rlm@2: Cardcaptor Nadeshiko rlm@2: by rlm@2: Amazoness Duo rlm@2: and rlm@2: G.P. rlm@2: amazonessduo@hotmail.com rlm@2: pearsong1954@yahoo.com rlm@2: rlm@2: rlm@2: ‘My name is Amamiya Sonomi. I’m ten years old. I have brunette hair and dark blue eyes that I get rlm@2: from my mother. I like cute things a lot. I also like sports, especially track. I think it’s fun. rlm@2: But most of all, I like my cousin, Nadeshiko-chan. She’s my best friend and the most important rlm@2: person in my life.’ rlm@2: rlm@2: “Look, Sonomi-chan! A bouquet! This one’s for you.” Nadeshiko smilingly handed a large bouquet rlm@2: of lillies to Sonomi, barging in on her still wet cousin. She hardly noticed Sonomi scramble for rlm@2: a towel, simply holding the flowers out to the brunette. rlm@2: rlm@2: “They’re beautiful, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi said breathlessly, cinching up the large towel before rlm@2: taking the lovely flowers. Bringing them up to her nose, she sniffed the sweet perfume that rlm@2: drifted from the bouquet. Brushing back some wet hair from her shoulder, the stormy blue eyed rlm@2: girl smiled at her cousin. “Thank you.” rlm@2: rlm@2: “I made them with Flower-sama. She’s good at making all sorts of flowers. My room’s covered in rlm@2: Sakura blossoms right now. It’s so pretty! You should see it when you’re done with your bath, rlm@2: Sonomi-chan! I’m going to give these roses to mother real quick.” Waving cheerfully, the silver rlm@2: haired girl made her way downstairs, just remembering to close the bathroom door before she did. rlm@2: rlm@2: Sighing to herself, Sonomi let her towel drop to the floor before slipping back into the bathtub. rlm@2: Her heart fluttering, she held onto her precious gift from Nadeshiko. ‘Oh, I forgot to mention rlm@2: that Nadeshiko-chan’s a magical girl now. She’s also accident-prone and not the most observant rlm@2: person I know. How this is supposed to turn out, I hardly know. But I’ll protect her from the rlm@2: whole world if I have to. And that stupid teddy bear.’ Closing her eyes, the brunette slipped rlm@2: under the water, the warmth surrounding her, waking her up for school. As usual, her mind was rlm@2: once again drawn back to a silver haired angel. rlm@2: rlm@2: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ rlm@2: rlm@2: “That is so cute!” Sonomi exclaimed, clasping her hands together. Her eyes shimmered as she rlm@2: hurried to Nadeshiko’s side. Enthusiastic fingers brushed through long, gray locks of hair done rlm@2: up in a beautiful ponytail, long strands falling in front of Nadeshiko as well. “It’s so pretty. rlm@2: I love your hair, Nadeshiko-chan! It’s prettier than any dolls.” Still delighting in her cousin’s rlm@2: current hairstyle, Sonomi didn’t notice her aunt’s approach. rlm@2: rlm@2: “You like it, Sonomi-chan? Nadeshiko-chan does have very pretty hair. It can be a lot of fun to rlm@2: try out different styles on her. Now if only she would stay still when I did her hair, it rlm@2: wouldn’t always be such a mess.” Nadeshiko’s mother let out a sigh, but she couldn’t help but rlm@2: smile at the two girls despite it. rlm@2: rlm@2: “Hai, it’s wonderful,” Sonomi replied, finally pulling her hands away from Nadeshiko’s beautiful rlm@2: silver hair. She turned and bowed politely to her aunt, her own slightly shorter hair falling rlm@2: past her shoulders as she did, done up with small yellow ribbons throughout it. “Thank you for rlm@2: letting me spend the night.” rlm@2: rlm@2: The older woman laughed softly, shaking her head. “I should be thanking you, Sonomi-chan. You’re rlm@2: the only one can keep Nadeshiko-chan in bed. Otherwise she’s likely to end up just about rlm@2: anywhere. That’s probably why she falls asleep in such odd places all the time.” rlm@2: rlm@2: “That’s because there are too many things to do instead of going to sleep. It’s much better to rlm@2: fall