Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
Across the Distance
by Amazoness Duo



	“Mama?” the young girl asked from her perch near the top of the stairs.
She watched the older woman through the rail of the stairs, looking like a young
prisoner through the bars. The auburn haired girl crouched on the steps in her frilled green nightgown.
	“Hmm? Yes, Sonomi, darling?” The older woman turned her attention to
the little girl on the stairs, a small smile spreading across her lips. “Isn’t it past your bedtime?
	Sonomi nodded slowly, as if not wanting to concede defeat just yet. Holding onto the railing, she tried to work out the jumble of thoughts that had
led her out of her room, slowly piecing them into words. She couldn’t even quite
tell what she wanted to ask, only that something had drawn her here as her 
thoughts had kept her tossing and turning. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said at last,
resting her forehead against the rail of the stairwell. She knew it was late. And
she wasn’t prone to disobeying her mother. But something had kept her from 
drifting off into sleep, thoughts and feelings that she found difficult to
understand. At the forefront of all of them was a shimmer of liquid silver hair, and 
a beautiful, pale girl’s smile. A sigh escaped her lips as the curious feelings
resurfaced. They weren’t anything new. Far from it, in fact. She had been dealing
with them for quite some time. But the thought of spending another night lying in
bed alone and confused didn’t appeal to her at all
	The mother watched her child for a long moment, Sonomi’s normally
bright stormy blue eyes looking clouded over, the girl lost in her thoughts.
“What’s wrong, Sonomi-chan?” she asked curiously. She knew her daughter was
a very emotional girl, getting carried away with her emotions wherever they
drifted. In many ways, Sonomi was much more sensitive than her cousin.
Nadeshiko was a very sweet, loving girl who spent her time marvelling at the
wonders the world offered. Sonomi, on the other hand, was very emotional.
When she was sad, she was very sad. When she was happy, she was ecstatic.
She rode every emotion to its fullest. And when she couldn’t understand her
feelings, it often frustrated the poor girl. It looked like now was one of those
times.
	Sonomi considered the question, looking down at her small bare feet as
she rubbed them together. A yawn overtook her before she could bite it back for
worry that her mother would send her back to bed. She really was tired. But sleep
kept eluding her. “Mama, when did you and papa fall in love?” the auburn haired
girl asked, looking down to see her mother. She couldn’t quite tell why the
question was so important, only that it was.
	Pausing for a moment, Sonomi’s mother thought over the question.
“Hmm... Well, we met in college. We got married some time after that.” Setting
down the book she had been reading, she walked to the foot of the stairs,
looking up them towards her sleepy daughter. Sonomi didn’t look satisfied with
her answer.
	The young heiress shook her head, auburn hair fluttering about her face
in its odd slant hairstyle. “No, not that. When did you know you were in love,
mama?” Sonomi asked, a tinge of desperation in her voice. She wanted to know.
But still, college felt so far away. And she didn’t feel like love was that far off. At
least that meant that she wouldn’t have to worry about Nadeshiko marrying
anytime soon. That thought was soothing, at any rate. The thought of
Nadeshiko getting married made her heart scream in protest. She knew she
wanted her little cousin to be happy, to be loved, but she couldn’t stand the
thought of someone taking her best friend away from her. She could make
Nadeshiko happy. Nadeshiko didn’t need some man to stealing her off
somewhere. Like some princess being stolen away by the talons of some dragon,
she could see a wedding dress clad Nadeshiko being pulled back from her by a
man in a tuxedo. Her mind placed a face on the smilingly evil groom. Assistant
teacher Fujitaka Kinomoto smiled pleasantly as he whisked Nadeshiko away from
her, leaving Sonomi all alone. Shaking her head quickly, Sonomi tried to banish
the thought. She had been too concerned lately with how the assistant teacher
had been spending so much time with her cousin. She hadn’t trusted him even
when they first met because he had hurt Nadeshiko, and she wasn’t about to
start trusting him now. Maybe he could see the wonders that Nadeshiko had
inside of her, but that was exactly why Sonomi would protect her best friend from
people like him.
	Biting her lip, Sonomi’s mother ascended the stairs. This was more
difficult than she had suspected. Her daughter was obviously curious about this
sort of thing, but she didn’t know whether or not she should answer with a
fairytale. Sonomi could be rather mature, mostly stemming from her concern for
her younger cousin, but she also had a rather romantic, dreamy side that
manifested in her room and her love of cute things, her cousin included. Dolls
and stuffed animals, ribbons and lace adorned the young Sonomi Amamiya’s
room. But she couldn’t hide her daughter from the world forever. Life was not a
fairy tale. Things didn’t always have happy endings. It was with these shadowed
thoughts that she sat next to her daughter on the stairs, her hands folded primly
in her lap. Licking her lips, the older woman tried to decide how to begin. Her
daughter watched her hopefully, expectantly. “You don’t always get married because you’re in love, Sonomi-chan. There are many other aspects involved in
it. Social standing. The good of your family. What type of future you can have
with this person.”
