menacing in my true form. I may look stunningly cool now in my false form, but you haven’t lived 

 till you’ve seen me like that. As soon as we get the Cards back, I’ll be able to retain that 

 form.”

 

 “Sounds like too much trouble to me,” Sonomi said halfheartedly, her attention still distracted 

 by Nadeshiko. 

 

 “That sounds great, Teddy-chan! I can’t wait to see it! I bet it’s adorable.” The pale girl’s 

 eyes sparkled as she thought about the beautiful form that must await her cute little Teddy. Now 

 she was even more eager to catch the Cards. Especially if they were at all as fun as Flower. She 

 couldn’t wait to introduce herself to them all. 

 

 “I’m not a teddy bear! I’m a lion! A really menacing lion, too!” The Seal Beast narrowed his 

 eyes as he floated in front of the two cousins. Why did he have to get saddled with two little 

 girls? Why couldn’t it be some powerful magician or something? He sighed miserably. You had to 

 make do with what you had, he guessed. “All right. We need to make the contract. Nadeshiko-chan, 

 please stand over there.”

 

 “All right!!” Nadeshiko said happily, practically skipping over to her designated position.

 

 “Wait a minute! What’s all this about?” Sonomi asked worriedly, her eyes darting back and forth 

 from the teddy bear to her cousin and back. Whatever it was, she sure didn’t like the looks of 

 it. Why wasn’t anyone listening to her? Protecting Nadeshiko would be so much easier if the 

 beautiful dark haired girl would simply listen once in a while. Sonomi’s stormy blue eyes went 

 wide when she saw the room vanish, replaced by a dark expanse. A strange symbol lit up underneath

 Nadeshiko’s bare feet, her nightgown fluttering around as if tugged by the wind. Sonomi felt a 

 cold pit in the center of her stomach, but her cousin looked sweetly excited. 

 

 “Oh key to the seal. Here is a girl wishing to make a contract with you. Her name is Nadeshiko. 

 Key, give power to this girl!” The small key in the lock of the book flew over to Nadeshiko 

 lighting up in the center of the symbol. It slowly grew in front of her, becoming a large 

 lavender staff. It had two beautiful flower blossoms on the sides of the top of the staff, and 

 what looked to be tiny vines traveling down the length of it. “Now, Nadeshiko-chan! Pick up the 

 Key!” 

 

 Sonomi struggled to see through the blinding light, her eyes barely managing to make out 

 Nadeshiko as she walked towards the staff, her arm raised. “Wait! Nadeshiko-chan! Don’t!!” she 

 called out.

 

 “Don’t worry, Sonomi-chan. It’ll be fun,” Nadeshiko promised, smiling at her overprotective 

 cousin. With that, she grasped the Key, energy filling her. 

 

 “All right!! A new Cardcaptor is born! Sugoi!!” The newly dubbed Teddy exclaimed. 

 

 Sonomi sighed, holding her head. As if it wasn’t difficult enough to protect Nadeshiko as it was,

 now she’d have to deal with sweet, naïve Nadeshiko as a magical girl? Somehow that didn’t lift 

 the brunette’s spirits. Sure, Nadeshiko had always been magical in her own way. But this was just

 wrong. The beautiful pale girl shouldn’t be in a position where she could just get hurt even 

 worse. If that day had proved anything, it was that Sonomi had to keep a closer watch on 

 Nadeshiko. The younger girl had already gotten hurt that day as a normal girl. Making her a 

 magical girl was just asking for trouble. 

 

 As if on cue, one of Nadeshiko’s puppets stood up, glancing around the room. It finally caught 

 sight of the pale Cardcaptor and leapt her way. Sonomi jumped in the way of the stuffed rabbit 

 in time to take the blow in her chest. Being made out of fluff and cloth, it bounced off 

 harmlessly, landing on the floor. “Buni-chan? What’s wrong Buni-chan?” Nadeshiko asked curiously,

  bending down to pick up her injured stuffed animal. 

 

 “Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi pulled Nadeshiko away before the stuffed animal could attack again. 

 “Another man-eating toy? What’s going on today?” Sonomi asked to no one in particular. She loved 

 toys, she really did. They were so cute and fun, just like her cousin. But twice in one day was 

 a little ridiculous. 

 

 “It’s a Clow Card!” Teddy said joyously. His face lit up. Perhaps this wouldn’t be too difficult 

 after all. The new Cardcaptor did have a sweet disposition. The Cards would love that. It would 

 make things much easier than if they were trying to get away from her. It must have already 

 attracted one of the Cards. But which one? Teddy watched as it leapt about the room. “It’s Jump! 

 We have to catch it before it gets away!”

 

 “Come here, Buni-chan... It’s all right,” Nadeshiko said soothingly as she hopped up onto her 

 futon, following the bouncing bunny. Another new friend already. It was turning out to be a 

 wonderful day! Now if only Sonomi was a little happier about things it would be perfect. But she 

 was sure that her older cousin would grow to love the whole thing as much as she did. 

 

 Sonomi was currently hating the whole thing. Not only was her dearest friend stuck as a magical 

 girl who had to seek out strange and mysterious magical items, but one of those said items was 

 terrorizing her cousins room in one of her stuffed animals. A stuffed animal that Sonomi had 

 given Nadeshiko for her birthday, no less! Sonomi trailed after the snow white rabbit, nearly 

 swiping it off the floor several times, but it continued just out of her grasp. At the same 

 instant, both pigtailed girl and Clow Card spotted the open window. The Jump leapt for the 

 window as Sonomi sprinted forward. She slammed the window with jarring force, shocking her. For 

 a moment, she didn’t know whether she had been in time. A glance down to her feet reassured her. 