asleep when you find yourself sleepy instead of making yourself go to sleep at a certain rlm@2: time,” Nadeshiko reasoned, putting a finger on her pale chin. It was true that she often didn’t rlm@2: sleep at night, instead walking about or just lying in bed in fascination of the sounds of the rlm@2: night. But it all made sense to her. She fell asleep when she fell asleep. What did it matter if rlm@2: it was in bed or in a flower garden, at home or in the park? She was always so busy with things rlm@2: that sleep was simply something that happened. And most of the time Sonomi would find her and rlm@2: take her back to bed anyway. rlm@2: rlm@2: Sonomi sweatdropped at her cousin’s odd logic, but nodded all the same. She had long ago learned rlm@2: that sometimes it was just easier to humor Nadeshiko than to argue with her. The pale girl rlm@2: wouldn’t listen anyway. She would smile sweetly and let you argue yourself hoarse and then she rlm@2: would go off and do what she had wanted to do all along. Shaking her head, Sonomi took rlm@2: Nadeshiko’s hand. “We have to get going or we’ll be late to school. Thank you again!” She waved rlm@2: politely to her aunt as she hurried to the door, her navy blue pleated skirt shifting about her. rlm@2: Her white blouse and blue bow rustled against her as they walked out into the always dangerous rlm@2: world. Sonomi immediately began to feel the worry that she usually did whenever they would go rlm@2: out, that paranoid feeling that something bad was going to happen. But with her flighty cousin rlm@2: tagging along, that usually wasn’t far off. rlm@2: rlm@2: “I like your hair, too, Sonomi-chan. It’s so vibrant and fiery. I hope my daughter has hair like rlm@2: yours,” Nadeshiko mentioned thoughtfully, playing with some stray strands of auburn hair behind rlm@2: her cousin. The hair was still a bit damp, drying from her bath earlier. The green eyed girl rlm@2: watched it sway, pawing at it almost like a curious kitten. rlm@2: rlm@2: Blushing faintly, Sonomi didn’t attempt to stop her cousin. She really didn’t mind as it was. rlm@2: Just being with her blissful cousin always made things feel special. Even school felt more like rlm@2: an adventure than a chore when she was alongside Nadeshiko. Her younger cousin was a shimmering rlm@2: angel that lit even the darkest recesses of Sonomi’s life. The brunette couldn’t quite rlm@2: understand the depths of her feelings for Nadeshiko, simply that the other girl was always on rlm@2: her mind, always dwelling in her heart. And Sonomi wanted to protect the younger girl. It was rlm@2: frightening to see such a free spirit in such a scary world. She was always afraid that rlm@2: something might happen to her beloved Nadeshiko. So all she could do was try her best to protect rlm@2: her. “Arigato, Nadeshiko-chan. I can only hope my daughter would have beautiful hair like yours. rlm@2: I love your hair. It’s...” Sonomi trailed off, trying to force away a persistent blush from her rlm@2: cheeks. She couldn’t think of words to describe it. She bit her lip in frustration, trying to rlm@2: understand the myriad of feelings strangling her fluttering heart. Answers eluded her. Sighing, rlm@2: the brunette changed the subject. “I need to get a haircut soon, though. Short hair is a lot rlm@2: easier to manage. And it’s been windy lately so it’s been getting in my way at track.” rlm@2: rlm@2: “I could cut it for you,” Nadeshiko offered, still playing with the auburn hair before her. rlm@2: “Then you wouldn’t have to wait to get your mom to take you.” rlm@2: rlm@2: “You would? Thank you, Nadeshiko-chan. I’d like that. Could we do that after school?” Sonomi rlm@2: asked excitedly. Her heartbeat quickened in her chest, sending a thrill throughout her. She rlm@2: couldn’t exactly explain it, but it sounded like a much more enjoyable situation if Nadeshiko rlm@2: would be doing it. Before it had