	“But what about love?” Sonomi asked. She felt even more confused
than ever. Wasn’t it all about love? Wasn’t that the most important thing? But
then, hadn’t she been raised with the thought that she would one day wed and
continue the family? The sudden thought that she was expected to wed for the
family, for her station as opposed to because she was in love seemed like a cold
air of reality blowing over her. She shivered under her nightgown. In some ways,
it was what she had always expected. The thought of marriage had never excited
Sonomi the way it did many of the girls she knew. It seemed like something she
knew she would have to do one day, not something she wanted. Now she
realized that it was exactly that, not a matter of the heart at all. That frightened
her. 
	“Love is like a fairytale, Sonomi-chan. It’s fun to lose yourself in it, but
in the end you have to come back to reality. Love is a fun distraction. But you
have to plan for other things, to decide what’s best for you and your family. And
your heart can’t tell you this,” Sonomi’s mother explained gently, hugging her
small daughter against her side. Lithe fingers brushed through her daughter’s
hair, trying to sort through the odd hair cut. Sighing, she shook her head. It was
best to get away from such a lonely topic. “So why are you suddenly so curious,
Sonomi-chan? You’ll meet a handsome boy to marry one of these days.
	Sonomi frowned, shaking her head, her hair fluttering between her
mother’s fingers. “I don’t like boys. They’re stupid.” The younger girl crossed
her arms, her stormy blue eyes narrowed. No, she wasn’t the biggest fan of the
opposite sex. There was just something she didn’t like about them. Especially
one in particular. His glasses glinted in her mind for a moment. She forced it out
immediately. 
	Sonomi’s mother laughed at her daughter’s words, glad to be off the
topic. “Of course you like boys. All girls like boys, Sonomi-chan. Maybe you
don’t now, but you will in a few years, trust me.” She found it amusing to see her
daughter so intent. She would have to remember to point this out to the younger
girl in a few years when she finally changed her mind.
	Shaking her head, Sonomi looked up at her mother, the older woman’s
fingers still in her auburn hair. “I couldn’t like someone who didn’t like pink at
least a little bit,” the young heiress explained. 
	Laughing again, the mother grinned. “Sonomi-chan, you get such silly
ideas. I’m know you’ll find a nice boy one of these days who will make you
forget all of this nonsense.”
	Resting her head against her mother, Sonomi yawned tiredly. Her mind
was made up. She wouldn’t let any of those insects near her beloved Nadeshiko.
She wouldn’t let any of them take her way, or marry her. She would protect her
little cousin from them all. They would be happy. She would make Nadeshiko
happy. Somehow. She knew that Nadeshiko made her happy. If she didn’t need
to be in love to get married, then she didn’t need to worry about getting married.
And she wouldn’t let anyone marry her Nadeshiko. No one would take her away.
No one would hurt her. In her fading mind, she saw a sparkling image of her
silver haired angel. Her heart soared at the thought, warm and overflowing.
‘Nadeshiko-chan...’ she thought resolutely. The small auburn haired girl fell
asleep against her mother on the stairs shortly thereafter.
	
	Light. The first thing that existed was the light. It was white and cold,
like freshly fallen snow. It encompassed him, pulsing with him. The pulsing was
silent, but it was there, a slow rise and fall throughout the brightness. Slowly, the
brightness grew. His eyes burned, but he couldn’t shut them, for he still had no
eyes. He had no form, only the light. Thoughts spun incoherently like a spider
spinning its web, thoughts going in every direction and none at all.
‘WhyamIwhoamIwhereamIwhenamI?
	Am I?
Yes, you are, aren’t you? 
Please help me. I don’t know where I am. 
You aren’t anywhere. 
Who am I? 
You are the moonlight. 
Please, I’m scared... 
So am I.’
	His mind was the first thing to coalesce, but it was confused and lost.
He searched desperately for answers within himself, within the light. It took him a
moment to realize that he was the light. He struggled with this newfound
knowledge, searching out bits and pieces, working through the jumble of chaotic
thoughts to paint a picture of just what was going on. His body slowly began to
form as his mind worked its way back from the brink. He was. He knew that now.
He existed. That was reassuring, somehow. It was nice to know that he hadn’t
simply tricked himself into believing he existed. After all, he thought, so
therefore, he was. At least, he thought that he could think. The idea confused
him further. In frustration, he discarded the notion. He knew he could spend
eternity arguing with himself, as he had done just moments before. But had that
argument been an eternity or a split second? Or had it even happened? He
couldn’t remember. He could remember the light. The light was everywhere. The
light was outside of him and within him. Within him? Yes, that was right, wasn’t
it. He slowly curled his fingers, the bright snowy moonlight shifting through
them. He could feel his legs drifting underneath him, not touching any form of
solid ground. Long, feathered wings were outstretched behind him, glowing with
their own inner light.
	He looked down to see himself, to try to understand what he was, but
he could only see the blinding moonlight. He expected the brightness to carry
some form of heat with it, but it was surprisingly cold. It was the light of the full
moon. He moved experimentally, glad to know that his limbs were once again
attached. Once again? Had he been there before? Had he been himself before?
Yes, something of the sort. He was returning. He was being called back. He was...
being reawakened. Yes, something was calling him. He was waking up from a
deep slumber, brought back to fulfil the goals of his master. What goals? He
asked. But there was no answer. He frowned in the light that bathed him, still
trying to piece his inexplicable life together. So he was supposed to be here for
some reason. But what was the reason? 