 The bunny was lying in a daze on the floor, having slammed dead on into the window. She stepped 

 down with her sock covered foot and caught it’s arm before it could leap away again. “Gotcha!”

 

 “Poor Buni-chan. Were you scared? I’ve got you, Buni-chan.” Nadeshiko swept the small bunny in 

 her arms, tickling Sonomi’s foot with lithe fingers before she stood up. She smiled happily at 

 her cousin as she held her stuffed animal. “Thank you, Sonomi-chan!” Leaning forward, the flighty

 Cardcaptor kissed her auburn haired friend on the cheek. 

 

 Blushing furiously, Sonomi could only nod in reply. The burning warmth of Nadeshiko’s silken lips

 remained on her cheek, replaying over and over again in the brunette’s mind. Her fingers went to 

 the small patch of skin where her cousin’s lips had lingered and felt her heart skip a beat. She 

 had only wanted to help Nadeshiko with this killer stuffed animal. She had never thought that 

 she could receive such a sweet reward. Feeling dizzy, Sonomi had to sit down quickly before she 

 could topple over. She didn’t fully understand the feelings the younger girl stirred within her, 

 but they always overwhelmed her. Sighing not unpleasantly, the auburn haired athlete watched her 

 best friend cradle the Clow Card in the stuffed animal it inhabited at the moment. 

 

 “You have to seal it, Nadeshiko-chan!” Teddy shouted. Just then, the door opened. Teddy dropped 

 lifelessly to the floor, hoping whoever it was hadn’t seen him. His heart froze in his chest as 

 he saw an older woman stuck her head in. 

 

 “Nadeshiko-chan? What are you and Sonomi-chan up to? You really should get some sleep, dear. All 

 of this yelling and jumping around can’t be good for you after getting hit earlier,” Nadeshiko’s 

 mother chided gently. She smiled over at a blushing Sonomi who was still sitting on her 

 daughter’s futon. At least there was one voice of reason in her daughter’s room. She would have 

 to thank her sister for her responsible daughter looking out for her own little girl. Just like 

 when she herself was a child. Looking from one cousin to the other, she decided to call her 

 sister again before going to sleep.

 

 “We were just helping Teddy-chan get the Kurow Kaddo, mama,” Nadeshiko said sweetly, still 

 cradling the white rabbit in her arms.  

 

 “Oh, is that all? How about you do that in bed, dear? I’m sure you can help Teddy-chan all you 

 want from under the covers.” Bending down, the older Amamiya woman picked up the small winged 

 bear from the floor and handed him to Sonomi. After helping the two girls get settled in bed, 

 she walked back to the door, turning to get another peak of her baby girl and her little niece. 

 “You two are just too cute. Sleep well, girls.” Blowing a kiss to the two cousins, Nadeshiko’s 

 mother shut the door behind her. 

 

 “...and then you say ‘release’!” Teddy was whispering, Nadeshiko nodding intently. 

 

 “Like this? Return to your true form, Kurow Kaddo! Release!” Nadeshiko said, very gently tapping 

 the rabbit’s head with staff underneath the sheets. She didn’t want to hurt it, after all. In a 

 flash of light, magic was pulled out of her rabbit, appearing in the form of a small brown card. 

 Grinning delightedly, she grasped the Card and hugged it close. “Sugoi!”

 

 “Hai, just like that. But you have to yell it out louder. It sounds cooler that way,” Teddy said 

 approvingly. 

 

 Sighing miserably, Sonomi stared up at the roof. Why did she have a very bad feeling about all 

 of this? Something was going to go horribly wrong, she just knew it. It was only a matter of 

 time. Determination sparked in her stormy blue eyes. This just meant she’d have to be ever more 

 vigilant in protecting her dearest Nadeshiko. She would have to make sure she was always there to

 help her. Magic or not, she wouldn’t let anything hurt her pretty cousin. Her thoughts cut off 

 abruptly as she felt arms wrap around her stomach as her pale friend snuggled close to her under 

 the sheets. She could feel Nadeshiko’s warm breath against her neck as the smaller girl yawned. 

 

 “Goodnight, Sonomi-chan,” Nadeshiko said quietly, resting her head against the brunette. She 

 always felt warm and safe with her athletic cousin. She got so lonely late at night when she was 

 all alone. She had once asked her mother if Sonomi could move in with them so that she could 

 always spend the night, but her mother had said that Sonomi’s parents would miss her too much. 

 ‘But I miss her too much,’ Nadeshiko had protested. Her mother hadn’t been able to come up with 

 a good explanation after that, but Nadeshiko had to content herself with when her best friend 

 could stay over. Snuggling closer, Nadeshiko smiled and let her emerald eyes fall shut.

 

 “Sweet dreams, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi whispered in reply, holding her smaller cousin close. Her 

 fingers gently brushed through Nadeshiko’s hair the way she remebered her aunt’s fingers 

 traveling through her own. Nadeshiko had such beautiful hair. And it felt so nice and soft 

 falling through her fingers. Forgetting about the Cards and the teddy bear with the Osaka 

 dialect for the moment, Sonomi held onto her friend, her heart beating wildly. “I’ll always 

 protect you, Nadeshiko-chan.”

 

 “I know,” Nadeshiko replied matter-of-factly, already starting to drift off to sleep in Sonomi’s 

 arms. “I know, Sonomi-chan.”