sounded simply like something she needed to do, a chore that rlm@2: needed to be dealt with. But now she was actually looking forward to it. She could already see rlm@2: herself sitting before her smiling cousin. Even the thought of Nadeshiko with scissors failed to rlm@2: alert Sonomi to the potential dangers of such a situation. But she was far too enraptured by the rlm@2: idea of her cousin’s fingers through her hair, cutting it all into a much shorter, neater style. rlm@2: rlm@2: “Un! It would be fun. Now we have something to do this afternoon, too.” Nadeshiko grinned rlm@2: happily, walking alongside her auburn haired friend. Life was never boring for the gray haired rlm@2: girl. There was always something fascinating going on, some little aspect of life that immersed rlm@2: her attention. Every little thing was a work of wonder for Nadeshiko. She could only puzzle why rlm@2: other people couldn’t see that. There was always something new to fathom. But the one constant rlm@2: throughout it all, the single thing that was always a part of this wonder, was her big cousin rlm@2: Sonomi. The older girl had been her best friend for as long as she could remember, had always rlm@2: been there even as she would move from one thing to the next. So it always delighted her when rlm@2: she could draw Sonomi into the fantastic world that she saw. An afternoon of cutting hair rlm@2: sounded like an excellent time to Nadeshiko. She had never cut any hair before, but she was rlm@2: eager to try. Even if it did mean getting rid of Sonomi’s pretty long hair. Oh well. She’d just rlm@2: keep it in a box or something. rlm@2: rlm@2: Reaching school, the two cousins entered their homeroom, sitting down in the large classroom. rlm@2: Sonomi took her seat to Nadeshiko’s right, going through her backpack for what she would need rlm@2: for class. Several cute keychains and buttons adorned Sonomi’s backpack, just a small sampling rlm@2: of her large collection of toys and things back home. She loved cute things of all shapes and rlm@2: sizes, finding herself always thrilled to get her hands on something new for her collection. But rlm@2: the cutest thing she could think of was her smaller cousin. Nadeshiko was like the perfect doll. rlm@2: She hadn’t a care in the world, was hardly ever sad or even worried. She was beautiful and rlm@2: delicate, like a doll. She was such a cute little model, modeling for Sonomi’s camera whenever rlm@2: she would ask. Her mother dressed her in such pretty clothes and always had new hairstyles to rlm@2: try out on her only daughter. Sonomi was always happy to see what new look Nadeshiko would have. rlm@2: She was already amassing a nice collection of photos. In fact, she would have to go get some rlm@2: more film developed soon. Placing her chin in her hands, she glanced over at the silver haired rlm@2: girl next to her. As she should have expected, Nadeshiko was looking out the window, her head rlm@2: tilted to the side as she watched the birds fly by, listening to their gentle melody. The rlm@2: brunette smiled to herself, her heart warming at the sight. rlm@2: rlm@2: “Class, I would like to introduce you to my new assistant,” the teacher was saying. rlm@2: rlm@2: Reluctantly pulling her attention away from her delicate cousin, Sonomi cast her eyes forward. rlm@2: What she saw made her blood boil. At the front of the class, she could see an irritatingly rlm@2: smiling face, glinting glasses, and chestnut hair. She had just managed to forget about the man rlm@2: who had injured her dearest Nadeshiko. So what was he doing here? Was he trying to haunt her? It rlm@2: sure felt like it. She couldn’t help but think he was here for Nadeshiko, for some reason or rlm@2: another. Of course, that was ridiculous. But Sonomi didn’t always care for logic. What she did rlm@2: know was that this man had already hurt her cousin once. She didn't intend to let