	Slowly, memories returned to him. He waited centuries to recall
everything, reliving every moment of his previous existence. It all happened i
the blink of an eye, his life returned in a split second. And in this split infinity, he
knew who he was. He knew what he was. He knew why he was. And a cold smile
crossed his lips. Yes, it had all returned. He knew everything now. He woul
accomplish his mission for his master. All would go according to plan. Except...
Things hadn’t gone according to plan, had they? The girl wasn’t the one he was
supposed to judge. Something had gone wrong. Horribly wrong. What had
become of his master’s plan? No matter. He would quickly remedy the situation.
That was what he existed for. Soon, she would be forgotten and the master could
pretend this little fiasco never happened. They would go about with the plan
again afterwards, this time without the little problem that had popped up. He
would erase it from the pages of history. A cold grin spread over him. It was nice
to be of use again. 
	And with all the suddenness of a spring storm, everything was robbed
from him. His precious memory, his very existence was denied him. In another
second that lasted for all time, he felt his memories being extinguished, pulled
away from him with reckless abandon. He screamed into the night as all that he
was faded from him. “No!” he called out wordlessly. “Don’t take it away from me
Not again!” But he knew there was nothing he could do. Even the reason behind
his anger and fear disappeared. But the anger and fear remained, even as the
words unraveled in his mind. 
	Again, he was nothing. His mind faded, thoughts disappearing into the
void. There was nothing. The blinding moonlight disappeared. Darknes
converged around him, consuming him. And all was dark

	“Mmm...” Sonomi stretched, trying to make sure her form was in top
shape. She was all alone on the track field at the school, but she didn’t mind. Sh
was still thinking about what her mother had said the night before. It had staye
with her throughout the day, making it difficult for her to concentrate during her
classes. So she didn’t mind having some solitude for the moment. And the best
way to do that was to get in some practice with her running. That was always a
good way to get her focus on other things. You couldn’t get distracted while
running. The only thing that mattered was how fast you could go. It was always
so refreshing. It was as if she could run away from all that was bothering her,
leaving it far behind as she outdistanced it. It felt wonderful, free
	The young heiress was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the
sound of approaching footsteps. She was far too busy to bother with such
things. Her mind was focused on the task at hand, everything else seeming hazy,
distant. Getting into position, Sonomi felt the track beneath her fingers, waiting in
a crouch at the starting line. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she anticipated
an imaginary signal. Everything around her narrowed, fading away. The only
thing that existed in this half world was the track and the wind. She had to be
focused intently on the situation, ready to start at a moment’s notice. And. That
Was. Now! 
Like a shot, she was off, throwing herself forward. Every muscle in her
 body worked towards one common goal, to send her hurtling forward to the
finish line. Her speed was incredible, the ten year old girl darting across the field
in a blur. Her mind didn’t have time for anything else, no time for concerns or
distractions. There was still the thrill of pulling ahead, of being the fastest. Of
being the first to reach the goal. She was almost there. It was always over so
quickly, but while she was racing it felt like a lifetime had passed. And with that,
she had passed it.
Catching her breath, the brunette slowed to a halt, her hands on her
thighs as she slumped over, catching her breath. The world slowly sprang back
into existence, as if it had merely been put on pause. Sounds filtered back to her,
sights slowly coming into focus. A sharp sound caught her ear, making her spin
around despite being out of breath. To her surprise, the assistant teacher,
Fujitaka Kinomoto, was clapping, his usual smile on his face. Sonomi stood up
quickly, trying to breath normally as she crossed her arms. She had no idea what
he was doing there, but she instantly didn’t trust him. Why wasn’t he busy
trying to steal away her Nadeshiko? Wasn’t that his hobby, after all? Well, she
had to admit that it was better that he was there than with Nadeshiko. Though
not by much.
“Nadeshiko-chan told me you were fast, Amamiya-san. I had no idea
how fast. I’m impressed,” the older man said, smiling pleasantly. The young girl
continued to stare at him, but he only smiled in response. 
Smoothing down her gym uniform, Sonomi didn’t take her eyes off of
the assistant teacher, almost afraid that he would run off to find Nadeshiko if she
let down her guard. She nodded simply, her breathing slowly returning to normal.
“Hai. Nadeshiko-chan watches most of my races. I never lose. She says I’m like
 the wind,” Sonomi said proudly. If Nadeshiko believed in her, then she knew
that she could do anything. With Nadeshiko’s belief, how could she fail?
“Is that so?” Fujitaka asked curiously, still smiling. “She’s such a sweet
little girl, isn’t she?” 
Sonomi frowned, flustered by his comment. Of course she was a sweet
little girl. But she was Sonomi’s best friend. And the auburn haired girl wasn’t
about to give her up to some... some insect. He was beneath Nadeshiko. She
wouldn’t let him or anyone have her precious silver haired angel.
“Nadeshiko-chan is the sweetest, cutest, most beautiful girl there is. There’s no
one out there like her. She’s perfect. She has the prettiest voice and she’s always
so bright and happy and her eyes sparkle when she looks at you.” Sonomi took a
deep breath, trying to suppress the stirrings in her heart. But she always felt this
way when she started thinking about Nadeshiko. She couldn’t help but notice
how perfect her little cousin was. It was so blatantly obvious. She saw it all every
single day that they were together. She took a shuddering breath, closing her
eyes for a moment. When she opened her eyes, she had her composure back.
She couldn’t go off on a Nadeshiko tangent right now. She had to keep an eye
on the assistant teacher. Even if one was much, much more enjoyable than the
other. 
“You seem to think very highly of her. You’re lucky to have a cousin
like her.” Fujitaka smiled, pushing up his glasses. “You’re right. She really is like
an angel. I almost wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be one.” The young
man had been more and more pleased to have met his young student. She was
incredibly odd, but he found her fascinating. And apparently, her cousin thought
so as well. They could both see that Nadeshiko was somehow special.
“She is. She just only shows her wings to me,” Sonomi replied. She felt
 jealous that he would speak of her Nadeshiko that way. She had always been the
one to worship Nadeshiko like an angel. She was always the one to dwell on how
amazingly perfect Nadeshiko was. Now this man who had hurt Nadeshiko had
the gall to think the same thing. She just wanted him to stay away from her little
cousin. Nadeshiko was already accident-prone enough. Sonomi had to keep her
away from trouble. And she definitely considered him to be trouble.
	Fujitaka laughed at Sonomi’s comment, nodding. “That must be very
sweet of her, then. I bet they’re very pretty. But I don’t think Nadeshiko-chan is
the type to keep things like that to herself. I think she would want to share, to
show her wings to others as well. Don’t you think?” 
	Clenching her fists, Sonomi could only stare at the assistant teacher for
a long moment. His question sent a tremor of anger surging through her heart.
She knew Nadeshiko better than anyone else. How could he insinuate that he
knew her better? Yet she couldn’t bring herself to agree. Yes, Nadeshiko would
probably want to share that. But Sonomi silently wished she wouldn’t. Why
wasn’t she enough for Nadeshiko? Why wasn’t it enough that she was there for
her? She was lucky enough that no one believed Nadeshiko when she told them
she had magic, believing it to be just a daydream of the perpetually dreamy girl.
Sonomi was glad that she was the only one who knew, but she wished it could
just be their secret, that Nadeshiko would be happy enough with only her auburn
haired cousin knowing. Fujitaka correcting her didn’t help matters. She could feel
her nails biting into the skin of her palms as she tried futilely to respond. She
didn’t want to agree with him, though she knew Nadeshiko well enough to know
that he was right. 
Before she could answer, he continued, as if it wasn’t necessary for her
to reply. “Would you like to race, Amamiya-san? I heard you beat the quickest
on the boys’ team. You must make some very good competition.”
Without quite realizing it, Sonomi nodded. Yes, that was right. A race.
That would make this much better. She could finally beat him at something. She
could finally prove that he wasn’t better at her, that she was all Nadeshiko
needed. That sounded perfect. “Hai,” she replied. Bowing to him, she took her
place at the starting line. She would never let him near her Nadeshiko. She was a
delicate flower, and Sonomi would protect its blossoms with her all. Nadeshiko
was not something for this arrogant man to have, to ponder. She was a mystery
that Sonomi was slowly uncovering. She wouldn’t let him take her away.
Nadeshiko was her best friend, her cousin, her most precious treasure. She
wouldn’t let him or anyone else interfere. 
	“All right. On three,” Fujitaka stated, slowly taking his place. He smiled
over at the younger girl, his glasses glinting. She simply looked straight forward,
waiting. He could tell she was ready to give her all. It would be an interesting
race. Smiling, he looked forward himself. 
“One.” The two prepared for the inevitable race awaiting them. “Two.”
Sonomi’s heart pounded in her chest as she waited anxiously for their duel to
begin. “Three.” And they were both off. 
Never before had Sonomi forced herself to go as fast as she did. Every
ounce of her being burned, pushing every forward. The only thing in her mind
was the goal. She had to reach the goal. It was waiting for her. Nadeshiko was
waiting for her. She had to show that he wasn’t better than her at everything. She
had to reach it. She had to be the fastest. Her vision was nonexistent with the
single exception of the thin strip signifying the finish line. The assistant teacher
and the young track star were both propelled by awesome forces towards their
objective. It might as well have been Nadeshiko waiting for them rather than the
finish line, intense passions stirring to push the two ever faster. 
To Sonomi’s astonishment, she still hadn’t pulled ahead of Fujitaka. By
now in most races, she had pulled far ahead of the pack. But she was still side by
side with him. Her heart pounded feriously, her body trying to force itself to go
even faster. But it was giving all it had. She was pushing herself as fast as she
could go. She kept towards the goal, trying to will herself to reach it first. Her
whole being tried to grip onto it, tried to give her that last bit of energy.
Somehow, she found it. With a trill in her heart, as sweet as Nadeshiko’s
singsong voice, Sonomi managed to speed up, throwing her last bit into the final
seconds of the race. It was all she had, every last ounce of energy inside of her.
But she had to win. For Nadeshiko-chan. 
To Sonomi’s horror, Fujitaka began to pull ahead, moving past her.
Even with her last burst of strength, it wasn’t enough. It was like some cruel joke,
her final boost pushing her across the finish line right after him. The world
refused to come back to her this time, her weary body slowly collapsing to her
knees. The world around her continued to stay a blurry, surreal nightmare,
nothing else appearing. But she didn’t care. Nothing else mattered. She had lost.