him have a rlm@2: second chance. rlm@2: rlm@2: “This is Kinomoto Fujitaka. He will be my assistant while I recover. I may have some more rlm@2: doctor’s appointments soon, so he will take care of things for me whenever I’m gone,” the rlm@2: teacher explained. rlm@2: rlm@2: Smiling his omnipresent smile, the man bowed to the class. “Thank you. It will be a pleasure to rlm@2: work with all of you.” His eyes caught sight of two familiar girls at the back and his smile rlm@2: widened. How wonderful! Those were those two delightful girls from that weekend. He was relieved rlm@2: to see that the gray haired girl seemed to be doing fine. rlm@2: rlm@2: “Sonomi-chan!” Nadeshiko half-whispered, leaning out of her desk. “That’s the man who gave me rlm@2: the book and Teddy-chan!” Several students looked her way, but Nadeshiko ignored them, still rlm@2: leaning towards her cousin. It was a surprise to see the man here, but for Nadeshiko it was just rlm@2: another of life’s many miracles. That he was there was just another amazing little tidbit. It rlm@2: was nice to know that the man who gave her such a wonderful gift as Teddy and the Clow Book was rlm@2: nearby. Maybe she could thank him someday. rlm@2: rlm@2: “Un, I know,” Sonomi whispered back quietly. She glared at the man when he smiled their way. rlm@2: Shaking her head, she sighed. He had hurt Nadeshiko on accident. And he had apologized. It was rlm@2: probably nothing. She really shouldn’t be so angry with him. But still, she didn’t like him rlm@2: around Nadeshiko. Not at all. But all the same, she dropped her glare. Maybe he’d learned his rlm@2: lesson. It had just been an accident after all. Though Sonomi still didn’t trust him. She had a rlm@2: bad temper at times and she wasn’t one to let things drop. ‘I’ll keep an eye on you, mister. And rlm@2: you better stay away from my Nadeshiko-chan. I’m not going to give you another chance to hurt rlm@2: her,’ she thought to herself. rlm@2: rlm@2: “This should be fun to have him in class. I hope he doesn’t feel bad about the baseball,” rlm@2: Nadeshiko was saying. rlm@2: rlm@2: “Nadeshiko and Sonomi Amamiya! Was there something the two of you wanted to discuss?” The rlm@2: teacher raised an eyebrow, staring at the two girls. rlm@2: rlm@2: “No, we just...” Sonomi began. rlm@2: rlm@2: “We know your assistant. Hi, Kinomoto-san!” Nadeshiko waved to Fujitaka, eliciting some laughter rlm@2: from several classmates. rlm@2: rlm@2: “If you insist on talking in class, then I’ll have to ask you to leave. Please go to the rlm@2: hallway.” rlm@2: rlm@2: “Hai, sensei!” Hardly fazed, Nadeshiko smiled to Sonomi before getting out of her desk. Nothing rlm@2: seemed to get to the girl. But then, she was too busy with her own little world to concern rlm@2: herself with the trivialities of this one. Or perhaps it was the trivialities that we take for rlm@2: granted that held her so captivated. Whatever the case, the pale girl hurriedly made her way out rlm@2: of the classroom. rlm@2: rlm@2: Sonomi wasn’t quite as quick to leave as her cousin. Sighing inwardly, the auburn haired girl rlm@2: followed Nadeshiko out of the room. She wasn’t happy about being kicked out of class, but what rlm@2: could she do? Pushing back a slight urge to cry, she continued forward. This wasn’t a big deal. rlm@2: It didn’t matter. She had been punished and she would take her punishment. And if her parents rlm@2: found out, then she would deal with that when the time came. For a moment, her stormy blue eyes rlm@2: locked with Fujitaka’s. He smiled at her apologetically. Breaking the gaze, Sonomi sped up to rlm@2: reach her cousin. rlm@2: rlm@2: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ rlm@2: rlm@2: “Isn’t that nice that Kinomoto-san is helping out our teacher now? Sensei must be very happy rlm@2: about it. And Kinomoto-san seems very smart.” Nadeshiko glanced around for which pair of rlm@2: scissors she should use. Picking entirely at random, she turned back to Sonomi. The brunette rlm@2: was sitting on the porch with her back to the gray haired girl, waiting to have her hair cut. rlm@2: The yellow ribbons that had been in her hair earlier were now lying on the floor next to her. rlm@2: “Hmm...” Nadeshiko stepped around Sonomi, trying to get some idea of what to do with her rlm@2: cousin’s hair. She usually let her mother do her own hair, but she did see all of the styles it rlm@2: was put in. She herself had had shorter hair not too long ago. So she wanted to have some idea rlm@2: before starting on Sonomi’s hair. Tilting her head to the side, she rethought that. Why have rlm@2: some initial goal? Why not wait and see what her hair became? Like a flower, she shouldn’t force rlm@2: it to become something it wasn’t. She should help it grow into whatever hairstyle it wanted to rlm@2: be. Satisfied with that line of thought, Nadeshiko began snipping away. rlm@2: rlm@2: Taking a deep breath, Sonomi slowly let it filter out of her lips. Her cheeks were a rosy red, rlm@2: her stormy blue eyes pointed straight ahead. She could feel Nadeshiko’s pale fingers through her rlm@2: hair, the sound of scissors close behind. Her heart skipped a beat as Nadeshiko paused for a rlm@2: moment, sniffing her hair as she would a flower. Like everything the green eyed girl did in rlm@2: life, Nadeshiko seemed to move slowly from one part to the next, enjoying every little bit as rlm@2: she did. There was something very... romantic about getting her hair cut by Nadeshiko? No, that rlm@2: wasn’t the word. Was it? No, that couldn’t be it. But Sonomi couldn’t think up what exactly it rlm@2: was to have her cousin cutting her hair. Whatever the feeling, it was nice. “Can we not talk rlm@2: about him?” rlm@2: rlm@2: “Hm? Why not? You don’t like him?” Nadeshiko asked curiously. Feeling some more of Sonomi’s long rlm@2: hair between her thumb and forefinger, she cut it away, watching intently as it lay between her rlm@2: fingers. She set the lock of hair aside. She still needed to find a place to keep Sonomi’s hair. rlm@2: It would just be a shame to throw it all away. Like she had said before, it was very pretty. rlm@2: rlm@2: “Of course not. He hurt you.” Sonomi crossed her arms as she shifted her bare legs under rlm@2: herself. They were still sore from track practice that afternoon. Just as she was still sore rlm@2: about Nadeshiko getting hit by a baseball. Her frown fading, she tilted her head to the side rlm@2: when Nadeshiko’s delicate hand pushed on the side of her head. rlm@2: rlm@2: “Oh.” Nadeshiko considered that for a minute, pulling up Sonomi’s hair as she did to get an idea rlm@2: of what to do next. Her cousin’s protective nature was something she had grown used to over the rlm@2: years. After all, the crazy world didn’t always make sense, but Sonomi always did. Everyone else rlm@2: hid how they felt or said things they didn’t mean. But Sonomi was almost always straightforward rlm@2: about her feelings. When she was mad, you knew it. When she was happy, you felt it. It was rlm@2: something that felt very refreshing for Nadeshiko. She was fascinated by the world, but the rlm@2: people in it didn’t always make sense. At least she knew that Sonomi did. “But I hurt myself all rlm@2: the time. And you don’t get mad at me,” she pointed out, snipping some more hair away. rlm@2: rlm@2: “But that’s different,” Sonomi protested, tilting her head the opposite way as her younger rlm@2: cousin’s fingers pushed on her forehead again. She giggled a bit as she felt Nadeshiko rolling rlm@2: her head around from side to side playfully. rlm@2: rlm@2: “How?” rlm@2: rlm@2: Sonomi bit her lip, still staring forward. “I can’t explain it. It just is. It’s different when rlm@2: you hurt yourself than when someone else hurts you. Besides, I could never be angry with you.” rlm@2: She felt Nadeshiko’s stomach on her head as the green eyed girl leant over her, her head in rlm@2: front of Sonomi’s. Sonomi saw Nadeshiko’s upside down head lean into view, her long gray hair rlm@2: spilling down in front of her. The brunette felt her cheeks burn as she watched her delicate rlm@2: cousin’s smiling face in front of her. Her heart felt like it would give out at any moment. What rlm@2: was going on? Why did she always feel like this around Nadeshiko? Sonomi felt her frustration rlm@2: rising inside of herself, but it disappeared as Nadeshiko moved forward and kissed her nose. Her rlm@2: cheeks darkened further as she watched pale skin move back ever so slightly. rlm@2: rlm@2: “You’re so sweet, Sonomi-chan,” Nadeshiko said simply. Smiling cutely, she slowly got back to rlm@2: her feet, leaving a blushing Sonomi sitting before her. Going back to work, the pale girl hummed rlm@2: to herself. It took a while for her older cousin to relax again, the blush slowly fading from rlm@2: her cheeks. She smiled as she watched. She didn’t know what she’d do without her best friend. rlm@2: rlm@2: Waiting anxiously as Nadeshiko clipped her hair, Sonomi moved her palms across her thighs, hair rlm@2: dropping down to them every so often. She idly wondered about the finished product, but she was rlm@2: much more caught up in the moment to worry about what would come afterwards. ‘If only we could rlm@2: stay like this,’ Sonomi thought blissfully. A sigh escaped her as Nadeshiko finally stepped rlm@2: away. “Huh? Are you done?” Sonomi turned to find her cousin smiling at her. Her fingers went rlm@2: quickly to her hair, feeling the freshly cut brunette hair much shorter than it had been. rlm@2: rlm@2: “Un! And it’s very cute. Let’s go see the mirror. I want you to see it, Sonomi-chan.” Taking the rlm@2: brunette’s hand, Nadeshiko hurried up the stairs towards her room, a handful of Sonomi’s hair in rlm@2: her other hand. She smiled prettily as she led Sonomi in, getting behind her and pushing her the rlm@2: rest of the way towards the mirror. She couldn’t wait to see what her friend thought of the new rlm@2: hairstyle. It had been much more fun than if Sonomi had simply gone to a barber shop. rlm@2: rlm@2: Sonomi gazed into the mirror, her fingers following her new hairstyle as she watched. Her rlm@2: brunette hair was cropped quite a bit shorter than she had ever had it before. The short strands rlm@2: moved easily between her fingers. But oddly, the hair was cut at a slant. It was shorter on one rlm@2: side than the other, making for an odd style. She ran her fingers through the longer hair on rlm@2: the right, tilting her head experimentally. It seemed perfectly Nadeshiko, a strangely uneven rlm@2: haircut. A smile spread across Sonomi’s lips as she moved her head from one side of the other. rlm@2: Yes, it was definitely Nadeshiko’s handiwork. And that alone made her love it. “Thank you, rlm@2: Nadeshiko-chan!” She turned swiftly, taking the pale girl’s hands in her own. “I love it. I rlm@2: always will.” rlm@2: rlm@2: “I’m glad, Sonomi-chan. It looks very pretty on you,” Nadeshiko concluded, smiling brightly. She rlm@2: brought a hand up to the side of Sonomi’s face, brushing back the short hair. Her cousin looked rlm@2: very happy with the job she did. “Maybe I should become a barber,” she said thoughtfully. rlm@2: rlm@2: “I think you’d be better at other things, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi said quickly. “But I’ll always rlm@2: let you cut my hair when you want to.” Returning Nadeshiko’s smile, Sonomi hugged the smaller rlm@2: girl. The rest of the trials of the day melted away. She forgot all about the trouble she had rlm@2: gotten into and the smiling boy who had hurt Nadeshiko. She didn’t even think about what her rlm@2: mother would say about her strange new haircut. None of it mattered while she was with her rlm@2: cousin.