It didn’t matter who you were when you raced. It only mattered that you were the
fastest. And Sonomi Amamiya, a girl who had long been the fastest, no longer
was. The dirt beneath her irritated her legs, but it didn’t seem to matter. She
couldn’t get the strength to get back up.
“That was a good race, Amamiya-san. You did a great job,” Fujitaka
complimented, smiling to the younger girl as he caught his breath. She didn’t
meet his eye. In fact, she didn’t even seem to see him. He watched her for a
moment, before stepping back towards the classrooms. “I’ll tell Nadeshiko-chan
you’re out here if I see her, Amamiya-san,” he called back over his shoulder, still
smiling. He felt much better now that he’d been able to get some exercise. Now
back to grading tests!
Sonomi didn’t hear him. She was too distraught, too broken by her loss.
How could she have lost to him? How could he have beaten her? She had tried
so hard! But even then, it wasn’t enough. She hadn’t been able to win, after all.
She had always been the fastest, but it hadn’t meant anything against him.
Balling up her fists, she hit them again and again into the dirt until her knuckles
cried out in pain. Angry, bitter tears fell into the dust bellow, falling onto her
hands. She’d wanted so badly to beat him, to show that he wasn’t better than her
at everything. To show that she could take care of Nadeshiko. She had been
racing for Nadeshiko, to win for her. To beat him for her sake. Even if it hadn’t
been stated, she had been the reason they were racing, the rivalry behind it. And
she had failed. 
“Nadeshiko-chan..” Sonomi got out in a pained sob. Her dirty hands
came up to her face, smearing some along her cheeks as she rubbed angrily at her
tears. It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t right! She should have won! Nothing ever worked
with him. He was slowly trying to take her Nadeshiko away. And then she would
be all alone, without the most important thing in her life. And she’d just failed to
beat him at the one thing that she was the best at. What good was she if she
couldn’t even do that? How could she possibly hope to protect Nadeshiko-chan
that way? She had always been the fastest. And he had taken that away from her.
Would Nadeshiko be next? A cold chill settled throughout her battered soul,
weighing her down like a heavy cloak. 
“Sonomi-chan~!” Nadeshiko called, wandering about slowly, her eyes
following every trace of springtime beauty that she happened to cross. Her lazy
beeline eventually took her towards the field where Sonomi practiced track. Just
where Fujitaka had told her that her cousin was waiting. She giggled to herself as
she watched some ants scurrying about a few bread crumbs. “Busy, busy, busy.
You should have some fun, sometimes, too,” she suggested before moving on.
She finally caught sight of her auburn haired friend sitting in the field, collapsed
in the dirt. Nadeshiko tilted her head to the side, dark hair spilling across her
shoulder. “Sonomi-chan! Hi, Sonomi-chan! Guess what? I just found this really
cute..” Nadeshiko trailed off, her smile replaced with a curious look.
“Sonomi-chan?” Was Sonomi crying? Had something happened to her?
 “Sonomi-chan?” she asked again, closing the distance between them.
	The auburn haired girl looked up quickly, wiping at her eyes quickly,
struggling to see through her tear blurred vision. She could see a pale angel
growing ever closer, a curious, worried look on her face. “Nadeshiko-chan..”
Sonomi got out, wiping more desperately at her eyes. She couldn’t let Nadeshiko
see her like this. How could she explain it? What could she say? Pushing herself
to her feet on pained muscles, Sonomi hurried away from her oncoming cousin,
trying to escape the pain and her tears. She had to get away. To think. To cry.
“Sonomi-chan?” Nadeshiko asked to her cousin’s retreating form. She
came to a halt where Sonomi had been, watching after her as the other girl ran off.
What had happened? What had hurt her cousin so terribly? Kneeling down,
Nadeshiko ran her fingertip through the teardrops in the dirt. “Poor
Sonomi-chan.. Please don’t cry,” she whispered. Nadeshiko sat in the dirt, her
skirt spread out around her. She looked at her dirty, tear streaked finger. The
image of Sonomi, hunched over and in tears played through her mind. Sonomi
had always been her best friend. It made her feel terrible to see her cousin in
tears. And she didn’t know what to do about it. She couldn’t even find Sonomi
to make her feel better. Sniffling, Nadeshiko began to cry. 
	
	“Damn it!” Sonomi punched the locker, her injured knuckles burning at
the contact. Her head slumped against the locker with an audible ‘clang’. She
slowly turned around, sliding down the locker. Her legs hurt too much to keep
standing. Her heart hurt too much to think. She just wanted to sit there until it all
went away. But she knew she couldn’t do that. She had to fight. She had to do
something. She had to do anything. But she couldn’t figure out what. Rubbing at
her eyes with her palms, she let out a wet sob. She hated him. She hated him for
ever meeting Nadeshiko, for ever hitting her in the head with the softball. She
hated him for coming to the school, becoming a part of Nadeshiko’s life. She
hated him for pulling Nadeshiko away during her race with Terrada. She hated
him for beating her at what she was best at. She hated him for trying to take
Nadeshiko away. Even if she knew that was silly, that she shouldn’t believe such
a stupid thing, she couldn’t help it. It felt like he was trying to take her place with
Nadeshiko. And even though he had hurt Nadeshiko, the angelic silver haired
girl didn’t mind at all. She was happy to be his friend. And that frightened
Sonomi. She wanted to protect Nadeshiko, but she didn’t always know how. She
wanted to keep those boys from hurting her, from snagging her away. But now
she didn’t even know if she could.
	“Owww..” Sonomi winced as she got to her feet, her hand resting
against the cold metal of her locker. With slow, lifeless fingers, she began to
open it. She had to get dressed, to change clothes. She would need to be ready
to go home. But for the most part, she simply wanted a distraction. What could
she say to Nadeshiko? What was she supposed to do about Fujitaka? None of it
had any easy answers. Right now, she just wanted to curl up in bed and cry
herself to sleep. For once she was glad that Nadeshiko didn’t live at her house.
Nadeshiko would certainly want to talk to her, and she didn’t know if she could
face the other girl at the moment. She couldn’t even face herself. She felt
miserable, a failure. And it was all his fault. 
	Something caught Sonomi’s eye from the back of the locker, glittering
faintly in the sterile light of the locker room. Reaching in, the young heiress
pulled out a small pendant shaped like a sword. “What’s this supposed to be?
Did Nadeshiko-chan put it in here?” Sighing, Sonomi held it in her hand. She
would have to talk to Nadeshiko, wouldn’t she? Otherwise she would only make
Nadeshiko worry. And she couldn’t bear to hurt her dear cousin. Closing her
locker, she looked back down at the pendant. Yeah, she couldn’t leave her sweet
cousin waiting. But before she could take another step, the little broach came
alive, light splashing through the room.

	Nadeshiko cried softly, shaking her head against the offers of
assistance, Her hands lay in her lap, her small shoulders shaking with each sob.
She didn’t know where Sonomi was or what was going on or even why she had
been crying. She kept seeing Sonomi crying in her mind, filling her own tears. It
was too sad for Sonomi to have to be crying. 
	“It’s all right, Nadeshiko-chan,” Fujitaka said soothingly, trying to
comfort his pupil. “Please, just tell me what’s wrong. I’ll help however I can.” But
try as he might, he couldn’t coax anything other than ‘Sonomi-chan’ out of the
pale girl. Whatever it was, she seemed to be taking it pretty hard. She hadn’t
stopped crying since he had spotted her and he had no idea how long she had
been crying before that. Something glinted, catching his eye. “You see? She’s
right there. Your cousin is just fine,” he promised, smiling.
	Nadeshiko wiped at her eyes quickly, breaking out into a relieved smile
when she saw Sonomi walking towards them. Getting to her feet, Nadeshiko
quickly ran towards her cousin, her arms open. “Sonomi-chan!” She felt much
better now. It was enough to see that Sonomi was no longer crying. She giggled
happily as she raced towards the auburn haired girl. But something was wrong.
She slowed as she approached Sonomi. The taller girl was holding onto some
type of sword, her eyes looking unfocused. Sonomi didn’t even seem to
recognize her. “Sonomi-chan?” Nadeshiko asked. Sonomi didn’t even look at her,
instead looking at Fujitaka as he approached. Now that confused Nadeshiko.
Sonomi always liked to look at her. She always got Sonomi’s full attention. So
why would she suddenly not have it? Something felt wrong about all this. It was
like Sonomi wasn’t Sonomi. But how could she not be Sonomi? Unless it was
someone using Sonomi. 
	“Are you all right, Amamiya-san? Your cousin was very worried about
you. She was crying about you. But it seems like everything’s fine now,” Fujitaka
stated, smiling to the two younger girls. He was glad that problem was over with.
He couldn’t stand to see the poor silver haired girl in tears. At least that problem
was over. He felt so relieved.
	Nadeshiko watched Sonomi for a moment. It finally fitted into place as
she watched the hand with the sword move. “Sonomi-chan!” Nadeshiko stepped
in front of Sonomi, but it was too late. Sonomi was faster than she was. The
auburn haired girl lunged forward, the sword tip glinting as it drove into
Fujitaka’s side. Crimson rain lit the sky for a split second, some of it landing on
Nadeshiko’s face while the rest spattered on the grass. For that long moment of
silence, Nadeshiko watched the red droplets, amazed at how beautiful the blood
was, as if it were some of the paint left over from God’s paintbrush. It all felt
surreal. She could see herself next to Sonomi, the other girl’s eyes clouded over,
their normal depth missing. She could see the blood before her. She could see
Fujitaka with the tip of the sword in his side. 
	And everything started up again. “Sonomi-chan! Kinomoto-sensei!”
Nadeshiko called out, running to her teacher’s aid. The older man stumbled back.
Luckily, the blow had only been the tip of the sword. He was bleeding, but he
could still move. Sonomi was moving swiftly, like some jungle cat intent on it’s
prey. She was circling, waiting for another chance. 
	“Run, Nadeshiko-chan! You need to get out of here!” Fujitaka yelled,
his eyes never leaving his magically possessed student. He winced painfully as
he held his side. It hadn’t been deep, but it still hurt. He saw Sonomi coming
closer again, sword raised. To his surprise, Nadeshiko once again got in the way.
“Watch out!” Grabbing Nadeshiko, he yanked her out of the way. Sonomi used
that moment to duck towards him, slashing again. 
	“Jump!” Nadeshiko called, her staff striking the Card. As Sonomi
slashed ever closer, she managed to jump back, pushing Fujitaka with her. She
kept hopping backwards, out of Sonomi’s range. But he was heavy, and she
couldn’t keep it up for long. She waited near the fence, trying to catch her breath
	Fujitaka watched in astonishment at the silver haired girl. What was
this? Magic? He had the sense not to ask about it. Now was definitely not the
time. Looking back up, he saw Sonomi once again barreling towards them. He
barely had time to throw himself into Nadeshiko, pushing her away as Sonomi
slashed through the fence. “Nadeshiko-chan, you have to get out of here. I’ll
distract her.”
	Nadeshiko shook her head quickly, squirming away from her teacher’s
grasp. “No! I can’t leave Sonomi-chan!” She smiled a faint smile, clutching her
staff tightly. “Don’t worry. She won’t hurt me. Sonomi-chan would never hurt
me.” Pushing away from Fujitaka, Nadeshiko ran towards her cousin. 
	“Nadeshiko-chan!” Fujitaka called out. He collapsed in pain, unable to
follow her. He watched, mortified as Nadeshiko raced towards her sword wielding
friend. He was helpless to stop her.
	Sonomi watched as Nadeshiko came ever closer. She raised the sword,
still ready to attack. Her eyes focused past Nadeshiko, to the wounded man back
behind her. She ran towards the oncoming Cardcaptor, ducking to the side and
past Nadeshiko, still headed for Fujitaka. 
	Whirling around, Nadeshiko watched, stunned, as Sonomi kept right on
towards their teacher. She had expected Sonomi to stop before her. She could
only watch, unable to reach the other girl in time. “Sonomi-chan!” she yelled after
her, her voice pleading. She had to be able to reach Sonomi. Even if that sword
was using her cousin, Sonomi had to be in there somewhere. She just needed to
bring her out.
	Sonomi stopped before Fujitaka, pulling the sword above her head to
swipe him in half. Fujitaka just watched her through his glasses, waiting. He
couldn’t move enough to get out of the way in time. He could only watch and
wait. With that, Sonomi brought the sword down towards him. He closed his
eyes as the blade fell, waiting for the pain to follow. But aside from the pain in his
side, he still seemed to be in one piece. A clang reverberated inches in front of
his face. Blinking, he found a traditional fan right in front of him, holding back
Sonomi’s blade. Barely. He forced himself to move, crawling away along the
fence. He had to get Nadeshiko so they could get out of there. 
	The girl who had blocked Sonomi’s strike watched her carefully, her fan
still pressed tightly against Sonomi’s. Leaping back, she landed on the grass, her
curious weapon still held at the ready. She wore a strange costume, looking
exotic amidst the two girls in their school uniforms. “Get out of here. I’ll handle
this,” she said to Nadeshiko, not bothering to look at the Cardcaptor. There were
more pressing matters. 
	Nadeshiko shook her head quickly. “No, I can’t! She’s my best friend!
She needs my help!” She didn’t know who the new girl was, but she could feel
very strong magic coming from her. Her attention went back to Sonomi. She was
worried that the new girl might hurt her if they fought for long. There had to be
something else she could do. Did this have something to do with why Sonomi
was crying earlier? Is that how the Clow Card found her? She wanted to help the
Card, too, but she was much more concerned about Sonomi. She didn’t want
anything bad to happen to her big cousin. Sonomi was always looking out for
her. The thought of the brunette getting hurt by all this was horrifying.
	The new arrival tried to size up the situation. She was lucky enough to
have foreseen this. Her dream had told her bits and pieces of this. But she hadn’t
gotten there in time to stop it. She had been hoping to keep it from escalating to
this point. As it was, it didn’t seem like the Cardcaptor was keeping a very good
handle on things. At least she had gotten there in time to save the man. Now she
could put a stop to all this and go about her business. To her surprise, Sonomi
came charging at her. She managed to block the first blow, dodging the next.
Whoever the girl was that was possessed by the Sword, she had more than the
Sword’s expert fencing. She had quite a lot of strength and speed as well. She
moved beautifully, almost like a dancer. Each movement was fluid, graceful. She
was impressed. And despite her parries, she could feel each blow through her
fan. This girl obviously kept physically fit. If only she had studied up more on
her martial arts, this wouldn’t be such a problem. But then, she doubted even
that would have given her the physical prowess of the other girl. She would have
to settle for her magic. Which should be more than enough to handle the
situation. She blocked another blow, searching her mind for the proper spell to
bring this to an abrupt end. Another thrust ducked low, slipping near her hand.
With a flick of her wrist, Sonomi disarmed the young mage. The mage watched in
shock as her fan tumbled end over end, landing at her feet. All magic spells were
suddenly forgotten as she stared into the cloudy blue eyes of her attacker. It
wasn’t supposed to go this way. She was supposed to catch the Cards, not be
done in by them. This was all wrong. She hadn’t foreseen this at all. Her mind
desperately tried to sort out what had gone wrong, as she told herself again and
again that this couldn’t happen, that she wouldn’t be able to die because she
hadn’t seen it beforehand. She stared at Sonomi, disbelieving as the brunette
thrust forward. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. She wasn’t supposed to.. A
halo of silvery gray hair blocked her vision all of the sudden. 
	“Sonomi-chan!” Nadeshiko stood in front of the young mage, her arms
out. The sword came flying towards her, aimed right for her head. Nadeshiko
stood and waited, her emerald eyes searching Sonomi’s cloudy blue ones,
searching for any indication of her cousin. She knew Sonomi had to be in there
somewhere. She just had to find her. The blade stopped, inches from her head.
Sonomi just watched her for a long moment, unable to hurt her little cousin. The
sword slowly fell from her hand, clattering to the grass below. “Sonomi-chan!”
Nadeshiko yelled happily, rushing to Sonomi. She hugged the auburn haired girl
tightly. Her exhausted cousin collapsed against her, sending them both to their
knees in the grass. “Sonomi-chan!” She laughed joyously, pulling Sonomi as
close as she could. She felt so relieved, so happy. Sonomi was all right.
	“I.. Thank you,” the new girl said, bowing to Nadeshiko. “You saved my
life, almost at the expense of your own. I’ll always remember that.” She watched
the two cousins hugging in the grass curiously, a bit surprised at what she saw
in the Cardcaptor. She had been expecting something else. Something a little
more akin to Clow Reed, perhaps. Not some silly schoolgirl. But the girl had
saved her life nonetheless.
	Nadeshiko shook her head, smiling brightly. “I knew Sonomi-chan
wouldn’t hurt me. She couldn’t. She’s too busy trying to keep everything else
from hurting me. That’s why I knew she wouldn’t let the Clow Card that was
using her hurt me.” 
	The young mage nodded thoughtfully. Looking down, she prodded the
Sword Card with her foot. “You should seal this before it can cause anymore
trouble.”
	“Un,” Nadeshiko replied, nodding against Sonomi. The other girl was
still weak against her, not even fully conscious. But she was safe. And that was
the important thing. Pulling up her staff, Nadeshiko looked at the Sword. “You
really need to be more careful, Ms. Clow Card. You could have really hurt
someone tonight. So I’m going to take you home with me, all right? You can make
a lot of friends there, I promise. Return to your true form, Clow Card!” Bringing
the staff down, the Sword disappeared, only to be replaced by a small orange
brown card with a sword on it.
	“Don’t worry about your friend. She’ll be fine with a little rest. She
won’t remember any of the time she was under the influence of the Sword. But
what about him?” The mage gestured back towards Fujitaka. 
	“I’ll be fine. I’m just glad you two are all right. I guess you really do
only show your wings to Sonomi-san.” Fujitaka winced as he came forward, still
holding his side. He was amazed that Nadeshiko was a magical girl, but somehow
it seemed fitting. He didn’t want to make her tell him all the details. That was all
part of her life. He was glad for his glimpse of it, though. Did it have something to
do with that strange book he’d given her? It seemed so. It was strange that
something he’d barely thought about had such drastic repercussions. But at
least everything had worked out. 
	“Arigato, Kinomoto-sensei!” Nadeshiko replied, smiling. He returned
the smile, though he still looked a little pale. “And thank you..” Nadeshiko turned
to thank the young mage who had helped them, but found that she was already
gone. Nadeshiko glanced around for her, but there was no sign that she had ever
been there at all. Shrugging off the thought, Nadeshiko went back to hugging
Sonomi. She felt one of Sonomi’s hands slowly rubbing her back, up and down.
“Sonomi-chan!”
	“Nadeshiko-chan...” Sonomi replied, her mind still hazy. How did she
get there? What had happened? Where was she? She sighed softly, resting her
weary head on Nadeshiko’s soft shoulder. It felt so nice. She could smell the
sweet scent of Nadeshiko’s hair against her. She breathed deeply, her aching
body relaxing. Her earlier worries and pain were forgotten. Only half broken
fragments of her earlier thoughts floated through her mind. One of them brushed
past her heart, making her want to hold on tightly to Nadeshiko and to never let
go. She wrapped both arms around her cousin’s waist, resting against her. “I’ll
always protect you, Nadeshiko-chan,” she whispered tiredly.
	Nadeshiko kissed the side of her head, smiling. “I know, Sonomi-chan.
I’ve always known. And thank you. It makes me happy to know that
Sonomi-chan will always be there to rescue me.”
	Sonomi blushed at Nadeshiko’s words, feeling her cousin’s fingers
rubbing the back of her head. She couldn’t bring herself to move outside of
Nadeshiko’s embrace, not that she would want to even if she did have the
strength. The two sat together for quite some time, Nadeshiko enjoying the
wonders of the life around them and right next to her, and Sonomi simply
enjoying the wonders that lay in Nadeshiko.

	The image of the two girls rippled and then disappeared as the young
mage ran her fingers through the water. This was certainly interesting. It
appeared that things wouldn’t be so simple after all. A small smile crossed her
lips as she trailed her fingertips through the water. At least her time while
capturing the Cards wouldn’t be boring. She had the feeling that it would be
anything but. 
	“Are you done with your bath, miss?” a voice asked from outside the
bathroom.
	“Almost, Wei. I’ll be out in just a minute,” she called, letting herself sink
lower in the warm water. 
	“I’ll leave your clothes out on your bed, miss. Be sure to get to bed
early. You have a rather big day ahead of you.”
	The girl sighed softly, nodding. “Yes, I know. A very big day.” Sliding
back into the water, she let it surround her. A big day, indeed. After all, what
could be bigger than the day when one takes over the job of Cardcaptor?